September Calendar of Special Days Holidays: Free Printable Calendar

September Calendar of Holidays and Special Days Printable 2018

September is a special month with Special Days caught between summer and fall. The weather is pleasant. The children are back to school. Kitchens are cooking wonderful food from the fall harvest. The smell of autumn is in the air. Find a September Calendar Printable 2018 and a September calendar song, to help preschoolers, kindergartners, and kids of all ages learn about this very special month. Enjoy!

This post contains affiliate links.

Click the link to get the FREE DOWNLOAD: September Printable Calendar  2018

September Calendar of Special Days Holidays with Calendar Song.

Unique Days and Holidays in September

Labor Day - When is it? It is an American holiday celebrated on the first Monday in September. It is a celebration of the Labor Movement. Everyone gets a day off of laboring to appreciate laboring! That's work. Whistle while you work.

Sept. 6 - Read a Book Day

Sept. 7 - Grandparent's Day or the first Sunday in September.

Sept. 12 - Chocolate MilkShake Day

We don't have any chocolate milkshake recipes, but here's a yummy yogurt smoothie recipe instead!

Sept. 15 - Make a Hat Day

Sept. 16 - National Play-Doh Day!

Celebrate National Play-Doh Day in the U.S.

Sept. 18 - Rice Krispies Treats Day

Sept. 19 - Talk like a Pirate Day

While you're talking like a pirate why don't you dress like one too! Here's a diy pirate costume for kids.

Sept. 22 - Elephant Appreciation Day

Recommended Reading:

Melissa and Doug Jumbo Coloring Pad - Animals

October Calendar Special Days

How to Babysit a Grandpa

Jacob's Orchard, New Castle: One Tank Trip for Fall Family Fun from Indy

Fun Fall Family Activities in Indiana: Apples

Looking for something different to do this Fall? Try taking a trip to Jacob's Orchard in New Castle, Indiana. This little orchard brings the past and present together in perfect family fun harmony. Jacob's is a little over an hour from Indianapolis but worth the scenic drive.

Jacob's Apple Orchard in New Castle, Indiana.

The quaint family farm and orchard offers the traditional fare of pumpkins, apples,  jellies and jams at a reasonable price. However, once inside the store, follow your nose to the mini-doughnut factory, where you can order a bag of cider doughnuts made to order. Grab a doughnut and an apple slushie and head for the fun!

Allow two to three hours to enjoy the farm. Enjoy a hayride to the pumpkin patch, pick your own apples, feed the goats, climb through the inflatable train, explore the corn maze, and race to the top of the straw pyramid.

Fall Family Fun: Straw Pyramid, Hayride, Maze in Henry County Indiana.

Be sure to bring a sack lunch to enjoy at the picnic area adjacent to the inflatable haunted house. Jacob's offers school field trips and group tours too.

Plan ahead, the orchard is near Summit Lake State Park which offers many family programs, fishing, and beautiful fall foliage.

Recommended Reading:

Things to do in Indiana

Anderson Orchard in Mooresville, Indiana

How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World

Apples by Gail Gibbons

Make your own Donuts at Home

Make Persimmon Wine at Home

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.

_____________________________________________________

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

__________________________________________________

Name this simple machine.

Simple Machine Questions:

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

_____________________________________________________

Survey the room, list the simple machines you see:

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

How does an inclined plane make work easier?

_____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

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

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

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.

___________________________________________________

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

__________________________________________________

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.)

___________________________________________________

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.

___________________________________________________

Art Activity: 

Create your own money online 

Printable Checks from Kids Money Farm

More Money Lesson Plans and Printables

____________________________________________________

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!

Black History Art Projects for Children: Expressionist

For Black History Month, Introduce Children to Amazing African American Artists with Expressionist Art Projects and Activities

Did you know there are some very well-known works of art crafted by little known Black Artists? Isn't it time to change that? These Black History Art Projects introduce students to less known famous black Americans. For Black History Month, or an anytime lesson in Black History or African American Art, we scoured the web for some beautiful art projects that children can easily reproduce on their own. This posts focuses on Alma Thomas, an American Expressionist Painter. Enjoy!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.*

Looking for a Homeschool or Classroom Curriculum on the Expressionist movement? We've created a series of printable rtf free lesson plans and worksheets that include video links, online educational games, reference material, and components for science, math, and language arts. Enjoy! Expressionist Movement Free Printable Assignment suitable for grades 3-6.

Mayhem's interpretation of Alma Thomas' Expressionist Artist Painting.

Black History art projects for children:
Expressionism based on the work of Alma Thomas.

Tips: Laminate or frame these images to create gift quality modern wall art.

Famous Black Artist: Alma Thomas, Expressionist Painter

We recreated the works of Alma Thomas with torn paper. This project works well with children of all ages. With each grade level raise the level of difficulty. Preschoolers to Highschoolers will enjoy, tearing the paper and choosing which colors to include in their array.

Dream Keepers Martin Luther King Skit for Classroom

This as a fun black history project for preschoolers. You can also use tempera paints and a thick brush or cut up sponge squares to dab on the paint. Have them use their thumbs to make the marks on the paper, or pre-tear construction paper into squares to save time. Let them paste the colors onto their paper as they choose. Please don't correct their work! It is amazing to see what each child sees. Let them wow you with their creativity.

We searched and found these fun, easy, and unique Black History Art Projects for Children:

African Trade Beads from Crayola.com

Black History Art Project for Children: Construction Paper Freedom Quilt
from North Clarion Elementary.

Black History Project from Art for Kids by Elan Ferguson.

Jake's interpretation of the painting below. He doesn't like to fill the entire page. 

Alma Thomas, Expressionist Painting for Black History Art Project. 

This image may be subject to copyright issues. It appears here for educational purposes only and is linked to the source, WikiArt Visual Art Encyclopedia.

Black History Arts and Crafts

Black History Art Projects

art activities

art lessons

art lesson plans

activities for preschoolers

Black History Month Script for Classroom Play: 

(Brown vs. Board of Education)

Black History Facts for (today, by month) June, etc.

Free Black History Activity Packs for preschoolers

Free Printable Black History Facts for elementary students

Recommended Reading:

Alma W. Thomas: A Retrospective of the Paintings 

from the Ft. Wayne Museum of Art* 

Express Yourself!: Activities and Adventures in Expressionism (Art Explorers)*

Things to do in Indiana: 

Visit the Fort Wayne Museum of Art

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! :)

Homeschool Resources: Varun's Quest Review

Great Resource for Homeschoolers

Homeschooling help for parents: Looking for a great resource for homeschoolers? Our website offers many educational resources for homeschoolers. Below is a review of Varun's Quest a wonderful book for homeschoolers of any age. Keep scrolling because we've also added links to our favorite homeschool resources. Enjoy!

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

Jake's Journey in Art includes Language Arts.
Here he reads the beautifully illustrated Varun's Quest by Timothy Goldsmith.

Science Books for Homeschoolers

• We were given the opportunity to review Varun's Quest, which is a wonderful science book for homeschoolers. Varun's Quest is a fictional tale depicting non-fiction science. The story is fun to read aloud as a family or in a group setting with the ideal audience being 2nd - 5th grade. Older children will enjoy reading the story themselves and then sharing the details with "the class."  The author of this creative tale, is Yale Biology Professor, Timothy Goldsmith. Get your copy here: Buy Varun's Quest.

An elf leads children through the story quest while he shares all about the science around us. It starts with an informative science lesson on bees. Jake, enjoys the way the stories unfold and likes that the stories are based on reality. Whenever he isn't sure about something, he Googles to find out more, so these stories have evolved into a full blown science curriculum. He'll write questions in his daily science journal and then look them up later on Google. What a great way to teach science to your homeschooler! For a fun activity, pair this book with Bee Movie.

We used the book as a catalyst for making scientific posters, doing science experiments, and of course, to practice creative writing.

• Our all time FAVORITE Science Books for Homeschoolers are the Life of Fred Science books. These books are great for kids of any age. Parents will enjoy them too. Anyone reading Life of Fred will learn something new!

• Gail Gibbons Encyclopedia Series are a wealth of information for anyone who enjoys reading. All of her books are beautiful illustrated. They cover science, history, and art. While these books may be at a higher reading level for early elementary students, younger children will enjoy looking at the pictures while listening to the stories.

• More Science Stories for Kids.

Homeschool Resources

• Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers is a homeschool blog full of homeschool advice and curriculum.

• More Homeschooling Helps and Curriculum from Kids Creative Chaos.

• TeacherSherpa is a website that offers free printable worksheets in every subject.

• Make Corn Muffins as a Science Project with your Homeschooler

• College Level Entrance Exams for Homeschoolers

• Teachers Pay Teachers is full of teacher created materials for teachers and homeschoolers.

• MobyMax is an online educational app for homeschooling with curriculum that adapts to your child's learning to find and fix gaps.

• Acellus Power Homeschool can be used as an app or as full school with access to teachers.  Check out Acellus Curriculum for Homeschool Students. We currently use the middle school courses. There are lots of classes to choose from including music and art!

• Science and Health Curriculum and Resources for Homeschoolers

• Fair Trade Science Lesson for Homeschool

• Dr. Seuss Resources for Homeschoolers

• Open Letter to Future Homeschoolers

• Homeschool Curriculum Resources and Supplies

• Lewis and Clark online Homeschool History Lesson

• For more homeschool resources follow us on Pinterest!

.

Recommended Reading:

Cave Science Project Model

The Complete Book of Maps and Geography, Grades 3 - 6

The Everything Homeschooling Book: All you need to create the best curriculum and learning environment for your child

Kids Games that get You Moving: How to Play Disc Golf

Disc Golf is a Game that gets Kids Moving

Frisbee Golf or Flying Disc Golf isn't very complicated, but the professionals take it very seriously. Since we blog about kids' activities, we've adapted this fun, family game into an easy to play (and explain) game to get children moving. If you're lucky, you have a disc golf course at your local park, but you probably don't even realize it. Enjoy!

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

Girl Scout Badge Travel Tips: Vacation Destinations

Vacationing with a Teen? Here are Travel Tips for the Perfect Destination to take a Girl Scout and Survive

Did you know your Girl Scout can earn badges while on vacation? If you have a Girl Scout and you are traveling, chances are she can earn at least one badge during the trip. Looking forward to earning the badge on the trip can help avoid the “I’m bored” or "Do I have to" syndrome and make the trip more interesting for teens. We're sharing vacation travel tips for Girl Scouts. Enjoy!

KHOMO ® Junior Girl Scout Uniform. 

For American Girl and Madame Alexander Dolls*

Recently, while planning a trip to Charlotte, N.C. our guest blogger, Michelle, decided to Google if there was a badge her daughter could earn while on holiday. Michelle discovered that the Charlotte Girl Scout Service Unit did offer a badge, and it helped them plan fun activities during their vacation stay in North Carolina.

Scavenger Hunt Girl Scout Badge, Charlotte, North Carolina.

Depending on the age of your scout, she can also earn badges as she prepares for the trip. Plan a trip to earn a Girl Scout Badge.

When in Savannah, Georgia, take the Girl Scout Discovery Tour to earn a badge. Old Town Trolley Tours offers the "Savannah Try it" badge.

Badges available on the Old Town Trolley Tour.

Since this is the birthplace of the Girl Scouts, there are badges for almost everything. These badges include: Ghost Tours, Juliette Gordon Low House, Telfair Museums and many more. A visit to the Girl Scout Founder's House is a must.

Girl Scout Hostelling badge earned in a Chicago Hostel.

Even the hostel you stay in may offer a badge. Always call ahead for details. In Chicago, the hostel where they stayed offered the hostelling badge pictured above.

If you are doing a staycation, many local museums offer Girl Scout and Boy Scout badges. The Children's Museum of Indianapolis offers a badge for visiting their Haunted House. 

Travel Tip: When you visit a museum, go to the guest service desk, and ask if they have any special programs for scout badges.  

Texas State History Museum Badge.

The challenge of finding the items needed to earn the badge keeps kids from flying through the museum and missing out on all of the important lessons. We hope these tips will help you plan a fun trip with your Scout.

Recommended Reading:
 
Girl Scout Pinewood Derby

Homeschool Projects and Field Trip Ideas

The Giggling Ghost Girl Scout Mystery*














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! :)