Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Activity, Change, Progress

life science

Make Learning Fun: Free Printable Digestive System Activity

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

I have a free printable digestive system activity. Also, I have this Human Body Crafts page for more hands-on ideas. And this Beautiful Human Body Lapbook and Fun Unit Study.

Every once in a while, we love to add quick activity pages to our unit studies. Plus, learning the digestive system can feel abstract for kids.

And simple activities like dot to dot and word searches help children understand that the digestive system is a process with many parts.

Make Learning Fun: Free Printable Digestive System Activity

Another reason I love using printables at times is it allows kids to work independently while you help another child.

If you keep a science binder add my human body printables and your child can do them on the go.

And one of the best parts is the digestive system activity mats gives a basic introduction to the human body.

BOOKS FOR KIDS ABOUT THE HUMAN BODY

Next, look at some books and resources we loved during our unit study.

16 Human Body Books & Hands-on Resources

Add a few of these fun resources whether you do a couple of lesson plans about the human body or a unit study.

Also, look at this post Basic Steps in the Digestive System and a Fun Digestive System Craft for a fun craft to do.

Also, look at more human body activities.

MORE HUMAN BODY ACTIVITIES FOR HANDS-ON LEARNING

Make Learning Fun: Free Printable Digestive System Activity

Finally, look at how to grab the free printable activities for the digestive system.

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Interesting Facts About The Dragonfly & Free Dragonfly Lapbook

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

I have some interesting facts about the dragonfly to share and a free dragonfly lapbook. Also, look at my pages Free Kids Insect Unit Study and Homeschool Lapbooks – Powerful Tools For Mastery Learning for more ideas.

I love easy science and dragonflies are literally in your backyard. And you can add nature study and science together. Dragonflies are insects and they are super flyers. Too, we love them in our yard because they eat mosquitoes.

However, I will share a few interesting facts and then of course you can grab the free lapbook by adding your email at the bottom.

Interesting Facts About The Dragonfly & Free Dragonfly Lapbook

They are one of nature’s most skilled flyers. They have four strong, transparent wings, a long, narrow body, six legs (used more for grabbing than walking) and large compound eyes that cover most of their head

Additionally, they play an important role in our ecosystem since they help to control pesky insects.

BOOKS ABOUT DRAGONFLIES FOR KIDS

First, look at these fun books about dragonflies.

5 Kids Book About Dragonflies

Kids books about dragonflies to keep kids learning.

Next, look at more insect activities for kids.

INSECT ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS

Interesting Facts About The Dragonfly & Free Dragonfly Lapbook

Then, look at more homeschool lapbooks.

HOMESCHOOL LAPBOOKS

Now, look at these facts about dragonflies for kids.

10 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE DRAGONFLY

  1. Their eyes take up most of their head and help them see almost all the way around.
  2. Dragonflies eat mosquitoes, flies, and other insects.
  3. Dragonflies start life in water before they ever fly. That is why you see them around ponds.
  4. You can also find dragonflies lakes, streams, and wetlands.
  5. Dragonflies go through a life cycle called incomplete metamorphosis.
  6. They lay eggs in or near water, then the nymph (larva) lives underwater for months or even years, breathing through gills and hunting other small aquatic animals. Then the adult emerges from the water, molts, and eventually flies away
  7. And they belong to a group of insects called Odonata.
  8. They do not fold their wings when they rest; they hold them straight out to the sides.
  9. Fossils show that ancient dragonflies once had wingspans over two feet wide.
  10. Too, dragonflies can fly forward, backward, straight up, and hover.

This is a subscriber freebie.

HOW TO GET THE FREE DRAGONFLY LAPBOOK

That means when you sign up to follow me, you get my emails in your inbox and you get this freebie.

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Easy and Creative LEGO Eye Anatomy Activity for Curious Kids

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

In this hands-on activity, kids will build a LEGO eye anatomy to explore its parts while strengthening creativity and spatial skills. Also, look at my page From Simple to Spectacular: Easy LEGO Ideas for Everyone.

Too, I have this Human Body Crafts page for more hands-on ideas. And this Beautiful Human Body Lapbook and Fun Unit Study.

Learning about how our eyes work can be fascinating, especially when it involves LEGO bricks- It’s learning through play at its finest.

Easy and Creative LEGO Eye Anatomy Activity for Curious Kids

It’s the perfect mix of STEM and anatomy learning for curious young minds; however, before we delve into the build itself, I have a breakdown of each part of the eye that we will be covering to make it more than just playtime.

The human eye is an amazing creation, and each part of it has an important function.

Eyelashes are not just for beauty; they help protect your eyes.

Even the design of your eyebrows holds a purpose beyond expressing surprise or anger.

MORE EASY LEGO IDEAS

LEGO IDEAS FOR KIDS

Next, look at more LEGO builds for kids books.

Lego Ideas for Kids

Use one of these LEGO ideas in your homeschool. Besides, LEGO are great hands-on crafts to teach with.

Read through these eye facts with your child before or during the build to get the most out of this hands-on project.

LOOKING AT EYE ANATOMY

 IRIS

  • The iris is the colored part of your eye, made of tiny muscles that control the size of your pupil.
  • It helps your eyes adjust to bright or dim light, much like a camera lens adjusting its aperture, opening and closing.
  • No two irises are exactly alike; your iris pattern is unique to you, like a fingerprint.

PUPIL

  • The pupil is the black hole in the center of your eye.
  • It changes size depending on the light, becoming smaller in bright sunlight and larger in darkness.
  • Some animals, such as cats and goats, have differently shaped pupils that help them see better in their environments.

SCLERA

  • In some animals, the sclera isn’t white, like in sharks, where it’s dark to help camouflage their eyes.
  • The sclera is the white part of your eye that protects the inner parts and gives your eyeball its shape.
  • It’s made of tough tissue, similar to what’s in tendons and ligaments!
Easy and Creative LEGO Eye Anatomy Activity for Curious Kids

EYELASH

  • Eyelashes are tiny hairs that help keep dust, dirt, and small particles out of your eyes.
  • When something gets too close, your eyelashes help trigger the blink reflex to protect your eyes.
  • They grow in a natural curve that helps direct sweat and moisture away from your eyes.

EYELID

  • The eyelid acts like a shield for your eyes—it keeps them moist and clean.
  • Every time you blink, your eyelid spreads a thin layer of tears across your eye’s surface.
  • Humans blink approximately 15–20 times per minute, which helps keep vision clear.

EYEBROW

  • Eyebrows help protect your eyes from sweat and rain, guiding moisture away from the eye area.
  • They also help us express emotions; you can tell a lot from raised or furrowed eyebrows.
  • In art and history, eyebrows have always played a big role in human expression and beauty.

TEAR DUCT

  • Your body makes three types of tears: basal (everyday moisture), reflex (from irritants like onions), and emotional (from feelings).
  • The tear duct is the tiny pink corner on the inside of your eye where tears drain.
  • Tears aren’t just for crying; they lubricate and clean the eye all the time.

EYE ANATOMY RESOURCES

The Way We Work is a fantastic resource to keep on hand for all things anatomy.

A couple of these large LEGO sets give you lots of options for building anatomy models like our eye. You can use them for LEGO building challenges, as math manipulatives, and so much more.

Older kids may enjoy learning even more about the eye, like the inside anatomy as we did in this 8 Eye Facts & Human Body Activities Middle School & Fun Eye Model project.

Watch The Human Eye for Kids from Homeschool Pop and learn more about the inner and outer workings of the eye.

Just for fun I think it would really be a hit to use gummy eye candy to introduce or end this unit!

LEGO EYE ANATOMY

You can absolutely get creative and make this eye anatomy any way you want but I am going to give you some loose directions to show you how to recreate the version we did here.

You will need:

  • A baseplate
  • White LEGO bricks
  • Brown Bricks bricks
  • Black LEGO bricks
  • Color LEGO bricks-brown, blue, green
  • Cardstock
  • Pen
Easy and Creative LEGO Eye Anatomy Activity for Curious Kids

Begin by building the black pupil in the center of your baseplate with a 2×4 back brick.

Easy and Creative LEGO Eye Anatomy Activity for Curious Kids

Add a single flat dot brick if you like to represent the light reflection in the eye.

Easy and Creative LEGO Eye Anatomy Activity for Curious Kids

Next, build around the pupil with whatever color eye you want to make using 1×4 bricks.

Easy and Creative LEGO Eye Anatomy Activity for Curious Kids

Create the sclera by arranging white bricks around the color with various-sized bricks to equal 2 studs wide by 8 studs long on the top and bottom. 

Easy and Creative LEGO Eye Anatomy Activity for Curious Kids

Put 2×4 on either side and ending with 1×2’s on each end to give it that almond shape.

Easy and Creative LEGO Eye Anatomy Activity for Curious Kids

Build an “eyelid” and skin around the eye with 1 stud-wide bricks.

Easy and Creative LEGO Eye Anatomy Activity for Curious Kids

Make eyelashes using 1×2 bricks and add an arched eyebrow using 1 stud-wide bricks.

Easy and Creative LEGO Eye Anatomy Activity for Curious Kids

Finally, create labels for each part by writing them on cardstock and cutting them out.

Easy and Creative LEGO Eye Anatomy Activity for Curious Kids

Have your child label each part.

Fun Yarn Crafts And How To Make A Yarn Wrapped Cat

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

Yarn crafts are easy to do and affordable. Not only do they nurture creativity, but they give you a chance to teach a themed lesson without a lesson plan.

And yarn comes in many colors, textures, and thicknesses, inviting kids to experiment and create.

So today, I’m showing you how to make this adorable yarn wrapped craft. Isn’t he adorable? Too, I have a free cat template which you can download at the bottom.

Fun Yarn Crafts And How To Make A Yarn Wrapped Cat

Adding craft and an animal a child loves is a great spin to science and animal husbandry.

In addition, look at these other ideas for a one day or full week unit study about cats. Art is color theory and texture, math is counting yarn or how many times it’s wrapped and discuss symmetry.

Language arts can be as simple as writing about your child’s favorite cat or pet cat. And science can be extended to include older children and discuss domesticated and wild cat habitats.

However, there are many other advantages to meaningful play which is what this craft encourages. For instance, for your younger children, wrapping the yard around the cardboard strengthens fine motor.

BOOKS ABOUT CATS FOR KIDS

First, add some of these fun books to your reading day.

Books About Cats

Add some of these fun books to learn about cats.

Also, look at more yarn crafts for kids.

YARN CRAFTS FOR KIDS

Then look at crafts about cats for kids.

CAT CRAFTS

Fun Yarn Crafts And How To Make A Yarn Wrapped Cat

HOW TO MAKE A YARN WRAPPED CAT CRAFT

List of Supplies

  • Cardboard or thick Cardstock paper
  • Different colored scrap yarns
  • Pencil
  • Craft glue
  • A pair of scissors

Step 1:

Download the free cat template at the bottom of this post by adding your email and you get it instantly.

Select thick cardstock papers of your choice or cardboard like we did and trace the provided template shape on the paper. Cut out the traced shape using scissors.

Fun Yarn Crafts And How To Make A Yarn Wrapped Cat

Step 2:

Turn the cat cutout to the other side. Select a strand of yarn and glue its open end near the bottom side of the current side of the cardstock cat shape.

Fun Yarn Crafts And How To Make A Yarn Wrapped Cat

Step 3:

Turn the cat to the front side and start wrapping the yarn around it.

Fun Yarn Crafts And How To Make A Yarn Wrapped Cat

Step 4:

Wrap the yarn 4-5 times and then draw the yarn to the back side of the cat shape again. Secure the open end with glue.

Fun Yarn Crafts And How To Make A Yarn Wrapped Cat

Step 5:

Take a different colored yarn strand and glue the yarn strand near the end of the first strand.

Fun Yarn Crafts And How To Make A Yarn Wrapped Cat

Step 6:

Similarly, turn the cat shape to the front side and wrap the current yarn 4-5 times with adjacent and even wraps.

Start a 3rd strand of different color or repeat the first color, however you like.

Fun Yarn Crafts And How To Make A Yarn Wrapped Cat

Step 7:

Wrap yarn strands until the body part of the cat shape is covered neatly. Secure the ends of the yarns using glue and allow the glue to dry completely.

Fun Yarn Crafts And How To Make A Yarn Wrapped Cat

Step 8:

Attach 2 googly eyes to the head part of the cat shape.

Fun Yarn Crafts And How To Make A Yarn Wrapped Cat

Step 9:

Use a black marker to draw the mouth and nose of the cardstock cat to complete the craft.

Fun Yarn Crafts And How To Make A Yarn Wrapped Cat

Now, how to grab the freebie.

HOW TO GET THE FREE CAT TEMPLATE

It’s a subscriber freebie.

That means when you click on the link or graphic below you get this template instantly and sign up for my newsletters.

1) CLICK HERE ON THIS LINK TO SIGN UP ON MY EMAIL LIST & TO GET THIS FREEBIE.

2) Grab the freebie instantly.

3) Last, look for all my emails in your inbox. Glad to have you following me!

Free Journal For Farm Loving Kids & Learning Farm Activities

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I’m sharing some ways learning farm activities that can be fun and educational. Too, I have a free printable farmyard explorers farm discovery journal.

Paring this farmyard journal with hands-on activities makes learning about a farm meaningful. Let’s face it, many of us love chickens and goats maybe pigs too.

However, not all of us have a small farm outside our backdoor. This journal gives your kids a chance to explore and discover.

Free Journal For Farm Loving Kids & Learning Farm Activities

And one of the best reasons I love doing a farm study is that you can include multiple ages. Although I gear this printable toward the elementary grades, you can include other subjects for multiple ages.

For example, language arts can be a story of animals or a well-researched science paper on animals, plants, life cycles or seasons.

Science can be animal husbandry and math can be graphing, counting eggs or notice and drawing life cycles.

History and geography can include learning about early farming, how products support our community and helping kids understand where our food comes from.

RESOURCE & BOOKS FOR A FARM UNIT STUDY

Next, add some of these resources and books to your day for a fun farm unit study.

Too, I prefer living books when I can find them.

9 Farming Resources and Books

Add some of these fun books and resources to create your own curriculum about farming or for a homeschool unit study topic about farming.

Additionally, look at some of these fun activities about farms.

LEARNING FARM ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS

Free Journal For Farm Loving Kids & Learning Farm Activities

Too, I have How To Make An Adorable Rocking Chick Easy Chicken Craft, Free Homeschool Chicken Unit Study and Anatomy of an Egg Felt Activity & Worksheet, and Free Chicken Life Cycle Worksheet For Kids & Hands-on Activity.

This is a subscriber freebie.

HOW TO GET THE FREE FARMYARD EXPLORERS FARM DISCOVERY JOURNAL

That means when you sign up to follow me, you get my emails in your inbox and you get this freebie.

1) CLICK HERE ON THIS LINK TO SIGN UP ON MY EMAIL LIST & TO GET THIS FREEBIE

2) Grab the freebie instantly.

3) Last, look for all my emails in your inbox. Glad to have you following me