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Since National Fossil Day is coming up, you can make dinosaurs apart of your learning in many ways. Here are a few of my favorite learning activities:
Another great thing you can do is to have your child write the definition of a fossil down in their writing notebook. According to BrainPop Jr., "A fossil is something left from a living thing that lived long ago that has turned into rock. Many fossils are plants and animals that are extinct, which means they're no longer living and none of its kind is left on Earth. In this movie, you'll explore different fossils, from plant imprints to dinosaur bones! You'll learn about fossilized nests, insects, footprints, and more! You'll find out how fossils form over thousands of years. Watch the movie to learn how scientists and paleontologists study fossils to learn about extinct plants and animals." Read this aloud and have your student write it down. Make Your Own Fossil
Collect a few things to like leaves, pine needles, shells, even bones. Afterwards, make a bowl shape out of foil. Fill the foil bowl half way with plaster and press your items into the wet plaster. Wait 30 minutes until the plaster is almost dry and remove the objects gently.
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 Teaching physical science can be pretty tricky for the kid who asks soooo many questions. I have one of those kids. She wants to know when rainbows first came into existence and how to heck does gravity ACTUALLY work. The textbook just doesn't do it for her.
Because she is a kinesthetic and visual learner, I have to provide experiments that teach her the properties and principles of everything. I'm okay with that; it just requires more prep work than the auditory kid...or the kid (me!) who writes everything down and remembers it forever. Currently, we are doing physical science in our first grade curriciulum. Last week, we learned about solids, liquids, and gases, and because the concepts were so simple, an experiment wasn't required...well, almost not required...we did do a Sink and Float experiment, but that was just because it's fun. Science is fun. This week, we are talking about light. And I just know that when she wakes up, she's going to want to know how light works. What is refraction? How does light bend? How can light through water make rainbows? Oh goodness, it's going to be a long week of exploration, that's for sure. To be on the ready, I've planned a few experiments for the week to help her understand light as best as possible at the ripe age of six. I've laid them out in question form, so you can use them based on your child's questions...hope it helps! Since we are talking about light this week, I want to provide this easy-to-understand video about light. You can also check out my lessons for the week and the light experiments that we are doing.  My daughter was sick this week, which means we only did reading and skipped formal lessons. Sometimes it happens, but she's feeling better. Next week, we will be back on track! Anyways, I had some time to make some great anatomy resources that would be to use if you are working through anatomy during this quarter. I've included images, a downloadable worksheet and a few powerpoint presentations.  
 One of the major goals that I have this year for homeschooling is to significantly increase my child's vocabulary. We talk and read a lot and she is whipping through literature books like crazy, but to increase her science vocabulary, I bought these books.
Each book touches on a different subject and presents the new terminology in an exciting way: kids actually learn things that they are interested in! The first book that we began reading was "Learning About Trees" and in our reading of the book, I made several projects to correspond with the new vocabulary words. For example, when we touched on the parts of the tree, we used construction paper to "build" trees on the living room wall. The result was a forest of different trees taped on the wall for weeks. And the best part was that we started the project in the fall with all colored leaves. As it is got closer to winter, we began removing the leaves, which led to a conversation about seasons and a tree's life cycle, all of which worked well with the vocab book. You should give it a try! If your child is an interactive learner like my child is, then using these vocabuary books to launch science projects will make learning super fun for both kids and parents. **You don't have to be homeschooling your child to use these books. Kids want to learn with their parents after school too. Make learning projects a fun hobby for you and your kids. Here are some other ideas to use with these books: For Insects:
For Animals:
For Plants:
 The summertime is a great time to work on the solar system. Since we don't stop learning in the summer, I always like to pick something that is super fun and can be done from anywhere. Learning about the sky is just the thing.
Not only are the skies clearer, but the night air is warmer, making it a fun study for the whole family. Below are some resources for you to teach your kid(s) about the solar system. |
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