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Tina Robertson

11 Best Science Fiction Books For Middle Schoolers

December 29, 2023 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Are you looking for the best science fiction books for middle schoolers? Also, you’ll love my pages How to Successfully Homeschool Middle School and Science Fiction for Middle School Fun Jurassic Park Quick Unit Study (DIY Insect in Amber) to round out your day.

Science fiction books encourage reading and are also great options for reading aloud.

Too, they are great for encouraging imagination and curiosity in the reader.

11 Best Science Fiction Books For Middle Schoolers

It also opens the door for discussions on the benefits and drawbacks of futuristic ideals of society, technology, and sciences.

Besides that, it is just fun sometimes to step away from reality and wonder what if in the form of an entertaining story.

What exactly is the difference between science fiction and fantasy?

Simply put, science fiction is based on reality. It has exaggerations and possibilities of what could be and is set in futuristic times.

Living in space, time travel, and dystopian societies are often the main plot and settings of Science Fiction

Fantasy is rooted in the impossible but fantastic possibilities.

And is often based on an equivalent time in past human history.

More Middle School Resources

  • Free Middle School Science Curriculum and Magazines
  • 11 Best Science Fiction Books For Middle Schoolers
  • How to Choose the BEST Homeschool Middle and High School Language Arts Curriculum & Options
  • 10 Best Science Movies for Middle School
  • The Best Eighth Grade Homeschool Curriculum | Tips and Recommendations

If you have a middle schooler who loves fantasy or a reluctant reader who might be drawn into reading fantasy, I have a list with a variety of classic and newer science fiction books to choose from.

11 Best Science Fiction Books For Middle Schoolers

Besides January 1st is National Science Fiction Day.

So, I thought it was a great time to share my top 11 best science fiction books for middle schoolers.

Common Sense Media is a great place for you to check reviews and get a little more detail on the themes and language in books; choose for yourself what is appropriate and what is not for your family.

SCIENCE FICTION CRAFTS

  • How to Make a Time Travel Craft Inspired by The Time Machine Book

Best Science Fiction Books For Middle Schoolers

11 Science Fiction Books for Middle School

Your kids will love reading one or two of these science fiction books or them to add to your unit study.

The Wild Robot (Volume 1)

This newer addition to sci-fi is an absolute delight and is part of a series of 3 books following robot Roz as she navigates her accidental life on a wild remote island. We adored this first selection as a read-aloud. 

The War of the Worlds

So begins The War of the Worlds, the science fiction classic that first proposed the possibility of intelligent life on other planets and has enthralled readers for generations. This compelling tale describes the Martian invasion of earth. When huge, tireless creatures land in England, complete chaos erupts. Using their fiery heat rays and crushing strength, the aliens just may succeed in silencing all opposition. Is life on earth doomed? Will mankind survive? A timeless view of a universe turned upside down, The War of the Worlds is an ingenious and imaginative look into the possibilities of the future and the secrets yet to be revealed.

Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: Force Collector

This is probably one of the best book versions of Star Wars ( in the opinion of a teen fan) but it is not based on familiar characters in the Star Wars universe rather it is a new storyline and new characters in familiar locations. This is a stand-alone story with no sequels as of now

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Illustrated Edition

It’s an ordinary Thursday morning for Arthur Dent . . . until his house gets demolished. The Earth follows shortly after to make way for a new hyperspace express route, and Arthur’s best friend has just announced that he’s an alien.After that, things get much, much worse.With just a towel, a small yellow fish, and a book, Arthur has to navigate through a very hostile universe in the company of a gang of unreliable aliens. Luckily the fish is quite good at languages. And the book is The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy . . . which helpfully has the words DON’T PANIC inscribed in large, friendly letters on its cover.Douglas Adams’s mega-selling pop-culture classic sends logic into orbit, plays havoc with both time and physics, offers up pithy commentary on such things as ballpoint pens, potted plants, and digital watches . . . and, most important, reveals the ultimate answer to life, the universe, and everything.

The Time Machine

Embark on an extraordinary time-travel adventure with H.G. Wells. Explore fascinating future worlds and dystopian societies. Witness the implications of human evolution and societal decay. Engage with thought-provoking questions about the nature of humanity. Experience the brilliance of H.G. Wells’ visionary storytelling.

The City of Ember Deluxe Edition: The First Book of Ember

The city of Ember was built as a last refuge for the human race. After two hundred years the great lamps that lights the city are beginning to flicker, and two friends fight together to save the city in this first of 4 in the series. It is listed as recommended for grades 3-7 but it really is an enjoyable story for even older grades.

Last Day on Mars (Chronicle of the Dark Star, 1)

This part 1 of a 3-part series has stunning visual imagery and impossible situations like life on the red planet, when even that is threatened the few humans left must travel to yet another home on a distant star unlocking mysteries about time and space,

Ender's Game (The Ender Saga, 1)

This is the first of Orson Scott Card's Cards Ender's Saga, to date there are 5 novels and one novella in the Ender series based on the government breeding child geniuses and training them as soldiers against alien attack.

The Hunger Games

Even if They have already seen the movies I highly recommend assigning your middle schooler this series. It gives a lot of material for discussions of moral choices, allegiance to your government at all costs, friendships, how a future like this could come to be, and more

Divergent (Divergent Series, 1)

Similar to Hunger Games this is the first in a 4 part series of a dystopian world where everyone is split up into 5 factions—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent) splitting families and friends and pitting them against one another.

Ready Player One

If you have a teen who loves gaming and the 80s along with science fiction they are really going to enjoy this one that is set in 204 but filled with pop culture references from that totally awesome decade

Leave a CommentFiled Under: Reading Lists Tagged With: book lists, books, reading, science, science fiction

How to Make a Kid’s Paper Bag Native American Vest

December 28, 2023 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

If you want to know how to make a kid’s paper bag Native American vest, you’ll love this fun craft. Also, you’ll love my page Native Americans The Plains Indians Unit Study & Lapbook.

Plains Indians are made up of many tribes.

For example, they are the Arapaho, Assiniboine, Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Comanche, Crow, Gros Ventre, Kiowa, Lakota, Lipan, Plains Apache (or Kiowa Apache).

Also, the Plains Cree, Plains Ojibwe, Sarsi, Nakoda (Stoney), and Tonkawa tribes.

How to Make a Kid's Paper Bag Native American Vest

These tribes made their homes among the grasslands between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains.

Too, they made homes in the modern-day provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan in Canada down through the present-day state of Texas in the United States.

As development and colonies continued to push to the west around the 19th century many plains Indians adopted some of their style of dress, like vests.

But early on vests were made with Native American traditional buckskin and lots of seed beading for decoration.

Before we make a simple paper bag native American vest to wear ourselves, complete with faux beading, learn more.

Let’s learn about the Great Plains Indians and how the detail in their beadwork evolved throughout their history.

Children’s Books about Native Americans

First, you’ll love to add some of these living books to your list to read about Native Americans.

16 Books About Native Americans

You’ll love these books about various Native American tribes and how they lived and their rich history.

The Winter People

Saxso is fourteen when the British attack his village. It’s 1759, and war is raging in the northeast between the British and the French, with the Abenaki people Saxso’s people by their side. Without enough warriors
to defend their homes, Saxso’s village is burned to the ground. Many people are killed, but some, including Saxso’s mother and two sisters, are taken hostage. Now it’s up to Saxso, on his own, to track the raiders and bring his family back home . . . before it’s too late.

In Their Own Words: Sitting Bull

In Their Own Words: Sitting Bull tells the exciting story of Sitting Bull's life using real drawings, letters, and speeches from him and from his friends and family.A warrior I have been. / Now, it is all over. / A hard time I have.With these words, Sitting Bull surrendered to the U.S. government on July 20, 1881. Sitting Bull spent most of his life trying to protect his people. A proud father and brave warrior, Sitting Bull wanted the Lakota Sioux to continue hunting buffalo and roaming the Plains. Although he lost this battle, Sitting Bull is remembered for his brave actions and notable accomplishments.

Blackfeet Indian Stories

Here are the great stories of the Blackfeet, recorded by the famous conservationist and ethnologist, George Bird Grinnell, who became a tribal member in 1885. The Nizitapi, or Real People, as they call each other, were people of the buffalo. They originated on the plains of today’s southern Alberta, western Saskatchewan, and central Montana. Famed frontier artist George Catlin called the Blackfeet “the most
powerful tribe of Indians on the continent.” Like many native people, the Blackfeet have stories and legends that originated centuries ago, perhaps thousands of years ago, and were passed down from generation to generation through an oral tradition.

The Double Life of Pocahontas

In a story that is as gripping as it is historical, Newbery Honor-winning author Jean Fritz reveals the true life of Pocahontas. Though at first permitted to move freely between the Indian and the white worlds, Pocahontas was eventually torn between her new life and the culture that shaped her.

The Buffalo and the Indians: A Shared Destiny

Countless herds of majestic buffalo once roamed across the plains and prairies of North America. For at least 10,000 years, the native people hunted the buffalo and depended upon its meat and hide for their survival. But to the Indians, the buffalo was also considered sacred. They saw this abundant, powerful animal as another tribe, one that was closely related to them, and they treated it with great respect and admiration.

Hidden Roots

"Hidden Roots" focuses on the greater impact that the generations of Abenaki that followed had to deal with. Readers will learn about the loss of identity, history and culture;lack ofself worth and fear that Abenaki people were feeling, and still feel today. Middle grade readers love to see life as "being fair", and will totally understand that life is not fair in this story. This is a book that should be read in every middle school class, so that this history will not be forgotten, and never be repeated.

Children of the Longhouse

When Ohkwa'ri overhears a group of older boys planning a raid on a neighboring village, he immediately tells his Mohawk elders. He has done the right thing—but he has also made enemies. Grabber and his friends will do anything they can to hurt him, especially during the village-wide game of Tekwaarathon (lacrosse). Ohkwa'ri believes in the path of peace, but can peaceful ways work against Grabber's wrath?

Thunder Rolling in the Mountains

Through the eyes of a brave and in­dependent young woman, Scott O'Dell tells of the tragic defeat of the Nez Perce, a classic tale of cruelty, betrayal, and heroism.

This powerful account of the tragic defeat of the Nez Perce Indians in 1877 by the United States Army is narrated by Chief Joseph's strong and brave daughter.

When Sound of Running Feet first sees white settlers on Nez Perce land, she vows to fight them. She'll fight all the people trying to steal her people's land and to force them onto a reservation, includ­ing the soldiers with their guns.

But if to fight means only to die, never win, is the fight worth it? When will the killing stop?

Black Hawk

Before dying, Pyesa, Black Hawk’s father and chief of his people, commanded his son to defend their land from whites, who were trying to force the tribe off their land. Black Hawk, however, has no taste for killing and scalping and goes through great internal conflict. The story of this great-hearted leader shows how some whites and Native Americans were peaceful and kind, while others were not. Based on true events, this powerful book teaches about a difficult time period and shares profound, unique messages about love, faith, mercy, humility, friendship, forgiveness, and faith. Recommended for ages 13-18/Grade 7-12

Moccasin Trail (Puffin Newbery Library)

Jim Keath has lived for six years as a Crow Indian when he learns that his two younger brothers and a sister are journeying west to take up land. Although Jim finds it difficult to fit in with the family he hasn’t seen since childhood, and though they are wary and distrustful of him, Jim feels his duty is at their side. But slowly, as they survive the dangerous trek west, the perils of frontier life, and the kidnapping of their younger brother, Jim and his family realize that the only way to survive is to accept each other and truly reunite the family.

The Pueblo Indians,: Farmers of the Rio Grande

Young hawk lived over 400 years ago, but the civilization of the pueblo indians, already well advanced before any white settlers came into their land, has changed very little since his day.

Sacajawea

Captured by her enemies, married to a foreigner, and a mother at age sixteen, Sacajawea lived a life of turmoil and change. Then, in 1804, the mysterious young Shoshone woman met Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Acting as interpreter, peacemaker, and guide, Sacajawea bravely embarked on an epic journey that altered history forever. Hear her extraordinary story, in the voices of Sacajawea and William Clark in alternating chapters, with selections from Clark’s original diaries.

The Birchbark House (Birchbark House, 1)

She was named Omakakiins, or Little Frog, because her first step was a hop.

Omakakiins and her family live on an island in Lake Superior. Though there are growing numbers of white people encroaching on their land, life continues much as it always has.

But the satisfying rhythms of their life are shattered when a visitor comes to their lodge one winter night, bringing with him an invisible enemy that will change things forever—but that will eventually lead Omakakiins to discover her calling.

Naya Nuki: Shoshoni Girl Who Ran (Amazing Indian Children Series)

After being taken prisoner by an enemy tribe, a Shoshoni girl escapes and makes a thousand-mile journey through the wilderness to find her own people

Squanto, Friend Of The Pilgrims

Tells of the adventurous life of the Wampanoag Indian,Squanto.

Plains Indians (First Nations of North America)

This title teaches readers about the first people to live in the Plains region of North America. It discusses their culture, customs, ways of life, interactions with other settlers, and their lives today.

Great Plains Indian Beadwork

Next, learn about some of the beadwork by tribes on the Great Plains.

Plains Indian men typically wore shirts, loincloths, hip leggings, and bison robes.

While the women wore two-piece dresses, leggings, and bison robes.

Moccasins were typical footwear for both men and women.

Beading was very important and early on beadwork consisted of a very simple design using large beads in a couple of colors.

It was most prominent among the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes.

Great plains Indians lived a nomadic life, which meant that they needed to be able to move the entire village at a moment’s notice.

They would escape enemies and the government as well as follow wild game around.

So they focused on putting their artwork on items that were carried around easily with them- utensils, tipi, and of course on their clothing.

When the Great Plains tribes were conquered by the American Army, during the “reservation period” they no longer lived a nomad life.

And their beadwork became more advanced and detailed.

How to Make a Kid's Paper Bag Native American Vest

Through barter, they acquired steel needles, commercially tanned hides, cotton thread, even looms, and a wider variety of beads which led to the beadwork evolving into more elaborate designs.

Also, look at more Native American activities.

Native American Crafts and Resources

  • How to Make A Spin Drum | 10 Native American Crafts for Kids
  • 13 Easy Native American Crafts for Kids & Make a Cool Arrowhead
  • Daniel Boone Explorer Facts And Make a Fun Birchbark Canoe Craft
  • Native American Activities For Kindergarten Create A Fun Cradleboard Craft
  • Make a simple DIY Moccasins Craft to go along with your vest, wonderful for dramatic play.
  • Native American Crafts for Kindergarten How to Make a Kids Pinch Pot
  • Build a Wigwam with this How to Make a Wigwam Craft for a Fun Native American Unit Study.
  • Grow” your own colorful corn –Geronimo Stilton Field Trip to Niagara Falls Summary And Fun Corn Craft.
  • 100 BEST Hands-on Free Native American Resources
  • National Native American Heritage Day Make a Fun Kids Iroquois Bracelet
  • Texas Native American History Quick Unit Study (Middle School)
  • Plains Indians Free Writing Prompts. For Elementary, Middle and High School Homeschooled Kids
How to Make a Kid's Paper Bag Native American Vest

Finally, look how to make a kid’s paper bag Native American vest.

How to Make a Kid’s Paper Bag Native American Vest

You will need:

  • Paper bag
  • Scissors
  • Craft paint
  • Masking tape
  • Craft paint
  • Paintbrushes
  • Pencil
How to Make a Kid's Paper Bag Native American Vest

First, lay your bag out flat with the folded bottom face down on the work surface.

Use a pencil to draw oversized armholes and a neck hole.

How to Make a Kid's Paper Bag Native American Vest

Cut out the holes you drew through both sides of the bag.

How to Make a Kid's Paper Bag Native American Vest

Cut a straight line up the front of the bag from the bottom to the neck hole.

How to Make a Kid's Paper Bag Native American Vest

Flip the bag over and tape down the fold that is the bottom of the bag if it were opened with a line of masking tape.

How to Make a Kid's Paper Bag Native American Vest

Carefully turn the bag inside out so that the tape is inside. This will give you a smooth unprinted surface to work with on the outside.

Kid’s Paper Bag Native American Vest

Then you want to push the sides of the bag out and cut off the little odd piece that is still left in the armhole on both sides, you can see I cut it off on the left side.

How to Make a Kid's Paper Bag Native American Vest

Reinforce the shoulders by taping a couple of layers of masking tape over them, shoulders usually tear out first as your child puts the vest on and off. 

How to Make a Kid's Paper Bag Native American Vest

With the slit you cut facing you, fold the sides of the vest inward to make it smaller.

You might need to try it on them a few times to get it right. I like to trim off some of the excess and then connect the centers back together with masking tape in a couple of layers to reinforce it.

How to Make a Kid's Paper Bag Native American Vest

Now you can leave the base color as is or give it a wash with a lighter color and then let it dry.

Next, lay out your “beadwork” design with a pencil. Look on Google or in your reference books for examples of Plains Indian beadwork.

How to Make a Kid's Paper Bag Native American Vest

To create a bead look without the weight or expense use a pencil eraser or the end of a paintbrush to create little dot “beads” over your design.

How to Make a Kid's Paper Bag Native American Vest

To make fringe cut a strip of paper bag scrap and make little slits across leaving a small amount uncut, and glue down to the vest.

How to Make a Kid's Paper Bag Native American Vest

Leave a CommentFiled Under: Hands-On Activities Tagged With: hands on history, hands-on, hands-on activities, handson, handsonhomeschooling, Native Americans, nativeamerican, nativeamericans

How to Make a Felt Mountain Craft | 7 Andes Mountain Facts For Kids

December 27, 2023 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Read up on these Andes Mountain facts for kids while you complete this felt mountain craft that is fun to create and beautiful to display anywhere in the house. Also, you’ll love my Free South America Printable Lapbook and Fun Hands-on Unit Study Ideas.

The Andes Mountains are a massive range that extends throughout a lot of South America and have attracted millions of visitors over the years.

Tourists come to see Machu Picchu, Cotopaxi, La Raya Mountain Range, Lake Titicaca, and Rainbow Mountain.

When searching for an idea for a neat hands-on activity to go along with learning about the Andes Mountains we got caught up in the beautiful stretch of Rainbow Mountain, part of the Andes of Peru.

How to Make a Felt Mountain Craft | 7 Andes Mountain Facts For Kids

Rainbow Mountain is layered with the most colorful ribbons of sediments in turquoise, lavender, gold, red, and more.

It is known as Vinicunca, or Winikunka, and also called Montaña de Siete Colores which means Mountain of seven colors.

So, I wanted to focus our project here on these colorful peaks.

But I have lots of great information, facts, and resources to make your study of the Andes mountain range fun and full of learning.

Books About South America

First, look at some of these books about South America. We gravitate toward living books.

13 Resources for a Study of South America

Add some of these fun books and resources to your study of South America.

South America (Rookie Read-About Geography: Continents)

An incredible variety of climates and biomes span the territory of South America. As a result, the continent contains some of the greatest biodiversity on Earth.

Rookie Read-About: Continents series gives the youngest reader (Ages 3-6) an introduction to the components that make each continent distinctive and exceptional. Readers will get to know each continents' geography, history, and wildlife. In this book readers learn about the continent of South America, including the geography, native animals, people and more.

Ancient Civilizations: Aztecs, Maya, Incas!: With 25 Social Studies Projects for Kids (Explore Your World)

A full-color, compelling book for ages 7 to 10 offers a deep dive into the three sophisticated ancient civilizations of Mesoamerica―the Aztecs, Maya, and Incas― through hands-on STEAM projects, essential questions, and loads of fascinating facts!

Why were there more than 3,000 steps built at Machu Picchu? Why did the Aztecs roam Mexico for nearly 200 years before finding a place to settle? How did the Maya study the movements of the stars and the planets? Ancient Civilizations: Aztecs, Maya, Incas! With 25 Social Studies Projects for Kids takes kids ages 7 to 10 on a guided tour to experience the history, culture, economics, and daily life of the Aztecs, Maya, and Incas.

Biblioburro: A True Story from Colombia

A man, his burros, and his books bring joy to children in remote Colombian villages in this inspiring book based on a true story by celebrated picture book creator Jeanette Winter.Luis loves to read, but soon his house in Colombia is so full of books there’s barely room for the family. What to do? Then he comes up with the perfect solution—a traveling library! He buys two donkeys—Alfa and Beto—and travels with them throughout the land, bringing books and reading to the children in faraway villages.

Secret of the Andes (Puffin Newberry Library)

An Incan boy who tends llamas in a hidden valley in Peru learns the traditions and secrets of his ancestors. 

My Mama's Little Ranch on the Pampas

In the sequel to On the Pampas, the author recalls her first year on the small Argentinian ranch purchased and managed by her mother, in an account that includes a visual dictionary of the Spanish words and geographical terms used in the text.

Tales from Silver Lands

Atmospheric woodcuts illustrate this Newbery Award–winning collection of 19 South American folktales. Charles J. Finger heard the tales firsthand from native storytellers, whose fables of talking animals, witches, giants, and ordinary people in supernatural settings provide remarkable insights into regional values and culture. The first of the stories, "A Tale of Three Tails," tells of an age when the rat had a tail like a horse, the rabbit had a tail like a cat, and the deer's tail was plumed like the tail of a dog. "The Magic Dog" recounts an act of kindness to a stray animal that helps overcome a witch's curse. In "The Calabash Man," the creatures of the jungle assist a suitor in winning his bride, and in "El Enano," a greedy troll's insatiable appetite leads to his downfall. Packed with adventure and full of surprises, these and other stories emphasize the importance of hard work, courage, and loyalty.

Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time

In 1911, Hiram Bingham III climbed into the Andes Mountains of Peru and “discovered” Machu Picchu. While history has recast Bingham as a villain who stole both priceless artifacts and credit for finding the great archeological site, Mark Adams set out to retrace the explorer’s perilous path in search of the truth—except he’d written about adventure far more than he’d actually lived it. In fact, he’d never even slept in a tent.

Journey to the River Sea

With the memorable characters and plot twists she brings to her best-selling fantasies, acclaimed author Eva Ibbotson has written a hair-raising novel, set in turn-of-the-last-century Brazil.Accompanied by Miss Minton, a fierce-looking, no-nonsense governess, Maia, a young orphan, sets off for the wilderness of the Amazon, expecting curtains of orchids, brightly colored macaws, and a loving family. But what she finds is an evil-tempered aunt and uncle and their spoiled daughters. It is only when she is swept up in a mystery involving a young Indian boy, a homesick child actor, and a missing inheritance that Maia lands in the middle of the Amazon adventure she's dreamed of. Readers of every generation will treasure Ibbotson's lush historical adventure that harkens back to the beloved classics of Frances Hodgson Burnett and Louisa May Alco

This Place Is Wet

Can you imagine living in a place where there is so much water some houses need to be built on stilts to protect them when the river rises? Or where it is so wet that some plants can grow on the sides of trees with their roots gathering water from the air? In This Place Is Wet, you'll find out all sorts of things about what it's like to live in the rain forest of Brazil. Try to imagine living there!

Bolivar: American Liberator

It is astonishing that Simón Bolívar, the great Liberator of South America, is not better known in the United States. He freed six countries from Spanish rule, traveled more than 75,000 miles on horseback to do so, and became the greatest figure in Latin American history. His life is epic, heroic, straight out of Hollywood: he fought battle after battle in punishing terrain, forged uncertain coalitions of competing forces and races, lost his beautiful wife soon after they married and never remarried (although he did have a succession of mistresses, including one who held up the revolution and another who saved his life), and he died relatively young, uncertain whether his
achievements would endure.

Ada's Violin: The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay

Ada Ríos grew up in Cateura, a small town in Paraguay built on a landfill. She dreamed of playing the violin, but with little money for anything but the bare essentials, it was never an option...until a music teacher named Favio Chávez arrived. He wanted to give the children of Cateura something special, so he made them instruments out of materials found in the trash

Mayans Aztecs Incas Coloring Book: Coloring Pages of Ancient Mexico Civilizations for Adults and Teens

Mayans Aztecs Incas Coloring Book – Fun And Education For Adults and TeensMake the perfect gift for anyone who loves coloring! Enjoy this Mayans Aztecs Incas Coloring Book for Adults and Teens. Click the cover to reveal what’s inside!About this book:

  • 40 original pages drawings of Symbols, Warriors, Masks and Mandalas.

The Inca Empire (A True Book: Ancient Civilizations) (A True Book (Relaunch))

Explore the Inca empire, including how the Incas survived in the mountains, how the empire was built, and why it disappeared.

A True Book: Ancient Civilizations series allows readers to experience what makes each ancient civilization distinctive and exceptional as well look at its influence on the some of the practices of the modern world. This series includes an age appropriate (grades 3-5) introduction to curriculum-relevant subjects and a robust resource section that encourages independent study.

7 Andes Mountain Facts For Kids

  1. The Andes Mountains are the longest mountain chain in the world at 5,530 miles long and stretch through 7 different South American countries- Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina
  2. They were formed due to the tectonic activity between the South American and Nazca plates, simply put it means that two tectonic plates pushed together and one lay above the other, disrupting the Earth’s surface.
  3. The majority of Andean peaks are volcanic with an estimated 150 to 160 active volcanoes along the Andean Volcanic Belt.
  4. Did you know that the Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire islands in the Caribbean are the peaks of an extensive submerged continuation of the Andes?  In Patagonia, many islands are also part of the mountain chain. 
  5. The Amazon River originates in the Andes mountains at an elevation of 5,598 miles, less than 100 miles from the Pacific Ocean.
  6. The summit of Mount Chimborazo in the Andes is the highest point of elevation on Earth when measured from the Earth’s center.
  7. The Andes are a very biodiverse system, if you were to take a trip through the mountains you might see many of the over 3,700 species of animals that live there, including alpaca, chinchilla, llamas, mountain tapirs, guinea pigs, spectacled bears, and more.
How to Make a Felt Mountain Craft | 7 Andes Mountain Facts For Kids

Next, look at more Andes mountain facts for kids and South America resources.

More Mountain Facts for Kids and South America Activities

  • Try this Torn Paper Mountain Landscape Art Tutorial for another unique mountain project.
  • How To Make A Blue-Footed Booby Bird Craft
  • 7 Facts About the Inca Empire & Make a Fun Incan Ruins Model
  • A good resource can be used for more than one specific theme, Mountain Ranges of the World contains information on mountains and how they are formed as well as artistic views of ranges including the Andes and more
  • 9 Free South America Country Reports for Kids Notebooking Pages
  • Galapagos Islands Animals Fun and Simple Watercolor Flamingo Tutorial

Finally, look how to make a felt mountain craft.

How to Make a Felt Mountain Craft

You will need:

  • Cardboard
  • Colorful craft felt
  • Hot glue, tacky, or school glue
  • Scissors
How to Make a Felt Mountain Craft | 7 Andes Mountain Facts For Kids

First, cut whatever size span of mountains you want from cardboard, corrugated cardboard is nice and sturdy and this is a great upcycle for old Amazon boxes.

How to Make a Felt Mountain Craft | 7 Andes Mountain Facts For Kids

Next, you want to cut a lot of very thin strips, with some size variations out of the colors of felt you have chosen. You could also use yarn if you have that on hand instead.

How to Make a Felt Mountain Craft | 7 Andes Mountain Facts For Kids

“Paint” your cardboard mountains with a thick coat of glue all over. Originally, I was going to use hot glue but it dries quickly.

Plus, I wanted to allow for building time. An older child could hot glue a piece at a time if they want a quicker drying project.

How to Make a Felt Mountain Craft | 7 Andes Mountain Facts For Kids

Begin pressing your strips of felt into v patterns on the mountain.

Starting from the outside or inside, whatever they prefer. Let the excess hang off the sides, you will fix that when it’s dry.

How to Make a Felt Mountain Craft | 7 Andes Mountain Facts For Kids

Continue until your mountain(s) are completely covered.

Allow it to dry overnight and then trim off the excess along the edges of the mountains.

If you are layering mountains instead of making just one you can attach them to one other.

Leave it at that or mount them on a larger piece of felt glued to another piece of cardboard to give it a background.

How to Make a Felt Mountain Craft | 7 Andes Mountain Facts For Kids

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How to Paint a Cardinal Bird With Kids

December 26, 2023 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

This is a how to paint cardinal bird tutorial from someone who is not an artist but rather a homeschool mom who knows a few simple tricks. Also, look at my page Beautiful Winter Bird: Northern Cardinal Lapbook & Fun Unit Study.

You don’t have to be an artist to create and teach your child to create simple beautiful and easily identifiable art projects. 

The best technique I have found is to start with simple shapes and then build on that to get details that make it your own style of art.

Cardinals do not follow a migratory pattern like many other birds do.

Rather they stay close to home all winter long so you have a great chance of spotting them throughout the entire year.

How to Paint a Cardinal Bird With Kids

While there are 9 subspecies of cardinal bird we are focusing on the bright red Northern Cardinal for our painting.

There is a reason that the bright brilliant red cardinal is so popular, what other backyard bird catches your eye the way that flash of red does?

Let’s create a version of this bird that will never fly away and makes a pretty decor piece anywhere in your home while we learn about this winged beauty.

Books about the Cardinal Bird

12 Northern Cardinal Bird Books and Resources For Children

Add a book or two to your unit study or to your learning day. Cardinals are fun to study anytime of the year.

Wild Bird Guide: Northern Cardinal

Packed with information, the writing is clear and direct and accessible to bird watchers at every level.

Backyard Birding for Kids

With bird facts, an identification guide, and how-to instructions, this is a perfect children’s introduction to bird-watching.

Albert

The morning begins like any other. Albert reaches out the window to check the weather. But from the moment a twig lands in the palm of his hand, life is never the same

Nature Anatomy: The Curious Parts and Pieces of the Natural World

One of my go tos for nature study.

Explore the anatomy of a jellyfish, the inside of a volcano, monarch butterfly migration, how sunsets work, and much more.

Rothman’s whimsical illustrations are paired with interactive activities that encourage curiosity and inspire you to look more closely at the

Toy Bird Figures Kids

Because children's thinking is more visualized, the intuitive demonstration of the model can better help children construct in the brain. This birds playset can help children get a more direct understanding of real birds world and stimulate their interest in exploring nature.

Why Evergreens Keep Their Leaves

One autumn evening, Little Redbird settled down for one last sleep before flying south for winter. As he slept, a strong gust of wind shook him from his cozy nest . . .

. . . Little Redbird hurts his wing and misses his chance to fly south for the winter. As he searches for a new home amongst the trees, he begins to realize that not all trees are fit for the winter cold. As more and more trees refuse him shelter, too preoccupied with their preparations for the frost, Little Redbird fears the worst. That is, until he comes across a friendly bunch of evergreens.

In the spirit of Oscar Wilde's The Happy Prince, Why Evergreens Keep Their Leaves is a timeless story of kindness and why the fir, spruce, and juniper trees are evergreen all winter long. 

Backyard Birding Flashcards: 100 Common Birds

The Sibley Field Guide to Birds is now transformed into 100 easy-to-reference cards housed in one handsome pull-drawer gift box. Divided into one stack of 50 common Western and Eastern North American birds, and one stack of 50 common birds found across North America, each card features precise illustrations and text concerning habitat, behavior, and voice description necessary for easy identification.

Attracting & Feeding Cardinals

The vibrant red of the male Northern Cardinal is stunning any time of year—and nothing is more beautiful than the early spring duets of cardinals singing their hearts out. You love these beloved birds, and you want to see them visiting your backyard or garden. Professional naturalist and award-winning author Stan Tekiela teaches you all that you need to know about cardinals.

Cardinals (Backyard Bird Feeding Guides)

The vibrant red of the male Northern Cardinal is stunning any time of year. And nothing is more beautiful than the early spring duets of cardinals singing their hearts out.

Authentic Bird Sounds, Northern Cardinal, American Goldfinch, Chickadee

Kids and adults of all ages love these birds, and are captivated by their sounds. They also make great baby toys, and sensory toys for kids any age.

Includes 3 Realistically designed bird toys that produce authentic bird calls from the Cornell lab of ornithology archives of bird recordings.

The Burgess Bird Book for Children

The Burgess Bird Book for Children (1919) is a classic nature book by Thornton Burgess, who introduces young listeners to the subject of bird life by means of a series of interviews within a story. Peter Rabbit and Jenny Wren interview Slaty the Junco, Redwing the Blackbird, Melody the Wood Thrush, Spooky the Screech Owl, and many other common birds to learn about their appearance, their eating, mating and nesting habits, and their songs and calls. The text remains popular as an exceptional combination of information and entertainment.

Cardinals (Backyard Birds)

Whos that singing in the backyard? Its a cardinal! Find out where cardinals live, what they eat, and how to identify the birds and their eggs.

Learning More About The Colorful Cardinal Bird

Northern Cardinals are known for their bright red feathers and the little crest at the top of their head, they are easily one of the easiest to spot and identify of all the backyard birds.

While most abundant in the southeast they can be spotted in most parts of the US east of the Rocky Mountains.

One thing you may not have known is that whenever you see this bright red color it is a male, females are a duller brown with a bit of red flush on the crest, wings, and tail.

Like some other birds- flamingos, Blue Footed Boobies, Cedar Waxwings, and a few others, Northern Cardinals get their eye-catching red plumage from the foods they eat.

While they are typically granivorous (grain and seed-eating) cardinals also eat insects and a wide variety of wild fruits like grapes, dogwood berries, and mulberries.

Fruits like these are full of carotenoids that create red, orange, yellow, and pink in bird feathers.

These beautiful birds are so popular that they are the state bird for 7 US States- Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia.

They are an inspiration for a lot of artwork, have come to stand as a symbol for many things and of course, they inspire unit studies.

Northern Cardinal Resources

You may just want to learn a simple how-to paint a cardinal bird technique, and I have that for you.

But if you are looking to add a little more to it to create a mini study here are some fantastic resources to add to your art project.

  • Do not miss out on this Beautiful Winter Bird: Northern Cardinal Lapbook & Fun Unit Study to create a fun and full unit.
  • If you need a reference book for PreK-Kindergarten pick up a copy of Cardinals Backyard Birds.
  • I use these Safari Ltd. Toob Birds often in dioramas, to introduce a new unit, with playdough and slime, tucked with blocks to inspire play, and as an art inspiration.
How to Paint a Cardinal Bird With Kids
  • If you are looking for more art ideas you will also enjoy this Cardinal Birds in Winter and Birch Trees Easy Watercolor Kids Activity.
  • Watch All About Cardinals Backyard Bird Series on Youtube.

How to Paint a Cardinal Bird

You will need:

  • Watercolor, linen textured paper, or a canvas
  • Acrylic craft paint-red, black, orange, blue, white, brown
  • Paintbrushes in several sizes

Paper plate or paint palette

How to Paint a Cardinal Bird With Kids

First, determine how large you would like your cardinal to be on your surface.

Mix a tiny bit of light blue paint into white so that it has just a touch of color. I like to use a paper plate as a paint palette because they are inexpensive and always in my craft stash as well as easy to clean up.

Paint an oval on the page slightly larger than you intend for your cardinal to be.

How to Paint a Cardinal Bird With Kids

You can lighten your light blue a bit or leave it as is and paint the remaining surface around your “white” circle to create a sky background.

How to Paint a Cardinal Bird With Kids

Use a flat brush to paint a big fat teardrop shape in red for the body of the cardinal.

How to Paint a Cardinal Bird With Kids

While the paint is still wet, wipe the excess paint off the brush and starting at the top of the head create a little crest by flicking the brush upward.

How to Paint a Cardinal Bird With Kids

Add a little red paint to your brush and paint a little spikey tail with the same technique but going downward.

How to Paint a Cardinal Bird With Kids

Paint on a little branch nestled up against the bottom of the bird from one side of the page not quite across to the other side.

Easy Cardinal Bird Painting Tutorial for Kids

Create wings by making a curve from the shoulder to about where the tear-drop body of the bird begins to narrow off again on the sides, repeat to thicken paint if needed.

How to Paint a Cardinal Bird With Kids

Pick up a little black paint with a small brush after it is dry or while the red is still wet and make a few strokes down the wings and on the tail to add some dimension and detail.

Paint small feet wrapping around the branch.

If you add too much just remove a bit with a dry brush and work some red back in.

How to Paint a Cardinal Bird With Kids

Let the body of the bird dry.

Once dry paint on an upside-down triangle for the beak and carefully surround it with black to create the distinctive cardinal mask.

You can let this dry naturally or use a hair dryer on low to speed it along.

How to Paint a Cardinal Bird With Kids

Add white dots for eyes with large black pupils inside.

How to Paint a Cardinal Bird With Kids

Use a clean paintbrush to add dots for falling snow, you can also flick it to get more natural shapes as well.

How to Paint a Cardinal Bird With Kids

Leave a CommentFiled Under: Hands-On Activities Tagged With: birds, cardinal bird, hands-on, hands-on activities, handsonhomeschooling, life science, painting

How to Make A Kids Ship Wheel | Ship Terminology

December 25, 2023 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

When you are learning about watercraft, ship terminology is an important part of the lesson. Also, you’ll love my post Ship Craft Ideas.

Whether it be battleships, pirate ships, cruise ships, cargo ships, or sailboats, your child will want to learn ship words.

Cruise into some fun lessons on the various types of ships and what they are called, how they are used, and who they are used by.

How to Make A Kids Ship Wheel | Ship Terminology

I have included ship terminology, some resources, and even an activity to get you going on your study.

Hands-on activities are one of the best ways to learn about a topic.

Besides, I have an inexpensive activity that is so much fun- how to make a kid’s ship wheel.

I found both key parts at Dollar Tree with plenty of leftover craft sticks.

Do not overlook Dollar Tree for school supplies or items for awesome crafts.

They have so much that I never have a shortage of ideas when i walk up and down their aisles.

Books for Kids Who Love Boats, Ships and Sailing

First, look at some of these books about ships and sailing.

17 Books & Resources for Kids Who Love Learning About Watercraft

Add some of these fun books and resources to your learning day about ships.

Stickmen's Guide to Watercraft (Stickmen's Guides to How Everything Works)

How does a giant cruise ship stay upright? Just how big is an aircraft carrier? How are submarines powered? Join the Stickmen for a close look at how watercrafts work, though be careful―you may get into deep water!

The Sailing Frigate: A History in Ship Models

The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich houses the largest collection of scale ship models in the world. Many of the models are official, contemporary artifacts made by the craftsmen of the Royal Navy or the shipbuilders themselves, ranging from the mid-seventeenth century to the present day. As such they represent a three-dimensional archive of unique importance and authority. Treated as historical evidence, they offer more detail than even the best plans, and demonstrate exactly what the ships looked like in a way that even the finest marine painter could not achieve. Now available in paperback, this book tells the story of the evolution of the cruising ship under sail. It includes a large number of model photos all in full-color as well as close-up and detail views. These are captioned in depth, but many are also annotated to focus attention on interesting or unusual features. Although pictorial in emphasis, The Sailing Frigate weaves the pictures into an authoritative text, producing an unusual and attractive form of technical history.

Henry & the Buccaneer Bunnies

Step aboard, buccaneers and book lovers! On the Salty Carrot sails a wild, rowdy band of Buccaneer Bunnies, led by Barnacle Black Ear, the baddest bunny brute of all time. His son, Henry, would rather read books than shout "Shiver me timbers!" or make prisoners walk the plank, even if it means swabbing the decks as punishment. But when a crashing, thrashing, bashing wildcat of a storm threatens them all, will Henry and his landlubbin’ library save the day?

The Sinking of the Vasa: A Shipwreck of Titanic Proportions

This is the saga of the great Swedish warship, the Vasa. Built to be the crown jewel of the Swedish Navy, the Vasa capsized not a mile into her maiden voyage in 1628―a tragedy resulting in many deaths and great loss. But who was to blame? Award-winning author Russell Freedman explores the history of this ship, and her resurrection from the seas in 1961. William Low’s gorgeous illustrations bring The Sinking of the Vasa to life.

Island Boy (Picture Puffins)

The acclaimed author of Miss Rumphius recounts the lives of four generations living on a New England coastal island and the importance of family ties.The youngest and quietest of 12 children, Matthias grew closest to Tibbets Island, learning its secrets through the years. And though in later years he sailed to faraway places, he always returned to the island he loved.

My Blue Boat

A child journeys from her bathtub on an imaginary ocean voyage. Her blue boat sails across the bathtub, into the harbor, between the whales, under the moon and the stars...until it manages to find its way home. A simple tale and light-filled watercolors together create the voyage of every child's dream.

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch:

Readers today are still fascinated by “Nat", an eighteenth-century nautical wonder and mathematical wizard. Nathaniel Bowditch grew up in a sailor's world—Salem in the early days, when tall-masted ships from foreign ports crowded the wharves. But Nat didn't promise to have the makings of a sailor; he was too physically small. Nat may have been slight of build, but no one guessed that he had the persistence and determination to master sea navigation in the days when men sailed only by “log, lead, and lookout.? Nat's long hours of study and observation, collected in his famous work, The American Practical Navigator (also known as the “Sailors' Bible"), stunned the sailing community and made him a New England hero.

Battleship With Planes Strategy Board Game

I could hardly talk about a shipping unit without mentioning the classic game Battleship could I?

USS Arizona Battleship Model Military Ship

Complete deck fittings including searchlights, motor launches and whaleboats, rangefinders, ladders, cranes, and tripod masts with observation nests.

Stephen Biesty's Cross-Sections Man-of-War

Packed with extraordinary illustrations, this history book for children covers everything from warship design to navigation. Biesty's incredible drawings slice through a man-of-war to explore every corner, from the crow's nest to the stinking hold. Packed with fascinating facts and gory details, the pages teem with sailors going about their duties. Find out how gun crews fired a cannon, examine a surgeon's toolkit, and learn the best way to wriggle the maggots out of the ship's biscuits. Look out, too, for the stowaway on every page. He's the one with spiky hair, and there's a reward for his capture!

A Kid's Book on Boatbuilding

As a kid, Will Ansel would spend hours rowing the creeks around Annapolis, Maryland. From his boat he could look down on the wrecks of Chesapeake skipjacks, and watch the turtles sun themselves on deckbeams and the tops of centerboard trunks. He found other types of Chesapeake boats there too, including the old "log" boats. Years later, Will built scaled-down skipjacks, wrote about them, and eventually went to work at Mystic Seaport as a ships' carpenter and boatbuilder. Will now lives in Georgetown, Maine, in an old house built at the water's edge, with a small shop and dock. The inventory of boats and kayaks is currently seven. Besides keeping up, using, and adding to these, he does some writing and painting, and work around a cabin in the woods.

Old Wood Boat

Raise the sails and follow the wind across the green sea in this captivating marriage of lyrical prose and intricate illustrations from a renowned West Coast artist.Old wood boat remembers the wind. Dilapidated and parted from the sea, she remembers and waits as her mast cracks and blackberry vines creep across her deck. But one day, a family tows her home. Scraped, scrubbed, sanded, and varnished, she is made beautiful and seaworthy again. After libations have been poured out, the family casts off, and old wood boat embarks on adventure once more. In this love letter to sailing, heralded artist Nikki McClure tells the story of a restored boat in timeless and reverent prose that perfectly accompanies her stunning cut-paper illustrations. At once delicate and bold, each page is masterful, rendered from a single sheet of black paper with precision and care that is sure to enthrall readers from coast to coast.

Toy Boat

This classic tale makes the perfect gift for children who love adventure!

A little boy has a toy boat that he made out of a can, a cork, a yellow pencil, and some white cloth. The boy and his boat are inseparable . . . until the day the wind pushes the boat out into the wide lake, and the little boat must face fierce waves, a grumpy ferry, a sassy schooner, and a growling speed boat if he is to find his way home. From Randall de Seve and bestselling artist Loren Long, creator of the Otis series and illustrator of The Little Engine That Could, comes a child-friendly adventure sure to inspire imaginative toy play.

Oars, Sails and Steam: A Picture Book of Ships

The evolution of shipbuilding reflects the growth of civilization, and in Oars, Sails and Steam, Edwin Tunis has produced a beautifully illustrated and skillfully
written history of water transport from the dugout to the aircraft carrier. He resents the most interesting and important types of boats and ships in chronological order, revealing each advance that made navigation easier, faster, and more efficient. Every page in this delightful book becomes a new adventure in the story of humanity's progress on traveling across the seas. The Egyptian sailboats that plied the waters of the Nile in 4700 b.c. give way to Phoenician warboats, Greek war galleys and Roman triremes, which in turn are surpassed by Norse long ships, Mediterranean carracks, Elizabethan galleons, and British East Indiaman. The Steam Age is represented by John Fitch's 1787 Delaware River steamboat; the 1807 Clermont, which made five miles per hour against the current of the Hudson; and the Curaçao, which in 1827 became the first ship to cross the Atlantic almost entirely under steam power. Graceful clipper ships, profitable whaling barks, reliable tramp steamers, opulent steam liners, and deadly warships, from destroyers to submarines, round out Tunis's illustrated history.

In addition to his fine drawings of the vessels, Tunis includes a glossary of seagoing terms and detailed diagrams that take readers below decks, up in the rigging, and alongside the gunners of the U.S.S. Raleigh. Remarkable for its clarity and accuracy, Oars, Sails and Steam, first published in 1952, is a treasury for all those who are sailors at heart.

Lightship

 Once, lightships anchored on waters across America, on the oceans, and in the Great Lakes, floating where lighthouses could not be built.

The Little Sailboat

Mr. Small is a sailor in this maritime adventure! Captain Small and his dog Tinker sail and fish together. When a storm comes, Captain Small heads for the safety of the shore. A comforting, nostalgic story full of information about sailing.

Classic Ships, Their History and How to Model Them: Cutty Sark No. 3 (Classic ships: Their history & how to model them)

Next, let’s find out the definition of what is a ship.

Ship- A vessel that is larger than a boat and is used for transporting people or goods by sea. They are classified as a ship based on their size, shape, load capacity, and purpose.

Boats on the other hand are smaller watercraft. And are intended for navigation of coastal and inland waters rather than ocean faring.

Now that we know what defines a ship, we will move on to learning about the various types of ships that are or were used in more modern times

Types of Ship Terminology

Passenger Ships- Before airplanes people used to travel on ocean liners, they had dining rooms and cabins where guests could sleep.

Today big ships used for travel and entertainment are cruise ships. You will find swimming pools, bowling alleys, restaurants, and more onboard these multilevel ships.

Find out about the most famous passenger ship of the past with my RMS Titanic Unit Study and Free Lapbook.

Aircraft Carriers- An aircraft carrier is a warship that is a sea-traveling airbase. These massive ships have tops that are almost entirely a flight deck.

The deck is a landing and take-off point for the aircraft it carries. Aircraft carriers are used by the United States Navy.

There are currently 11 active US nuclear-powered fleet carriers in the water. Learn How to Make an Aircraft Carrier.

Battleship- A large warship that is armored and has large caliber guns. 

The first battleship was the USS Texas in 1892. However battleships are no longer used in war today; they were retired as strictly museum ships following the Cold War in 1992.

They were initially used to attack the defenses of the enemy’s coast in preparation for amphibious assaults.

This model would be fantastic to put together as an art project while you learn about battleships.

How to Make A Kids Ship Wheel | Ship Terminology

Oil Tanker- Like the name implies tankers carry oil in bulk within their cargo spaces. An oil tanker transports crude and refined oil from port to port and some can even refuel moving other moving ships.

Cargo Ships- They are freighters and a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another.

They are massive and carry these items inside thousands of giant containers like the big metal boxes you see semis pulling down the road.

The first container ship appeared in 1956. It could only hold about 1,000 containers; now there is one being built that can hold up to 30,000. This is how we get the majority of our goods from overseas.

You can build whatever type ship you like in a bottle with these Ship Craft Ideas & Ship Terminology | Fun Ship in A Bottle Craft for Kids.

Submarines- Submersible crafts are considered ships but are referred to as boats.

They are able to dive a minimum of 800 feet below the surface and can stay submerged for 3 months.

Submarines are used by scientists and the military for exploration, patrol, and attack enemy ships in wartime.

How to Make A Ship Wheel With Kids

You will need:

  • Craft sticks
  • Styrofoam wreath form
  • Canning lid (or cardboard)
  • Brown craft paint
  • Gold craft paint
  • Foam brush
  • Hot glue gun/ sticks
How to Make A Kids Ship Wheel | Ship Terminology

First, start by painting your mason jar lid or a circle cut out of cardboard gold, you will likely need several coats to cover it well. Set aside to dry.

How to Make A Kids Ship Wheel | Ship Terminology

Then, push 5-6 craft sticks into the center of the wreath form from the inside stopping before they pierce the other side, securing each place they go in with hot glue to hold them well.

How to Make A Kids Ship Wheel | Ship Terminology

Now push the same number of popsicle sticks through the outside of the round, lining them up with the others but pushing just above or below the other stick so they can go as far in as possible.

How to Make A Kids Ship Wheel | Ship Terminology

Add hot glue at each point where the sticks go into the styrofoam wreath form.

How to Make A Kids Ship Wheel | Ship Terminology

Be sure all your center spikes just overlap in the center, it doesn’t have to be perfect as you will be covering it up.

How to Make A Kids Ship Wheel | Ship Terminology

Paint the entire wreath form and craft sticks with brown paint, it will take at least 2 coats to cover it well, and allow it to dry.

How to Make A Kids Ship Wheel | Ship Terminology

Flip it over and hot glue the painted round over the center, attaching all the sticks to the lid or at least each other.

I think this turned out so fun and would make a great handmade decor item too.

How to Make A Kids Ship Wheel | Ship Terminology

Leave a CommentFiled Under: Hands-On Activities Tagged With: hands on history, hands-on, hands-on activities, handsonhomeschooling, history, ships

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