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Topic: Looking for hands-on activity ideas for history and science with no writing

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Subject: Looking for hands-on activity ideas for history and science with no writing
Date Posted: 3/24/2011 11:12 PM ET
Member Since: 4/14/2009
Posts: 13
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I'm looking for websites and book suggestions that include hands-on activity ideas that don't involve writing.  We have children of different ages/abilities, so I don't want to preclude them simply by writing abilities in these particular subjects.  I've come across a few great resources: Ranger Rick's NatureScope Series, Story of the World Volume 1 Activity book, http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/iijuan12  and http://www.homeschoolinthewoods.com/ .  .  

Does anyone know of other great resources out there?

 

k7m5j3 avatar
Subject: History Ideas
Date Posted: 3/25/2011 6:49 PM ET
Member Since: 5/27/2008
Posts: 2
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My kids loved making scrapbook pages for the people we learned about in history. The older ones can do the research and writing (mine printed out their info and cut the paper with crazy scissors) while the younger ones can cut out a picture and pick out a background page.

You can do lapbooks. In the Hands of a Child is a good resource. You can find them on Currclick.com.

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Date Posted: 3/27/2011 10:37 PM ET
Member Since: 4/14/2009
Posts: 13
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Thank you!

 

wifeandmommie avatar
Date Posted: 3/30/2011 2:23 AM ET
Member Since: 1/24/2008
Posts: 407
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This may be a little too old for them, but we plan to have a battlefield reactment with paintball guns that they will have to manually load one at a time.  All you need is a field, a little equipment that you could borrow from someone, and imagination.  :-)  

 

Maybe it could be for a home school co-op activity.  We're doing it with our youth group kids, but we thought would be a great time to learn some history along with having fun.

Psalm150 avatar
Date Posted: 4/1/2011 6:35 AM ET
Member Since: 2/10/2007
Posts: 79
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When my kids were younger, they enjoyed making salt maps of georgraphic areas we were studying.  We made one of ancient Egypt, and they made little pyramids and a mini-sphinx to put in the general area on the map where these landmarks are located.  I printed out any labels I wanted them to identify, glued them to toothpick-halves, and the kids placed them where they needed to go.  When it was all dry, it is fairly firm.  It has been several years now, and these salt maps are still intact.  We used the lid from a box of a case of paper to put these in, but any box lid would do.

Another idea would be to get large boxes, and make a miniature copy of a famous landmark in the backyard.  I have a friend who has done this with her three kids, all 8 and under.  They have made the Taj Mahal, Roman Colosseum, an igloo (out of milk jugs), the city of Troy (complete with a huge paper-mache trojan horse), the Great Wall of China, a Medieval castle, the list goes on......  They paint these mini-landmarks, inside and out, and then dress up and reinact some story they have read about the place.  I am amazed at all the things they have done!

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Date Posted: 4/4/2011 6:23 PM ET
Member Since: 1/16/2010
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My kids love the ScienceWiz kits.  They have them in tons of different categories, you get about 30 easy experiments with each kit and everything you need for the kit (except for like water and oil)  The kits are $20 each, but I buy mine at Hobby Lobby (my store carries 10 different kits of theirs) and Hobby Lobby sends me a 40% off coupon in my email twice a month and you can use those coupons everyday for a week if you want...best way to buy a science curriculumn!  My kids also love the "My Body Book" it's great.  It has little lessons and then you make these lift and flap anatomy models of the different parts of the body (to show organs, etc).  The lessons are geared towards 3rd grade and up, but they are easily toned down for my preschool and 1st grader too and they all love their models!  Lastly, for science my kids love learning the Dr. Jean songs (she has ones on the water cycle, plants, insect body parts, different clouds, etc).  Tons of songs.  We constantly pick a song learn it while reading other things about the concept and making some sort of diagram or art project to display about it.  It's fun :)