Posts Tagged ‘hands-on learning’

Civil War Treats: Molasses Cookies

Monday, July 13th, 2015

molasses-cookies-civil-warThis post contains affiliate links. I was compensated for my work in writing this post.

If you are studying the Civil War time period, why not make some old-fashioned molasses cookies? These Civil War molasses cookies are yummy!

We got this idea from All American History, Volume II, which we are using in our study of the Civil War. When doing hands-on activities, it’s wonderful to be able to taste the time period. This is why we chose to make Civil War molasses cookies.

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Civil War Molasses Cookies (Recipe)

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup shortening
  • 1 egg
  • 2/3 cup molasses
  • 2 3/4cup flour
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ginger
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt

Instructions

Cream together shortening, brown sugar, egg, and molasses. Stir in flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger. Chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees and roll dough out to 1/4.” Cut out cookies with a round cutter (use either a glass, a lid, or a round cookie cutter). Place on a baking sheet; bake for 10 minutes.

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Video Tutorial: How to Make Civil War Molasses Cookies

Watch me as I make these delicious old-fashioned molasses cookies:

Elementary Chemistry Series

Monday, November 24th, 2014

elementary-chemistry

This post contains affiliate links. I was compensated for my work in writing this post.

Can you teach elementary-level kids something as difficult as chemistry? Yes, you can! This year we studied elementary chemistry, and the curriculum we used was Christian Kids Explore Chemistry by Bright Ideas Press. We had a wonderful time doing all the experiments, which helped us to understand basic chemistry concepts.

The book presented these chemistry concepts in a way that even a child could understand. The science experiments used inexpensive household items, and the experiments were not difficult to perform. My high school kids were present when I went through this elementary-level chemistry book with my two younger kids, and my older kids did better in their high school chemistry because the basic concepts had already been mastered, so the more difficult high school-level concepts were easier to understand.

The multiple choice tests for each chapter were hilarious. One of the answers always made my kids laugh hysterically. You still needed to pay attention and learn all the lessons because it was not possible to pick between the other two possibilities unless you knew the material. In this way, my kids began to look forward to the chemistry tests! Can you believe it? That’s definitely a positive aspect of using this curriculum!

In case you missed any of the experiments that we performed, here is an index of the fun chemistry experiments:

1. Chemistry Tools
2. Filtration Experiment
3. Make Your Own Element Cards
4. Mixtures and Compounds
5. How to Build Atomic Models
6. Atomic Cookies
7. Building Molecular Models
8. Breaking Covalent Bonds
9. Acids and Bases
10. Dissolving Calcium with Acid
11. Measuring the Volume of a Solid
12. Testing Charles’s Gas Law
13. Saltwater Experiment
14. Saturated Solutions
15. Freezing Alcohol
16. Hydrocarbons

I hope you enjoyed all these experiments as much as we did!

Hands-on Learning Pinterest Boards

Wednesday, March 5th, 2014

hands-on-learning-pinterest-boards

These are my top 5 Hands-on Learning Pinterest Boards:

1. Homeschooling Bible

This Pinterest board is full of hands-on ideas for teaching the Bible to your children. My popular 31 Days of Bible Crafts caused this board to soar because of all the original ideas that were gorgeous and do-able. Most of the projects are super easy, and the ones that take longer are worth it. To bring Scripture to life for your children will bring them delight in God’s Word!



2. Ancient Egypt Unit Study  This Pinterest board has lots of fun ideas for teaching Ancient Egypt to your kids. You can make your own mummy and sarcophagus using an inexpensive hinged box, a small doll, and some white strips of cloth. Play games, make hieroglyphs, create a simple Egyptian costume, build sugar cube pyramids with sand on them, and emboss some Egyptian art onto metal. Look at a list of fun DVD’s about Egypt that you can find at your local library. And create an Egyptian feast as a culminating activity for your study!

3. Homeschooling Geography

This Pinterest board is a joy to me because I traveled the world before I was married, so I have seen a lot of places. I have a Travel board, too, if you want to see where I’ve been. (I grew up in Guatemala and have another board about that!) But this Homeschooling Geography board is specifically for hands-on geography ideas for your kids to understand world cultures and geography. I show you different ways to learn about maps: cookie maps, 3-D maps with clay in blue water, and home-made puzzle maps. Cut an orange to understand hemispheres. Learn about the culture of France through various hands-on activities. And learn how to use coins to teach about geography!

4. Organization for Homeschoolers  I love to organize, and this board is stuffed with ideas on how to organize everything in your home! Organize each room in your house. After that, you can organize your closets, your art supplies, your car, your shoes, your games, and your paper clutter. Organize your homeschool space through nature displays, science learning centers, and other educational displays. Then organize your time through scheduling, goal-setting, and prioritizing what is important.

5. Spring Activities for Kids 

I have a fun hands-on board for each season, and because Spring is around the corner, here are some super fun activities you can do with your kids to enjoy this season. Throw tea parties, create fun hats, do some gardening, visit your local botanical gardens, go kite flying, and make a pop bottle bird feeder. Use fun cookie cutters in 17 creative ways, including jam tarts, sandwiches, dolls and pillows, soap, jello, and pancakes. Have fun this spring with your kids!

Each of these boards is packed full of ideas for incorporating hands-on learning into your home. And the fun part of it is that they are all bookmarked visually!

Linked to Our Pintastic Pinboards

pintasticpinboards