Kids Activities

Scavenger Hunts for All Summer Long

Summer vacation is right around the corner, are you parents ready to entertain your kids all summer vacation? Or maybe your a homeschooler and you want to keep learning fresh during the summer. These scavenger hunts can help.

Have them reading in a fun way, making them get outside to play.

Scavenger Hunts for All Summer Long

*This post may contain affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.*

I made up these scavenger hunts that your children can do separate or together. From kindergarten on, or at least reading.

I will be lamenting our copies so that they can be reused all summer.

I have included scavenger hunts for when you head to the pool, to the beach, or even camping. All of them are to hopefully encourage you and your kids to be outside. Because being outside is part of the summer fun.

Click on the image below to download your scavenger hunts.

DIY Christmas Ornaments Your Kids Can Make

by Ashley Mullen

My girls love making Christmas ornaments for their grandparents. The love that goes into each piece makes them special. Pulling out the ornaments to hang on the tree is one of my favorite parts of holiday decorating and Christmas traditions.

But that it’s even better when those ornaments are handmade, especially those my kids have made. Remembering back to the holiday season in which we created them always makes it special.

DIY Christmas Ornaments Your Kids Can Make

*This post may contain affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.*

Up-cycled Wrapping Paper Christmas Ornaments from This West Coast Mommy

DIY Christmas Bulbs from Forgetful Momma

Popsicle Stick Rudolph from Tales of Mommyhood

Homemade Christmas Tree Ornaments: Salt Dough from Everything Unscripted

Make Scented Pine Cones from The Koala Mom

Salt Dough Magnets from The Koala Mom

Beaded Christmas Ornaments from The Koala Mom

Homemade Snowy Christmas Ornament from Thrifty Momma’s Tips

Or maybe you are more like me and you are more of an Amazon Prime mom and would just rather order everything neatly in on box. I have you covered there too:

Magic Color Scratch Reindeer Christmas Ornaments

Oriental Button Wreath Ornament Craft

Paint Your Own Ornament Set

7 Free Homeschooling Websites

by Ashley Mullen

There are a ton of free homeschooling websites out there. You just need some time to look and to know what it is you are looking for in terms of education style.

7 Free Homeschooling Websites

*This post may contain affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.*

Let’s face it, there is so much curriculum out there that we feel like our head could explode, and we’d go bankrupt in a minute. But homeschooling doesn’t have to do that, and free homeschooling rocks!

*I want to add an update to this: EasyPeasy is included in this because at the time I was picking and choosing content from it to use. For only secular content, check out this post on solely secular websites.*

Free Resources for Homeschooling

There is no “fee” when choosing to put your child in public school, yes, you do pay taxes which then go towards education but you don’t have an up front cost to educate your child.

When we chose to homeschool I did so with the expectation that I would have a very limited budget. My budget is only what the school board will reimburse us for each year, per child, and I usually stay lower than that, because the money is coming out of my pocket.

Forgetful Momma – I am working to turn this site into a great resource for you all. There are a lot of free resources here. You can check out our homeschool page to find some fun science experiments for example to do at home with your kids.

Get access to free printables when you sign up for once a week email updates, I’ll only appear in your inbox once a week.

I do have a shop add to this site that you can check out. But there is still all the other free resources and activities available including our DIY Summer Camp activities.

PBS Kids Learning Media

I don’t use this one a lot, but its great for pre-planned lessons – you can create your own or use one that is already there. It covers all subjects which I love.

Easy Peasy All in One

Looking for the easiest, free homeschooling option? This is it. She has laid out each day, the reading materials, lessons, everything. Or you can pick and choose what you want to use from it. (There is a religious bit to this one, but you can skip over it, there is no religion in the math section for insistence.)

Khan Academy

“With math exercises stretching from basic arithmetic through advanced calculus and a focus on personalized learning, Khan Academy is a valuable resource for homeschooling families. If you’re a parent who’d like to use Khan Academy in homeschool, we recommend following these steps.” – My seven year old loves this website! It is for math and science. My favorite part is that I can see which skills she has mastered, or needs to work on.

Book Adventure

This is a new one for us, but we’re loving it!

Donut Writing & Art – Persuasive Writing

$3.00

Shop now

National Geographic Kids

For one thing, my kids love this magazine, my grandmother bought them the subscription and its great. So we knew the website would be great too. There are games and videos, but my kids favorite part would be learning about animals. They earn badges as they do things on their site as well (once signed up).

Scholastic

More lesson plans just waiting for you! Who knew there could be so much for us to use for teaching our kids.

How to Smile

This is another new to us one. They have a number of different topics to choose from for example the human body. You can then dive into all things human body, right down to blood typing. They tell you everything you need to know for planning to do specific activities from type to cost.

Resources for your Homeschool

Disappearing Color Science Experiment

by Ashley Mullen

Disappearing color sounds a little like magic, for your kids, especially if they are young, it will probably be magic. This is one of the easiest science activities you can do at home. It is a bit like magic, this chemical reaction between two things. We love science experiments like this.

Disappearing Color Science Experiment

*This post may contain affiliate links, see my disclosure for more information.*

You only need 3 things: water, food color, and bleach.

If you have ever cleaned with bleach you know just what it does, it bleaches, it removes color. Just ask the t-shirt I was wearing the other cleaning my bathroom, thankfully I was smart enough to change out of my new black sweater.

What you need:

a jar
water
food color
bleach

How to do a Color Changing Experiment

Simply fill a clear container, a jar in my case, with water. I did use water from our reverse osmosis tap, it was out of habit, regular tap water works just fine as well.

Add some food color, stir it if you’d like, but it is not necessary.

Grab some bleach, I used an old dropper to avoid spilling, or water and bleach splashing back out. Add a bit of the bleach to your colored water.

We added a tablespoon of bleach to start, and added a tablespoon at a time as we went.

A tablespoon of bleach was added into our jar and after a few minutes the bottom half of our jar was colorless.

Or the color of the bleach, you can see that there is a hint of yellow. Add more and see what happens, maybe give it a little stir.

Be careful. Parental supervision is a must.

I can’t stress how careful you and your kids need to be. Bleach on skin can be painful, in the eyes horrible.

Also once you have bleached the color of something there is no getting it back, so we don’t want to have a spill.

Maybe take this outside to avoid it getting spilled in the house.

It’s cool to watch, but what’s really happening?

What’s Happening:

Bleach contains an oxidizer. It reacts with the color molecules in food coloring. Although the pigment molecule remains, its shape changes so that it can’t absorb/reflect light the same way, so it loses its color as a result of the chemical reaction.

Try It:

Try adding some more food color into your jar now that all the color has disappeared. It won’t act the same way it did in the beginning.

Disappearing Color Experiment

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Active Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 12 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Science Experiment using colored water and bleach.

Materials

Bleach
Water

Tools

Food color
Jar

Instructions

Simply fill a clear container, a jar in my case, with water. I did use water from our reverse osmosis tap, it was out of habit, regular tap water works just fine as well. Add some food color, stir it if you'd like.
Grab some bleach, I used an old dropper to avoid spilling, and add a bit to your colored water. We added a tablespoon of bleach to start, and added a tablespoon at a time as we went.
A tablespoon of bleach was added into our jar and after a few minutes the bottom half of our jar was colorless. Or the color of the bleach, you can see that there is a hint of yellow. Add more and see what happens, maybe give it a little stir.

Notes

What is Happening:

Bleach contains an oxidizer. It reacts with the color molecules in food coloring. Although the pigment molecule remains, its shape changes so that it can't absorb/reflect light the same way, so it loses its color as a result of the chemical reaction.

Resources for this activitiy

Let Kids Be Kids Outside

by Ashley Mullen

Kids hear often enough that they need to use quiet voices and walking feet in the house or in the school. When we get kids outside let them be kids! Let them run and yell, and be kids.

They need to get that energy out. That’s part of the reason why recess is so important in school. Once they get to be kids outside: having fun, yelling, running, etc; they can concentrate a lot better.

Let Kids Be Kids Outside

*This post contains affiliate links, see my discourse policy for more information.*

Tag – Let them Run

Tag is so much fun when you can run as fast as you want. The energy they burn off now will also help their bodies to still calmer at the dinner table or sleep more soundly at bedtime. There are a lot of different versions of tag too. Introduce them to some of them, it will keep the game fresh.

Mud Pies – Let Them Get Dirty

Let them make mud pies with some extra things from your kitchen. A container that you lost the lid to will make the perfect mixing bowl. A spoon that you won’t miss from the drawer.

Hide and Seek

There are so many places to hide outside when your a child with an active imagination… and when you think you can hide behind the truck of a tree.

Chalk – Let Them be Creative on the Sidewalk or Rocks

The great thing about chalk is that it washes away with just water. It doesn’t matter what your kids draw on – sidewalk, trees, toys, etc. Let them get creative where ever they get inspiration. I just washes away with water.

Visit a Playground

We like to go to the playground at least once a week, in the summer, very early in the morning, because the local playground equipment can get really hot. But any time that you can visit a playground is the best time.

Remember to Just Have Fun

My biggest piece of advice here is to let your kids be. Remember how much you loved the playground as a child and let your children love it too. Hubby sits back and cringes as our kids play, but he remembers how much he loved it, and how much they love it.

As a parent it can be hard to let your kids do things that you know can hurt them at some point, but they need to be kids.

Other things for to do outside:

Soccer. Baseball. Kite flying. Science experiments (really get their minds working). The possibilities are endless.

Kids Activities

Scavenger Hunts for All Summer Long

DIY Christmas Ornaments Your Kids Can Make

Similar posts that you may be interested in:

7 Free Homeschooling Websites

Free Resources for Homeschooling

Donut Writing & Art – Persuasive Writing

Resources for your Homeschool

Similar posts you may be interested in:

Disappearing Color Science Experiment

How to do a Color Changing Experiment

What’s Happening:

Try It:

Materials

Tools

Instructions

Notes

Resources for this activitiy

Similar posts that you may be interested in:

Let Kids Be Kids Outside

Tag – Let them Run

Mud Pies – Let Them Get Dirty

Hide and Seek

Chalk – Let Them be Creative on the Sidewalk or Rocks

Visit a Playground

Remember to Just Have Fun

Other things for to do outside:

Similar posts that you may also be interested in:

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