Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Activity, Change, Progress

hands-on activities

How to Make Easy DIY Bird Feeders With Kids

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We’re making easy diy bird feeders today. Also, look at my post Free Bird Unit Study and Lapbook And Fun Edible Bird Nests.

We have been enjoying the Coping With the Cold unit study so much!

It’s such a fun and relaxed winter unit and it encourages us to get outside, even when the weather isn’t great.

Since I tend to stay indoors and under the covers during winter, this has been an excellent motivation to get up and outside during cold weather!

In the unit study, we learn more about how animals, including birds, adapt to cold weather.

And, of course, one of the primary adaptations birds make is to migrate to warmer climates.

How to Make Easy DIY Bird Feeders With Kids

As they travel, though, they are always searching for sources of food.

One of the suggested activities in NaturExplorers is to make a DIY bird feeder. So that’s what we did!

NaturExplorers: Making Easy DIY Bird Feeders

Since we like to include the scientific method in our nature study, we decided to make two different bird feeders and evaluate which one is the most popular with our local feathered friends.

We went with one sweet-tasting feeder and one with a more savory taste: a peanut butter birdseed feeder and a sweetened fruit cereal feeder.

I got the idea for the peanut butter birdseed bird feeder.

And I got an idea for a fruit cereal bird feeder.

Both are really, really easy, so they’re perfect for little ones to make!

Making a DIY Bird Feeder

You only need a few supplies to make the peanut butter birdseed feeder.

Constructing a Birdseed Feeder with Kids

Once you’ve finished constructing it, all you have to do is hang it up!

Simple DIY Birdseed Feeder

It doesn’t get unusually cold where we live, but we do see flocks of birds migrating in the skies from time to time.

Hanging a Birdseed Feeder with Kids

So it’ll be interesting to see if the birds that are still here will like this food.

Easy Hanging Birdseed Feeder for Kids to Make

Ta-da!

Building a Froot Loop Bird Feeder

The fruit cereal bird feeder is a wonderful fine motor skill strengthener for kids. Plus, they can always snack on a few as they work!

Crafting a Cereal Bird Feeder

Once all the cereal pieces have been added, just twist the ends to close the circle.

Hanging a Cereal Bird Feeder

Then you can hang that one up too!

Easy Fruit Cereal DIY Bird Feeder

It looks so lovely against the green leaves.

Comparing DIY Bird Feeders

Over the next few weeks, we’re going to watch to see which bird feeder is more popular with the birds in our area.

I think that the sweet cereal feeder is going to empty faster than the birdseed feeder, but we’ll see!

This was such a nice way to include hands-on activities in our nature study using NaturExplorers.

Making easy DIY Bird Feeders is a fun winter nature craft to do with the kids. Add this easy hands-on nature craft to your homeschool unit study. Click here to see how to make it!

Want to see more fun hands-on science ideas to try with the kids? Stop by to see these posts!

How to Teach Limits: Hands-on Middle School Math

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Eventually kids run into the concept of limits during their math classes. In traditional classes, it’s common to use graphs to explain this idea. Also, look at my page homeschool middle school for more fun tips.

But when you homeschool, you can make learning a bit more hands-on, which is how I prefer to teach my children.

This fun hands-on math activity is a great (and simple) way to explore this concept with middle school students!

How to Teach Limits: Hands-on Middle School Math

Sometime around 450 BCE, Zeno of Elea, one of the ancient Greek Philosophers, gave a puzzle to his students.

How to Teach Limits: Hands-on Middle School Math. It's common to use graphs to explain how to teach limits. But when you homeschool, you can make learning a bit more hands-on. Click here to see how to bring this math concept alive

A tortoise came up to Achilles and proposed a race.

You know who Achilles is, right? The hero of the Illiad (think Trojan War). The guy who died of an arrow in his ankle. The mighty hero himself!

Well we’ve met the tortoise in Aesop’s Fables. He’s a pretty smart guy.

So the tortoise comes up to Achilles and proposes a race. Achilles fell down laughing. A slow, crawling, reptile is challenging ME to a race?

Why yes. However I need a head start. 10 meters should be enough.

Achilles laughs harder, even with a head start he’d quickly catch the tortoise!

Then the tortoise begins to explain.

No matter how fast you run, you will only catch up to where I WAS, not where I am now. After you’ve run the 10 meters, I will have moved farther ahead.

No matter how fast you run, you will only run to where I have been. Not where I will be. I will have always added a small distance before you reach where I am. So you can never catch up to me.

Achilles sadly conceded the race.

So let’s take a look at this concept on the kitchen table.

Pull out your Achilles and Tortoise. We used two different Lego minifigures.

Set the Tortoise ahead of Achilles. Place a piece of tape or use a piece of posterboard to mark the spot where the tortoise is standing.

Simple Math Limits Activity

Now move “Achilles” to the designated spot, but move the “tortoise” slightly ahead.

Hands On Math Limits Activity

Do this again and again and again. No matter how fast Achilles runs, he always ends up where the Tortoise WAS, not where he is.

Teaching Kids About Math Limits

In the pure world of mathematics, Achilles will always run the where the Tortoise WAS, not where the Tortoise IS. Achilles will get close to the Tortoise. He may be atoms away from the Tortoise, but he will never catch Achilles.

The tortoise is the limit for Achilles in the race.

A limit is the value that a function or sequence approaches as the input, or index, approaches some value.

Achilles can approach the tortoise but never quite reaches the tortoise. The tortoise is the Achilles limit!

Isn’t the pure world of mathematics fun!

Let’s take another look at limits through a joke my math professor once told us.

An engineer, physicist, and mathematician were placed on one side of the room. A line was drawn on the other side. They were told they could only go halfway each time.

So the engineer whipped out a calculator and measuring tape. After a few measurements and calculation, he quickly crossed the room.

The physicist pulled out a slide rule and a yard stick. After a few measurements and scribbled calculations, she quickly crossed the room as well.

The mathematician…. well the mathematician has yet to arrive!

So again, we pulled out the LEGO figure to take a look at what’s going on.

First you place one figure at one end of the table. Now measure the table and go halfway.

Learning About Math Limits for Kids

Measure the table and go halfway again!

Learning About How Math Limits Work

As you can tell, if you only go halfway each time, you’ll never reach the end of the table.

The measurement of the table is the limit of the infinite series 1/2(table) + 1/4(table) + 1/8(table) + 1/16(table) + 1/32(table) and so on. Once you reach infinity, supposedly you’ll have reached the end of the table.

But not until then!

Hence our poor mathematician is trapped trying to get to the other side of the table.

Try again moving the mathematician 1/4 or 1/8 of the way each time. Does it change the limit or does the limit remain the length of the table?

How to Teach Limits: Hands-on Middle School Math. It's common to use graphs to explain how to teach limits. But when you homeschool, you can make learning a bit more hands-on. Click here to see how to bring this math concept alive

Written by Sara at Classically Homeschooling.

Limits is a fascinating and fun concept to explore with kids!

Check out these other math activities for homeschoolers!

How Animals Cope With the Cold (Easy Nature Study)

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

I was given this product free because I asked for it and couldn’t wait to use it. ALL opinions are my own and for sure I will always tell you what is on my mind. When I do accept a product it’s because I’m giddy to tell you about it. Read my full disclosure here. Now on to the fun stuff!

Winter is a wonderful season for learning about animals with kids. Animals go through so many different behavioral changes to adapt to cold temperatures and, when you can study those changes in your own backyard, it really makes scientific concepts come alive.

So I was excited to try the NaturExplorers ebook “Coping With the Cold”. I’ve been wanting to add in nature studies to our homeschool but didn’t need anything that requires a lot of fuss.

Winter is a wonderful season for learning about animals with kids. Animals go through so many different behavioral changes to adapt to cold temperatures and, when you can study those changes in your own backyard, it really makes scientific concepts come alive. Click here to grab this easy nature study!

NaturExplorers ebook “Coping With the Cold” is a Charlotte Mason-inspired nature study program for learning about how animals adapt to winter temperatures. And it’s loaded with simple DIY projects, science activities, and plenty of notebooking pages too!

Take a look at what all is included in this excellent science curriculum!

NaturExplorers Review: Coping With the Cold

Since NaturExplorers is a Charlotte Mason-style program, the curriculum includes plenty of nature study activities and hands-on learning ideas for studying winter animal behavior.

Nature Explorers Coping With the Cold

And, along with all the printed activities for kids to complete, there are loads of notebooking pages and drawing prompts so they can record what they observe outdoors.

Nature Explorers Winter Animals Notebooking Pages

Winter NaturExplorers 1080x1080 (Instagram)
What I really like about NaturExplorers is that the program encourages kids to spend plenty of time outside in nature, finding out what animals do for themselves.

Nature Explorers Migration Activity

For example, the activities about bird migration were really informational and geography-based too.

Did you know that birds actually follow “flyways” – a version of bird highways? I didn’t!

Migrating Animal Research Planning Page

This migrating animal research planner was such a neat idea, because it’s a great way to help children plan a research topic, organize their ideas, and outline an essay.

This is an excellent activity for middle school language arts.

Studying Winter Animal Adaptations

By the way, these are just some of the notebooking and journaling activities in the program!

Easy Nature Study!

Winter Animal Observation Sheets

Charlotte Mason strongly encouraged art and journaling and NaturExplorers does a fantastic job of prompting kids to draw what they see and note what it tells them about animal behavior.

It’s art and science in one activity!

Winter Adaptations Research Activity

And, because I always love to encourage reading, I was thrilled to see that the program featured an activity for kids to complete using a nonfiction book about winter animals they choose from the library. (My favorite place!)

Winter Adaptations Art Activity

Even if you can only observe one or two different kinds of animals (depending on where you live), the idea of adaptations is so thoroughly covered that kids will be able to spot other adaptations in animals they read about.

Migrating Flocks Observation Sheet

Some of the other notebooking pages include questions for kids to answer, based on their own observations, and charts for them to fill out.

Studying Winter Animal Behavior

I also loved that NaturExplorers is so open-ended. There’s no weekly schedule or layout included, so you can pick up and pause as you need to. It’s a very relaxed curriculum and you adapt it to your own schedule.

Perfect for us eclectic homeschoolers!

I’ll be sharing a few of the NaturExplorers activities in upcoming posts, but – trust me – this is a fabulous winter nature study program that you’ll love as much as the kids do!

How to Purchase It.

►Product Name: Coping With the Cold.
►Website: Our Journey Westward.
►Type of product: Ebook instant download.
►Ages: Multiple grades 1st to 8th grade.
►Price: $12.00

Winter is a wonderful season for learning about animals with kids. Animals go through so many different behavioral changes to adapt to cold temperatures and, when you can study those changes in your own backyard, it really makes scientific concepts come alive. Click here to grab this easy nature study!

See even more ways to include hands-on science in your homeschool!

Hugs and love ya,

Hands-On Math: Factoring and Balancing Chemical Equations

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

Written by Kim at The Learning Hypothesis.

Hands-on Chemical Equations Fun!

Chemistry requires a lot of algebraic thinking in order to be successful and it’s easy to incorporate hands-on chemical equations. Chemistry includes formulas, proportions, and the basis of the balanced chemical equation includes math concepts like the lowest common multiple, factoring, and the distributive property.

Balancing equations is necessary to satisfy the law of conservation of matter and simple means that what goes into a reaction comes back out.

The number of atoms on one side of the yields sign will equal the number on the other side.

Learning this kind of advanced math can be a bit tricky for students, so I like to make it as hands-on as I can.

Middle & High School Hands-On Math: Factoring and Balancing Chemical Equations. Chemistry requires a lot of algebraic thinking in order to be successful. It includes formulas, proportions, and the basis of the balanced chemical equation includes math concepts like the lowest common multiple, factoring, and the distributive property. Look at this fun hands-on idea to bring math alive!

This hands-on balancing chemical equations activity was a great way for my kids to visualize the concept as they learned.

How to Factor and Balance Chemical Equations

Let’s talk about the 3 mathematical concepts that are necessary to balance these equations:

  • Lowest common multiple
  • Factoring
  • Distributive property

The lowest common multiple (LCM) is the smallest number that 2 (or more numbers) are factors of.

Factoring is the process of determining what combinations of numbers can be multiplied to create a specific product. It looks like this.

Factoring Numbers

Distributive property says that multiplying a number by a group of numbers added together is the same as doing each multiplication separately.

In the case of balancing equations it means that when we add (or change) coefficients that the change will impact all of the elements in the formula.
Example

Balancing Chemical Equations

In this equation, there are 2 atoms of oxygen on the reactants side and 1 atom on the product side.
Reminder: the only thing that can be changed is the coefficient.

The LCM of 1 & 2 is 2. The factors of 2 are 1 & 2 so 2 is the first coefficient to try.

How to Balance Chemical Equations

That 2 will multiply the 2 hydrogens and the 1 oxygen atom resulting in 4 hydrogen and 2 atoms.

Now the hydrogen are unbalanced. There are more hydrogen on the product side.

The LCM between the two sets of hydrogen is 4. The factors of 4 are 1 & 4 and 2 & 2.

To make the hydrogen on the reactants side equal the number on the products side we will use a coefficient of 2 on the reactant side. This results in 4 hydrogen atoms on both sides.

Balancing Chemical Equations for Kids

All balanced.

Now if all of that math, made your head spin. Let’s look at a hands-on way to work through balancing these chemical equations.

Hands-On Activity for Balancing Chemical Equations

Make Factor Trees:

Do a quick lesson/review on creating factor trees. This is something many students have done since upper elementary. This is a great review of factor trees.

I like to actually multiply the number of atoms to get a common multiple and use factor trees to determine the lowest common multiple and the coefficients needed for that number of atoms.

This is a quick example…

How to Make Factor Trees

The factor trees make it easier to determine both the lowest common multiple and the coefficients (the factors of the LCM will be used in conjunction with the subscripts in the formulas

For instance if you were trying to balance an element with 4 atoms on the reactant side and 6 atoms on the product side, you can multiply those together to get 24.

Do a factor tree and quickly discover the lowest common multiple is 12 and the factors of 12 that will be used as coefficients.

Create a Chemical Equation Balance

Making a Math Balance

Supplies:

  • ruler
  • paper clips (colored are best)
  • binder clips
  • pencil

Directions:

  1. Place the binder clips on the opposite ends of the ruler.
  2. Count the type of atoms in your equation.
  3. Now count the number of each atom and add it to the corresponding binder clip (Use a different color for each element)
  4. Use the factor trees to help determine how to best balance the equation by adding atoms (paper clips)
  5. The ruler will be flat (balanced) when the number of atoms is balanced.

Using the example from above. This is the balance in action.

Hands On Math Balancing Equations Activity

Unbalanced equation:

This balance activity uses green paper clips for the hydrogen atoms and blue paper clips for the oxygen atoms.

To balance the oxygen, we added the coefficient to the product side to balance the oxygen.

The result is that hydrogen is now unbalanced. There are 4 atoms (paper clips) on the product side and only 2 on the reactant side.

The balance is leaning to the right.

Balancing Chemical Equations Activity

To completely balance the equation add the coefficient to the hydrogen on the reactant side.

DIY Balancing Chemical Equations Activity

Changes the number of hydrogen from 2 to 4 which completely balances the equation and the balance.

Middle & High School Hands-On Math: Factoring and Balancing Chemical Equations. Chemistry requires a lot of algebraic thinking in order to be successful. It includes formulas, proportions, and the basis of the balanced chemical equation includes math concepts like the lowest common multiple, factoring, and the distributive property. Look at this fun hands-on idea to bring math alive!

Make learning math fun and easy with these other hands-on activities!

Hands-On Math: Fun and Easy Snowflake Geometry

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

I have an easy snowflake geometry activity.

With the onset of winter weather, we’ve experienced the first few snow flurries in our area.

Just the mention of the word snow and kids of all ages get into a tizzy that brings delight and happiness.

I really wanted to bring that feeling of magic into our lessons, so I began hunting for ideas for my older kids.

Hands-On Math: Fun and Easy Snowflake Geometry. With the onset of winter weather, we’ve experienced the first few snow flurries in our area. Add a bit of math and science together to make these easy snowflakes and study a bit of geometry too. CLICK HERE to make this easy hands-on math craft!

When my kids were younger, we did a lot with crafts.

Crafts are a great way to make lessons hands-on and fun.

The more ways you can make math an art activity, the more kids can connect with the concept.

It’s also nice to connect other subjects and make lessons more efficient and engaging.

Because my kids are older, we’ve fallen away from crafts. However, it had become my goal to find a learning craft to tie into both math and science for the winter season.

Easy Snowflake Geometry

The following craft was the perfect lesson to review angles and geometrical shapes.

To get in our science skills at the same time, we learned a little about the science of weather.

Winter can be a hard time to keep focused with lessons, so this activity can be a great way to keep up your schooling stamina.

Hands-On Math: Simple Snowflake Geometry

Break out the smocks, paint, and craft sticks!! It’s time to get crafty! Here is a fun DIY decoration for your kids to make for their rooms, for a friend, or for a party.

For this craft, you will need the following materials:

  • craft sticks
  • protractor
  • liquid glue or a hot glue gun
  • any color of paint
  • paper to cover work space
  • paint brushes
  • decorative ribbon
  • double stick foam tape

We began this lesson by reviewing the different types of angles. We measured out and drew a 30 degree angle using the protractor.

Making a Simple Math Geometry Craft

Then we used 6 craft sticks to glue together a star shape. We were careful to make sure our angles measured at 30 degrees.

Winter Snowflake Geometry Craft

Next we added the points to our star in the form of diamonds or rhombuses.

At this point, a few of the kids got off of their measurements which resulted in the creation of their own shapes.

Painting a Geometric Snowflake

The kids then chose a color of paint to paint their snowflakes.

Making a Geometric Snowflake

You’ll love these living books for winter which bring learning alive when your kids hit the doldrums.

Winter NaturExplorers 940x788 (Facebook)


There are many ways to extend this activity:

  • Use the book Snowflake Bentley to learn about the man who studied snowflakes and invented the photomicrographic technique.
  • Research the science of snowflakes. Learn how snowflakes are made and what determines the shape of snowflakes.
  • Learn the seven shapes of snowflakes and then identify all of the shapes found in each snowflake type.
Hands-On Math: Fun and Easy Snowflake Geometry. With the onset of winter weather, we’ve experienced the first few snow flurries in our area. Add a bit of math and science together to make these easy snowflakes and study a bit of geometry too. CLICK HERE to make this easy hands-on math craft!

Add more math learning fun to your winter studies with these hands-on activities!