In our house this is it – our last month of the school year.  My kindergartener and fourth grader are rounding the bend into summer.  But we’re not quite done.  There’s still time to introduce them to some experiential, time-tested projects that I loved when I was a kid.  And if the teacher is excited, the students will be enthralled.  Last month I outlined 8 “old-school” projects.  This month I’m finishing my list of 15 with 7 more.  See if you remember doing these and make time for one or two in your final school days.

1. The Mobile.  Every child has probably made one, but maybe it’s time for another.  For your hanging structure you can cross two wooden sticks, two wooden spoons, or two knitting needles.  Similarly a needlework hoop, paper plate, coat hanger, or a spiral would work.  You can hang anything from them from types of aircrafts for your little ones to types of butterflies for your high-school lepidopterologists.

2. The Book Jacket.  This was some of the most fun I ever had while simultaneously doing a book report.  On the front cover your child will get to create an eye-catching graphic design and title.  On the back cover they’ll summarize the exciting parts of the book without giving away the ending.  And then there’s the inside flaps with their favorite scene and information about the author.  Artsy kids will want to do it all by hand, but this site lets them do one online.

3. The Potato Battery/Egg Drop/Volcano/Slime Project.  I have a teacher friend who spends the last two weeks of the year just doing science experiments with his class.  He says it keeps their attention in those final and very squirrelly days.  Right about now I’m thinking he’s really onto something.  Choose one (or several) of the science projects you’ve always “meant” to do and go for it.  These projects are all demonstrated on the internet ad nauseum.  But have you done them?

4. The Homemade Game.  Your kids have learned a ton this year.  Prove it to yourself and them by having them develop trivia questions from the year (write the answers upside down in small print at the bottom of the question card).  Cut out the back of a pizza box and have them design it into a game board with craft supplies.  Make a spinner or find some dice.  I chose to do this in eighth grade for a culminating book project and I stumped my whole study group with, “How do you spell medieval?”

5. The Paper Mache Globe.  Is your study of the ocean really complete without this?  Blow up a big punch ball balloon, mix some flour and water (or dilute some Elmer’s glue until it’s runny), cut strips of newsprint and you’re off.  Yes, it is messy – that’s why you may never have done this before — but the weather is nice so take it outside.  If you don’t want to draw the continents of the earth you can make a different planet, a piñata, or the Death Star.  Cut the dried sphere in half and make it into a bowl painted with Native American markings.  Or branch out from the spherical shape entirely and try paper mache mummies or animals.

6. The Make-Your-Own Book.  Writing my own story and illustrating it into my own bound book was always a favorite project for me.  You can make and staple together your own booklet, or buy blank bound books with 24-28 pages in them online for around $2 apiece at this site   (note that they also carry blank board games, comic books, and book jackets!)  Let the kids finish the year with a final project they’ll love long past the unit study.

7.  The Collage.  The collage finishes my list because I hold this art form in very high esteem.  This is old-school at its finest.  Patiently thumbing through old magazines, cutting and pasting might seem childish to your older kids, but inspire them with a quick google search and discover the amazing pieces of art that use this technique.  Collage is versatile for all ages and subjects, can be both utilitarian and beautiful and it epitomizes the sentiment, “Don’t miss the forest for the trees.”  Like our lives, collage allows us to take ordinary things and give them life.

These final days don’t have to be full of checklists (“Did we finish all the math?  Can we conjugate all the verbs?  Did we write enough reports?”).  We can infuse some of our past experiences in with our current days and watch our kids blossom through the same methods we once did.  New ideas are fun, but scouring the internet for something new may be more distracting than simply sitting back and thinking through the projects that once inspired you.

Now, finish up with some fun and go enjoy summer.  I’ve got some old-school ideas for that too.  And, I bet, so do you.

Debra Anderson has three sons ages 11 and younger. Her passions are education, mentoring, her husband, writing, church ministry and missional living — not in that order. She has her seminary Masters degree in Christian Education, is married to her pastor-husband of 16 years, and resides in their newish home in Denver, CO. In spite of moves between four different states, she has always home educated her boys — even on the hard days. She maintains a blog at www.emergent-homeschool.blogspot.com.

For those of us who take breaks from school in the summer months, those weeks can be wonderful times of relaxation from the regular hectic schedule.  Because of the extra time, the lazy days of summer can also be perfect for learning or practicing new skills known as handicrafts.

What are handicrafts?  Things you create which prove to be useful.  A very small list of possible handicrafts includes:

• Sewing
• Quilting
• Knitting
• Crocheting
• Embroidery
• Woodworking
• Wood Burning
• Whittling
• Model Making
• Jewelry making
• Pottery
• Photography
• Videography
• Gardening
• Flower Arranging

Rather than waste away summer days allowing your children to sit in front of the TV for hours, encourage handicrafts!  Rather than listen to one more, “I’m bored, there’s nothing to do,” encourage handicrafts!

In our house, I ask the children to consider one or two handicrafts each that they would find interesting to learn or practice over the summer months.  I make sure they have the appropriate supplies, including how-to books from the library if necessary.  I also tend to throw in supplies and how-to books for one or two additional handicrafts of my choosing.

Oftentimes, I join into the handicraft learning in the beginning to encourage my children’s excitement and to make sure they understand where to start.  Because of my involvement, I’ve even found myself finding a new passion once in a while, too!  After the initial time alongside me, I encourage the kids to go for it on their own (or with each other) while I spend time doing mom stuff.  (Oh, how I wish that translated to sitting on the hammock reading books.  But, more often, “my” time finds me catching up on long overdue household chores and planning for the upcoming school year.)

I love that my children are actively engaged in meaningful activities through the summer – activities that make them happy and relaxed. When they come away from the summer with practical skills to boot, I can’t ask for more!

Cindy West is an eclectically Charlotte Mason mom of three who loves learning alongside her children. You can find her blogging at Our Journey Westward  and find her nature study curriculum at Shining Dawn Books.

simple supplies I feel that you’ll find this craft is loads of fun. Here we go, let’s create.

Supplies needed:

Crushed soda cans
Electrical tape
Googly eyes
Pipe cleaners
Red construction paper

Completion time:

10-minutes

Ages:

Preschool-Elementary

Step One: Have your child tape pipe cleaner legs around the sides of the crushed soda can.

Step Two: Wrap “body” of the spider (the crushed can) with electrical tape.

Step Three: Use tape to attach the spiders eyes.

Step Four: Cut out a construction paper mouth. Tape under the eyes to create a spider face.

Step Five: Enjoy your spring spiders!

Additional Spider Resources:
(Free Lapbook) The Very Busy Spider @ HomeschoolShare
(Free Printables) Spider Diagram @ ABC Teach
(Free Thematic Unit) Spiders @ Mrs. Kilburn’s Kids

Jamerrill Stewart is the daughter of the King, and wife to Travis of 13 years. They have five beautiful children so far, ages 6 months, 2, 5, 8, & 11. By dawn of the morning, she works out the joys, struggles, blessings and challenges while authoring Holy Spirit Led Homeschooling.  When she’s not lost in a wonderful book with her children, taking them on a travel adventure or catching frogs by their pond, she likes to garden, write and collect stained glass windows.

The key to successful homeschooling with toddlers is preparedness. Knowing this now, as I do, all the year round I keep an eye out at garage sales, thrift stores, and craft blogs for activities, inexpensive ones, that will keep a toddler’s attention. I don’t spend much money on busy activities for my toddlers, and many of them I’m able to make at home. Part of my being prepared to homeschool with toddlers includes teaching them to be able to sit for five to ten minutes at a time, on a blanket or in a high chair, with their own activities when I need to help an older sibling. Now, let me share some of my favorite activities, which we keep set aside for lesson time, and I’d love to hear yours.

Most toddlers love fine motor activities and beading is such a great toddler activity, whether it’s large wooden beads or pasta or animal shapes with holes. As with all things, use parental wisdom – if your toddler tends to put everything in their mouths, then you might have to wait a year or so on this activity.

I remember watercolor books from my childhood but they seem to be harder to find nowadays. We especially like the ones with little dots of paint all over the picture. They also make watercolor books with the paint palette at the top of the page. I tend to find watercolor books in the most unusual places, like drug stores, and most recently, Joann’s Fabrics. Whenever we’re in the coloring book section of a store, I take a quick peak for them and stock up when I see them.

Our first lacing cards came from a garage sale, vintage ones with shoe laces to thread through. Recently I’ve seen them available on www.amazon.com and in Barnes and Noble, so their popularity is growing. If you’re pinching pennies, you can also laminate some pretty graphics or magazine cut-outs and hole punch around the border. Dollar stores carry shoe laces, which are still our favorites for lacing. We are a crafty family and these are a hit with the toddlers in our home, who get to do their own “sewing.”

Lego Duplos are also kept for lesson time. They come in a large variety of shapes and colors and I don’t have to worry about them being a choking hazard for any babies that may be crawling around.

It may seem simple, but stickers are loved by the toddlers in our home and are a great activity for building those fine motor skills. I ration out a 500 pack of stickers from the dollar store with scrap paper and let our toddlers create a masterpiece.

A metal sheet (you can use a cookie sheet) and magnet sets are also a fun toddler activity. We have animal magnets, firemen magnets, Bible story ones, and the traditional numbers and letters. I sometimes write out words so our toddlers can match their letter magnets to them on the baking sheet and they can play act out their own stories with the people and animal magnets.

Play dough in our home is reserved for lesson time too. We make it at home, add in glitter for sparkles and essential oils for scent. You can color it with coffee, kool-aid, jello, or food coloring. We keep a basket of play dough toys like cookie cutters and a small rolling pin. Here is the recipe we have always used:

In a saucepan, mix two cups of flour and two cups of water. Stir in one tablespoon of oil and one teaspoon of cream of tartar and one cup of salt. Cook over low heat, stirring, until the dough thickens. When it is cool to touch, knead in your colors, scents, and sparkles of choice. We store ours in plastic zip-lock baggies.

I’d love to hear some of your toddler’s favorite activities too – won’t you chime in?

strong>Hannah is a relaxed homeschooling mama of six. Her and her family are big on the outdoors, big on family days, and big on making memories in everyday small ways. She loves handcrafts, iced lattes, re-arranging furniture and counts falling into bed exhausted a sign of a really great day. She and her husband make a home in upstate New York with their energetic children and a menagerie of animals. Hannah blogs at Cultivating Home and you can connect with her on the facebook page, Cultivating Home.

Snowflakes are simply a form of crystalline water ice. They begin as snow crystals and come in a variety of sizes and shapes. As the flake falls through the cloud, tiny changes in temperature and humidity affect the way the water molecules attach to the snowflake. The variety of shapes form as the flake moves through the air. Have you heard that “no two snowflakes are alike”? That is because each flake grows independently and each side of each arm grows independently so they are not completely symmetric, this process of formation makes each one unique.

The largest ever recorded snowflake is listed in the Guinness World Book of Records. It was found in January 1887 at Fort Keogh, Montana and was said to measure 38 cm (15 inches) wide!

Ready to make your own?

The ingredients are simple:

• Borax (2 Tbsp per jar)
• Pipe Cleaners (3 per snowflake, we used green, but I think white might have been a better choice!)
• A pen or pencil to secure the snowflake while it’s crystalizing
• Boiling Water
• Wide mouth glass jars
• Scissors

Directions:

Step 1: Cut your pipe cleaner into 3rds. Lay one section horizontally on your workspace, then lay another one on top of it and twist it into a v shape around the horizontal piece. Lay your 3rd pipe cleaner section on top of that and create a v shape again only going the opposite direction of your first one so you have something similar to the below:

Step 2: Using your 2nd pipe cleaner tie it around the center of your flake, leaving a long tail, you will use this to secure your flake in the crystallization solution.

Step 3: Using the 3rd pipe cleaner, cut six 1.5 inch sections. Tie one around each tip to create your flake detailed edges.

Step 4: Pour 2.5 Tablespoons of Borax per each cup of boiling water to each wide mouth jar. (I used about 2 cups of water per jar, so about 5 T of Borax.) Just make sure you have enough water to cover your snowflakes. Stir the solution until the borax is dissolved.

Step 5: Tie the end of your long pipe cleaner around a pen or pencil and gently place the snowflake end into the solution, making sure it is completely covered by liquid. Wait about an hour sometimes a little longer to see your crystals form on the pipe cleaners! (If crystals are not starting to form, you can add a little more Borax to your solution, just stir to make sure it dissolves.

This flake was created using some twine and a white pipe cleaner:

Erica is a Christian wife, a mom, and a homeschooler. She authors Confessions Of A Homeschooler that offers tons of printables, resources, ideas and homeschool curriculum. She likes to digi-scrap and dabbles in graphic design in her *free* time. Feel free to drop by for a visit anytime! www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com

A winter nature walk might seem like a boring (or cold) idea, but don’t be fooled – God’s creation, though less active this time of year, is still ready to excite you!

Of course, snow is an obvious topic of study, but since not everyone receives snow in the winter, I’d like to offer some other fun ideas. January, with its bare trees, dead plants and dull colored landscape, is perfect for discovering treasures that are hidden other times of the year. When most of the flora disappears, it’s way easier to find and observe things like rocks, erosion, tree shapes and details, and plants that don’t die or sleep during the winter.

If it’s really cold and you’d rather not venture outside, set up a nature observatory window. You might choose to place feeders outside the window so birds and other creatures will be close for easy observation and sketching in a nature journal or identifying in a field guide. Winter is also a good time for observing clouds and weather systems as you sit on the warm and cozy side of the window.

On not-so-cold days, one of our favorite winter walks is what we call a “detective walk” as we search for evidence of animals. Even though many animals may have migrated or are hibernating, January is still a great time to look for signs that they have been there. Without as many hiding places and the lack of color variation in the landscape, it’s not hard at all to find animal tracks, feathers, fur, scat, food litter, burrows, and old nests.

Appropriate for all ages and requiring no prep, a detective walk is a simple way to break up the monotony of mid-winter homeschooling days. Grab a blank notebook and pencil for each child (and parent) and head outdoors for some fresh air, a little exercise and a lot of science-related fun. Each person is to be on the hunt for as many signs of animals as possible. When animal evidence is found, note or draw it in the notebook. (If you find a burrow, don’t ever attempt to stick your hand or anything else in it!)

Upon returning home, everyone can compare notes over a cup of hot cocoa. Discuss the evidence and which animals you believe have been in the area. Do you think the animals are currently active, or do you think the evidence was left from previous seasons? A lively discussion is sure to ensue! Fun, productive, educational family time can’t be beat!

The NaturExplorers series offers several topics that are perfect for winter nature/science studies: Snow and Ice, Coping with the Cold, Constant Conifers, Beautiful Birds and Animal Signs. There’s also a new winter-themed study just for preschool and kindergarten students called Nature by the Season!

Cindy West is an eclectically Charlotte Mason mom of three who loves learning alongside her children. You can find her blogging at Our Journey Westward and find her nature study curriculum at Shining Dawn Books.

Need Supplies:

• Puff balls {aka pompoms}
• Circle magnets (you can buy these at craft store or at Walmart)
• Glue

Directions: Simply glue the magnets to the pompoms and dry overnight. Or, you can speed up the drying process by using a hot glue gun!

There are TONS of ways that your tot can use magnetic puff balls along with a magnetic cookie sheet, which I purchased from the Dollar Tree. Count them, sort them, use them as manipulatives…the ideas are endless!

Do-A-Dot Pages from Homeschool Creations:

Alphabet Pages from Making Learning Fun:

Grid Games from Mama Jenn:

Do-A-Dot pages from various Preschool Packs from Homeschool Creations:

Spelling BINGO from Mama Jenn:

Here are even more ideas/printables to use with your puff ball magnets:

• Number Pages from Making Learning Fun
• Mosaic Pages from Making Learning Fun
• Letter Magnet Pages from COAH’s Letter of the Week Curriculum
• Do-A-Dot Pages from Tot School

Jennifer is a happily married, Christian, homeschooling mama of five little ones (ages 7,5,5,3,3). Yes, two sets of twins! She has a BA degree in Mathematics and holds a masters degree in Education. A former high school math teacher, she now uses all her education to teach her own kids! In her “spare” time she enjoys scrap-booking, though blogging seems to be taking its place. She currently has five blogs. Mama Jenn is her main blog. Education Cubes features customizable learning blocks. The Homeschool Resource List is a collection of free online resources. The “Brown Like Me” Book Review showcases books featuring “brown” characters. The Living Math Book List is a collection of living math books.

Domino Christmas Ornaments – The Homeschool Classroom – If you’re looking for fun, simple Christmas projects for your kids, this post from The Homeschool Classroom, part of a series of posts, will get you started. These ornaments are so cute and will make the perfect addition to your tree or a simple homemade gift project for the kids to give to their grandparents, aunts, and uncles.

In Praise of Free Play – Blogging ‘Bout Boys – In a day and age where the expectation is that kids will be involved in organized, structured activities nearly every minute of every day, this post on Blogging ‘Bout Boys points out the benefits of unstructured free time.

Powerful Words – Raising Homemakers – This post by Jamie (See Jamie Blog) brought tears to my eyes. It’s an intensely powerful reminder of the weight of our words – whether positive or negative. Perhaps more often than we realize, those around us need to hear how much they mean to us.

Toni’s Biggest Homeschooling Mistake: Doubt – Simple Homeschool. It’s an ugly word that clouds every homeschooling parents’ thoughts from time to time. In this encouraging post, Toni cautions us not to doubt our abilities without first making an attempt at those things that strike fear in our hearts.

What Kneeling on a Department Store Floor Taught Me about Gratitude – Conversion Diary – I really appreciated this insightful (and, as usual, amusing) post that points out that gratitude isn’t exactly what we often assume it is.

Training Children to Overlook an Offense – The Better Mom – I only wish I’d read this article a few years ago. One of the scripture references (Proverbs 12:6) has already made its way into our scripture box for memorization.

Five Everyday Items for Toddler Learning – In a Nutshell – With supply costs ranging from free to really cheap, you’ll love these simple, but engaging activity ideas that will keep your toddlers productively occupied while you school your older children – or join your little one for some fun one-on-one time.

10 Days of Language Arts – Jimmie’s Collage – In case you missed it, Jimmie offered ten incredible language arts posts in the recent “10 Days” series. She has provided enough information to effectively design your own personalized language arts curriculum. Don’t miss this series!

50 Rules for Dads of Daughters – From Dates to Diapers – A must-read for dads of daughters.

30 Truths about Homeschooling – The Homeschool Classroom – This post, by yours truly, shares several truths that I’ve learned during my nine years of homeschooling. I hope you’ll be encouraged.

Kris Bales has been married to her incredible husband for 20 years. Together, they’re raising their three Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers, who range in age from 10 to 16. Kris is Christian, Southern, and sweet-tea-addicted. She enjoys reading, writing and photography. In addition to blogging about life as a homeschool mom, you can find her at Eclipsed where she chronicles her transformation from a morbidly obese couch potato to a runner in training for her first half-marathon.

Many of us have wrapped up our homeschooling for the year, beginning a Christmas break a little early. Perhaps you just have a few more days to go.

Whenever you decide to take a break, it can be a little bittersweet. The kids are free to do as they please (I know mine enjoy getting up in the morning without a set schedule to follow as soon as breakfast is done), but at times this can lead to something else: Boredom. Boredom is inevitable, especially when the holiday season is approaching and the days seem so very long to little ones.

(How many times have you already heard, “How many more days ’til Christmas, Mommy?” I know, in our home, this question begin popping up as soon as we entered the month of November!)

We have a Christmas countdown every year, and this helps to fill our days. This, too, can prove to be stressful and hectic if overdone. In the past I’ve had so many projects and crafts slated that we grow tired of activities way before the 25th rolls around! The past year or so, however, I’ve leaned down our activity calendar and focused on those activities we’ll truly enjoy. I’ve also not planned a set activity for every single day; many days’ surprise within the paper cones I’ve constructed is simply a fun Christmas joke or a piece of gum per child.

Whether you have a calendar to fill or just want some fuss-free activity ideas to fill the time, here are a few of the fun things we’ve done in years past and will be doing this year!

• Paint Christmas pictures with watercolors or tempera paints.
• Make a batch of homemade cinnamon rolls; eat half and surprise some friends with the other half.
• Find a drive-through or walk-through Nativity in your town and visit.
• Have a family board game night.
• Make holiday popcorn balls.
• Write a letter to a sponsored child, a soldier stationed overseas, or a grandparent. Be sure to decorate the envelope with stickers!
• Make a book about Christmas.
• Write a story from the perspective of one of Santa’s elves.
• Have a family movie night — watch a holiday movie, of course.
• Drive around to view Christmas lights; vote on your favorite spots.
• Make a snow scene indoors on a tray using shaving cream and action figures.
• Go star gazing; stars look so much brighter on a cold, clear night!
• Paint everyone’s toenails in Christmas colors and designs.
• Make peppermint cream to stir into coffee and hot chocolate.
• Do a jigsaw puzzle together; place it somewhere where it can be worked on the next day in case you don’t finish.
• Put on The Nutcracker CD and dance!
• Bake a birthday cake for Jesus!
• Make paper snowflakes; tape into windowpanes all over the house.

Meg Wilson is a devoted wife to her husband, Ken, of 10 years, and mom and homeschooling teacher to her 5-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter. When she’s not writing or creating something, Meg loves to cook for, host and entertain friends and family. She also enjoys reading, the outdoors, eclectic music, yoga, and studying history. You can read all about her adventures (and misadventures) at her blog, Muses of Megret and read her product reviews at Electric City Academy.

Most kids count down the days each year until they are able to go on holiday break. But time away from school means that kids will need other activities to keep them occupied. There are a number of ways to keep kids engaged, though, especially during the holiday season.

Volunteer

Certainly one great way to keep kids engaged during their time off from school is to get them involved in volunteering to help out those in need. In fact, showing kids the value of volunteering can instill in them a positive sense of service that will likely stay with them throughout their lives.

For some ways to show kids just how much of an impact volunteering makes, you could have them go with a group to deliver donated items to needy families, or to help out serving food at a local shelter for the poor.

Feed Animals in Need

People aren’t the only ones who may need a hand – especially when the weather turns cold. When the ground turns hard and ponds ice over, it becomes much more difficult for animals to obtain food and water.

Some ways to help out here include leaving treats out for wildlife in the area, making sure that bird feeders are filled with food, and keeping sources of water available. One fun twist to engage kids even more is to have them decorate an outdoor tree with edible treats for the animals.

Engage in Some Holiday Reading

The holidays are a time of reflection – and what better way to do that than to catch up on reading some great holiday classics like The Night Before Christmas or The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. To really keep kids engaged, have each child read a portion of the book out loud to other family members. This is sure to keep everyone involved.

Learn to Bake

The holidays are also a time of eating – so, coupled with that comes baking. For years, parents have kept their children engaged in the holiday spirit by teaching them how to make Christmas cookies and other tasty goodies. This not only is a great way to take part in a fun activity, but it will also help to create some wonderful family memories.

Decorate

Holiday decorations are a staple of the season, and many kids will enjoy putting up lights and doing other types of holiday decorating. Having kids create their own decorations will keep them even more engaged, as they will need to use some of their own creativity when deciding what to make and how to create it.

Creating a Family Tree

Creating a “family tree” is an excellent way to get kids engaged in the season that will also strengthen family bonds. One way to do this is to have kids pick out a number of family pictures to photocopy and then create ornaments with.

This can be done by attaching the photos to felt or other materials and then even putting glitter or other decorative accents around them. When complete, you will have custom made ornaments for the family to hang on the tree – truly making it a one-of-a-kind family tree.

Written by guest author Sandra Harris