20 Best Tips

Multiplication Worsheets

While our older children are able to use graph paper for their math problems, our youngest struggles with his penmanship size and also the graph paper doesn’t help him quite enough in keeping his numbers in the right column. Even though he may do his math correctly, when it’s time to add up the numbers – well, the columns don’t line up correctly and mistakes are made.

I tried adding lines to regular notebook paper, but that didn’t always do it either, so instead I put together a simple worksheet for him to use when he is working on multiplication facts (I’m working on a division one too, because that’s the next thing we need to straighten up a little). 

We love our Teaching Textbooks program

With the multiplication worksheet pages, he is able to use the sheets over the course of a few days to work through problems (he can note the problem number next to his work), and be reminded of where the numbers go. This has helped TREMENDOUSLY in cutting back on mistakes and frustration for him.

One thing I wanted to do as well – keep the main lines black and columns grey so he can get a better visual of how to line things up. Above is a little peek at how the worksheets are set up. 

There are two sets included in the free muliplication worksheet printables: one with and one without zeros as place markers to remind children where to place numbers. Each sheet has at least twelve spaces to work on multiplication problems and there are different sheets based on how many digits are being multiplied: 2×2, 3×2, or 3×3. 

We’re printing them off double-sided and using them over the course of the week. It’s already helped so much! Feel free to download a set by clicking below – enjoy! 

 

Still need a little work on multiplication facts? Check out these FREE Skip Counting Charts

Insect Nature Study Printables – Learning About Bugs

Insect Nature Study Printables from Homeschool Creations

Spring is almost officially here – and that means lots of beautiful weather to enjoy nature walks and exploring of the various insects we come across. While bugs aren’t always a favorite of mine (I’d much rather be looking at birds, thank you very much), they all still have a purpose. Except for stinkbugs. I don’t know what their purpose is…  

If you have kiddos in your house that are willing to search and discover different bugs and have some learning fun, head out doors and get up-close and personal while using these go-along printables!  

What insects do you see frequently in your area? Are there any that you get excited to see (or is it better to say scream over)?

Insect Nature Study Printables

Insect Nature Study printables from Homeschool Creations

The Insect Nature Study Printables include the following:

  • Nature walk counting sheet – mark a tally every time you see one of the insects on the sheet
  • Backyard Insect counting – mark a tally when you see an insect in your yard
  • Insect scavenger hunt – for younger children, take this scavenger hunt sheet on a nature walk or when sitting outside
  • Blank insect observation sheet – record data and information on insects you find
  • Label the parts of an ant
  • Story writing prompt – write a short story using four of the words provided
  • Firefly poem and coloring page
  • Fact and coloring cards – color the image and write facts you know on the back

 

Interested in the Extended Insect Nature Study Pack?

Interested in a larger set of the Insect Nature Study Printables? There is an extended pack with additional labeling sheets (for ant, dragonfly, and bee)  as well as individual observation sheets for the following insects: ant, bee, dragonfly, firefly, fly, grasshopper, ladybug, luna moth, monarch butterfly, mosquito, rhino beetle, scarab beetle, stinkbug, and tick.

Purchase the full set for $3.00 in my Teachers Pay Teachers shop.

 

Additional Learning Ideas and Inspiration

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The inspiration for this pack initially came from Tyndale’s Faith That Sticks insect pack and my past Bird Nature Study Printables pack. The stickers feature nine different insects (several that are focused on in this nature study pack (along with a MANY others) and will be a fun addition to your nature study.

Here are a few things you can do with the stickers. There are six sticker sheets in the set, so plenty to use for a few of the following ideas including:

· Using two sheets to create a matching game. Simply cut 18 3×3 squares of cardstock and put a sticker on each piece. Then have fun matching them up.

· Use the stickers as a guide and have your child sketch their own image of the bird. These stickers have some great colors that are eye-catching!

· Write a story using the stickers. Have your child write their own story picking 2 or 3 of the stickers or have them dictate one to you.

· Make some fun spring cards using the beautiful birds and let your child create a ‘scene’ to put the birds into!

· For older children, put each of the 9 stickers onto a 3×3 cardstock square and let them practice alphabetizing the birds.

· Make popsicle stick puppets with each of the bird stickers.

· Create a simple windsock and use the stickers to decorate. The stickers are light enough that they won’t add extra weight to the windsock.

· Make a fun bracelet with a few of the stickers and wear it on a nature walk. See what birds you find as you walk along!

 

Learning About Insects: Further Resources

Don’t miss these additional printables and helps for your insect nature study!

 

Bird-Nature-Study-Printables-from-Homeschool-Creations.jpg

Like this pack? Don’t miss the Bird Nature Study Printables found HERE.

 

Comic Strip Illustrations for History – Free Printables

comic strip illustrations for history - 12 page printable download Homeschool Creations

One of the BEST things that we’ve ever done for our history time has been letting the kids illustrate their history lessons. While taking notes works well for the older ones at times, more often than not, they really enjoy sketching out what they are learning.

Here’s the thing – they are recalling SO much more! At the end of our lessons, they are cracking up and retelling me more information from the heart of our lessons, and their recall is stretching far beyond what it has in the past. All thanks to a simple comic strip style piece of paper.

Illustrating history with comic strips {%{% Homeschool Creations-1

We’ve used coloring pages in the past to go along with our history studies as well as letting the kids build with Legos, but these pages for illustrating what they ‘hear’ from our reading have been a wonderful compromise because they appeal to the kids’ artistic side (and it is so much more quiet compared to the stirring of Legos!).

Coloring pages, Legos, and other ideas all  have their time and place during our lesson time, don’t get me wrong! We haven’t thrown out every other method, but while the kids are enjoying this way to learn and recall history, we are going to run with it!

Illustrating history with comic strips {%{% Homeschool Creations-5

The kids are all using stick figures and just a plain ol’ No. 2 pencil for their sketching (we can thank Grapevine for the stick figure love). Above you can see McKenna’s work when we were talking about the ancient Egyptians and the process of mummification. (I may have cracked up when I saw the picture of Pharaoh in a not-so-living state.)

Because I was getting tired of sketching out grid after grid on blank paper for them (mainly Kaleb) every single day, I put together a collection of comic strip style templates for them to use when illustrating their lessons.

comic strip illustration sample pages - Homeschool Creations

There are 12 different layouts in the pdf file (linked below). Some of the pages are in landscape format (our favorite) and several in portrait (the file will appear all landscape, so just pay attention to the placement of the lines where kids can write the lesson topic and the date or their name). Since Kaleb doesn’t draw quite as many pictures, there are some with only 12 squares, several with rectangles for larger scenes, and a few with up to 20 squares for illustrating.

comic strip illustration printables for history {%{% Homeschool Creations

Download the Comic Strip Templates HERE.

 

Hope these are a help to you all as well!

Draw and Journal Pages Printable

Draw and Journal Pages

 

 

Our children have always love the drawing and writing journals that we pick up every year. The only thing that’s hard is having them inside a journal book and not as loose leaf paper. There are many times that I like to include them in a lapbook we are working on or as part of another project we make.

As I’m gearing up for the upcoming school year, I put together some Draw and Journal Pages for the boys to use during their school time and hope that they will help you all out as well! They go along perfectly with the Draw Write Now series of books we absolutely love.

 


 

There are three pages {for now!!} in the free Draw and Journal Pages download. Depending on the ability of your child, there are some with larger spaced lines and one without a center dotted line. Download a copy for yourself and let me know if there are more that you would like to see added!

 

Download button

Enjoy!

Geography Notebooking Pages

Even though we’re technically finished with our trip around the world, someone emailed and asked me to put together a few more geography notebooking pages to use while doing their ‘world travels’ this coming year. Don’t worry ~ I still have more country lesson plans coming for South America and North America!!

But because I am easily sidetracked, when I finished up the ones that Justine asked for I also re-vamped one of my older geography notebooking pages. Ready to see them?? Click on the text to download the pdf files.

country fact sheet notebooking page for geography studies

Country Factsheet Notebooking Page ~ place to write down facts about the country, famous people from the country {and add a picture or two}, famous landmarks, and other information.

country geography notebooking page

Country Geography Notebooking Page ~ Jot down some notes on the country you are studying: square miles, longitude/latitude, natural resources, religions, languages and more. It also has space to add a picture of the country you are learning about.

famous person notebooking page

Famous Person Notebooking Page ~ Have a famous person {explorer, artist, musician, or missionary} that lived in the country you are studying? This is a notebooking sheet to record some information about that person: where s/he lived, hobbies, childhood, and what they are famous for. There’s even a little space to add a picture if you’d like.

science fact notebooking sheet for geography studies

Science Facts Notebooking Sheet for countries ~ Similar in layout to the Country Facts Notebooking page, this has room for famous inventors/inventions, science facts about the country, plant and animal life, etc…



Hope these help you all out! If you’re just starting out with your geography studies, don’t forget to check out some of the other free printables that I have available for you to download:


Learning About Morocco

Morocco was one of the countries that was ‘lighter’ for us, but it was nice to have a little bit of a break. We used the time to focus on several geography terms ~ strait {Strait of Gibraltar}, desert, mountains, coast, plateau, plain, valley. We also talked about the government in Morocco, read some great books about the country and made a very simple dish as our meal from Morocco.

You can view the other countries that we’ve studied from Africa on my geography page.

Week 1 Layout

Monday

  • Introduce new song about Morocco from Geography Songs
  • Use atlas and globe to locate Morocco
  • Read one of our books from our bookshelf about Morocco

Tuesday

  • Review geography song
  • Learn {and review} some terms: strait {Strait of Gibraltar}, desert, mountains, coast, plateau, plain, valley
  • Independent reading from bookshelf
  • Filled out the map of Morocco using our notebooking page

Mapping Morocco thumbnail

 Click on thumbnail to download pdf file

Wednesday

  • Review geography song
  • Watched the clip below on Morocco
  • Talked about the government of Morocco {monarchy}
  • Independent reading

 

Thursday

Week 2 Layout

Monday

Flag of Morocco thumbnail

Click on thumbnail to download pdf file

Tuesday

Wednesday

  • Review geography song
  • Talked about the religions of Morocco
  • Story from Around the World in 80 Tales ~ The Lion’s Dinner
  • Made a little couscous

Thursday

  • Review geography song
  • Summarized one of our reading books and copy summary/dication
  • Added our notebooking pages to our binder and stamped our passports!

Books We Used

 

Resources and Websites

 

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