Go Green with 6 Eco Friendly Kid Activities: Fall

6 Going Green Activities for Kids

Whether you call it Fall or Autumn, the cooler weather is a great time to go green and focus on eco friendly kid activities. Going green isn't just about sustainability or recycling, it is also a great way to be eco friendly. When you use items from nature in games and craft projects, you're going green! Take the kids on a nature hike, collect twigs, leaves, and rocks and then start creating win the found materials. We've curated five beautiful and fun eco friendly activities to do with the kids that will make beautiful gifts or home decorations for fall. As always, don't forget to make it an educational experience with a companion lesson. We've included a few for you.

Whenever we do a craft, we like to pair it with a lesson. The eco friendly kid activities listed here are perfect companion craft activities for a lesson on the environment. After your nature hike, teach the kids about sustainability, going green, and even climate change. Adrian Rubin  has great articles that are perfect for high schoolers or college students to read on their own. For middle school or older elementary students, the articles, like this one on climate change and red tide, make good read alouds. Check out NASA for more in depth articles and lesson plans on global climate change.

6 Eco Friendly Kid Activities

• One of our fellow bloggers and favorite crafters, is Maggie, from Red Ted Art. She created a beautiful leaf lantern that is the perfect fall eco friendly kid activity. 

Eco Friendly Leaf Lanterns from Red Ted Art.

After you hike and create your leaf lantern activity, watch this Global Warming Climate Change video from Brainpop. If you're a teacher or homeschool parent, you'll love that you can create your own quiz or find lesson ideas here.

• Colleen from Raising Lifelong Learners, offers up an ideal going green eco friendly kid activity with these evergreen wreath craft. Click over to see how she incorporates STEM/STEAM lessons with activity. You might also like our Autumn Leaf Wreath How to Activity.

Evergreen Wreath Activity from Raising Lifelong Learners.

• Over on the Melissa & Doug blog, we found an eco friendly alphabet kid activity that is perfect for preschoolers. On your nature hike, collect smooth, flat rocks and bring them inside to create alphabet rocks. The next time you go out, place them along the path in alphabetical order to help your little one learn their ABCs. 

Alphabet Rock Walk from Melissa & Doug.

• We have a fun eco friendly mystery bag activity for a nature hike.

Collect items on a nature hike for a mystery bag activity.

• Now that you've collected all those nature items for your mystery bag activity, use some twigs and walnut or hickory nut shells to make your own eco friendly nature tic tac toe game.

Make an eco friendly tic tac toe game from found objects.

• All kids like to pick up twigs. They make great swords, don't they? They also make cool eco friendly crafts, like the Christmas Tree ornaments pictured below. Collect the twigs in the fall and gift the eco friendly ornaments during the holidays.

Eco friendly kid made holiday decorations.from Kids Creative Chaos.

For more eco friendly kid activities and sustainable ideas check out our Pinterest board on Art and Craft Activities for Kids.

Recommended Reading:

Eco Friendly Nature Based Kid Activities

Eco Friendly Kids Products on Amazon (affiliate link)

Fall Play Ideas

Free Online Homeschool Curriculum Recommendations

Curriculum Recommendations for Online Homeschooling

Whether you're new to homeschooling or you've been doing it for years, you're probably on the hunt for new, exciting, and engaging curriculum ideas. We get bored with the daily grind and change it up from year to year or even season to season. Here's a list of mostly free online homeschool curriculum recommendations that we've used and enjoyed. We've tried MANY other options, but these are our favorites.

This post contains affiliate links.

Free Online Homeschool Curriculum Recommendations.

Brainpop Jr. is my favorite program for younger elementary and preschool. The videos are fun to watch, and the kids always looked forward to using Brainpop Jr. for Homeschooling. 

Brainpop has a an online homeschool for middle school and high school, but we often found topics we wanted only on Brainpop Jr. The upper grade version is nice for supplementing classroom curriculum. If you use the paid version, you have access to more functions and all lessons.

MobyMax is a great online homeschool app to find out where your kids are in their homeschool learning experience. They can take placement tests in all subjects and then the program finds learning gaps and helps kids focus and build on the areas where they may be struggling. The content isn't as fun and engaging as Brainpop. It is a more definitive tool for classroom use, helping teachers to keep all students on track. MobyMax can be used as a supplement or as full homeschool curriculum up to eighth grade.

Khan Academy is (or should be) a household name for homeschoolers. In the beginning, Khan Academy targeted older students and even offered SAT prep. Now, they also offer more curriculum for elementary school. It keeps track of their lessons and lets you know when students are struggling or when they are ready to move to the next level.

The kids prefer Khan Academy math to any other online homeschool math program, but homeschool mom always liked to supplement with free Brainpop math videos to make sure the kids understood the talking points. Khan Academy can get monotonous for day to day homeschooling. Sal does a great job, but it can get a little boring after awhile. We also supplement our Khan Academy math with Life of Fred textbooks. These books are easy to read and tell a fun story while sneaking in practical math lessons.

Now, there are new instructors and new curriculum on KA. My daughter enjoys studying high school and college level psychology and art history through Khan Academy.

My son does well with virtual homeschool. So, for online high school homeschooling, we are sticking with Connections Academy. In Indiana, it is a free online public school. Connections Academy offers group gatherings and field trips. He gets through the assignments quickly (though, I'm told many homeschoolers struggle to get their lessons done on time) so we supplement with weekly enrichment including museum homeschool programs and educational YouTube videos like John and Hank Green's Crash Course in American History.

Sometimes, when he's struggling on a particular topic, (for high school all text books are online) we find a compatible Life of Fred homeschooling book to fll in any gaps. It's nice to have a good, old book that you can hold in your hand and flip through the pages. He enjoys reading them outside while enjoying his hammock.

Sure, Connections Academy has teachers and attendance to keep, but when it's all done, he'll have official transcripts for college. 

I prefer Connections High School to their Elementary program. The elementary program seemed a little too intense. Especially, when you want the freedom of homeschooling. They're still working out the bugs and it gets better every year, in the past, we had to have weekly check ups with the elementary teachers. For high school, signing in and doing your work suffices. As it should...

In 2017, this homeschool mom broke her leg. That made planning homeschool curriculum and doing enrichment activities difficult. So, my daughter was pretty much on her own. She did great with MobyMax (so I could keep up with her learning) and supplementing with YouTube videos of her choosing. But, homeschool mom felt like maybe she was failing her daughter by not being as involved. So, this fall, we are trying something new! Acellus. I stumbled upon Acellus last year when I was laid up in bed. Many other homeschoolers told me it was expensive, but I was sure I found a free or nearly free version. 

But whenever, I looked it up, I found the paid online homeschool version, which seems to be set up like Connections academy, but with a private school fee. That's not for us! I gave up for a while, and recently tried again. It seems they also have a homeschool app which is found on a separate website, PowerHomeschool. The homeschool app differs from the online homeschool version, because the videos are canned - meaning they are pre-recorded 

That's just what we wanted! We like working at our own pace. These videos are similar to videos my daughter finds on YouTube, but these organized by grade level. We'll choose math, science, language arts, foreign language, and music this year. At the time of this posting, the app is $9.99 per month, basically the same as the paid homeschool version of Brainpop. We're looking forward to starting her in the homeschool middle school program this fall. 

The PowerHomemschool website describe the homeschool curriculum like this: "Students proceed through the course in a step-by-step fashion watching a video lesson and then completing assessment problems. Students receive reviews and unit, mid-term, and final exams as they proceed through the course. Learning gaps are assessed and filled as students move through the course concept by concept."

Seems like a fair option to give it a test drive before you jump into their online school curriculum. 

We'll also supplement with Life of Fred fractions and beginning algebra. One thing I've missed the last few years, is doing hands-on science experiments. After previewing the Acellus app's science curriculum, I was excited to try it. With a Google search for online homeschool curriculum, the app is hard to find. They have moved it to a new website with a different name. Find it here: PowerHomeschool

Bottom line, don't break the bank to homeschool. We have SO many books, every year, I'd go out and buy new books. We never got through most of them. Find a free online homeschool curriculum, that works for you and stick with it. Then, supplement with fun enrichment activities and family outings.

We also involve the kids in day to day household concerns. We talk about finances, debt, and even recently including them in every step of the home buying process. That included going to a lender, saving for a down payment, creative ways to find extra money like garage sales, selling off items no longer needed, the highs and lows of Craigslist and eBay, getting a water and septic test at the state level, watching our credit scores, budgeting for groceries, finding ways to cut costs to save for the new house, and even going to a county courthouse to pick up documents needed to close. So many lessons here. At the courthouse, we all had to go through the security, empty our pockets, etc. The next steps, include renovating the new house. 

Family struggles and life lessons are often kept from kids. In my opinion, this tends to give the kids an unrealistic view of what it is like to be a grown up. They can't wait to get out of the house and start their own life, but reality gets in the way of their happiness. Keeping kids life lessons and keeping them in the know, helps them better prepare for the future. Isn't that what homeschooling is all about?

So, what do you think of this list of free online homeschool curriculum recommendations? Do you have something you really love? Tell us about it in the comments or find Kids Creative Chaos on Instagram and chat with us there!

Recommended:

Science Homeschool Projects

Summer Camp Curriculum

Circle Time  Activities Handbook 

Pin it!

Summer Camp at Home Themes, Schedules, and Tips

Themes and Activities for Summer Camp at Home

Want to give kids the experience of a great summer camp? Whether you do summer camp for your neighborhood, for a church youth group, or your local community, these summer camp at home themes, schedules, and tips will help you create the best, most fun summer camp for kids from six to sixteen! 

Post contains affiliate links.

Work in a retirement village or nursing home? Activity directors can adapt the activities for any age group. The objective is fun! Our website is full of fun, free camp activities, circle time activities, and group games. If you want everything at your fingertips (or on your clipboard) grab a copy of any of the books in our companion book series. These books are designed to help you organize and create an amazing youth group program or a simple, summer camp at home. 

Each books stands alone or get all 3 books for an organized summer camp, after-school program, or extra activities for vacation bible school. 

Our latest book, "Summer Camp at Home Handbook" has a total of five weeks of camp themes and activities. Each week includes: songs to sing, science experiments, group games, art activities, and fun themed snacks. It also includes a welcome pledge, icebreaker game, filler activities, planning calendars, printable today's birthday poster, activity schedule, daily menu poster, registration forms with allergy and photo permission features, and sample letters and forms to create a professional, organized camp program. If you want to do a full-on community summer camp, the only thing you'll need to add is insurance. Some small programs forego insurance for waivers and good luck. It's a good idea to get a short-term summer insurance policy if you plan to include your neighborhood or others outside of your close circle of friends and family.

Do you need a license to operate summer camp? That depends on your city and state. Check with your local government agencies, especially the board of health. Many churches (depending on state laws) are exempt and do not require visits from board of health or other agencies. Often, if the campers are participating in the prep of food it falls under different rules than if you are providing snacks. This is why the Summer Camp at Home Handbook includes theme snack activities and edible art. An easy way to avoid any trouble is to only provide prepackaged snacks and beverages (stay away from milk.) At the least, always have parents sign waivers, waivers, waivers. They won't completely protect you if someone decides to sue, but they do give everyone a heads up and let everyone know you are thinking ahead. Always have parents sign field trip waivers (you can make one for the entirety of camp and list out all pre-planned activities.) Also, be sure you have records of food allergies, immunizations, and authorized pick up persons. Finally, be aware of your state's childcare laws which vary based on the age of children in your care. To play it safe (when doing summer camp at home,) don't have more than five children that are not related to you in each camp session and always have another adult or camp counselor 18+ at your side.

Another thing to consider is first aid and safety training. Staff should be trained to recognize child predators in all childcare, summer camp, youth group, and school settings. In today's world, you can never be too safe or too prepared. That being said, if you are simply doing summer camp at home for your family, close friends, or homeschool group, not all of these steps may be required. However, it's better to be safe than sorry. Make sure you run background checks on anyone that will be regularly helping with your program. That includes your parents, aunts, and older children! This is a safety precaution designed to protect you in case something comes up. In your letter to parents, mention that all adults working with children have undergone a background check. Your local government probably has a background check option on their website.

A big safety consideration is water. Children may find pools and nearby bodies of water enticing. Always, always, keep count of the children in your immediate care. A good rule of thumb is to count kids every 20 minutes. If you are on a field trip or involved in a hectic group game, count them every 15 minutes. If you plan to include swimming in your camp activities or have a pool in your backyard, be aware that special precautions are needed and insurance rates will be higher.

Are you ready to get started hosting your own summer camp at home? Great! You'll want to start with our book, Summer Camp Handbook. This book is full of everything you need for five weeks of awesome summer camp.

Summer Camp Weekly Themes:

• It's all Rainbows: Rainbow Trails Song, Rainbow Snacks, Leprechaun Rainbow Skit, Rainbow Science Activities (Color and Prisms), and Get Moving Games.

• Silly Spaghetti: On Top of Spaghetti Song, Crunchy Spaghetti Recipe, Spaghetti Strength Science, Spaghetti Relays, and lots more.

• Eat Worms: Herman the Worm Song, Worm Theme Snacks, Snakes vs. Worms Game, How to Build a Worm Farm, Slurpin' for Worms, and lots more Worm Theme Games and Activities.

• Do Monkey Around: The Monkey Song, Banana Snacks, Banana Experiments, and Get Moving Games for Monkeys.

• Sharks vs Chickens: Baby Shark Song, Chicken Feed Snack, Egg Science Experiments, Shark and Chicken Hats, and lots of Games to Play as Sharks and Chickens.

With a blank, printable monthly calendar included in each weekly camp theme chapter and extra filler activities in case of a time emergency, the Summer Camp at Home Handbook is an essential tool whether it's your very first summer camp program or you are a seasoned camp director. Don't wait any longer, get on your way to the best summer camp ever today!

Our companion books are also available on Amazon in 8 x 10 paperback book format. These books give you extra credit as a camp director or activities director. Get organized with our 365 Planner. This handbook includes printable planning calendars, daily journal space with shareable quote of the day for note taking and planning, printable lesson/activity planning sheets, birthday logs, printable today's birthday poster, menu and activity schedules, and more. 

The 365 Activity Planner Journal, is a great companion handbook to Summer Camp at Home. It's also a great classroom resource planning tool for teachers. Whether you make copies of the printables to reuse again and again, or cuddle up on the sofa with the book to journal your activities, this handbook will help keep all of your thoughts and ideas organized with the added benefit of motivational quotes to keep you going strong. Get your 365 Activity Planner Journal now by clicking on the image.

And, if you are looking for fun games to play in a circle setting check out our Circle Time Handbook. This book includes 39 of the best ever games kids love. Tried and true, we played all of these games in our camp and after-school programs. This book is ideal for teachers who need to fill in some transitional time, afterschoolers who want to have a daily group rap sessions, preschool programs who realize the importance of circle time group activities, and summer camp programs who need filler material for rest breaks and other down time.

Ready, Get Set, Go! You can get all 3 books for under $40 on Amazon. 

Recommended:

Circle Time Activities on the Blog

Games for Kids

Homeschool Lessons and Activities

Free on the Blog, 50 Group Games for Preschool

Caregivers and Educators, check out Lora's Recommendations on Amazon 

and Follow us on Instagram for more fun ideas for children.

Pin it!

Homeschool Curriculum Resources

Supplemental Resources for Educators

Thanks to Oriental Trading for these curriculum resources.

Whether you're a homeschool parent or a classroom teacher, these curriculum resources from Oriental Trading are a great way to supplement learning. From the hundreds of items in the Oriental Trading catalog, we chose these items to supplement our homeschool curriculum. If you're looking for supplemental homeschool curriculum resources, be sure to check them out.

This post contains affiliate links.

Airbrush Marker Set, Money and Time Flashcards, Fraction Spinners, Ruler Tape, and World Map.

Last year, both kids attended Indiana Connections Academy online. We started our homeschool journey with them and after a few years of homeschooling on our own, decided to enroll again. It allowed both kids to take assessment tests. We discovered they both had jumped another grade level. However, Mayhem had some math learning disabilities and special needs.

Homeschool Curriculum Resources 

Connections Academy was great about testing her and getting her the help she needed, but this year we decided it would be better to once again go it on our own. This way, we can better address her mathematics learning gaps.

So, Jake will attend INCA as a 9th grader... Did you get that? He's officially in high school this year. Yikes! Mayhem is officially a 7th grader. By age, they should be in 5th and 7th. Which makes me skeptical about that assessed math disability.

There's certainly an issue, but she works very well at 4th & 5th grade level math. Her language arts assessment was college level and science and social studies were all above grade level, which is why they placed her in the 6th grade last year.

Homeschooling on our own allows us to tailor the curriculum to her specific grade level needs. We are using MobyMax to help with that. MobyMax finds and corrects learning gaps.

Tri-Facta math game for multiplication and division memory.

We ordered this educational math game, Tri-Facta, from OT. It's sort of like Scrabble for numbers. Even though Jake is a math whiz, he enjoyed the game.

It's a nice alternative to flashcards. We also got Time and Money flashcards, cool ruler tape, and fraction spinners. Everything You Need to Ace Math in one Big Fat Notebook is an awesome math book for reluctant mathematicians. It's written in note taking form and explains math concepts in a fun, easy to understand manner. Click here to find the resources at Oriental Trading.

If your kids like to color, this World Chart map (pictured below) is a great supplemental activity for geography and social studies. It comes with a booklet of facts. The idea is to find the fact's map location and then color it. We also got an airbrush set for future art lessons.

Social Studies Lesson: Color Chart the World Map.

Social Studies Resource from MindWare, Color Chart Map.

Just for fun, Teacher a.k.a. Mom, drug the kiddos out of bed for a 'I just woke up' shot to share on social media. Everyone always shares their back to school first day of school pictures and we didn't want to be left out.

For us, the first day of school means getting up a little earlier- okay, a lot earlier, but not as early as a traditional school day. No new haircuts, no new backpacks, no new shoes, no new school clothes. Just old pajamas. Well, really, old comfy clothes for sleeping. No matching necessary. We'll get dressed if we run out of food and need to make a trip to the grocery store. A trip to a fast food restaurant doesn't require getting dressed...

Recommended:

Homeschool Lessons from Kids Creative Chaos

Indiana Field Trip Ideas

Homeschool Curriculum Resources on Amazon

Follow us on Instagram

Best Homeschool Organization Tips

Homeschool Families Get Organized Tips

Homeschooling! Whether you are just starting out, or you've been at it for awhile, you know the importance of getting your homeschool family organized. You've got curriculum to store, ideas to keep track of, assignments, art work, transcripts, oh my! What's a busy homeschool parent to do? Kids, you need to stay organized too! We've scoured the web and our favorite homeschool blogs to find the best homeschool organization tips. Enjoy!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.

France Country Study with Worksheets

French Lessons and Worksheets for Homeschool or Classroom

If you homeschool like we do, you're probably teaching several grade levels at once. For this France Country Study Lesson, we've found worksheets and activities that work for toddlers to tweens to teens. Scroll down for Videos on the French Revolution, French Word Search Printables, Famous Artists, Art Projects, and Games they play in France. School teachers, you'll find fun classroom activities and worksheets that work in a classroom setting too. Enjoy!

This post contains Amazon and other affiliate links for your convenience.

France Country Study with Worksheets.

Quick Facts about the Country of France.

Learn to speak French for Free with the Duo Lingo App or these French Language lessons.

This French Flag bookmark craft project from, Start at 5, works for preschoolers to high school.

For Elementary and Middle School, Make a Passport like this one from De Su Mama.

Printable Passport Activity from De Su Mama.

Make an Eiffel Tower with bits of colored straws like this one from Cutting Tiny Bites. While this craft activity is fun for elementary, it also aides preschoolers in fine motor skills.

Eiffel Tower Kids' Activity.

French History Lesson

The French Revolution











The French Revolution on BrainPop. (Must have password.)

Online Educational Game: French Revolution Time Zone X Game

French Revolution Worksheet for Middle School and High School.

Choose a Famous French Scientist and write a Biography.

Games from France

Hopscotch: This game is played outdoors on a flat, paved surface, but you can paint an old sheet or use cardboard squares to play indoors. You can also purchase a hopscotch board for indoor or outdoor play. Each player needs a small item to toss onto the hopscotch squares. Rocks or quarters work well. Not sure how to play? Get the rules to hopscotch.


Petanque: How to Play Petanque





La Semaine or "The Week"  is  played with 1 or more children with chalk and a pebble (pennies work too). Use the chalk to  draw seven squares in a row. Label each square with a day of the week.

Now, a player throws their pebble into the Monday box. If they miss, it is the next player's turn. If they hit it, they must jump on one foot to get to the stone, pick it up while still standing on one foot, and then jump back to the start.

Players repeat for each day of the week (seven times). Repeat the task every time a mistake is made. For example, they trip or hop on two feet. Game is won when one player covers all squares and makes it safely back start.

French Cricket You will need a Cricket bat or tennis racket and ball. Players stand in a circle. The first player stands with their feet together, defending the 'stumps,' which in French Cricket are the batman's legs below the knees. Now, the players in the circle take turns to bowl at the 'stumps' and the batsman must hit the ball away from them. The bowler gets clever to distract the batsman.


If the batman's legs are hit, he's out. He's also out if he moves his feet at any time from the original position. If the bowler, or any of the fielders around the circle, catch the ball before it hits the ground, the batsman is also out. Everyone takes a turn until the batsman is out. The bowler who 'stumps' the batsman takes his place.  

Worksheets

Make your own French Word Search

Muguet du 1er Mai Elementary Coloring Worksheet (First of May)

Printable Language Arts French Quotes Project for Middle School and High School



Famous French Artists










Paint like Matisse with this Still Life Art Lesson for Kids.

After you've learned all about France, get a taste of their culture and celebrate by making French Recipes. Enjoy these French cooking lessons and recipes for kids.



Recommended:

French Word Search Books

French Games for the Classroom

Build a Lego Eiffel Tower

Books about France

Country Study Afghanistan

Country Study China

French Cook books for Kids

Editable Printable Curriculum

Free Printables, Free Royalty Free Clipart and Fonts? Yes, you can!

If you are looking for downloadable editable printables for the classroom check out TeacherSherpa. It is similar to Teachers Pay Teachers, but offers so much more. The printable curriculum is editable and fully customizable. Like TPT, there are free printable downloads available every month. Whether you are a teacher, a blogger, or a homeschool parent, you'll find awesome benefits on TeacherSherpa. The most amazing feature is that you can create your own printables to sell on TPT, earn royalties on TeacherSherpa, or even sell or giveaway on your own website. Enjoy!

At TeacherSherpa, you can make your own classroom materials and editable printables for free.

Books, Videos, and Lessons: Jackie Robinson for Kids

Bio of Jackie Robinson and Online Activities

Wondering when is Jackie Robinson Day? Jackie Robinson Day is April 15. Who is Jackie Robinson? He is one of the most famous baseball players in history. Do you know why? Yes? No? Maybe? Either way, you'll learn about Jackie Robinson with these online activities and videos on Jackie Robinson for kids. This is a great post for students to learn facts about Jackie Robinson. Enjoy!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.*

Books, Videos, and Lessons: Jackie Robinson for Kids.

To learn the bio of Jackie Robinson, students can watch these videos about Jackie Robinson:

Watch this Video of Jackie Robinson from Brainpop.com. They also have a good video on Civil Rights. If you don't have a Brainpop account, you should! However, you can do a search for a password that you can use to watch the videos. You won't be able to keep track of all your hard work without an account. So, if you can't do that, here is a another video about Jackie Robinson from History.com.

Be sure to do the FYI and take the quiz on Brainpop. You'll also find lesson plans for teachers there. 

Keep scrolling for games and activities about Jackie Robinson.

No matter your age or grade level, you will enjoy this book, I am Jackie Robinson* by Brad Meltzer. It is a fun biography written from the point of view of Jackie Robinson as a child. Packed full of Jackie Robinson facts, this book is the perfect companion book to a lesson on Jackie Robinson.

Bio of Jackie Robinson and Online Activities.

Test your baseball game I.Q. - who is on first?

How good are you at batting? Try it out with this online baseball game from ESPN.

Learn how to play Baseball with this fun online game.

Play some free online baseball games for kids.

Jackie Robinson PDF book.

Downloadable Jackie Robinson worksheet from Education.com.

Free Baseball Worksheets from EnchantedLearning.com.

Can you answer these Jackie Robinson quiz questions?

Do you know the original lyrics to Take Me Out to the Ball Game? Listen here:

And, here's the version you've probably heard:




That's a lot of baseball history, let's move on to other lessons.


Language Arts Component:  
Since we're talking famous baseball, you'll want to read the most famous baseball poem of all time, Casey at Bat. Even better, listen to James Earl Jones recite the poem, Casey at Bat:





Watch the Disney clip:

Math Component:
Learn to simplify fractions with Baseball Math.
Subtraction with regrouping baseball math game.
Multiplication practice with baseball.

Art Component:

Here's a fun baseball diamond and Jackie Robinson paper craft from Crayola.com.

Science Component:
Bat Science Fair Experiment
Watch a video about the experiment here:
Baseball Experiment PBS
What Balls Can you Throw the Farthest Experiment
What happens when you refrigerate your baseball?


Recommended:

Get I am Jackie Robinson*

Albert Einstein Video and Lesson for Kids

Alma Thomas Art Project

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! :)

Rosa Parks Bus Story: Videos and Activities

Fun Rosa Parks Bus Companion Story with Activities

Who was Rosa Parks? What did she do? In honor of Black History Month, here's a fun lesson with activities about Rosa Parks. We've included a book that works for all ages, I am Rosa Parks, and fun ideas for the classroom or for a family fun night. Enjoy!

Rosa Parks Lesson Plans for Teachers

Rosa Parks Bus Story: Videos and Activities.

The Story of Rosa Parks from Scholastics.com

Rosa Parks Bio and Lessons for Middle School

Rosa Parks Bus Worksheet for Older Kids

Bus Coloring Sheet

Bus Craft Printable

Rosa Parks History Game

Rosa Parks Recipes


Brainpop Videos (requires a password):

Rosa Parks Video for Early Elementary

Civil Rights Video for Kids



Here's a video about the Rosa Parks Bus Boycott:




Listen to the I am Rosa Parks* story here:





Recommended:

Helen Keller Lesson and Video

Alma Thomas Artist: Black History Art Project

Buy the Book: I am Rosa Parks



Enter the Book Series Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway












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! :)

Eric Carle Surrealist Lesson Activities: The Nonsense Show Book Review

Surrealism in Children's Literature: Art Lesson Activities

Eric Carle has written and illustrated another book! The Nonsense Show is written to introduce children to Surrealism. Completely nonsensical, the beautiful illustrations will capture the heart of preschoolers while the concept will boggle the minds of everyone else. We've included a book review and Surrealist Activities for your Art Lesson planning, as well as, educational games and online lessons for homeschoolers. Enjoy!

Surrealism in Children's Literature: Art Lesson Activities.

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.* 

We were given a copy of "The Nonsense Show" for review.

Eric Carle Surrealist Activities: The Nonsense Show Book Review:
Surrealist Art Lesson

Art develops critical thinking. Many beloved children's book authors have tinkered with the idea of surrealism and Crazy Surrealism Art- Think, Roald Dahl, Dr. Seuss, Maurice Sendak, Lewis Caroll, and L. Frank Baum. So, it is no surprise that Eric Carle has joined the list. Always an artist first, the illustrations in The Nonsense Show don't disappoint. 

So, let's get started on our online lesson in Surrealism. Mati and Dada is a fun art cartoon for elementary kids. In this episode, they talk about the surrealist painter, Magritte.

The most famous Surrealist, Salvador Dali, is best known for his melting clock painting. Learn about Dali and Surrealism in the video below. The Dali video introduces a fun, group drawing game called, Exquisite Corps. Be sure to watch the full video for instructions on how to play the Art game with friends.

Art History Component. This free online Art History Game focuses on Surrealism. Recommended for (4-12th grade). It is for older children because a lot of reading comprehension is required. At first, it looks complicated, but it is essentially just a drag and drop into the timeline game. So, give it a try!

For BrainPop subscribers: Watch this movie on Surrealism.

After you review the book, The Nonsense Show, create your own nonsensical art. Below, are some fun ideas to try.

• This is an easy Surrealist art project for kids. Grab some paint or make your own water colors, make some splats with your brush, let them dry, and then study your art. What do you see? It is like looking for cloud creatures. Grab markers or colored pencils and create something surreal.

Easy Surrealist Art project for kids from Le Dada de L'enfant Terrible blog.

• Paint like Eric Carle with easy Art Techniques.

• Language Arts Component. To get into the mindset for creating surrealist art, sit down and free write. Start writing whatever pops into your head. Don't edit, don't try to make it go somewhere- just write!

• The Art Room Plant shares this fun drawing activity. It is similar to the game in the Dali video above.

Fun Surrealist drawing activity for kids from The Art Room Plant.

Recommended:

Dada and Surrealism Art for Kids

Jake's Journey in Art: Water Color Lesson

Get The Nonsense Show by Eric Carle

Country Study Lesson India

8 Creative Ways To Teach Your Child About The Indian Culture

In this country study lesson, our guest blogger, Aradhana, shares about the homeschooling experience in India. Scroll down to learn creative ways to learn about Indian Culture and to watch some Indian videos. Enjoy!

Country Study Lesson on India includes dress up time!

Long before the arrival of our little one, my husband and I had decided that we’d homeschool our child. Having understood all the pros and cons of homeschooling, we made this choice for our child to be able to shape up his future in the best way possible. In India, the concept of homeschooling is still in its nascent stages, and unsurprisingly, our decision wasn't received well within our community. Even today, we battle people’s preconceived notions about our choice. 

We know, however, that homeschooling is the best way to ingrain the importance of culture and values in our child along with training him on various academic concepts. Being so artistically 
inclined myself, I always opt for fun and creative means to train my child on various subjects, especially cultures. Not only does this improve his grasping power, but it also makes learning a lot of fun. 

Here are eight creative ways you can teach your child about the Indian culture:

1. Traditional Dress Up – Whenever I begin teaching my son a lesson about a particular Indian state, I always team it up with a fun traditional dress-up activity. My little one looks forward to the exotic costumes that he gets to wear each time. I also hold group learning sessions where both, little boys and girls can understand what the respective male and female costumes of each Indian state look like. We end the session by taking lots of pictures and making memories for a lifetime!

2. Exploring Local Cuisines – I am lucky to be a part of a family that loves food! My son (thankfully) has no qualms about trying out new cuisines, which makes my life a lot simpler! 

Every Sunday, we as a family go out to try authentic Indian meals where I also share fun facts about that particular cuisine with my child. After the dining session, I organize a quiz for him by including questions about a region’s cuisine, the dining style of people there, their cultural and religious symbolism, etc. For example, in many South Indian states of India, people eat with their hands because according to ancient Vedic wisdom, doing so benefits the mind, body and spirit.

Authentic Indian meal.

3. A Trip To The Houses Of Worship – I have been brought up with the belief that all religions are equal, and there is something beautiful to learn from every caste and creed. Though my husband and I follow two different religious beliefs, we have given our child the freedom to practice whichever religion wants. Along with imparting him the knowledge about all religions, I also take him on regular visits to places of worship, so he gains a better understanding on what every religion practiced in India stands for.

4. Dance and Drama – Me along with my group of friends, organize a monthly dance show put up by the kids in our locality. Since the locality we live in has families from different parts of the country, each month we follow a new theme focused on regional dances from different Indian states. This gives the kids abundant cultural exposure while it also promises the audience a visual treat!

Indian dances and culture.

5. Handmade Cultural Keepsakes – My little one thoroughly enjoys craft activities! He insists that each of his lessons have at least one craft activity. He loves to decorate his room with the outcomes of his artistic endeavors. Given his fondness for art and craft, I try to teach my child as many Indian crafts as I can. Diyas for Diwali, Indian flag for Independence day, rangoli for auspicious occasions and collages and coloring activities inspired by the Indian ancestry are a few of his favorites! 

Handmade Indian crafts and  Cultural Keepsakes for Diwali.

6. Historic Storytelling Sessions – One of the most amazing things about India is its glorious heritage and history. It has a marvelous collection of folklores that can be dated back to many centuries together. My son loves hearing fanciful stories from the Mahabharata, Ramayana,  Panchatantra, Puranas, Hitopadesha and Jatakas. I also read to him about our struggle for independence and the notable personalities whose sacrifice and patriotic fervor got the country where it is. He is always intrigued about India’s history and refuses to sleep until I read out at least one tale to him.

 Panchatantra Stories in English.

Here's a video for The Monkey and the Wedge.



7. Cultural Movie Marathon – Thank God for technology to have sparked kids’ imagination by leaps and bounds! Whenever I teach my little one any lesson on Indian culture, I try to end it with a movie. Doing this helps him remember even the little details about a subject, better. Especially while teaching my son about Indian mythology, films work the best! He is better able to connect with the characters, visually. My Friend Ganesha and Chhota Bheem are his favorite films. 

8. Travel – I have always been fond of traveling and adventure, and I think it’s from me that my child gets it too! In about every three months, we plan a trip to a new part of the country we haven’t seen before. The diversity of India can never cease to amaze you. There’s something new to see and learn from each and every city, town or village of the country. My son carries a travel journal where he makes a note of all the places he has visited and the stories behind each of those places. He also loves to stick a “memory’ of each place in his travel journal.

I love the concept of homeschooling for the very fact that my child gets a lot of first-hand and practical exposure than mere bookish knowledge. It helps widen his horizons and makes learning a memorable and enriching process! You could try these activities to teach your child about other cultures as well. 

 Aradhana is from India. She is a veteran writer on topics concerning parenting, child nutrition, wellness, health and lifestyle. As a regular contributor to popular sites like Huffington Post, Natural news, Elephant journal, Thehealthsite, Naturally Savvy, Curejoy and MomJunction.com, Aradhana writes to inspire and motivate people to adopt healthy habits and live a stress-free lifestyle.



Recommended:

Afghanistan Country Study and Lesson Plan


China Country Study Lesson Plan


A Peacock Learns a Lesson in India*


India For Kids: Amazing Facts About India*