Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

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Winter Homeschooling – Activities and Free Downloads. 5 Days of Look Alive. Day 3 – Look to Pokemon.

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

5 Days of Look Alive Winter Homeschooling. Day 3 Look to Pokemon. Free Downloads & Activities @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

If you missed any days, grab them below:

Day 1. Look to the Sea.

5 Days of Look Alive day 1

Day 2. Look to the Sky.

5 Days of Look Alive day 2

Moving on along through our series: Look Alive:Winter Homeschooling Ideas & Downloads, Day 3 is Look to Pokemon or Pokemon like cards, which boys and girls both will find fun.

I agree with this next resource which says that kids know more about Pokemon creatures than they do about real animals.

Take a lesson from what most kids like to do which is play cards and use it for real life learning. Phylo the Trading Card Game  did just that.

It has been a real treasure trove for my boys to say the least and it’s FREE.

5 Days of Look Alive day 3
Phylos 1

Phylo is a website that has free printable trading cards. Here is what it says from the site: an online initiative aimed at creating a Pokemon card type resource but with real creatures on display in full “artistic” wonder. It is a card game that makes use of the wonderful, complex and inspiring things that inform the notion of biodiversity.

Studying and learning science this way is a real keeper. The artwork is so beautiful and the cards are just plain fun.

Phylos 2
Phylos 3

The idea is to print off all you want to and then play a pokemon-like game. Even if you don’t want to print the rules and find out how they assign the game cards a point value, etc., you can still play a real simple matching game.

Phylos 4

The cards make EXCELLENT additions to your lapbook, unit studies or notebooking pages. There are several decks to choose from or like I mentioned you can print off exactly what you want. Click here to see the choices of the decks that you can download and be sure to grab them ALL!

PHylos 5

One of our favorite decks has the cards above in it from the Natural History Museum in London. One of the games suggested to play is about the ecosystem.

Look on the card for the common name, Latin name, food chain, diet and climate and then learn the facts.

Heads up too because you will want to pay attention if any of them teach evolution as there are many cards to go through.

Most of them I appreciate because they give a simple fact along with a point value assigned if you want to let your kids play together. They also give credit to the artist of the picture.

We have just enjoyed printing them off and learning about them.

Hands down this site has been our favorite so far if we had to choose one. Here are some quick links for you in one place.

Home Page

Decks found on this page.

Take a clue from Pokemon and let the cards do the teaching during winter homeschooling blues.

5 Days of Look Alive Winter Homeschooling. Day 1 Look to the Sea. @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus featured

Hugs and love ya,

Homeschool Unit Study Human Body Hands-On Kids Stethoscope Activity

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

This next homeschool unit study human body will be a large one for us. Also I have this Human Body Crafts page for more fun ideas.

We won’t get lopsided with our unit study topics, which is so easy for us to do because of our love for history and geography.

I got excited about this next unit study though because with the older two boys they just wanted to read and health and move on.

Homeschool Unit Study Human Body Hands-On Kids Stethoscope Activity

Tiny is always up for as many hands-on activities as we can fit into the day and he doesn’t care if they are too young-ish or old-ish, he’s in.

Did I mention the kid is such a joy to teach?

We started off with an easy hands-on activity. And you know my standard is always minimal fuss with maximum fun when doing hands-on.

So we made an easy diy stethoscope.

We use to have a stethoscope when we were in the states, but not here. Besides, it was more fun to make it quickie quick.

Human body unit study DIY Stethoscope. Hands-on Learning @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

More Human Body Crafts

Kids Fun Stethoscope Activity

The list is short and easy for what you need and if you’re like me, you already have these items in your house.

  • paper towel tube
  • funnel
  • masking tape
  • watch to count seconds

Place the paper towel tube on top of the funnel, the narrow end.

Wrap the tape around the tube for a DIY stethoscope @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Be sure to tape it down real good as you don’t want any air to escape or want any gaps.

Listen to the heart @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Then practice finding the heartbeat and count the beats within 15 seconds. Multiply that by four and that is the resting heart beat.

Mr. Awesome 2015 was sick that day, so he was actually a good candidate for Tiny.

Though Mr. Awesome did not feel like exercising, he walked up and back down the stairs one time to elevate his heart beat.

Tiny compared that to the resting heart beat. It was a fun and easy activity to kick off our next unit study.

We have several more fun hands-on activities we are doing for this unit study. You’ll love the homeschool lapbook.

Lapbook

Homeschool Unit Study Human Body Hands-On Kids Stethoscope Activity

I think we will enjoy learning in a more interactive way.

Homeschool Unit Study Human Body Hands-On Kids Stethoscope Activity

Grab all of the hands-on activities below.

What is blood hands on activity and free blood components minibook for a human body homeschool unit study @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus featured
https://www.tinasdynamichomeschoolplus.com/homeschool-unit-study-human-body-4/
Homeschool Unit Study Human Body. Hands-on Activity 5. Edible Skin + Skin and Major Body Systems Minibook @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus Featured
https://www.tinasdynamichomeschoolplus.com/homeschool-unit-study-human-body-5/
Mega List Free Resources for Human Body Homeschool Unit Study @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus featured
https://www.tinasdynamichomeschoolplus.com/human-body-homeschool-unit-study/
Body Part Labeling and Human Skeleton Quiz Free Minibooks - Free Human Body Unit Study @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus FEATURED
https://www.tinasdynamichomeschoolplus.com/body-part-labeling-and-skeleton-quiz-free-minibooks/
Human Body Unit Study. Rigid versus Flexible Bones Hands-on Activity @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus featured
https://www.tinasdynamichomeschoolplus.com/homeschool-unit-study-human-body-3/
Human body unit study DIY Heart Pump @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus featured
https://www.tinasdynamichomeschoolplus.com/homeschool-unit-study-human-body-2/
20 Human Body Books for Middle and High School Homeschooled Kids @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus featured
https://www.tinasdynamichomeschoolplus.com/human-body-books-for-middle-and-high-school-homeschooled-kids/
Human body unit study DIY Stethoscope. Hands-on Learning @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus featured
https://www.tinasdynamichomeschoolplus.com/homeschool-unit-study-human-body/
Free Human Body Lapbook and Unit Study @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus featured
https://www.tinasdynamichomeschoolplus.com/free-human-body-lapbook-and-unit-study/

Hugs and love ya,

5 FREE and FUN Hands-on Science Activities for Homeschooled Kids

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

I have 5 free and fun hands on science activities for homeschooled kids.

About this time of the year when fall and winter start setting in, I always like to share some freebies that give me a quick and free (always nice) way to change my pace.

Okay, okay, you know I love freebies and I always store them and organize them so I can share with you too.

5 FREE and FUN Hands-on Science Activities for Homeschooled Kids

With all the wonderful free educational things online sometimes it can take long to sift through the ones not worth messing with and the ones that can add enrichment to your day.

So I have done that for you today.

Since they are free too, they are great options to even just drop what you’re doing and switch gears.

Change is good and when change in curriculum is free, it’s pretty sweet.

Remember, download each guide and keep it because all the downloads are just full of fun things and ideas to do.

Besides, some of the freebies go away after a time.

So today, I have 5 free and fun science activities for homeschooled kids.

Okay, maybe I have a bit more as I started collecting.

5 FREE and FUN Hands-on Science Activities for Homeschooled Kids
5 FREE and FUN Hands-on Science Activities for Homeschooled Kids

1.Alaska Songbird Institute has a Creamer’s Field Student Activity Book. Free 28 page download.

This is a fun way to learn about birds with the little guys and for the kids that like to color.

Though it’s a guide for that area, it has several different birds in it like geese, ducks, birds of prey, cranes, chickadees and sparrows.

Each page has a color number code so you know what color to color the bird.

Just print off the guide, do with your children and enjoy.

5 FREE and FUN Hands-on Science Activities for Homeschooled Kids
5 FREE and FUN Hands-on Science Activities for Homeschooled Kids

2.This guide has already been archived so you want to be sure  to download it.

This next free 23 page .pdf download is intended to be used in a nature reserve, but it has so many excellent pages.

From habitats, to bird beak matching to dormouse and bird identification sheets, it is full of activities.

You can even scoot out doors to see if you can find some of these shrubs and trees in your area.

MORE FOURTH GRADE HOMESCHOOL CURRICULUM ACTIVITIES

It has a sheet for a newt lifecycle, hummingbird moth lifecycle and a bramble lifecycle.

From beginning to end, it’s a cool  download full of helpful and interesting tidbits.

5 FREE and FUN Hands-on Science Activities for Homeschooled Kids
5 FREE and FUN Hands-on Science Activities for Homeschooled Kids

3. Another favorite of mine is the New England Aquarium site.

Winter would not be complete without talking about penguins.

I have used the Penguin Teacher Guide and love it.

Why create any extra printables when they are all there for free and nice?

It includes information on the various penguin species, penguin anatomy, behavior, habitats and conservation.

5 FREE and FUN Hands-on Science Activities for Homeschooled Kids
5 FREE and FUN Hands-on Science Activities for Homeschooled Kids

4. The next freebies come from the Boston Harbor area.

Activities are for upper elementary to middle school age.

It has a lot of background information and a couple of ideas for hands on activities if you are studying about tides and plankton.

It has information about the rocky and sandy shores, tidal mudflats, salt marshes — and the creatures such as harbor porpoises and seals, fish and waterfowl, mussels and kelp that inhabit them — that are accessible from Boston Harbor, or any New England coastal area. 

5 FREE and FUN Hands-on Science Activities for Homeschooled Kids
5 FREE and FUN Hands-on Science Activities for Homeschooled Kids

5. Next are SEVERAL pdfs on this page from the Florida Sea Grant program.

There are about three .pdf downloads of plant name cards for studying about beach plant life and one about Coastal Plants.

They would go well in a pocket on a lapbook or a notebooking page.

5 FUN and FREE Hands-on Science Activities for Homeschooled Kids @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

There is third grade curriculum about manatees and fourth grade curriculum about whales and dolphin.

I also love the 21 free food web cards on the Estuary Food Web Activity .

We haven’t done the edible estuary that is for grades K to Gray, (love) but we are eyeballing that one.

Grab the beach coloring book and the beach scavenger too off that page.

Also, there is a free curriculum about sea turtles for middle and high school.

Grab ’em and enjoy.

Also check out 50 Keep Me Homeschooling During the Long Cold Winter Days.
Middle School Homeschool Science 50 Free Spring Activities.
Easy Hands-On Science: Label the Atom Playdough Activity.

Hugs and love ya,

Homeschool High School Chemistry & Free Reference Sheet and Resources

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

Tiny is finishing up middle school courses and scooting now into homeschool high school chemistry. Also, look at my page How to Homeschool High School.

(Yikes, with my third one going into high school, maybe I will learn something. tee hee hee.)

For his first course, we chose Paradigm Integrated Physics and Chemistry.

Homeschool High School Chemistry & Free Reference Sheet and Resources

One of my reasons for Pace Integrated Physics and Chemistry for high school chemistry this year is that its available online for .pdf download.

Homeschool High School Chemistry

When you are living overseas or are short on space, these .pdf downloads are a great option. Don’t forget to check out my post Digital Homeschool Curriculum – Big Ol’ List.

One tip that may help you when organizing digital content is that I use Google Drive for using and storing the curriculum on multiple devices.

By putting it on my google drive, Tiny can access it from his iPad and I can access it too from my laptop or any other computer that I am on.

Also, the beauty of digital downloads is that you print off what you want or don’t print at all and the curriculum is always with me.

Instead of lugging books back and forth with me from and to the states, I just get the .pdfs printed when I get  back here to Ecuador.

Like I said too, we always have our “school on the go” to.

The Paradigm Accelerated Curriculum we are using this year is more of a textbook approach and I prefer a much more hands-on approach to all subjects.

However, I know that I can “liven” up any curriculum with free resources or ones I create.

Free Chemistry Reference Sheet and Resources

Look at these four free resources that I have found and created that I will be using with our high school chemistry to bring it alive and make it fit our preferred approach.

Golden Book of Chemistry 1.Homeschool High School Chemistry & Free Reference Sheet and Resources

The Golden Book of Chemistry is apparently a beginners bible in chemistry though it can be a bit controversial.

It was written in the 1960’s (a long time ago when concerns were different then). It shows you how to set up your own home laboratory and conduct over 200 experiments.

Note: I have read that it is banned now because many of the experiments are considered too dangerous to do at home, but it is still considered one of the best diy chemistry books.

Too, we are looking at it for other value, like the word lists and understanding the changes involved in chemistry.

So NO, we will not be using it for hands-on activities, but as a reference to compare to modern day chemistry.

My research shows that it is also free to share because the copyright was not renewed. (If that changes, I will take this down and let you know because I respect copyright laws.)

Here is the free download of this book or this nifty little tool. It already has sparked Tiny’s interest in chemistry, which is what I wanted.

Too, because one of the reasons we are focusing on it is to build a beginner’s foundation in chemistry and to understand the history of chemistry, I created this Chemist Reference Sheet from the book as a quick way of glancing at terms.

Chemist Reference Sheet 1 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

I added a portion at the bottom so that when we come across an updated view about the word definitions, Tiny can add them.

Download the free Chemist Reference Sheet below

Moving on to what I will use as a guide to hands-on activities, I have a free Middle School Chemistry curriculum and High School Chemistry curriculum, both of which have hands-on activities.

High School Chemistry

The high school free chemistry has links to multimedia in it, which I think will be helpful to mix in with his textbook.

Download the free High School Chemistry Curriculum here.

Middle School Chemistry


The middle school curriculum is excellent because it has more actual hands-on activities ideas to include as we plod along in our study this year. So it will help to round out our study.

Download Middle School Chemistry Curriculum here.

See what I mean, you actually can use just about anything when it comes to curriculum as long as you are willing to spice it up.

More Homeschool High School Chemistry

Curriculum is just like cooking, add a little a bit of this and that that your family likes and you have something new.

Hope you enjoy the free downloads and find them helpful with your middleschooler or highschooler.

I know we will enjoy our study of chemistry this year and doing this the third time around makes it more enjoyable.

HOW TO GET THE FREE CHEMIST REFERENCE SHEET

Now, how to grab the free lapbook. It’s a subscriber freebie.

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 now.

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

Also, you may want to look at these other helpful posts.

Homeschool High School Chemistry & Free Reference Sheet and Resources @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Hugs and love ya,

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!