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Digestive System Study: Hands-On Science For Kids

Nana’s digestive system study lesson offers a hands-on homeschool activity that includes art, science, labeling, handwriting, and vocabulary building. So many ways to learn, all in one lesson! 

The Power Of Art In Science

Kids generally love science because it can be so visual and tactile, as in the case of the natural sciences. Yet much of science explores realms of the unknown that are hidden from our eyes. 

Some of these wondrous worlds are microscopic. While others are difficult to access for easy study, as in the case of the human body. Here we are, walking around as a living scientific specimen, but most of the beauty of human anatomy is internal! Unless your child will one day go to medical school, it is difficult to have a “hands-on” experience with the inner workings of the human body!

Nana’s digestive system study lesson offers a hands-on homeschool activity that includes art, science, labeling, handwriting, and vocabulary building. So many ways to learn, all in one lesson! 

Art can be a valuable tool for understanding and exploring science topics, like human anatomy, that are not readily accessible to the casual scientist. 

Through photographs, diagrams, and artwork, we’re able to explore the hidden mysteries of how our bodies are designed, and how the systems work. Also, let’s be honest, there are many parts of the human body that most of us would rather not touch and explore in reality!

From zooming in on microscopic cells, to the intricate parts of the heart or ear, art gives us access to learning these hard-to-picture body systems. And, it removes the gross-out factor some of us experience!

Beyond access, art just makes learning science FUN because it brings in a familiar, playful activity to the new content! Kids of all ages can pick up a stick of chalk and outline the basic elements of the eye or the digestive system.

Because art helps kids experience science in such a tactile way at their readiness level, kids are more likely to retain the information because the learning becomes an experience, not just another “lesson.”

Digestive System Study For Kids

The other day, my son was resting his head on my stomach while I read a book aloud. Suddenly, he sat up and said, “Your stomach is very noisy!” It was a perfect opportunity to explain the digestive system at work! 

Now, the human digestive system is one of these scientific topics that is not easy for kids to imagine. Plus it is quite complicated. So an art lesson is perfect for exploring the intricacies of this system. Nana with her delightful teaching style makes this detailed drawing accessible for kids. She even named the person she draws “Oscar.” This made my boys giggle! 

Nana’s digestive system study lesson offers a hands-on homeschool activity that includes art, science, labeling, handwriting, and vocabulary building. So many ways to learn, all in one lesson! 

First, Nana walked my boys step-by-step through drawing a body outline, and then filling in the path that food takes through the digestive system from the mouth to the rectum.

Along the way, Nana implements some chalk pastel techniques, like blending the outline of the body to give Oscar a “glow,” and the use of chalk pastel pencils to draw more intricate details. 

While she’s demonstrating how to draw each part, she is naming and discussing some details about the relative size, shape, and location of the parts. Each part gets color-coded, and sometimes Nana will add a little detail, such as how the colon carries waste out of the body. 

Nana’s digestive system study lesson offers a hands-on homeschool activity that includes art, science, labeling, handwriting, and vocabulary building. So many ways to learn, all in one lesson! 

Afterward, she labels each part, so kids get a second chance to learn the names of the parts. If your student is too young for this labeling work, they could just repeat after her, or you as the parent could write in the parts. It might be helpful to pause the video to allow students to keep up, or to have a printed list of parts they can look at for correct spelling. This practice of scientific labeling is a great foundation for future science note booking or developing good study habits. 

A great follow up to this lesson would be to get some books on the digestive system, and learn what each part does! Or maybe complete this video art lesson after you’ve done some reading. 

More Ideas For Hands On Science In Your Homeschool

Our family studies human anatomy about every other year, because it comes up in one of my son’s curriculum or the other. So it’s helpful to have a variety of ways to present some of the same information as the years progress.

We’ve been reading books and articles and watching YouTube videos on human anatomy. Drawing the systems and body parts with chalk pastel is the perfect next step in expressing their learning.

Here’s what I love about the Chalk Pastel I Drew It Then I Knew It series for education: you can use a video either to introduce a topic and generate excitement. Or, you can use a video post-reading or teaching to expand and solidify their learning. You can even do BOTH! Introduce a topic with a chalk pastel video, teach the content, and then ask your child to draw the picture again without the video as a post-learning assessment!

The chalk pastel video art lessons are so versatile, you can use them at any point in your lesson plans! I have been thrilled to see Nana offering an expanding catalog of lessons on the human body via the You ARE an Artist Clubhouse Membership.

If you’re also studying human anatomy or any aspect of the human body, you’ll love to know that Nana has a whole series of lessons and ideas for you: 

The Diagram of the Heart lesson will surely get kids’ hearts pumping for more science learning! 

And of course, who doesn’t love a good old “Mr. Bones” type study of the Skeletal System Activities for Kids

If you want to really wow your kids about what’s happening beyond their vision, dive down into the microscopic world with the Diagram of a Cell.

You could follow that up with the Diagram of an Eye lesson to discuss how our eyesight works, and why it’s limited in scope.

Want them to really sink their teeth into science? Try these Tooth Diagram activities!

You’ll hear them cheer when you tell them they can draw a Diagram of the Ear!

Don’t forget that keeping your body healthy is so important! The Diagram of a Bacterium lesson can introduce kids to the microscopic ways our body takes care if itself and fights off invaders.

You can access all these vibrant art and science lessons and more with the You ARE an Artist Clubhouse Membership. Kids will never want to stop learning when they can paint as they grow their knowledge!

Nana’s digestive system study lesson offers a hands-on homeschool activity that includes art, science, labeling, handwriting, and vocabulary building. So many ways to learn, all in one lesson! 

Julie is a teacher, writer and homeschool mom. Her blog Happy Strong Home shares encouragement for cherishing children, enjoying motherhood, and growing strong families. Discover homeschool resources, natural living tips, and family activity ideas. Julie has been featured on Million Praying Moms, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, and the Melissa and Doug blog. She offers writing workshops and a “homeschool neighborhood” community to support parents in their homeschool adventures. Find Julie on Instagram to be the first to know when new workshops and community events are available. 

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The Periodic Table: Fun Activities For Kids!

In the elementary years, kids often rate science as one of their favorite subjects. After all, who doesn’t love learning about clouds and rain, rocks and volcanos, how the heart pumps blood, and the life cycle of frogs? 

The transition to sciences like physics and chemistry can seem like a departure from the beauty and wonder of biological and physical sciences. Suddenly, students must do long series of math equations and formulas, study complicated charts and graphs, and apply rules and principles. 

Yet, the same hands-on and wonder-based approach kids enjoyed in other sciences is still possible in advanced sciences. The key is to introduce concepts like chemistry and the Periodic Table of Elements in a way that is practical and relatable. 

There’s a saying that goes, “What in the world ISN’T Chemistry?” because everything we see is made up of elements (not necessarily as pure elements, but in their ionic, compound, and mixture forms!). Showing kids where they are most likely to encounter each element makes learning chemistry memorable and practical.

The Periodic Table: Fun Activities For Kids!

The Value Of Adding Art To Science For Kids

It’s one thing to look at a bunch of colored boxes on the Periodic Table. It’s quite another to create colorful flags celebrating each element and its usefulness in our everyday lives! Using art to explore science adds value to the drier facts in the textbook.

Art engages students in learning because it is tactile and interactive. Sure, I’ve had my kids memorize a few of the elements, their name, symbol, and atomic number, but always with some kind of visual cue. When we add art to the mix, now my kids become active in their learning process.  They can take the information coming into their brains and express it on the page—with color! 

The Value Of Adding Art To Science For Kids

The more of the five senses kids use while they are learning, the more memorable the learning becomes. After all, we want these facts to stick in our children’s minds, so they can access the information later when they need it. Adding art to science lessons gives the learning extra value, because kids are layering in another of their five senses.

The Value Of Adding Art To Science For Kids
Introducing The Periodic Table To Kids

Introducing The Periodic Table To Kids

When it comes to learning chemistry, knowing everything on the Periodic Table isn’t necessarily the primary goal. My husband teaches high school chemistry and in his class, he focuses initially on having students learn categories and groupings of elements. He even includes a wee little bit of art by having them color-code a blank periodic table to reflect the different groupings of the elements. Understanding how elements are related and have similar reactions is more important than simply filling out a blank table by rote.

In Nana’s latest addition to the I Drew It Then I Knew It Science series, you’ll find two lessons featuring the very common elements of Sodium and Carbon. 

Practically speaking, most of us will rarely encounter a pure element, like sodium in our day-to-day lives. Kids might hear grownups talking about “watching their sodium” in their food, but that won’t hold much meaning for them.

However, I have not met a kid yet who doesn’t perk up at the mention of french fries! Wait till your kids find out that the element sodium is a huge factor in what makes their drive-through snack so tasty!

Introducing The Periodic Table To Kids
Introducing The Periodic Table To Kids
Introducing The Periodic Table To Kids

As Nana lead my boys through drawing a carton of vibrant golden French Fries studded with savory salt (sodium chloride), they both agreed the entire lesson made them hungry! Nana shared facts about the element sodium as she demonstrated how to paint these savory spuds. I just love how she asks questions right at my kids in her videos. It always makes them stop and think (or at least, they don’t daydream!). Or sometimes, she’ll do a little storytelling, painting a word picture of a scene in which they might find themselves face to face with: Sodium!

Included in the Sodium chalk pastel art lesson were the important details about sodium’s name, symbol, and atomic number. But instead of plunking this information down in a box that looks like all the other boxes on the periodic table, Nana has the kids paint the information onto a flag at the top of their picture. It makes the lesson feel so celebratory! 

The boys also completed the element Carbon video art lesson. In this lesson they learned about this nonmetallic element, and how it is found everywhere from their own bodies to precious gems like diamonds. 

Nana builds excitement by telling kids that Carbon is called “the glue of life.” Plus, she introduces important chemistry terms like “bonding” and “compounds.” I think it’s great for kids to hear these terms when they are younger, so when they get to high school, they will feel more familiar and excited about learning chemistry.

Again, Nana shared background information on the element Carbon. She’s collected facts and speaks of the science of the elements so naturally, that my boys found learning about Sodium and Carbon a fascinating time. 

Drawing a many-faceted diamond that sparkled off the page will certainly be a memorable experience for my kids. I love that Nana takes something that could be dry and flat on the page, and creates a sense of wonder at how we’re surrounded by elements that make up fantastic and priceless things in our world.

Certainly, painting french fries and diamonds was not on my radar when I thought about introducing the periodic table to my kids. But now, I wonder what else Nana will share with students in future Elements lessons!

Introducing The Periodic Table To Kids: Hands on Science Activities
These periodic table activities for kids include the five senses. This makes learning more memorable and fun!

More Hands-On Science Activities

If you think drawing the elements makes science more interesting, just wait until you see the long list (and growing) of science lessons from Chalk Pastel. 

Kids can explore the intricate details of the human body with visually appealing lessons on the skeletal system, cells, bacterium, and various body parts like the diagram of the eye, ear, and heart

If you’re studying biology, try out the many backyard nature art lessons, backyard birds lessons, and even an art lesson on the frog cycle (perfect for spring!).

Astronaut enthusiasts will adore swiping their chalk across black paper to create the planets in the solar system, the moon missions, and more space exploration topics.

Don’t forget to celebrate with art the various scientists and famous inventors who dedicated their lives to exploring the beauty of this world.

Chalk pastel art lessons merge visual and tactile experiences with the solid facts of science study. So you can feel well supported in leading your children through their lessons, knowing they will be delighted to watch and copy Nana’s model instruction.

I’m sure soon they’ll be wondering what other elements of science can they explore through art!

You ARE an Artist video lessons are constantly being added to, and the I Drew It Then I Knew It series come with curriculum workbooks that offer you facts, planners, and other resources. Homeschool families can even design a plan of study in chalk pastel art that will count as high school credit.

Get access to the exciting world of art for any subject in your homeschool by signing up for a You ARE an Artist Clubhouse membership. Nana has created lessons on a diverse range of subjects from History to Literature, Geography to current events! Each lesson is a real treat because of Nana’s calm and encouraging teaching style that captivates and invites young artists to explore knowledge that is right at their fingertips… literally! 

The Periodic Table: Fun Activities For Kids! Make learning more memorable and fun!

Julie is a teacher, writer and homeschool mom. Her blog Happy Strong Home shares encouragement for cherishing children, enjoying motherhood, and growing strong families. Discover homeschool resources, natural living tips, and family activity ideas. Julie has been featured on Million Praying Moms, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, and the Melissa and Doug blog. She offers writing workshops and a “homeschool neighborhood” community to support parents in their homeschool adventures. Find Julie on Instagram to be the first to know when new workshops and community events are available. 

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Skeletal System Activities For Kids: Everything You Need For Learning and Fun!

This collection of fun skeletal system activities for kids includes online lessons, fun facts, and hands-on projects.

This collection of fun skeletal system activities for kids includes online lessons, fun facts, and hands-on projects.

Them bones, them bones, them dry bones! Kids love to know about “them bones!” Don’t we all want to know more about what holds us up?

But first, a skeleton joke (because starting learning with a laugh always helps!): 

Why are skeletons so calm? 
Because nothing gets under their skin.

If trying to teach science gets under your skin, you are not alone! I can’t tell you how many times my homeschool friends tell me I am so lucky to be married to a science teacher so he can handle all the science classes. Well, the truth is, you don’t need to know everything to inspire your children’s learning. You just need some great resources. When it comes to the intricate skeletal system, Nana has a video art lesson just for drawing “them bones!” 

Hands-On Learning Activities In Your Homeschool

Although there are 206 bones in the adult human skeleton, it is not hard to learn the major bones in our bodies. For one, so many bones come in pairs or multiples!

For another, Nana’s video art lessons make drawing and labeling a human skeleton fun and engaging. We especially loved switching to black paper for this lesson, which made the finished drawing more striking. 

Another skeleton joke: 

Why did the skeleton have to goto church to play music?
They don’t have any organs!

Although a skeleton has no organs, there are chalk pastel lessons on some of the organs in our body! (more on that down below!) But in the human skeleton lesson, there are no organs at all, just good, strong bones.

As with every chalk pastel lesson we use in our homeschool, I adore how the boys never tire of this type of learning. Using art to learn is such an interactive teaching strategy. 

As kids draw the hip bones connected to the thigh bones, and so on, they are involving 

  • their ears (listening to Nana), 
  • their eyes (watching her draw and then copying), 
  • their hands (drawing), 
  • and the part of the brain that creates mirror images, because the skeleton has many mirrored shapes! 

Using all the senses like this increases comprehension. Kids will retain this learning longer, because so many senses were at work in creating a picture they can label and study!

Hands on learning in your homeschool really is the way to make learning about the human body fun, relaxed, and keep all the information in their lovely round skulls (which is a single large bone! Fun Fact: the skull has one moveable part, which is the mandible). 

This collection of fun skeletal system activities for kids includes online lessons, fun facts, and hands-on projects.

Learning About The Skeletal System

But why learn about the human body anyway? Adding human anatomy study into your homeschool is so important for giving kids a deeper understanding of their own bodies.

When kids learn how intricately the skeleton is designed (there is only ONE bone that is not connected to another bone!), they will develop a sense of wonder at their own body! 

Learning to appreciate the design of the human skeleton will help kids want to take care of their bodies. They need to know why it’s important to eat foods that feed their bones, or how exercise can strengthen their bones. Perhaps those teens will even want to practice good posture, so they can keep their bones functioning properly! 

Plus, human anatomy is part of a well-rounded science education. In science, we learn about the far reaches of space, and the creatures of the deep sea, or how the water cycles works. Yet we live and move in these amazing bodies every second of the day, so we should definitely spend a good amount of time learning the science of how our body works!

After all, without our amazing skeleton, we couldn’t draw with chalk pastels, kick a soccer ball, or play musical instruments! 

What’s a skeleton’s favorite musical instrument? 
The trom-bone.

This collection of fun skeletal system activities for kids includes online lessons, fun facts, and hands-on projects.

Skeletal System Activities For Kids

I’ve done a number of skeleton lessons and activities with my kids over the years. We’ve built skeletons out of Q-tips, drawn diagrams of the inside layers of bones, and done experiments to see what chemicals can soften bones (chicken bones, that is!). 

But this was our first time drawing a human skeleton with Nana. This art lesson was perfect for both my fifth grader and seventh grader. I love how students in various grades can adapt this lesson to their level. 

For instance, my fifth grader drew the entire skeleton and then labeled a portion of the skeleton. Younger students might find they need a little extra time to write all those bone names down. That is okay! You can take as much time as you need once the lesson is done to learn the names of each bone. We can either go back and label the rest of the skeleton, or maybe focus on learning just the portion he labeled. 

My seventh grader labeled the entire skeleton right after completing the drawing. This is the beauty of whole family learning with chalk pastel lessons: each student can work to their ability level, and the whole family comes away learning more about the skeleton no matter what! 

I appreciated how Nana’s chalk pastel skeleton lesson covers both the visual aspect of learning about the skeleton (because it’s just FUN to know how to draw a cool skeleton!), as well as the vocabulary element. 

Naming parts of a skeleton is great for building vocabulary. It’s useful know body part names, so you can speak articulately when visiting the doctor. I like how Nana sometimes adds in the “laymen’s term” for some of the bones, discussing the patella as also being called the “kneecap.”

Besides drawing a human skeleton, you can learn so much more about the human body with Nana’s other anatomy lessons. 

Diagram of an Ear 

the ear diagram for homeschool

This colorful lesson teaches kids the three main sections of the human ear. The ear is so intricate and students will learn how beautifully our ear is designed. 

Diagram of a Tooth

tooth diagram for homeschool

Simple to draw, this lesson shows kids all the layers of the tooth. We loved how the tooth is diagrammed in vivid colors to show all the parts of the tooth and gums! Nana’s humor really comes through in this lesson as she discusses each part of the tooth. Maybe it will inspire more dental hygiene as well!

Diagram of the Heart

STEAM learning in homeschool

This intricate lesson doesn’t shy away from detail. Young students will draw a beautiful human heart kids can admire and show off! All the parts are labeled, and this lesson would make a wonderful jumping off point for further study. 

Diagram of an Eye 

Homeschool Science

The eye looks so simple, but has so many parts we cannot see! Nana helps students draw both the outside of the eye and the inner workings of the eye. Plus, students can color their eye to match their own eye color.

Each of these human anatomy lessons involves a good amount of labeling, just like scientists do! These lessons could work at any point in your human anatomy studies:  They are perfect for a starting point for study. Spend your unit studying more about each part you labeled. 

Another way you could include these lessons is by having students complete their drawings in a science journal (because labeling a diagram is key to scientific research!). 

Or, make these lessons a final capstone to a unit on human anatomy. Let students use their drawing to explain what they have learned about human anatomy.

More Resources For Hands-On Science In Your Homeschool

hands on science resources for homeschool

In addition to the human skeleton lesson, the boys also completed the Advances in Medicine lesson. This lesson has kids draw another skeleton, but with extra fun details on the skeleton, and Nana includes some historical references in the lesson.

Hands on Science doesn’t stop with the human body! Nana has already created delightful lessons on cells, bacterium, as well as many other science topics. 

Do you have a space lover? They can draw all the planets in the solar system lessons, the moon missions, and all the exciting aspects of space exploration.

Nature lovers will enjoy any of the backyard nature art lessons, which include many animals. Or, try the many backyard birds lessons. How about a frog cycle lesson for spring?

For STEAM studies, paint pictures of famous inventors, and study their lives and inventions from telephones to electricity, steam engines and airplanes. 

There is science in everything we see and do! And here’s another skeleton joke for you: 

Why didn’t the skeleton go to the scary movie? 
He didn’t have the guts!

Sometimes, designing a program of science study for our kids feels like a scary movie. But learning about science is NOT scary at all with these wonderful chalk pastel art lessons to support your studies, and the delightful and energetic Nana leading your children through learning with art.

Enjoy The Ultimate List of Human Anatomy Art Activities for Hands On Science to browse them all!

Don’t be afraid to blend art and science for a colorful hands-on experience for everyone. The human skeleton and our anatomy is a wonderful place to begin. 

Fill your homeschool with hands-on learning in every subject with a You ARE an Artist Clubhouse membership. This way you’ll have full access to all the video art lessons all the time! No matter what topic you’re studying, be it history, science, music, or literature, you can find a coordinating lesson to engage your learners. Plus, You ARE an Artist is always adding in valuable curriculum workbooks to give you fast facts, lesson planners, and more for your homeschool.

This collection of fun skeletal system activities for kids includes online lessons, fun facts, and hands-on projects.

Julie is a teacher, writer and homeschool mom. Her blog Happy Strong Home shares encouragement for cherishing children, enjoying motherhood, and growing strong families. Discover homeschool resources, natural living tips, and family activity ideas. Julie has been featured on Million Praying Moms, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, and the Melissa and Doug blog. She offers writing workshops and a “homeschool neighborhood” community to support parents in their homeschool adventures. Find Julie on Instagram to be the first to know when new workshops and community events are available. 

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A Turkey For Thanksgiving: Activities For Kids


I love when stories have surprise endings! Especially when it comes to holiday stories where you think you know how the traditional tale will go. But then the author provides a clever twist. 

Add some fun to Thanksgiving reading with these kids activities to go along with the clever tale of A Turkey for Thanksgiving.

A Turkey For Thanksgiving, by Eve Bunting

The picture book A Turkey for Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting provides this delightful surprise ending reading experience. Just like everyone else, the Moose family wants to celebrate Thanksgiving with all the proper trimmings, which of course must include a real turkey. 

So Mr. Moose sets off to find Mrs. Moose a real turkey. He’s joined by all his woodland friends. The story continues in hilarious fashion as the group hunt for a turkey. Eve Bunting fills the pages with delightful word play. And the illustrations by Diane de Groat assist in keeping the reader in suspense as well. 

Did they ever find their Thanksgiving turkey? They sure did – but I won’t spoil HOW it happens.  You’ll just have to read the book yourself! It’s definitely a must-read for Thanksgiving time. 

Add some fun to Thanksgiving reading with these kids activities to go along with the clever tale of A Turkey for Thanksgiving.

Fun Extension Activities For A Turkey For Thanksgiving

I’ve always loved having Thanksgiving activities for my boys during November. We’ve done the handprint turkey, and the Gratitude Tree (get a free leaf printable here!) and various Thanksgiving-themed activities and craft kits. 

So this year, add in a fresh extension to your Thanksgiving reading by completing a few chalk pastel video art lessons to go along with the clever tale of A Turkey for Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving homeschool art lessons

Thanksgiving Turkey Art Lesson

First the boys painted a fanciful Thanksgiving turkey on orange construction paper, which my youngest said he loved because it was very colorful and made him think about Thanksgiving. 

Add some fun to Thanksgiving reading with these kids activities to go along with the clever tale of A Turkey for Thanksgiving.
Turkey homeschool art lesson

This larger-than-life turkey art lesson is accessible even for the youngest artists, because it is a simple painting focused on large shape elements like curves and circles. Kids will learn to “scumble” as a method of filling in large areas of their painting. They’ll find room for creativity when it comes to adding color to the turkey tail feathers. 

Add some fun to Thanksgiving reading with these kids activities to go along with the clever tale of A Turkey for Thanksgiving.

Turkey Nature Walk Lesson

Next, we followed the Turkey Nature Walk lesson from Nana to draw a few wild turkeys out in a field. This lesson could be more challenging for younger artists because the turkeys are a little smaller with more detail. My ten-year-old enjoyed this challenge and said he liked drawing a more realistic turkey. My oldest said he thought turkeys were fun to draw because they have lots of details he could fill in. The boys later embellished their paintings with some hunters after Nana’s lesson! 

You might also like these Turkey Homeschool Nature Study Activities for November at our sister site, Homeschool Nature Study.

Add some fun to Thanksgiving reading with these kids activities to go along with the clever tale of A Turkey for Thanksgiving.
Add some fun to Thanksgiving reading with these kids activities to go along with the clever tale of A Turkey for Thanksgiving.
Turkey homeschool nature walk

Each of these lessons can be an exciting way to illustrate the A Turkey for Thanksgiving book. Or, you could use them as starting points for a study on Thanksgiving traditions, such as why we have turkey at Thanksgiving. Perhaps even a mini unit study on turkey habitats and characteristics would be fitting.

Careful though, my oldest said all these Thanksgiving art lessons got him started thinking about delicious Thanksgiving foods, and made him hungry!

Add some fun to Thanksgiving reading with these kids activities to go along with the clever tale of A Turkey for Thanksgiving.
Add some fun to Thanksgiving reading with these kids activities to go along with the clever tale of A Turkey for Thanksgiving.

Looking For More Thanksgiving Activities?

Don’t stop with the traditional turkey art lesson! Nana’s lessons offer children so many glimpses into what makes Thanksgiving meaningful, unique, and fun as an American holiday. There are many ways to bring art and Thanksgiving celebrations together!

Celebrate friendships and family gatherings by reading and painting Mr. Whiskers from Cranberry Thanksgiving. Here’s a whole blog post of ideas to go along with the Cranberry Thanksgiving book!

Map the First Thanksgiving Voyage to begin a discussion on why we even celebrate Thanksgiving in the first place. Explore how you can Draw Your Way Through the Thanksgiving story with tall sailing ships, mapping the voyage, pilgrims, native Americans and more! Members also enjoy an I Drew It Then I Knew It Thanksgiving Guide with fun facts, books lists, history topics and more.

But how did Thanksgiving because a regular and national holiday? Complete the Abraham Lincoln Thanksgiving Proclamation to add historical context to this year’s celebration. Find Abraham Lincoln and more in Nana’s Presidents series of lessons which includes an I Drew It Then I Knew It Companion Guide as well.

A season of thankfulness and gratitude would not be complete without sharing thanks to God for all of our blessings. One of our favorite ways to celebrate during this time of Thanksgiving is with hymn studies. Many songs help us to remember our gifts and sing our gratitude to God. Here are Thanksgiving hymn favorites for you to enjoy, along with Thanksgiving Homeschool Activities You’ll Be Grateful For!

Draw on (pun intended!) famous artists like Norman Rockwell’s Thanksgiving to depict a classic look at Thanksgiving dinners of years past. 

Check out the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Homeschool Art Activities to add in a pop cultural Thanksgiving reference.

And of course, nothing is more anticipated than the huge Thanksgiving Day Parade inflatable turkey in New York City! In preparation for this classic holiday moment, have your kids do this colorful art lesson during Thanksgiving week. 

Turkeys, turkeys, turkeys! Who knew these gangly and somewhat awkward looking birds would steal the show at Thanksgiving, right? 

All of these exciting Turkey lessons are available in the Thanksgiving Clubhouse series available with the You ARE an Artist Clubhouse Membership. What our family loves best about the Clubhouse membership is having a range of art lessons we can enjoy for various holidays and themes throughout the year. It’s certainly going to be a very colorful Thanksgiving filled with turkeys, food, and art in our house!

Add some fun to Thanksgiving reading with these kids activities to go along with Eve Bunting's clever tale of A Turkey for Thanksgiving.
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A Tooth Diagram Activity For Homeschool Science That Will Make You Smile

Here is a tooth diagram activity for homeschool science that will make you smile! There probably aren’t two people who love smiles more than a dentist… and a teacher! As homeschool parents, we envision ourselves leading our children into learning with bright smiles on all our faces. 

Enjoying learning is as important as reaching your learning objective or picking the perfect read-aloud. We want kids to come to learning with a happy curiosity. We want them to leave with a smile of satisfaction. 

Some learning practices are tailor-made to create enjoyable moments of learning. Using chalk pastels has always worked to perk up my children from the doldrums of copywork or chores. 

Nana’s video art lesson is a tooth diagram activity that highlights the many-colored wonder of these curious cuspids. Great homeschool science!

Hands-On Homeschool Anatomy

Perhaps you’ve heard learning sticks better when multiple senses are involved.

If kids listen to a lecture, they activate their hearing sense only.

If they read a PowerPoint or watch a video while listening, now they’ve involved their sight as well.

If they listen, read, and recite, that’s three senses! And three more chances for the learning to get in!

But don’t forget the most tactile sense of all – using our hands to move, shape, and create as we learn! Adding this fourth layer of sensory exploration to the learning time engages nearly the whole body, as kids get to select colors, sketch lines, and really engage fully with the concepts in front of them. 

Hands-on learning moves children from passively accepting information to active inquiry as they explore with their fingers, eyes, and ears!

When it comes to learning about anatomy, using your hands to create is a fantastic way to show kids how their body is at work for them! Isn’t it great that we actual have a living specimen to study anatomy with: our own bodies! 

Nana’s video art lesson is a tooth diagram activity that highlights the many-colored wonder of these curious cuspids. Great homeschool science!

Online Tooth Diagram Activity For Your Homeschool

Studying the teeth is an important topic to include in an anatomy lesson. For one, they are a prominent body feature. Also, kids have all kinds of experiences with teeth: smiling, eating, talking, brushing, and… visiting the dentist! Or even getting a visit from the Tooth Fairy!

But, have your kids ever explored the inner world of the tooth? Most kids view of teeth is a simple white molar shape. Below the surface, teeth have so much more going on. You will find that out with Nana’s tooth diagram activity!

online video art lessons

Nana’s chalk pastel video art lesson of the Diagram of a Tooth highlights the many-colored wonder of these curious cuspids. 

Kids will love tracing the outline of the tooth first, because it activates prior knowledge. Everyone knows what a tooth looks like on the outside. 

Then Nana goes deeper to show students all the layers: pellicle, enamel, dentin, pulp, cementum. As students draw each layer in different colors, it is interesting to see how Nana adds texture to help them visualize each part. Plus they can start to see the relative thickness and size of each layer as well. 

homeschool science lessons
homeschool art lessons for all ages
Nana’s video art lesson is a tooth diagram activity that highlights the many-colored wonder of these curious cuspids. Great homeschool science!

Soon, kids will have drawn a rainbow diagram of the tooth. Then, like the budding scientists they are becoming, they will label each part. This is a wonderful opportunity to add some vocabulary to their word banks, spelling lists, or handwriting worksheets!

Nana’s video art lesson is a tooth diagram activity that highlights the many-colored wonder of these curious cuspids. Great homeschool science!
Nana’s video art lesson is a tooth diagram activity that highlights the many-colored wonder of these curious cuspids. Great homeschool science!

When we completed this lesson, our young exchange student from Spain was staying with us. He enjoyed learning all kinds of new English vocabulary as well as understanding more about tooth anatomy. It just goes to show you how accessible Nana’s chalk pastel lessons are, when even an English language learner can easily enjoy them!

Finally, like any good artist, they can name, sign, and date their work of art: the human tooth! This is sure to be a stunning addition to any bulletin board or art journal. They will barely realize they have tucked away a lot of science and anatomy knowledge, because the journey of painting with chalk pastels is so enjoyable. 

Nana’s video art lesson is a tooth diagram activity that highlights the many-colored wonder of these curious cuspids. Great homeschool science!

Additional Resources For Homeschool Science

Don’t stop with the tooth! Nana has a host of homeschool science resources to keep the learning going. When you have a You ARE an Artist Clubhouse Membership, all of these lessons and the I Drew It Then I Knew It series are at your fingertips all year!

Nana’s video art lesson is a tooth diagram activity that highlights the many-colored wonder of these curious cuspids. Great homeschool science!

Homeschool Anatomy & Biology

Homeschool Chemistry & Physics

Homeschool Astronomy

Homeschool Botany

Nana’s video art lesson is a tooth diagram activity that highlights the many-colored wonder of these curious cuspids. Great homeschool science!

Whatever your budding scientist wants to discover, there’s sure to be an exciting and colorful chalk pastel lesson to make your homeschool hands-on when it comes to science! Make the learning fun and the learning will stick – and everyone walks away smiling!

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The Ultimate Guide to Medieval History Lessons For Your Homeschool

Use these medieval history lessons as a multi-dimensional way to bring history into full color for your children in your homeschool!

Use these medieval history lessons as a multi-dimensional way to bring history into full color for your children in your homeschool!

Medieval History Lessons In Your Homeschool

Why is medieval history so fascinating for children? Maybe it’s the long-ago aspect. Perhaps it’s the excitement of castles, knights, and dragons. Or maybe it’s the idea of character and chivalry embedded in well-known and loved stories passed down through the centuries. 

So much of our make-believe play, legends, and lore come from the medieval time period, making it a fascinating one to study.

While medieval alchemy isn’t real, the opportunities to turn this historical time period into “learning gold” are absolutely available to you as a homeschool parent! Grab yourself a good booklist, a toy sword, and your chalk pastels, and dive in.

Medieval History Homeschool Lessons Your Family Will Love

I always like to start our learning with literature. Stories are a gentle way to introduce time periods, people, and events. 

Begin your medieval history art lessons with a read through well-loved tales of this time period: Robin Hood, William Tell, King Arthur, fairy tales, and other classic books are all great options. 

Then, you can draw some of these literary characters and scenes and unfold the true history of the Middle Ages for your kids.

Use these medieval history lessons as a multi-dimensional way to bring history into full color for your children in your homeschool!

Robin Hood

Robin Hood is a book beloved by children and adults. We love this action-packed adventure and rooting for the underdog. Plus the story provides and excellent conversational jumping off point to talk about historical accuracy and ethical behaviors. 

Read a children’s version of this classic tale and then join Nana to draw Robin Hood in his classic green outfit with his ever-present bow and arrow! 

You can even use the Court Dress lesson to create a Maid Marian for this literature-based art lesson. 

Robin Hood homeschool lessons

Medieval Castles

Monarchies were the government of the era, so a foray into court life is definitely in order! 

Study architecture by painting a medieval castle and discussing how buildings have evolved over time. 

Cathedrals and Stained Glass

As architecture advanced during the Middle Ages, buildings became more elaborate. The church was the center of life and power for most countries in Europe, and their cathedral buildings demonstrated their importance and influence. A fascinating book to read alongside this art lesson is David MaCauley’s Cathedral

Painting stained glass windows with Nana is a colorful lesson everyone will enjoy creating and hanging on the wall. 

Illuminated Letter

Take a short detour to talk about the evolution of printed books and materials. Illuminated manuscripts are both beautiful and an important part of history! Kids can imagine how reading and learning would have been different during a time when every piece of written material was elaborately created by hand. Make the connection between the cathedral lesson and church life, and the work of monks and priests to create and preserve written materials. The Illuminated Letter video art lesson can be a jumpstart to having kids illuminate their own initials and more!

Medieval Times Homeschool Art with Chalk Pastels
Immerse yourself in even MORE history with Erin Vincent’s Medieval Times Homeschool Art with Chalk Pastels

Knights, and lords, and ladies, oh my! 

Paint each of these important peoples of medieval court life and learn more about clothing, court dress, social status, and life at court.

Of course, no one is more important than the King, so be sure to take time for the Crown drawing lesson!

Court Life: Lutes, Jesters, Gardens, and Banquets

Since courtesans spent months or years at the King’s castle, entertainment was important. Lute players and jesters often entertained the wealthy lords and ladies. 

My boys love telling jokes, juggling, and in general being silly, so the Jester art lesson was the first one they wanted to draw when we started talking about medieval times! My oldest even customized his with a fancy mustache!

Use these medieval history lessons as a multi-dimensional way to bring history into full color for your children in your homeschool!

For leisure, you might walk through a medieval garden, and you could pick a bouquet to send a message to a friend or someone you liked—flowers in Medieval times held meanings of great significance, so be sure you pick the right blossoms!

A King or a Lord would often showcase their wealth by hosting extensive feasts at Banquet tables loaded with exquisite foods. Kids can learn and discuss how social status was indicated by where you were seated!

Festival Tent

If you lived in the country, you might attend a festival for your town or in the King’s honor. Festival tents would pop up for these events. You might even find Renaissance Fairs in your area that replicate these events to go along with your festival tent chalk pastel art lesson on this time period. 

festival tent

Falconer-Hawk

Sports started to become important during this time, and hunting was both practical and an exciting pastime. Falconry is a fascinating medieval sport to study and draw with Nana’s Falconer-Hawk lesson.

Dragons

Of course, where there are castles and knights, there be dragons, right? Nana’s colorful dragon art lesson is a fun and fantastical study. 

What is so great about all Nana’s chalk pastel art lessons is that although she always recommends great color combos, she encourages kids to be creative and self-select colors that appeal to them. So we ended up with a green dragon and a red one, too! I love that each of my boys got to show their personalities with this lesson!

Use these medieval history lessons as a multi-dimensional way to bring history into full color for your children in your homeschool!
Use these medieval history lessons to give a multi-dimensional way to bring history into full color for your children in your homeschool!

Crusade Banner

Besides fighting dragons, knights often traveled on Crusades. This simple lesson can illustrate how people identified their family through heraldry and other symbols.

The Knights Templar lesson is a great companion for the Crusade Banner as well.

Use these medieval history lessons as a multi-dimensional way to bring history into full color for your children in your homeschool!

Weapons of the Middle Ages: Shield, Sword, Catapult

Pick your weapons wisely! If you are a knight in hand-to-hand combat, a sword and shield are essential. Of course the most famous sword is Excalibur, pulled from the stone. Be sure to read this story to your kids as well before or after you paint the famous sword in the stone! 

knights and crusaders

Armies often used large war machines like catapults to besiege castles and towns. After drawing a catapult with Nana, you can create your own catapult with popsicle sticks and cotton balls!

Famous People and Events

In addition to famous stories and fictional characters, medieval history contains true life people and events that kids can learn and draw. Joan of Arc is a strong female figure from this time period. The War of the Roses (remember how important those flowers were!?) art lesson explores England’s own time of civil war between rival royal families. 

Viking Life

Sometimes we limit our medieval studies to England, because so many wars, peoples and events are well-recorded from that area. But the medieval histories of northern Europe is fascinating as well! Viking life and exploration can be an entire unit study of its own. 

Draw a Viking ship and study their seafaring way of conquering and exploring new worlds.

Then draw a Viking helmet and discuss the differences between Viking warriors and knights. Comparing and contrasting civilizations creates the opportunity for deeper learning and discovery. 

viking ship art lesson

Additional Resources For Studying History In Your Homeschool

I’m sure you will find you simply have more and more questions as you study this time period. And that is exactly how true learning happens: one question leads to another, and your kids will be drawn into learning without even realizing it, because they will be so curious and fascinated by this historical time period.

For extra literature and art study, I created a Medieval to Modern Classical Morning Menu for homeschool morning time. Each month features two poems and a Picture Study work of art to study and learn more about this time period. Get a free sample here! 

Use these medieval history lessons as a multi-dimensional way to bring history into full color for your children in your homeschool!

The I Drew It Then I Knew It Medieval History art lessons in You ARE an ARTiST Clubhouse membership come with a companion I Drew It Then I Knew It Guide that will help you pull together all these lessons for your kids. You will find: 

  • Calendar planners
  • Biographies
  • Book Lists
  • Fact Sheets
  • Plus Lesson Overviews

Once you see how art can help you explore all the aspects of history, you will want to study history through art all the time!

Good news! You can, because the You ARE an Artist Clubhouse Membership offers you ALL the 700+ lessons taught by Nana. In addition to this long lineup of medieval history lessons, you can study:

Each of these has an I Drew It Then I Knew It Clubhouse collection of lessons with companion workbooks. You can access all these lessons all year with your Clubhouse Membership

Homeschool Fine arts and music appreciation program for grade six has it covered. Leonardo, Raphael, Botticelli, Michelangelo, and more are all planned out for you to view and discuss with your whole family. Do you want to listen to a little Vivaldi, Bach, Handel, Mozart, and a few more composers during your school year? The homeschool plan is all outlined for you. You will have the freedom and flexibility to use You ARE an ARTiST Homeschool Fine Arts for your whole family and at a pace that suits your lifestyle.

Medieval and Renaissance Homeschool Fine Arts

Leonardo, Raphael, Botticelli, Michelangelo, and more are all planned out for you to view and discuss with your whole family. Do you want to listen to a little Vivaldi, Bach, Handel, Mozart, and a few more composers during your school year? The homeschool plan is all outlined for you. You will have the freedom and flexibility to use You ARE an ARTiST Homeschool Fine Arts for your whole family and at a pace that suits your lifestyle. Homeschool Fine arts and music appreciation program for grade six has it covered.

Even better – You ARE an ARTiST Clubhouse members get 50% off all Homeschool Fine Arts titles!

Use these medieval history lessons as a multi-dimensional way to bring history into full color for your children in your homeschool!

I have enjoyed knowing that I can pull up an art lesson at any time for any subject or topic in history without having to worry about availability or extra expense, because the Membership includes everything! 

My boys never get tired of learning through art, because it gives their hands something to do while we learn. Not only are they gaining art skills and proficiency, but they are also adding facts and understanding as they paint away with their chalks. 

I love how Chalk Pastel video art lessons give me a multi-dimensional way to bring history into full color for my children in our homeschool.

Bonus! When the lesson is done, we have beautiful artwork to share and hang around our classroom. These visual reminders of our lessons help us review and retell our learning long after we clean the chalk off our hands. 

Medieval History Education Bundle

Julie of Happy Strong Home and Tricia of You ARE an ARTiST suggest this medieval history education bundle!

A stack of medieval books!

  • Saint George & the Dragon by Margaret Hodges
  • Classic Starts: The Story of King Arthur and His Knights
  • A Medieval Feast by Aliki
  • Tales from Shakespeare by Tina Packer
  • Chanticleer and the Fox by Geoffrey Chaucer
  • Robin Hood by Howard Pyle

Plus:

  • Prismacolor NuPastels color sticks, 12 count
  • Knights and Dragons TOOB Miniature Toy Figurines

And, when you enter you will receive:

  • A sample Classical Morning Menu from Julie Kieras of Happy Strong Home
  • Get Started in Chalk Pastel Art video lessons with Nana!

Giveaway closed.

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Julie is a teacher, writer and homeschool mom. Her blog Happy Strong Home shares encouragement for cherishing children, enjoying motherhood, and growing strong families. Discover homeschool resources, natural living tips, and family activity ideas. Julie has been featured on Million Praying Moms, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, and the Melissa and Doug blog. She offers writing workshops and a “homeschool neighborhood” community to support parents in their homeschool adventures. Find Julie on Instagram to be the first to know when new workshops and community events are available. 

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Engaging English Activities For Homeschooling High School: A Quick Guide

Every subject has its stereotypes, from the explosions in chemistry classrooms to the English teacher’s droning monologue. But there is no reason to stay stuck in boring made-for-tv versions of school and learning. Even if you truly did have a boring English class growing up, your children don’t have to. These English activities for homeschooling high school are amazing resources available to us today! 

Teaching High School English In Your Homeschool

Create a learning environment in your homeschool that visually encapsulates the wonder of the written word and the magic of storytelling.  High School English in your homeschool can come to life by infusing your studies with imagination, hands-on activities, and student-led learning. 

The Value Of Adding Art To English For High School Learning

I have long been a fan of interdisciplinary learning (AKA, unit studies!). When I taught in a traditional classroom, my students would write creative newsletters for history class, design advertisements for the school play using persuasive language, or create poems about math!

As a homeschool mom, I’ve loved adding art to all our subjects with the help of Nana’s wide range of video art lessons. We have used chalk pastel art to study birds, outer space, ancient history, and more. 

English is no exception! When students enter high school, there may be a tendency to isolate the academic subjects from each other. Yet art remains a wonderful way to explore and express knowledge and learning in the English classroom.

Through art, you can prove multi-sensory learning for your older student. Not only will they read a story, hear a story, and/or write a story, but they can also visualize the story through their drawings! 

by Erin, Hobbit Art Lesson

What better way to make the setting of the Shire come to life than by painting a Hobbit hole?

Or how can you show the poignant moment of the March family longing for their father to return from the war than by drawing Mrs. March reading one of her husband’s letters and imagining scenes of war? 

Literary concepts and storylines truly come alive when visualized. Students who may struggle to explain themselves in words, can share their understanding of a piece of literature through art! 

Engaging English Activities For Homeschooling High School

All aspects of storytelling can be expressed using the art lessons from You Are An Artist. Here are just a few ideas: 

Character Analysis: 

Explore characterization by drawing main characters. You can have a fine discussion of protagonist and antagonist while you draw. Or, compare main characters and secondary characters. Discuss character traits, flaws, and what makes a character a hero or a villain in the story. 

Read Little Women and draw Jo March. Discuss how the description of Jo in the novel is reflected in your drawing. How is Jo’s appearance similar to her personality? 

Draw Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice. Discuss how the author and the character are similar and different. I especially love how Nana draws Elizabeth alone by the cliff, instead of in a drawing room. Perhaps discuss how setting and character work together in this scene. 

English activities for homeschooling high school
Study the Excellent Literary Works of Jane Austen

Description and Setting: 

So many iconic settings of literature can be brought to mind with a single image. Like the lamppost of Narnia. Or the Hobbit door of The Shire. 

High schoolers can start with one of Nana’s lessons depicting story setting, like: 

Encourage students to find examples of setting description in the novel they’re reading to quote as captions below their drawings. This helps students learn to provide text evidence from their reading for what they just drew. 

As an extension, students could draw other scenes from their reading using what they’ve learned fro Nana’s lessons. 

Storyline, Plots, and Conflict: 

I especially love Nana’s Letter to Home Little Women lesson for discussing storyline. Not only does it depict setting (the March house), but it also captures the issues facing the March family in this novel. The conflict of living in genteel poverty during wartime is shown in the simple hearth setting. Enduring years without a father/husband because of war and all the politics of war is also revealed in the painting. We see so many touches of home life here to discuss how the plot of this story centered around home life in the March family. 

Homeschooling high school English comes to life with imagination, hands-on activities, and student-led learning. 

Going an An Adventure  with J. R. R. Tolkien is another lesson where plot is portrayed. The concept of “the journey” is illustrated in this scene. Young readers can discuss how the plot and conflict of this story centers around the Fellowship and their journey. You could also have a conversation about how each character shown adds to the conflict or plot. and the role of friendship in coming to a resolution. 

In addition to using these literature-based chalk pastel lessons to illustrate story elements and spark discussions, student can use their artwork in other ways: 

  • Cover art for reports and research papers. 
  • Storyboards to outline the narratives. 
  • Illustrations with favorite quotes as captions. 
  • Visual aid for oral presentations of their reading. 
English activities for homeschooling high school
by Erin, A Lord of the Rings Study to Rule Them All

Additional Resources For High School Homeschooling

Literature can quickly become boring if students don’t have creative outlets to express and share their learning. Students crave being actively engaged in the learning process. Small children show us this easily, because they uninhibitedly touch and grab and play with things while we try to teach them. But older students have learned to sit quietly. Quiet listening is a good skill but it can also mask a disengaged learner. 

Other subjects also benefit from an art connection.

History can be dry as dust unless you draw Presidents with Nana and hear various tidbits about each famous person. Or study ancient architecture like the pyramids, the Coliseum or medieval castlesCheck out these additional Chalk Pastel Ancient History ideas.

English activities for homeschooling high school

Nana has a long list of American History lessons. High schoolers might enjoy learning more about the Three Branches of Government or the Constitution with art! Check out 7 American History Homeschool Lessons.

Or create brilliantly illustrated scientific diagrams of cells and bacteria in Science class. Find loads of cell activity ideas with chalk pastels here.

Create an eye-catching deep dive study into Moon Missions complete with illustrations of each of the space shuttles. 

Geography becomes hands on with video art lessons on landmarks like Stonehenge and the Taj Mahal. These would pair wonderfully with some current event learning and mappingFor more Chalk Pastel Geography ideas, look here.

Discuss social movements like Suffrage and Civil Rights with Nana’s lessons. 

Truly, every academic subject can be enhanced by an art connection. Nana has given homeschool families nearly 800 different lessons in the You Are An Artist collection that can touch every subject imaginable!

Providing opportunities to engage all the senses via art expression creates a multi-sensory approach to studying English literature, and other subjects. These chalk pastel art lessons make time-honored stories come alive in fresh ways for your teen student. 

I highly recommend adding these English activities for homeschooling high school and for your other subjects. Your children will be delighted, and you will find yourself just wanting to add more and more chalk pastel to your week! 

English activities for homeschooling high school

Julie is a teacher, writer and homeschool mom. Her blog Happy Strong Home shares encouragement for cherishing children, enjoying motherhood, and growing strong families. Discover homeschool resources, natural living tips, and family activity ideas. Julie has been featured on Million Praying Moms, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, and the Melissa and Doug blog. She offers writing workshops and a “homeschool neighborhood” community to support parents in their homeschool adventures. Find Julie on Instagram to be the first to know when new workshops and community events are available. 

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Small But Mighty Cell Activities For Your Homeschool

These online cell activities for your homeschool are multisensory and appropriate for all ages. In fact, online cellular biology lessons are an excellent addition for your homeschool science. Take a look!

These online cell activities for your homeschool are multisensory and appropriate for all ages. Online cellular biology lessons included.

When it comes to making learning fun, homeschool parents don’t have to look far. Kids are fascinated with what makes them…well, them! They love to see the inner workings of things. What is more intricate and endlessly fascinating than the human body? 

Cells are like mini-worlds unto themselves. They make up our very existence, yet they exist beyond our eyesight. This whole “universe” of cells is a captivating world to explore through hands-on activities like experiments, crafts, and art! Consider these small but mighty cell activities as you plan your homeschool science curriculum. 

Make Learning About Cells Fun

What’s more hands-on than the human body? We all have one, right? Kids will be engaged by what they can learn by simply observing their own body. When our family studied human anatomy, my boys loved that they used their bodies as part of the experiments and activities. 

Yet as much as we can observe so much of the human body’s wonder from the outside, it’s a million times more astounding to consider what goes on at the cellular level! 

These online cell activities for your homeschool are multisensory and appropriate for all ages. Online cellular biology lessons included.

Cell Activities For Your Homeschool

Want to give your kids insight into the microscopic world beyond our sight, but right below our skin (and on and in it too!)?

  • Enlarge the cell
  • Model the cell
  • Watch the cell in action
  • Draw the cell
These online cell activities for your homeschool are multisensory and appropriate for all ages. Online cellular biology lessons included.

Enlarge the cell.

You probably eat single cells for breakfast! Yes, a chicken egg starts out as a single cell. Show your child an egg, and explain to them the simple parts of a cell: the cell wall, membrane, cytoplasm, and nucleus can all be “seen” in a cracked egg!

Model the cell.

Now that kids have a sense of the major parts of a cell, dive deeper into some of the smaller pieces. In our study of cells, we created an edible cell using gelatin and candies. So fun and delicious. You’ll need a package of jello, a bowl, and a variety of small candies to represent the organelles (parts of a cells) like the mitochondria, golgi bodies, ribosomes, and more. 

You can find a detailed edible cell model to follow here

jello model for homeschool cell activities

Watch cells in action.

Show your kids the “cellular highway” of capillaries and veins that your blood cells travel on. One quick (and to my boys, humorous) way to do this is by shining a flashlight under their tongues while they look in a mirror. There, they will spot a “roadmap” of multicolored veins that give a glimpse of how special cells like blood cells travel around the body!

We even made a model of the blood using corn syrup, candy red hots, and candy sprinkles. Have you kids mix this up to see how various cells are different sizes and how they travel through plasma. 

Draw the cell.

In Nana’s newest I Drew It Then I Knew It series, kids get hands on with science by painting and labeling a diagram of some of our smallest parts! 

These online cell activities for your homeschool are multisensory and appropriate for all ages. Online cellular biology lessons included.

Online Cellular Biology Lessons Perfect For Your Homeschool Study

Whether you’re studying human body cells, plant cells, or the chemical makeup of our world, these science art lessons will fit your homeschool science. 

Nana has included a wonderful “opener” lesson in her Lab Coated Scientist class. My oldest created a painting of a scientist researching in a book, with swirling scientific symbols above his head. While this scientist is drawn as a chemistry teacher by Nana, my oldest changed the book to read “Biology” to match our current science studies. He replaced Nana’s chemical notations with a DNA strand and a bacterium! Kids can be so creative with these lessons. 

This scientist painting would be perfect to have as a cover for any note booking or portofolio of your child’s work. 

These online cell activities for your homeschool are multisensory and appropriate for all ages. Online cellular biology lessons included.

Diagram A Cell

After doing some of the hands-on activities above, have your child paint and Diagram a Cell. Nana does a wonderful job of helping students visualize the cell through their chalk pastel “microscope” as they look for the cytoplasm, nucleus, mitochondria, and cell membrane. If your students have learned other parts of the cell, why not have them include this knowledge into their drawing as well. This video art lesson is the perfect choice to add to a science journal or notebooking collection. 

Diagram Bacterium

The colorful Diagram of a Bacterium lesson helps kids learn about another kind of cell that can be lurking in your body. Whether harmful or helpful, bacteria exists everywhere, and yet is a different kind of cell than what makes up your body structure. After this lesson, kids can discuss proper hygiene (here’s a free hand washing printable you can use!), proper nutrition (talk about probiotics in their yogurt!), and discuss which kinds of bacteria are harmful or helpful.

diagram of bacterium
These online cell activities for your homeschool are multisensory and appropriate for all ages. Online cellular biology lessons included.

Diagram of an Eye

Diagram of an Eye helps students learn the various parts of the eye. What is special about this lessons is how students get to label the eye as we see it, and as it looks from inside the body!

Biology and Chemistry

DaVinci’s Vetruvian Man painting makes a great finish to a series on the human body. This makes a wonderful lesson in the proportions of both artwork and the human body. As you sketch out the  dive into the concept held by this Old Master that “everything is connected.” Our cells are microscopic, but work together to create a larger system. In the same way, people are smaller parts of God’s much larger universe. 

The Light Prism with Sir Isaac Newton lesson would be a fantastic intro lesson for studying chemistry and physics. Is it so beautifully colorful and symmetrical, you will want to frame this artwork after your kids create it!

For additional scientific artwork, try the Daffodil lesson where kids will paint a gorgeous yellow daffodil with their chalks and label the parts of a flower. You might revisit your cell painting and discuss how a plant cell is slightly different than an animal/human cell. 

More Homeschool Science Lessons From You Are An Artist

Science doesn’t end with the human body, of course. Our boys have enjoyed so many science lessons from Chalk Pastel. 

For a great Astronomy study, the Hubble Space Telescope Lesson can be a jumping off point for a Space unit. Follow it up with any of the Space Exploration Clubhouse lessons, but my favorites would be the Spiral Galaxy and the Nebula lessons. Students can draw all the planets in the Milky Way with the Solar System Clubhouse lessons. 

If you’re studying Physics, you should check out the Electric Light and Electric Lightning lessons!

For an Earth Science study, you’ll love the volcano, tornado, and northern lights video art lessons. 

Studying habitats? Draw a Marsh or paint the habitat Under the Sea

A study of Zoology might use any of the dozens of animal art lessons from Nana. Frogs are always a great place to start because they are a great animal for discussing life cycles. The John James Audubon lesson plus the Birds Clubhouse lessons are also wonderful for Biology and Zoology studies. 

These online cell activities for your homeschool are multisensory and appropriate for all ages. Online cellular biology lessons included.

Each science-themed art lesson from Nana focuses on a science concept that opens a door for further investigation, study, and discussion. Nana does such a wonderful job of dropping “breadcrumbs” of interesting and relevant facts as she gives her chalk pastel instruction. 

I am always amazed at how much a simple painting session can spark a deeper level conversation with my boys. Even if you only select a single video art lesson to complement your science studies, these lessons are small but mighty cell activities you’ll want to include in your homeschool science!

These online cell activities for your homeschool are multisensory and appropriate for all ages. Online cellular biology lessons included.

Julie is a teacher, writer and homeschool mom. Her blog Happy Strong Home shares encouragement for cherishing children, enjoying motherhood, and growing strong families. Discover homeschool resources, natural living tips, and family activity ideas. Julie has been featured on Million Praying Moms, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, and the Melissa and Doug blog. She offers writing workshops and a “homeschool neighborhood” community to support parents in their homeschool adventures. Find Julie on Instagram to be the first to know when new workshops and community events are available. 

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Engaging Charlotte Mason Geography Activities For Your Homeschool

Offer engaging Charlotte Mason geography activities for your homeschool with map study, drawing, and discussion. All of these are vital to a vibrant understanding of history!

Enjoy these engaging Charlotte Mason geography activities for your homeschool. Map study, drawing, and discussion are vital to an understanding of history.

The Benefits Of Geography Study In Your Homeschool

It’s hard to imagine understanding the classic story Heidi, without the beautifully described Swiss Alps setting the scene. Or to appreciate the majestic nature of the Great Pyramids, without visualizing how they rise up out of flat desert. Or empathize with Mary and Joseph’s ninety-mile journey to Bethlehem, without knowing about the rocky, difficult terrain they traveled. 

So much of history and literature depend on the surrounding geography, which is why map study, drawing, and discussion are a large component of our homeschool time. Our current ability to understand world (and space!) geography is like never before, with satellite imaging, extremely accurate and up-to-date mapping, and the ability to share pictures and videos from around the world at a keystroke. 

With so many options, there are many ways to include geography in a child’s learning. 

How Did Charlotte Mason Teach Geography?

Charlotte Mason, Great Britain’s famous home educator advocated for the teaching of geography in three gentle but effective ways. Each of these methods puts geography into a context of the people culture of each land. 

Offer engaging Charlotte Mason geography activities for your homeschool with map study, drawing, and discussion. All of these are vital to a vibrant understanding of history.

Narration is an effective strategy for geography study if you use a living geography text. Simply Charlotte Mason recommends Material World and Hungry Planet: What the World Eats to get you started learning geography the Charlotte Mason way.

Mason’s method of using living books is the perfect geography instruction strategy. Reading delightful books that feature a strong geographic setting engages the reader’s imagination. For example, one year the boys and I were delighted to travel with Paddle-to-the-Sea through the Great Lakes. Nearly every quality literature book features geography in some way!

Think about where the Ingalls family traveled in the midwest in the Laura Ingalls series. Or how much the topography of Maine plays a role in books like One Morning Up in Maine and Mrs. Rumphius.  

Map work is essential to understanding geography. Kids need to know how to use a map or globe. I want my boys to have a general sense of where countries are located on the globe, where they are relative to other countries, and important topographic and climate features. Did that last sentence make you want to snooze? Me too! It’s easy to get caught up in the “teacher-speak” of learning, and forget that kids are not interested in the technicalities of why we do what we do. I love how Charlotte Mason-style education focused on practical application of knowledge.

It’s important to keep map work light and exciting for kids, allowing them to nearly immediately apply what they are learning to a discussion or activity. Build their knowledge base with these living lessons and activities. Then let that knowledge naturally extend in their older years into deeper conversations and connections. Here are a few ideas: 

  • Look up locations whenever you read a book. Maybe put a flag on a map to keep track of where all the characters from the books you read live! 
  • Do quick map drills to label certain sections of a printed map. Start with only a few labels and add more through the year as they master groups of map labels. 
  • Try a quick “show me, tell me” pointing game, or put chocolate chips or small cereal pieces on map locations and let kids eat the ones they can name. 
FUN hands on learning with Charlotte Mason Geography Activities

Charlotte Mason Geography Activities For Your Homeschool

And of course, geography wouldn’t be geography without… cartography! Drawing maps is another method we use to study geography in our homeschool. Sometimes we trace our printed maps, but other times, I like the boys to draw freehand maps and label important places. 

Engaging Charlotte Mason geography activities for your homeschool with map study, drawing, and discussion. All are vital to an understanding of history.
British Isles map skills - Engaging Charlotte Mason geography activities for your homeschool with map study, drawing, and discussion. All are vital to an understanding of history.

Often, they will draw maps that go along with a literature study. The missionary biographies from the YWAM Christian Heroes Then and Now series perfectly suits our geography studies, because there are titles from all over the world. I love how each book cover features a map of the country the missionary travels to. We can match these books up to so many Chalk Pastel video art lessons! 

Draw Great Britain, Scotland, and Ireland to go along with George Mueller. A map of China goes along with Hudson Taylor or Gladys Aylward. Outline Africa when reading about David Livingstone, C.T. Studd or Albert Schweitzer. Amy Carmichael’s and William Carey’s life may inspire a map of India painting.

Don’t forget about:

  • Italy
  • France
  • United States and Canada
  • Australia
  • Europe
  • South America
  • Antartica
  • Asia

Sometimes we draw maps to understand our Bible time. We have often discussed maps of where Jesus walked, the missionary journeys, or Mary and Joseph’s travels to Bethlehem and flight into Egypt. Learning the map of Israel is vital to a vibrant understanding of biblical times. In fact, map learning in general is vital to vibrant understanding of all history!

Engaging Charlotte Mason geography activities for your homeschool with map study, drawing, and discussion. All are vital to an understanding of history.
Draw maps of Bible times with hands on learning activities for your homeschool.
Engaging Charlotte Mason geography activities for your homeschool with map study, drawing, and discussion. All are vital to an understanding of history.

Maps can also help kids see the big picture of history. In our history, we follow a spiraling curriculum that cycles through three major segments of history: Ancient History, Medieval, and U.S. History. Each of these time periods have special focus on certain countries and areas of land. 

Drawing the land of Egypt and surrounding countries, my son was reminded of all we have studied in this year’s history topics! He even added some extra labels to the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea! We can’t wait to draw the Oregon Trail and the First Thanksgiving Voyage when we study U.S. History again! These are all perfect Charlotte Mason geography activities.

Draw a map of Ancient Egypt - Engaging Charlotte Mason geography activities for your homeschool with map study, drawing, and discussion. All are vital to an understanding of history.

Additional Charlotte Mason Geography Resources

Beyond mapmaking skills, learning a land’s important features and structures can also be part of geography study. We love studying picture atlases and fact-filled geography books that show us the major features of a country, the foods and animals native to that region, and other points of interest.

  • Children’s Picture Atlas (Usborne)
  • History Uncovered The U.S.A. (Usborne)
  • Children’s Discovery Atlas (Quarto Books)
  • See Inside Great Cities (Usborne)
  • Cathedrals by David Macauley
  • Pyramids by David Macauley
  • Castles by David Macauley

Usborne Books are fabulous resources both for picture atlases and other detailed books, like their lift-the-flap style See Inside Great Cities book. My youngest painted the Eiffel Tower with Nana after reading the Paris page of this book.

Eiffel Tower art lesson with Nana at You ARE an ARTiST.
Learn World Landmarks like the Eiffel Tower hands on art activities for your homeschool.

More landmarks:

Charlotte Mason geography activities can be closer to home too! Have younger kids draw maps of their home, their town, or even use map-making skills to plan a garden (real or make-believe).

For some creative geography fun, kids can draw maps of make believe lands like Narnia, the Hundred Acre Wood, or Middle Earth! This allows students to transfer their knowledge of real geography to an invented location. 

We really could spend all day pouring over maps and studying the features of the world we live in. After all, if we don’t have an understanding of where we live, how can we learn to appreciate the similarities and differences of people who live in far away and unfamiliar places? Study of geography is not just fascinating, but also helps us connect with and love other people in this world.

Enjoy these engaging Charlotte Mason geography activities for your homeschool. Map study, drawing, and discussion are vital to an understanding of history.

Julie is a teacher, writer and homeschool mom. Her blog Happy Strong Home shares encouragement for cherishing children, enjoying motherhood, and growing strong families. Discover homeschool resources, natural living tips, and family activity ideas. Julie has been featured on Million Praying Moms, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, and the Melissa and Doug blog. She offers writing workshops and a “homeschool neighborhood” community to support parents in their homeschool adventures. Find Julie on Instagram to be the first to know when new workshops and community events are available. 

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A Little Women Unit Study For Your Homeschool

This literature-based Little Women Unit Study For Your Homeschool includes hands on art lessons, Mother Culture and more ideas around the beloved novel.

If you have never read the novel Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, then you certainly are missing out on one of the most heartwarming, beloved stories of American literature! This homeschool unit study will help you and your family get started.

Whether it’s the cherished characters, the story of perseverance through difficulties, or the warm setting of home and hearth, Little Women will quickly become a favorite. 

When I was young, I read through Alcott’s classic books regularly, as I was drawn to the quiet grit (and fiery spirit, in the case of Jo March!) of the characters. The fact that one character is a writer didn’t hurt this aspiring young writer!

Children will love hearing the way families back home during the American Civil War contributed, survived, and rallied. Marmee’s gentle mothering seems to reach through the pages to ask you to put up your feet, wrap a quilt around your shoulders, and enjoy a cup of tea by a humble fire. 

One thing I love about Alcott’s novels is how they are accessible for younger children and delightful for adults. Adding Little Women to your homeschool literature study is sure to engage the whole family with this beloved novel. 

This literature-based Little Women Unit Study For Your Homeschool includes hands on art lessons, Mother Culture and more ideas around the beloved novel.

Language Arts In Your Homeschool and Mother Culture

I’m trying to be more intentional about “mother culture” this year, which simply means to cultivate your own growth and spiritual/intellectual nourishment so you can pour into your children. I thought, what better place to start than with Little Women, and the literary mom, Marmee, who loves her family so well. So I have been gathering materials and books to do an author study of Louisa May Alcott, and re-read some of her novels.

As part of my mother culture study, I decided to complete the Letters to Home Little Women video art lesson by Nana! Usually I would have my children do these art lessons as part of our homeschool curriculum. During the art lessons, I’m busy nearby to help with selecting chalks, cleaning smudges, guiding through any trouble spots, and clean up. But I don’t often get to complete a whole painting. 

Mother culture is easy with Nana's art lessons to match your favorite literature!

I didn’t realize what a rare treat it would be for me to sit down by myself and paint the scene from Little Women where Marmee and the girls receive a letter from their father, who is away fighting in the Civil War. 

This lesson, filled with small details and summaries from the book, is a bit more detailed and perfect for upper elementary and older students. 

As I sat and drew with Nana, I experienced first-hand why “I Drew It Then I Knew It” is the mantra of so many of the ChalkPastel.com series! When you draw and listen to Nana’s explanations, you really do become immersed in the learning. The facts become more memorable because you engage many senses at once: visual, auditory, kinesthetic.
I encourage parents to complete a chalk pastel art lesson on your own. Just for yourself!

As I sat and drew with Nana, I experienced first-hand why “I Drew It Then I Knew It” is the mantra of so many of the ChalkPastel.com series! When you draw and listen to Nana’s explanations, you really do become immersed in the learning. The facts become more memorable because you engage many senses at once: visual, auditory, kinesthetic. 

I think it is easy for us as parents, especially homeschool parents, to be more of a learning “manager” than join in as a student in the learning process. Yet, we are all lifelong learners, and need to make time to experience the learning process for ourselves from time to time. There’s no better place to start a culture of family learning than with the March family who are shining literary examples of family life. 

I encourage parents to complete a chalk pastel homeschool art lesson on your own. Just for yourself! (And I even just realized that Nana has a “parent track” of lessons just for us! Go check it out starting with the adventure Tea Cup!). You might also like to see how Erin uses chalk pastels for mini moments for mom.

This literature-based Little Women Unit Study For Your Homeschool includes hands on art lessons, Mother Culture and more ideas around the beloved novel.

Little Women Homeschool Art Lessons

Whether you complete a Little Women literature study for yourself or with your children, ChalkPastel.com has many lessons that coordinate with the novel!

This literature-based Little Women Unit Study For Your Homeschool includes hands on art lessons, Mother Culture and more ideas around the beloved novel.

The Letters to Home video art lesson is a wonderful introduction to the story, setting the scene and introducing many of the characters. 

Arguably, the most dynamic character is Jo March, daughter, sister, writer, and friend. Draw this beloved character with a focus on her wild and well-known mess of beautiful hair, along with her quote about “good strong words.” Nana shares her favorite “Jo” moments from the book as she paints. 

The video art lesson of all four March Sisters would be a great painting lesson for when you finish reading the book. By then, your kids will recognize all the sister characters. Nana likes to leave the decision up to you about which figure is which sister, and that would be a fun discussion to check for understanding after reading. Families will enjoy this overview of each of the March girls.

Speaking of the I Drew It Then I Knew It study guides, the Companion Workbook for Literature includes several pages of facts and discussion questions for Little Women that will be valuable to any language arts unit study or read-aloud time! 

Little Women Homeschool Literature Studies for the homeschool parent too!

Additional Resources For Homeschool Literature Study

What else can you add to a Little Women literature study? Here are a few supplemental ideas: 

Tea Time with the March Family. Hold a tea party at some point while you do a read-aloud. And invite someone over! Visitors were common at the March home, so you can practice hospitality while you sip and read! 

Tea time with Little Women Unit Study for Your Homeschool

Hands on Handiwork. Have your children try out some handiwork activities. Get a small embroidery kit, learn how to sew on buttons, or complete a decoupage project. Monogramming  clothing or belongings was popular during the time period of Little Women. Try this easy simple button sewing project to make a Monogrammed Button Bag with your kids. 

Build in home economics tasks. Bake bread, create a shopping list and shop on a small budget. 

Practice Acts of Service. The March family repeatedly served others throughout the novel. In fact, it was Beth’s selflessness that eventually led to her tragic end. Complete an act of service like creating a care package for a sick friend or neighbor. Write letters to military members, like the sisters wrote to their father in the Army. Donate clothing and toys. If the March family were real and alive today, no doubt they would be examples of overflowing hospitality we could follow. 

Explore the Orchard House. If you’re in the New England area, you can visit the Louisa May Alcott homestead, the Orchard House in person in Massachusetts. If you’re too far, a Virtual Tour is available for purchase! Or read this summary of the Alcott home and family members.

Enrich yourself as a parent. For parents interested in pursuing more Mother Culture as you provide a home education to your children, consider reading biographies about Louisa May Alcott. You’ll feel equipped to add details to your family discussions. 

You ARE an ARTiST Complete Clubhouse for hands on art lessons for your homeschool!
Little Women Homeschool Literature lessons

And perhaps carve out some time to sit down with a cup of tea and an art lesson like I did, and give yourself the treat of an afternoon of art with Alcott. 

However you choose to include art and Little Women’s timeless tale of home, you will certainly walk away richer in heart and spirit. Time spent with the fictional March family is always rewarding.

This Little Women Unit Study For Your Homeschool includes hands on art lessons, ideas for Mother Culture and a literature study for this beloved novel.

Julie is a teacher, writer and homeschool mom. Her blog Happy Strong Home shares encouragement for cherishing children, enjoying motherhood, and growing strong families. Discover homeschool resources, natural living tips, and family activity ideas. Julie has been featured on Million Praying Moms, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, and the Melissa and Doug blog. She offers writing workshops and a “homeschool neighborhood” community to support parents in their homeschool adventures. Find Julie on Instagram to be the first to know when new workshops and community events are available.