Baby Whales Drink Milk (Part of the FREE Science Curriculum Series)

The next book we will be using in the FREE science curriculum series is.
 This book explains the characteristics of mammals using vocabulary that is easy for young students to understand. After reading the book you can take your child through this interactive PowerPoint presentation about mammals.

After learning about what classifies animals as mammals, students can do this mammal sort activity. You may need to read the words to your children and have them paste them in the correct box. An alternative would be to draw, print out, or cut from magazines pictures of animals for non-readers to sort.

You may want to download these animal posters and display the mammal poster this week.

You may also want to watch the BBC Earth series The Life of Mammals available to watch on Netflix.

Younger students can use this worksheet to circle the animals that are mammals. Older students can also fill in the missing letters of the animal names.

Math Tie-Ins:
Children can use this adorable whale number match to practice numbers 1-10.
Older students can also play this whale odd and even number sorting game.

Websites to Explore:
All About Mammals
Mammals
Mammals (San Diego Zoo)
Mammals (Easy Science for Kids)
Mammals (NeoK12)

FREE Science Curriculum for Preschool and Kindergarten Using "Let's Read and Find Out Science"

I have collected a bunch of the Let's Read and Find Out Science books from thrift stores. Stage 1 is geared for 3-6 year olds. This post begins a new series in which I am putting together a simple science curriculum for preschool and Kindergarten age students using these books and free resources on the web. You should be able to find these books at your local library, so you shouldn't have to spend a penny to use this curriculum.


To start, we will begin with the book . This book is written very simply to explain senses to young children. Use these ideas however you wish. I believe science for preschool and Kindergarten kids should be about having fun and exploring the world around them. My basic plan is to focus on one book/topic each week and do activities and experiments throughout the week.

You can print out these fun posters to refer to throughout the week.

Kids Health has a great lesson plan on senses. You can find it under the Prek-2nd grade section under human body. It includes all printables, answer keys, and lesson plans. It has a few different simple experiments to do as well.

This 5 Senses Popcorn Investigation is sure to be a delicious hit! While you pop some popcorn have your children describe what they are hearing and smelling and write the adjectives on the popcorn printouts (or have older children write themselves). After the popcorn is finished popping have your children describe what they see, feel, and taste and again write the adjectives on the popcorn.

Here is a cute apple alternative that includes printable mini posters.


There are many videos on YouTube related to the 5 senses. A few are:

Direct Link

Direct Link (Part 1)

Direct Link Part 2

Don't Forget Your Purpose

Today we didn't even begin school until 4 (in the afternoon!). We were busy today with appointments and music lessons and just simply didn't get to it until then. I sat down to do English with my daughter. I looked over my spreadsheet and thought about how we had x amount of lessons to do in y amount of time, and the numbers just didn't add up. We were...BEHIND. I began paging through the upcoming lessons and in doing so realized my daughter already knew this information. That's the great thing about being a teacher (whether in the home, or a traditional one)...you know where your kids are. So, I pulled out the last unit test and had her do it. She aced it. I closed the book and gave her a high five and said, "You're done with English kiddo. Go play".

I began thinking about my reasoning for teaching her and chosing this particular curriculum. Wasn't the purpose for her to learn the information? She learned it. So why did I feel the need to ensure we went through every single lesson on every single page just to say that we completed it? I know better. But, in the trenches of homeschooling I forgot my own purpose. My purpose is not to check off every lesson just to say we did. Your purpose may be different than mine. In fact, I have a different purpose for most everything I do. However, I know for sure my purpose is not to check off boxes. Don't forget your purpose.

First Americans & Leif Eriksson

The First Americans:

 Read here and here about the first Americans.

Students can do some research on the Aztec, Inca, and Maya civilizations and fill out this chart. You can use this PowerPoint presentation to help.

Younger students might enjoy these Aztec, Inca, and Maya vocabulary cards.

Throughout units 1 and 2 you may want to further your study on Native Americans. If you choose to do so, here is a link to get you started. Another great resource is the Library of Congress website.

Leif Eriksson (Note: His name is often spelled many ways):

Watch these videos about Leif Eriksson (Note: beginning in lesson 3 I post the video directly to the page but I also link to it in case you want to save it as a favorite in your youtube account or watch it full screen. I may come back to the first 2 lessons and add those links later):

History Song: Leif Eriksson

Leif Eriksson: The First European in North America

Leif Eriksson (History Channel, Part 1)

Leif Eriksson (History Channel, Part 2)

Leif Eriksson (History Channel, Part 3)

Visit these websites to learn more about Leif Eriksson:

Social Studies for Kids Leif Ericson

Leif Eriksson Biography

Leif Ericson Facts

Leif Eriksson

The Viking Voyages

Write some things you learned on this free notebooking page. You may also want to review this PowerPoint about Explorers.

Extras:

Draw a Viking ship! Watch the videos below.

How to Draw a Viking Longship

How to Draw a Viking Ship

• How to Draw a Viking Ship Worksheet

• Watch Veggie Tales: Lyle the Kindly Viking (available on Amazon instant video free for prime members) and compare and contrast the portrayal of the Vikings and their ships with what you have learned. Note: This was available at the time I made this, but looks like as of 10/7/16 it's not free, but I'm going to keep it linked just in case it becomes free again.

• Power Point  (must have permission to view this-please contact me)

Homeschooling with Multiple Children

So how do these moms with multiple children schedule their days? I have asked myself that all year! What I ran into this past year was that all my kids need me for almost all their lessons, at least for the teaching portion. I can only work with 1 kid at a time. Many families with multiple children try to combine subjects like science and history with multiple children, but that simply doesn't work for us. 

I created our schedule for next year, but keep in mind that we never actually stick to an exact schedule. However, I find having a schedule at least keeps me on track so I can visually see what I need to do next with whom, even if it isn't at the exact specified time in our schedule. It also helps the kids know when they "get" me and what they need to work on next. You will notice only one asterik in each time slot. That designates the kid that I will be working with one on one. I had to be careful in my planning to ensure I could make this work. We have no school planned on Thursday because it's our full co-op day from 9-3.

We are also not early birds. Starting before 9 is basically torture for us all. On our fullest days we only do school from 9-3, with a lunch break thrown in. 

H is 7th grade, T 4th, and E K/1st (technically K, but did a K program last year, so working on 1st this year). 

Monday:

 We have a gymnastics co-op class at 2 on Monday's, so I had to make sure we were finished with our school day by 1:30.

 Tuesday:

 Tuesday's I am teaching a co-op class at 12:45 and so Tuesday's are just the basics.

Wednesday:

Wednesday's are a normal, full day.

Friday:

I have planned for us to be done by 1 on Friday's, which leaves 1-3 open for catching up on any work we missed during the week and going over math with the older girls (since they will be working on math mostly on their own). If we happen to be completely caught up for the week then we can just do whatever we want! This past year I found that leaving some open time to "catch up" was really helpful so that it wasn't completely detrimental if someone didn't finish something throughout the week (or we took an impromptu trip to the library or play date or something of that nature).

So what is Little K doing during all this? Well, she just is there in the mix with us all. She will sit on the couch and listen to the girls read. She will play with her magnetic letters while the girls do their spelling lessons. She will color a picture when we are working at the table. She will play with puzzles and toys. She will watch some Daniel Tiger. She will make a mess. She will just be 3. I have preschool workbooks available for her if she so desires, but I don't plan them in and I don't make her do them. Her job is to learn through playing. She also learns just from listening to her sisters. It's amazing how much she picks up just from being in the mix.

My biggest tip for homeschooling multiple children is to simply be flexible. Don't let a self-imposed schedule control your life. Have some fun and enjoy the journey.