Cursive Match-Up (Lowercase Pegboard Practice)

My 9-year-old's penmanship is not always legible. As a kid diagnosed with ADHD, the patience and fine motor required to print nicely, just aren't there. When his school teacher mentioned cursive on parent curriculum night, I cringed.

My options were watch him struggle or decide that it wasn't important. I wasn't comfortable with either. My son loves history and if he ever stands in front of the Declaration of Independence, I want him to be able to read it.

To begin working on cursive at home, I first wanted to test his familiarity with the lowercase letters. He was exposed to cursive last year, but I wondered what his recollection was. I made a set of four pages for our pegboard (find out how I made it here). Download the 4-page PDF here. This is the first of a series of activities I have planned for him.

The pages require him to match up lowercase manuscript letters with their cursive counterparts. The matches are indicated by stringing rubber bands on the nails from one to the other.

Can't be bothered to make a pegboard? Print my pages, slip them in plastic sheet protectors, and hand kids a fine-tip dry-erase marker to draw lines!

I've said it before, but what I love about these pegboard practice pages is that kids have options. It's like taking a multiple choice test. At first my son incorrectly matched the cursive r with the manuscript n, but later was able to see when the remaining letters didn't match, that he'd made an error.

We read the perfect book to pair with this activity, and for any kids who struggle with good penmanship. The message is truly outstanding - try your best, but in the end, it's what your words are saying that is more important than how beautifully they're written on the page.

United States BINGO (Teacher's Edition)

Three years ago, I made a United States BINGO game for my oldest son. It used some hand-colored states graphics I drew that vanished with the death of an old laptop.

But since that time, numerous teachers have asked me to create more game cards. Having made new states graphics (this time digitally) for our states and capitals pegboard, creating a 30-card set was finally possible.

This new printable is free for download on Google Drive here. Enjoy!

Both my son and I tried to check each card to make sure none had duplicate states, but it's possible we missed one. Please let me know if you find an error.

After School Linky (10-27)

Welcome to the After School Linky Party!

The air is turning cool, the apples are crisp, and inspiration is brewing in the cauldron.

Here are some of my favorite ideas and activities from last week's party.

Bubble Gum Consonant Blends Game at Boy Mama Teacher Mama.

Build a House! Math Bingo at Teach Beside Me.

Free Printable Sight Word Game at Brain Power Boy.

Halloween Sudoku Puzzles {free Halloween printables} at Gift of Curiosity.

Paper Mache Plates at Mosswood Connections.

Pythagorean Theorum at Empowering Parents to Teach.

Viking Ship Craft for Kids at Happy Brown House.

Vocabulary Words Study Tips and Tricks at The Educators' Spin on It.

What have you been doing with your kid(s)? Please share!

The After School Linky is cohosted by

Boy Mama Teacher Mama

Mama Smiles

Planet Smarty Pants

Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational

The Educators' Spin on It

The Measured Mom

This Reading Mama

We would love to have you link up your School-Age Post (Ages 5 and up) about your learning week after school including Crafts, Activities, Playtime and Adventures that you are doing to enrich your children's lives after their day at school, home school, or on the weekend!

When linking up, please take a moment to comment on at least one post linked up before yours and grab our after school button to include a link on your post or site! By linking up, you're giving permission for us to share on our After School Pinterest Board and feature an image on our After School Party in the upcoming weeks!

Magic or Science? Leak-Proof Water Bag

I've seen this experiment on loads of blogs and for good reason. It's guaranteed to make kids' jaws drop. It seems more like magic than science.

Here's how we poked holes in a bag without it leaking.

Step 1: Sharpen pencils to a fine, sharp point.

Step 2: Fill up a clear zip-top plastic food storage bag so it is 2/3rds full of water and seal it closed.

Step 3: Hold the bag up and slowly insert pencils piercing the plastic, going through the water, and out the other side of the bag. Make sure you don't poke the eraser all the way through. Why stop with one? Keep putting pencils in!

Step 4: Be amazed that the bag isn't leaking.

Step 5. Move the bag to the sink to remove the pencils. Water will squirt out everywhere!

Invite kids to form a hypothesis about why this works. My boys thought the pencils were so tight that the bags didn't leak. They were close. The polymers in the plastic are chains of molecules that separate but don't break when poked with the pencil. They squeeze in so snugly around the pencil, it forms a tight waterproof seal.

This experiment came from the fabulous Steve Spangler.

Collect, Sort, Graph, & Count Fall Leaves

The Autumn foliage colors peaked here last weekend. We soaked in the opulence during a trip to a state park, apple orchard, and CSA farm. The family fun was a springboard for several leaf activities, all of which were fun.

1. Fall Leaves Hunt

The last leaf hunt my son went on, we packed some crayons and made rubbings. This time, we left the crayons at home and just let our eyes search out eight various types of leaves. (Click the picture below to download a free PDF of the ID page I made.)

I clipped a page with the names and images as a cheat sheet onto a mini clipboard. It was up to him to make tally marks or simply X through the names or images. We tucked the leaves in a gallon-size ziploc as we walked the trail.

2. Sort by Color and Make a Life-Sized Graph

I pressed the leaves between layers of paper towels (since a few were wet) under a heavy book. The next day, they were ready for us to use. I grabbed some leftover painters tape and made a big grid on the carpet in our living room. I made red, orange, yellow, green, brown, and purple cards as well as a numbered set. I placed these on the grid to complete our empty graph.

It took the boys no time at all to deduce what they were to do. They immediately set to work. "Is this purple or brown," they would ask each other. I loved their decision-making and how well they worked as a team to complete the graph.

When it was done, there was a three-way tie between brown, yellow, and red leaves. (This idea came from Little Giraffes.)

3. Sort and Graph by Type

When we'd finished our leaf color graph. We removed the leaves and the color cards, and I placed two other cards at the bottom of the graph: maple and oak. Now they graphed which we had more of. The clear winner was maple!

4. Arrange from Smallest to Largest

As they cleared the graph of the leaves, I grabbed several and asked our 5-year-old to put them in order from smallest to largest. He was a little lost at first but I asked him to "Find the smallest leaf" and it was removed. Again, "What is the smallest leaf now?" And so it went until we had them all lined up.

5. Preserve by Laminating

Lastly, the boys picked their favorite leaves from our collection and I put them in plastic laminating sleeves, running them through my personal laminator, to save and admire for weeks and months to come. They look like stained glass in our window! (This idea came from Mama Smiles.)

After School Linky 10-20

Welcome to the After School Linky Party!

Did you go pin crazy at last week's party? There were SO MANY great ideas and activities!

Here are a few of my favorites.

DIY Refrigerator Letter Magnets at Look What Mom Found

Fire Safety Week at Planting Peas

Great Halloween Science Experiments at Science Sparks

Sensory Needs of Regular Kids - Touch at Planet Smarty Pants

Gruffalo Themed Shape Animals at The Educators' Spin on It

Which Witch is a Real Witch? A Lesson in Density and the Middle Ages at The Science Kiddo

Word Family Blackout at This Reading Mama

What have you been doing with your kid(s)? Please share!

The After School Linky is cohosted by

Boy Mama Teacher Mama

Mama Smiles

Planet Smarty Pants

Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational

The Educators' Spin on It

The Measured Mom

This Reading Mama

We would love to have you link up your School-Age Post (Ages 5 and up) about your learning week after school including Crafts, Activities, Playtime and Adventures that you are doing to enrich your children's lives after their day at school, home school, or on the weekend!

When linking up, please take a moment to comment on at least one post linked up before yours and grab our after school button to include a link on your post or site! By linking up, you're giving permission for us to share on our After School Pinterest Board and feature an image on our After School Party in the upcoming weeks!

Magnetic ABC Ocean

There's just something about magnets. Kids love 'em. My boys are no exception.

I made a fun way for my 5-year-old to practice letter recognition using two magnets. This is an easy, low- or no-cost activity that's great for working on the alphabet or even spelling.

Supplies

Disposable dinner-sized paper plate

Ocean scene (download the one I made as a free PDF here)

Sticker paper (or regular office paper and a glue stick)

Two magnets (one decorated with a fish button, sticker, etc.)

Scissors

Assembly

Print the ocean scene and cut it along the circle guideline. Attach to your paper plate.

How to Play

Put the fish magnet on top of the ocean scene, and the other magnet under the plate. By moving the bottom magnet, your child will be able to make the fish swim from one letter to the next in the ocean.

You can call out the letters in the alphabet, have them move the fish through the letters in their name, or even practice their spelling words.

This is surprisingly captivating and held my young son's attention much longer than I anticipated. When he grew weary, we read two great books.

5 Senses FREE Printable Board Game

Our 5-year-old was learning about parts of the body in his alternative kindergarten class a week ago. I thought it would be fun to focus on the five senses, engaging him with a board game played like Candyland.

It was fast paced and fun and will most certainly because of the repetition help him remember what all five senses are.

Constructing the Game

Download a 3-page PDF of the game I made here. The file includes a spinner and a two-page game board.

Print the spinner on sticker paper (or office paper and use a glue stick). Adhere it to a thin piece of cardboard (an empty cereal box works perfectly) and cut it out. Use a nontraditional paper punch to make a small hole in the center. Thread a brad through a paper clip and into the hole, separating the brad at the back. Make sure there is enough slack for the paperclip to spin freely.

Trim the game board pages if necessary (most printers don't print full-bleed and leave a white edge along the border) so that they match perfectly along the center. Tape in place.

Now all you need is a different game piece for each player. Use LEGO minifigures, different colored buttons, glass baubles, or even chocolate candies.

How to Play

The first player flicks the spinner and moves their game piece to the sense indicated by the paperclip. For instance, if they spin and the paperclip points to the stinky-smell-wrinkly-nose picture, then the player moves their game piece to the first stinky-smell-wrinkly-nose pictured space on the game board. If the space the spinner stops on has a "2" on it, they move their game piece to two stinky-smell-wrinkly-nose pictured spaces (for example).

As players approach the end, the spinner must land on the last sense on the board in order for him/her to finish the game. The first player to succeed at this is the winner!

Play and Read

There are loads of great books on the five senses. These were my boys' favorites.

Our 5-year-old son and I read My Five Senses by Aliki. This book begins very simply, with one sentence per page explaining each of the five senses and builds to get kids thinking about when they're using more than one of their senses at once. The colored pencil illustrations are charming and the text is simple enough so as not to be overwhelming for younger kids who are just being introduced to the subject.

Our 9-year-old read You Can't Taste a Pickle With Your Ear: A Book About Your 5 Senses by Harriet Ziefert with illustrationS by Amanda Haley. The book and its whimsical pictures could very easily trick you into thinking it's all fun and no facts, but you'd be mistaken. Facts and explanation about how the body works are also included. Brilliant!

6 History Games for kids (+ Other Ideas to Bring the Past to Life and the Linky!)

History can be a tough subject to teach. Kids can feel disconnected and find it difficult to relate to people and events from the past. Making it fun is the trick. Here are six of my free printable games to illustrate that point.

Louisiana Purchase Game

Printable Underground Railroad Quilt Game

Medieval Kingdom Card Game

Westward Bound! {A Lewis & Clark Board Game}

Ancient Greek Temple Building Game

Presidential 4-in-a-Row Board Game

Want more great ideas? Go clickin' crazy ...

LANGUAGE ARTS

If You Sailed on the Mayflower (boat-shaped book) at The First Grade Parade

CRAFTS

Dye Yarn with Kool Aid at Mama Smiles

Making Tea Paper for Maps, Journals and More at Boy Mama Teacher Mama

OJ Carton Lantern and Paul Revere's Ride at Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational

What Do Mayflowers Bring? Pilgrims! (make a Mayflower boat) at Naturally Educational

Columbus Day - Christopher Columbus Spyglass Craft at MPM Ideas

Pioneer Crafts for Kids at The Crafty Crow

BOOKS

Fun books about History for Kids at The Measured Mom

Teach Kids about History - Even Preschoolers can Learn at The Measured Mom

Books about Brave Girls, Strong Ladies, and Great Women at Boy Mama Teacher Mama

MUSIC, ART, & FOOD

Bake Civil War Hardtack at Education.com

Do You Didgeridoo? Making Your Own Didgeridoo at Boy Mama Teacher Mama

6th Grade Carved (Egyptian) Cartouches at There's a Dragon in My Art Room

HISTORY UNITS

History Mini Units for Busy Families at Planet Smarty Pants

Hands On Vikings Unit for Elementary Homeschoolers at 123 Homeschool for Me

HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES

Hands On Pompeii Lesson (archeological LEGO city dig) at Adventures in Mommydom

Presidential Paint Stick Timelines at Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational

DIY Project: Potsherds for an Archaeological Dig at Tikkido

Mummification: Let's Mummify Barbie at Kids Activities Blog

COSTUMES & ROLE PLAYING

DIY George Washington Wig at Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational

Kids bring famous people to life with this DIY Living History Museum at The Educators' Spin on It

Viking Shield {upcycled history craft} at Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational

Wearing Lincoln's Hat at Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational

I am Pharaoh {craft and writing prompt} at Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational

PUZZLES & CIPHERS

Reading Comprehension with the Greek Alphabet at Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational

Preamble Scramble at National Constitution Center

DIY Spy Cipher - American History (Revolutionary War) Project for Kids at 123 Homeschool for Me

What have you been doing with your kids? We'd love for you to share!

The After School Linky is cohosted by

Boy Mama Teacher Mama

Mama Smiles

Planet Smarty Pants

Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational

The Educators' Spin on It

The Measured Mom

This Reading Mama

We would love to have you link up your School-Age Post (Ages 5 and up) about your learning week after school including Crafts, Activities, Playtime and Adventures that you are doing to enrich your children's lives after their day at school, home school, or on the weekend!

When linking up, please take a moment to comment on at least one post linked up before yours and grab our after school button to include a link on your post or site! By linking up, you're giving permission for us to share on our After School Pinterest Board and feature an image on our After School Party in the upcoming weeks!

Equivalent Fractions Pegboard Practice

Reducing fractions (or equivalent fractions) is part of my oldest boys' fourth grade curriculum. And since he's ahead of the class when it comes to math, I figured I'd give him an introduction at home before they start tackling the topic at school.

To do this, I made a page for him to match equivalent fractions using our pegboard (see how I made our wood and nails pegboard here).

What I love about these pegboard pages, are that they're like multiple choice questions. He has a limited number of answers to choose from so it's not overwhelming and all you need is a nontraditional hole punch and rubberbands to practice an endless amount of skills.

Download this 1-page PDF here.

My son did great stringing rubberbands from one nail to another to match the equivalent fractions!

After School Linky (10-6)

Welcome to the After School Linky!

Every week these parties deliver a bounty of inspiration.

Here are a few of my favorite activities, ideas, and blog articles shared last week.

Make Your Own Adinkra Cloth at Marie's Pastiche.

The Worst Apps for Kids at Sunshine and Hurricanes.

 Dip Dye Art at You Clever Monkey.

Fire Safety Smart: Fire Safety Printables for Kids at Look We're Learning!

Glue Ghosts {Halloween Fine Motor Craft for Kids} at Gift of Curiosity.

Create an Optical Illusion at KC Edventures.

Poetry Writing for Kids - Sensory Poems at Planet Smarty Pants.

The After School Linky is cohosted by

Boy Mama Teacher Mama

Mama Smiles

Planet Smarty Pants

Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational

The Educators' Spin on It

The Measured Mom

This Reading Mama

We would love to have you link up your School-Age Post (Ages 5 and up) about your learning week after school including Crafts, Activities, Playtime and Adventures that you are doing to enrich your children's lives after their day at school, home school, or on the weekend!

When linking up, please take a moment to comment on at least one post linked up before yours and grab our after school button to include a link on your post or site! By linking up, you're giving permission for us to share on our After School Pinterest Board and feature an image on our After School Party in the upcoming weeks!