One of Koko’s Cub Scout badges is “Breaking the Code” and they had to decipher codes at one of their Cub days. I decided to bring a little of the code breaking fun into our science lesson with this awesome activity in SmartLab Toys Extreme Secret Formula called Lemony Invisible Ink…
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There are many great free weather resources available out there. Below are a few of my favourite finds.
Weather File Folder Games from File Folder Fun
Free Printable Weather Chart
Weather File Folder Game
Rain Showers: Consonant Blends Game
Water Cycle Maze from Science Notebooking
This may seem a little on the young side but I thought it might be a good filler or morning work activity. Students have to complete the maze (I would make them label it as well) and then color.
Weather Printables from Preschool Mom
Our weather printables help you teach children some basic elements and key vocabulary. Children learn about Sunny, Rainy, Snowy, options consider joining our Members Print Free area, where subscribers receive one click downloads and exclusive member offers.
Kindergarten and Preschool Weather Chart from Fun-A-Day
I print out a new weather graph each month, back it with construction paper, and place it next to our calendar. Every day, our weather reporter checks what’s going on outside. She then documents the results on the graph. We tend to use a different color marker for each weather category, but we’re not always consistent with this. The students make a few observations about the calendar each day – “Oh, rainy has 3 now!”, “I think sunny’s going to win!”, etc…
Weather Lapbook from Homeschool Helper Online
This is a comprehensive weather lapbook.
Weather Printable Mini-Unit from The Intentional Momma
This 26-page printable mini-unit features original weather-themed clip art including sun, clouds, rain, snow, wind, storms, thermometers, and umbrellas! This is a great resource for your Pre-K and Kindergarten classroom centers.
With tracing, coloring, counting, matching, sequencing, and a simple puzzle, this is a versatile pack you’ll be able to use year-round!
Weather Chart from First Grade FUNdamental
FREE Rainy Day PreK Pack from This Reading Mama
Weather Unit for ages 3-9 from 123 Homeschool 4 Me
FREE Science Weather Worksheets for Kids
I wanted to keep it fun, appealing to both kids (so there are activities appropriate for ages 3-9), and educational. Here are some of the topics I cover in this pack of worksheets for kids:
Water Cycle (including experiments)
Seasons (including creative writing)
Temperature (differences in sun/shade, morning/afternoon, here/other countries)
Weather Graphing
Hot/Cold
Hibernation
Clouds (including experiments)
Wind (including experiment & activity)
Disaster Preparedness (including drill ideas)
Preschool Skill Practice (letters – upper/lowercase, shadow match, counting, pre-writing, colors, numbers, which is different, fine motor scissor skills, addition, sentence structure, and more)
Rainbow Tot Pack from 1+1+1=1
Rain Unit from A Teaching Mommy
Here are some of the printables that MAY BE included in this unit:
Patterns (ABAB and AABB)
Roll & Graph
Letter Sort
Writing Maze
Beginning Writing/Cutting Practice
Size Sort
Number Order Puzzle (1-10 and 11-20)
Spelling Page
Count & Clip
Tot Book- Rain
Stormy Weather Match
Rainbow Shapes
Count the Raindrops
Umbrella Colors (mini book)
Size Sequencing
Rain Picture Puzzle
You can find more great resources in my Pinterest Board below:
Follow Momma Jo’s board Weather on Pinterest.
Click on the above image to read this month’s Science contribution to the Year Round Homeschooling Blog
A few weeks ago I shared Koko’s story about his interest in astronomy. This week I’m sharing our Astronomy centre. This month’s Poppins Book Nook theme is “Beyond Our Planet” which is a perfect fit for Koko’s fascination of all things astronomy. We read through the book Awesome Space Fact files by Miles Kelly.
I have set up our astronomy centre on our chest freezer which is high enough for the kidlets to view, but high enough to keep out of Pixie’s reach.
I received the bulk of the items you see here from South African Astronomical Observatory for free in 2009, in celebration of the International Year of Astronomy.
I made these booklets for Koko and Fifi. You can find them here and I can’t, for the life of me, remember where I got the Solar System booklet download (if you know who the file creator is, please leave a comment below so I can give the proper credit).
I made these booklets for Pixie. You can find them here and here.
Next month’s theme is “To the kitchen” and we’ll be cooking up a storm with the book, Made by Manisha and Me!
Beyond Our Planet Bundle Giveaway! Every month the Poppins Book Nook group will be offering readers a chance to win a brand new storybook or product that ties in with our theme for the month. This month one lucky entrant will win a bundle of fun for the theme of Beyond Our Planet. This bundle will include a copy of the storybook The Moon Book by Gail Gibbons and a Space & Astronauts Bucket Playset.
Entrants must be 18 years or older and reside in a country that receives U.S. Postal mail. This giveaway is brought to you by the company Enchanted Homeschooling Mom who is owner and founder of the Poppins Book Nook. By entering this giveaway you are also acknowledging that you have read and agree to all of the Rafflecopter terms & conditions as well as Enchanted Homeschooling Mom’s disclosures found here. Just enter the Rafflecopter below to win:
Previous Poppins Book Nook posts:
September 2014: White Fang & Giveaway
June 2014: Treasure Island {Part 1}
May 2014: How Old Jackal got the Pigs {African Folktale}
April 2014: The Story of Cars
March 2014: Alice in Wonderland
February 2014: 2014/2015 Introductory post
July 2013: Penguins
June 2013: The Amazing Machines a Truckload of Fun
May 2013: Dinosaurs
April 2013: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
March 2013: Princess Petunia and the Good Knight
2013/2014 Introductory post
We have finally come to a decision on what curriculum we’ll be using in the next school year for Koko, Fifi and Pixie.
Pixie will continue with Totschool.
Fifi will continue with the Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons program by Siegfried Engelmann, Phyllis Haddox, Elaine Bruner. This program has worked well for both Noo and Koko, who are both avid readers.
About the Author
Siegfried Engelmann is a professor of education at the University of Oregon, and has written many books on teaching, including Give Your Child a Superior Mind. He is the originator of Direct Instruction, the most successful approach to teaching, and he has developed more than fifty Direct Instruction programs.
www.zigsite.com
As soon as Fifi has finished the Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, she’ll start on the Learning Language Arts through Literature Blue Set (Grade 1 Level). The curriculum consists of the LLATL Blue Set (Incl. Student Book), Who Took the Farmer’s Hat, Goodnight Moon, The Story of Ferdinand, Caps for Sale, The Snowy Day, Bedtime for Frances, The Little House, Old Hat New Hat, Make Way for Ducklings, Blueberries for Sal, Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel, The Runaway Bunny and Tale of Peter Rabbit.
Koko will be working on the Learning Language Arts through Literature Red Set. The curriculum consists of the LLATL Red Set (Incl. Student Book), A Tree is Nice, Little Bear, Balto, The Fire Cat, Ox-Cart Man, Corduroy, The Little Island, Billy and Blaze, Harry the Dirty Dog and Abraham Lincoln.
Koko and Fifi will both be starting Afrikaans as a subject next year. We will start off with Afrikaans – Geniet Dit! – Werkboek 1 and work our way up to Afrikaans Sonder Grense 2nd language (Teachers Manual available here). Neither child can speak or understand the language, so we are going to start off with teaching the basics.
Fifi will be using the Math-U-See Primer (Grades 0-1 Skill Level) next year. I’ve head great things about this curriculum. The curriculum consists of the Primer – Instruction Manual & DVD and the Primer – Student Workbook.
Koko will be using the Math-U-See Alpha Grade 2 Skill Level next year. The curriculum consists of the Alpha – Instruction Manual & DVD’s and the Alpha – Student Workbook & Test Book.
I’ve purchased the Math-U-See Skip Counting – CD and Songbook and Manipulative Blocks separately. I need to order another Manipulative Block for when the kids work at the same time
We will be using the Italic Handwriting Series for writing. This curriculum comes with a Teachers Manual that helps a ton, Fifi will be using the Italic A and Koko will be using Italic B books and Italic C books.
Fifi will be working on the Life Skills 1 workbook and Koko will be working on the Life Skills 2 workbook.
Koko and Fifi will be working on science together. I have decided on the Hands-on Science Foundation Phase (Grades 0-3) book. It comes complete with worksheets and experiment suggestions for each lesson.
In addition to Hands-on Science, Koko will be working on different space worksheets (available here, here and, coming soon, here) to foster his love for all this astronomy related.
Koko and Fifi will be working on Story of the World together. The curriculum consists of Test Book Vol. 1: The Ancient Times, Activity Book, Vol 1: The Ancient Times, 7 CD Audio Set Vol. 1: The Ancient Times and Hardcover Text, Vol. 1: The Ancient Times. The curriculum has been ordered, now we play the waiting game till it arrives.
Koko and Fifi will be working on the Pack Your Bags! Monthly Lapbook Series and Children of the World Pack, both from Enchanted Homeschooling Mom, together.
The children receive a monthly arts and crafts kit from Kidazzle Kids Club. These kits are awesome. Pixie will start getting a kit every month from January.
In addition to the above curricula, Fifi will also be working on the Kindergarten Literature Based Unit Studies from 1+1+1=1. I’m slowly purchasing all these books.
Koko wants to be an ASTROPHYSICIST when he grows up and has shown tremendous interest in Astronomy. At first I didn’t know what resources to provide him since he is only 7, but he has read his Space Fact book from cover to cover numerous times. His favourite TV series to watch at the moment is Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey and continuously checks to see if his book is correct or if he needs to research a particular fact. Neil deGrasse Tyson is his hero and will watch anything he appears in. However, I digress…
Since we have been following the Montessori for the entire duration of his schooling, I have decided that we’ll be adding an astronomy subject to his schooling next year. I thought that I would struggle to find Montessori material to go with this, but have been pleasantly surprised at the amount of resources (both free and $$$) that area available to us.
Astronomy Resources for the Montessori Classroom on Montessori Nature
Space, Planets, Stars, Constellations, Spacecrafts and Astronauts you can download for free. These perfectly suit the Montessori Classroom purposes.
Montessori-Inspired Astronomy Units on Living Montessori Now
The Planet Hue by Primary Grafiti on Teacher Pay Teachers
This adorable adventure called The Planet Hue will take students on a magical journey through a world that transforms from a dull and drab planet to a colorful vibrant place to live!
Corkey Hay DeSimone, author of Cherry Blossom Friends, has a unique perspective in celebrating diversity while using three primary colors to help teach the message.
Included in the unit:
Book Introduction
Vocabulary
Think Maps
Solar System
Planet Classification
Planet Flashcards/Basic Facts
Solar System Craft/Model
Celebrating Diversity
Color Wheel
Complimentary Color Art
Ordering Hues Center(ABC order)
Rhyming Center (using book vocabulary)
Out of this World Center (Time)
(Time to the Hour-K/1 Time to Quarter Hour-1/2)
Planet 8 Center (Number Stings)
(Match to Correct Sum-K/1)
(Match to Related Multiplication Fact- 2nd)
Planet Hue’s Candy Castle (Fractions)
Acknowledgments
Solar System Trading Cards, Jr. Edition by Amazing Space
This collection of cards depicts solar system objects such as planets, comets, asteroids, the Moon, and the Sun. Also included are cards with common misconceptions, Hubble trivia, online resources, and instructions for a game.
Comets and Asteroids on Education.com
What is the difference between comets and asteroids? Find out with this stellar space science worksheet! Read up on what makes a comet a comet, and then take a quick comprehension quiz on page 2.
Space {Expanded} on a Teaching Mommy
Here are some of the printables that MAY BE included in this unit:
Patterns (ABAB and AABB)
Planets Graph
Letter Sort
Writing Maze
Beginning Writing/Cutting Practice
Size Sort
Number Order Puzzle (1-10 and 11-20)
Spelling Book and Puzzle
Count & Clip
Tot Pack
Planet Match
Sun Shapes
Count the Stars
Rocket Colors (mini book)
Size Sequencing
Astronaut Picture Puzzle
Space Centers on a Teaching Mommy
Preschool Lesson: Space on Mrs Home Economist
Wonderful Do It Yourself Ideas for a Solar System Unit on Montessori Print Shop
A fantastic idea for a DIY solar system mat that was shared at the “Let It Be Montessori” blog. Learn how to make this brilliant solar system mat as you’re taken step-by-step through the process of making it (with pictures too) – which makes it so much easier to follow along! A fantastic addition to your culture area. Go take a look.
Making Moon Craters on Fumbling Through Parenthood
Space Lapbook on Fumbling Through Parenthood
Planet Positions on Jump Start
Teach kids about the solar system with our ‘Planet Positions’ science worksheet! This science worksheet has a picture of the solar system and a list of instructions given below. Kids need to follow the instructions and color the planets accordingly. This worksheet will not only give the kids more information on the positions of different planets but will also teach them ordinal numbers.
Astronomy Unit Homework by Science from Murf LLC on Teachers Pay Teachers
This is the 14 Page bundled homework package that chronologically follows my Astronomy Unit that I offer on TpT. This homework bundle includes many short answer questions, draws upon student research, includes fill in the blanks, completes diagrams, games, and more. Also included is the answer key page and generous unit preview.
Mini Unit – Space on Counting Coconuts
Space 3 part cards on Monkeyin’ Around
Solar System Work – An Easy Art / Science Project Great for the Montessori Classroom or Homeschool Environment on Sunrise Learning Lab
Connections Outer Space on Homeschool Share
The Planets Song by KidsTV123 on YouTube
It’s a song to help children remember the order of the planets.
This song was written and performed by A.J. Jenkins. Video by KidsTV123
Copyright 2011 A.J. Jenkins/KidsTV123: All rights reserved.
The Solar System Song by KidsTV123 on YouTube
It’s a song about the Sun and the planets for children of all ages.
This song was written and performed by A.J. Jenkins. Video by KidsTV123
Copyright 2011 A.J. Jenkins/KidsTV123: All rights reserved.