Thursday, October 31, 2013

31 Days, 31 Printables {Day 31}: Roman Numerals


This month has been a lot of fun!  I've enjoyed interacting with all of you and sharing the printables that I've designed to help our family and sharing other printables that we've found beneficial. I've also enjoyed starting up my Facebook community and giving you a small peek of what goes on behind the scenes. 

This last printable of the month I designed in honor of my son, Gavin.  He asked me to make him a reference guide to Roman numerals so I obliged.  (I never want to discourage when one of my children asks to learn something!) 

To download your Roman Numeral Reference, click here  or on the graphic below. 


http://bitsandpiecesfrommylife.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/october-roman-numerals.pdf







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Wednesday, October 30, 2013

31 Days, 31 Printables {Day 30}: American Girls History Reading Checklist


{This post contains affiliate links.}

Read your way through history with the American Girls collection of books

Both of my girls, ages 3 and 9,  love to read (or hear me read) from the American Girls historical series.  American Girls currently has 12 different historical series, covering America's history from the mid-1700s through the 1970s. 

Print your American Girl History Reading Checklist and your girls can immerse themselves in history.  Read 1 series a month and you can read your way through history in a year!











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Tuesday, October 29, 2013

31 Days, 31 Printables {Day 29}: Insects Vs. Spiders



Today's free printable is a quick reference guide called Insect vs. Spider.  Great for kids and adults, it quickly contrasts the major differences between 6-legged insects and their 8-legged friends.  For those wanting to save ink, there the PDF file also contains a black-and-white version of the chart! 

Click here for your Insect vs. Spider Reference Guide or click on the thumbnail below.








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Monday, October 28, 2013

31 Days, 31 Printables {Day 28}: Alphabet Outline Cards


I don't like a lot of "bells and whistles" to teach my children so the alphabet cards I created for my preschoolers are as simplistic as you can get.  That makes them so much more versatile, though!  Each card has the outline an upper case letter paired with the same letter in lower case.  Alaine (3) likes to trace around the inside of each letter so she can do handwriting like the older kids.  You could also have your child color the cards and laminate them for a set of inexpensive flash cards.  You could print two sets and make a memory game.  The possibilities are endless.  

To print a set of ABC Alphabet Cards, click the button below. 







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Sunday, October 27, 2013

31 Days, 31 Printables {Day 27}: Lego Writing Prompts


 

During the month of October, Sundays will be devoted to pointing you to a printable that our family has used and enjoyed  from another blog or website.

Gavin, my 6th grader, is a struggling speller.  He believes that if he can read what he has written, it's good enough.  I've tried multiple approaches to spelling, but have found that he is most motivated by writing.  In other words, lists of words are meaningless to him, but spelling in the context of a sentence is a little more motivating.  This year we've been using a fabulous set of printables from Homegrown Learners called LEGO Minifigure Writing Prompts


                          
        
  Have a child who could benefit from some
           spelling or creative writing practice?

                          Click the graphic to download.
                                                  








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Saturday, October 26, 2013

31 Days, 31 Printables {Day 26}: Reading Log


During the month of October, Saturdays will be devoted to directing you to a printable I've shared in the past. 

Today I'm directing your to my printable Reading Log.  With space to record book title, author, and date completed, it is simple enough for a child to fill out themselves, but complete enough to keep for school records. 
 

Click here to access your own FREE Reading Log!

You may also enjoy browsing my index of book recommendations, organized by subject.






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Friday, October 25, 2013

31 Days, 31 Printables {Day 25}: Doodling on the Road


When we went on family vacation in September, in addition to packing snacks for the car, I packed a folder for each child.  In the folder was a little packet of pages compiled specially for each one of them with drawing ideas to keep them busy while we drove.

With prompts such as "Design a t-shirt you'd like to wear" and "What's behind this fence?" each page got their imaginations fired up and kept boredom away.  The girls had pages that asked them to fill the window box with flowers and design their own quilt squares.  The boys had opportunity to design a license plate and color a football helmet with their favorite team's colors.  Everyone drew pictures of our destination and what they wanted to do when we got there.  

Doodling on the Road: A booklet of ideas for drawing in the car was a hit on our trip and whether you are taking a long car trip or simply driving across town, I bet your kids will love it, too. 

To download your copy, click here or on the graphic below.  If you love this booklet and would like to see more (Christmas or winter themed, perhaps?), leave a comment or e-mail me!





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Thursday, October 24, 2013

31 Days, 31 Printables {Day 24}: Coins and Counting Money



The best way to learn to count money is to...count real money!  Last year, I spent several weeks of math lessons counting coins with my 1st and 3rd graders.  Sometimes we counted stacks of coins to see how much each pile was worth.  Other times, I gave them random handfuls of money and asked them to pay me a certain amount.  Then I asked them how much change they would need and whether they could afford to buy something else.  

My kids also love the self-check-outs at the grocery store.  They take their time to figure out just how much money to insert and  love to watch the machine spit out their change.

Sometimes, though, kids need a little extra practice.  I created a few Coins and Counting Money Worksheets that encourage the use of real coins to find the answers.  To download your series of 3 worksheets, click on the thumbnail below. 







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Wednesday, October 23, 2013

31 Days, 31 Printables {Day 23}: 30-Day Bible Study for Elementary Students



This is possibly my favorite printable of the entire month!  I created this Bible Study Plan for my elementary-aged students in an effort to have them learn to navigate the Bible while also comprehending what they read

Based on the principles of Charlotte Mason, the Bible study assigns short passages and asks children to narrate what they've read by answering a short question following each passage or by copying a verse from the day's passage.  

To print a copy of this 30-Day Bible Study for Elementary Students, click below. 


30-Day Bible Study for Elementary Students

If you enjoy this Bible Study and want more like it, leave a comment or e-mail me






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Tuesday, October 22, 2013

31 Days, 31 Printables {Day 22}: Fall Leaf Fun


I don't know about you, but I'm always on the look-out for simple activities that make my pre-schooler feel like she is a part of our school day. I want activities to be fun, but they also need to be something that she can do independently while I'm working with the older children. To serve those purposes, I created this 2-page fall leaf worksheet .  It incorporates coloring, recognizing colors, drawing, counting, and nature study. 

To download a bit of Fall Leaf Fun for your preschooler, click here or on the thumbnail below!






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Monday, October 21, 2013

31 Days, 31 Printables {Day 21}: The 3 Branches of Government



Do you want an easy and visual way to teach your children about the 3 branches of government and their individual responsibilities? The Three Branches of Government printable may be what you need!








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Sunday, October 20, 2013

31 Days, 31 Printables {Day 20}: Fall Color Chart



During the month of October, Sundays will be devoted to pointing you to a printable that our family has used and enjoyed  from another blog or website.

Last year, my children enjoyed a challenging coloring activity from Hearts and Trees.

In the Advanced Fall Color Activity, each box had to be shaded in with a different shade of fall.  Some colors like brown and yellow were easy.  Others like bronze and scarlet were a little trickier.  Then there were colors like plum and persimmon that required the kids to mix colors to achieve the right shade. 



                                       
       Sound like something your kids might enjoy?
                          Click the graphic to download.
                                                  







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Saturday, October 19, 2013

31 Days, 31 Printables {Day 19}: Number Gobbling Busy Bag




During the month of October, Saturdays will be devoted to directing you to a printable I've shared in the past. 

Today I'm directing your to the Number Gobbling Busy Bag.  The Number Gobbling Busy Bag teaches counting and number recognition and introduces preschoolers to the concepts of 'greater than' and 'less than' with a fun, hands-on game. 

This busy bag is in my kindergartener's box of activities that he does on Fridays during homeschool time. It's fun, it teaches math (without a lot of teacher assistance), and it features sharks!  What's not to love?







Friday, October 18, 2013

31 Days, 31 Printables {Day 18}: Emergency Contacts List


While no parent wants their child to be faced with an emergency, children need the tools to equip them if something terrible happens.  Even in non-emergency situations, having a handy list of adults to call is a good idea.  On our refrigerator, we hang our Fill-in Emergency Contacts List in a prominent place.  We keep it in a page protector and secured with magnets.  We've also taught each of our children how to operate the phone correctly and good phone answering manners. 

To download your own Fill-in Emergency Contacts List, click on the text or graphic below. 

Fill-in Emergency Contacts List






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Thursday, October 17, 2013

31 Days, 31 Printables {Day 17}: Writing and Addressing a Letter


Two of my older kids (ages 9 and 7) have penpals.  I love that writing letters is a fantastic way for children to express themselves through the written word, plus squeeze in some handwriting practice. The rule in our house is you can't have a penpal until you are old enough to do the writing yourself.  I offer assistance, but the bulk of the work falls to the child.  

Today's printable is a fun letter writing kit printable.  It includes an easy (mostly visual) tutorial, 4 blank templates, and instructions for addressing an envelope.  To download your own letter writing kit, click on the graphic below!











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Wednesday, October 16, 2013

31 Days, 31 Printables {Day 16}: Autumn Bookmarks



This printable covers two bases in our family:
  • It gives  my kids a simple craft project that needs very little supervision. 
  • It fills our need for more bookmarks.  Between the 7 of us, we're usually in the middle of 8-9 books and we are always losing our bookmarks! 
Print a sheet of these 4 fall-themed bookmarks...or print 2 sheets! 

Click the graphic below for your FREE download! 









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Tuesday, October 15, 2013

31 Days, 31 Printables {Day 15}: Easy Animal Taxonomy for Kids


I made this printable for my own family when I couldn't find anything like it online.  We had begun studying mammals in school and we were discussing how animals were grouped into categories based on their characteristics.  Instead of trying to explain taxonomy to them, I wanted a very basic chart so they could see for themselves. When my online search turned up nothing, I made my own.  

This chart is done entirely in gray and black  to save on printing cost.  





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