Homeschooling

Science Sensory Bins for Hands-on Learning

Science sensory bins for hands-on learning allow kids to explore through their senses and interact with what they are studying. They are a great way to increase interest and engagement.

Hands-on learning is also a great way to increase retention of concepts. Sensory bin are easy to set up but offer a big payoff in terms of interest and interaction.

Science Sensory Bins for Hands-on Learning

Human Body Sensory Bin

Admittedly, this one is a bit gross, but kids love getting their hands in there and exploring the organs and body parts!

Dig for Fossils Sensory Bin

Learn about dinosaurs and fossil excavation with this hands-on activity.

Bee Life Cycle Sensory Bin

Water beads are the filler for this simple yet effective way to help kids learn the bee life cycle.

Life Cycle of a Chicken Sensory Bin

This sensory play idea includes suggestions for expanding the learning as well as free printables for a farm or chicken unit study.

Magnets, Magnets, and More Magnets

Invite your child to discover the world of magnets in this interactive science experience.

Sea Turtle Life Cycle Sensory Bin

Sea turtles are fascinating. Give your child the opportunity to explore in this simple to make sensory tub.

Praying Mantis Life Cycle Sensory Bin

Bring this sensory play station to your home or classroom as kids learn about these interesting insects.

How To Make a Tasty Dino Dig for Toddlers and Preschoolers (STEM Fun!)

Create your own archeological dinosaur dig with this fun sensory treat! Dig like a real scientist through the jello Earth layers to dig up your dinos.

Photo Credit: activelittles.com

Hand Washing Experiment for Kids

Proper hand washing experiment for kids using a sensorial water bin.

Photo Credit: www.thekeeperofthememories.com

Whale Investigation Station for Preschoolers

Learn about whales with this Whale Investigation Station for little kids!

Photo Credit: faithandgoodworks.com

Swamp Sensory Bin

Bring the swamp indoors.

Photo Credit: www.adabofgluewilldo.com

Ocean Sensory Bin Sorting Activity

Practise matching and sorting with this ocean themed sensory activity.

Photo Credit: preschooltoolkit.com

Marble Roll STEAM Activity in the Sensory Bin

Combine sensory and science to explore how a marble rolls through different sensory bin fillers.

Photo Credit: teachingmama.org

Create a pond sensory bin

Explore the possibilities in this pond wildlife habitat small world play activity.

Photo Credit: littlebinsforlittlehands.com

Icy Ocean Sensory Bin And Ice Melt

An icy ocean science activity transforms into a fantastic ocean water sensory bin! Explore the ocean with an under the sea science and sensory play activity!

Using these ideas for science sensory bins, you can expand on a unit study or introduce a new concept to your child or students.

You may also be interested in reading:

Layers of the Earth Science Project

Easy Earthquake Experiment

Easy Outdoor Sensory Activities

May Emotions Printables for Kids

By Sharla Kostelyk

It is not uncommon for students to have mixed feelings about summer break coming up, but this year, that is particularly true. These free printable May emotions worksheets can help them to sort through those feelings. They can also help them to realize that it’s okay to feel all of them.

Most children this year didn’t get the closure of their school year ending the regular way. They may feel disappointed about things such as vacations or summer camps being cancelled. They may worry that summer won’t feel much like summer since they’ve already been home for weeks or months.

I know that some of my kids are struggling with big emotions about not being able to go on our usual summer family camping trip and uncertainty about the upcoming school year.

Simple activities that focus on emotions help kids to learn the vocabulary as well as to get used to talking about their own emotions.

The printable emotions copywork pages help kids practise their printing while at the same time, associating the emotion word with the appropriate facial expression.

The My Feelings Log for this month helps kids put a name to the feelings they are experiencing. This is the first step in learning to manage those feelings. It is so important.

May Emotions Printables for Kids:

May Copywork Emotions Sentences:

Supplies needed:

May Emotions Printable pages (download them here)
pen or pencil OR
plastic sleeve AND dry erase marker

If you want the sheets to be reusable, laminate the pages or slip them in a plastic page protector. Students can then use a dry erase marker to do the tracing and writing themselves. Or they can write directly on the pages with a pen, pencil, marker, or coloured pencils.

Copywork Sentences Instructions for the child:

Read the sentence.
Fill in the outline.
Trace the dotted words.
Write the sentence on the lines provided.
Discuss the various emotions.

These worksheets can be a jumping off point for a discussion about various emotions. You can further expand this activity by having your child describe a time when they have felt that emotion. They can also come up with a story describing why the bee might be experiencing that particular feeling.

May My Feelings Log:

Supplies needed:

printed Feelings Log (download those here)
scissors
glue stick
markers, pencil crayons (coloured pencils), or crayons
pen or pencil

My Feelings Log Instructions for the child:

Choose one icon each day to colour, cut, and paste to your log.
At the end of the month, you can look back and see the various emotions you felt.
Discuss your feelings with a parent or trusted adult.

The bee emotion visuals help kids better identify and work through their own feelings in a way that feels less vulnerable because it’s a cute bee face. Once you know HOW they are feeling that day, you can help them dig into the WHY behind those feelings.

After identifying the feeling, you can work together on strategies for better managing that emotion.

Simply enter your email in the box below to download the May Emotions Printable Worksheets. Print them off to use them with your child at home or with your students.

You may also be interested in reading:

Spider Emotions Matching Game

Outdoor Sensory Activities at Home

Where to Find Free Homeschool Printables

Praying Mantis Life Cycle Sensory Bin

By Sharla Kostelyk

I find that my kids are always fascinated to learn about different life cycles. One of the ways I like to help them reinforce that learning is through sensory play. This Praying Mantis Life Cycle Sensory Bin allows kids to explore through their senses and imaginations. Kids can see how the cycle from soft egg case to hard egg to nymph (young) to adult. The more they learn about this fascinating insect, the more their interest will be piqued.

Praying Mantis Life Cycle Sensory Bin:

Supplies needed:

kinetic sand (you can use regular sand if you prefer)
decorative foam balls in green (I found these at the Dollar Store)
Praying Mantis Life Cycle Pack
magnifying glass
rocks
various leaves (real or plastic)
plastic bin
optional: scoops, spoons, or tongs

Directions:

Place kinetic sand and foam balls in a plastic tub.
Add rocks, leaves, a magnifying glass, and the figures from the Praying Mantis pack.
If you want, you can also add some scoops or tongs.
Invite your child to play.

This hands-on activity is a great way for kids to get up close and personal with this type of insect. The way it is set up mimics the habitat for some types of praying mantis.

This activity can be used for science at home or in a preschool or classroom. In addition to learning, students will also be getting visual, tactile, and proprioceptive sensory input as they play.

You can use this sensory bin as part of a unit study on insects or on the praying mantis.

Kids can research their questions such as:

What does a praying mantis eat?
How long does a praying mantis live?
Where do praying mantis live?

Ways to expand the learning:

Read books about insects or about the praying mantis in particular.
If you live in an area where there are praying mantis, you could catch one and place it in a bug habitat to observe before releasing it.
Write a report complete with pictures about the praying mantis.
Print off the Praying Mantis Life Cycle puzzle. Cut out the pieces and assemble.

Praying Mantis 4 Piece Life Cycle Figures The Life Cycle of a Praying Mantis Mini Praying Mantis Finger Puppet Educational Insights GeoSafari Jr. BugWatch How to Draw Insects Manuelo, the Playing Mantis Praying Mantises (Animal Cannibals)

Learn more about the praying mantis:

National Geographic

Interesting Facts about the Praying Mantises (great pictures here!)

Nature’s Perfect Predator (Praying Mantis video)

Download your free printable Praying Mantis Life Cycle puzzle to go along with this science activity.

You may also be interested in checking out these Life Cycle Sensory Bins:

Bee Life Cycle Sensory Bin

Chicken Life Cycle Sensory Bin

Sea Turtle Life Cycle Sensory Bin

Simple Science: Earthquake Experiment

By Sharla Kostelyk

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In the past few weeks, we’ve been learning about the Earth’s layers (you can see how to make a Layers of the Earth model here), tectonic plates, volcanoes, and earthquakes. For the teaching on earthquakes, I wanted to give the kids a hands-on activity that would help them remember what they learned.This earthquake experiment is simple and requires very few items to create. This can easily be done at home and chances are, you already have the items you’ll need.

Earthquake Experiment:

Supplies needed:

metal cookie sheet
wooden blocks
Lego bricks

Directions:

First, have the students construct a tower on the cookie sheet using the wooden blocks.
Have two of the kids sit on either side of the cookie sheet and shake it as if there were an earthquake. Not surprisingly, when we did this, the tower crumbled with very little shaking and the blocks fell.

The metal cookie tray is meant to represent a tectonic plate and the shaking represents the shifting that happens with an earthquake.

Directions Part Two:

Next, work together to construct a tower with interlocking Lego blocks. Our kids, are always excited when Lego and school collide! Made it approximately the same height and shape as the wooden block tower. For us, it took much longer of course to make the Lego brick tower, which led to a discussion about how sometimes doing things the right way takes more time.
Set the new tower on the cookie sheet and have two kids sit on either side (in order for the experiment to be as scientific as possible, we wanted to use the same people so that they could attempt to create the same earthquake force). At first, they recreated the same shaking they had the first time and the tower stayed intact.
Simulate a larger, more powerful earthquake. When we did this, they became more and more forceful with the shaking, eventually lifting the tray up and banging it up and down as well as side to side before they were able to knock the tower over and dislodge a few of the bricks.

This simple earthquake experiment is an easy way to demonstrate to kids why buildings in earthquake-prone areas need to be built differently to withstand the fallout of the quakes.

Ways to expand your learning about earthquakes:

Books for Kids about Earthquakes:

Why Do Tectonic Plates Crash and Slip? Geology Book for Kids Earthquakes and Other Natural Disasters Tummy Rumble Quake: An Earthquake Safety Book Earthquakes! – An Earthshaking Book on the Science of Plate Tectonics Jump Into Science: Earthquakes

You may also be interested in these other easy science activities for kids about the Earth:

Layers of the Earth Hands-On Science Activity

Making Groundwater

How do Fold Mountains Form

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2020 Pandemic Journal for Kids

By Sharla Kostelyk

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The 2020 Pandemic Journal for Kids is a powerful tool in helping your child focus on the positive, express their feelings in a healthy way, shift their thinking to gratitude and hopefulness, and create a memorable time capsule keepsake.

As much as we try to shelter our child from the stress of what’s happening in the world right now, we can’t shield them from it all. Their reality has been altered. School closures, not being able to hug grandparents or visit friends, not going out to the playground, movies, or even the store, and maybe hearing the hushed whispers of adults are just a few of the changes your child may be facing.

Even though we are doing our best as parents to make things as normal as possible for them, chances are, they still carry with them some concern. Worry in a child may look like:

teasing or arguing with siblings more than usual
being irritable
having trouble falling asleep or having nightmares
whining
outbursts or meltdowns
being rigid/inflexible
quick or easy to anger
easily frustrated
big emotions
asking a lot of questions
aggression

What can you do to help your child through this?

Offer hope.

Talk about the future without making promises you can’t keep. The statement “Someday, you’ll be able to tell your kids that you were 9 years old during the 2020 pandemic.” is very powerful. It conveys to them that this will not end the world. That they have a future to look forward to and it also helps them feel like what they are doing now will hold a place in history.

Help them focus on the positive.

There is so much surrounding them that is difficult right now that it can be easy for kids (and adults) to slip into negative thought patterns. “It’s never going to get better.” “I can’t do …”

By helping them reframe what they are going through in more positive language, kids can shift their thinking to gratitude and hopefulness.

Give them an outlet for expressing their feelings.

When kids are able to identify their feelings, they can better manage them. By tracking their emotions, they can also learn to communicate about them. This helps parents and teachers be able to help them through even the most difficult emotions and enables them to equip their child or student with appropriate calm down strategies and tools to better manage those.

What the 2020 Pandemic Journal for Kids includes:

19 printable pages
prompts to help kids document the journey for a time capsule keepsake
pages for them to help identify and process their emotions
new habit tracker
gratitude journal
encouraging colouring pages
ideas to help them focus on the positives
and more

How to Use the Journal:

Supplies needed:

2020 Pandemic Journal for Kids (download yours here)
pen or pencil
markers, crayons, or pencil crayons
scissors
glue stick or glue

Instructions:

Download the pandemic journal.
Print off the pages. You may want to make multiple copies of some of the pages such as the gratitude page and daily journal.
Have your child complete the pages of the journal.
If you want to, you can hole punch the papers to keep them in a binder or duo tang.

How to adapt the Pandemic Journal for Preschoolers:

Even preschoolers can easily use this tool. They can colour the title page and colouring pages, a parent can help them fill in the answers for the “my life during the pandemic page” by interviewing them and recording their answers, the Feelings Log pages can be completed by colouring, cutting, and pasting, and all the other sheets can be completed by drawing rather than writing.

How to adapt the Pandemic Journal for Older Kids and Teens:

This tool can actually serve as an inspiration for your teen or older child to expand on this idea. Perhaps they will want to create a video journal or scrapbook of news articles to accompany their Pandemic Journal. Maybe they will choose to write a report on what they are learning through this experience or about the ways the world came together.

They can use the pages in the journal to write their experiences, thoughts, and emotions as well as to document the experience through their eyes. Depending on the age, maturity, and personality of your teen, they also want to follow reputable news sources to create a timeline or even write a book about the pandemic as seen through their eyes.

To download your free copy of the 2020 Pandemic Journal for Kids, enter your email address in the box below.

You may also be interested in reading:

Your Complete Guide to School at Home

How to Talk to Your Child about the Pandemic

Theme Day Ideas for Family Fun at Home

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Layers of the Earth Hands on Science Activity

By Sharla Kostelyk

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When teaching students about the structure of the Earth, this 3D layers of the Earth project really helps bring it to life. Using a hands-on activity like this helps kids be able to conceptualize what they’re learning and be able to retain it. This project is super easy to make with minimal supplies. Watch the video below to see exactly how to shape your layers of the Earth visual model.

Layers of the Earth Activity:

To create this 3D model of the layers of the Earth, you will need just a few easy-to-acquire supplies.

Supplies needed:

5 colours of modelling clay
waxed dental floss

Directions:

Form a ball to represent the inner core. We chose red to represent the intense heat of the inner core.
Next, roll out a circle of another colour and wrap around the ball and roll gently. This next layer represents the outer core.
Each subsequent colour will need more modelling clay than the last. You will need a colour to represent the lower mantle, another for the upper mantle, and the outer layer for the crust.*
Once your ball of 5 layers of modelling clay is complete, use a piece of waxed dental floss to cut the ball down the middle, revealing all the layers underneath.

*Be sure not to press the layers too firmly together so that the colours don’t mix.

Ways to expand on this activity:

Have your child draw a diagram depicting the layers and labelling them.
Set out books about the Earth for your child to peruse.
Hang up a learning poster in your classroom or home to give kids another visual cue.
Make a Layers of the Earth Soap with the kids.
Make some Layers of the Earth Pudding Cups as a related snack.