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Teach Homeschool Preschool

12 of the Best Books For Beginner Readers Being Homeschooled

December 8, 2020 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Finding the best books for beginner readers was at the top of my list when I sat my first homeschooled grad on my lap at 3 years old to teach him to read.

Books for Beginner Readers

Equally important was learning the other skills I needed as the homeschool educator to teach him to read.

Like many educators who have their first budding reader I too was overly worried about the process.

First, look at some of these tips for teaching beginning readers which have worked for me through my many years of homeschooling.

12 of the Best Books For Beginner Readers Being Homeschooled
  • Trust that the process is natural. Unless your child has special needs or a disability to hamper learning how to read, he will learn to read. What I’m saying is that children learning to read are learning with every breath they take. Seizing their love of learning in their organic environment (your home and your lap) is where the seed is planted.
  • In addition, I didn’t realize the value of my habit of reading aloud to my first reader and reading silently. The point is from the beginning I was placing not just a high value on the skill of reading, but a love for it. Although you may not think so now, teaching a child a child to read can be quite easy compared to teaching him to be a lifelong reader. Lifelong readers model what they see.
  • Next, like a lot of new homeschool educators, I concentrated on intensity instead of consistency. That was a mistake and I almost gave up homeschooling. So the power of little and often cements a pattern for how your child learns to read. Short fun spurts throughout the day teaching your child to read is how to make true progress.

Timeless Tips for Beginner Readers

Picture Books Library Lists

Second, remember that while you’re teaching your child to read, he will need direct phonics instructions.

Not only are you training his eyes to read or decipher (decoding), but you’re training his ears to hear sounds (encoding).

On top of that, remember to look at the BIGGER picture as you embark on your journey to teaching your child to read.

Direct phonics will help your child to decode words, and training his ear to distinguish between sounds and writing the correct symbol for that sound is encoding.

The Power of Little and Often

What I’m saying is that you want to pair a phonics program along with teaching your child to read.

Look at some of these helps:

  • 5 Easy Steps to Putting Together Your Own Homeschool Phonics Program and
  • How to Build Elementary Homeschool Curriculum Directly From Amazon
All About Reading

In addition, you also want plenty of time reading aloud to your child which doesn’t include direct instruction.

You constantly want to reaffirm that reading is enjoyable, meaningful, and should be pain free. Keeping that warm and fuzzy feeling for reading is essential.

Books that Help Kids Learn to Read

So read below about books which make it easier for teaching beginner readers being homeschooled.

Book 1. Bob Books.

The set of Bob books have been keepers for years in the homeschool world and there are several reasons.

One is because it normally takes only about 10 to 15 minutes a day. The second reason is that the books hold your child’s attention and are short.

Book 2. Dick and Jane Series.

You’ll get mixed feedback on the Dick and Jane series that so many parents remember from their childhood.

Although what may seem as funny repetition, the books works for budding readers.

New readers need the constant repetition found in these series of books.

Too, it’s been my experience that struggling readers do well with this series since the text is predictable.

Repeated Practice Equals Mastering

Book 3. Maisy Mouse Books.

Then, Mouse Mouse book series hails from England and your kid gets a nice influence to other cultures.

While reading about everyday things like bedtime, your beginning reader is entertained while his reading skills are sharpened. It’s just a fun and sweet series which entertains your kids.

Book 4. Usborne Phonics Readers.

The beauty of the phonics readers is that text is still predictable and rhyming.

Decoding which is the common thread with phonics readers makes the Usborne phonics readers a keeper.

Remember the power of little lessons done often creates a master reader.

Book 5. Usborne Very First Reading Books.

Next, this series Usborne Very First Reading Books are timeless and I love them because they encourage parent and child to read together.

There is one part for the parent to read and one part for the child to read. Did I mention they’re just fun?

This series of books to me are for the child who has had his introduction to phonics and is ready for his first reader. It’s still easy reading while being fun.

Book 6. Cat in the Hat Series.

I remember using the Cat in the Hat series to teach my first reader and every kid after him.

However, I had no idea how this series of books set up all my kids for reading success lifelong. Maybe Theodor Geisel didn’t have a clue either.

I remember reading how Dr. Seuss was trying to kill the 1950s Dick and Jane series which some viewed as boring

Whatever the case, building stories around sight words is not easy. Building a silly story with sight words is what worked for all of my kids. Too, this series is great for many ages, not just beginning readers.

Book 7. Repetitive books like Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See

Additionally, filling my bookshelves and yes floor with books with repetitive texts like Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See was something else I did right.

Little did I know then that repetitive text in fun books in how kids learn to read.

Multiple exposures to text encourages mastery.

Know that readers are nurtured by reading nursery rhymes at the newborn to preschool ages turns to repetitive text in books in the early years of reading. That equals mastery and brings meaning to reading.

Book 8. Mo Willems Elephant and Piggie Series

Although the Elephant and Piggie series is classified closer to a first grade level, grade levels are subjective; we know that as home educators.

Besides you need a variety of levels as your child repeats and reads higher level books. Then he backs up and reviews basic concepts from lower grade levels.

Reading well is accomplished by pushing the boundaries to the next level without your child feeling any pressure.

12 of the Best Books For Beginner Readers Being Homeschooled

I learned that reading is like weaving or folding in different concepts. A child retraces basic steps going what appears backwards at times as he stretches forward to learn to read at a higher level.

So having a variety of books at your fingertips is key.

9. McGuffey’s Eclectic Readers.

Then, the McGuffey’s Eclectic Readers are a staple in a lot of homeschool libraries and mine is no exception.

There is a reason that books from 1836 are loved by us and that is because of their rich language.

Besides the fact they’re free, the series spans several grade levels. I’ve used these books to teach reading and when my kids struggled with reading.

Over at the Happy Homeschool Mom she has linked the readers in pdf for you. Nice!

If you want to purchase the physical books here is the link for the McGuffey Eclectic Readers.

10. I Can Read Series.

Too, besides long time favorites, I love newer-ish book series too.

The I Can Read series is one of those newer flexible options compared to how long homeschoolers have been using the McGuffey readers.

One of the best things about the I Can Read series is the multiple levels.

From prek to level 4 you have many choices of fun stories to go up and down in level to repeat texts as your budding reader needs it.

11. I Can Read It Series.

Next, like the other readers listed with controlled vocabulary which means that a handful of words are repeated, the I Can Read It Series does the same.

What I also love about them as a parent is not just the predictable text, but in the fourth volume there is a word list which is helpful to me.

12. Hello Reader Series

Lastly, I used the Hello Readers from Scholastic to not only teach my new readers, but the sight word practice found in each book was needed for my kids

I know some of these books will work for you because they have worked for homeschool families for years. Our needs at home vary because we want to teach phonics, love of reading, and sight words all in a natural way.

Our tools and books we choose should help us to nurture lifelong readers so I know you’ll love these.

Do you have other favorite new reader series?

You’ll love these other tips which work solidly for me through the years for beginner readers.

  • How To Get Your First Homeschooled Child Reading
  • Awesome Reading Aloud Tracking Time Homeschool Form
  • 6 Boy Approved Books Which Spark the Love of Reading
  • 6 Tricks for the Kid That’s NOT in Love with Reading!
  • Homeschool Colorful Reading Journal to Motivate Kids
  • 25 Fun Learning Apps and YouTube Videos for Little Learners
  • 5 Easy Steps to Putting Together Your Own Homeschool Phonics Program
  • How to Know What A Homeschooled Child Should Learn Yearly?
  • How to Teach Homeschool Preschool From the Inside Out (And Preschool Skills)

Hugs and love ya,

Leave a CommentFiled Under: Teach Homeschool Language Arts, Teach Homeschool Preschool Tagged With: book lists, books, homeschool preschool, homeschoolreading, preschool, preschool skills, reading, readingcomprehension

25 Fun Learning Apps and YouTube Videos for Little Learners

May 10, 2020 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Learning apps and YouTube videos have exploded since I started homeschooling my kids 25 years ago. Now that I’m helping to homeschool Munch King in preschool I’m keeping a list of my favorite learning apps and YouTube videos to use with him.

Moreover, a lot of the learning apps and YouTube videos which I rounded up here can be used for kids up to third grade, but there are some you can use for older kids too.

25 Fun Learning Apps and YouTube Videos for Little Learners

Because Munch King has limits on screen time, I want apps and YouTube videos at my fingertips when we need him to keep learning. Whether you need grandma to entertain the kids when you’re away or you’re taking care of a little or the bigs, you’ll want to save this list.

Additionally, not all apps are educational so I’ll update the list as I find more learning apps and YouTube videos that are worth saving.

Educational Apps For Young Learners

You may want all the DragonBox apps. You’ll love grabbing these even for your older learners. “DragonBox is an award-winning series of educational math apps that are designed to engage and excite children about learning.” Yep, math can be exciting.

Tinybop is another one where you’ll want all the apps.

Plants Tinybop

Reading Eggs. Prepare your child for learning the fun way with a great range of fun interactive mathematics and reading apps specially designed for early learners.

Reading Eggs

Award-winning learn-to-code platform for kids, ages 5-9

codeSpark Academy is the most used home coding program for kids 5-9! 

SnailBob2 The puzzle everyone loves.

SnailBob

Your kids will love this series of apps MarcoPolo Learning, Weather, and World School

MarcoPolo Ocean
MarcoPolo Arctic
 

Khan Academy Kids.

Children can learn reading, language, writing, math, social-emotional development, problem-solving skills, and motor development.

Khan Academy Kids
Mammals Tinybop
Space Tinybop

Phonics With Phonograms by Logic of English. A phonogram app that drills all the sounds for each phonogram.

Logic of English

Duck Duck Moose is another one where you want just about all the apps. Fish school, Word Wagon, Park Math, Moose Math, Draw and Tell and More!

Fish School – 123 ABC for Kids

Skybrary is a carefully curated, ever expanding interactive library of digital books and video explorations designed to engage young readers and foster a love of learning.

Skybrary by Levar Burton

Educational YouTube Videos for Kids

The Dr. Bincos Show. From volcanoes to carnivorous plants your kids will be sure to find something educational.

The Brave Wilderness. “The Brave Wilderness Channel is your one stop connection to a wild world of adventure and amazing up close animal encounters!“

Homeschool Pop. “Our goal is to make fun, exciting learning videos for elementary students. We are called Homeschool Pop because our lead narrator and writer is a homeschool dad. (Pop is a fun way to say “dad”).”

We Love Puzzles. “We’re two sisters that, with their parents, make amazing puzzles that are both cool and educational! We often use fun materials such as Play-Doh and glitter to create our puzzles making them even more interesting and fun!”

Maddi Geography TV. “Hi, I’m Maddi and I am here to teach you and your kids fun facts about countries around the world. Every week I do a video about a different country focusing on geography, the food people in that country enjoy, as well as the indigenous animals. At the end of each video there is also a section about quirky and weird facts about that country.”

Kratts Creatures Different featured animals.

Operation Ouch. “Operation Ouch is packed with incredible facts about the human body and fronted by identical twins Dr.Chris and Dr. Xand van Tulleken who experiment and explore their way through the fascinating world of medicine and biology. This channel will de-mistify hospitals for younger viewers.”

Science Max. “Have you ever done a science experiment and wondered “What would this be like if it were HUGE?” Welcome to Science Max, the exciting new series that turbocharges all the science experiments you’ve done at home.”

Jack Hartmann Kids Music Channel. “Our songs for kids and educational videos will help your children learn counting, numbers, reading and language skills, nursery rhymes, science, physical fitness, dance and movement.”

Kids Learning Tube. “Kids Learning Tube educates kids through music and animation in a fun and unique approach to learning.”

Online Learning Resources

Peep and the Big Wide World “Peep and the Big Wide World gives wings to the innovative idea of teaching science to preschoolers.”

WordWorld. “Welcome to WordWorld, the first preschool series where words are truly the stars of the show! Come along for an adventurous romp into a vibrant world of words with the WordFriends—animals whose bodies are made up of the letters that spell the word they are.”

Caillou – WildBrain. “Meet Caillou, the lovable 4 year old with a big imagination! Caillou experiences all the wonders of being a child that audiences around the world can relate to; first day of school, caring for a pet, learning a new sport or spending time with family.”

Hooked on Phonics.

Have Fun Teaching. “HFT offers free worksheets, songs, videos, and resources for teachers, parents and kids!“

These fun apps and YouTube videos are great ways to keep your little learners engaged, but also entertained and are educational.

25 Fun Learning Apps and YouTube Videos for Little Learners

Look at these other resources:

  • How to Teach Homeschool Preschool From the Inside Out (And Preschool Skills)
  • How to Know What A Homeschooled Child Should Learn Yearly?
  • BEST Curriculum by Homeschoolers for Homeschoolers
  • How To Get Your First Homeschooled Child Reading
  • Awesome Reading Aloud Tracking Time Homeschool Form
  • How Early Should I Begin Homeschooling My First Child? (and checklist)
  • The BEST Resources for Teaching Art at Home (K to Gray)

Did you find or two you can use now?

Hugs and love ya,


Leave a CommentFiled Under: Teach Homeschool Preschool Tagged With: apps, elementary, homeschool preschool, online learning, preschool, YouTube

10 Adorable and Lovely Ideas for Your Homeschool Walls

June 24, 2019 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I’m not saying you can’t homeschool without these 10 completely adorable and lovely things for your homeschool walls, but you may be missing out.

Besides being beautiful, they’re timeless. I wished I would have invested in more timeless pieces for my homeschool area instead of so many new and modern pieces.

Homeschool Room Favorites

Don’t get me wrong, I love the new and modern, but some of these things just scream childhood celebrations and homeschool memories. Too, learning is timeless; some things never go out of style.

I love, love all of these posters. You can get them either already framed or not.

I prefer the ones not framed because I don’t want the bottom with the text cut off.

10 Adorable and Lovely Ideas for Your Homeschool Walls

It seems like the frame can cut off some of the text. Adding them to a frame you buy when you have the posters in hand is better.

This is the Mineralogie poster and the Dandelion chart poster.

Also, look at the beautiful Mushrooms poster and Ocean Life Illustration poster.

Look at this awesome way to teach U.S. geography with this vintage USA Map poster and teach about Butterflies with this chart from times past.

Homeschool Wall Ideas

I love this perpetual calendar which I just purchased as MunchKing begins his preschool journey.

As he grows, this calendar will still be usable and never turns baby-ish. I wished I had bought something like this when my kids were young. I would have kept it longer. What a timeless and beautiful piece to use for years to come!

Perpetual wooden calendar which is perfect for homeschool!
{pic. attribution: © MirusToys. Please pin from original sources.}

Here are a few more timeless items to make your homeschool walls lovely. Look at this Plumes Feather Illustration and Color Wheel.

And this last thing I love is this huge calendar for the wall which everyone can see.

When homeschool life is busy, putting up a visual and beautiful reminder of your homeschool routine reduces stress.

{pic. attribution: © ShopSimplyPerfect. Please pin from original sources.}

Which ones do you like the best?

10 Adorable and Lovely Ideas for Your Homeschool Walls. Don't get me wrong, I love the new and modern, but some of these things just scream childhood celebrations and homeschool memories. Too, learning is timeless; some things never go out of style.

Add one or two of these beautiful pieces to make your homeschool walls lovely because learning is classic. Your kids will never outgrow these one of a kind pieces!

  • Top 10 Tips for Maximizing Space in (Really) Tiny Homeschool Spaces
  • 100 BEST Ideas to Organize Your Homeschool Area – Storage, Spaces, and Learning Places
  • Homeschool Organization – Why You’re Still Drowning in Clutter
  • Homeschool Organization Motivation – 11 Gadgets To Get You Going
  • 5 Ingredients Every Well-Organized Homeschool Space Needs
  • Dedicated Homeschool Room or Dining Room Homeschooler
  • 5 Days of Clever DIY Hacks for Your Homeschool Spaces Day 5 Things the Teacher Luvs

Hugs and love ya,

Leave a CommentFiled Under: Homeschool Space, Homeschool Tools, Storage, & Accessories, Homeschooling, Kick Off Your Homeschool Year, Teach Homeschool Preschool Tagged With: homeschool, homeschool lifestyle, homeschool walls, homeschoolorganization, homeschoolstorage, homeschoolstorage. homeschoolroom, new homeschooler homeschool organization, organizedhomeschool, organizedkids

How To Get Your First Homeschooled Child Reading

June 19, 2019 | 1 Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Nothing is more thrilling than hearing the sweet voice of your first homeschooled child reading. That is something only another homeschool educator can fully appreciate.

Teaching my first son to read set me up for success in teaching his younger siblings. Twenty plus years later, I’m here to tell you the reading process is the same as it was then.

Don’t be overwhelmed by the push of the educational word into thinking that teaching reading has to be difficult or overly structured.

Striking a balance between using play to teach reading to a child and using a developmental approach to curriculum to guide a homeschool educator is absolutely vital.

Here are six solid how-tos for getting your kids to read successfully and quickly.

How to Get Your First Homeschooled Child Reading. CLICK here to grab these AWESOME tips from a seasoned veteran and grab free phonics readers too.

6 Solid How-Tos Tips for Teaching New Homeschooled Readers

ONE /A reading program has at least two parts.

In the past I’ve shared what I did to teach my first son to read which was to purchase Dr. Maggie’s phonic readers from a teacher store.

What I learned from the Dr. Maggie set of phonics readers was that reading has two parts which are the very basics of any reading program.

One component is a systematic way to teach phonics and the second component is a way for your child to practice reading his new learned skill.

Both of these components I learned while using the phonics readers. This is what I noticed in the readers and that will help you as a new teacher.

  • Dr. Maggie’s phonic readers had a book devoted to most of the vowel and consonant sounds.
  • The books progressed in order so your kid could start reading right away while learning letter sounds.
  • I learned that not only did a child need the introduction to the sound, but putting the sounds together to form words can happen right away.

A laid out reading program pairs a phonics reader with the sound being introduced. You can easily do that. Look below at a few choices I listed for the two components.

Best Books to Get Kids Learning to Read

Create Your Own Reading Program OR

Choose one phonics program and choose one or more set of phonics readers.

Phonics Programs
Get Ready for the Code.
Explode the Code.
Modern Curriculum Press Phonics: Level A.
Adventures in Phonics Level A Workbook.
Spectrum Early Years: Phonics Readiness, PreK.
Carson-Dellosa Spectrum Phonics Workbook, Grade K.

Phonics Readers
Bob Books.
Alpha Phonics Readers.
Horizon Kindergarten Reader, Set.
Christian Liberty Beginning Readers.
Dr. Maggie’s phonic readers.
Free I See Sam books have been around for a while.
Free Sizzy books by Fun Phonics.
Dick and Jane Level 1 Readers.

Also, you can purchase a curriculum where your reading program is laid out.

Choose a Laid Out Reading Program.

All About Reading Pre-reading

TWO/ Knowing the names of ALL the letters is not necessary.

Although I drilled the alphabet and names of the letters with each of my readers, I soon learned that knowing all of the letter names is not necessary to begin reading.

Don’t wait until a child knows all of his letters to begin teaching him to read.

Eventually readers learn the letters; they become important when learning to spell. Besides, learning to spell is a skilled learned later. A child reads long before he can spell.

THREE/ Teach the sound the consonant represents and begin with the short sound for vowels.

Pointing to a plastic letter tile like “D” and mouthing the sound /d/, then doing the same with plastic letter tile “o” and plastic letter tile “g” helps your child to begin decoding right away.

By introducing the short sounds of vowels, kids learn to read right away.

FOUR/ Introduce consonants and vowels in a strategic order so a kid reads soon. Do not introduce letters in ABC order.

Reading should be rewarding. Even budding readers understand the concept of intrinsic value.

In the beginning, my mistake was not having a specific order in which to teach the letters. Teaching the letter sounds in alphabetical order was my mistake.

Teaching the consonants and vowels in a planned order which allows your child right away to blend sounds and make easy CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) words is how to do it.

I concentrated on consonants used most often and introduced a vowel right away because every word has a vowel in it.

The vowels are a ,e, i, o, u and sometimes y. At this point, focus only on the short sounds of a,e, i, o, and u.

Easy Reading Lesson Plans

Here is a sample of what I do.

  • introduce /k/ for c, /b/, /m/, /h/, /t/, /r/, /p/, and /s/ sounds;
  • introduce the short sound of the vowel a;
  • introduce the “- at” family; and
  • introduce the sight word “The” (more on this in a minute).

Can you see right away a child can read the word “at” from blending the sounds?

Next, take each of the consonant letter tiles c, b, m, t, r, h, p and s.

Place each letter tile at the beginning of “at” and say each word. Finally, tell your new reader that when he knows one word he knows many. Rhyme the words for him.

The last step is taking a word that he can recognize by sight like the word “The” and put that word in front of each word — cat, rat, hat, and bat.

Look at this page for free lists of sight words. Because reading does involve recognition of some words without decoding, add the sight words in slowly with each lesson.

Reading easy sentences like “The cat”, “The hat”, and “The rat” gives immediate rewards. You now have a budding reader.

Here is another example of a word family.

I choose another short vowel like o and I’m planning intentionally to create CVC words with my consonant choices.

For example with the vowel o, choose the following consonant letters to introduce.

  • /l/, /g/, /d/, /p/ and “Go” as a sight word.

Review the consonants your child learned in earlier lessons and put with these new consonant sounds to work on the sound /o/.

You can now create these words: log, dog, top, hog, got, pot, rot, mop, dot, bog, and hot. Can you create more? Make sentences like “Go dog”, “Go hog”, and “Go rat”.

Reading Pace Matters

Using the word rat from your previous lessons reinforces what he was introduced to. Keep using CVC words previously introduced as you build his reading vocabulary.

FIVE/ Introduce multiple letter sounds at one time.

The next seasoned veteran tip I want you to know is that there is no need to study a letter a week.

A child can move a bit faster, but you don’t want to overwhelm a budding reader.

Each child is different in how fast you want to introduce sounds.

For example, when my son was four years old, he learned to read. However, our reading time was in short spurts throughout the day. Fifteen minutes here and there throughout the day are normal. Introducing at least two sounds a week is fine. Go slower as needed.

If a child is closer to six or seven years old which is still right on target for learning to read, you may be able to spend closer to thirty minutes before he is ready for a break.

As you’re introducing new consonant sounds, review letter sounds you previously taught.

Don’t be discouraged if a child seems to remember the sounds one week and forget them the next. Constant review and interaction with the sounds will help him to master them.

20 Best Tips for Teaching Reading and Spelling

Teaching at this age is like putting together a puzzle. You’re constantly looking over new pieces and adding them to your framework.

SIX/ I weigh-in on the play vs. structured teaching approach for PreK and Kindergarten levels.

For many years, I’ve read dialogue back and forth between the camp of overly structured teachers and teachers who feel this age should be play all day.

I’ve learned that a combination of both approaches is needed. First, understanding the natural inclination children have to play should have you include ideas for teaching reading that are play.

Too, the structured curriculum is for the teacher, NOT the child. Most new homeschooling teachers want a direction in how to introduce reading to their child.

Reading aloud is the single most important thing I did with all of my children. It teaches them to love words and by the inflection of your voice they learn to let their imaginations soar.

Forcing a child that age to sit at a table for long hours or do worksheet after worksheet does not recognize a child’s development.

Use teaching skills where a child learns through play while developing fine and gross motor skills is imperative.

The bottom line is that using a formal curriculum with PreK and Kindergarten is excellent as long the curriculum recognizes the child’s need to learn through play.

Learning Through Play Resources

Huge letters work great and you want to be sure you have lots of lowercase letters too.

Learning CVC words should be hands-on too.

Although these letter tubs are more pricey, if you have multiple budding readers you get your money’s worth. Using these tubs for two or more years with each reader saved my sanity.

I ordered these tubs and they’re perfect for teaching each new reader a letter along with corresponding objects which represent the letter sound.

I have more tips to share with you on learning through play, but wanted to be sure you understood how the reading process unfolds. Does this make sense?

How to Get Your First Homeschooled Child Reading. CLICK here to grab these AWESOME tips from a seasoned veteran and grab free phonics readers too.

Look at these other tips:

  • Awesome Reading Aloud Tracking Time Homeschool Form
  • What You’ve Got To Know About Teaching Reading Comprehension
  • 5 Easy Steps to Putting Together Your Own Homeschool Phonics Program
  • How to Know What A Homeschooled Child Should Learn Yearly?
  • How to Teach Homeschool Preschool From the Inside Out (And Preschool Skills)
  • How Early Should I Begin Homeschooling My First Child? (and checklist)
  • Homeschool Colorful Reading Journal to Motivate Kids
  • Teaching Homeschooled Boys How to Read – When to Panic!

1 CommentFiled Under: Teach Homeschool Language Arts, Teach Homeschool Preschool Tagged With: homeschoolreading, preschool, preschool skills, read aloud, reading, readingcomprehension

Kinder Gardening to Celebrate Nature and Science

May 23, 2019 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today I’ve rounded up some fun things to get the next generation of green thumbs digging in the dirt. I wished I had started gardening earlier with my kids, but your littles will love these kinder gardening resources to celebrate nature and science.

Kids Garden Unit Study Resources

Look at this adorable Radio Flyer big-kid wheelbarrow. Your kids will love to haul their own plants or just dirt. No intimidation here when they have their own kid-sized wheelbarrow for hauling.

Also, grab these fun crocs which are easy to clean and your littlest gardener is ready for his big kid project – well almost!

One thing that held me back from putting my kids in charge of their own garden was the lack of room in one place we lived while homeschooling.

When we got to move out to the more scenic and country areas where we had wide open spaces, gardening was easier.

It wasn’t so easy to do a fun science garden unit study when we lived in the city or in our smaller home which is why I loved these next fun things.

Kid Science in the Garden

These adorable growing your own herb kits are just the perfect kid-sized project. This raised bed is the perfect working height for little kids.

A huge plus is that you can take all of these things with you or move them around as you need to.

Then sneak in some fun ways to learn about gardening with this this flower families go fish game.

Add in some bug bingo for a creative way to learn about bugs from all over the world and you’ve added in a touch of geography.

You can also add in fun boxed craft ideas like this greenhouse from Groovy Lab in a Box.

Then, of course no unit study about gardening is complete without fun books.

With Seedfolks you can add in cultural awareness into your unit study which is a nice twist while learning about nature and science. Grab the Teacher’s Guide to the book and you’ll have a ready-made unit study.

Including a good amount of nonfiction living book ensures that a kid will find science in the garden fun as you avoid boring textbooks.

Nurturing a love of science and nature happens by digging in the dirt. Whether you live in a tiny house with minimal room or a large area, learning by doing teaches your kids to love nature.

Not only will your kids love doing what they naturally like doing at this age which is being outside digging in dirt and playing with water, but it teaches kids valuable life skills.

Independence to care for their basic essentials and a sustaining food source are life skills you want your little kinder gardeners to have.

You’ll love these other unit study ideas and activities to add to your own study.

  • 6 Fun and Free Nature Studies to Beat the Doldrums
  • Easy Seed and Gardening Unit Study for Kids (Middle – Upper Elementary)
  • How to Easily Make Fun Seed Tape With Kids
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Leave a CommentFiled Under: Hands-On Activities, Science, Science Based, Teach Homeschool Preschool Tagged With: garden, gardening, homeschool preschool, kindergarten, nature, nature study, preschool, science

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