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Free Carnivorous Plants Notebooking Pages & Easy Hands-on Science Activity

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

Today, I have some free carnivorous plants notebooking pages. Also, look at my Carnivorous Plants unit stuy and grab the free lapbook.

Even though we school year round, as the formal school year ends, we tend to be more relaxed and skip about covering different topics.

Tiny was so young the first time I covered my Carnivorous Plants unit study.

Can you believe it was 2009 when I first did this lapbook with the older boys? Yikes.

Too, I chuckle at myself when I see some of my earlier printables in that unit study. That baby needed a facelift.

So today, I am sharing some free carnivorous plants notebooking pages so that Tiny can do these on his own while reading at the helpful websites I have listed below.

Carnivorous Plants Notebooking Pages @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Too, I found an easy hands-on activity on one of the websites listed below that helps Tiny to understand the slow digestive process by bacteria and digestive enzymes.

It required two easy ingredients we always have on hand:

  • a boiled egg
  • vinegar

It said to place a boiled egg in vinegar overnight to show how a pitcher plant digests its prey.

We took a picture after four hours and then we took a picture of the “digested” egg the next morning.

How Do Carnivorous Plants Digest their Prey @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Pretty easy, fun and gross way to see what happens to the prey of carnivorous plants.

Do this easy activity and grab my notebooking pages for a fun day of science.

Books about Carnivorous Plants

11 Carnivorous Plants Resources

Add some of these books and resources for a carnivorous plants unit study for multiple ages.


More Carnivorous Plants Activities

Look at this website that will help your little researcher fill out the notebooking pages:

How to Get the Free Notebooking Pages

This freebie is a subscriber only freebie!

1) Sign up on my email list.
2) Grab the freebie now.
3) Last, look for all my emails in your inbox. Glad to have you following me!

30+ Summer Activities for Middle School Kids

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

Summertime is not just for young children. These 30 summer activities for middle school kids will not only keep them engaged, but it allows them to burn some of the energy they have in reserve during the long year of schooling. Also, look at my page homeschool middle school for more fun tips.

I have gathered up 30 ideas and I’m hoping one of them will inspire you and your kids to savor the moments of homeschooling middle school. They go by fast.

30 Summer Activities for Middle School Kids
  • Play games. My bunch still loves games like Checkers and Life and any type of card game.
  • Try a new sport. Though my boys love traditional sports, they have been trying ping pong lately.
  • Take a craft class together. My friend Cynthia and her son did a pottery class together.

Summer Activities for Middle School

  • Take up singing. Don’t worry if you can’t carry a note. I bought a karaoke machine before we left the states and we loved practicing our singing at the house.
  • Check out some summer classes at the museum or zoo.
  • Create a summer reading list together. Give your children more latitude in deciding what they want to read. Everyone needs to read books that are just for sheer joy.
  • Volunteer at a pet shelter. If you have an animal lover and they are a bit mature, pet shelters are always looking for responsible volunteers.
  • Take up baking. Most kids this age either love to cook or bake.  Chocolate chip cookies are a great motivator with my boys in learning how to bake.

Homeschooling Middle School Kids

  • Ice skating. My boys love to iceskate in the summer when the days are hot. It also burns off excess energy. I love the quiet and calm at home when we come back because they are too tired to start any sibling rivalry.
  • Take them to a homeschool convention.  You know they don’t just sell curriculum there. My boys picked out hands-on science projects and crafts they liked to do. It can also be an opportunity for them to look at curriculum they will be using in the upper grades.
Middle School Kids can create a terrarium @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
  • Swimming. No need to say more.
  • Take up dance classes. Normally in summer the classes are smaller and I find that students get more attention. If you live in place where it’s so hot that you can’t get outdoors for part of the day, an inside activity is a cool relief. We loved the classes offered by Arthur Murray studios.

Summer Learning Ideas for Teens

  • Learn programming. Tiny actually has an interest in this and we might give this a try this summer.
  • Mentoring. Is your child a care giver? Then he or she might enjoy looking at summer programs where they can mentor.
  • Gardening or even container gardening. How long has it been since you made a terrarium?
The Basement Workshop Store

Don’t forget summer is a great time to do a living book and hands-on science exploring about plants, fruits and nuts!

Our Journey Westward

I love these series of books because you can use them for grades K – 8.

“The NaturExplorers series was written with 1st-8th graders in mind.

 All of the activities in the studies are very adaptable for all ages, though, and specific ideas are included for incorporating your older and younger students.”

Our Journey Westward
  • Learn to make jewelry. I did this when I was in middle school. Nowadays, any Hobby Lobby or craft store carries beginner supplies.
  • Learn to work with leather. Leather can be expensive, so start with those cheaper chamois wash cloths they sell at Walmart to dry your car with and make a pouch, shirt or choker from it. These fun leather crafts are a fun way to begin learning about working with leather.
  • Go to free concerts. We use to live close to a major college and they had free concerts outside with a variety of musicals from classical to modern that my boys enjoyed going to.

  • Try a new water sports like whitewater rafting. Certainly not for the faint of heart, but if you have a water lover he or she may enjoy taking lessons.
  • Check out you library summer reading program.

Summer Fun for Teens

  • Take up a summer job. Some jobs like a babysitter, dog walker and pet setting services just require a mature young person.
  • Make a lava lamp. Beckons me to my childhood.
  • Learn to sew. I sewed my first pillow in middle school. It’s a shame that skill didn’t stick with me until today.
  • Learn to Cook.
  • Take an online class. You’ll love this fun Poetry and a Movie. Click here for Online Homeschool High School Poetry (No Teaching Involved).
  • Interview a grandparent. This year we have had both sets of grandparents real ill. We are making a chart of questions that Tiny has been wondering about their life and when we return to the states, he will be interviewing them.
Middle School Kids Can Learn Photography @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
  • Take an elective class for high school now. There is no need to wait until high school to take an elective they might be interested in. Too, by taking a class during the summer, they can take their time and it still goes on their high school transcript when they enter the high school years. Look at A to Z List: Middle and High School Homeschool Electives.
  • Learn photography. My niece took up some basic photography during her summer years. Most classes for beginners don’t require any fancy equipment in the beginning. It is a great way to see if a passion turns into a profession as they grow older.

Fun Learning Ideas for Summer

  • Art lessons for the art lover. Sometimes we just don’t have time to get it all in during the school year and taking up art during the summer keeps it fun instead of “school”.
  • Take up reenacting. My sister and her daughters would do history like this during the summer. Living history, hands down beats a dry textbook.
  • Head to the beach. I remember my summer times at the beach roasting corn and marshmallows. Nothing means summer more than spending a day and evening at the beach.

More Summer Homeschool Ideas

    Those ideas are just some of the things we have done and pop into my head.

    30 Summer Activities for Middle School Kids

    What about you? What are your favorite activities to do during summer time for middle school kids?

    You’ll love these other ideas:

    30 Summer Activities for Middle School Kids @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

    Ancient Egypt Unit Study Part 2 – Best Hands-on Homeschool Ideas

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

    One reason I chose to use Ancient Egypt Passport Project from Home School in the Woods is because of the amount of hands-on history that it has. Also, look at my page Best Homeschool Unit Studies for more unit studies.

    Today, I am sharing Ancient Egypt Unit Study Part 2 because I want to be sure you to get see wayyy more pictures before I finish this study.

    Ancient Egypt is a great civilization to study for Ancient History. Your kids will love this hands-on Ancient Egypt history study with many activities for multiple ages to choose from. CLICK HERE!

    I know I am not using it like suggested meaning you pick and choose what you like to do. That would be too balanced for me.

    I tend to be over board when it comes to history and we like sampling a little bit of it all. Don’t do like me.

    We are trying to squeeze in every bit of the activities because we can’t wait to make the next activity and also I am visually obsessed so I wanted to be sure you get tons of pictures for this unit study.

    Today, we played with paper dolls.

    Ancient Egypt Unit Study Part 2 - Best Hands-on Homeschool Ideas

    Okay, don’t tell Tiny I said that because it was almost an outright mutiny when I showed him what we were going to do next.

    Tiny was almost not going to do these fun Egyptian Figures, but it ended up being such a cool project I am glad we did them.

    Homeschool History and Crafts Obsessed

    Ancient Egypt Unit Study Part 2 - Best Hands-on Homeschool Ideas

    Not only did we enjoy the coloring, but he enjoyed reading about what Egyptians, both adults and kids wore back then.

    Ancient Egypt Unit Study Part 2 - Best Hands-on Homeschool Ideas

    The coolest part is that after using an exacto knife on the paper figures, the clothing can be changed out by sticking tabs from the pieces into the holes or slits cut on the figures.

    After a bit of time, he really got into changing out the pieces.

    Ancient Egypt Unit Study Part 2 - Best Hands-on Homeschool Ideas

    One thing that is so unique was that there were templates to use to cut out actual fabric that can be glued onto the figures.

    Ancient Egypt Unit Study Part 2 - Best Hands-on Homeschool Ideas

    I thought how fun it would be if you had a girl but that was Tiny’s limit. 

    He wasn’t going to make templates out of material.The finished looking project is a fun way to learn about time period clothing.

    Ancient Egypt Unit Study Part 2 - Best Hands-on Homeschool Ideas

    He was pleased with his finished product.

    Not only is all the reading you need included with this unit study, which I like because you know the only books I can get here in Ecuador are in Spanish, but then the review of the material is illustrated in different ways like these pop out books.

    Ancient Egypt Unit Study Part 2 - Best Hands-on Homeschool Ideas

    We read about the social system in Ancient Egypt.

    Then Tiny glued the text on each mini pop out book to show each level in the social system.

    Ancient Egypt Unit Study Part 2 - Best Hands-on Homeschool Ideas

    Let’s just face it, interacting with mini pop up books are certainly way more fun to handle and review material.

    Ancient Egypt Unit Study Part 2 - Best Hands-on Homeschool Ideas

    After he made the minibooks, I helped him glue them on the page showing he social pyramid.

    Ancient Egypt Unit Study Part 2 - Best Hands-on Homeschool Ideas

    Tell me which kid wouldn’t prefer to review material from a page like this instead of a worksheet?Then one more project I wanted to show you was the pocket made for souvenirs.

    The pages are instructions for dressing up like an Egyptian boy or girl.There are more projects we are working on as we make our way through this hands-on unit study.

    Have you ever tried any of the history unit studies from Home School in the Woods? Do you have any favorites?

    Ancient Egypt is a great civilization to study for Ancient History. Your kids will love this hands-on Ancient Egypt history study with many activities for multiple ages to choose from.

    Look at the other parts we did:

      Hugs and love ya,

      Homeschool History Teaching Ancient Civilizations Using Netflix

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

      Besides being a great way unit study starter, movies have a way of taking us back in history.  Remember, when we did our FBI Unit Study, we started our unit study by popping popcorn and watching the documentary about the FBI.

      Not only do movies capture our children’s attention but they have a way of hooking our children on history too.

      Homeschool History Alive

      Netflix is one tool I happily pay for each month because the benefits always outweigh the nominal cost.

      Though the movies change throughout the years, I always manage to keep a list or two on hand when teaching different periods of history.

      Homeschool History Teaching Ancient Civilizations Using Netflix

      Look at my list of homeschool history teaching ancient civilizations using Netflix.

      For 10th Grade
      • Son of Hercules vs. Medusa
      • The Ancient Life
      • The 300 Spartans
      • Colosseum: A Gladiator’s Story
      • Cleopatra
      • The Prince of Egypt
      • Nova: Building Pharaoh’s Chariot
      • The Pyramid Code
      • The Curse of King Tut’s Tomb
      • Secrets: The Sphinx
      • Alexandria
      • Secrets: A Viking Map?
      • Secrets of the Viking Sword: Nova
      • Secrets of the Dead: China’s Terracotta Warriors

      Whether you add a movie or two for enrichment, as a unit study starter or to add some spice to your day, a movie or two can history alive for a time period in history that sometimes can be hard to teach.

      Teaching Ancient Civilizations Using Netflix

      I also scour the History Channel and PBS/Nova for movies to go with a specific time period.

      Also, be sure to scoot by and check out Teach With Movies for free lesson plans to go with movies. It is such an awesome resource.

      Although I don’t use movies to teach exclusively, I feel they are a fun and valuable part of teaching history that can be inspirational.

      What about you? Do you add movies to your unit studies or to enrich your curriculum?

      Homeschool History Teaching Ancient Civilizations Using Netflix

      Also you’ll love these other resources:

      Hugs and love ya,

      Signature T
      Homeschool History Teaching Ancient Civilizations Using Netflix @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

      Ancient Egypt Unit Study – Trip through Ancient History

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

      I have a fun ancient Egypt unit study that I did in three posts. Also, look at my page Best Homeschool Unit Studies for more unit studies.

      I am so tickled and excited about starting our Ancient Egypt Passport Project from Home School in the Woods that I can’t wait until the review to share all what we are doing.

      We will be using this curriculum over the next month or so and you know I am so visual that I have to share a ton of pictures with you before I do a final review.  I know you like pictures too.

      Take a trip through history and discover cultures at another era of time with hands-on projects and activities that drive the lessons home in a fun way! You’ll love this Ancient Egypt Hands-on Homeschool Unit Study. CLICK HERE to get it!

      One of the reasons I was so giddy to get my hands on this was because of all the activities and projects.  We couldn’t wait to get started.

      My initial thought on this is that it does require a good amount of time for set up.  I have never been afraid of a bit of hard work in the beginning for a nice payoff in the long run.

      Too, once we made the passport and luggage (so stinkin’ fun) we can use it for all the other project passport studies.

      ANCIENT EGYPT ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS

      One thing I want to be sure you know when you start using this is to read carefully all the notes provided.

      They are worth the time reading so that you don’t make mistakes in printing. 

      For example, I appreciated the very fine point of printing “actual size” and not shrinking the pages because the measurements will be off on all projects.

      Just be sure you read all the details and take your time.

      Hands-On History Ancient Egypt

      So the first couple of lessons, which are called Stops (there are 25 Stops total), is where a lot of the prep work is done. We have done 3 STOPS and stopped so that we could catch up on some of the fun projects.

      Ancient Egypt Unit Study 3 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

      We started by making the fun passport first.

      Ancient Egypt Unit Study 5 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

      All the templates you need to make each printable is with this download. It is the total package. 

      Tiny wanted to use a photo for his passport where he was wearing his Ecuadorean hat. He is proud of that native hat.

      He actually thought this was cool to make because when we got our passports for coming here to Ecuador, he learned a lot about visas and passports.Ancient Egypt Unit Study 6 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

      Then next we worked on making the timeline called “Snapshots Moments in History”. This baby has 8 pages plus 4 pages of timeline figures and extra pages for decorating. 

      Ancient Egypt Unit Study - Trip through Ancient History

      You can choose to do the pages notebook style or accordion style.

      Ancient Egypt Unit Study 1 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
      Ancient Egypt Unit Study 2 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

      Since we love lapbooks, we decided to go ahead and do the timeline accordion style.

      It took a bit of time to cut each page and tape it, but now we have the timeline for the whole project and will be gluing our timeline figures as we go along at each Stop.

      Homeschool History Based Activity Study

      Ancient Egypt Unit Study 4 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

      Then this luggage idea, complete with luggage tag is so creative.

      Ancient Egypt Unit Study 7 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

      Just a heads up, my luggage looks a bit different than what the instructions said.  You will be able to create yours like the model one shown in the download because you probably live near a Wal-mart.

      Since everything is not easy to find here in Ecuador, I had to help Tiny create something just a bit different.

      First, I couldn’t find a file folder with pockets and brads. I went to 7 stores and they just don’t have that here in Ecuador.

      So we made our own pockets and instead of using the brads like the instructions said, we used a file fastener.

      If you make it and you live near civilization, it won’t take you near as long as it did for us to make our luggage.

      We loved making it though and Tiny even wanted to glue some luggage stickers that we found on the internet onto the outside. It came out so cute.

      Inside we store the travel log pages, which Tiny will write on at the end of our journey.

      History Based Activity Study Ancient Egypt

      We can store other items in the pockets too.

      Ancient Egypt Unit Study 8 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

      Then lastly we made our beginning scrap book called Scrapbook of Sights.

      The instructions called for a clear outside pocket and a 3 ring binder.  Guess what?

      They don’t have clear outside pocket binders here and there are only 2 ring binders used here in Ecuador like the picture shown above.  Again, your final product will look a bit different than mine does here.

      This wasn’t such a big deal though because we just glued the cover page onto the outside and can use a 2 ring binder.

      This binder is for storing the map we did about Upper and Lower Egypt and it will store our timeline as we add “snapshots” of our trip.

      Too, we listened to our first audio as we headed down the Nile River.

      I really like this part to this curriculum because out of all of my boys, Tiny is the strongest audio learner and he just curled up beside as we listened to this audio tour complete with sound effects. So much fun.

      You see, there is no way I will be able to get this all in one blog post because there is way too many wonderful things to tell you about this project.

      I will update you as we move along through a few more Stops and do more of the projects.

      Do you have plans for an upcoming unit study on Ancient Egypt?

       

      Take a trip through history and discover cultures at another era of time with hands-on projects and activities that drive the lessons home in a fun way! You’ll love this Ancient Egypt Hands-on Homeschool Unit Study. CLICK HERE to get it!

      You’ll love the other parts to this unit study:

      Hugs and love ya,