Fun things to do together (mostly without electronics)

I was looking for things to do with the kids and/or as a family that all of us could do. Here are a few things I found that I thought were cool.

These ideas based on a post from Independent Homeschooling; most of them have been changed from the way they originally appeared to reflect what would work for our family.

Science
1. Choose a subject a week; it could be anything, cars, trains, transportation, air, people, etc. Put up a big strip of paper (butch paper or poster board) and have each family member add something they know about the subject or learned about the subject to the wall each day. At the end of the week review what everyone shared.
2. Get poster board and start a tree wall. Take pictures of all the trees in your yard, make a poster board for each one. Have the children label the trees (if old enough) and where the tree is in the yard (front yard or backyard). Have each family member write a story about the tree to put on the poster board. Together collect leaves, seeds, and possibly a bit of bark from the trees to add to the board. When completed display some where and start next tree.

Math
3. What does your child like, dinosaurs, trains, cars, building, etc? Go outside with a piece of chalk and find out how long a or high they really are/were. Put a starting mark on the sidewalk, then use a measuring tape to mark the average length or height of the the object (cars, trains, buildings, dinosaurs, etc).

Reading and Writing
4. Write a story or poem as a family. Each of you can take a turn adding a sentence. When you’re done, make a copy and send to the grandparents.

Social Studies
5. Go to museums to see what people lived like ‘in the old days’. Ask grandparents to tell the children what life was like for them when they were kids. Try to do things like they did in the old days (make butter, no TV, no lights, etc).
6. Get a map of your town. Show your child where, on the map, your house is. Put a big star there. Then drive to the store. Put a star at the location of the store. Use a yellow highlighter to show what streets you drove on. Have your child other location on the map, and using the highlighter have them decide and mark out the path you’re going to take. Then drive there, using your child's instructions. Have your children tell you about all the things they saw along the way and have them draw their own map including the things they saw. If you don’t have a car, you can adapt this activity to walking.

Foreign Language
7. How many languages can you say please in? Take time to learn some new words with your child. Say please in Norwegian, Arabic, Chinese (Simplified) and Japanese. Make a list of all the ‘please' words you learn together. When you’re done saying ‘please' in as many languages as possible, start learning ‘thank you' instead. Continue this process until you know all the basics in these languages.

Music
8. Help your child make a music video. It isn't hard. Pick a theme for the video/song to be about. Anything could be a topic. “Why do you like this topic?” Okay, you have the idea. Now have them sing what they would like about the topic and write it down. Using a digital camera record your child doing there song. Have each person in the family do one all based on the same theme. When your all done watch them all as a family then make sure to put them somewhere the children can watch them when every then want (which will be more often than you think).
9. Do you have a instruments at home? Then play them; if not buy a few or make some at home.

Art
10. Create a nature window. Collect dry leaves, pine needles, tiny twigs, grasses, and other items. Then get some waxed paper and have your child arrange the collected items in any way pleasing to him or her. When done, you will use an iron at low heat to iron another sheet of waxed paper on top. Put the finished creation in your child’s window and let the sun shine through.
11. Using Lego blocks have your child recreate other objects such as cars, building, cartoon characters, etc.
12. Do mosaics with Lego blocks

Fun Math and Science things

I'm not totally sure why I'm posting this here instead of on the homeschool blog other than the homeschool blog is about our homeschooling not schooling in general. This is a list of fun math and science things J and D have enjoyed doing over the past 2 yrs. I dug this list out for a friend that is resently entering the homeschool world.


The Hershey's milk chocolate bar fractions book
by Jerry Pallotta ; illustrated by Robert Bolster.
Pieces of a Hershey's chocolate bar help explain the concept of fractions.
ISBN 0439135192 (pbk.) $5.95

More M&M's brand chocolate candies math
Barbara Barbieri McGrath ; illustrated by Roger Glass.
Rhyming text and illustrations use candy to teach mathematical skills and concepts such as estimation, graph interpretation, division, multiplication, factoring, and problem solving.
ISBN 0881069930 (lib. bdg.) & 0881069949 (softcover)

The M&M'S brand subtraction book
Barbara Barbieri McGrath.
How do you make subtraction fun? Use M&M'S Chocolate Candies as learning tools! Young mathematicians will be eager to learn the basics of single-digit and double-digit subtraction in this latest entry in the best-selling math series.
ISBN 1570913587 (hardcover) & 1570913595 (pbk.)

The M & M's brand chocolate candies counting book
by Barbara Barbieri McGrath.
This yummy counting book teaches the numbers 1 through 12, the six colors of the "M&M's" "RM" Chocolate Candies, and three primary shapes: the square, circle, and triangle. Young readers are introduced to simple math and even learn the sets of twelve.
ISBN 0881068543 : $14.95 & 0881068535 (pbk.) & 0881068551 (library bdg.)

Fabulous fractions : games and activities that make math easy and fun
Lynette Long.
ISBN 0471369810 (pbk. : acid-free paper)

Dazzling division : games and activities that make math easy and fun
Lynette Long.
ISBN 0471369837 (pbk. : acid-free paper)

Dealing with addition
Lynette Long.
Describes how playing cards can be used to teach addition.
ISBN 0881062693 (lib. bdg.) & 0881062707 (pbk.)

Delightful decimals and perfect percents : games and activities that make math easy and fun
Lynette Long.
Everything kids need to know to become masters mathematics Teachers, parents and kids everywhere will love these great practical guides to the basic math subjects. Filled withfun and educational games and activities, Delightful Decimals and Perfect Percents and Groovy Geometry provide everything kids need to know about these sometimes challenging subjects. In each of these books, Lynette Long uses her unique style to help kids truly understand mathematical concepts as they play with everyday objects such as playing cards, candies, coins, and paper and pencil. With Delightful Decimals and Perfect Percents, kids will learn to decipher the mysteries of decimals and percents. They'll learn how to read and write decimals, how to add and subtract, multiply and divide both decimals and percents, how to change decimals into fractions and percents, and much more!
ISBN 0471210587 (pbk. : acid-free paper)

Great graphs and sensational statistics : games and activities that make math easy and fun
Lynette Long.
Teachers are always looking for ways to make basic math interesting. In this new book from everyone's favorite science teacher, children will learn about graphs and statistics with dozens of fun activities and illustrations.
ISBN 0471210609

Groovy geometry : games and activities that make math easy and fun
Lynette Long.
In Groovy Geometry, after a tour of the fundamental geometric concepts and definitions, kids will move on to master all of the geometry essentials, including drawing, measuring, and identifying the different kinds of angles, triangles, and quadrilaterals; using the Pythagorean theorem to find a hypotenuse; measuring the diameter, circumference, and area of a circle; and computing the volume of a cylinder. Along the way theyll learn to figure out the height of any object from its shadow, judge distances as the crow flies, estimate the area of any space, and much more. "Designed to be fun for kids who are wary of math as well as those who excel at it."
ISBN 1404625453 (bwi) & 0471210595 (pbk. : acid-free paper)

Measurement mania : games and activities that make math easy and fun
Lynette Long.
ISBN 0471369802 (pbk. : alk. paper)

Marvelous multiplication : games and activities that make math easy and fun
by Lynette Long.
Presents a series of activities, arranged in order of difficulty, that teach the operation of multiplication.
ISBN 0471369829 (pbk.)


Bill Nye the Science Guy ROCKS
You can get most of his books and DVDs at the library…he is so much fun and you learn so much

Bottle Biology is one we have wanted to try but never have the bottles for
http://www.bottlebiology.org/

The Kids Know It website is really cool
http://www.kidsknowit.com/index.php

Sandwich bag science says it is for older kids but if you don’t worry about them filling out the lab sheet any age can do the activities and learn a lot
http://www.amazon.com/Sandwich-Bag-Science-Hands-Sciences/dp/0439754666

Soda Bottle science is the same way
http://www.amazon.com/Soda-Bottle-Science-Hands-Sciences/dp/0439754658/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b