Ireland is a gorgeous and fun country to visit. I’ve been lucky enough to visit twice and would love to go back with my kids. In the states, around St. Patrick’s Day, it is normal to see lots of green and pots of gold and shamrocks. It’s also a great time to dive into this fascinating island and it’s rich history and culture. Here is everything you need to do a unit on Ireland with upper elementary schoolers.

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Visit Ireland

So, obviously going to Ireland is the best way to really experience Ireland. However, this isn’t possible in a lot of situations so here are some alternatives.

Attend an Irish Cultural Event

A lot of cities and towns have Irish Cultural Events around the time of St. Patrick’s Day. Parades, Festivals, etc. These will allow you to at least hear Irish music, maybe see some Irish dancing. You might even be able to try out or watch an Irish sport like curling.

Virtual Visit to Ireland

Another option is a virtual visit. My fourth graders loved this 17 minute YouTube visit to Ireland.
Ireland: Travel the World with Your Kids

Read about Ireland

Follow Me Around Ireland
by Wiley Blevins

I have been pleasantly surprised by this series several times. They serve as a good introduction or overview of a country, in this case Ireland. I love that they are from a child’s perspective so they include things like how kids play and what school looks like. FOLLOW ME AROUND IRELAND is a wonderful book for giving some context for all of the playful picture books on this list for St. Patrick’s Day.

Find Online

Celtic Tales: Fairy Tales and Stories of Enchantment from Ireland, Scotland, Brittany and Wales
illustrations by Kate Forrester

This is a beautiful book of fairy tales from Celtic heritages. Obviously they aren’t all from Ireland, but when we did our Fourth Grade Unit on Ireland, or when you’re getting ready for St. Patrick’s Day you could just read the tales from Ireland. They are brief, just a few pages, which works well for a daily read aloud or before bed.

Find Online

For More Book Recommendations, check out this booklist on My Storytime Corner

Explore Irish Music

• Irish Music lesson from Music in Our Homeschool
• St. Patty’s Music Theory from My Fun Piano Studio

Art Activities inspired by Ireland

• Make St. Brigid’s Crosses using pipe cleaners from Everything Irish by AnnMarie O’Grady
• Learn to draw a Pot Gold with Art Hub for Kids
• Draw Celtic Knots with Kitchen Table Classroom.

Science & Math Activities

• Pot of Gold Multiplication Game from Hanging with Mrs. Hulsey on Teachers Pay Teachers.
• St. Patrick’s Logic Puzzles freebie from Mrs. Thompsons Treasures
• Bake Irish Soda Bread. Everyone swears by their family recipe for this, but regardless of the recipe you choose – this bread is a staple.
• Play Rainbow Game from Waldock Way
• Make Rainbow Slime from Little Bins for Little Hands

Irish Reading & Writing Activities

• St Patrick’s Day Fact vs. Opinions
• Write Irish Limericks – this was a favorite with my kids.
• Ireland Cursive Pages
• Write Your Name the Celtic Way also from Everything Irish by AnnMarie O’Grady

Learn about Irish Dance

Irish Dance is a unique form of dancing that’s a traditional part of Irish culture still thriving today. If you can’t watch Irish dancers live, here are some YouTube videos of Irish dance:

• RiverDance – you might be able to find a full show at your library as well. This was a world famous touring group of Irish Dancers.
• Trinity Irish Dance Company – this group is currently touring and is a more modern take on Irish dance.
• Leahy Call To Dance – this is a family of musicians that play in a band together. They are not professional dancers, but they dance and I love this song. It’s great fun.
• Cairde – also more modern, but still traditional. This is a group in Ireland.

If you have more time, Netflix has an animated movie full of Irish dance, RIVERDANCE: THE ANIMATED ADVENTURE which is really cute.

End of Unit Irish Program

At the end of our unit, we had an Irish themed program for friends and family. We included:

• Irish Dance
• Irish Songs on Recorder and Piano
• Irish Limericks Read Aloud
• Art Show

More Ideas for Third, Fourth and Fifth Graders

Ancient Egypt was one of the first major civilizations. In our Middle School Ancient History learning we briefly talked about other early civilizations, like Mesopotamia and how they impacted history. After that, we moved on to mummies and pyramids and pharaohs.

affiliate links are included below

Our second big unit for Middle School World History is Early Civilizations. We learned about several other civilizations before Ancient Egypt, but this is one that really grabbed the attention of my kids and so we dove in deeper. We learned about the Stone Age and Neolithic Era first (CLICK HERE FOR THIS UNIT). Below are the resources we used and some unit ideas.

Ancient Egypt Unit

Base Text: Everything You Need to Ace WORLD HISTORY in one Big Fat Notebook. This is by no means an all inclusive, perfect “textbook” but it does give you a solid outline. Throughout our World History Unit we are using this as a spine to build off. We read the chapters and do the review questions together with some notebooking. Then we get into the other books related to the topic on our shelves, watch documentaries, do hands on activities, etc. Buy Here

Notebooking: we are using notebooking to keep track of what we’ve learned in World History. My kids are highly visual learners who also really enjoy art, so this is a great fit for us. We read the study guide above and read more in the resources below and then they take time to record what they find the most interesting and important. This is usually a combination of drawings and writing. By the end of the year they will have a record of early World History they can review and share as a work sample of all they have learned. Our notebooks are spiral bound, unlined journals, similar to these.

More Resources about Ancient Egypt

Many of the books listed below will be used throughout our Middle School World History course throughout the school year. They cover the range of early history. For this Ancient Egypt Unit we simply read and focused on those pages.

Tales of Ancient Worlds: Adventures in Archaeology by Stefan Milosavljevich and Sam Caldwell – short stories that walk you through discoveries and build a story around each one. It helps tie science to history and also personalizes history through stories. Find Online

A Child Through Time: The Book of Children’s History illustrated by Steve Noon – offers the story of a child for many of the main periods in history. It begins with Taya, an Ice Age Girl, and ends with Ruby Bridges during the Civil Rights movement. Find Online

How the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World Were Built by Albatros – The pyramids of Giza are the first section in this nonfiction book. It shares a little background about Egypt and the pyramids. Then it goes into the extraordinary feat of science, manpower, and materials that went into the building of the pyramids. Find Online

Math & Ancient Egypt

For Math during our Early Civilizations Unit we focused on Geometry. We covered a lot of 3D shape concepts, but we started with Pyramids. We researched the size of the pyramids and then calculated the area and volume of each.

Reading, Writing & Ancient Egypt

Our big writing project during out Ancient Egypt unit was writing a mini-research paper on a pharaoh. Each kid chose one pharaoh from Ancient Egypt. They found books at the library, watched videos, and did more research online. We worked on note taking and resource page writing. They pulled it all together in a short paper to share about their chosen pharaoh.

We also learned all about hieroglyphs. This was easy to find information about in various books, but our favorite was the Fun with Hieroglyphs Kit. The kit has a fabulous book inside that goes in depth on all things to do with hieroglyphs along with some activities to do with the stamps. The hieroglyph stamps are fun. My kids wrote letters incorporating hieroglyphs to their homeschool pen pals. (Order Here)

Geography & Ancient Egypt

The Nile River was a vital part of Ancient Egypt thriving. We read GREAT RIVERS OF THE WORLD by Volker Mehnert and Martin Haake. There is a fold out spread on the Nile and how this geography impacted history.

Science & Ancient Egypt

Mummies were a huge interest going into our Egypt unit. My kids spent this unit watching National Geographic’s Lost Treasures of Egypt on Disney+. They were fascinated by not only the mystery, but also the way science is used to uncover lost history.

Tied to mummification, we also dove a little into some anatomy. We learned about basics using:

• Waldock Way’s Human Body Unit
• Videos on YouTube especially this one by Crash Course
• and this Mammal Organs dissection kit that we are working through with our weekly science co-op.
• Read Mummies Made in Egypt by Aliki. This isn’t new by any means but it’s still well done and easy to find in most libraries.

Ancient Science also has tons of history themed science activities that we’ve started working through. These are simple experiments that usually use materials we have on hand and the book ties them to history and explains the science behind them. Find Online

Timelines of Everything from Smithsonian – this is one of my favorite books on our shelves. It puts history and science and art into timelines. The timelines are different and creative and it is such a wonderful visual on so many topics. Find Online

Art & Early Civilizations

Vincent’s Starry Night and Other Stories: A Children’s History of Art by Michael Bird – is a gorgeous, thick book that tells stories of history through art. It walks through history chronologically, telling stories inspired by different iconic artworks of the period. Find Online

Art That Changed the World from DK Books – offers more details and facts about art through history. It is also laid out chronologically starting with Prehistoric Art. This book has a huge collection of artwork from each period, details about each, timelines and more. Find Online

Ancient Egypt & Games

We love games in our family so finding fun ones to play together that relate to whatever we are learning is a must! Here are some fabulous games to play during this unit.

• Imhotep: Builder of Egypt. This is a strategy game in which you’re trying to transport blocks to build pyramids. It’s steeped in the history about trade and travel on the Nile and building of the pyramids that we talked a lot of about during this unit.
• Mr. Noggins Ancient Civilizations trivia game. My kids love this series of games. They’re essentially flashcards but for some reason they are engaging and fun. We have a bunch of them, but this one relates specifically to Ancient History. This is a go-to carschooling activity for us. Find Online
• Seven Wonders Duel is another fun game that relates to Ancient History. It is a two person game, although some of the expansions allow more players to join. My kids like to play against me. Find Online

Middle School World History. Wow. That’s crazy to say. I never in a million years when I was getting my teaching license, when I was homeschooling preschool for my twins, when I sent them off to Kindergarten, never did I think I would be teaching middle school. And yet, here we are and crazy as it sounds I am excited.

Our first unit for Middle School World History is First Humans. This covered the Stone Age or the Paleolithic Era, Ice Age and the Neolithic Era. Below are the resources I used and some unit ideas.

affiliate links are included below.

First Humans Unit

Base Text: Everything You Need to Ace WORLD HISTORY in one Big Fat Notebook. This is by no means an all inclusive, perfect “textbook” but it does give you a solid outline. Throughout our World History Unit we are using this as a spine to build off. We read the chapters and do the review questions together with some notebooking. Then we get into the other books related to the topic on our shelves, watch documentaries, do hands on activities, etc. Buy Here

Notebooking: we are using notebooking to keep track of what we’ve learned in World History. My kids are highly visual learners who also really enjoy art, so this is a great fit for us. We read the study guide above and read more in the resources below and then they take time to record what they find the most interesting and important. This is usually a combination of drawings and writing. By the end of the year they will have a record of early World History they can review and share as a work sample of all they have learned. Our notebooks are spiral bound, unlined journals, similar to these.

More Resources about First Humans

Many of the books listed below will be used throughout our Middle School World History course throughout the school year. They cover the range of early history. For this First Humans Unit we simply read and focused on the early humans pages.

Tales of Ancient Worlds: Adventures in Archaeology by Stefan Milosavljevich and Sam Caldwell – short stories that walk you through discoveries and build a story around each one. For example, one of the first stories is about Lucy. She was an Australopithecus discovered by archeologists and the book shares what has been known and hypothesized about her. It helps tie science to history and also personalizes history through stories. Find Online

A Child Through Time: The Book of Children’s History illustrated by Steve Noon – offers the story of a child for many of the main periods in history. It begins with Taya, an Ice Age Girl, and ends with Ruby Bridges during the Civil Rights movement. Find Online

A Street Through Time also illustrated by Steve Noon – this is my daughter’s favorite in the World History stack. It shows a 12,000 year journey along the same street. Obviously some creative license is taken here, but the concept is fun. The illustrations are detailed and it brings to life the different periods. We focused on the Stone Age and First Farmers pages for this unit. Find Online

History of the World in Comics by Jean-Baptiste de Panafieu – is just that, history told in comics. It starts at the very beginning of time and provides an overview of evolution and how our world has changed. We read this over the summer before starting our year and with this First Humans unit. After that it speeds up as it attempts to accurately depict how little humans have occupied the earth’s history. Find Online

Math & First Humans

For Math during our First Humans Unit we focused on timelines. This allowed us a starting place to work with positive and negative numbers. We also reviewed fractions by placing fractions on number lines as well.

History Year by Year from Smithsonian – is a fantastic resources that ties together timelines, photographs and artwork. Find Online

Timelines of Everything from Smithsonian – this is one of my favorite books on our shelves. It puts history and science and art into timelines. The timelines are different and creative and it is such a wonderful visual on so many topics. Find Online

All civilizations had to eat and therefore they had to cook. I love integrating cooking into our math, which we’ve done in various ways over the years. This year we are using this Ancient History Cookbook to do some thematic cooking together (which works on fractions and measurement) each unit.

You May Also Like: Ancient Egypt Unit for Middle School

Science & First Humans

Glaciers were the most interesting topic to my kids when we started exploring the First Humans resources. We watched the Magic School Bus Rides Again episode about glaciers and watched this YouTube video on Glaciers.

Ancient Science also has tons of history themed science activities that we’ve started working through. These are simple experiments that usually use materials we have on hand and the book ties them to history and explains the science behind them. Find Online

Learn about Ice Age animals by doing a little guided research with this packet from Peanut Butter Fish Lessons.

Art & First Humans

Early Humans created cave paintings that have been discovered by archeologists all over the world. We read about them in the books below.

Vincent’s Starry Night and Other Stories: A Children’s History of Art by Michael Bird – is a gorgeous, thick book that tells stories of history through art. It walks through history chronologically, telling stories inspired by different iconic artworks of the period. Find Online

Art That Changed the World from DK Books – offers more details and facts about art through history. It is also laid out chronologically starting with Prehistoric Art. This book has a huge collection of artwork from each period, details about each, timelines and more. Find Online

Find More Curriculum Units Here

Sharks became my son’s obsession in First Grade. Kindergarten was his Lego obsession which definitely continued into First grade, but in First Grade he met some friends in California who loved sharks and his inkling of an interest blossomed. They formed a “fish club” at school and suddenly he was pouring over Shark books late into the night. Four years later, heading into Fifth grade he’s still obsessed and absolutely knows more about sharks than I do. 

If you have a kiddo who is obsessed with these incredible creatures – then these Shark Week ideas are for you! This post is a round up of all of the fun shark activities we’ve done over the course of many ideas, more than you’ll likely do in one week. 

Note: You can certainly do these ANY time of the year – not just during shark week! 

Shark Week Unit Ideas

affiliate links are included in this post.

Field Trip Ideas

If it’s possible, going to see real live sharks is an exciting addition to a Shark Unit. We’re lucky to be able to snorkel with sharks and see them in the nearby aquariums here in San Diego. 

Aquarium

Depending on where you are, your access to aquariums and aquariums with sharks will vary obviously. If you can get to an aquarium and see these guys in real life though it is a great experience.

Right now, here in the San Diego County area we were able to see three kinds of reef sharks at the AquaLife aquarium at Legoland and little sharks at the Birch Aquarium (they’re outside in a little area curtained off from the play area.)

Sea World – San Diego

This is kind of the ultimate aquarium. My son was beyond excited that he not only got to see some cool sharks – like black tipped reef sharks – but he also got to touch sharks in the touch tanks by the entrance. We were about 100 yards into the park when he smiled up at me and said “I already really like this place Mom!”

Shark Activity Ideas

Learning anything and everything about sharks seemed to be our general plan for our Shark Unit. Here are some shark activities to get you started.

Literacy Activities

• Awesome Children’s Books about Sharks from My Storytime Corner 
• Comparing and Contrasting Fiction and Non-Fiction Books
  Comparing and contrasting two books is one of our first grade learning objectives. We also did this with two ocean animals, but for this activity I simply put out a sheet of paper for each kid with a space for writing or drawing something that was the same and something that was different. Then we had a bigger discussion together and grew our lists.
• Shark Word Find Puzzle from Jinxy Kids – these would be great spelling words as well if you’re looking for a related Spelling Word list. 

read also: Preschool Ocean animals unit ideas

Art Activities

• Learn to Draw Sharks with a shark drawing book
• Learn to Draw Sharks with this video tutorial on Art for Kids Hub. 
• Learn to Draw a Shark printable from Kid Activities Blog
• Under the Sea Mural – we used the 3 Day Collaborative Mural idea from Artful Parent
• Giant Shark Suncatcher Craft from And Next Comes L is another fun potentially collaborative project.
• Shark Chalk Pastel Drawings from Nourishing My Scholar
• Easy Shark Origami from Hawaii Travel with Kids
• Paper Plate Shark craft from Kid Activities Blog
• Shark Bookmark Craft from Big Family Blessings – this is super cute! Or print and color these shark bookmarks from Picklebums
• Cut and Glue Shark Craft from Kiddy Charts – I think this is best for kindergarten/first graders.
• Chomping Foam Shark Puppet from The Soccer Mom Blog

STEM Activities

• Ocean Life LEGO Building – start with these LEGO building ideas post here.
• Shark Week Fast Facts Printable from 3 Boys and a Dog
• Play Games to learn about the food cycle and more. We love playing CHOMP. It’s a quick, easy and fun card game that includes sharks. We also love Professor Noggins Trivia Oceans game. It includes sharks along with a whole host of other marine life. 
• Shark Toys and Water Beads Sensory Bin
• Observing + Drawing Favorite Ocean Animals – pick an animal and observe them at your local aquarium.
• Learn about their characteristics. Like how do sharks float?
• Math & Science Shark Printables from Every Star is Different
• Measure Sharks – Pull out your favorite shark book, a tape measure and some chalk. Measure your favorite kinds of sharks and draw them out on the drive way. 
• Shark Worksheets from Living Life and Learning 
  
  Awesome Ocean Science by Cindy A. Littlefield
  Find Online
  A whole book of kid’s science experiments about the ocean! Fascinating information and fun hands on activities.  5+
• Watch Octonauts Episodes about Sharks 
  Season 1 (episodes 7, 8, 22), Season 2 (episode 1) and Season 3 (episode 7)
• Play in Ocean Oobleck from Glitter on a Dime
• Sharks Unit Study printable pack from Rock Your Homeschool. This is a really detailed, thorough packet for kids who want to go a little deeper.
• Shark Life Cycle with Mama Teaches

Social Studies Activities

• Map Where Sharks Live

Gross Motor Activities

• Play “Great White Shark” at the pool.
  It is Marco Polo except the person searching is a shark instead. If you think saying shark at the pool is going to be too alarming to others (note: do not play this game at the beach) then you can just say “Hammer” and “Head” or some other variation on a shark name.
• Shark Circuit Training
  Make up a workout circuit that’s shark themed. We did a leg focused one that included shark munchies (jumping jacks), shark swims (running in place), shark chompers (shark leg raises). Be creative. How can you move your bodies like a shark and workout?
• Play What Did the Shark Eat?
  There are 3 ways to play this game from Your Therapy Source which can work on a variety of skills. 

Cute Shark-ish Snack Ideas

• Shark-Cuterie Board from Simplistically Living
• Ocean Blue Lemonade Popsicles from Play Party Plan
• Shark Lollipops from In The Kids Kitchen
• Shark Covered Oreos from In The Kids Kitchen

Browse All Of Our Unit Ideas

The stars and moon and planets of our solar system have long fascinated people of all ages. When NASA launched 60 years ago it was a vision, a dream. The reality of space exploration has far exceeded our expectations in so many ways.

LEARN MORE ABOUT NASA’S 60TH ANNIVERSARY

I am honestly not sure where my kids caught the space bug, but I noticed that their play started involving rockets blasting off to space. Over the course of the next few weeks, we delved into the planets, astronauts, the moon, the international space station and more.

Whether your kids are fantasizing about becoming astronauts or curious about the hubbub surround NASA’s anniversary, this is a fun collection of ideas to delve into outer space with preschoolers.

affiliate links are included below. 

Preschool Outer Space Unit Ideas

Field Trip Ideas

1. Planetarium
2. Science Museum : Here’s an example of a Museum trip from Something 2 Offer.
3. Backyard Moon or Star Watching : These tips on How to Spot Meteors from Frog Mom could help!

Outer Space Children’s Book List

There are so many amazing books for kids to absorb about outer space and astronauts. A few of our absolute favorites are below, but for the full list read BEST CHILDREN’S BOOKS ABOUT ASTRONAUTS & OUTER SPACE.

Mousetronaut Goes to Mars by Astronaut Mark Kelly
Order Online

This adorable book follows the adventures of a mouse astronaut, Meteor. He is determined to be apart of the first human misson to Mars. Children will be rooting along for this little mouse hero. 3+

The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System
by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen
Order Online

A classic Magic School Bus book. Venture into the space with the most adventurous classroom and most famous science teacher in children’s books. 3+

Moonshot : The Flight of Apollo 11 by Brian Floca
Order Online

We are a huge fan of Brian Floca and this book is no exception. Stunning illustrations, fascinating information, and amazing retelling of the story of Apollo 11 for the next generation. 4+

A Trip into Space
by Lori Haskins Houran
Order Online

Good first looks at the International Space Station for preschoolers where astronauts live, work, and walk. 3+

Outer Space Learning Activity Ideas

Planets, Planets from Album I Know You’ll Grow.. by Music with Nancy
music/arts

We love Nancy Kopman’s music and I credit her Planets, Planets song to my twins learning the names of all of the planets. My daughter sang this song non-stop for almost a month. You can find the CD on Amazon.

Ball Solar System
science

My dad did this activity with my kids (I come by this teacher thing naturally). He gathered a bunch of balls of different sizes – soccer balls, baseball, tennis ball, etc. They used the balls to create a solar system on the dining room table. Then they took turns orbiting the balls (planets) around the table.

International Space Station
science and creativity

My kids are fascinated by astronauts and the idea of the international space station. We read a couple books about the ISS but then I found a Tour of ISS on UTube. There are a few so look around. My twins loved learning about how the astronauts bounce around without gravity and about the different living spaces in the station. After they watched it, they drew their own version of the space station (photo above).

Next they pretended their tent was a Space Station and a big yellow beach ball was a meteorite. This pretend play was very dramatic and exciting. Later they pretended that our whole house was a space station and their shoes were gravity boots. Much imagination and pretending happened for days.

Gravity Experiments
science

Gravity is a tricky concept for preschoolers to understand. It involves something they can’t really seem making it abstract and difficult to explain. We worked on the concept a little by doing a simple gravity experiment. One person stood at the top of the stairs and dropped two objects at the same time. The other people stood at the bottom and watched to see which item feel the fastest. We talked about this and made some guesses about why some things fell faster than others.

Outerspace Little Passports Unit
math and literacy

Our Little Passports subscription for this month just happened to match our interest which was a huge bonus. If you’re curious about Little Passports you can learn more here. We used their activities throughout our unit, usually during group time, and especially loved the outer space themed stamps. We used them to make pictures, create patterns, and tell stories.

Quiet Time Literacy Activity
literacy

I like to create at least one quiet time activity for each unit or interest. I put this on their shelf to practice making words and recognizing lowercase letters. The tray is from the Melissa and Doug magnetic letters. The right side has magnetic letters and the right side has cards with space themed words written down.

Into Space Quiet Time Activities
math and literacy

I made this set of printables for my kids to work on during Quiet Time. The pack includes a mini-book about a trip to the space station, patterning cards, and a drawing prompt. You can download it for FREE on Teachers Pay Teachers.

Outerspace Puppet Show
literacy and arts

My parents took my twins to see a puppet show at the Art Museum during the time we were learning about space and it inspired this idea. They worked on a space themed puppet show together based on the book Moonshot by Brian Floca (see list above). They created astronaut, rocket, and lunar module puppets, created a story, and rehearsed. Then they put the puppet show on for me and various stuffed pals. It was a great way to celebrate and conclude their project.

More Activity Ideas

• Galaxy Art Science from Preschool Powol Packets
• Stargazing Apps from iGame Mom
• Solar System Unit Study from Look We’re Learning
• Astronaut Ten Frame Matching Game from The Kindergarten Connection
• Moon Word Search Printable from Tales of Education at Home
• Astronomy for Kids from Planet Smarty Pants
• Space-Themed Salt Tray Activities from The Usual Mayhem
• Night Sky Dot to Dot Printable from Craft Create Calm
• Outerspace Coloring Pages from Sight and Sound Reading
• Outerspace Word Search from The Letters of Literacy

Birds, sparrows in particular, are one of my daughter’s obsessions this Spring. Interests can come from anywhere and hers usually surprise me the most.

When you think about birds you probably think about Spring and trees. We have birds in our backyard in San Diego that chatter all day.

affiliate links are included below.

That however is not where her love came from.

This Spring her school put on the musical Alice in Wonderland and my daughter was one of the purple tree birds. She became quickly invested in reading everything she could about Alice in Wonderland and learning everything and anything she could about Birds and in particular her bird – the sparrow.

Regardless, surrounded by bird books and building bird feeders is how we found ourselves spending time this Spring.

Bird Unit Ideas

Field Trip Ideas

I believe in field trips for their power to bring concepts and abstract ideas to life for my kids. Here are some field trip ideas for kids interested in birds.

1. Head to a local trail or regional park – example: Mission Trails Regional Park and our hunt for hummingbirds.
2. Google specific bird watching spots in your area – example: Bird Watching in New York City at the Salt Marsh and my two essentials for hikes with kids.
3. Use the amazing BIRDOLOGY book for 30+ activities for exploring animals with preschoolers and up – some right in your own yard or neighborhood.
4. The Zoo. Our Zoo (the San Diego Zoo) has incredible bird areas and so do many of the zoos we have visited over the years.

Printables & More to Bring Along:

• Take the ON THE NATURE TRAIL book with you (pictured above) and use their cues to learn about birds in your area.
• Free Birdwatching Tally Sheets from Fantastic Fun and Learning
• Birdwatching Bingo board and other Printables for Bird Observation from Walking by the Way

Activity Ideas

Back at home or in the classroom, expand and deepen your child’s interest in birds with some of these great activities.

Literacy Activities

• 10 Best Children’s Books about Birds from My Storytime Corner
• 10+ Children’s Books for Kids Who Love Birds, Squirrels and all Things Up in the Tree + Storytime Activities from My Storytime Corner
• Take this Free Printable Bird Book on your Birding Adventures from Buggy and Buddy
• Put on a Bird Puppet Show with these awesome DIY Bird Marionettes from Red Ted Art
• Bird Seed Sensory Writing Tray from School Time Snippets

Art Activities

• Make your own bird nests with loose materials. from My Storytime Corner
• Dried Flower Bird Craft from Blue Bear Wood
• No Sew Feather Bird Mask from Blue Bear Wood
• Egg Carton Bird Masks from Blue Bear Wood

STEM Activities

• Build a Bird Feeder – We got one in our Happy Family Box
• Nesting Birds Mini-Unit from Bambini Travel
• How to Make a Hummingbird Feeder from Growing Up Gabel
• Even More Homemade Bird Feeder and Birdseed Ornaments from Natural Beach Living
• Bird Nest Math Activities – Counting, Addition and Subtraction from Rainy Day Mum
• Find a guidebook to give you more information about the birds you discover.
• Birds and Nests Sensory Bin from Rubber Boots and Elf Shoes
• Observing & Learning Backyard Birds with Free Printables from Natural Beach Living
• Studying Bird Beaks from Pink Stripey Socks
• Build a Nest STEM activity from A Dab of Glue Will Do
• Matching Male and Female Bird Cards from Adventure in a Box

Together these adventures and activities taught my first graders about different varieties of birds and the different ways birds eat, nest, and more.

Get the Book Today!

The sound of Japanese Taiko Drumming is unmistakable. It sounds like thunder and yet instead of heading away, you feel drawn to come closer.

The first time we heard taiko drumming we were at the New York Botanic Gardens in the Bronx.

We were walking in one of the gardens towards the conservatory and we heard it. The thumping was growing louder and faster and my daughter starting walking and then running ahead. She needed to know what it was.

Around the corner were a line of women and huge drums. Knees bent, arms pulsing, and drums thumping these women were building their drumming louder and stronger and faster.

My daughter watched spellbound.

Learning Through Adventure

She probably could have stood there for hours, but a few minutes later the drums stopped and as we moved to go into the conservatory, one of the women asked if there were any children who wanted to come try the drums.

With a quick glance from her and a nod from me, my daughter raced to the front arms waving overhead ahead. Her fearlessness never ceases to amaze me.

Serious and quiet at first and then quickly growing more confident with the help of her patient, kind teacher, soon my girl was up there thumping away with a huge smile on her face.

This is why I love learning through adventure.

I love the spontaneous nature of it. Even though I’m a planner and list maker, I love that I can’t completely control when something new is going to spark their interest.

I love how it brings something alive so much better than a book or photo ever could. My kids know exactly what taiko drumming is. They’ve felt the drums. They’ve tried to make those loud, echoing sounds.

I love that these experiences keep coming up in our conversations for weeks and months and sometimes even years later – so much more often than other table or structured activities seem to.

affiliate links are included below. thanks for supporting bambini travel.

Almost a year later we moved from New York City to San Diego CA. We were busy adjusting to a new school and new routines and unpacking boxes. One afternoon I took my kids to the library by our new home. I was helping my son look for his favorite graphic novels, when my daughter came racing over to me.

“Look Mama! Look Mama! This little girl is drumming just like I did!” she yells in a not very library friendly voice, waving a book excitedly in one hand.

“That’s so cool. Can you show me?” I asked (demonstrating a much quieter but enthusiastic voice) and waving her over to my lap.

She climbed in between my legs and put NATSUMI in my hands.

The Book: Natsumi & Making Connections

Natsumi

written by Susan Lendroth and illustrated by Priscilla Burris
Find Online

This is a book to love for so many reasons. It is about a little girl who is desperately trying to find her place among her families Japanese traditions. She tries a variety of traditional activities, but none of them are a fit for her loud active personality. Eventually her grandfather introduces her to taiko drumming – sorry that’s a bit of a spoiler, but important to my story.

I love the character of Natsumi. She reminds me so much of my spirited daughter. I love the way she is able to find a way to participate and still be completely her.

I love the illustrations and the storytelling. I love the surprise ending – sorry I ruined that for you! It’s still worth reading though, I promise.

My daughter loved it for all of those reasons I think, but she was most excited to find a reminder of her experience with Taiko drumming. We read and re-read NATSUMI at the library and later at home after checking it out.

We also talked about some of the other Japanese traditions mentioned in the book – the tea ceremony, the dancing. My daughter was curious about the dancing so we checked YouTube to see if we could find a video. (See below for the one we watched.)

Building More Connections

A couple weeks after we read NATSUMI, we got on a plane for Disney World. After a day of Mickey and princesses at the Magic Kingdom, we headed to Epcot on day two.

We had just finished watching a 360 degree movie about China and were hunting for a snack when we heard a familiar sound.

There in the middle of Disney World’s Epcot was another row of strong women taiko drumming. The powerful sound thundering and racing. Beautiful and powerful.

My kids both sat transfixed on the hot sidewalk and watched.

Later when the drumming stopped we would walk through the little Japanese garden and try some Japanese food in a pavilion.

Later my daughter would remind me about NATSUMI still sitting in our library basket at home.

Later we would find Japan on a map and notice that it was right across the ocean from us now that we lived on the west coast.

Later we would start talking about seeing the drumming and eating the food and wandering the gardens in the actual Japan.

All because of the magic of adventures and experiences with kids. And all because learning through adventure simply inspires more learning and more adventure.

Want More?
Read: Japan Unit for Kids

This post is part of the Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month Series.
Look below to Find more Asian Pacific American learning ideas.

Welcome to our fifth annual Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month Blog Hop! Below you can explore ideas about sharing with kids the rich cultures of this vast and varied region.

For even more ideas, visit our blog hops from last year, 2016, 2015 and 2014. You can also follow our Asia and Australia & Oceania boards on Pinterest.

Participating Blogs

Pack-n-Go Girls on Multicultural Kid Blogs: 10 Fun Facts About Thailand for Kids

Chinese American Family: Tools to Dream – 101 Points of Chinese American Pride

Crafty Moms Share: A Look at Japan

Bicultural Mama: 5 Ways to Use Chopsticks in the Kitchen

Bambini Travel: Learning About Japanese Taiko Drumming with Kids

Kori at Home: Fun Facts About the Philippines for Preschoolers

Wise Owl Factory: Project Mulberry by Linda Sue Park – Free Printable

How to meet a butterfly

He had been sitting patiently for at least 15 minutes with his tiny finger outstretched. He was doing everything right but there was no butterfly.

We were in a butterfly exhibit and my impatient, active 3 year old had been sitting quietly waiting for a butterfly to pick him. We had talked beforehand about how you attracted a butterfly and how butterflies startle easily. Given his current state he had obviously taken this advice to heart and yet, no butterfly.

Why were we here waiting for butterflies to land?

It started with a book by Bill Martin Jr.

Bill Martin Jr. is the author of more than 300 books for children. His titles include classics such as Brown Bear Brown Bear, What Do You See? and Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom. If you haven’t yet, I highly recommend checking out his Big Book of Poetry. It is a fabulous compilation for children. I love most of his books, but our current Bill Martin Jr. favorite is Ten Little Caterpillars.

READ: Ten Little Caterpillars by Bill Martin Jr.
(find it online here)

Ten Little Caterpillars is informative and engaging. It combines the talents of Bill Martin Jr and Lois Ehlert to create a bright counting book that is perfect for reading aloud. Given the great variety of butterflies in the world, it makes sense that caterpillars be as diverse. This child appropriate non-fiction book offers a wealth of fascinating information about the world of caterpillars staged in a fun counting book format. Lois Ehlert’s illustrations offer their typical depth, brilliance of color, and attention to detail. Together these two celebrated children’s book creators have done it again. Ten little caterpillars are out in the world around us and this book beckons you to learn more about them. 2+

*More awesome Butterfly picture books for children on My Storytime Corner.

Butterfly Unit for Preschoolers

Butterfly Field Trip: Butterfly Garden

Obviously, if you believe in learning through adventure and your heart has been captured by a book about butterflies, to a butterfly garden you must go.

Butterfly Gardens exist throughout the United States. They are often located within museums or gardens. Sometimes they are permanent year round exhibits, others visit for a season each year. Search in your area to find one near you.

*Best Places to see unique butterflies in nature from Frog Mom.

I personally love visiting butterfly gardens. I know they freak some people out, but I think butterflies are beautiful and fascinating in their diversity. The best one I have visited was at Reiman Gardens on the Iowa State University campus.

This time we were in Wisconsin visiting the Milwaukee Public Museum which has a year round Butterfly Exhibit on the bottom floor. This is the first time our twins had seen a real butterfly and they were entranced.

My son was particularly determined to have a butterfly land on his finger.

*Consider bringing this Butterfly I Spy Game printable from Simple Fun for Kids.

Butterflying: Nature Walk

Read Post

5 Tips for Visiting with Children:

1. Know your child. If they are sensitive to touch the idea of butterflies flying around their head and potentially landing on them might be scary.
2. Prepare your child. Let them know what they will be seeing. Talk about the butterflies beforehand.
3. Stress the importance of being gentle and quiet. Butterflies are extremely fragile and easy to startle.
4. To get them to land, help your child find a spot near some butterflies to sit. Encourage them to be quiet and to move slowly.
5. Take pictures so you can remember your favorites and look up more about them later.

*Find more tips for Visiting a Butterfly Garden or House on Something 2 Offer.

Back to that quiet butterfly garden and my waiting child.

After at least 15 minutes, a black and yellow butterfly hovered near his hand, darted away, and then flew back sitting down on his little outstretched finger.

“Mom!” he said in a hushed tone. His eyes were huge and never left the butterfly for the full 10 seconds it sat still on his finger.

Then it darted away but the magic had taken hold. He talked about that one moment for days and weeks to come. That butterfly had chosen to come sit on his finger. It’s the kind of thing no book or butterfly matching activity could ever quite replace.

you may also like: Growing your own butterflies 

More Butterfly Activity Ideas

Literacy Activities

• Find the Letter B is for Butterfly worksheet on 3 Boys and a Dog.
• Create a Butterfly Journal for observing on Books and Giggles.

Art Activities

• Drawing, painting, or making a photo book about Butterflies.
• Make a Butterfly bookmark from Living Ideas. 
• Cupcake Liner Butterfly craft from Raising Little Superheroes.
• Painti butterfly skies with Butterfly Sensory Painting on Parenting Chaos. 
• Butterfly Suncatchers from Crafty Mama in ME.
• Window Cling Butterflies on Gym Craft Laundry. 
• Try Marshmallow Stamping Butterflies and Other Bugs with these free printables from Play Dough + Popsicles.

Butterfly Counting Activity: Count + Match DIY Game

Since our kids are interested in learning to count right now, I also made this simple count and match game. It is an easy game to practice counting, recognizing numerals, and matching.

Setup:

• Draw or Trace a Butterfly shape onto paper. I printed a butterfly outline from the computer and then placing it under the paper against a window, I traced it 20 times on white paper. Make them as colorful as you want. I did a few different butterfly types so they looked different and colorful, but my kids couldn’t match them by color alone.
• Number your butterflies. I numbered my 1-20. Use whatever numbers your child(ren) is working on.
• Use a hole punch to cut holes out of colored construction paper.
• Use a glue stick to attach the punched out circles onto the butterflies. Obviously match the number on the butterfly with the correct number of circles. (See example in the picture)
• Laminate with Contact Paper to make the butterflies more sturdy.

Activity:

I like to introduce an activity like this to my kids first. I demonstrated counting the dots on one side. Together we decided what number we were looking for and then searched the basket.

Once we had matched a couple together, they were on their own unless they asked for help. One of my kids tends to rush when they count so I encourage them to slow down and use their finger to point to the dots occasionally.

This activity can be an individual activity or a cooperative project. My twins like to work together to match all of the butterflies. One is a more confident counter and I like that this provides the other with a peer model. It is also a great cooperative task when they are working together. Lots of discussion about numbers and checking their counting and negotiating takes place.

After doing the activity at the table once, I placed the basket in our fine motor and math area to use during play time. For a more confident counter, this would work well as a Quiet Time activity as well.

More STEM Activities

• Grow and release your own butterflies.
• Butterfly Life Cycle for Kids printable from The Natural Homeschool or this one on Living Life and Learning.
• Explore symmetry + butterflies with LEGO butterflies on Planet Smarty Pants.
• Research more about the butterfly you liked best.
• More butterfly science on Schooling a Monkey.
• Plant your own butterfly garden and leave a sweet treat to entice them to visit. Tips on Our Daily Craft.
• Explore a Butterfly Sensory Bin with a scavenger Hunt on Living Montessori Now.
• Explore Butterfly Wing Patterns with these printables from Craft Create Calm.

See All Preschool Units Here

It rained for the first time since our move and we learned something new about San Diego – when it rains snails come out.

Maybe you’re super unimpressed because this is just common knowledge to you, but where I grew up earth worms wiggle out of the dirt when it rains.

My kids however were super impressed.

They spotted the snails first. They were everywhere. On the wall of our porch. On the sidewalks and driveways. On the ground in our garden.

Not being one who particularly enjoys things that wiggle and squirm, I was not super umm excited about this discovery.

My kids however were SO excited.

I’ve learned, after years of learning through adventure with my twins, that it is best to embrace these moments – even when I’m not super excited about the theme – because the best learning happens in these natural learning opportunities. 

click for all of our previous interest driven projects

If this seems like something that would interest your kids or if you too find snails pouring out of their hiding spots after a rainfall, then this unit will point you in the right direction so you can make the most of this opportunity.

affiliate links may be included.

Snails Unit for First Graders

Snail Field Trip

So if you live in an area where there are snails head outside to a garden area and see if you can spot some.

Our snails in San Diego like to crawl right out onto the sidewalks when it rains. My friends in the UK spot them in their bushes.

Wherever you find them, show your kids how to gently observe them and then put them back where they were found.

I started by pulling out our bug adventure kits to give them some tools to observe the snails.

read also: adventure supplies i can’t live without

There is no doubt that seeing the real thing and having it sit in your hand or crawl on your arm offers so much sensory information that you can’t get from seeing a picture.

Activity Ideas

Snails were completely new to us – again you may not be impressed but that was our starting point.

So, what is a snail?

Snail is a common name loosely applied to shelled gastropods.

We learned later that there are more kinds of snails – but more on that in a bit.

Literacy Activities

In our bug kit are these cute little field note clipboards and they inspired some self directed writing about their findings. (Note: I made a copies of the little page – only one is included per set).

Activity for Later:

• Read The Snail & The Whale and then retell the story with this Story Telling Wheel from Rainy Day Mum.
• Read more books about snails – these were our favorites.

Art Activities

• Also related to the book THE SNAIL AND THE WHALE you can make this cute Movable Paper Plate Craft from Crafts on Sea. My kids used this like a puppet show.

STEM Activities

To me, one of the most important science skills for this age group is learning to slow down and carefully observe something.

They made little welcoming habitats for the snails and put a couple in these bug jars. They based their habitats off of the environment in the gardens where they were found which I thought was some good problem solving.

You May Also Like: Spider Web Hunt with FREE Printables

They also used magnifying glasses to look closely at the snail’s bodies and shells.

The data recording forms asked how big the subject was, so they went inside to find a ruler and started measuring their snails.

MORE IDEAS

• How Animals Eat Their Food: Exploring Macroinvertebrates from JDaniel 4’s Mom
• Study snail anatomy and more fun facts from Preschool Powol Packets
• Learn about Snail habitats, spirals and more with these awesome activities from Rubber Boots and Elf Shoes.

Applying Our Snail Knowledge

About a week after we had found our snails, read about snails and explored a lot of the activities linked above, we learned something new.

There are sea snails.

My twins had the opportunity to go to the Birch Aquarium to learn more about animals that live in tide pools.

They were delighted and surprised to find out that Sea Snails are one of those animals.

It was fun to watch them apply their snail knowledge to their sea relatives when they talked about their anatomy and other adaptations.

They were confident scientists and proud to share what they knew. To me, it was such a cool example of the amazing power of providing kids the time and materials needed to follow their random interests on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

Isn’t it cool how simple and empowering an easy learning opportunity can be?

If you find yourself stepping back amazed at your child’s ability to whip from one emotion to the next, believe me you are not alone. The emotions of preschoolers are especially large and varied.

In some ways these little people seem quite capable. They can dress themselves, feed themselves, use the bathroom and carry on a conversation.

It is often tempting to think of them as older than they actually are developmentally. Although they have come leaps and bounds since the days of being a tiny, wailing newborn, they are still quite small.

If we are being honest, they still put their clothes on backwards, get food all over their face, miss the toilet with startling frequency, and get misunderstood when they talk.

In the same ways that their other skills are a work in progress, so too are their abilities to regulate emotions.

Aside from finding ways to maintain the incredible amount of patience, how else can we help?

As Kathy Hurley wrote in The Happy Kid Handbook “building a ‘feelings vocabulary’ means giving your child language to express their feelings and teaching them the visual cues and internal feelings . . . that accompany each feeling” (p71).

Instead of thinking of huge emotions as behavior problems, think of them as you would learning to put shoes on the wrong feet.

Your child needs reminders, coaching, tools to figure it out.

What Can You Do?

A lot of this coaching happens in the moment.

• Model calm behavior as the adult.
• Help the child take a break or calm down.
• Problem solving ways to fix their problem or address their frustrations.

This is an exhausting process, but it can be supported.

Instead of always waiting for your preschooler to have a complete meltdown before addressing their feelings, talk about their emotions when they are happy and calm.

When my twins were preschoolers (and even now that they’re older) I planned activities to specifically talk about feelings.

Not every day, sometimes not even every week, but at least a couple times a month I plan a book and/or activity that addresses their emotions. I plan time to play and read and talk to them about their big emotions.

You can use these as I have, for periodic discussions about all those big emotions, or you can lump them together for a fun unit on feelings.

Below are some of our favorite ways to talk about emotions with preschoolers.

affiliate links are included.

Preschool Feelings Unit Ideas

Knowing the vocabulary for basic emotions and the facial indicators that go along with them are the first step. We practice this in playful ways.

Sing Songs

One of our favorites is the song “If You’re Happy and You Know it”. (If you are unfamiliar with the basic song, you can find it on YouTube here)

We don’t just sing about happiness though. We cover all of the emotions. For example, some of our favorite verses are;

“If you’re surprised and you know you can gasp!….”

“If you’re angry and you know it you can stomp your foot…”

“If you’re sad and you know it you can cry….”

It’s so simple, but this song is great because it has emotions vocabulary, encourages you to pair the facial expression, and gives your preschooler a healthy way to express each emotion.

As a bonus, it can go on for quite some time or be rather short, which is perfect when you are driving in the car or waiting somewhere with your child.

Read Books about Emotions

Elephant and Piggie series or Pigeon books
by Mo Willems
(Find it Online) or (Find it Online)

Wemberly Worried
by Kevin Henkes
(Find it Online)

When Sophie Gets Angry
by Molly Bang
(Find it Online)

Mouse Was Mad
by Linda Urban
(Find it Online)

My Many Colored Days
by Dr Seuss
(Find it Online)

Feelings
by Aliki
(Find it Online)

Llama Llama books
by Anna Dewdney
(Find it Online)

Walter Was Worried
by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
(Find it Online)

Exploring Emotions with Art

During our unit, we did various art activities to support learning about emotions.

We also did a similar prompt on paper, on the chalkboard (pictured), on the light table, and on the easel outside with paint.

We often did this in the morning and talked about how we were feeling over breakfast.

After reading Llama Llama Red Pajama, we made these heart loveys. This was a great time to discuss the emotions we feel at bedtime, which have been particularly large lately.

We also did this story time emotions lesson that you could do with any of the books listed above with materials you have at home or in your classroom already.

Find more of our Preschool Units here!

“The Superkids Activity Guide helps children understand what their bodies are telling them and provides them with the right words so they can tell their parents exactly what they are feeling and why they are feeling it.” 

(superkidsguide.com)

Looking for another great resource? Join the SuperKids movement!

Are emotions getting in the way of successful mornings? Are they leading to meltdowns at bedtime?

Then this is the book for you. 

Dayna’s impressive understanding of how to focus on the positive and help all children succeed is remarkable and inspiring.

Click to Learn More!