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When You Are Afraid of Homeschool Science Gaps

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

When You're Afraid of Homeschool Science Gaps @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

I was given a free copy of this book and I was paid for my time. However, paid for my time does not mean paid off.  ALL opinions are my own and for sure I will always tell you what is on my mind. Your experience may vary. When I do accept a review it’s because I am giddy to tell you about it. Read my full disclosure here.

Homeschool science gaps or holes in what we’re teaching can make us panic, but we have many resources at our finger tips, which can lessen homeschool fears and one valuable tool is Air Is Not Oxygen: Essential Science You Should Have Learned … But Probably Didn’t.

Did You Miss these Essential Science Concepts?

First, look at these three other posts, Free Moon Journal, Electricity Hands on Science Activity and Erosion Easy Hands-on Science Activity where I share easy hands-on activities from Air Is Not Oxygen because I don’t want you to miss them and the free printable.

There were several things that drew us in to want to use and review Air Is Not Oxygen, but the main lure I was giddy about was that it explains science concepts in a way easy to understand.

This reminds me of other curriculum that we have been drawn to that gives us the broad strokes, which I feel are important for several reasons.

One| Covering the essentials are stepping stones to in depth studying.

I have always confessed that I run the other way from science topics, but not my boys.

Tiny is no exception. So not only am I sure that he is covering essentials, which are easily explained like Newton’s laws and changes in the earth, but having a basic framework gives Tiny a foundation on which to build a solid science study.

Two| Broad strokes means mastery.

Mastery learning appeals to both a student that is advanced or a student that struggles with basic concepts.

This means that Air Is Not Oxygen can be used with elementary aged children or kids getting ready to enter high school, who may not have covered basic science concepts adequately.

For a child that is younger and has a love for science, they’ll love mastering concepts quickly instead of using a spiral approach to science.

Also, Air Is Not Oxygen is a great fit for an older student who may feel like he is behind. Quickly covering basic essentials gives a high school student a boost in science and can rekindle his love for science.

Three| If a mom student is science phobic, he’ll love this book.

I was especially drawn to this book because it fits the way I think kids and adults should learn when they may not like a subject.

With few details and emphasis on hands-on activities within each chapter, it makes learning science simple, fun and interactive.

What Would Your Ideal Homeschool Science Curriculum Contain?

Air Is Not Oxygen draws you into the subjects because they are witty, short and concise.

When you’re short on time (who isn’t these days), you’ll love the fact that many of the supplies for science activities are things like paper cups, plastic spoons, pie pans and straws, which are things you have around your house.

I don’t need another exhaustive list to make of science supplies we wouldn’t use later. I like uncomplicated supplies and your kitchen and home will have most of the supplies.

For quite a few of the activities, Tiny just gathered up the supplies and he was ready to go.

Did I mention the chapters are short? Tiny easily read the book in just a few days.

Of course, we went back and did the activities, but the short chapters with simple explanations was a huge hit with him.

I like the What You Learned bullets at the end of the chapter because it made for a quick review.

And if I could make up my own science curriculum it would certainly be a lot like Air Is Not Oxygen  , with no worksheets, lots of easy hands-on activities to do with multiple ages of children and a review.

If you are like me, you want to be able to explore curriculum freely and jump around from topic to topic. I gave Tiny the book and instead of reading it in order, he started with Newton’s Laws, went to the chapter on electricity and headed over to earth changes, then fossils and after that I can’t remember.

I love the fact that Tiny could skip around and learn what interested him first and I can plan our unit studies by picking and choosing activities that match our unit study topic.

You’ll want to include this nifty resource in your must-haves for science curriculum.

Product Facts a Glance 2

Here are a few other things you’ll want to know that made a difference to me.

  • Author Bill Morelan, Ph.D is a pioneer homeschooler, teaching his two daughters at home in the early 1980s. Both of his girls went on to achieve advanced degrees, and today one is a highly-respected elementary teacher, while the other is actively involved in the homeschool movement.
  • The book covers physical, life and earth and space science.
  • It is a multiple age resource and that includes adults who may be lacking in their science education.
  • It is a super resource for myth busters, like air is not oxygen.
  • It meets the national Science Standards.
  • Concepts are simplified for clarity.
  • Each chapter has more than one hands-on activity.

Purchase the book here: Air Is Not Oxygen: Essential Science You Should Have Learned … But Probably Didn’t!
Grades: elementary to high school
Type of Format: paperback
Price: $12.95

I highly recommend this book if you are a science phobic teaching mama, have a kid that loves science or one that feels he may have missed out on some essential concepts.

Hugs and love ya,

Tina Signature 2015c

All product information is correct and accurate as of the date of this review.

Also, grab these free resources to round out a study about life, physical and earth science.

Learn About Leap Year Free Notebooking Page, Human Body Unit Study and Five Free and Fun Hands-on Science Activities.

 

Erosion Hands-on Easy Homeschool Science Activity

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

Easy hands-on homeschool earth science activity @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Tiny still hasn’t had his fill of easy hands-on science so we are keeping our science groove going. Today, I am sharing an erosion hands-on easy homeschool science activity to learn about earth’s changes.

Using the the book Air Is Not Oxygen: Essential Science You Should Have Learned … But Probably Didn’t ( which is a total keeper for us at this point), Tiny has been going through one fast activity after another.

Earth Science – Exciting?

It has been a nice break from the chemistry which has he has been doing. Me?

I love the fact that most of the activities are so easy he can do them on his own, the supplies are easily found in my house and the activities don’t take much time to do.

Earth changes 1

Look at what he gathered up to learn about earth changes:

  • Pie pan.  (we already had this big roaster pan so are using it, but you could easily use a small pie pan. nothing fancy)
  • Sand. (we had a jar in our storage room when we left overseas and are loving the fact that when we come back, we had instant supplies. Of course it would be better if we could grab some sand outside, but we don’t really have sand near where we live now.)
  • plastic cup and plastic spoon (for wave making). Tiny grabbed a straw too in case he wanted to compare the spoon to the straw. After he started doing it, he grabbed some blue dye for the water and we had some sea shells we used just because we had them. But dye or seashells are not necessary either, we just had them.
  • dry measuring cup, ruler and permanent marker.
earth changes 2
Geography bundle -- North Star Geography and WonderMaps
earth changes 3

The instructions called for pouring a couple of cups of sand in one end of the pan, so Tiny decided he needed to measure it.

He ended up pouring all of the sand in the pan because he realized our pan was bigger than a cake or pie pan.

Next, the instructions said to put an inch of water in the pan. He measured an inch before he started pouring the water.

earth changes 4

Then he started slowly pouring the water so as to not disturb the sand.



At this point, we decided to add the shells because not only did we have them, but they could be used as visual markers for how the shore moved.

earth changes 7

Then grab the plastic spoon and start making waves.

Hands-On Science Bundle

You’ll also want to check out these fun hands-on science ideas!

earth changes 6

Though our erosion was fast, it was pretty easy to understand how the earth changes over time when we compared the two shore lines.

We talked about earth changes that were slow like weathering and erosion and other changes that are fast like earthquakes and landslides.

I am telling you, if you want easy hands-on science activities for any age and that are quick, you’ll love Air Is Not Oxygen: Essential Science You Should Have Learned … But Probably Didn’t.

Yikes, we are loving having an all science week.

Hugs and love ya,

Also, grab these other activities we did from this book:

Electricity Hands-On Science Activity
Free Moon Journal Activity and I have a free Earth Science Lapbook that would go great with this activity.

Learn About Leap Year Free Notebooking Page & Resources

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

Learning about Leap Year free notebooking Page

Seizing the moment or in this case the year, the leap year, we took a rabbit trail off our unit study to look up a few websites and read about the leap year. Today, in learn about leap year free notebooking page, I rounded up a few websites to learn about why a leap year was started.

Can you believe poof in 4 years how your homeschool and kids will change? Anyway, the subject this month is too cool to pass over, so we took a day today to dig in and learn about it.

Look at few facts to think about or research:

    • February normally has 28 days.
    • Every fourth year, February has 29 days.
    • The fourth year is called a Leap Year.
    • When did the practice of adding leap year begin?
    • What is significant about 1582?
    • How do you keep track of your birth day if you’re born on February 29?
    • What are the differences between the Gregorian and Julian calendars and why it matters?

Look at these free downloads and background information:

Download the Free Leap Year Notebooking Page!

Hugs and love ya,

Don’t forget to follow BOTH of my Pinterest accounts for more AWESOME pins.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.


Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

11 AWESOME Ways to Learn Geography (Other Than Labeling a Map)

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

Slapping down a map to label states and countries has never been an engaging way to teach my kids homeschool geography. Too, look at my page Homeschool Geography for hands-on and simple ideas and tips.

Drill and kill of boring facts to remember only worked for a short time too.

So today, I am sharing 11 awesome ways to learn geography that don’t include labeling a map because geography is so much more than writing out the names of states and countries.

11 Awesome Ways to Learn Geography (Other Than Labeling a Map)

Can you say snore? zzzzzzzz. (okay, okay)

Including ways to teach geography to a variety of ages, I hope some of these help you to get out of your geography rut.

ONE|  Sing geography songs.

You can listen to a sample of these Geography Songs here.

Music helped my boys to remember important key geography terms and countries.

TWO|  Learn landmarks.

Learning about the Grand Canyon or the Amazon Rain Forest brings life to geography.

Even when teaching about ancient civilizations, it’s easier to remember them when they are associated with landmarks.

Look here at my information and free minibook about the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World.

THREE|  Cover geography with science.

History and geography are not the only subjects that go hand in hand.

Geography Bundle

Science can also easily be added to geography.

Whether you have a child that eats up geography and could leave science alone or you have a child that runs from geography to study science, combining the two subjects is a win-win.

For example, we made a fun lava lamp when studying about how convection currents rise and fall.

FOUR|  Eat up and learn about geography.

Talking about eating, geography is especially fun if you can learn about the different foods of a country.

Isolating this idea more, focus on one food like the breads of the world or the spices of a country.

Have you seen the How Did That Get Here series?

And then you can never, never go wrong with making a food from a country or region.

Looked at a few things we have made when studying about certain areas.

  • Make pan au chocolat when studying about France.
  • Make celtic cakes when studying ancient civilizations.
  • Make baklava when studying about Ancient Greece.
  • Make victory soup when studying about the countries of World War II.
  • Make Cherokee pan bread when studying the states in the Southeastern United States.
  • Make soups from South America.
  • Make chili when doing a state study on Texas.
  • Make negrinho when doing a study about Brazil.

FIVE|  Make a DIY atlas.

My boys loved making a diy atlas when we studied geography using North Star geography for middle and high school kids.

Instead of labeling for the sake of busy work or so it seems like it to your kids, a diy atlas gives them a purpose for map making.

Make the project large if you are doing a world geography tour or make it only for a certain area if you don’t want to get too overwhelmed.

I like easy projects that focus on specific areas.

We tend to get more out of our projects when we can sharpen our focus on smaller chunks of information.

SIX|  Unleash your inner artist.

Another way to draw in a reluctant learner or to mix up your geography is to draw it.

Take a look at Geography Through Art or Mapping the World with Art.

Geography Through Art is a multi-age resource and has some terrific resources for hands-on activities.

SEVEN|  Use technology.

I love the free world geography games from Sheppard Software.

Shepphard Softward has been around for years and is another great way to change up geography. Another one we love is the stack the states app. The free version is fun.

EIGHT|  Do a lapbook or two.

You know our love for lapbooks and in most all of my lapbooks, I add in minibooks for geography.

Also, you can do a lapbook just on geography.

Check out the free geography lapbooks at Homeschool Helper Online.

NINE|  Living books and literature.

Another fun combination of subjects is to mix language arts with geography. A living book brings geography alive through a story.

Tell a child a story, adding in hands-on activities and they’ll see a purpose for learning about the world around them.

Though the series of books by Holling C. Holling say they are for upper elementary kids, they are such a precious and meaty resource that I feel you can use them for middle school kids too.

Also, grab this free 166 .pdf supplement to enhance your study of Paddle-to-the-Sea.

Then, I love these free vintage books that are recommend to study geography Charlotte Mason style. They are Charlotte Mason’s Elementary Geography and Long’s Home Geography for Primary Grades.

Scoot by and grab them if you are looking for free geography.

TEN|  Geography games.

Of course, who can deny the benefits of learning through games?

Have you seen GeoDice: Educational Geography Board Game and GeoPuzzle World – Educational Geography Jigsaw Puzzle?

ELEVEN|  Virtual travel.

And lastly, I love this unique and creative idea of virtual travel without leaving the comfort of your living room. Search for each day on her website. (day 1, day 2, etc. up to day 7)

Don’t settle for boring worksheets to teach geography.

Using one of these eleven ways, I hope will bring a little more pep to your step when teaching geography.

Hugs and love ya,

Also, check out the tips for First Grade Homeschool Curriculum for History and Geography and also 3 Reasons Why Hands-On Geography is Important in Middle and High School.

Are you following my geography board on Pinterest on my first account?

Follow Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s board Ge-og-ra-phy {Earth Writing} on Pinterest.

And are you following my newest Pinterest account too?

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.

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22 Awesome Homeschool History Field Trips

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

It’s one thing to read about the Holocaust in a book and quite another to bring history to life by visiting a museum and learning about the lives affected by this tragedy.

22 Awesome Homeschool History Field Trips. Bring history alive through interactive learning @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

History field trips have a way of not only making history fun, but places have a way of helping a child remember important dates, important people and events.

Moving from the book to visiting historical places makes learning history memorable and engaging.

Creative Ways to Give Life to Homeschool History

Look at this list of places to visit for history and oh yes, be sure to print off some copies of my forms below.

Historical Reenactments.

Civil War Battle Fields.

Old Plantations.

Renaissance Festival.

Historical Hotel.

Paddlewheel Boat Replica. (Enjoy a meal like they dined back in times past.)

Pioneer Village. (Learn about candle making, shoe cobbling and how to make soap to name a few activities. Call ahead and get a guided tour.)

Cemeteries. (Read about the people who lived in the past and read what the quotes say about older graves.)

State Capitol. (Our state capitol has homeschool days. Check with your state capitol.)

History Museum.

One Room School houses. (Super fun field trip if you have one in your area.)

Old Car Museum. (Learn about how people got around in times past.)

Old Stagecoach House. (We use to live near an old stage coach house. It was a place the stage coach stopped to change horses and for travelers to grab a meal.)

Old churches turned museum. (Many old churches have been turned into museums.)

More Homeschool Field Trips Resources

Old forts. (We visited the Alamo and tried to vision what life would have been like then.)

Visit war ships.

Historical part of a town. (Look for the historical markers and find old buildings. Also, look at the old advertising on the side of the buildings.)

Lighthouses. (This is next on our list to visit.)

Federal Reserve Bank. (We learned about the history of how money is made)

Library. (Read old newspapers and magazines.)

Courthouse. (If you call ahead, you can coordinate a viewing of old Wills and Deeds. So much fun reading what was willed to family members. You get an idea of every day items used back in the day that were important to a livelihood.)

Old people. (A truly valuable resource especially if you have an older aunt, uncle or grandparent that can tell your children about the past.)

Anything else to add to this list?

How many of these things have you done to make homeschool history come alive?