Category Archives: homeschool

Learning Resources for Special Days in November

novemberThere are wonderful opportunities for learning from the November calendar!  Here’s a BiG  resource list for teaching and learning with November’s themes, holidays, and special days.  Be sure to check back occasionally throughout the month, for I’ll be adding to this collection as more resources become available.

November holidays, observances, food themes, and awareness days, historic figures, composers, artists and authors birthdays, science and history based anniversaries,  and more!                                          https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2020/10/27/special-days-in-november-2/

Printable SPECIAL DAYS IN NOVEMBER

Helpful “go-to” resources for educational calendars, monthly themes, and special days studies  https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2016/07/31/learning-resources-for-special-days/

How I use Special Days lists in our homeschool blog series :

Special Days and the Evolution of Morning Calendar Time

Special Days and Biographies

Special Days and Geography

Special Days and Science

November Themes

Adopt a Turkey  – Wild Turkey Resources, Crafts, and Activities  http://www.franw.com/2011/11/wild-turkeys.html

Aviation  – The study resources we used during August’s “Aviation Week” are great and will work just as well in November.  https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2014/08/17/aviation-week-learning-resources/

Diabetes  –  Pre-K – 12 Teacher Guides, Worksheets, and Quizzes –  Just enter “diabetes” into the search bar to pull up which level you need  –  http://classroom.kidshealth.org/index.jsp?Grade=0&Section=welcome

Geography Awareness  –  Geography Activities, Ideas, and Resources   https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2017/07/29/special-days-and-geography/

Historic Bridges  –  Learning Resources and Activities https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2016/05/27/bridges/

Music  –  We also go to this site often for music theory, composer biographies, and free sheet music printables  http://makingmusicfun.net/

NaNoWriMo (National November Writing Month) –  Young Writers Program  –  Guides, Lesson Plans and Workbooks  –  https://ywp.nanowrimo.org/pages/educator-resources   and the NaNoWriMo homepage  http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/

Native American Heritage – Resources and Activities  http://www.franw.com/2015/10/native-american-resources.html

Squash – Resources and Recipes  http://www.franw.com/2011/11/3-sisters-squash-pumpkins.html

Sweet Potato Awareness –  Resources and Recipes   http://www.franw.com/2015/09/sweet-potato-resources.html

Thanksgiving (US)

World Communication  –  Communication Skill Building Videos  https://www.edutopia.org/topic/communication-skills

Presidents With Nov. Birthdays:

  • Nov. 2 – Warren Harding 1865
  • Nov. 2 – James Polk 1795
  • Nov. 23 – Franklin Pierce 1804
  • Nov. 24 – Zachary Taylor 1784

Presidents Resources and Activities –   https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2014/02/14/resources-for-presidents-day/

Nov. Statehood Anniversaries

  • Nov. 2 – North and South Dakota1889
  • Nov. 8 – Montana 1889
  • Nov. 16 – Oklahoma 1907
  • Nov. 21 – North Carolina 1789

Special Days and Geography                         https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2017/07/29/special-days-and-geography/

November Daily Specials

Nov. 1  –  Plate Tectonics Day  –  Lesson Plans and Activitieshttp://geology.com/teacher/plate-tectonics.shtml

Nov. 2 – Alternate birth date for Daniel Boone 1734 (other sources say Oct, 22) https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/10/22/daniel-boone/

Nov. 3  –  First Dog in Space 1957  – Article and Resource List   http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/dogs/

Nov. 4 – Common Sense Day – Read the Thomas Payne Publications  http://www.pagebypagebooks.com/Thomas_Paine/Common_Sense/   and watch this episode of Liberty’s Kids  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awlBeITstkE

Nov. 5 – Guy Fawkes Day and Bonfire Night –  http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/guy-fawkes

Nov. 6  –  Marooned Without a Compass Day  –  8 Ways to Find North Without a Compass  https://www.wikihow.com/Find-True-North-Without-a-Compass

Nov. 6 –  Composer John Phillips Sousa born 1854  –  Audio Biography with Music Selections   http://www.classicsforkids.com/shows/shows.php?id=60

Nov. 7 –  Scientist Marie Curie born 1867  –  Short Biography and Printables  http://gardenofpraise.com/ibdcurie.htm

Nov. 7 –  Evangelist Billy Graham born 1918 –  K-12 Downloadable Lesson Plans  –https://billygrahamlibrary.org/educational-resources/

Nov. 8  – Tongue Twister Day – How fast can you say these?   http://www.funenglishgames.com/funstuff/tonguetwisters.html

Nov. 9 –  Berlin Wall Opened, 1989 –  Article, Facts, and Quiz   http://www.ducksters.com/history/cold_war/berlin_wall.php

Nov. 9 –  Kristallnacht Anniversary 1938 – Exhibition, Video, and Educational Resource List  https://www.lookstein.org/professional-dev/kristallnacht-resources/

Nov. 10 – Theologian Martin Luther born 1483 –  Resource and Activity List

https://simplelivingcreativelearning.com/reformation-day-resources-and-activities/

Nov. 11 – Origami Day –  http://www.franw.com/2013/12/holiday-and-winter-origami.html

Nov. 11 –  Remembrance/Veterans Day –  http://www.franw.com/2013/11/veteransremembrance-day.html

Nov. 12 –  Reformer Elizabeth Stanton born 1815 –  http://www.franw.com/2013/11/womens-suffrage-research-resource.html

Nov. 13 –  World Kindness Day  –  100 Acts of Kindness Ideas for Kids and Families  https://www.coffeecupsandcrayons.com/100-acts-kindness-kids/

Nov. 14 –  Artist Claude Monet born 1840  –  http://harringtonharmonies.com/2013/04/art-unit-for-claude-monet.html

Nov. 15 – America Recycles Day –  Crafting with Recyclables  http://www.franw.com/2013/04/make-your-own-crafts-from-repurposed.html

Nov. 15 –    Artist Georgia O’Keefe born 1887 –  Big Flower and Color Art Project    http://harringtonharmonies.com/2013/05/create-color-like-okeeffe-a-georia-okeefe-arty-unit.html

Nov. 16 – Fast Food Day  – Fast Food Nutrition Lesson Plans (middle school/high school) –    http://www.fastfoodnutrition.org/lesson-plans.php

Nov. 17 – Explorers Lewis and Clark reached the Pacific Ocean 1805 (some sources say 15th)-  Student Activities  http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/activity/lewis-and-clark-student-activity

Nov. 18 – Mickey Mouse Debut 1928  Watch the first Mickey Mouse cartoon http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6c_WgxTsMo

Nov. 19 – World Toilet Day –  Learning Resources – https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2015/11/19/world-toilet-day/

Nov. 21 – First Hot Air Balloon Flight 1763 –   http://www.franw.com/2014/06/hot-air-balloons.html

Nov. 25 – Author/Illustrator Marc Brown born 1946 –  Educator Resources, Activities, and Lesson Plans  http://marcbrownstudios.com/school/educators-faq/

Nov. 25 – Woody Woodpecker Debut 1940  –  Watch These 1940’s Episodes  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOTOpybYf20

Nov. 26 – Cartoonist Charles Schulz born 1922 – Peanuts resources https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2014/10/02/peanuts/

Nov. 29

Nov. 29 – Author CS Lewis born 1898 –  Interactive Biography and Fun Facts  http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/famouspeople/cs_lewis/

Nov. 30 – Author Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) born 1835 –

Happy November Learning!

betty jo

Fall Festival and Party Games

fall_festival_3

Tonight is our local homeschool group’s family night and the theme is “Fall Fest”!  Our families are encouraged to bring a DIY carnival type game.  Complicated construction or expensive materials are just not necessary for great games!  Recyclables and dollar store materials combined with a little creativity is all it takes for fantastic festival fun!

I found lots online resources as I looked around for some ideas, and I’m passing the best ones on to you for your fall parties or just some seasonal play activities for you to make with your children.

Wonderful collection of activities and games! Pumpkin Golf,  Can Game, Pumpkin Bowling, and Candy Corn Toss are just a few of the easy to make and easy to set up game ideas  offered here  http://spaceshipsandlaserbeams.com/blog/party-games/21-halloween-party-games-and-activities

We decided to take this Spider Launch game to the party.  There’s other awesome ideas from this assortment of  25+ Simple Carnival Games   http://frugalfun4boys.com/2015/10/07/carnival-games-kids/

Z’s working on a variation to this Marble Maze STEM activity.  It’s going be a fun challenge to make and play!  We’ll be substituting the marble with a gum ball and using orange and black loops and licorice track to  transform it into a “fall” theme  http://buggyandbuddy.com/paper-plate-marble-maze/

This Paper Plate Pumpkin memory game is super easy to make and set up.  You could attach it to a poster board to hang on the wall if floor space is an issue  Scroll down a little because there’s also a link that takes you to 10 more Simple Halloween Games  http://www.pleasantestthing.com/pumpkin-memory-game

Substitute fall colors and themes with these fun and easy to make DIY Carnival Games that are sure to entertain and challenge  little kids, teens, and grown ups  http://www.mamaslikeme.com/2013/02/diy-carnival-party-games.html

Adorable and fun Fall Carnival Games  to make if you have the time and materials  http://sophie-world.com/blog/six-fall-carnival-games

This Ring Toss Game using a pumpkin and glow sticks is the perfect solution for a last minute, super simple activity.  I’ve seen some interesting gourds at the grocery store that will work marvelously for this idea, too.  If time allows, carving or painting would add a little extra decoration, but certainly not required!

0bc48daeecd772a0fdf3c5898fe020f4Do you have a favorite DIY Fall Festival game?  Please share it!  It would be great to add your ideas to these!

betty jo