ARCTIC UNIT STUDY

This week K requested that our Unit be on Arctic Animals. This stemmed from the week before when we did our Bear Unit Study and learned a bit about polar bears. 

The following was a great treasure hunt type activity that K loved doing!

I printed off the cards and I randomly placed them around the room. Then I had K take the recording worksheet with him around the room to find the numbered cards & write the name of the animal on the worksheet. He loves this kind of treasure hunt game!  

I ended up changing fox to Arctic fox, bear to polar bear and whale to Orca whale just to give him a little more writing.

It was a big hit with him and even Little M loved the picture cards and played with them!

 

 

Here are some pictures if them working with this activity:

This was another great freebie I found while searching for activities called Artic Odd & Even.   I skipped doing this activity with K because he is a little advanced in math but it would be great for grade 1 math/for review.

 

K used this penguin themed writing paper to make his Santa Letter. Unfortunately I forgot to snap some pictures of this but it turned out really cute with this paper:

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/christmas-penguin-writing-paper

 

I found this awesome Arctic Word Sort freebie as well and it was a hit too!

K sorted the words into columns based on it's number of syllables. Here he is clapping out syllables.

 

This  Arctic fox mini packet was a great addition to our unit as well.

 

We used information from the following site to fill in these pages:

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/photos/arctic-animals/#/arctic-fox-springfall-ngk1108-ca03_14249_600x450.jpg

Here are some videos we ended up watching to help us learn about Arctic animals:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=749mFttlSuE

http://discoverandlearn.blogspot.ca/2010/01/animals-in-winter.html

A polar bear stalking a seal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0DCOTaZgtA

Orcas swimming in the water

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnNv2VsKPgc

 

This is a really adorable Walrus craft that we didn't get around to making yet....but we will because it is so cute & when we do I will post some pictures!

 

Here are a couple of really great sensory bin ideas. I have the ice in the freezer getting ready to try this great sensory bin from http://crayonboxchronicles.com/

 

 

and this one looks like so much fun too!

 Pictures of the kids with the sensory bins are still to come. I hope you have as much fun with this unit study as we have!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Animal Classification lapbook/notebooking pages FREEBIE!

 

I am offering my ANIMAL LAPBOOK/NOTEBOOKING PAGES  up as a freebie right now!

 

All I ask is that you please leave me some feedback in my TPT store after downloading. I REALLY appreciate it :) 

 

There will be more freebies to come & thanks so much for your support!

Another great freebie!

I come across so many FREEBIES when I am searching the net for homeschooling stuff!  I like to try & post freebies whenever I find them because I love to share ;)

I hope you find this great pack to be useful. I can't wait to use it with K!

STUPENDOUS STORY ELEMENTS
Grab this 34 page FREE packet to use when teaching story elements (character, setting, problem and solution). Recommended for grades 1-4.

Counting Candy Fun!

Yesterday we had a blast counting Halloween candy. K used this counting candy sheet that I made for him to fill in & it was a great review of math for him.

I added (at his request!) a column for him to Estimate how much candy of each kind he thought there was & then he counted & wrote down the actual amount.

Teaching a child with ADHD is such a struggle sometimes :S so when we are able to find a learning activity that is and doesn't lead to a meltdown of some sort (something we are experiencing all too often around here unfortunately!)  It is a winning activity in my books!

You can download the sheet for free here:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/COUNTING-CANDY-SHEET-873102

Please leave me feedback & let me know how you liked it!

28 FUN WAYS TO PRACTICE SPELLING WORDS! Our Spellling Activity Pack

I created a Spelling Activity Pack last week for K to start using with his spelling words. It is a really great pack and we have been having lots of fun with the activities!

Here is a picture of us playing a game of Spelling Tic Tac Toe!

If you want to see more about the pack it is here in my TPT shop:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Spelling-Activity-Pack-925853

There are 18 different fun printable activities for kids to practice their spelling words. I have also included 10 extra hands-on activity ideas for kids to use! to practice.

I have made the activities with room for up to 6 spelling words.
For K I printed the pack out & put it into a duo-tang and then I have K pick out 1 activity at a time. The plan is to do a spelling activity 2-3 days per week and then try to fit a spelling test in at some point during the week as well.

This free printable is also in K's booklet and it is the 1st set of spelling words we used. K really loves using these dabbing sheets!

Here are some more pictures of K & I playing Spelling word Tic Tac Toe. We had so much fun with this game!

Here he is doing the word scramble sheet:

 

This is 1 of the 2 pages with extra "hands-on" activities that we often use to review our spelling words from the week.

I hope you will check out our Spelling Activity Pack. I know you won't be disappointed!

 

Animal Classification/Notebooking pages

I made this printable pack for K because we have been reading a lot about animals lately.

 

 

He had a lot of fun with it!

It is available for download here:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/ANIMAL-CLASSIFICATION-LAPBOOKNOTEBOOKING-PAGES-916995

 

Here are the boys working on it together :)

 

Using "mom bucks" with our daily homeschooling checklist

I posted a checklist a few days ago that I have been using with K. You can find it here:

http://anniesadventuresinhomeschooling.blogspot.ca/2013/09/our-daily-checklist.html

I just wanted to update that things have been going really well with it & it has been a huge motivator for K to get things done in his homeschool day. It is so nice to find something that works!!

He is so excited to check things off the list at the end of the day so that he can collect his "mom bucks"!  He has even been asking me if he can do some things on the weekend so that he can collect more ;)

Here are some pictures I took of our "mom bucks" & of our prize bin.

I hope this post inspires you!

FREE EDUCATIONAL WEBSITES

If you are looking for some fun FREE educational sites for the kids to use feel free to check back often as I will be adding to the list.
There are some great sites out there. Sometimes they can be hard to keep track of/find so I am making things easy for you & I both by listing them here :)


This site is great because you can choose the grade & subject level. It has a wide variety of fun games to play
http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/games/

This site is the site that I have started both my kids on as toddlers because it is easy for them to use & they love it.
As toddlers they loved watching & listening to the songs. They also LOVE the games!
http://boowakwala.uptoten.com/kids/boowakwala-home.html

This site has some great games.
www.pbskids.org

This site is also great for little ones learning to use the computer. It teaches little ones the alphabet through song. It has some great games as well & stories for kids to read (or have read to them).
www.starfall.com

This site has some really neat games and it is divided by grade level & the games are lots of fun.
My sons favorite is sight word bingo playing against others online...pretty cool!
http://www.abcya.com/

This site is great for playing online math games. Lots of variety here & varied ages.
www.coolmath.com

This site is not a gaming site but it has been really great for practising math!
www.xtramath.com


This site is great for kids grade 4+.  It has games that promote critical thinking like engineering, performing surgery, simple machines etc.
http://www.edheads.org/

This site is a favourite of ours! My 12 year old step son still loves it & has been playing it since he was 9 yrs. old. My son who is 6 loves it as well.
The website has made a recent change that you no longer need to have a code (obtained when you buy a stuffed animal) so you are now able to play on the site for free!
The games are so much fun that even I enjoy them! I also love that they are taking care of pets & learning about $ with Kinzcash.
www.webkinz.com

This site is really cool!  We are still checking the site out as it is really new to us but so far we really like what we see. In addition to fun games there are also "live cams"  so you are able to watch animals. The kids think this is great!

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/games/

This site is fairly new to us as well. There are games, mad libs, online stories to read. This site seems really cool & we plan to do a lot more explore on it :)

http://www.funbrain.com/

This site is really cool! My son is very visual so this site is right up his alley! You are able to choose pictures on the site (great quality BTW) & create stories to share with friends & family via email or Facebook.
My son is thrilled by this!
 www.storybird.com


If you have any fun & educational free websites that you think should be added to the list please feel free to let me know in the comments section!

Our Daily Checklist

We have started using a Daily Checklist to help keep us on task & so far it has been working really well!

I know all kids are different...for K I have found that he really thrives on things being "the same".  This sometimes drives me a little crazy because I am not a very good planner...but I have been really making an effort to take every Sunday to plan ahead for my homeschooling & daycare week because things run a lot smoother when you have a plan!

K & I decided today that we would also incorporate an incentive to make the checklist fun! We are going to total his checks up at the end of the day & give him "mom bucks". This way when he collects enough "mom bucks" he can shop at the "mom store" (A Rubbermaid I have that will soon be stocked up with a few items like new markers, books, treats, small toys, puzzles etc.)

Here are some pictures of the prize bin & "mom bucks":
http://anniesadventuresinhomeschooling.blogspot.ca/2013/10/using-mom-bucks-with-our-daily.html

We also decided today that we will declare every Friday "Fun Friday".  We will still be homeschooling Fridays of course but we will try to incorporate as many games & fun activities as possible to make the day more fun (this is more for me because sometimes I tend to be way too serious ;)

This checklist is separate from our "chore list". Our chore list is a calendar with items listed for them to complete (2 chores) everyday. For these chores they collect .25 cents per chore they finish.

This list is meant as an extra incentive for school work completed.

Here is our checklist:

Feel free to download it here for FREE if you are interested:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/HOMESCHOOLING-DAILY-CHECKLIST-900452

ETA:  If you want to see our actual list filled in it is included in the download. I uploaded both a blank copy and a filled in copy in the download :)

Also, we now use this with my 12 yr. old step son as well!  We have been struggling lately with him helping out with his siblings & playing the "big brother" role...this list has been great encouragement & motivation for him.
His list has the following on it:

Brush teeth in the AM
Brush teeth before bed
Read with your sister
Read with your brother
Help your brother with homework
Play a game with your brother (board/learning game)
Finish homework
Feed the geckos

CANDY CORN FILE FOLDER MATH GAME

I made K a file folder math game this weekend because we have been practicing our addition facts. He LOVES it!!

It is so simple.....all you need is the download, a file folder,  glue, a die and anything you wish to use as player pieces (we used a gem & a squinky!)

Here is the look on his face when he got 8+8 :)  He got stumped on this one!!

  

Here he is excited he got the answer right. This game is a real confidence booster and tons of fun!

 



 

His job was also to "check" my answers to make sure I was answering them correctly. He caught me once making a mistake! :)

 

Here is what our game looked like at the end. He totally beat me! 

The duration of the whole game was about 15- 20 mins.  Perfect amount of time for my sons attention span.

 

 



 

I taped a plastic sandwich bag to the back of the file folder to put the cards & pieces in.

 

If you are interested in downloading this game it is here:
 

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/CANDY-CORN-FILE-FOLDER-MATH-GAME-886548