Simple Machines Homeschool Lesson Plan: Grades 3-5

Homeschooling Online Lesson Plan and Activities for Simple Machines

Homeschool Science Resources: Want to learn more about simple machines? This homeschool lesson plan shares online videos, games, activities, and questions will help homeschoolers learn and experiment with the science of simple machines.

This post contains affiliate links. If you click and make a purchase, we get a commission.

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Simple Machines Homeschool Lesson Plans

Target elementary grades 3-5.

Free Printable Google doc for Simple Machines

If you have a Brain Pop Subscription go here: Simple Machines

(Tip: If you sign up as family vs. homeschool, you can pay monthly $10.95. They also offer a free educational video each day.)

PDF: Simple Machines Science Experiments from the Museum of Science and Technology

Twitch: Simple Machines Game from the Museum of Science and Technology

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Name this simple machine.

Simple Machine Questions:

Which simple machine is used to split things apart or hold a door open?

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Survey the room, list the simple machines you see:

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How does an inclined plane make work easier?

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Is a door knob a simple machine? Is so, which one?

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Science Fair Experiment: Build a Robotic Arm from PBS Design Squad (includes Rubric).

Preschool/Early Elementary Connection:

Sid the Science Kids Simple Machines

Recommended Reading:

How Do You Lift a Lion? (Wells of Knowledge Science Series)

Online Homeschool Activities

Pull, Lift, and Lower: A Book About Pulleys (Amazing Science: Simple Machine

Lesson on Money for Homeschool: Budgeting and Online Games

Need an Online Lesson on Money and Minting for Homeschooling or Class Curriculum?

Do you homeschool or plan curriculum for afterschool programs? We've come up with some fun, online lessons that teach about money, budgeting, financing, and the U.S. Mint. The links lead to kid-friendly websites for online learning. We're also sharing the link to our original Google doc lesson so that you can make a free printable. Enjoy!

This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click and make a purchase, we get a small commission. This is how we provide free lesson plans and curriculum for homeschoolers. Thanks!

Money Lesson Plan Curriculum for Homeschooling.

Money Lesson Online

Want access to the Google Doc? Click here and you can print out your own homeschool money lesson.

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Grades 3-5

Watch How Money is Made by How Stuff  Works

Read Alexander Who used to be Rich last Sunday by Judith Viorst

Bennie's Pennies is also a good resource on spending for children ages 9-12.

K-2 Math printable PDF math sheet

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Language Arts:  Story Starter -  If you made a million, would you share it with others?

Explain why or why not with details. How would you save it? List out the ways.

Watch Scholastics Video on Netflix - Amazing Americans - “If I made a Million.”

How Paper Money is Made Video - Field trip to money factory  

How Coins are Made

www.usmint.gov/kids/coinNews/mintingProcess/

When you get there, click roll em to see.

Also watch, The Birth of a Coin (Cool activities here too.)

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Math Activity:

Time Machine American Revolution: Fun with Fractions

Fraction Printable PDF

Free Printable 3rd grade stories and comprehension worksheets also find thru grade 5 here.

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Art Activity: 

Create your own money online 

Printable Checks from Kids Money Farm

More Money Lesson Plans and Printables

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Science Component:

Cat and Mouse Game from the US MINT.

Place two coins of the same size, (quarters, nickels, whatever you have) on a flat, smooth surface.  Put a third coin of any size in front of them, making sure they all touch.  This is the "cat."  Place a fourth coin, the "mouse," about a foot away.  (You could even add a tail to this coin with a piece of dental floss and tape.)

Make your hand into a fist with the index and middle fingers pointing out.  Then tap down quickly on the first two coins with these fingers.  The kinetic force will propel the "cat" toward the "mouse."  Play with a friend, and see who can get the cat to the mouse with the fewest hits. 

Find more games and activities like this at the U.S Mint.

Recommended Reading:

Bennie's Pennies

Online Homeschooling Projects


Pin it!

Minecraft Free Printables: Word Search Finder

Minecraft! Word Searches are Fun Activities for After School

Are you or your kids Minecraft crazy? We've got lots of Minecraft free printables. This word search is a printable PDF, click the links to visit our MediaFire page and download your FREE Minecraft word activity. Enjoy!

Get it here: Minecraft Free Printables: Word Search Finder.

Recommended Reading:

Make your Own Minecraft Balsa Wood Figure

Get Cool Minecraft Skins

Minecraft: The Adventures of Steve

Throw a Birthday Party or Summer Camp with these 11 Minecraft Games and Activities

11 Minecraft Games and Activities for a Birthday Party, After School Activity, or Summer Camp Program

These Minecraft activities are fun and easy, plan a party or a theme day for summer camp or even an after-school program with these hands-on, tech-off Minecraft games for kids. You know we used marshmallows for our minecraft building.  Enjoy!

Craft a Minecraft house from Marshmallows and design your own skins too!

• We decided to get in on the Minecraft crafting fun with Marshmallows! These days marshmallows come in all different sizes and colors  We used the giant ones to build houses and walls. We painted "glued them together" with a dab of water and colored them with markers and paint. We have recipes for edible paint if you'd like to keep your minecraft characters edible for toddlers.

Does Minecraft have any Educational Value?  Well, we sure hope so. What a great way to turn our kids into zombies... if only I were an evil, super villain from Batman.

Looking for Minecraft Printables?

Minecraft Squares Sheets

Minecraft Paper Cube Printables

How about a Minecraft Birthday Party Theme?

These Minecraft Creeper Lanterns from Play Dr. Hutch are my favorite birthday party decoration! She also has a roundup of Minecraft gift ideas for boys and girls, but don't forget our Minecraft Wood Puzzle. Dr. Hutch's Minecraft construction paper masks are an easy preschool activity.

Minecraft Creeper Lanterns for a birthday party.

Parties4ever blog has some great Minecraft birthday party ideas! I love the idea of play parody songs, and her food is spectacular!

Edible Art: Minecraft Snacks and Appetizers.

Games and Activities for a Minecraft Party

Minecraft Birthday Party Target Game from Housing a Forest blog.

Minecraft Creeper Target Practice Game

Make your Own Minecraft T-shirts

How to Make Glow-in-the-dark Minecraft Creeper Shirts

Make Minecraft Creeper Bracelets


Recommended Reading:

Minecraft: The Official Construction Handbook: 4*

Make Homemade Clay and Craft Pigs

Where to Find the Best Minecraft Skins

ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

First Grade Math Activity Games using Tens and Ones

First grade game for math activity center involving tens and ones counting

You can make this game activity at home, and print a free printable tens and ones chart to play it. Playing with dice makes learning tens and ones counting fun for first graders. Enjoy!

Visit the link above to print these charts.

Printable Hundreds Chart.

Help your early elementary or preschooler learn 
about tens and ones with this game.

You will need  12 mini cups, 2 dice, and macaroni. 
We used Phineas and Ferb Macaroni.

Mark six of your cups with the number 10 and six with the number 1.

Take turns rolling the dice and building numbers. Child chooses which number to build. For example, the roll shown above can be played as 46 or 64.

Place the dice in the squares on the free printable playing chart. Use the Hundreds chart to help count to 64. 

Then, build the numbers in the cups. For sixty four, place 10 pieces of macaroni in six cups (60) and one macaroni in four number one cups (4).

Once cups are filled, count to find out how many tens and ones. 64 = 6 Tens, Four ones. Mark this on your playing chart. Under the appropriate heading.

For further understanding, use the free printable hundreds chart to check your work. If macaroni adds up to the number rolled score 5 points. First one to 20 points wins.


Recommended Reading:

Using Ten Frames to Teach Number Sense, Grades K-1*

Online Lessons for Homeschooling











ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

3 FREE Disney Phineas Ferb Pumpkin Carving Stencil Printable Pages Activities for Kids

Disney Phineas and Ferb Activities and Pumpkin Carving for Kids 

Phineas and Ferb! We've got 3 cool Pumpkin Carving Template Patterns from Disney! You'll have a blast carving a Perry the Platypus pumpkin with this traceable pattern from Disney. Click the link below for a free Phineas and Ferb activity and coloring book. Enjoy!

Perry the Platypus coloring activities for kids.

Click > FREE Phineas and Ferb game and activity book pdf

Click to highlight the images below to find and print Disney Phineas, Ferb, and Perry the Platypus Pumpkin Carving Stencil Template Patterns! These are the perfect patterns for little Disney fans to use for a DIY Disney Pumpkin or print and use as a coloring sheet!

Ferb Pumpkin Carving Template.

Perry the Platypus pumpkin stencil.

Phineas pumpkin pattern template stencil.

Recommended Reading:


Free Pumpkin Carving Online Game

How to Make a Perry the Platypus Costume

Phineas and Ferb Laughapalooza Joke Book *

Make a Phineas Mask for Halloween

Spooktacular Joke Book (Phineas and Ferb) *


 *I receive tickets to the show for sharing these goodies with you. We do not share your personal information with others. Third parties may collect information through cookies when you click into their sites. The Walt Disney Company is neither a sponsor nor an endorser of this giveaway.

Lesson 2 How to Make a Tunnel Book: Elementary Homeschool

Ideas for your next Homeschool ART Lesson: Summer Tunnel Book from Jake's Journey in Art

Working from crayons to Picasso. The art of the tunnel book. Learn how to make a tunnel book, it isn't as easy as it looks!

So, if you are following the story, you may remember we had a bad experience with an elementary art teacher. Might I just add- this occured at a 4 Star school.  I'm pretty sure she has tenure. Oddly, outside of the classroom (at least with adults) she was very personable. If you haven't read it click here for Lesson One - Art Expression.

The infamous Tunnel Art Book. Oh my!  Even with my art and architecture background, I had difficulty following the instructions for this one. We watched a video, we looked at samples, and still it just wasn't clicking for me.  Perhaps, I over complicated it.

Well, my struggling Art-hater truly hated this one. If I couldn't explain it- why should he bother trying, right?  So, we sat it aside for a day, and then a week, and then a little bit longer. I tried to make my own by cutting out a frame and gluing the sides together, but it was so much trouble. I refused to make another one, so we used it as the tunnel for Jake's book.

Cut and pasted the important pieces so we can keep it in a scrapbook.

Turns out, I had NO IDEA what I was doing, but Jake drew some nice trees for the background even though he complained the entire time.  When he finished, he complained some more, "Mine isn't as good as yours.  Amanda's trees look better than mine. I cannot do this; I hate art!"

So... apparently somewhere along the way, I missed am important step.  The next day, the little one and I tried one last time. The sides are sheets of paper folded in half, and at the half way mark we glued (and taped) the frames for the tunnel effect.  I scribbled some pictures, and she drew some beautiful creatures and a background, and we attached some to each interior frame. These did not stand on their own; and they are extremely flimsy, or our construction paper is just way too thin. 



Anyway, we tried our best, and that is what really counts- right?  Hopefully, our failures will help you have a successful Tunnel Art Book.  In two years, when the little one gets the same lesson; we'll refer back to this post and try with thicker paper.  I'm thinking CARDBOARD sides.

The Little's background and other fun items.

Here is a link to an entire site about tunnel books.  Hope this helps spark your creativity!

And... here is their closest example to the way our assignment was described.

Too cool ~ It is a construction site!  Photo from Popular Kinetics Press



Recommended:

Lesson Three Still Life

Lesson Four Watercolor and Paper Crafts

Green Light at the End of the Tunnel: Learning the Art of Living Well Without Causing Harm to Our Planet or Ourselves*


Bridges and Tunnels: Investigate Feats of Engineering with 25 Projects (Build It Yourself)

ART: Elementary Homeschool Projects from our online lessons: Lesson One

Homeschool Sample Artwork for Homeschool Art from Connections Academy Online Homeschool

(How a Bricks and Mortar teacher ruined the love of ART)

We've been contemplating Homeschooling for a long time. We needed to find a house in the country with a barn, so we knew we'd be moving, but had no idea where. It seemed the perfect time to bite the bullet. 

I had dreamed of being an ART teacher but deplored my first college art professor and switched to THEATRICAL DESIGN and later to ARCHITECTURE. Ha-ha-ha. I have a diploma. I worked in various design capacities, but always preferred working with children. I am laughing, because, after having my own children, that is no longer my favorite thing. Now, I like to write (more about that later).

But, oh wow! Homeschooling gave me a chance to fulfill my first academic dream and become a real life art teacher! I could not wait to get started. When you cannot wait for something; well, you probably should. It never, ever turns out like you envision.

Things are finally starting to swing in my favor, so I thought I would start sharing our weekly projects here. I want to give all moms of budding artists hope and patience by sharing our grief.  We've learned so many great lessons along the way: How to clean up, How art can teach math, Patience is a virtue, Practice makes perfect, How to spell new words, How to make Mommy say bad words... you get it- you've lived it.  

Maybe you love math or music or language arts and it turns out to be your child's least favorite or worst subject. Time to put on your grown-up pants and grin and bear it with me.

Here is Jake's work from Connection's Academy Art LESSON ONE:  Draw a picture of yourself showing how you feel about school, specifically ART, use shapes and patterns within your drawing.



ANGRY.

Jake: "I hate art."
Mommy: "It is my favorite subject! I am not so great, but I try my best."
Jake: "I'm no good at it, and I don't want to do it."
Mommy: "Let's listen to music while we draw."
Jake: "Let's don't, and say we did."
Mommy: "Jake, here is a mirror draw your face."
Jake: "No."
Mommy: "Just Do IT!"
Jake: "This is not fun."
Mommy: "This is not fun."
Mommy: "Maybe this is why Mom's take up drinking wine."


Later, Jake informed me he had never used anything but crayons in his art class at school. They always had to color the ENTIRE page with neat, crayon coloring from corner to corner. WHAT? I've got the pictures and the grades to prove why he doesn't like art. 

She was a hardcore grader for an elementary teacher who made the kids use crayons as a medium! In fact, she killed his straight A+'s in first grade with a B- and a comment to try and be neater. He was devastated. I told him, "Ya gotta do what ya gotta do." He did it from that point on. 

Man, I'd hate art too if that were my teacher's philosophy. Why do you need an art teacher for coloring with crayons. Seems like a lot of busy work to me.


Recommended Reading:

Lesson Two
Lesson Three
Lesson Four

The Ultimate Book of Homeschooling Ideas: 500+ Fun and Creative Learning Activities for Kids Ages 3-12 (Prima Home Learning Library)*

Discovering Great Artists: Hands-On Art for Children in the Styles of the Great Masters (Bright Ideas for Learning (TM))*