ALL ABOUT EARTH Get ready for a month filled with so many fun activities to teach your kiddos all about our planet Earth . I teach this unit in April so it coincides with Earth Day. I’ve loaded up this blog post post with read aloud book ideas, free videos you can share with your students,

The Fall Preschool Unit is packed full of hands on math & literacy activities as well as no prep worksheets for easy lesson planning.

The sound of unit studies may seem like a daunting task, but it's not! With a little help, here is a year filled with wonderful ideas on free unit studies that kids will love and busy moms enjoy.

Is your garage a mess? Discover clever garage storage ideas that can help declutter your space here!rn

Learn about France with this France preschool unit! Activities, crafts, food, songs, etc to give your child a taste of France.

Need a break from curriculum? Why not try some unit studies? We've complied over 170 unit study ideas to inspire the next adventure in your homeschool or classroom.

Add elements of sight, sound, touch, taste and smell to your preschool centers to integrate science and play while students explore their senses.

Whenever cool weather gets here, we always take time to do something special. It could be simple poetry reading or a craft or two

Learn about amazing trees with this fun, and free hands-on unit study. Free nature unit studies for homeschooling from The Crafty Classroom.

Discover the perfect All About Me preschool activity designed for young kids! Get a free printable worksheet that's simple, engaging, and ideal for emergent readers. Download now!

An interior designer transforms IKEA Metod units into a beautiful marble-topped media console...

This collection of ideas for fall-themed unit studies for homeschoolers will help homeschool moms plan their days and make the kids' schooling more fun.

Learn all about bugs with this interesting insect unit nature study for preschool through 2nd grade. Great for homeschool or classroom use

The sails in this block from my Sailing School pattern are made from HRT units Here, as promised, is my tutorial about making half-rectangle triangle units (HRT) without specialty rulers. This method does involve a bit of fabric waste as the units are made a little over-sized, then trimmed down. I think the little bit of trimming waste in exchange for ease and accuracy is worth it. Traditionally, the HRT is twice as tall as it is wide, so those are the dimensions I worked with. Here goes! Step 1: Determine the desired finished size of the unit. (Remember that the finished size is the size in the finished project, after the seam allowance is taken up by sewing the unit into the project.) Step 2: You will need two rectangles of fabric. To determine the width of the cut rectangles: For the cut width, add 1 1/4" to the desired finished width. The cut height will be double the cut width. Step 2: Cut two rectangles Step 3: Mark a diagonal line on one of the rectangles. Careful! The direction of the line matters. For a left-leaning seam on the finished unit (from upper left corner to lower right corner), draw the line from the top right corner to the lower left corner. For a right-leaning seam on the finished unit (lower left corner to upper right corner), draw the line from the top left corner to lower right corner. Step 4: (optional ) You will actually stitch 1/4" away from the marked line in Step 7. You may wish to draw additional lines now, 1/4" on each side of the diagonal, to mark where to stitch. If you have an accurate 1/4" presser foot as a guide you can skip this part. Steps 3 and 4: Mark one rectangle Step 5: Place the marked rectangle on top of the second rectangle, right sides together. So far this looks very much like the technique used to make HST. However, if you now simply sew 1/4" on each side of the diagonal, you will end up with a kite shape rather than a rectangle shape. Step 5: Layer rectangles right sides together Not how you want it to turn out. Move on to step 6. Step 6: Rotate the marked rectangle: to the left (counterclockwise) for a left-leaning finished unit, so that the upper right corner shifts to touch the upper left of the bottom rectangle, and the lower left corner shifts to touch the lower right corner of the bottom rectangle. to the right (clockwise) for a right leaning finished unit, so that the upper left corner shifts to touch the upper right of the bottom rectangle, and the lower right corner shifts to touch the lower left corner of the bottom rectangle. Step 6: Rotate marked rectangle To check that you have rotated in the correct direction, fold the top rectangle along the marked diagonal, and see if the result is approximately the HRT you plan to make. Check orientation Step 7: Sew 1/4" on either side of the marked line, then cut on the marked line. Step 7: Sew then cut into two units Step 8: Press seams to one side or open, as you prefer. You now have two rough units ready for trimming perfectly to size. Step 8: Two untrimmed HRT units Next, you'll need to trim these. The tricky part is to position that diagonal seam correctly in the trimmed unit so that points don't disappear into the seam allowance when you sew this unit into your quilt. The diagram below shows what happens when you place the seam corner to corner. The seam, shown as a dashed line, cuts off points on the short ends of the unit. What you want to avoid I've found that using a template to guide my trimming gives me the best results. PREPARE A TRIMMING TEMPLATE Step 9: Draw a rectangle exactly the same size as your desired finished unit. Step 10: Using a rotary cutter and ruler, cut out the shape 1/4" outside the drawn shape all around. Step 10: Cut out template Step 11: Draw a diagonal between two opposite corners of the drawn inside shape in the direction of the seam in your finished unit, extending the line all the way out to the edges of the cut shape. Note that this diagonal does not intersect the corners of the cut shape. Step 11: Tape the template on the underside of your quilting ruler, with the template flush with the corner of the ruler, and the drawn line visible through the ruler. Step 12: Position the template over the rough unit so that the drawn diagonal lines up with the seam in the unit. Step 12: Position the template Step 13: Use a rotary cutter to trim the unit along the side and top edges of the ruler. Step 13: Trim two edges Step 14: Rotate the unit. Position the ruler so the markings for the required unfinished size line up with the trimmed edges. Step 14: Position ruler to trim remining sides Notice that the seam will not fall exactly in the corner of the ruler. Seam will not go through corner of the ruler Step 15: Keeping the ruler in position, use a rotary cutter to trim the remaining sides of the unit. The unit is now ready to use. The area outside the black outline in the image below is the seam allowance. The area inside the black rectangle will be the finished unit as it will appear in your finished project, with the points in the corners where you want them. I hope you have found this helpful. Now go play with some half-rectangle triangle units! *************** You can use HRT in many ways. The sailboat block at the top of this post, and again below, is what made me sit down and figure out HRTs. This version is 9" square. If you'd like to make it but would prefer to skip all the math and drawing of templates, I've done the work for you in my Sailing School pattern. See more of that quilt in this post. You can purchase a PDF download of the pattern in my Etsy shop, or you can ask your favourite quilt shop to order a print copy for you. Happy quilting! Joanne

I love using interactive lapbooks in the classroom. They are fun to create, engaging and can be used throughout the year to review skills taught. I finally completely my Lapbook Bundle and I am happy to share the lapbooks included with you. Whether you think your learners will enjoy creating all of the lapbooks, if you

A family unit for kindergarten is an important social studies unit to start the year for several reasons. A family unit for kindergarten involves letting

Ikea Besta units are wonderful basic boxes that you can turn into something amazing with Ikea Besta hacks. Check out these top creations.

Have fun with this FREE Nature Study with Trees and Leaves that lets upper elementary and middle school students draw, label, color, and more!

These Ancient Rome activities will keep kids interested while they learn about this ancient culture.

Fun STEM activity for outdoor play and makes a great science lesson! (Includes a printable rocket template).

Pre-K & Preschool theme ideas for learning about families Find more Family Theme Activities for Pre-K on the category page. Books Check here for a

ALL ABOUT FALL Fall is almost here! Those long hot days in August at the beginning of the school year are just about the hardest days of the entire year for me. I am just so tired. But as soon as the mornings are cool and the days start to get shorter, I get a huge burst of energy. Fall

These bear crafts for kindergarten and preschool will go great with all of your bear themed units and activities. Check out all 19 ideas!

Check out our FREE unit studies that explore science, history, and biographies! Each one accompanies a Who Was, Magic Tree House, I Survived or Carole Marsh book!

Study the human body anatomy with kids by making an anatomy model with these free printable life-size human body organs!

A blog dedicated to help teachers in preschool and kindergarten find quality, hands on educational activities for their homes and classrooms.

For three years now we have gone to the beach for our summer vacation, but, because we live in a landlocked state, there’s not a whole lot of education about ocean animals and their habitats …

Welcome to our 🐝 BEE UNIT! 🐝 This was such a fun one, packed with stunning…

Kids will have fun while learning where do I Live with this printable activity perfect for preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten students.

OCEAN WAVE ART LESSON can be used for grade K-8. Large or small painting surface, acrylic or tempera paints. Perfect for in class or studio art lesson.

Learn all about the medieval manuscript making process with a fascinating but short documentary, several living books, and simple DIY project.

{Affiliate links used.} Summer is rapidly approaching. There is a plethora of ideas, books, and resources out there to teach Spanish. Here is a list of all the ideas that would work well with summer to help your students/kids learn more Spanish. {By the way, if you are a teacher and thinking of hosting Spanish summer camps, check out my series here with a ton of games, activities, and crafts to do your own camp.} Here is the unit I developed on Oceans. {Free printables available.} Si Quieres Ver Una Ballena is such a sweet and funny book about how to spot a whale. I have developed some activities for it here. Here is a post with a list of Ocean-themed books in Spanish for kids. Books for summer...a great time to read! I love doing this unit with my students in the summer! {Free printables available} Insects are another great subject to study during the summer. For the younger set, here is an activity to go along with La Oruga Muy Hambrienta. Enjoy teaching Spanish this summer!!!

If you are looking for some high-interest activities, try using animated shorts to teach inference. Free handouts focus on student learning.

Simon and I recently finished reading Charlotte’s Web together (meaning I read a bit of it to him every night before bed). We both really enjoyed it. My older

Use this collection of Paul Klee teaching resources and complete Klee Famous Artist Unit lesson plans to teach elementary art class.

Kindergarten Literature Unit Printables to go along with the book, A Color of His Own by Leo Lionni

Little Social Studies Thinkers is a complete curriculum specifically for Kindergarten.  It's everything you need to introduce, teach, practice, and assess your kinder friends.  It is cross-referenced and aligned to the main topics of Kindergarten Social Studies Standards.  -------------------GET THE FULL YEAR-LONG CURRICULUM HERE-------------------- Little Social Studies Thinkers FULL YEAR CURRICULUM for KINDERGARTEN UNIT 4: My Community teaches students about different types of communities and people that live and work in them. It contains lessons on these specific topics: Types of Communities (rural, suburban, city) Diverse Families in a Community Important Places in a Community Community Helpers/Jobs Why People Work Wants and Needs Here are the components of the Unit: -A complete Teacher Guide -8 printable/projectable Books for Read-Alouds -Step-by-step, Scripted Lesson Plans (Twelve, 35-minute lesson plans in all) -Essential Question and Learning Target posters -Anchor Charts -Whole group Games and Activities -Craftivities and Culminating Unit Activity -Student Workbook that follows each lesson -Quick Check for every lesson -Kinder-appropriate Assessment and Rubric for scoring -Parent Letter -A COMPLETE unit PowerPoint to guide your teaching during each and every lesson (all books, targets and workbook pages are included in the PowerPoint to help you save paper) Here is an outline of the lessons for UNIT 4: Lesson 1: MY NEIGHBORHOOD- PLACES AND HOMES Lesson 2: MY NEIGHBORHOOD- PEOPLE AND FAMILIES Lesson 3: PLACES IN A COMMUNITY Lesson 4: PLACES IN A COMMUNITY CRAFTIVITY Lesson 5: COMMUNITY HELPERS Lesson 6: MORE COMMUNITY HELPERS Lesson 7: WHY PEOPLE WORK Lesson 8: WANTS AND NEEDS Lesson 9: WANTS AND NEEDS REVIEW & CRAFTIVITY Lesson 10: HOW WE HELP OUR COMMUNITY Lesson 11: UNIT REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT Lesson 12: CULMINATING ACTIVITY *Please download the preview to see all that is included, including samples of everything!* ************************************************************************** Click below to view additional units: UNIT 1: Citizenship UNIT 2: Then and Now UNIT 3: Holidays Around the World UNIT 4: My Community UNIT 5: Our World K-1 MINI-UNITS: MINI UNIT A: Pilgrims and Native Americans MINI UNIT B: America

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When it comes to notebooking, FREE is such a beautiful word! However, free quality notebooking pages are few and far between!

Take a trip with your homeschool students grades 3-8, and notebook across the USA with these states unit studies. There's a FREE unit study for all 50 states.

A Charlotte's Web unit study perfect for homeschool, classroom, or thematic novel study. The book study resources listed in this post are all FREE!

We are currently starting our final projects of the year. [I can't believe it!] But for now, let me catch you up on what we just finished... 5th and 4th grade have been working on the same concepts for the past two projects. Both grades participated in a school wide Egyptian art unit by creating Egyptian sarcophagi. They reviewed SYMMETRY, and learned about hieroglyphics. After that, they learned about creating TINTS and SHADES by making an undersea painting. You can find these handouts here- http://www.teachandshoot.com/2015/02/art-room-handouts-round-3-value.html I would have let the students have more freedom with other colors, but I really only had blue left, and underwater came to mind. Thanks for visiting! 3rd grade also participated in the Egyptian art unit by creating Egyptian PORTRAITS! This might be my favorite project from this year. What a wonderful job the students did! After that, 3rd grade made ORIGAMI frogs, but I forgot to take photos! After origami, 3rd grade started creating ASSEMBLAGE art like the artist Louise Nevelson. They are just starting to paint their sculptures this week! 2nd grade created a fun pyramid COLLAGE as part of the Egyptian art unit! After that, 2nd and 1st grade both created ABSTRACT Picasso PORTRAITS. 1st grade and kindergarten created Egyptian necklaces and learned a little bit about PERSPECTIVE by drawing the pyramids. Kindergarten just finished learning about weaving by creating some alligator WEAVINGs!