What kind of fun things do you enjoy doing with your children?

I'd love to hear your ideas!

Cool Science Experiments for Spring

These are some science experiments that my children and I have done:

Let it Rain - Make rain by using a pot of hot water and a mirror. The children can see the condensation building on the mirror until it finally "rains". This, of course, is adult directed.

Rain Gauges - Set up a rain gauge outside, record, and graph the amount of rainfall for each week and a grand total for the month.

Plants Take in Nourishment - Place a few drops of food coloring (blue, red, or green) in a tall jar filled with lukewarm water.. Snip an inch off the bottom of the stem of a carnation....place in the colored water. Let it sit for a couple of days - watching carefully for any changes.

How does the Garden Grow? -

In egg cartons with planting soil - grass seed, mustard seed, watercress or herbs. They are fast growing and fun to sample when grown!!

"Hair" Cups - My kids loved this one! Plant grass seed or herbs in styrofoam cups. Have the kids draw faces on the front of the cups....as the seeds grow - their cup will grow hair!! They can experiment with childproof scissors and give their cup a hair cut!!

Take a whole baking potato (one with eyes on it works best), stick toothpicks in it (they'll be the brace to hold the potato up), fill a quart jar with water. Put the jar in a sunny window. It will root and begin to grow leaves.

Draw Write Now

I wanted to share with you some books that my children used to help them learn how to draw. The authors of these books have done a fabulous job in helping children get creative on paper. My children have fond memories of using these books when they were younger. Here's the link to the site where you can learn more about them:

http://www.drawyourworld.com/

I'm always thankful for these kind of helps as we journey through our homeschooling days. These books are definitely a keeper and worth every penny!

Have fun drawing!

IDEAS FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN TO DO

I've been homeschooling for thirteen years now. In the early years, I used to keep a special school box for the child that wasn't quite ready for school, but who wanted to feel like they were "doing school". This worked wonders and made them feel special. Here is a list of what I put in that box for them: puzzles, manipulatives, special books, coloring books, crayons and color pencils, scissors and paper, homemade playdough, books on tape, colors, cuts paper, Lauri shapes, wooden magnet dolls or felt dolls, picture books, paint with water sheets, and sewing cards. Sometimes they would just play alone in their room or listen to a CD.

Presidential Election Unit Study

With the upcoming elections, I have been trying to find a good unit study. My children are getting old enough to be more involved and are asking lots of questions. I actually have a daughter that will be old enough to VOTE! Yikes! Where did the years go?!?!!?! Cindy Downes over at http://www.oklahomahomeschool.com/ has a free, 12 week unit study posted for the primary grades. Here's the link: http://www.oklahomahomeschool.com/PresElec.html

Permission is given to homeschooling parents to use these units free of charge in their own homeschool only. These units may not be reprinted in any other form, for any other purpose (commercial or otherwise) without permission from Cindy Downes. Contact her at cindy@oklahomahomeschool.com.

Also, PBS has a good website with some great teaching helps about the election process. Here's the link for that: http://pbskids.org/zoom/fromyou/elections/elections101.html

I haven't found anything for the older children yet. If you know of something I can use, please leave a comment for me. I'd greatly appreciate it.