Naturally Educational » Visual-Spacial
The Sun, Earth, and Moon
I do a brief demonstration with my kids of how the earth rotates on its axis to create night and day, how the Earth orbits the sun over the course of the year, and how the moon orbits the Earth, creating the phases of the moon. My youngest son got to be the Sun, since babies are at the center of attention and he did not need to move for this role. Sometimes, I use a flashlight … Read entire article »
Filed under: 3-5 (Preschool), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 6-8 (Early Elementary), 9-11 (Elementary), Bodily-kinesthetic, Featured, Science, Smart Summer Challenge, Visual-Spacial
Rainbow Scavenger Hunt Hike in the Woods
Can you find all the colors of the rainbow in the woods? We go on hikes and nature walks almost every weekend and love to find ways to keep things fresh for the kids. A themed scavenger hunt can turn your walk in the forest into a learning adventure. With younger kids, you can begin by looking for a rainbow. Red Trail Marker Red Fire Thorn Berries Orange Mushrooms Orange Lilies Yellow Black-Eyed Susans (plus Violet Cone Flowers) All the greenery that … Read entire article »
Filed under: All Ages, Ecology, Featured, Sight, Smart Summer Challenge, Visual-Spacial
#SmartSummer Week 2 Government Linky
Show us how you’re having a Smart Summer! I had highlighted posts from the previous week’s linky to but for clarity’s sake, I’ve moved the round-ups to their own posts: Me on the Map Round-Up Government, Patriotism, and Currency Round-Up I’ve been sharing my family’s Smart Summer activities this week for our Government theme: exercising our democratic right to vote for our favorite ice cream flavor, skip counting coins, We’re also planning on making statue of liberty headbands, finding out … Read entire article »
Filed under: All Ages, Featured, Geography, History and Culture, Smart Summer Challenge, Visual-Spacial
Me on the Map #SmartSummer
Although we finished up the Me on the Map theme last week, we had one more activity we wanted to do. This is a nice transition into our theme for this week: government. The concept behind this activity is to show the child expanding zones. We begin with the child and the family and then move to the community, the world, and beyond, giving the child a sense of her role in society and her place … Read entire article »
Filed under: 5-6 (Kindergarten), 6-8 (Early Elementary), 9-11 (Elementary), Featured, Geography, History and Culture, Smart Summer Challenge, Visual-Spacial
Mapping a Nature Hike #SmartSummer
Knowledge is supposed to enrich our lives, not just reside in dusty books (or hypnotic bits and bytes). So, we took our map skills on the road and used them to explore a “new to us” nature trail. Check out this map! Ain’t she a beaut? Most of the trail maps we encounter are faded, sad affairs. Not this one. This one has a lovely compass rose for finding directions, words for … Read entire article »
Filed under: All Ages, Bodily-kinesthetic, Ecology, Featured, Geography, Interpersonal, Logical-Mathematical, Mathematics, Smart Summer Challenge, Visual-Spacial
Mapping Your Neighborhood for #SmartSummer
Now that we’ve learned a little bit about maps, we are using maps to find our favorite places in our neighborhood. In advance, I printed out maps of our immediate area on Google Maps. Today, I asked both of my children what their favorite place in the neighborhood is. My son (who will be three at the end of August) responded with the name of the local homemade ice cream store. Then, he started scribbling … Read entire article »
Filed under: 5-6 (Kindergarten), 6-8 (Early Elementary), 9-11 (Elementary), Featured, Geography, Logical-Mathematical, Smart Summer Challenge, Visual-Spacial
Picture Books About Maps
We usually turn to books for research and to reinforce themes. Since the children are already familiar with maps from our travels and nature hikes, we are ready to delve deeper into cartography and study up on maps. Here are a few picture books we’ve found that work well with our study of maps. What are your favorites? As the Crow Flies: A First Book of Maps: This is a clever introduction to the concept … Read entire article »
Filed under: 3-5 (Preschool), 5-6 (Kindergartners), 6-8 (Early Elementary), Featured, Geography, Smart Summer Challenge, Visual-Spacial
Life-Sized Self Portrait
As we begin the Smart Summer Challenge, or any learning adventure, it is important to start with your child “where she is at”. Learning sticks better when children are able to relate knowledge to their own experiences. This is the “Velcro” theory–new information hooks onto a foundation of earlier observations. One area in which we all have expertise is ourselves. So, a self-portrait is great place to begin a summer of learning. We decided to do life-sized … Read entire article »
Filed under: 3-5 (Preschool), 3-5 (Preschool), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 6-8 (Early Elementary), 6-8 (Early Elementary), Art, Featured, Science, Smart Summer Challenge, Visual-Spacial
Weaving the Sun
Today is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. We have the most hours of sunlight and the fewest of darkness. Today marks the first day of summer for the Western calendar. For ancient people, this was midsummer (as in A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and St. John’s Day and was celebrated on June 24th. Summer began on May Day. Today we welcome the sun as our hemisphere tilts … Read entire article »
Filed under: 5-6 (Kindergarten), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 6-8 (Early Elementary), 6-8 (Early Elementary), Featured, History and Culture, Home Arts, Science, Summer, Visual-Spacial, Weather
Rain Stick
Not that we need more rain… Since we are studying rain and the water cycle in April, we made rain sticks. This is a nice way to incorporate some culture and music and movement into our studies. And it is also a simple and fun craft that is always a hit with the kids. Materials long cardboard (paper towel) tube rice soft, flexible plastic (like a sandwich bag or any leftover shrink wrap) construction paper markers, stickers, jewels, etc. for decoration Directions 1. Pour … Read entire article »
Filed under: 3-5 (Preschool), 3-5 (Preschool), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 6-8 (Early Elementary), 6-8 (Early Elementary), 9-11 (Elementary), Bodily-kinesthetic, Featured, History and Culture, Music, Musical, Spring, Summer, Visual-Spacial, Weather
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About the Author
Candace Lindemann is a published children’s writer and educational consultant. She holds a B.A. from Yale University and an M.Ed. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Working with school districts around the country and some of the most well-known companies in the education industry, Candace creates custom strategies, textbooks, and lesson plans. Her articles have appeared in print and online.
While Candace’s degrees prepared her for a career in education, she’s found that the best preparation for parenting is on the job training.
Contact Candace via e-mail, read her full biography, or connect with her using the social media icons below.
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