Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Activity, Change, Progress

Middle School Homeschool

How to Build Middle School Curriculum Directly From Amazon

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Building middle school curriculum directly from Amazon has been a life saver for me more than one time. Also, look at my page homeschool middle school for more fun tips.

Let’s face it. We have homeschooled kids with unique needs and being able to build creative homeschool curriculum directly from Amazon is a huge benefit.

Not only do we get it quickly, but we love the savings.

Too, I love being able to return any supplies or curriculum that don’t work for us.

Although, I love homeschool conventions, there have been some years that I just couldn’t go.

It takes time to build curriculum for older learners and I love the flexibility of being able to choose curriculum specifically for my kids.

Many times through the years, my selections for middle school curriculum have been from different companies.

We have homeschooled kids with unique needs and being able to to build creative homeschool curriculum directly from Amazon is a huge benefit. Click here to see how to build unique curriculum for your middleschooler!

At this age and grade most kids have strengths that have emerged and weaknesses too.

I know it can be challenging and overwhelming to make choices and also to be sure you cover everything. So I’ve taken time to create different lists or boards in my Amazon store and have selected items which I have either used personally or have some experience with.

Organizing them by boards or lists (you know my fixation with lists) will help you to quickly see flexible choices.

Also, I wanted you to know I have these posts also which are How to Build Elementary Homeschool Curriculum Directly From Amazon and How to Build High School Curriculum Directly From Amazon.

I have created the following lists and will continue to add to them as I come across things that have worked for me:

To be sure you’ve covered the bases for subjects, use my checklist for curriculum resources. You can download an editable copy over at STEP 5A of my free 7 Step Homeschool Planner.

Unique Homeschool Middle School Curriculum

I think you’ll love my Amazon storefront as I will be updating my likes and finds that have worked well for me through the years.

For more help check out my Homeschool Helps page where I’ve listed resources for K to 12. I’ve homeschooled a long time and have used lots of great resources.

You’ll also want to look at these tips:

We have homeschooled kids with unique needs and being able to to build creative homeschool curriculum directly from Amazon is a huge benefit. Click here to see how to build unique curriculum for your middleschooler!

Hugs and love ya,

Hands-On Nature Study: Bird Color Bar Graphing Activity

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

As we’ve been working our way through the NaturExplorers : Beautiful Birds unit study, we’ve been learning so much about types of birds, what they eat, how they fly, and even where they go when they migrate. In our area, we tend to see the same few species of birds, but I still wanted the kids to be interested in observing them.

NaturExplorers  suggested graphing the different kinds of birds we observe in our neighborhood and one of the printable notebooking pages shows kids how to keep up with bird colors by using tally marks. My kids, though, needed a little practice with bar graphing.

So we decided to do a bird color bar graphing activity to keep them watching out for the feathered friends who frequent our family home!

Hands-On Nature Study: Bird Color Bar Graphing Activity

To do this bird color bar graphing activity, you’ll need the following supplies:

  • Graphing paper
  • Colored pencils
  • Clipboard (optional)

You don’t have to use a clipboard, but I found that having it helped the kids keep up with their graphing much better. Especially when they’re outside and they decide to have an impromptu dirt digging session, which happened on more than one occasion.

Bird Bar Graphing Supplies

We used colored pencils for the bird colors we see the most often. We see lots of cardinals and blue jays, so we included red and blue. But we also see lots of brown thrashers and crows, which meant including brown and black as well.

Making a Bar Graph of Bird Sightings

To make the graphing simpler, we started the bars by just coloring the first outer square edges. That way, we’d make even bar shapes going up.

If you don’t keep a bar graph neat from the beginning, the bars will look crooked and make the graph almost impossible to read. (Ask me how I know.)

Graphing Local Bird Colors

We saw a good number of cardinals, but we saw even more blue jays. I love them both.

Making a Bar Graph of Bird Colors

But we saw more crows than any other kind of bird! That was pretty neat.

Graphing Bird Colors with Kids

We suspected that it was because we usually saw individual cardinals and blue jays (and even brown thrashers). But crows were always in big groups. It’s common to see 15 of them at once sitting on a telephone line.

More Hands-on Math Nature Study

We’ll see if the crows stay on top over the next few weeks or if they’re upset by one of the other bird species.

The kids absolutely loved doing this activity. And they were getting some math practice without even knowing it. That’s always a win in my book.

Share these other hands-on nature study activities when you’re learning about birds with the kids!

Hugs and love ya,

How to Use Summertime to Put a Foot in Homeschooling

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Summertime homeschooling is the time to add spice to your routine. Because summertime conjures up lazy days at the pool or a trip to the beach, also take advantage of a more relaxed schedule.

Besides, summertime is not only a great time to begin homeschooling, but a way to have a relaxed start to the new year. Kids won’t even realize they’re still learning with these fun summertime schooling ideas below.

How to Use Summertime to Put a Foot in Homeschooling

Whether you want a break from a more rigid schedule, feel like last year’s curriculum left you feeling less than inspired, or want to use summertime to put a foot in homeschooling, you’ll love these eight tips.

8 Ways to Use Summer Time to Kick Start the Homeschool Year

Mix and match these tips or use one to put the spark for learning in your new homeschool year.

ONE/ Target one element of language arts like writing.

Although many new homeschoolers think they have to wait until the fall to begin their year, it’s so much better if you get a feel for teaching by focusing on one subject.

It may be a subject your child is struggling with or a subject which interests him.

When I have summertime with my high school teens, being absorbed on one subject like their writing keeps it from being overwhelming when they have a heavier load at the beginning of the year.

I love the courses by Writing Rockstar.

For example, one year we focused on strengthening writing skills through a course set to my teen’s pace.

Slowing down and lingering on a subject like composition encouraged my son’s love for writing; it allowed him time to pursue his passion of writing without the pace of a hectic schedule.

TWO/ Add a new self-paced class like these fun online Literary Adventures classes.

Also, whether you’re looking for a poetry class, an online fun self-paced course for a high school teen or your younger kids, you’ll love the variety of wonderful literature at Literary Adventures.

THREE/ Dive deep into a subject which gets overlooked like ART or MUSIC

Art is a subject that can easily get overlooked during the year. Have you seen this fun Art History Kids.

Until we started taking online art classes art was a struggle for us. I’m not an artsy person, but we love art.

During the long relaxed days of summer, it gives us a time to indulge our love art.

Then,, music study is a much overlooked study, although it shouldn’t be. You’ll love these courses.

These are high school courses, but Music in our Homeschool has something for just about every age.

20th Century Music Appreciation for High School
Music Appreciation: Middle Ages Thru Classical Era for High School

FOUR/ Teach your kids to cook with Kids Cook Real Food.

Kids love the feeling of doing authentic jobs, and kids these days really need creative work to do with their hands. Your Kids will love their courses.

FIVE/ Add fun subscription boxes.

And subscription boxes nowadays rock our world with fun learning. They keep our homeschool day fun and lively. Try one or two!

SIX/ Watch educational movies.

Educational movies make a great start to school. It’s easy after pulling your kids from school to jump straight into book learning.

You may think that is what homeschooling is about. Beginning your year with educational movies puts the whole family in a relaxed mood.

Pop some corn and grab one of these movies from the list below to begin your learning journey.

Grab my Free and Useful Editable Movie Report For Homeschool to learn with movies.

SEVEN/ Don’t forget refreshment and education for the educator.

The worst thing you can do in the beginning of your school year is to focus solely on the needs or your kids.

Taking time to educate yourself about homeschooling or just grabbing some refreshment will give you the boost you need for the new year.

I love the fact that Fortuigence has a free course for parents about writing. It it a subject lot of us struggle to teach.

EIGHT/ Homeschool unit studies nurture a love for learning. Do one or two.

When children have control of their learning, school can go a lot more smooth. Unit studies have a way of nurturing a love of learning because you can pick topics that pique your children’s interests.

I have volumes of free unit studies here on my site. Here are some of my 26 Free Nature Unit Studies for Multiple Ages.

Living books for multiple ages is also a great tip when your budget is limited. These nature living books I use below are from – NaturExplorers.

Our Journey Westward

Pick one or two and recharge your kids’ love for learning.

How to Use Summertime to Put a Foot in Homeschooling

You’ll also love these other ideas to use summertime as way to put your foot in homeschooling:

Hugs and love ya,

Summer time conjures up lazy days at the pool, a trip to the beach, and more relaxed schedules along with a family vacation or two. Summer time homeschooling is not only a great time to begin, but a way to have a relaxed start to the new year.
Summer time conjures up lazy days at the pool, a trip to the beach, and more relaxed schedules along with a family vacation or two. Summer time homeschooling is not only a great time to begin, but a way to have a relaxed start to the new year.

Hands-On Mixed Media Flower Art Fun Nature Study

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

You’ll love this fun mixed media flower art project.

Every spring, my youngest son and I go to the local nursery and pick out a few, inexpensive, flowering plants. He brings them home and plants them in “his pot.”

It’s a springtime routine we have enjoyed together since he was a toddler.

He likes to get his hands in the dirt. I love the look of flowers on my patio. It’s a win-win.

Picking out a few inexpensive flowering plants, adding in some gardening activities and art, and you’ll have a fun hands-on mixed media flower art fun nature study! Check out how easy it is to do this fun hands-on nature activity!

This year, I decided to take this gardening activity and use to it to fuel a quick nature study as well.

Hands-On Mixed Media Spring Nature Study

What you’ll need for this activity:

  • Flowering plants (either purchased or in your own yard)
  • Something to draw and color with (we used chalk pastels because they are very forgiving, but color pencils, crayons and even markers will work too)
  • A large piece of white construction paper (make sure it’s pretty heavy)
  • Clear glue

Nature Study At Home

The day after my son planted his special spring pot, we completed a basic geology lesson about soil.

I began by asking him what components he thought made up soil. He was easily able to answer broken down pieces of rock, but we decided to do  some more research.

Soil is defined by Dictionary.com as the loose top layer of the Earth’s surface, consisting of rock and mineral particles mixed with decayed organic matter (humus), and capable of retaining water, providing nutrients for plants, and supporting a wide range of biotic communities.

We learned that different soils exist in different locations around the globe, based on their environment and weather. This came as a bit of surprise to my son, so we spent some time discussing a the clay soil we saw on our last family trip, verses the rocky silt that exists in our backyard.

Then, we decided it was time to move on to the fun, hands-on part of our learning.

Mixed Media Nature Study

In the past, we have collected items from the beach and from our hikes in the forest, and then used them to create mixed media art as a record of our experience.

Instead of using shells or pine needles, for this activity, we used the soil, leaves and flower petals available in our own flower pot.

Spring Mixed Media Nature Study

He started by drawing his potted flowers with chalk pastels. (Because he dislikes the feeling of chalk on his fingers, he always wears latex gloves, but it works.)

Spring Mixed Media Art Project

After blurring the chalk lines, we then took some of the leaves and flower petals from our plants (only a few to keep the pot looking pretty!).

You’ll love these nature living books curriculum!

Our Journey Westward
Mixed Media Nature Art

We then glued the leaves and petals to the picture in various locations.

More Ways to Learn about Nature in Your Homeschool

After allowing the glue to dry, he grabbed a handful of our soil and we observed the various bits of rocks and sticks that blended together to create our top layer.

Easy Mixed Media Spring Art

We then spread glue around the bottom of the picture and rubbed the soil into it to create an additional area of interest in his art.

Mixed Media Spring Nature Study

That’s it! The result was a beautiful representation of our hands-on, spring time activity.

Making a Spring Mixed Media Project

I really love this idea for anyone not able to get out into more obvious natural environments like a hike through the woods or a tide pool at the beach.

Nature study can happen anywhere, with the help of a few pants, some soil and an interested learner!

Picking out a few inexpensive flowering plants, adding in some gardening activities and art, and you’ll have a fun hands-on mixed media flower art fun nature study! Check out how easy it is to do this fun hands-on nature activity!

Written by Shawna at Not the Former Things.

Hands-On Middle School Math: The Pythagorean Theorem

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

One important mathematical concept kids run into sometime in middle school or high school is the Pythagorean Theorem. Also, look at my page homeschool middle school for more fun tips

Pythagoras, an ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician, who was born around 569 BCE is credited with the discovery.

The Pythagorean Theorem is that theorem you probably remember from your own middle school and high school years: a² + b² = c². Today we’re going to teach our kids the theorem with a hands-on activity!

Hands-On Middle School Math: The Pythagorean Theorem. One important mathematical concept kids run into sometime in middle school or high school is the Pythagorean Theorem. Pythagoras, an ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician, who was born around 569 BCE is credited with the discovery. Click here to do this EASY hands-on activity!

But first let’s take a look at what a mathematical theorem is.

Hands-On Math: The Pythagorean Theorem

A mathematical theorem is a statement that can be shown to be true by accepted mathematical operations.

This means you can’t just make up a proof and say it works. You have to use logic, reasoning, and accepted mathematical operations to show the theorem is true. Today we’ll be using squares and areas to show the Pythagorean Theorem is true.

So what exactly is the Pythagorean Theorem?

Pythagorean Theorem: The square of a square drawn on the hypotenuse of a right triangle equals the sum of the areas of the squares drawn on the other two sides.

Put another way: a² + b² = c².

In other words. If you have a right angle and measure each side, the square of side a plus the square of side b is equal to the square of the long slope we call the hypotenuse.

What You Need for This Activity:

  • Graph Paper
  • Ruler
  • Scissors
  • Pen

Directions
According to the Pythagorean Theorem, if I draw a right triangle, the square of the two sides added together will equal the square of the hypotenuse. Let’s see if this actually works!

Step 1: Pull out your graph paper and draw a right triangle on it. I’m going to use sides with the length of 3 boxes and 4 boxes.

Pythagorean Theorem for Kids

Step 2: Measure the hypotenuse.

Easy Pythagorean Theorem Lesson

Step 3: Remember square of a number is the area of a square with that length of side. So I’m now going to draw and cut out my squares. One square will have sides the length of 2 squares on the graph paper. One square will have sides the length of 3 squares, while the third will have the length I measured!

To make the next step more clear I’m going to highlight the squares in different colors. The small one will be yellow. The medium will be green. And the large one will be blue.

Simple Pythagorean Theorem Activity

Step 4: Let’s see if the area of the two small triangles will equal the area of the large triangle! We’re going to do this by laying the medium square on top of the large square.

Pythagorean Theorem Lesson for Kids

Now you have a choice. If you count the squares left over on the large triangle, you’ll notice there are 9 squares. And what’s 3²? 9! Or you can do what I did and cut the square to fit the left over area.

Pythagorean Theorem Hands On Activity

As you can see, the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the sides. The Pythagorean Theorem works!


Now let’s run through all 4 steps again with different numbers. This time I’m going to use sides with lengths of 6 and 8.

Step 1: Again we create the right triangle.

Teaching the Pythagorean Theorem to Kids

Step 2: Now measure the hypotenuse.

Measuring Triangles with Kids

Step 3: Create the squares.

Easy Way to Teach the Pythagorean Theorem to Kids

Step 4: Do the squares of the sides equal the square of the hypotenuse? The highlighter caused the sides of my squares to curl, so I used a touch of tape to force the squares to lie flat. Even so, as you can see the answer is yes!

Showing Kids the Pythagorean Theorem
Teaching the Pythagorean Theorem for Homeschoolers

Try the activity yourself using varying lengths for the sides.

No matter what the length of the sides of your right triangle, you’ll discover the squares always equal the square of the hypotenuse or a² + b² = c².

You’ve shown the Pythagorean Theorem works!

Hands-On Middle School Math: The Pythagorean Theorem. One important mathematical concept kids run into sometime in middle school or high school is the Pythagorean Theorem. Pythagoras, an ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician, who was born around 569 BCE is credited with the discovery. Click here to do this EASY hands-on activity!

Written by Sara at Classically Homeschooling.

So what lengths did you use for your right triangles?

Teach math with these other fun homeschool activities!