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19 Exciting Gifts for Active Kids

Gifts for Active Preschool Kids

Ring Toss Game

The Ring Toss Game is fun for the entire family. After all if your kids are anything like mine, they adore throwing things. So instead of dealing with paper planes flying across the house, set up this ring toss game in the yard.

Encourage the kids to toss rings, calculate points, and have a great time outside. These make perfect gifts for active kids!

Trampoline

Encourage your kids to jump with this 3 ft Trampoline designed for 3-6 year olds. Just set it up in the house and let your bouncing babies to jump to their heart’s content. No more babies bouncing on the sofa, jumping off the ottoman, or leaping across chairs.

They’ll now have a fun, safe, and sane way to jump on the trampoline for hours.

Standing Easel

This Standing Easel is great fun for preschoolers and elementary kids. Clip paper onto the easel for painting. Pull out the chalk and draw silly pictures on the chalkboard. Hand your kids dry erase markers to draw on the dry-erase board.

Your active kids will enjoy doing artwork when they’re standing at an easel.

River Stones

Have your children ever tossed pillows on the floor in a desperate attempt to keep out of the lava? Mine certainly have! These river stones make the perfect gift for kids trapped indoors. Kids can pretend to cross lava, dance across rocks over a river, or create an obstacle course in the house.

Save your pilllows and gift your children with these river stones. Everyone will enjoy hours of fun.

Super Sand Digger

Do you have a child fascinated with construction? I do! My sons have spent hours digging in the sandbox pretending they were construction workers digging a ditch.

This super sand digger makes pretending even more real when the kids actually dig like they’re using heavy equipment to dig a foundation for a skyscraper or pretend they’re Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel.

Hopper Ball Bouncing Toy

Did you ever play with one of bouncing ball toys for kids from 3-6 when you were small? I don’t know about you but I spent hours of fun bouncing around on these balls. They’re perfect for cold winter days when the weather keeps you indoors. They are relatively inexpensive so can get multiple gifts for active kids in your life.

Instead of having kids bouncing around underfoot, let them bounce around the house on the Bouncing Ball!

Tootle Turtle Target Game

If you have a child who loves to throw, let them throw self-stick beanbags at this cheerful turtle target. Hold competitions to see who can score the highest number. Encourage your kids to count by throwing at specific digits.

The Tootle Turtle Target game is wonderful for active kids and teaching math at the same time!

Pogo Jumper

Give your children the gift of a pogo jumper this year. The Foam Pogo Jumper is a fun jumping toy for kids of all ages. Since it holds up to 250 lbs, you can even give it a whirl.

Learn to balance while you jump with the Pogo Jumper for a fun exercise which your kids will love.

Active Gifts for Elementary Kids

Rocket Balloon Set

If your kids love watching regular balloons shoot around the room, they’ll love Rocket Balloons! Pump up these reusable balloons up to 40 inches in length. Then let them go and watch them fly. These are an exciting outdoor toy!

This package of 85 balloons and pump makes an awesome gift for kids 8 and up.

Twister

Have you ever played Twister? It’s an old classic game that’s perfect for active kids. If you haven’t played it yet, you’re missing an exciting game that tests your flexibility. One child spins to find out which hand or foot goes on which color. The players’ challenge is to remain upright while moving their appendages from one color to the next. The last person stand wins!

My kids adore pulling out Twister and playing a round on a rainy afternoon.

Dodge Ball Tag

My boys love playing dodge ball every chance they get. Here’s a fun gift which allows them to play dodge ball with sticky balls! Each player wears an air mesh vest and carries 3 soft and safe balls. The goal is to stick your balls to your opponent’s vest!

Dodge Ball Tag is a great gift for encouraging kids to get off the walls and heading outside to run.

Walkie Talkies

Did you ever run around the neighborhood with your friends playing spy? Walkie Talkies are the toy to have. You can chat with your friends, keep in touch with parents, and have a great time playing around the neighborhood.

A Walkie Talkie set is a classic fun toy to give to active kids.

Marble Run

Have you ever played Marble Run? The goal is to build an elaborate creation of tubes and ramps. Once it’s built, drop the marbles, and watch them roll.

It’s a game that affords hours of fun play as the kids set up the runs and watch the marbles go! Marble run is recommended for children ages 4 and up.

Construction Fort

Instead of having your active kids pulling out every blanket, book, and pillow in the house to build forts, give them a Construction Fort. The kids build an interlocking frame on which to throw the canvas.They can create a castle, tunnel, tent, or fort. This is a fun gift for historical reenactment as well.

Aimed at 5 and up, this gift will give your children hours of fun as they create and play in custom designed forts.

Dueling Stomp Rockets

Stomp rockets are simple rockets which fly from air pressure. The dueling stomp rocket allows kids to challenge each other. Who can send rockets soaring higher in the air?

This is a great gift for siblings, no bickering over who gets to stomp first!

Active Gifts for Older Kids

Croquet

My parents had a croquet set. It’s a fun game where you attempt to knock the balls between the hoops in the correct order. The first person to hit the stake at the end of the course wins the game.

This is the perfect game for lively children as well as adults. Everyone in the family, especially those over 6, will enjoy playing croquet in the backyard.

Stilts

Stilts are awesome for active kids. They develop balance and coordination while your kids are having fun seeing the world from a higher height.

Give your kids a set of stilts to walk around on this year.

Frisbee Disc

Frisbees are a wonderful gift to give to active kids of all ages. Kids can play catch with the Frisbee. As your kids age and become more skilled there are all sorts of Frisbee games they can play such as Frisbee tag or Frisbee bowling.

Give your kids a Frisbee Disc to throw around with your friends!

Laser Tag

Laser tag is a fun game for older kids to play at the park. There’s no need to worry about Nerf darts hitting an innocent spectator. Everything is done with lasers.

Your kids will love playing laser tag with their friends.

With these amazing gifts for active kids, your kids will have hours and hours of exciting play throughout the year.

What is your favorite gift for active kids?

Christmas Blessings Giveaway!

Let us help you check things off your Christmas list for FREE! I’ve partnered with a wonderful group of bloggers to bring you the Christmas Blessings Giveaway. We know the holiday season can be full of both joy and stress, and our hope is to ease that burden just a bit for a few families. Enter to win 4 $250 gift cards!

To enter, simply use the entry form below. We know it’s a long one, but each blogger personally contributed to make this giveaway happen, and your support means so much. Plus, the more entries you complete, the better your chances of winning one of the $250 prizes!

Wishing you a season full of peace, joy, and blessings!

Giveaway ends November 28th at 11:59pm ET.  Winners will be drawn and emailed the following day. The winners will have 48 hours to respond to email to claim the prize.  By entering this giveaway you will be added to the email lists of the participating bloggers. You must live in the United States or Canada to be eligible to win. 

For more Gift Ideas for Kids, Check out these Gift Guides!

Gifts for Art Lovers

Gifts for Young Sewers!

The post 19 Exciting Gifts for Active Kids and A Giveaway! first appeared on True Aim.

5 Tips for Enjoying Nature Study Indoors

1. Keep a nature journal

Start a nature journal with the kids even though it’s cold and wet outside. You’ll need a good art sketch book and colored pencils for the kids.

As your kids study nature inside this winter, note what you see and learn. Sketch various objects. Sketch animals you see. And sketch the weather each day. Take notes about what you learn and your thought about nature. Nature journals are a great way to encourage your kids to write!

The journal will become a beautiful record of your studies!

2. Hang a bird feeder

Hang a bird feeder outside your window. Prop pillows around the window and drop a bird book on a table nearby. The bird feeder will attract birds to your house where you can study them in the warmth of your home.

Don’t hang the bird feeder with yarn though. The squirrels discovered they could gnaw through the yarn to drop the bird feeder to the ground. The squirrels had a feast!

But it limited the number of birds we were able to study.

3. Bring nature inside

Head outside or send the children out to collect fascinating objects. Grab pine cones, rocks, acorns, leaves, dried plants, bark, and anything else you find.

Bring the objects inside and lay them on the table. You can make notes about where you found the objects and take your time sketching the objects in your nature journal without fingers freezing.

Don’t forget to research the items you find. What type of trees did the pine cone, acorns, and leaves come from? What type of rock did you find?

Remember to take notes about what you learned in your nature journal!

4. Keep a weather log

Keeping a weather log in the summer around here tends to be boring. It’s one sunny day after another! But the weather in the winter keeps changing.

Changing weather makes for a fascinating weather log!

Hang a thermometer on a tree near a window. Every morning have the kids look out the window and read the thermometer. They should also note what type of weather you’re having each day. Is it stormy, snowy, rainy, or sunny?

Keep a weather log and note your findings in your nature journal each day! And don’t forget to try one of these fun weather activities!

5. Read good books

There are many, many wonderful books on nature available. So the next time you’re at the library browse the science and nature section of your library.

You’ll find books on the changing season. Books discussing weather. And books describing how animals live in the winter.

Check them out and bring them home.

Or try making your own nature study curriculum from Usborne Books.

Now you and your kids can curl up on the sofa and read the books on nature study together in the warmth of your home.

Just because the weather outside is cold and gloomy, there’s no reason to put nature study on hold. Just move your nature study inside for the season and enjoy a cup of hot chocolate while you sketch!

What is your best tip for enjoying an indoor nature study during the winter?

The post 5 Tips for an Epic Indoor Nature Study first appeared on True Aim.

How to Homeschool Through the Holidays

Concentrate on the Basics

During the holidays slow your homeschool down. There’s no reason to try to fit in history, science, art, music, languages, and grammar during December.

The world isn’t going to end if you don’t finish every intricate history project or science experiment this month. Just concentrate on keeping the kids reading, writing, and doing a bit of math. All will be fine!

For instance give your kids a basket of acceptable books and have them curl up in the living room and read for 30 minutes. Your kids can browse the various books, read Christmas stories, or spend the month working on one long book. It doesn’t matter!

What’s important is they sit and read for 30 minutes.

And include your preschoolers in the 30 minutes. Let them choose pictures books to look at while the older children read quietly.

For math, keep going at a lesson or even half a lesson a day. There’s no rush! If you’re feeling inspired, take math into the kitchen. Calculate how many batches you’re going to need to bake for the cookie exchange.

Divide cakes into fractions or figure out how much flour you will need for 3 batches of pumpkin bread. Math and cooking go hand-in-hand!

Remember to have your kids write everyday. They can create and write cards for soldiers stationed overseas or help you write Christmas letters for family and friends. Your kids can write long letters to Santa along with letters for lonely elderly in nursing homes. My daughter is currently writing short books for her friends!

Or use one of these 25 fun winter writing prompts to get the creative juices flowing.

It doesn’t matter what the kids are writing about, just that they write.

Add the Extra Subjects Carefully

Once you have the basic homeschool subjects flowing smoothly, try adding a few fun extra subjects in combination with the holidays.

Encourage the kids to be artistic and make homemade handprint wrapping paper. Grandma will enjoy the wrapping paper almost as much as she will the gift!

Play educational games such as Christmas Bingo. Make a family tradition of reading A Christmas Carol by Dickens together.

Work on your children’s fine motor skills with Christmas Tree Beading, or by making Christmas Wreath Cards to send out to family and friends this year!

And don’t forget about caroling. Kids love singing classic Christmas songs. So grab your kids and go caroling through the neighborhood. Everyone will have a wonderful time!

Homeschooling through the holidays doesn’t have to be an exhausting addition to the holiday craziness. This year change your regular routine and add a bit of Christmas cheer to your homeschool!

How do you homeschool through the holidays?

The post How to Homeschool Through the Holidays first appeared on True Aim.

5 Easy Tips to Make Science Fun for Your Kids

1. Explore Your Backyard

When was the last time you headed outside for science? I don’t know about you, but I tend to grab a book before we head out the door. But the best way to introduce kids to science in the real world is through nature.

Explore your backyard! You’ll find quite a few science experiments hiding there from observing birds to studying the various plants. One of my sons spent a summer studying the ants in our yard.

Make a butterfly feeder and keep a journal about the different types of butterflies it attracts. Study the trees in your yard and discuss how plant stems work to bring nutrients and water to the top of the trees. Stems are a lot more impressive when you’re staring up at a 2 story-tall tree!

And check out these Top Outdoor Science Activities for more fun ideas to do science with your kids outside in your yard.

2. Nature Study

Why do we see stars at night? What creates the weather? Why do the seasons change? Every parent has heard these questions! So use nature study to answer these questions and interest your kids in science.

Use a curriculum such as Exploring Nature with Children to guide your nature study. Head out on long nature hikes every week. Check out the natural world as you travel around town. You can see birds, trees, and rocks as you run errands.

If you’re studying clouds, point out the different types of clouds in the sky. If you’re studying birds, point to the various birds. And if you’re studying chemistry, point out how plants use the chemical reaction called photosynthesis to turn sunlight into food

Nature study brings science to life.

3. Follow Rabbit Trails

Kids’ questions are endless! The moment you think you’ve answered all the questions, another dozen pop up.

So use your children’s curiosity and follow the rabbit trails. If you’re studying the sun and the kids ask why the sky is blue, research the answer together. Google the question, check out books, and do a science experiment.

Follow your children’s interests and explore science topics your curriculum doesn’t cover. There’s no better way to make science fun than to follow your children’s own interests in science.

4. Use Hands-on Activities

Reading about science day-in and day-out, never actually doing a science experiment or seeing a science demonstration is dull. You must add hands-on activities!

Go on a bug hunt after reading about bugs. Create a volcano using vinegar and baking soda. Explore why camels feet don’t sink in the sand using salt, a canning jar lid, and a dime.

Reading may give the kids knowledge, but hands-on activities bring understanding and delight to your homeschool.

5. Read Biographies

Read biographies as part of your science studies. Look for fascinating biography about famous scientists such as Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, and Marie Curie.

Kids are fascinated by how people lived, worked, and studied in the past.

Reading about the childhoods and lives and famous scientists brings home the fact that people discovered all these fascinating facts about science.

And your child could be the next famous scientist themselves!

Making science fun is important to develop a sense of wonder, curiosity, and fascination with the world. Use biographies, nature study, hands-on activities, and rabbit trails in your homeschool.  Your kids will fall in love with science and beg for more!

How do you make science fun for your kids?

The post 5 Easy Tips to Make Science Fun for Your Kids first appeared on True Aim.

How to Keep Kids Interested and Engaged

Use Whiteboards

The first tip I have is to use whiteboards to change up the kids’ writing, spelling, and math assignments. Writing on a sheet of paper all the time gets old. Nothing ever changes.

So keep kids interested and engaged is to have them use a whiteboard for their schoolwork.

Give them a bunch of pens in various colors such as red, blue, green, and purple. Next encourage your kids to do their problems on the whiteboard. Post purple math problems on the white board to solve. Have them write spelling words using every color you have.

Complete the writing assignment on the board instead of using a pencil and paper. Just remember to snap a picture of your child’s masterpiece before erasing it.

Pull out the stuffed animals and tell your kids they’re now the teachers. They’re going to teach their critters how to add and subtract this morning.

Use the whiteboard to keep your children interested and engaged!

Short Frequent Lessons

Let’s face it. Kids have short attention spans, so keep your lessons short and frequent. I’ve noticed that my 1st grader tends to tune me out if I’m talking for more that 10 minutes on one topic. This means it’s better to do a few minutes of science and history everyday than to attempt one long lesson a week.

So I sit down with my 1st and 2nd grader every morning. We spend a few minutes reciting “The Caterpillar” by Christina G. Rosetti. Next we read a short passage about elephants and do a quick narration, before moving on to read about the Wright Brothers.

The best part of keeping the lessons short and frequent is the kids’ retention increases! They may not remember what you studied last week, but they do remember what you studied yesterday.

Change Things Up

Doing your lessons the same way every day is boring, but changing things up keeps your kids interested. You’ll actually enjoy homeschooling with engaged kids.

For instance grab the kids and head off to the libraryor the park. Homeschool out of the house for a day. Make certain the kids know they need to complete a couple lessons before they run off to play. But running around the play group between lessons will keep your kids interested throughout the day.

Or you can stay home and pretend to be a pirate. Wear an eye patch and say “aaargh” as you teach the kids. Break up the lessons with a spontaneous sword fight outside. Believe me, the kids will pay close attention to everything you say and do, because they won’t want to miss one moment of the fun!

The secret to keeping your kids interested and engaged is to change the tone of the lesson the moment you notice a child beginning to orbiting towards Mars. Change your voice, run outside to play tag, and ask your child to narrate what they’ve learned so far. You’ll soon bring them back to earth and engage them in your homeschool.

What’s your favorite way to keep your kids interested and engaged?

The post How to Keep Your Kids Interested and Engaged first appeared on True Aim.

Don’t miss the giveaway at the end of the post!

Are You Ready for the New School Year?

Summer is gradually winding down. Sunset is coming earlier and earlier here in the Pacific Northwest. Soon it will be time to begin the new school year and get back to homeschooling our kids.

1. Curriculum & Books

You’ve probably either ordered or are about to order the curriculum you need for the new school year. The spelling workbooks, math textbooks, and history books which will line your shelves.

Double check that the curriculum you need has arrived. Do you have a spelling workbook for each child? Take a look at the middle grade textbooks. Are you going to want a teacher’s manual or answer key?

To be honest I’ve rarely needed a teacher’s manual for my little first and second graders, but by the time middle school comes around, I want those answer keys!

Take a look at verify that everything has arrived and you know where it is. Nothing is worse than pulling out books on the first day of school to realize a math book never arrived.

2. Read Teacher’s Manuals

Before the new school year begins, browse through the teacher’s manuals for the various grades. You’ll learn vital tips and tricks for teaching the subjects.

In addition you’ll get a good idea for what the school day will look like. How much time are you going to need for each subject and what supplies will you need?

Take notes as you read and you’ll be ready to teach your kids!

3. Supplies

School supply sales are about to happen. This is an excellent time to save money on the supplies you need! I like to stock up on paper, pencils, rulers, and sharpeners.

Along with school supplies, remember to grab the art and science supplies you’ll need. For instance we run through balloons like crazy in my family’s science curriculum. Balloons keep well and are easy to keep on hand. I’ll be purchasing a new bag of balloons next week!

The same goes for art. I can’t tell you have many times we’ve skipped an art project because we didn’t have the needed paint, we ran out of acrylic paint, or there was no plaster of paris.

Having the supplies on hand means you’ll never have to skip a science experiment because you’re missing straws.

4. Make a Weekly Schedule

Before you sign the kids up for tons of activities, make a weekly schedule for your school day. How long are you going to need at home in order to complete all the subjects planned?

Add a bit of extra time to your schedule. Babies have exploding diapers. Elementary kids chat about the bird’s nest outside the window. Teenagers need spontaneous heart-to-heart discussions.

Now figure out how many hours you have available for outside activities. Be careful not to over schedule yourself. Nothing is worse than having to give up the best things in life, like family dinners, because you’re spending your evenings running kids around town.

Make and keep a weekly schedule so you have a balanced homeschool life.

5. Fun Activity for the First Official Day

How are you going to start the new school year? Plan a fun activity! Even if you school year around, it’s fun to kick off the ‘official’ first day of a new grade with a party or fun activity.

What are you going to do? You can always go out for breakfast, take a special field trip, or spend a day exploring the museum.

You’ll know you’re ready for the new school year when your curriculum is sitting on the shelf, you have your books lined up, supplies ready, and a fun activity planned for the first day of school. Then you just need to wait for the first day of school! Is your homeschool ready for the new homeschool year?

Back to Homeschool Giveaway!

I’ve gotten together with a great group of bloggers to make getting ready for the new school year just a little bit easier and hopefully a little less stressful for you.  How does $250 sound in helping you buy curriculum, books, games, puzzles, and educational supplies?  Two people will win a $250 gift card to the online store of their choice (choices are Rainbow Resource, Christianbook, or Timberdoodle).

We know homeschooling can put financial strain on families – whether it’s from living on one-income or buying curriculum for your children – the financial aspect of it can be stressful.  Our hope is that we can bless  homeschool families so they can buy the curriculum and supplies they need (or maybe a want you can finally splurge on) for their school year.

To enter for your chance to win, simply use the Rafflecopter form below to enter.  Now I know that is quite a few entries for you, but each of these bloggers generously chipped in their own money to bring you this giveaway, so I hope you will take the time to do all of the entries.  And hey, the more entries you do, the better your odds are at winning!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway ends August 4th, 2017 at 11:59pm ET.  Must be at least 18 years of age.  Selected winners will have 48 hours to respond to email notification to claim their prizes or another winner will be drawn.  Please be sure to read the Terms & Conditions upon entering the giveaway.

The post 5 Tips for the New Homeschool Year! (Giveaway) first appeared on True Aim.

But history isn’t a list of people, dates, and events. History is a story we can bring to life for our elementary kids!

5 Tips to Bring Elementary History to Life

1. Biographies

Don’t teach history to your kids as a long list dates to memorize. Instead introduce your children to the great men and women of history. Learn about Alexander the Great and why he wanted to conquer the known world. Tell them the story of Bucephalus, Alexander’s horse.

Make the people of history real. What was their childhood like? What were their hopes and dreams? And how did they become great men and women of history.

What is their story?

2. Historical Fiction

Historical fiction brings people and places to life. Often kids follow a child as they’re swept away by the events of their time. As you turn the pages of the books, the characters bring to life far off places. You get see why people were willing to fight, to struggle, and to confront the inequities of their day.

Again the goal is to make history real to the kids. These are not just a generic list of events that happened far away from them.

These are events which occurred for a purpose.

3. Fun Books

Fun books also bring the life and times of history to life. For instance you’ll find series which give the gruesome details about the lifestyle which kids find fascinating.

After all kids love to read about different cultures and foods. My own kids spent hours pouring books which went into detail about the foods, customs, and bathing habits of ancient people.

You’ll also find books about clothing through the ages for kids who love fashion. Look for books on armor and weapons for kids fascinated by swords.

Fun books will bring elementary history to life!

4. Create a History Book

Teaching history isn’t just about reading books. Kids tend to forget details, people, and places quickly. You need an easy way to record what your kids are learning. Create a history book with your kids!

Use blank pages for kids to draw illustrations of what they learned with captions below. Use lined paper for kids to write a sentence or paragraph about what they learned or what they found the most fascinating about the people you’re studying.

Collect these pages in a 3-ring binder and you’ll end up with a fascinating book of history.

5. Activities

Use fun activities to bring history to life. Set up tents in the living room and let the kids pretend to be ancient Hebrews living in the desert on manna.

Try your hand at mummifying a chicken to demonstrate the steps involved in Egyptian mummification or build a pyramid out of sugar cubes. Grab clay for kids to make clay pots or stick horses for kids to ride into battle.

Lively history activities will cement people, places, and events into your children’s heads.

With these 5 tips, you’ll ignite a love and passion for history in your kids. They won’t see history as a boring list of people, dates, and events. They’ll know history is one on-going story, and a story they’re a part of.

How do you bring elementary history to life for your kids?

The post 5 Tips to Bring Elementary History to Life first appeared on True Aim.

5 Tips to Encourage Your Kids to Read this Summer

1. Join Reading Challenges

Libraries across the country set up summer reading programs for kids. Kids love these challenges! Some kids enjoy participating in a community activity while other kids get a kick out of the challenge itself.

Make a point of wandering into your local library and signing your children up for the summer reading program. While you’re there, ask the librarians if they know of any other challenges being offered by local businesses, like our FREE online class:

2. Read Every Day

Find a block of time for you and your kids to read every day. This can be an hour after lunch as part of a quiet time routine or time just before bed. Pull out books for you and your children to enjoy during this quiet hour.

You can set up this time a couple of different ways. If you have all older children, pull out the books and read. On the other hand if you have all younger children, use this time to read aloud picture books to your kids. Perhaps you have  a mix of ages. Then try spending 15-30 minutes reading books silently before pulling out a chapter book to enjoy with your children.

Which ever way you go, enjoy a daily quiet hour or so curled up with a good book this summer.

3. Strew Books

Summer time is full of play and mischief. It’s also full of bored children wandering around the house looking for something to do. Grab the opportunity to strew books you think your children will enjoy around the house.

Leave art books near the art supplies. Strategically place a science experiment book in the kitchen. Leave a book on birds near the living room window. Grab a few chapter books for kids to read on trips.

Good books are the perfect cure for bored children!

4. Book Club

For a time my mother had a once a month book club day for the family. Every child was assigned a sibling. Sometime during that month, the child found and purchased a book to give to their sibling. Needless to say, she helped us find an appropriate book. Everyone got the gift of a book on book club day.

Try hosting a family book club yourself this summer. You’ll create strong bonds between your children, a giving spirit, as well as encouraging a love of reading all through hosting a family book club.

5. Bingo

Have you ever played Bingo using books? It’s a ton of fun! In each square, you place a description of a book. For instance you may assign the kids to read an animal book, a book with a red cover, or  a book featuring an elephant.

The goal is to get a BINGO (5 horizontal, vertical, or diagonal squares in a line) or a black out (you cover the entire board). It’s your choice!

Here’s a BINGO sheet for you to use. Fill it out to reflect the books you want your kids to read. You can use specific titles or generic descriptions such as a red cover, award winning book, or history book. It’s up to you!

Use these 5 tips to encourage your kids to sit down and read this summer. Your children’s reading skill will improve, you’ll encourage a love of reading, and everyone will have fun.

How do you encourage your kids to read during the summer?

The post 5 Tips to Encourage Your Kids to Read this Summer first appeared on True Aim.

5 Fun Educational Summer Activities

Summer Reading Programs

Libraries and businesses around the country encourage kids to read. Kids are rewarded for reading a number of books or a number of hours reading. Avid readers adore these programs, but they also encourage your reluctant reader to read. And they motivate a non-reader to learn.

But don’t just send your kid to their room to read. Make it a family activity with everyone curling up on the front porch with a good book. Show kids you value reading enough to spend an afternoon reading.

After all, more is caught than taught!

Butterfly Catching

Chasing butterflies with a net keeps kids going for hours.The kids follow the butterflies from flower to flower, hunting them as they go. Once a butterfly is caught, carefully examine the insect with a magnifying glass before letting it go. Keep a nature journal detailing the types of butterflies you’ve discovered.

Now that the kids are interested in butterflies, put a butterfly feeder in the yard. Keep track of the different types of butterflies attracted to your feeder.

How many different types of butterflies live in your region?

Make a Kite

Add a STEM activity to your summer by making kites. The first challenge is to make a kite which can fly. Start with a simple windsock kite. Does it fly? Now try adding decorations and change the shape. Does it still fly?

Encourage the kids to make a traditional diamond shaped kite. Can you get it up in the air?

Making and testing kites will keep your kids busy and learning all summer long!

Grow Flowers

Kids love growing flowers. You can dig a small plot in the yard or use pots. My suggestion is to do the easiest method for you. Purchase a few different types of seeds to start. I like to start my seeds in small paper cups filled with potting soil. Put them somewhere sunny and warm until they sprout.

As the flowers grow, point out the changes in the plants. Show the kids a diagram of the various parts of plants, such as roots, stems, and leaves. Don’t be surprised if your kindergartner uproots a plant in order to study the roots more closely! Once the flowers have grown to a good size, replant them into your plot or the pots.

You may even attract a few butterflies!

Use the Sun as a Compass

Point out to your kids that the sun always rises in the east and sets in the west. This makes it possible to find which direction is north using only a stick and two rocks. Send your kids running outside to find their sticks and rocks and follow these easy directions!

It’s a fun way to introduce orienteering to your children.

There’s no better way to spend a summer afternoon than reading a book, chasing butterflies, making kites, growing flowers, or learning orienteering with your kids. Just think of the memories you’ll share!

What fun educational summer activities do you enjoy with your kids?

The post 5 Fun Educational Summer Activities first appeared on True Aim.

How to Teach Spelling Without a Curriculum

Find Spelling Words

The first goal is to find the spelling words you will use to teach spelling without a curriculum. These words can come from almost anywhere.

One of the best places to find spelling words is your child’s writing. Most kids misspell quite a few words. Use these words to create a list of spelling words for your child to study.

Another good place to find spelling words are phonics programs. Most phonics programs begin with simple 3-letter words such as ant, cat, and dog. There’s no reason you shouldn’t take your child through phonics again focusing on spelling this time around.

If your child is a stronger speller, consider using dictation to find spelling words your child needs to study. In this case, take a sentence or paragraph from a book your kid is reading. Dictate it to your child as they write the sentence on a sheet of paper. You’ll soon see all the spelling and grammar mistakes your kid is making.

You’ll have a list of spelling words.

How Many Spelling Words

Don’t overwhelm your child with spelling words. A first grader only needs 5 words to study each week. A second grader can usually handle 10, while older kids usually get 20 words a week.

Remember to be flexible. Kids aren’t the same. Some kids can whip out math sheets by the dozen but break down seeing 5 spelling words. Other kids will adore spelling and can’t get enough of it.

Use the recommended spelling words as a guideline, follow your instincts, and adjust to fit the needs of your child. After all, we’re homeschooling to give our kids a excellent personalized education!

Study the Words

Now comes the fun part. Let’s study the spelling words!

You can use the list of words to create word searches and crossword puzzles. Hand the lists to your child for them to create the word searches and crossword puzzles.

Pull out play dough, rice, and magnetic letters while you’re cooking dinner. Encourage your child carve the words in the play dough, trace the words into rice, or spell the words on the fridge with magnetic letters.

Call the words to your kid and order them to spell the words as loud as they can. Yelling is encouraged!

Have spelling bees where the kids line up and you call out each child’s spelling words. The child who can spell their entire list wins.

Pull out letter beads, so your child can make necklaces while practicing their spelling. Encourage your kids to make rainbow words with crayons.

Practice the spelling words in the house and out of the house. Spell in the dirt. For that matter, why not head to the beach and write in the sand!

Be imaginative and find creative ways to practice spelling such as these 10 ways to practice spelling words.

The advantage to teaching spelling without a curriculum is that you can personalize the spelling words to the ones your kids needs to study, the words they love to write, and the words they can’t spell.

And your kids won’t complain about a boring spelling curriculum.

Do you teach spelling without a curriculum?

The post How to Teach Spelling Without a Spelling Curriculum first appeared on True Aim.