hands on learning

  • easy summer learning activities

    Learning activities for when you’re REALLY BUSY

    Summer can feel like a whirlwind – how do these months seem to go so much faster than the rest of the year?! That can make it really hard to be intentional about making time for learning, there’s just so many other things happening! There are still some really great ways to incorporate basic educational skills into even your busiest summer days. Here are some of my favorite easy summer learning activities. This post does contain affiliate links. Workbooks. I know there are tons of opinions on workbooks, but I’ll throw mine in here and say that I think there are ways that these can be used effectively and appropriately.…

  • My personal philosophy

    One of my favorite Early Childhood blogs is Let the childrenplay. I love it because Jenny’s educational philosophies are so closely aligned with my own – she has great love for loose parts, hands on learning, and getting messy! She posted this week about the big ideas behind her philosophies, and why she connects with each of them (you can read it all here).  Her post got me thinking about the philosophies that I value, and more importantly, why I value them.  I’ve shared many of my values related to education here, but I’m not sure that I’ve ever written about why these particular methods and ideals resonate with me. …

  • Weather basics – an experiment

    This weather experiment is super easy, and I’ve done it with my classes for the last few years, but my kids love a good science experiment, and are super into weather, so I got it out again.  It’s pretty basic, you fill a clear container with water and top the water off with shaving cream, the shaving cream is supposed to be a cloud. Then you put a few drops of food coloring (blue is suggested because it is supposed to be like rain, but I usually let the kids choose whatever color they want) on top of the cloud, and eventually the food coloring will saturate the cloud and…