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How to Make a Fun Ladybug Watercolor Labeled Picture

May 15, 2024 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Not only is it a fun new medium but this ladybug watercolor picture is a great way to incorporate science into your art project. Look at my Free Kids Insect Unit Study.

Instead of printing a worksheet to have your children label, have them paint their own beautiful ladybug picture.

Then use watercolors and label each part. It’s not a lesson they would soon forget.

How to Make a Fun Ladybug Watercolor Labeled Picture

Did you know that a group of ladybugs is called ‘a loveliness’ or ‘a bloom’?

What a wonderful name!

The ladybug has an exoskeleton made of a protein like the one that forms our hair and fingernails.

First, look at some books to add to your study.

Books About Ladybugs

7 Ladybug Resources & Books for Kids Who Love to Read and Be Read To

Want to learn more about the amazing ladybug? Check out some of these resources to make a wonderful immersive study around this little insect. Grab a favorite book from the library or Amazon to make sure your ladybug journey is full of hands-on fun and learning. You can even raise ladybugs in their own tiny world.

The Big Book of Bugs (The Big Book Series)

A beautifully illustrated, informative book for children introducing them to bugs that creep, crawl, bite, fly, and more.

From moths and beetles to worms and spiders, the world is crawling with fascinating bugs. The Big Book of Bugs is the first fact-filled book for children to explore the vast array of creepy-crawlies that share our Earth.

Ladybug

McClung, in explaining the vision and purpose for his books, remarked "practically all my books deal with wild animals and the natural environment. Unfortunately, more and more of the vital habitat that wildlife needs for survival is being polluted or destroyed by the activities of Homo Sapiens.

Insect Lore Live Ladybug Growing Kit

Includes voucher for 10 to 13 ladybug larvae and all the food they need to grow into adult ladybugs included

Ladybug at Orchard Avenue

Ladybug encounters many predators while hunting for food and searching for a winter home. Ladybug's bright red coloring helps to keep her safe, but will she find enough food and a safe shelter for the winter months ahead? Reviewed by the Smithsonian Institution for accuracy, Ladybug at Orchard Avenue is a fun and informative story with beautifully detailed illustrations.Watch your children have a blast reading and learning about the animals that live in an American backyard!

Life Cycle Kit Science

Life Cycle Matching Card Set: Contains a set of plastic animals of the life cycle of a Ladybug. It helps demonstrate the life cycle of animals with beautiful 3D designs that entice kids to learn!

Ladybugs

Everything you ever wanted to know about ladybugs— and why they're crucial to our environment. When you think of a ladybug, you might picture a little red beetle with seven black spots on its back—but did you know there are thousands of types of ladybugs, spread across the world?

A Ladybug's Life (Nature Upclose)

Ladybugs are a farmer's best friend-they eat the bugs that would otherwise harm plants. Nature Up close series uses beautiful watercolors to depict each creature's world from its unique perspective. Simple text describes the creatures' movements and activities.

Next, here are some more facts about ladybugs.

Ladybug Facts

Its body has three distinct parts: a head, thorax, and abdomen.

The head houses the ladybug’s mouthparts, compound eyes, and antennae.

Beneath the protection of the elytra, which is the colorful spotted covering are their flight wings. These spots warn predators that they are not.

Ladybugs, also known as lady beetles or ladybird beetles are very much considered a beneficial bug rather than a nuisance.

They help to rid areas of aphids, mealybugs and other crop destructive pests that would otherwise take over healthy plants.

With almost 400 different kinds of ladybugs in North America these pretty little flyers are plentiful which is a good thing.

Also, they help pollinate flowers and fruits, especially in the winter months.

Just like the beautiful butterfly, ladybugs have four stages before they complete their metamorphosis.

They start out as tiny eggs that hatch into larvae, then the pupal stage, lasting around two weeks.

Finally, they become adult ladybugs, and their hidden wings appear.

How to Make a Fun Ladybug Watercolor Labeled Picture

Looking for a few more ideas for using your watercolor supplies?

Here are 4 more nature watercolor tutorials to look at that will help you cover art to science study, as well as some geography in one project.

Nature Watercolor Tutorials

  1. I just love this video tutorial for Watercolor Fireflies In a Jar, it has such a fun magical summer feel to it.
  2. You would almost think that you had visited yourself when you painted a Galapagos Islands Animals Fun and Simple Watercolor Flamingo Tutorial .
  3. This Beautiful Watercolor Butterfly Painting combines oil pastels and watercolor for a lovely art project.
  4. While resist paintings have been around for ages this Bee Art Activity | Watercolor Crayon Resist puts a fresh new spin on it.
  5. Dive deep and create a magical tropical Jellyfish Art Project for Kids for an ocean themed study.

More Insect Activities

  • Free Kids Insect Unit Study┃ How to Make Clay Insects
  • Fun and Easy Hands-on Life Cycle Butterfly Activity for Kids
  • 7 Honey Bee Activities And Explore a BeeHive With Felt Activity
  • 8 Insect Fun Facts About Texas For Kids | Easy Dragonfly Craft
  • Blue Morpho Butterfly Adaptations
  • 8 Facts About Moths and a Fun Nature Elephant Hawk Moth Craft
  • Fascinating and Fun Honey Bees Unit Study and Lapbook for Kids
How to Make a Fun Ladybug Watercolor Labeled Picture

Finally, look at how to do this ladybug watercolor art.

Ladybug Watercolor

If you are going to learn about an insect, the lovely garden friend the ladybug is an excellent subject and makes for a pretty picture as well.

Young children can be given small slips of paper with the basic parts on it.

If they are not quite writing yet while older children can get more detailed, even labeling the scutellum, central line, femur, tibia, tarsus, and tarsal claw.

You will need:

  • Watercolor paints
  • Watercolor paper
  • Container of water
  • Large circle object for tracing
  • Pencil
  • Ruler
  • Fine line marker
  • Paintbrushes
How to Make a Fun Ladybug Watercolor Labeled Picture

You can absolutely free hand your ladybug if you like but I find it really helpful to trace a circular outline and then freehand from there.

Use a bowl or something similar to lightly trace a circle into the center of your page.

How to Make a Fun Ladybug Watercolor Labeled Picture

Paint a light wash of black down the center of the circle for the abdomen and a larger black half circle at the top for the pronotum (which covers the ladybugs thorax).

How to Make a Fun Ladybug Watercolor Labeled Picture

Allow to sit until mostly dry.

Now, fill in the circle with 2-3 coats of red to get the shade you desire.

How to Make a Fun Ladybug Watercolor Labeled Picture

Let it dry or use a blow dryer to help speed it up but you want it completely dry before you begin adding more details.

Once the red is dry paint on the head and 6 jointed legs.

How to Make a Fun Ladybug Watercolor Labeled Picture

Fill in black dots with a couple of thick coats of paint.

How to Make a Fun Ladybug Watercolor Labeled Picture

Use a fine line marker to outline the ladybug and sharpen the edges, this will really give it a completed look.

How to Make a Fun Ladybug Watercolor Labeled Picture

Take a ruler and make lines where you would like your child to label the parts, the older the child the more detail you can get.

How to Make a Fun Ladybug Watercolor Labeled Picture

You can simply have them label “legs” or more detailed like “foreleg, middle leg, hind leg”.

Once you have created your lines and everything is dry, have them neatly fill in the parts.

How to Make a Fun Ladybug Watercolor Labeled Picture

Leave a CommentFiled Under: Hands-On Activities Tagged With: art, hands-on, hands-on activities, handson, handsonhomeschooling, homeschool, insects, life science, science, watercolor

6 Kids Movies About Paul Revere | How To Make A Lantern

May 13, 2024 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

In addition to 6 great kids movies about Paul Revere I’m sharing fun resources, hands-on activities, and an upcycled lantern craft. Also, look at my page American Revolution Unit Study and Lapbook 1775 – 1783.

While some were still loyal to the British crown many colonists were not happy with the overreaching hand of their government.

They wanted to decide who had the authority to impose taxes – Britain or colonial governments.

6 Kids Movies About Paul Revere | How To Make A Lantern

This led to the American Revolutionary War in a fight for independence and the exciting birth of a new nation – The United States of America.

Paul Revere has been lauded throughout history for his part in the events that led to this.

“To arms, to arms! The British are coming, the British are coming!”

Those words were uttered by the revolutionary war hero Paul Revere on the night of April 18, 1775.

While he wasn’t the only one who made the ride that night to warn of the British patrols, he has been the most famous.

Besides Paul Revere making the ride, Samuel Prescott, Israel Bissell, William Dawes, and Sybil Ludington made the late-night ride.

“One if by land, two if by sea!”

As a way of communicating, he arranged that if two lanterns were hung in the church then the British were approaching by land across the Boston Neck, and two lanterns meant they were coming by sea across the Charles River.

Kids Books About Paul Revere

First, look at these books about Paul Revere.

We use living books when we can find them. Also, I like to add reference books to our study.

8 Paul Revere Resources & Books for Kids Who Love to Read and Be Read To

I couldn't ride off into the night without giving you a handful of fantastic resources to make your Paul Revere study even more fun and memorable.

Who Was Paul Revere?

In 1775, Paul Revere of Boston made his now-famous horseback ride warning colonists of an impending attack by the British. This event went largely unnoticed in history until Longfellow celebrated it in a poem in 1861. So who was Paul Revere? In addition to being an American patriot, he was a skilled silversmith and made false teeth from hippo tusks! This biography, with black-and-white illustrations throughout, brings to life Paul Revere's thrilling ride as well as the personal side of the man and the exciting times in which he lived.

Landmarks of American History Volume 3 Paul Revere and the Minute Men

Landmarks of American History, Vol. 3: Paul Revere and the Minute Men. 1950 American history book.

And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?

Everyone knows about Paul Revere's midnight ride. But not everyone knows the harrowing details and narrow escapes that occurred along the way. This timeless and witty book highlights little-known facts about patriot Paul Revere.

Mr. Revere and I

Paul Revere didn't make his famous midnight ride alone. Meet a patriot unlike any other: Scheherazade, the mare who doesn't mind mentioning she was once the fastest and most admired horse in the King's army. But on arrival in America, "Sherry" is quickly let down by her British rider and recruited by Sam Adams to join the Sons of Liberty. Before long, she finds herself teamed with Raul Revere to play a key-if unnoticed-role in the American Revolution. Full of wit and wisdom, this beloved classic presents an unforgettable view to the birth of a nation-straight from the horse's mouth!

Paul Revere's Ride

"Listen, my children, and you shall hear Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere." So begins the immortal poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, one of America's most famous poets. With racing, musical verse and dazzling illustrations, readers will experience the thrilling night that Paul Revere raised the alarm throughout the countryside and stoked the fires of the American Revolution.

Colonial Style Tricorn Hat - Revolutionary War Deluxe Hat

Tricorn Hat With Colonial Jabot and Cuffs Costume.

Great Battles for Boys The American Revolution

History leaps off the page and captures even reluctant readers as early colonial protests, such as the Boston Tea Party, bring even more tyranny from King George III. With a declaration of war from England and the appointment of George Washington as commander of the Continental Army, the revolution’s real battles begin.

Safari Ltd Revolutionary War Continental Army TOOB

Historic Figurines: This Designer TOOB contains 5 figurines significant to the Revolutionary War - a flag bearer, a musketeer, a drummer boy, a fifer, and the iconic George Washington. These figures stand proudly in their battle-ready poses.

Next, look at some fun facts about Paul Revere.

Facts about Paul Revere

The main importance of Revere’s ride was to warn revolutionary leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock that British troops were planning to arrest them.

This act helped them evade arrest and escape.

A few fascinating things to note about Paul Revere:

  • Was also known for his art such as copper plate engravings and his illustrations were used in books, magazines, political cartoons and tavern menus.
  • He was the father to 16 children.
  • Born in Boston he was the son of French immigrants.
  • He was a silversmith by trade.
  • The horse he rode that night was borrowed from a man named John Larkinand believed to be named Brown “Beauty.”
6 Kids Movies About Paul Revere | How To Make A Lantern

Next look at some movies about Paul Revere.

6 Kids Movies About Paul Revere

  1. Watch Paul Revere For Kids on YouTube from Homeschool Pop, one of my favorite homeschool resources.
  2. Liberty’s Kids 105 – The Midnight Ride with Paul Revere & William Dawes
  3. America The Story Of Us Season 1 episode 2 and 3 cover the American Revolution specifically but this is a great history series.
  4. Paul Revere and the American Revolution – Fast Facts is a great option for families with older kids to dig a little deeper into this period of history.
  5. Make it a really fun and whimsical watch with this LEGO movie of Paul Revere’s ride. This is the kind of history kids love to get into.
  6. Here is a video listing 10 Facts About Paul Revere, simple and straightforward.
6 Kids Movies About Paul Revere | How To Make A Lantern

Additionally, look at some hands-on activities for the American Revolution.

Look at my 10 American Revolutionary War Activities | Amazing Tea Bag Rocket Science and Amazing and Free American Revolution Lapbook for Multiple Ages.

Finally, look at how to make a lantern to use with a Paul Revere unit study or about the American Revolution.

How To Make A Lantern

You will need:

  • Cardboard milk carton
  • Craft paint
  • Straight blade or knife
  • Paintbrushes
  • Pipe cleaner
  • cardstock
  • Battery operated tea light
  • Hot glue
6 Kids Movies About Paul Revere | How To Make A Lantern

First, wash out the carton well with water and a little soap and rinse thoroughly.

Make a template for your lantern as long and as wide as you would like the opening on each side to be.

I did this by cutting a rectangle from a piece of cardboard backing from a paper pack.

Trace template on each of the 4 sides.

6 Kids Movies About Paul Revere | How To Make A Lantern

Use a sharp blade to cut each of the 4 sides out.

6 Kids Movies About Paul Revere | How To Make A Lantern

Dry the inside with a paper towel.

Paint the outside and inside as well if you like.

To give mine an old, tarnished look I painted it black and while it was still wet streaked gold paint lightly over it.

6 Kids Movies About Paul Revere | How To Make A Lantern

Allow it to dry completely.

Make a loop with a pipe cleaner.

6 Kids Movies About Paul Revere | How To Make A Lantern

Hot glue the loop to the top of your lantern with one curve on each side for stability to create a hanging loop.

6 Kids Movies About Paul Revere | How To Make A Lantern

Add a small battery-operated candle inside the lantern for the light and it is ready to warn of invasion!

6 Kids Movies About Paul Revere | How To Make A Lantern

Leave a CommentFiled Under: Hands-On Activities Tagged With: american history, early American history, hands on history, hands-on, hands-on activities, handson, handsonhomeschooling, history, history resources, homeschool

How To Make A DIY Lava Lamp Lesson Plan

May 12, 2024 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today, I’m sharing how to make a diy lava lamp lesson plan. Also, look at my page Hands-On Simple And Best Homeschool Geography Ideas & Tips for more activities.

We used North Star Geography as part of our study of geography during our middle and high school years.

So though we have been able to read and talk about our geography we didn’t do any hands-on projects, which is the best part of geography because we did not have any supplies.

It has taken a few months to find supplies here in Ecuador. 

Now that we have a good amount of things on hand, we are eager to get started with the hands-on things we have been missing.

We started our homeschool geography with a diy lava lamp.

First, look at this list of geography resources for middle and high school.

Homeschool High School Geography Resources and Books

Geography for high school should still be fun and hands-on. It can take years to find the right resources. However, I’ve gathered up some of my favorite books and resources.

North Star Geography

North Star Geography covers basic geography skills (maps, navigation) as well as physical geography (topography, biosphere, structure of the earth) and human geography (environmental stewardship, agriculture, culture, heritage & more)—all from a Christian perspective. Each lesson in the Reader is approximately 10-15 pages and geared toward junior high-high school students, though it may be adapted for younger students; the text features full-color maps, illustrations, and interesting sidebars. Accompanying each lesson on the Companion Guide, hands-on project options, as well as an “atlas building” section where students label outline maps, are provided. Note-taking pages feature ten questions taken from the text that can be used for review or comprehension questions, as well as for a study guide for the exam

Welcome to the Wonderful World of Geography

Brenda Runkle’s World Physical Geography makes an often-boring topic come to life!

With our world seeming to shrink with each passing week, knowing about virtually all peoples and nations is more important than ever.

World Physical Geography

It focuses on physical geography, providing the basis for learning the fundamentals of geography. 

Geography Challenge

Challenges students to remember important facts and encourages them to enjoy themselves in the process.Deals with facts and principles related to the study of life science, physical science, and earth and space science.

Around the World in 180 Days, 2nd Edition (two-volume set)

Around the World in 180 Days is a geography and history program covering the history, geography, and culture of each continent. And yet this is not a textbook. It is a series of questions that the student must research in order to answer. Plenty of resources are suggested to help students conduct their research, and the teacher's edition provides all the answers. This revised and updated curriculum is written with a multilevel approach with study questions for students of all grade levels, making this a curriculum your whole family can do together! This two-volume set includes an illustrated teacher's edition and a student workbook.

Eat Your Way Around the World

Get out the sombrero for your Mexican fiesta! Chinese egg rolls! Corn pancakes from Venezuela! Fried plantains form Nigeria! All this and more is yours when you take your family on a whirlwind tour of over thirty countries in this unique international cookbook. Jam-packed with delicious dinners, divine drinks, and delectable desserts, this book is sure to please. 

Lifepac History & Geography & Geography 11th Grade

Student worktexts include daily instruction and review as well as ample opportunity for assessment of student performance using self tests and unit tests. To encourage individualized instruction, we have included a teacher's guide designed to help you guide your student's learning experience according to his specific interests and needs. This essential teaching resource includes teaching notes for each unit, a complete answer key, and information about additional resources and learning activities.

Trail Guide To World Geography *OP

If you would like a geography course that includes mapping activities, atlas usage, research, notebooking and culture with very little teacher preparation, look no further. The Trail Guide to World Geography is a week one, day one kind of teacher s manual with daily geography drills (answers included) and numerous weekly assignment choices. <P> Multi-level geography course for 36 week school year for elementary through high school. <P> Assign as much or as little as YOU decide.

Hands-on Homeschool Geography

Actually, it has been a bit of an unexpected positive twist, but doing these hands-on activities much later has served as a fun review of what we studied months ago.

For example, in chapter 4 of our North Star Geography we talked about the earth’s structure and convection currents.

It said: “Convection currents: hot liquid rock closer to the core rises toward the surface, rises toward the surface, cools and sinks back to the bottom, where it heats up again.

A great hands-on activity to illustrate this is a lava lamp.

How To Make A DIY Lava Lamp Lesson Plan

Too what I love about a lot of the hands-on ideas in our geography program is that they use a lot of materials you find around the house.

Look at this easy list of things you probably have around the house to do the lava lamp activity:

  • Vegetable oil
  • water
  • dye
  • alka-seltzer tablets
  • flashlight
How To Make A DIY Lava Lamp Lesson Plan

Fill your contain about 3/4  full with the vegetable oil and the rest of the way with water.

How To Make A DIY Lava Lamp Lesson Plan

Add the dye, the alka-seltzer tablet and watch the color explosion.

How To Make A DIY Lava Lamp Lesson Plan

The lava lamp does not show the heating process the way a true lava lamp would, but it’s fun and similar.

How To Make A DIY Lava Lamp Lesson Plan

Too, add a flashlight behind it or under it to get the true effect.

Did you ever make a lava lamp in school? I did and thought it was the coolest thing I did.

More Hands-on Geography Ideas for Kids

  • Homemade Compass Simple Geography Project Equals Huge Wow Factor
  • Hands-on Geography: Longitude/Latitude Mapmaking Activity
  • How to Make An Embroidered African Map Fun Geography Craft
  • South America Geography Salt Dough Map + Printable Pennants
  • How to Make An Edible Geography Model of Tidal Zones
  • 35 Hands-on Geography Activities to do in 15 Minutes or Less

Homeschool Geography - DIY Lava Lamp @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Leave a CommentFiled Under: Hands-On Activities Tagged With: geography, hands-on, hands-on activities, handson, handsonhomeschooling, homeschool, homeschool geography, homeschoolgeography

How To Make A Fun Periodic Table Notes Game With Kids

May 10, 2024 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

We’re making a fun periodic table notes game with kids using a seemingly simple office supply in a great new way-sticky notes. Also, look at my post Homeschool High School Chemistry & Free Reference Sheet and Resources for more ideas.

If you are like me, you’re always trying to find fun ways to turn learning into a game.

Besides, your kids will have great memories of being piled on the couch, or around the kitchen table playing rather than hunched over textbooks.

How To Make A Fun Periodic Table Notes Game With Kids

We are going to take sticky notes and make a fun game that can be played over and over in a few different ways to help your children learn the periodic table.

Do you remember the Jeopardy game board we made from sticky notes?

I just flipped it over to the other side and boom we have a double duty game.

And if you keep it very neutral, you’ll be able to use this for Bingo as well as Jeopardy for any topic you like.

First, look at some of these living books about chemistry for kids.

Living Books About Chemistry for Kids

12 Chemistry Books & Resources for Kids of All Ages

But first here are some resources that are a great introduction and more to chemistry for kids.

Superstars of Science

Discover fun facts about the greatest scientists from history through Basher's fresh and unique illustration style.

Did you know that Marie Curie used to keep radioactive materials in her pockets? Or that Mendeleyev literally dreamed up his famous periodic table? Superstars of Science tells the stories behind the big ideas in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, mathematics, cosmology, earth sciences, and engineering. Read about 40 great scientists including Newton and Einstein who produced theories that explained the way in which the Universe works, Crick and Watson who uncovered the structure of DNA, and Alexander Graham Bell who had the big idea that became the telephone. Each one of these greats of science has had some vital flash of insight that has changed the way we see the world and the way we live. Come meet the superstars of science!

Basher Science: Chemistry: Getting a Big Reaction

Discover the secrets of chemistry, and learn about the properties of matter and the ways in which they interact, combine and change. Chemistry is a compelling guide to a community of characters who make up everything around us.

Crucibles: The Story of Chemistry from Ancient Alchemy to Nuclear Fission

This book is a classic in the field of popular science. Standard reading since the 1930s, it is one of the few histories of chemistry to concentrate on the lives of the great chemists. Through these dramatic and human stories, it gives an authoritative and entertaining account of the great discoveries and advances in this scientific field. After many printings in three previous editions, this book has been newly revised by the author for this fourth edition. Beginning with Trevisan and his lifelong search for the "philosopher's stone," the author narrates the lives and discoveries of such towering figures as Paracelsus and his chemical treatment of disease; Priestley looking for phlogiston and finding oxygen and carbon dioxide, Lavoisier creating a new language of chemistry; Dalton and his Atomic Theory; Avogadro and the idea of molecules, Mendeleeff arranging the table of elements under his Periodic Law; the Curies isolating radium; Thomson discovering the electron; Moseley and his Law of Atomic Numbers; Lawrence and the construction of the cyclotron; and more. Probably the most dramatic chapter in the book, the account of the development of nuclear fission, ends the story of chemistry at its most monumental achievement.

The Chemistry of Cola

You’ll be amazed at all you can learn from this favorite drink – what’s in it, why it fizzes, what you can do with it, the containers it’s in, and more!

Napoleon's Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History

Napoleon's Buttons is the fascinating account of seventeen groups of molecules that have greatly influenced the course of history. These molecules provided the impetus for early exploration, and made possible the voyages of discovery that ensued. The molecules resulted in grand feats of engineering and spurred advances in medicine and law; they determined what we now eat, drink, and wear. A change as small as the position of an atom can lead to enormous alterations in the properties of a substance-which, in turn, can result in great historical shifts.

52 Extreme Kids Chemistry Experiments Set - STEM Activities & Science Kits

If you want your child to be able to explore and complete some simple chemistry experiments without running around grabbing all the items an all in on kit is just the thing to add to your chemistry studies.

The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements

Why did Gandhi hate iodine (I, 53)? How did radium (Ra, 88) nearly ruin Marie Curie's reputation? And why is gallium (Ga, 31) the go-to element for laboratory pranksters? The Periodic Table is a crowning scientific achievement, but it's also a treasure trove of adventure, betrayal, and obsession. These fascinating tales follow every element on the table as they play out their parts in human history, and in the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them. The Disappearing Spoon masterfully fuses science with the classic lore of invention, investigation, and discovery -- from the Big Bang through the end of time.

Chemistry Fluxx Card Game - Science Games Card Games for Kids

 Chemistry EditionChemistry Fluxx is the perfect compound of chance, skill and strategy-use atoms and laboratory tools to match the current goal of the game and win! The rules are always changing in Fluxx. The Keepers, Goals, Rules and Action cards determine how the game will be played.

Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments: All Lab, No Lecture (DIY Science)

For students, DIY hobbyists, and science buffs, who can no longer get real chemistry sets, this one-of-a-kind guide explains how to set up and use a home chemistry lab, with step-by-step instructions for conducting experiments in basic chemistry -- not just to make pretty colors and stinky smells, but to learn how to do real lab work:

  • Purify alcohol by distillation
  • Produce hydrogen and oxygen gas by electrolysis
  • Smelt metallic copper from copper ore you make yourself
  • Analyze the makeup of seawater, bone, and other common substances
  • Synthesize oil of wintergreen from aspirin and rayon fiber from paper
  • Perform forensics tests for fingerprints, blood, drugs, and poisons
  • and much more

The Joy of Chemistry: The Amazing Science of Familiar Things

Written for lay readers, provides an introduction to the principles of chemistry and includes quotations from popular literature to show how chemistry and everyday life intertwine.

The Cartoon Guide to Chemistry (Cartoon Guide Series)

If you have ever suspected that "heavy water" is the title of a bootleg Pink Floyd album, believed that surface tension is an anxiety disorder, or imagined that a noble gas is the result of a heavy meal at Buckingham Palace, then you need The Cartoon Guide to Chemistry to set you on the road to chemical literacy.

You don't need to be a scientist to grasp these and many other complex ideas, because The Cartoon Guide to Chemistry explains them all: the history and basics of chemistry, atomic theory, combustion, solubility, reaction stoichiometry, the mole, entropy, and much more—all explained in simple, clear, and yes, funny illustrations. Chemistry will never be the same!

Air Is Not Oxygen: Essential Science You Should Have Learned ... But Probably Didn't!

AIR IS NOT OXYGEN is a fun way to brush up on essential science concepts you missed in school. (Admit it. You probably thought you had better things to do than study!) Clear, short chapters focus on mastering key concepts instead of memorizing facts. Dozens of optional hands-on activities make science come alive! In a style described as “Dave Barry meets Bill Nye with a touch of the Mythbusters,” award-winning author, Bill Morelan, debunks common misconceptions about basic science. Reflecting both the National Science Content Standards and the Next Generation Science Standards, AIR IS NOT OXYGEN covers Life Science, Earth Science, Physical Science, and Science Methods.A fun, informative read, AIR IS NOT OXYGEN helps fill the gaps in your science education. (Never be humiliated by science geeks again!) Perfect for sharing, or as a handy basic reference tool. Makes a great book for kids, too.

Next, look at some facts about chemistry.

Periodic Table Notes Groups and Facts

There are 118 elements on the periodic table listed by symbols rather than names. Sodium for example is NA. Elements are further arranged vertically and horizontally.

The elements arranged vertically in columns are called “groups,” and elements arranged horizontally in rows are called “periods.”

There are 18 groups and 7 periods. Finally, they are arranged in the increasing order of atomic numbers. 

We are focusing on the main 8 families of elements.

  1. Alkali metals
  2. Alkaline earth metals
  3. Rare earth metals
  4. Crystallogens.
  5. Pnictogens
  6. Chalcogens
  7. Halogens
  8. Noble gasses
How To Make A Fun Periodic Table Notes Game With Kids

Too, look at these hands-on chemistry activities.

11 More Fun Ways to Teach The Periodic Table

  1. Another really great game variation is this Periodic Table Game for Kids: Periodic Table Battleship.
  2. Use fun and colorful books especially for upper elementary through middle school to catch their attention and make learning a breeze like this Basher Science Periodic Table.
  3. Easy Hands-On Science: Label the Atom Playdough Activity
  4. Combine art and science in this incredible The Periodic Table: Fun Activities For Kids From You Are an Artist.
  5. 10 Popular High School Chemistry Homeschool Curriculum
  6. These Periodic Table Flashcards are free from Thrifty Homeschoolers and make a great tool for visual learners.
  7. Learn The Periodic Table Song | SCIENCE SONGS for kids that are auditory learners.
  8. Medieval Chemistry and Homeschool History – Fun Hands-On Activity
  9. Atomidoodle Chemistry Game App
  10. 21 Fun Chemistry Homeschool Ideas for Kids
  11. 2 Fun Chemistry for Kids Experiments & John Dalton Notebooking Pages
How To Make A Fun Periodic Table Notes Game With Kids

A variation on the periodic table notes game is below.

So, call out a material. Then have your child cover the symbol that the item is made from.

For example: table salt would be an example of sodium (Na). Gold bricks would be gold (Au).

Finding 18 different colored sticky notes for the game is going to be difficult and can get rather expensive.

So, in the interest of time and money we are going to use the older version of the periodic table of 8 to make our game.

Before you play your game let your child become familiar with the periodic table by looking it up in a fun reference book and typing out each element and the symbol on the computer (you can use this later for the game.

Periodic Table Notes Game

You will need:

  • 8 colors of sticky notes
  • Permanent Marker
  • A list of 118 elements & symbols
  • Large ruler
  • White pen or crayon
  • Marker to cover, crackers, cookies, plastic lids etc..
  • A bowl or other container
How To Make A Fun Periodic Table Notes Game With Kids

It can be a little tricky finding many distinct colors of sticky notes, ours were a combination of Walmart, Dollar Tree, and Amazon. 

You could also just use construction paper cut into 3×3 squares or you can not worry about assigning each type its own color and just use a few fun colors.

How To Make A Fun Periodic Table Notes Game With Kids

First, start by finding the center of your board and draw a line across the middle to divide the board in half for each of your two players.

Find the center of the board at either end and make a small mark using a ruler to create a 4×4 grid of 16 squares.

Make them just slightly larger than 3 in square so that your posted notes will fit inside.

How To Make A Fun Periodic Table Notes Game With Kids

Once you’ve written or printed out each of the elements and the symbol to draw from, cut them out, fold or crumple them, and place them into a bowl or other container.

How To Make A Fun Periodic Table Notes Game With Kids

Use a book or some other periodic table for reference and determine which color of sticky notes will go for which elements if you’re going to divide them up by color.

How To Make A Fun Periodic Table Notes Game With Kids

Have your child write the element symbol for each of the 118 elements on the sticky notes or just for the section of the periodic table that you’re working on.

How to Make a Bingo Periodic Table Game

Once done they can choose their 16 elements and place them on to the “Bingo” board.

Pull elements out of the bowl one by one calling out the name of the element and have your child find the symbol on their bingo board and cover it with whatever marker they’ve chosen.

 I highly recommend crackers or cookies to combine snack time with science.

When they have 4 in a row in any direction of course they call out “BINGO!”.

And the game can be started new again. Just move the sticky notes around and use new ones.

How To Make A Fun Periodic Table Notes Game With Kids

Leave a CommentFiled Under: Hands-On Activities Tagged With: chemistry, hands-on, hands-on activities, handson, handsonhomeschooling, homeschool, homeschoolscience, periodic table of elements, science

P Is For Pineapple Craft | How To Make A Fun Handprint Pineapple

May 4, 2024 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today’s P is for pineapple craft is a fantastic simple idea for summer that can double as home decor to give your space a tropical fun vibe. Also, I have more alphabet letter fun on my page How to Homeschool Preschool.

Besides, handprint crafts are a wonderful way to preserve those tiny hands.

Before you know it, those hands grow into large ones that reach for the car keys and shy away from having their palms slathered in paint.

P Is For Pineapple Craft | How To Make A Fun Handprint Pineapple

You can create today’s craft on sturdy paper or even on a canvas to create a sturdier art piece.

Even though it’s summer, you can still have lots of fun learning with your preschooler and incorporate the summer theme at the same time.

They will never know all the “juicy tidbits” they are learning about science, geography, math, and more.

It will seem like child’s play.

Next, look at more phonics or letter activities for your little learner.

More How to Homeschool Preschool Letter of the Week Activities

  • Alphabet Letter A is for Apple Craft for Preschool | Fun Apple Study
  • Letter O is for Owl Preschool Craft | Fun Great Horned Owl Study
  • Alphabet Letter H Handprint Craft For Fun Preschool Horse Study
  • How To Make An Alphabet Teeth Cleaning Activity | 5 Preschool Letter T Crafts
  • Alphabet Letter R is for Rainbow Craft for Preschool | Fun Rain Mobile
  • Alphabet Letter M is for Monkey Handprint Preschool Fun Monkey Study
  • Alphabet Letter G is for Gorilla Fun Paper Plate Preschool Mask
  • W Is For Winter Craft Easy Snowman Oobleck Activity
  • Letter E Is For Eagle Easy Preschool Eagle Study
  • Alphabet Letter N Is For Nest Handprint & Fun Nests Preschool Craft
  • B is for Bird Craft | Free Preschool Bluebird Study
  • X is for X Ray Craft | Unique Crayon Resist Skeleton
P Is For Pineapple Craft | How To Make A Fun Handprint Pineapple

Next, look at some fun facts about pineapples.

Facts About Pineapples

First, just a few important things about this tasty fruit:

  • Pineapples belong to the family Bromeliaceae, the only edible fruit of its kind.
  • Their scientific name of Ananas comosus means” excellent fruit” (agreed).
  • They were found in the West Indies by Christopher Columbus. And now can be found all over the world in tropical locations. 
  • They are grown from cuttings, not seeds.
  • Each pineapple plant only produces one pineapple at a time.

Additionally, look at ideas for teaching phonics.

P is for Pineapple Craft Phonics Tips

  • As you are creating your pineapple handprint craft repeat the P sound often to help reinforce it in your child’s mind.
  • Grab any letter tiles or alphabetic magnets that you have in the letter P and point as you say the letter and its sound.
  • Hide letter tiles or pieces of paper with a P drawn on it around the room and have your child find them, identifying what it is each time they find one.
  • If your child is at the stage for writing you can make P’s lightly with a pencil and have them trace over them with a highlighter or crayon to practice.
  • Use pineapple as a starting point, what other words make that sound as well? Pinecone is an easy transition, but also look at the supplies you are using today- paint, pencil, paper. Have your child call out words and write them on a piece of paper for them to look at as they list them.
P Is For Pineapple Craft | How To Make A Fun Handprint Pineapple

Also, look at these hands-on ideas for learning about pineapples.

10 Pineapple Hands-On Activities

  1. Research where the most pineapples are produced, the big 3 countries are Indonesia, the Philippines, and Costa Rica. Hawaii is also known for pineapples. Locate these places on a map.
  2. Middle school students don’t have to miss out on the summer themed fun, check out my Fun Pineapple Candle For Fun Summer Activities for Middle Schoolers
  3. Grab some fresh pineapple from the store and a can as well, taste test each and compare flavor and quality. Encourage your child to use descriptive words like sweet, juicy,sour, etc..
  4. Cut off the pineapple top and plant in soil, this one’s an investment in time but in 18 months or so you can be harvesting your own fresh pineapple.
  5. Put their afternoon snack in a pineapple boat! To do this all you have to do is cut off the bottom of the pineapple when you’re chopping it up for snack time, hollow it out and use it for an ice cream treat or fruit salad.
  6. Learn About Fruits Around the World Fun With Food Activities
  7. Measure a pineapple from base to the tip of the crown, then use a flexible measuring tape to measure its circumference, weigh on a scale if you have one.
  8. Make a Pineapple Volcano, eruptions are always a hit with the preschool bunch!
  9. Try pineapple lacing for an easy way to work on fine motor skills. 
  10. Here is another idea for older kids so that they can join in on the fun too, make a Pineapple Sorbet using just two ingredients, including fresh pineapple.

Handprint Pineapple Craft

You will need:

  • Green craft paint
  • Yellow craft paint
  • Paint brushes
  • Black marker
  • Sturdy paper or canvas
P Is For Pineapple Craft | How To Make A Fun Handprint Pineapple

First, lightly draw a pineapple shape on your sturdy card stock, we are going for the general idea here, not perfection.

P Is For Pineapple Craft | How To Make A Fun Handprint Pineapple

Then erase it until you can just barely see the outline. This is just to give your child a rough shape to follow.

P Is For Pineapple Craft | How To Make A Fun Handprint Pineapple

Dip a thumb or finger into the yellow paint and add dots all over within the circle including the outline. Set aside to dry.

P Is For Pineapple Craft | How To Make A Fun Handprint Pineapple

Once the yellow has dried completely you can erase some of the visible pencil lines if you like.

Paint the entire hand green and have them press it onto the top of the pineapple firmly, repeat  two or three more times to get a full pineapple top.

Let the picture dry and don’t forget to write P is for the pineapple at the bottom to help your child make the connection that letters make words and words tell us what something is.

P Is For Pineapple Craft | How To Make A Fun Handprint Pineapple

Leave a CommentFiled Under: Hands-On Activities Tagged With: hands-on, hands-on activities, handsonhomeschooling, homeschool, homeschool preschool, phonics, pineapple, preschool, preschool skills

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