Ireland Unit for Upper Elementary

Ireland Unit for Upper Elementary

Ireland is a gorgeous and fun country to visit. I’ve been lucky enough to visit twice and would love to go back with my kids. In the states, around St. Patrick’s Day, it is normal to see lots of green and pots of gold and 

Geology Unit for Upper Elementary School

Geology Unit for Upper Elementary School

Rocks are the things I find everywhere. My kids stash rocks in the pockets around their seats in the car. I find rocks in the pockets of all of my coats from my kids asking me to “please save this!” when they find a special 

Butterflying in San Diego

Butterflying in San Diego

Butterflying isn’t the first thing that pops in my head when I think about Fall activities. To me, Fall has always been more about leaf peeping, pumpkin picking, and apple farms. That all changed last year when we read CITIZEN SCIENTISTS. affiliate links are included 

Ideas for Learning about Fish: A Look at Emergent Curriculum

Ideas for Learning about Fish: A Look at Emergent Curriculum

Swimming back and forth in the tank in our schoolroom is Mr. Weasley. He’s a beta fish we recently adopted from some friends who are moving. He’s bright orange which is probably the most exciting thing about him, because honestly he spends most of his 

UCSD Sculpture Hunt with Kids

UCSD Sculpture Hunt with Kids

UCSD in La Jolla, just north of San Diego has a fun sculpture collection all around their campus. Part of our fifth grade homeschool was learning about sculpture. We did a lot of looking at sculpture books and hands on sculpting ourselves, but seeing large, 

Native Californians: Learning About Native American Tribes in Fourth Grade CA History

Native Californians: Learning About Native American Tribes in Fourth Grade CA History

Learning about Native Americans felt like an important piece of California history that I didn’t want to jump past learn about missions and the Gold Rush when I was planning out our Fourth Grade Social Studies curriculum. I’m sure I did an imperfect job of 

Photography 101 for Kids: Teaching Kids How to Take Pictures

Photography 101 for Kids: Teaching Kids How to Take Pictures

Photography was our first art unit of fifth grade. In a world of watercolors and oil pastels, that might seem like a strange place to start but it leaned into my kids’ natural interest in photography and our heavily science based curriculum. As with most 

Getty Villa, Percy Jackson & Mythology for Fourth & Fifth Grade

Getty Villa, Percy Jackson & Mythology for Fourth & Fifth Grade

Mythology hooked my kids in fourth grade. They dove into gods and goddesses, primarily in Greek culture, but learned about mythology from around the world. Here are some of our adventures and resources as they explored the magical world of mythology. affiliate links are included 

Marine Biology Field Trip & Unit Ideas for Third, Fourth & Fifth Graders

Marine Biology Field Trip & Unit Ideas for Third, Fourth & Fifth Graders

Marine Animals are kind of an obsession in my house. My son has basically minored in sharks the last 3 years and my daughter vacillates between adoring anything from octopus to whale sharks to seashells and more. affiliate links are included below. Declaring Marine Biology 

All About California Unit for Fourth Grade

All About California Unit for Fourth Grade

California History is the social studies focus for fourth graders in California. Growing up in Wisconsin, I learned about Wisconsin history so this unit was almost entirely new information to me as well. We had so much fun exploring the diverse geography, history and people