Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Activity, Change, Progress

crafts

Hands-on Geography Wool Earth Craft to Celebrate Earth Day

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

Today I have some ideas to incorporate hands-on geography and a fun new handicraft to celebrate Earth Day. Also, look at this other post Hands-on Geography Mesopotamia: Fun Salt Dough Map for more ideas. Too, look at my page Homeschool Geography for hands-on and simple ideas and tips.

This hands-on geography craft gives your child practice in fine motor skills, planning, and problem solving, as well as a fun way to celebrate Earth Day.

I have come up with a wonderful new skill to share with you that incorporates handicrafts into an Earth Day celebration.

Hands-on Geography Wool Earth Craft to Celebrate Earth Day

Have you heard of needle felting?

If you have ever wanted to try it but have been intimidated by its seeming difficulty don’t be.

It is much simpler than it looks, and the end results are super cute.

Also, I have rounded up a list of 8 hands-on ways to celebrate Earth Day.

8 Hands-On Ways To Celebrate Earth Day

Conserving water and electricity, reducing our waste in the landfills, upcycling, recycling, planting food for pollinators, and doing our part in general should be a daily habit.

But it’s nice to have a specific day to reflect on some changes we can make and how we affect the earth we live on.

Look at these 8 hands-on ways to celebrate Earth Day.

  1. Planting wildflowers is a wonderful way to celebrate and give something back to the earth. These Wildflower Seed Bombs are an easy way to spread wildflowers for the pollinators and upcycle paper scraps.
  1. Celebrate with dirt cups for Earth Day and have a discussion about what gardens, switching to natural insecticides and even worms can do for the environment.
  1. Make a Bird Feeder to help our feathered friends who help pollinate the earth, spread nutrients through their droppings, transport seeds, exterminate insects, and help keep ecosystems healthy.
  1. Clean up a park or field in your area. Grab a trash bag and a pair of grabbers and collect all the loose trash you can find. You can often find organized groups going out to clean up parks or beaches, especially around Earth Day but don’t let it stop you if you can’t find one nearby. This is a great family project.
  1. Start recycling, create bins for paper, plastic, and metals. Find a recycling center in your area and drop off regularly.
  1. Research how and then create your own composting bin. Doing this you create your own rich natural soil and fertilizer, reduce your household waste, reduce the need for pesticides and chemical fertilizer.
  1.  Make a craft to spread the word about Earth Day to help yourself and others remember just how important this one earth we have is.
  2. Make Earth Day Cookies & Fascinating Earth Facts

I would recommend this activity for kids ages 8 and up as well as adults.

Hands-on Geography Wool Earth Craft to Celebrate Earth Day

It is a wonderful way to keep hands busy while reading aloud, waiting for a long appointment, or anytime. I love the focus that it helps you keep and the rather quick results you get are very satisfying.

Other Hands-on Geography Activities

Next, look at some other fun hands-on geography ideas.

Then, look at this The Tale of Peter Rabbit Printables for a Fun Spring Unit Study for a fun edible geography idea.

Hands-on Geography Wool Earth Craft to Celebrate Earth Day

Also, I have a few more resources to make geography come to life.

10 U.S. Geography Resources

If you're looking to teach U.S. geography in a hands-on way, you'll love adding one or two of these resources to your day or study.

Then, you’ll love adding this idea for more hands-on geography.

Hands-on Geography Wool Earth Craft to Celebrate Earth Day

Finally, look at how to make this felt earth wool craft to celebrate Earth Day.

How to Make A Felt Earth Wool Craft

You will need:

  • Cotton batting or a styrofoam ball
  • Wool Felt Needle
  • Felting Pad
  • Blue and Green Wool
Hands-on Geography Wool Earth Craft to Celebrate Earth Day

Now you can either use a small styrofoam ball as the center of your earth to save time and get a perfectly round sphere circle or you can use a ball of cotton batting to get started.

Go with whatever you have on hand.

For me that was cotton filler.

The steps after preparing the cotton filler will be the same for the rest of the project.

Grab a piece of cotton and ball it.

Roll it in your hands to create as close to a sphere as you can.

Add more as needed to get a ball slightly smaller than you want your end product to be.

Hands-on Geography Wool Earth Craft to Celebrate Earth Day

Pull a piece of blue felt from the ball and wrap it around the cotton filling (or styrofoam ball).

Hands-on Geography Wool Earth Craft to Celebrate Earth Day

Continue covering with a thin layer until it is all wrapped.

So, take your felting needle and move all around the sphere poking with shallow stabs all over until there are no furry spots sticking up off of it.

Hands-on Geography Wool Earth Craft to Celebrate Earth Day

Add more blue as needed to cover any bare spots.

Moreover, to keep the shape round you can roll and tuck the felt, poking it in those areas a little extra to hold the shape in place.

Hands-on Geography Wool Earth Craft to Celebrate Earth Day

Once you are happy with your blue wool as the ocean base you can begin building your continents,

Don’t worry about getting the scale or shapes perfect.

Hands-on Geography Wool Earth Craft to Celebrate Earth Day

It will be obvious when you do what you have created.

Experiment with rolling the green into balls or twisting it to get various shapes for your continents before felting them onto the blue.

Hands-on Geography Wool Earth Craft to Celebrate Earth Day

Again, just tap the needle all over the green until it is moderately smooth.

Add to the landforms as you need. It’s easy to add more small pieces.

Hands-on Geography Wool Earth Craft to Celebrate Earth Day

If you gently tug on the fibers and they fray and become loose you will need to poke it a bit more to give it a tighter weave.

Enjoy your new felt earth globe.

Daniel Boone Facts For Kids About Colonial Life and Fun Kids’ Games (DIY Button Whirligig)

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

I’m sharing Daniel Boone facts for kids about colonial life as he grew up. And grab my unit study on my page Daniel Boone – North American Explorer.

Daniel Boone was born on November 2, 1794.

Although resources vary on how long the colonial period lasted, Daniel Boone was born during it and was raised during the period of the American Revolution.

However, life was very hard for colonial children.

While their parents came seeking religious freedom, more space, or a chance for prosperity, colonists did not know how to survive the harsh winters of the wilderness.

Many fell sick or died. Daniel Boone was a child of the early colonial days and proved his strength, endurance, and ingenuity as he forged a path westward.

Daniel Boone Facts For Kids About Colonial Life and Fun Kids' Games (DIY Button Whirligig)

In colonial times, children never saw the four walls of a schoolhouse.

Like today’s homeschooled children, they were taught the basics by their parents and then whatever they needed to know as an apprentice to a trade.

If you were a girl you were taught to manage a house and get married young, maybe even by 16.

Boys would learn their fathers trade or would leave home to learn a trade as an apprentice by 14 years old.

Children During Colonial Times

They had to share in their families hard chores like chopping wood, preserving food, caring for animals, scrubbing laundry, carrying water, tending to the fire, gardening, churning butter, and etc.

It was a very hard life, but children still played games.

They had their own simple toys and pastimes.

And they played with dolls, simple carved figures, went fishing, played games with one another, took care of their pets, and did riddles and tongue twisters.

Instead of turning to their local Target or Walmart, natural objects were turned into playthings.

A dried apple might become a doll’s head, seashells made lovely little dishes, the pits from fruits could be used as counters in games, and flowers were braided together for a crown.

Nothing ran on batteries, just imagination.

Daniel Boone Facts For Kids About Colonial Life and Fun Kids' Games (DIY Button Whirligig)

More Colonial Life Activities

Also, if you want to add more Daniel Boone resources to your study, look at these books.

Daniel Boone Books

10 Resources for A Daniel Boone Unit Study

Whether you want to add a hands-on unit study or are looking for a few resources, you'll love one of these.

Moreover, look at some of the games colonial children played.

5 Colonial Games to Try With Your Kids

1. Marbles

In colonial times, marbles were made from smooth stones or were rolled from natural clay.

There was a cluster of marbles at the center of the circle and children would take turns shooting larger marbles at the center out of the ring.

If they were playing for keepsies then they got to keep any marbles they knocked out and if playing for funsies everyone kept their own marbles and just played for the fun of it.

2. Blindman’s Bluff

This is a version of tag.

The person who is “it” is blindfolded and tries to reach out and find the other players. If they can touch someone, that person is then “it”.

3. Hoop Rolling

In this game children would take a large hoop and a stick and keep the hoop rolling as long as they could by pushing it along with the stick.

They might also toss the hoop back and forth to each other using their stick to catch and toss it.

4. Cat’s Cradle

A long piece of string with the ends tied together would be twisted into a certain formation with your hands

The second player would then take it by twisting it into a different formation.

And it would go back and forth into more and more complex patterns until a mistake was made or it could not be turned into anything further.

5. Button Whirligig/BuzzSaw

I am showing you how to make one below but for now here are the basic instructions.

A button, or some other item for weight was placed on a string and held between the hands.

Then you wind it up, much like you would a towel for popping and pull your hands away from each other and it would spin.

Sometimes it would making a whirl or buzzing noise depending on the item

More Daniel Boone Facts for Kids Activities

Daniel Boone Facts For Kids About Colonial Life and Fun Kids' Games (DIY Button Whirligig)

Finally, look at how to make a button whirligig.

How to Make A Button Whirligig

You will need:

  • String or twine
  • Large button

Directions:

First, cut a string about 36” long.

Thread the string through your button.

If it has 4 holes you will want to thread it diagonally through two holes, If only two holes then just go through one.

Daniel Boone Facts For Kids About Colonial Life and Fun Kids' Games (DIY Button Whirligig)

Tie a knot in the loose ends and slide the button to the center opposite the knot.

Daniel Boone Facts For Kids About Colonial Life and Fun Kids' Games (DIY Button Whirligig)

Tie knots in either end and create a loop like this to hold onto.

Daniel Boone Facts For Kids About Colonial Life and Fun Kids' Games (DIY Button Whirligig)

Hold each end and wind it by rotating both ends to wrap it up, much like you would wind up a towel to pop it.

Pull the ends apart and watch it spin, if you get it going fast enough your whirligig may make a low buzzing sound ( hence the name buzz saw).

9 Fun Facts about Jello and Playdough Activity

| 2 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

You’ll love these 9 fun facts about Jello and a playdough activity. Be sure to also check out my Edible Skin Project and Free Homeschool Human Body Unit Study that uses Jello as well.

Too, February 13th through 19th is National Jello Week.

So, I decided to pull out a favorite recipe of homemade playdough.

9 Fun Facts about Jello and Playdough Activity

And to give it some color and a wonderful scent I’m using Jello.

Also, I’m giving list of ways you can use it in your homeschool for learning.

You probably already know that playdough is an amazing tool for building up fine motor skills and strengthening the hand.

Shaping, rolling, pinching, forming, and flattening are great prewriting exercises and they are just loads of fun for kids.

But that is just one aspect of the benefits of playdough.

Homemade playdough is so easy to make and has a much better smell and texture than store bought.

This yummy scented version made with Jello is nontoxic and totally taste safe for little ones but I would try to keep them from eating much of it.

9 Jello Facts You May Not Have Known

  1. There are 22 official JELLO Flavors.
  2. The powdered mixture is made up of about 90% sugar.
  3. Jello was served to immigrants at Ellis Island to welcome them with a yummy treat.
  4. Some of the weird and not surprisingly unpopular flavors that they have tried are- tomato, celery, chocolate, and coffee.
  5. Utah is the state that loves Jello the most. They consume more Jello than any other state.
  6. Jello is 136 years old this year.
  7. Strawberry is the most popular flavor.
  8. There is a Jell-o museum in LeRoy, New York.
  9. You can find a box of Jell-o in 3 out of 4 pantries in America.

Here are some great ways I have compiled to extend the playdough learning beyond exercising just their imagination and fine motor skills.

9 Fun Facts about Jello and Playdough Activity

Here are some great ways I have compiled to extend the playdough learning beyond exercising just their imagination and fine motor skills.

Math Jello Playdough Activities

  • Roll out small balls and have your child count them.

Use them as counters for addition and subtraction.

Practice for skip counting. Having a sensory activity for teaching often helps the information click in your child’s brain better.

9 Fun Facts about Jello and Playdough Activity
  • You can have your child make 2d shapes to learn their names and how many sides and points they have.

But also 3d shapes like cubes, spheres, and cones as well.

9 Fun Facts about Jello and Playdough Activity
  • Use a simple scale or balance to weigh different amounts of gelatin.
  • Roll out various snake shapes and measure with a ruler.

Literacy Craft Ideas Using Jello

  • Use playdough to roll out snake shapes and have your child use it to form upper- and lower-case letters for practice. Too, have them say they sound or tell you something that starts with that letter once they make it as well to reinforce what they are learning.
  • Roll out small balls and call out simple words for your child to spell, put out the matching number of playdough balls and have your child smash one flat with each letter they call out.
  • Use letter shaped beads or stamps to press out simple CVC words into rolled out dough for practice.
9 Fun Facts about Jello and Playdough Activity

Science Ideas Using Jello Playdough

  • Let your child make the playdough with you and note how the ingredients transform and take on a different structure and states of matter when heat is applied.
  • Use playdough to create insects and labels like head, thorax, abdomen, wings, etc.
9 Fun Facts about Jello and Playdough Activity
  • Make multiple colors of playdough and break it down into smaller pieces. Let your child explore color mixing by working the various colors together.
  • Press animals into playdough to create “fossils”.

More Playdough Activities

Finally, look how to make this playdough activity.

How to Make Jello Playdough

You will need:

  • 1 cup of all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup table salt
  • 1 packet Jello – any flavor
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice

Place all ingredients in a large saucepan.

Place the pan over medium heat and stir often until mixture begins to pull away from the side of the pan, this usually only takes a few minutes.

9 Fun Facts about Jello and Playdough Activity

Flip dough out onto a lightly floured surface and allow it to cool until it is comfortable to the touch.

9 Fun Facts about Jello and Playdough Activity

Knead for a minute or two to continue mixing.

Once fully cooled your jello playdough is ready for all those fantastic ideas.

If you love this playdough activity, add cookie cutters, a rolling pin, and other items to extend the playdough activities and stretch your child’s imagination.

9 Fun Facts about Jello and Playdough Activity

Kindergarten Paper Crafts and a Fun Tissue Paper Painting

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

Kindergarten paper crafts are not just fun but build fine motor skills. Also, grab my other tips, ideas, and crafts for kindergarten on my page Kindergarten Homeschool Curriculum.

Kindergarten is such a fun age to teach.

Like little sponges their minds are wide open and soak up all the knowledge that you and the world have to offer them. 

Kindergarten Paper Crafts and a Fun Tissue Paper Painting

It is exciting to introduce them to new art mediums, fresh techniques, and art styles.

Watching a budding artist is one of the great joys of this homeschooling life we chose.

Letting them linger over something they are really enjoying and perhaps cutting short those things they don’t. 

Simple kindergarten paper crafts are low prep, inexpensive, easy, and can be open ended for countless opportunities to use their imagination.

But first look at these fun must have art supplies.

Kindergarten Art Supplies

9 Must Have Tissue Paper Art Supplies for Kindergarten

Add these supplies to your craft list.

Also, grab some of these other kindergarten homeschool curriculum and crafts ideas.

Kindergarten Homeschool Curriculum And Crafts

Kindergarten Paper Crafts and a Fun Tissue Paper Painting

Finally, look at how to make this tissue painting

Kindergarten Paper Crafts and a Fun Tissue Paper Painting

For this art activity you can let your child completely free hand their “painting”.

Or encourage your child to make something related to what you are learning, like a rainbow for a weather unit.

How to Tissue Paint

You will need:

  • Tissue paper
  • Spray bottle with water
  • Art Canvas
  • Masking or painters tape

First, give your canvas a clean edge and make it look like it has been matted for a museum showing.

Tape off a border all the way around the edge with masking tap.

Be sure to press it firmly into the texture of the canvas all the way around.

Cut or tear the tissue paper into small pieces, the more variety of sizes and shapes you have for them the better.

Kids really enjoy tearing the paper up themselves.

Kindergarten Paper Crafts and a Fun Tissue Paper Painting

Use the spray bottle to spritz canvas with water until it is soaked.

Kindergarten Paper Crafts and a Fun Tissue Paper Painting

Have your child create their picture by placing the tissue paper onto the wet canvas to form it.

Simple shapes or patterns will obviously be the easiest for them to create.

Kindergarten Paper Crafts and a Fun Tissue Paper Painting

Remind them to spray the canvas often to keep it wet while they work.

Once they have covered the canvas as much as they like, give it one final spray with the water bottle to soak it again.

Allow the water to dry completely.

Carefully peel off the tissue paper and admire the beautiful color that seeped out of the tissue paper to create their design.

Peel off the tape for a crisp white edge.

Kindergarten Paper Crafts and a Fun Tissue Paper Painting

What Did Daniel Boone Wear And Easy Fringe Shirt Activity for Kids

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

Studying about American Frontiersman Daniel Boone is fascinating and if your child is wondering what did Daniel Boone wear, you’ll love todays activity. And grab my unit study and on my page Daniel Boone – North American Explorer.

I will share a super easy tutorial with you to make Daniel Boone’s famous fringed shirt that is perfect for a costume to use for a history project, co-op or fieldtrip.

What Did Daniel Boone Wear And Easy Fringe Shirt Activity for Kids

 Also, Daniel Boone was a skilled hunter, a trapper, and a trailblazer.

He is often shown in illustrations wearing a coon skin cap, but the truth is that he did not wear one.

He instead preferred a felt or beaver hat with a wide brim similar to what the Quakers of his home in Pennsylvania would have worn.

About Frontier Clothing

For traveling he would have worn buckskin leggings and a loose-fitting shirt made of animal skin.

Buckskins were made from deerskin clothing worn by Native Americans. They became popular with mountain men and frontiersmen due to their warmth and durability.

Fur was of course a very popular material because every part of the animals that were hunted were used, and it also helped keep them warm.

He would also have worn a leather belt with a hunting knife, a hatchet, a powder horn, and a bullet pouch attached to it.

He probably wore moccasins or moccasin boots while traveling through the wilderness.

Additionally, homespun clothing on the frontier was mostly wool or linen.

Rough cotton was mixed with wool to create a blend known as linsey-woolsey.

Homespun dyes were natural and made from items such as berries, nut shells, tree bark, and flowers.

Look at this post Pioneer Living and Cloth Dyeing (Hands-on History).

Clothing from the American frontier was completely hand woven and hand stitched.

Unfortunately, we do not have many clothing artifacts from this period because life was generally rough on fabrics.

And what was still usable was recycled into quilts and other things.

What Did Daniel Boone Wear And Easy Fringe Shirt Activity for Kids

Then, look at some of these books and resources below.

Books About Daniel Boone & His Life

10 Resources for A Daniel Boone Unit Study

Whether you want to add a hands-on unit study or are looking for a few resources, you'll love one of these.

Next, add in some fun hands-on activities.

More Daniel Boone North American Explorer Activities

What Did Daniel Boone Wear And Easy Fringe Shirt Activity for Kids

Finally, make an easy no sew fringed Shirt

How to Make a No Sew Fringed Shirt

You will need:

  • A cream colored, oatmeal colored, or white long sleeve t shirt
  • 1 square of cream 9×12” colored felt
  • Twine or string or leather shoe lace
  • Hot glue gun/glue sticks
  • Fabric scissors
  • strongly prepared coffee or tea
What Did Daniel Boone Wear And Easy Fringe Shirt Activity for Kids

If you need to dye a white shirt you will also need – a large bowl, hot water, strongly prepared coffee, or tea.

When I was ready to create this project, I could not find a simple cream or oatmeal colored shirt to mimic the buckskin color of what Daniel Boone would have worn.

So, I simply dyed my own.

To do this I poured about 6-8 cups of hot water into a large bowl and then added about a half a pot of strong coffee and stirred well.

Dunk your shirt and flip it several times to be sure it is entirely saturated. Allow it to sit in the coffee for 20 minutes.

What Did Daniel Boone Wear And Easy Fringe Shirt Activity for Kids

Rinse and squeeze out excess water.

What Did Daniel Boone Wear And Easy Fringe Shirt Activity for Kids

Toss into the dryer on high for about 20 minutes to set the stain.

Wash and dry as needed after that prior to wearing.

Obviously if you found one you can skip these steps for dyeing it.

Fold over a 9×12” piece of felt lengthwise.

Measure ⅓” to ¼” of an inch down from the fold and mark lightly with a pencil.

What Did Daniel Boone Wear And Easy Fringe Shirt Activity for Kids

Cut ¼” strips up from the bottom through both pieces of fabric right up to your marked line.

Continue all the way across.

What Did Daniel Boone Wear And Easy Fringe Shirt Activity for Kids

Cut felt on the folded line and then cut one of the strips in half.

Spread the shirt out flat and find the center.

What Did Daniel Boone Wear And Easy Fringe Shirt Activity for Kids

Apply hot glue to the back of your longer piece of fringe and press down in the center approximately 4” down from the collar.

What Did Daniel Boone Wear And Easy Fringe Shirt Activity for Kids

Fasten your shorter pieces on either side of the long piece and across the arms with hot glue.

What Did Daniel Boone Wear And Easy Fringe Shirt Activity for Kids

Allow hot glue to dry and harden.

Cut a 2” slit in the neck with 2-3 small holes on either side.

What Did Daniel Boone Wear And Easy Fringe Shirt Activity for Kids

Lace string or twine through the holes to finish it off.

What Did Daniel Boone Wear And Easy Fringe Shirt Activity for Kids