UCSD in La Jolla, just north of San Diego has a fun sculpture collection all around their campus. Part of our fifth grade homeschool was learning about sculpture. We did a lot of looking at sculpture books and hands on sculpting ourselves, but seeing large, diverse sculptures in person is the best kind of inspiration.

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Sculpture Hunt

This scavenger hunt will take you around some of the pieces in the Stuart Collection on the UCSD Campus. Download your free printable hunt below to get started.

Also Read: Photography 101 – Teaching Kids to Take Pictures

Once you find parking (I’ll admit this can be tricky! My advice is to come on the weekend or during a campus break so you can get street parking just off campus). Then START at the La Jolla Playhouse and head north to Scholars Drive to find the answer to the first clue on the printable hunt.

Get Your Sculpture Hunt Printable Here

The printable will direct you around campus to four of the many pieces of art. There are a lot more, but this hunt will cover a range of types and take you to different parts of the campus.

More Ideas for Exploring Sculptures with Kids

Seeing sculptures is fantastic, but don’t stop there. Afterwards, create a variety of sculptures yourself! One of our favorites is working with clay. Here are some options:

• Go to a clay studio. Check your local area for clay studio for kids. If you’re in San Diego, we like Cool Creations on Garnet in Pacific Beach. This type of experience allows you access to a kiln.
• At home, or in a classroom, there are a lot of options as well. For smaller projects my kids love colorful air dry clay like this
• For larger or more authentic clay experiences, we love this big block of air dry clay.

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Get Your Sculpture Hunt Printable Here

Elections are always a nature learning opportunity. My twins were in fourth grade during the 2020 presidential election and we really leaned into the excitement and interest in the election as part of our social studies learning.

We voted via drop-off ballot in California. Our ballots arrived in early October so I showed them to my fourth graders and we talked a little about the different parts before I filled it out. Then they walked with me to our local drop off spot to turn it in. In previous years they have always gone with me to vote before school on Election Days.

No matter what year it is and how tense or invested the country feels in the current election cycle, using it as an opportunity to teach kids about government and democracy feels useful.

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Two Weeks Before the Election

• Read DUCK FOR PRESIDENT and do this writing activity from TpT
• Watch the Debates together
• Share any of the flyers you get in the mail with them. Compare and contrast ones you get from different parties. What do they like? What makes sense to them? How do they relate to advertising in other areas of their life?
• My daughter started reading HEIDI HECKELBECK FOR CLASS PRESIDENT by Wanda Coven

One Week Before the Election

• This is a fairly comprehension Elections Unit by Sonlight that covers a lot of information about the election process. The week before the election we did about half of this unit.

Election Week, Day and Night

• Decorated with Red, White, and Blue
• We watched 2 videos on TedEd about Why We Vote on Tuesdays and on the Electoral College.
• My kids really wanted to pretend to vote so we used these Election Day Worksheets from Confessions of a Homeschooler.
• Played this Printable Election Math Game from Royal Baloo
• Did this Free Patriotic Music Lesson from Music in our Homeschool.
• Used this Electoral College Map with a math activity you can do beforehand to see how different states can be combined to get the total number of votes needed. This also includes some geography as you find states on the USA map.
• Electoral College Map to track the race as votes come in. If you’re teaching in a classroom you could send this home with the kids or fill it out together the next day when they return to class.

Also Check Out:
Unit Ideas for
Third, Fourth & Fifth Grade

Renewable Energy feels like a must-teach for any grade right now. Renewable energy is growing around the world as an alternative to oil and an effort to slow global warming. Since the kids will be living this future we’re worrying about, exploring this topic with them feels vital.

Energy Science was one of our main science units in Fourth Grade. We learned about different kinds of energy, did experiments to explore light and gravity and more. Then we switched gears to renewable energy.

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Renewable Energy

Once we had thoroughly explored energy and wrapped up our unit with our robot activity, then we moved on to renewable energy. We learned about the different kinds of renewable energy together and they also went more in depth on one kinds.

Learning About Types of Renewable Energy

To kick off the unit, we talked about why renewable energy is needed for our world before diving into the different forms of renewable energy.

Introduction / Why It is Important

Read Aloud:
Our House is On Fire by Jeanette Winter
Oil by Jonah & Jeanette Winter
Energy Island by Allan Drummond

These books were great starting points for conversations on renewable energy and our earth’s changing climate. We also watched a TedEd on Planning for the End Oil. Then we dove into the different current types of alternative energy.

Renewable Energy Types

I introduced Solar, Wind, and Hydroelectricity to the kids. We read a little about each and did one or two activities. Then the kids each chose one to learn more about in depth (more about that project at the end).

Books We Read Together:

Solar Story by Allan Drummond
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba & Bryan Mealer
You Wouldn’t Want to Work on the Hoover Dam by Franklin Watts

Other Resources:

• Used the Catch the Wind, Harness the Sun Alternative Energy Activity such as crafting wind powered boats.
• Watched BrainPop videos on wind energy and solar energy
• Explored how they work with the Snap Circuits Green Alternative Energy kit.

Field Trips

I am a huge fan of field trips, learning through real life experience, adventures – so finding places where my kids could experience or see renewable energy in action was important to me. We did two big field trips during our renewable energy unit. One was to a Wind Farm in Palm Springs, CA and the other was the Hoover Dam at the Arizona / Nevada border.

Trip to Wind Farm – Palm Springs CA

This spring we took a driving tour through the Windmill Farm in Palm Springs. The tour was easy to schedule online.

You drive around the farm in your car, watch short videos and then pop out at different sites to see various things up close. It took about an hour and was really interesting. Learn more: https://www.windmilltours.com/

My daughter, who did her Renewable Energy project on Wind Power loved seeing the huge wind towers up close.

Hydroelectric Power: Hoover Dam Field Trip

Here in CA the closest example of hydroelectric power is the Hoover Dam in Nevada / Arizona.

Before the visit, we learned more about hydroelectric power. We watched videos and checked out a stack of books from the library to learn about how Hydroelectric Power works. The Hoover Dam also has resources. We used some of these Education Resources to learn more about the Hoover Dam and hydroelectricity.

Then we took a road trip to the Hoover Dam. We did this during the Covid19 Pandemic which wasn’t ideal. Normally I would have loved to walk all over and take a tour inside the plant. Unfortunately, many people weren’t wearing masks so we limited what we did.

We started with a stop at the overlook for Lake Mead. We had read about the environmental impact of building the Hoover Dam but we were still amazed at how large this lake is.

Then we drove over the Hoover Dam. We parked at one of the outside lots. There were a lot of parking options. We were able to walk around outside and since my kids, especially my son who did his project on Hydroelectric Power, knew so much about it they were excited to point out the different parts and what was happening beneath the surface.

Renewable Energy Research Project

This project was the main part of our Renewable Energy unit. Each kid chose a type of energy to explore and I supported them in researching it.

The steps we used are below, these were loosely based on the WRITE SHOP writing curriculum unit on Nonfiction Reports. I love this writing program for my child with dyslexia. They do a great job providing structured supports. I tweaked this unit a little to fit our projects, but we used the general structure, the visual supports to help with brainstorming, and the grading rubric.

First: Pick a Topic
After reading about some of the various types of renewable energy, each kid picked what kind of energy they wanted to learn more about.

Second: Research
Using a stack of books from the library and searching on the internet, my kids gathered information about their chosen renewable energy. They kept notes in a folder specifically for this project.

Third: Outline
Once they had researched for several days, I sat down individually with each kid and we created an outline. We framed their projects in three parts plus an introduction and conclusion.

• Introduction
• Basics about the Energy behind their renewable energy form and history of where it came from. For example, my son researched hydroelectricity. He talked about rivers and watermills.
• Explanation of how their renewable energy works. For example, my daughter explained how a wind turbine works. Here they also talked about the pros and cons.
• The future of their renewable energy source. How much of this source is currently in our country and where do scientists see it going in the future?
• Conclusion

In writing the outlines, they were able to see where they had holes in their research. For the most part, this meant figuring out where they needed to do a little more research to add more interesting details to their reports.

Fourth: Write Paper / Report
Once they had an outline and had filled in the gaps with additional research, they wrote their papers. My kids wanted to do oral reports, so I had them write out what they were going to say using a newscaster voice. They loved that idea. Once the reports were written they found visuals to put behind them and enhance their presentations and crafted microphones for themselves.

Fifth: Renewable Energy Reports
We videoed each kid performing their report. In a classroom, this could be a live presentation. I liked recording them so they could share it with their grandparents who have been hearing about their reports for weeks and with their dad who is deployed. It is also a good record to go in my file of photos and videos of the year and all we’ve learned about in fourth grade.

More Ideas for Upper Elementary School

Great Britain is one of our around the world units for fourth grade. There are a lot of reasons for this, including the wide amount of global history that was impacted by Great Britain expansion, but my kids are part English and that was my main motivation.

We touched on Great Britain colonialism. My fourth graders are HUGE Hamilton fans (You can find our Hamilton Unit ideas here) so they often think of the English as the enemy. I don’t shy away from the uglier parts of history with my kids, but I also want them to see both sides and the British have done more than march around the world colonizing things.

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Our unit centered on literature. I consider this to be one of, possibly the, greatest gift that Great Britain has given the world. From Shakespeare and Austen, to Dahl and JK Rowling and everything in between the British are remarkably entertaining and prolific.

Whether you are learning about Great Britain in a classroom or homeschool or planning a trip abroad, this unit is a fun place to start learning more about Great Britain.

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Books to Read

• Harry Potter series
• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
• The BFG or any books by Roald Dahl. Many of these also have movie versions that can be fun to compare to the books.
• All Creatures Great & Small and then watch the new series or the original from the BBC
• Finding Winnie – the true story of Winnie the Pooh
• Ordinary, Extraordinary Jane Austen – a picture book biography
• Flibbertigibbety Words – a picture book about William Shakespeare
• For younger siblings, make sure to read Peter Rabbit and plenty of Winnie the Pooh.
• All Aboard for London Bus – a collection of poems

Activities about Great Britain inspired by Great Books

First, here’s a good Intro to Great Britain week of activities with a printable map from Unremarkable Files. It’s a good place to start and here are some London Themed coloring sheets.

• Harry Potter Unit
• Narnia Unit from Homescholar and watch The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe movie.
• There are lesson plans for THE BFG and other books on Roald Dahl’s website.
• Cute Winnie the Pooh themed unit from We Are Teachers.
• I also loved this post from We Are Teachers on Using Picture Book Biographies with a class. It’s applications extend across curriculum areas and beyond this unit.

Plan a Trip to the United Kingdom

This is the dream right? Learn about somewhere and then go there. It is definitely high on our list of places to visit. Here are some helpful posts to aid you in planning a trip.

• Best Places to Visit in the UK with Kids – this is a great well rounded trip or collection of trips to England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from Travel Melodies.
• Child Centered Trip to London – from Our Family Passport. This one is focused on London solely, but it is quite detailed.
• A Family Guide to London – this one is from the Wanderlust Family and I always find their posts useful. This one loads of practical information.

Book Inspired Locations I Want to Visit

• Scotland’s The Isle of Skye is considered Giant Country since The BFG movie was released in 2016. It is also where other famous things have been filmed in Scotland such as Game of Thrones.
• AA Milne’s Hundred Acre Wood: Ashdown Forest, Sussex. You can pick up a map of the forest allowing you to follow in the great bear’s footsteps from the visitor center. The path culminates at Pooh’s much-loved bridge where you can take a moment to play Pooh Sticks. Read about our Hike in the 100 Acre Wood here!
• Aylesbury which is home to the Roald Dahl Children’s Gallery or Great Missenden which is home to the Roald Dahl Museum.
• Beatrix Potter’s home is also in the Lake District and you can tour Hill Top Farm and beautiful gardens that inspired Peter Rabbit.

There are so many more – Lord of the Rings, Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland, The Borrowers, The Secret Garden, and so many others.

Harry Potter Locations You Can Visit:

• York’s historic Shambles, which dates as far back as the 14th century, has grown in popularity amongst Harry Potter fans over the years. It is remarkably similar looking to Diagon Alley in the films.
• King’s Cross Station in London where platform 9 and 3/4 is located. This is also where parts of Paddington Bear, Peter Pan, Mary Poppins and A Little Princess were set.
• Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire is where many of the interior shots set at Hogwarts were filmed.
• There is also a Harry Potter themed hotel in London – you can read a review on Sunny in London.

Get more unit ideas here.

Christmas is a magical time of year. I am a bit Christmas obsessed. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays so I never jump ahead, BUT the moment Thanksgiving is over we dive head first into Christmas. Therefore, with homeschooling my Fourth Graders, Christmas is taking over that area of life as well.

Here are our Homeschool Christmas Plans…

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Christmas Math

• Read Christmas Farm and play Grow Tree Farm Game from Math Geek Mama.
• 12 Days of Christmas Math Word Problems from TpT
• Make Santa Coordinates Pictures from TpT
• Christmas Math Games from TpT
• Bake Christmas Cookies (also relates to Science and Social Studies)

Christmas ELA

• Read Aloud a Chapter of How Winston Delivered Christmas by Alex T Smith each day. This book is so much fun. It is a story with a chapter for every day of Advent. It also has activity ideas throughout the book.
• Read: Best Christmas Pagent Ever
• Read The Polar Express and listen for metaphors and similes
• Compare and Contrast Traditional Christmas tales.
• Write our own Christmas story using the general structure from Write Shop.
• Watch Christmas movies once a week for our Brave Writer Movie Nights.
• Christmas Madlibs or do this Cookie Madlibs from TpT
• Roll a Christmas Story on TpT
• Christmas Vocabulary Pages from TpT

Christmas Social Studies

Christmas is different all around the world. We’ve been exploring different world cultures this year and in December we are going to learn about how different cultures celebrate Christmas. We are going to cookie cookies from around the world including some from the The World of Cookies for Santa book by M. E. Furman.

Here are some more Christmas traditions from around the world to try:

German Christmas Traditions:

• Advent Calendars : here’s a piece on the history of German advent calendars in case you’re curious.
• St Nicholas Day which is on December 6 this year.
• Advent Wreath
• Christmas Tree Pickles
• Sing German Christmas Songs like Silent Night

French Christmas Traditions:

• Try bûche de Noël, a chocolate sponge cake log

Irish & English Christmas Traditions:

• The day after Christmas Day, St. Stephen’s Day (known as Boxing Day in the UK and some other countries), is also very important in Ireland. In both countries, football matches and horse racing meetings are traditionally held on St. Stephen’s Day.

Italian Christmas Traditions

• One of the most important ways of celebrating Christmas in Italy is the Nativity crib scene. Using a Nativity scene to help tell the Christmas story was made very popular by St. Francis of Assisi in 1223 (Assisi is in mid-Italy).
• Epiphany is also important in Italy. On Epiphany night, children believe that an old lady called ‘Befana’ brings presents for them. The story about Befana bringing presents is very similar to the story of Babushka.
• Make: Penettone Recipe:

Mexican Christmas Traditions

• From December 16th to Christmas Eve, children often perform the ‘Posada’ processions or Posadas. Posada is Spanish for Inn or Lodging. We’ll be reading Tomie dePaola’s book about Posada and acting it out if my kids are interested.
• One game that is often played at Posada parties is piñata. A piñata is a decorated clay or papier-mâché jar filled with sweets and hung from the ceiling or tree branch.

Christmas STEM

• Bake different Christmas cookies every week for our Poetry Tea Time. We’ve been baking and cooking a lot this year. We’ll be focusing on Christmas cookies through around the world.
• Build a Nativity Scene with Legos. There’s a Nativity Scene Lego Kit or you can challenge your kids to create their own with the pieces you already have.
• Cook our Raddish Kids Seasons Eatings kit.
• Grow Candy Cane Crystals with these printables.
• Code Christmas songs on Scratch

Christmas Music and Art

• Learn Christmas songs on the piano and recorder. My kids are beginners so these will be very basic songs.
• Christmas Music Theory lessons from My Fun Piano Studio
• Christmas Music Listening Worksheet from TpT
• Read Aloud Revival Christmas drawing lessons.
• Play Christmas Pictionary
• Deep Space Sparkle Reindeer or Santa art lesson.
• Virtual Field Trip to see the Nutcracker and do related art and dance activities.
• Put on a Christmas Show via zoom for our Grandparents. The kids will perform their piano and recorder pieces and read aloud their Christmas stories.

Christmas PE

• Christmas Decoration Scavenger Hunt walk around our neighborhood.
• Use Christmas brain breaks to create Christmas themed circuit workout.
• Go for a walk in Balboa Park to look for signs of Christmas

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