Tag: free printables

The Night Before Homeschool was written by me. In the book, the mom plans a first day of school the kids would thoroughly enjoy. In reality, it is probably a little too much. The amount of fun activities she plans would probably be better suited to do for a back to school week! Here is a deeper dive into some of the activities she did in the book and how you can do them at home!

Mom’s World Famous Chocolate Chip Pancakes

The mom kicks off their school day with a special breakfast consisting of chocolate chip pancakes. I personally do something a little different since chocolate chip pancakes are our birthday breakfast tradition. However, I feel that chocolate chip pancakes are special, and the first day of school deserves a special breakfast.

Looking to make some chocolate chip pancakes? Check out The Pioneer Woman’s recipe.

Thinking Caps Printable

In the book, the mom tells the children to put on their thinking caps. This is something that I used both in the classroom and with my own children. I thought it could be fun for kids to illustrate what their imaginary thinking cap looks like.

This pack includes two pages: one that has clip-art and one that is just plain.

Vanilla Cupcakes

I added The Mom 100 cookbook to my collection years ago. I use this book primarily for my birthday cake bases. In the book, the mom and kids make vanilla cupcakes to decorate and have with their tea while the mom reads aloud. The recipe itself is for a cake. All you have to do is simply make the batter and spoon it into a cupcake pan instead of a cake pan. You can grab that recipe here.

Art

In the book, the kids replicate a famous art piece. The piece they created was something out of my imagination. I haven’t really done any step-by-step painting activities with my kids yet. When we do paint, I just let my children do what they want. However, we do have a favorite art channel on YouTube.

If you haven’t checked out Art for Kids Hub on YouTube, you need to. The father works with his kids on creating drawings step by step. He has videos for preschoolers up through teens and keeps it age appropriate and interesting. This channel has been a hit with our children.

Books and Tea Time

This is one of my kids absolute favorite past times! Sitting around, sipping on hot tea, eating a treat, and listening to me read a book… there is just something so peaceful about it. I usually kick off our school year with a book. Here is a list of some of our favorite books from over the years:

• The Boxcar Children
• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
• The Secret Garden
• The Magic Treehouse Series
• The Little House Series
• The Trumpet Swan
• Stuart Little
• The Mouse and the Motorcycle

Soda Fountain

When I was in college, I had to take a “Teaching Science” course. The professor made science so much more fun than I ever remember it being in school. We did nothing but experiments. He introduced me to so many cool concepts that I had never done before. One of those was the erupting soda.

Basically, you drop Mentos into a bottle of soda and a reaction occurs. It is not a chemical one like vinegar and baking soda. It has something to do with the surface tension of the soda and how the shell of the Mentos changes the surface tension. You can learn how to do this experiment and the science behind it here.

Butter Churning

I had never in my life made butter until that science professor in college. It was the coolest thing ever! It definitely will give you a workout, but the reward at the end is so tasty!
This is a somewhat easy activity… just time and energy consuming. The only thing you need is some sort of bowl or jar with a lid. I strongly urge you to use something that screws on and not a lid that just pops on…. that could be messy. Fill the bowl or jar about 2/3 of the way full with heavy cream, close, and shake. Put on some music to make it more fun!

I don’t think you need one for everyone because honestly, the kids will get tuckered out from shaking the cream. In the beginning, you will hear a lot of sloshing. Once you no longer hear sloshing, you will know you have whipped cream. I have always let my kids taste it at this point. After tasting, close it back on and continue shaking. Your butter will be done when you hear sloshing again and thudding. That sound indicates you have officially made butter.

Back-to-school List

At the end of the book, the children are so excited about their new school year that they sit down to write a list of all the things they want to learn about and do. This is a great way to get insight from your children and allow them to help build your school year.

While a piece of paper will do, I have created a printable pack that has 3 levels to ensure all the children can contribute to planning out your homeschool.

Are you new to homeschooling?

If so, check out my post about deschooling.