Measurements of Spring

If April showers bring forth May flowers, how much precipitation does the spring season receive, and how much does the temperature change?

You can find out by doing the following simple experiments:

Capture rain and snow during the season, or for a month, and keep track of the day and night temperatures for a month. If you would like to record the whole season, find a weather site that keeps track of the weather conditions in your area, and grab the info you need to fill in the gaps. Otherwise, you can start any time you like, and go on from there.

Take pictures, draw your findings, or write them down. Use a calendar for the month too.

Measure Precipitation

To capture rain/snow, you can use a wide mouth container and a ruler.

Make a Rain Gauge

Measure Snow

What’s in the rain? As a bonus activity, find out what’s in your rain/snow by taking a closer look with a magnifying glass and a microscope. Instructions can be found in the offered link.

Temperature

Keep track of the day and night time temperatures in Fahrenheit and Celsius. You can use the following formula, if you would like an extra challenge, or use the following site to get the conversion.

Fahrenheit to Celsius formula: Celsius (°C) = (Fahrenheit – 32) / 1.8

Fahrenheit to Celsius conversion

If you would like to keep track of the temperature in your area, get an inexpensive thermometer or have a little fun making your own with the instructions in the following link:

Make a thermometer

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Wildflower Research Project

As the weather warms up, and nature starts to awaken from its slumber, the beauty of the season begins to burst free. Much of that beauty is reoccurring in the form of wildflowers that can be found on the roadside or in private and public gardens. If you enjoy the colors and smells of Spring, you may find these activity suggestions inspiring enough to grow something on your own.

#1 As wildflowers bloom on the roadside, in your yard, in public gardens, or in your neighborhood, take pictures, and then spend some time learning how to identifying them.

Need help identifying wildflowers?

https://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?guide=Wildflowers

http://mywildflowers.com/identify.asp

#2 Collect different types of wildflowers when possible, make a flower press, or learn how to preserve them. Think of some ways you can use the flowers: Cards, pictures, scrapbook pages, writing/drawing journal, wildflower identification cards, nature journal, poems, display them in a vase, etc.

#3 Grow your own wildflowers in an selected area, as a garden, or in a planter. By growing your own, you can keep track of what you have planted. Collect seeds at the end of their growing cycle and save them for the next growing season. Label them clearly so you know what you are growing.

#4 Take some time to sit and enjoy wildflowers. Observe the insects and other creatures that come to visit. Take pictures/videos, draw or write about them. What do they do? How long do they stay?

#5 As you learn about the wildflowers you identify, find out how they can be used. Which ones are edible and/or medicinal? Learn about the rules of collecting them in order to ingest them.

For example: You will not want to collect wildflowers on a roadside that has been sprayed with chemicals, or has a lot of car traffic, because they are not edible or usable medicinally. Also, some wildflowers need to be collected carefully and boiled to be enjoyed.

Most public gardens will ask you not to pick or cut flowers.

Tip: Grow your own wildflowers in areas away from the roadside if you would like to ingest them.

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Fun Ways to Learn At A Public Garden

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From Bud To Bloom

For this activity, please choose a tree in your yard or somewhere very close by.

Next, choose one or more methods to document your observations: Drawing, writing/journaling, picture or video recording, or an audio recording device.

Observation Suggestions

What kind of tree is it?

Find out its name and the type of tree it is.

Guess how old your tree is.

How often will you observe your tree?

Everyday? Once a week? Once every two weeks? Once a month?

What does your tree look like without its leaves?

Observe how the branches formed.

How thick is the trunk? Measure it if you can.

Take a rubbing of the bark on your tree with a crayon and paper.

Guesstimate how thick the thickest branch is.

How tall is your tree?

https://www.wikihow.com/Measure-the-Height-of-a-Tree

If your tree has leaves, or needles, observe how its structure looks and consider how it formed, to the best of your ability. Observe new growth when possible.

Watch as your tree bursts to life with flowers, seeds, and/or leaves. Notice if the flowers have a smell, what the pollen looks like, how the seeds or fruit form and disperse. Notice how the leaves form and grow. Take a fully matured leaf and make a stamp print of it, draw it, or take a picture of it. Back and front.

Observe parts of your tree through a microscope.

Use a small microscope or a magnifying glass to get a closer look at your tree.

Where is your tree located?

Is it close to your house?
It is in the shade or full sun?

It is in a neighbor’s yard?

In a park?

What Can You Look For?

Does your tree have buds on it?

Are bugs crawling on it?

Does it have a nest?

What birds visit your tree?

Do other animals live in it or hang out in it? If so, who comes to visit?

How does the weather effect your tree?

What does your tree look like with ice/snow?

What happens when it rains?

What happens when it is windy?

What does it look like on a clear, sunny day?

The more you observe your tree, the more you will learn. As your tree changes with the spring season, notice how it blooms and grows.

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Pine Trees

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DIY: Springtime Word List

Spring is a time for renewal and awakening and many wonderful things happens as nature becomes more active. Capture the words of spring in a list or challenge yourself to create an A-Z Word List that can be used to make:

Your own: Word search, word scramble, crossword, and fill-in puzzles.

A nature walk word hunt.

Jokes and riddles.

Guess My Wordsuggestion list (great for new spellers and younger players)

Bingo Game (Words and/or pictures)

Choose a random word and see how many words you can make from it.

Choose a word and make a word web with it. (Ex: Chirp: birds – sound- nest-baby-chick)

An alphabetized list

Password Game Clues – Spring Themed

Topics for the game Category Toss

A code breaking game where numbers are used in place of letters (A=1, B=2, C=3)

Discovery Educations has a free Puzzle Maker that can be used to make original puzzles.

Tip: If you are having trouble coming up with an A-Z list of words, play a game of Granny’s Handbag.

Granny’s Handbag

Make an A-Z list on paper or type it. Words can be drawn when possible.

You will need 2-3 players minimum to play this game.

Start by saying: Granny is going on a trip and we are going to help her pack her handbag. What will Granny take with her?

Begin with the letter A or Z and player one will say, ‘I was helping Granny pack her handbag and I added an (spring related word beginning with the letter A or Z)

A – Apple blossom

The next player will say: ‘I was helping Granny pack her handbag and I added an Apple blossom and a (spring related word beginning with the next letter: B.)

B= Bee

The next player will say: ‘I was helping Granny pack her handbag and I added an Apple blossom, bee and a (spring related word beginning with the next letter: C.)

Players will continue running through the alphabet.

One player will be needed to keep track of the list and help verify that players are remembering the correct order of the words upon their turn. Other players may not look at the list. This player can also remind players of the next lettered item to be added to the bag.

Stumped on some of the letters? Use an online dictionary or search for Spring Related Words.

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St Patrick’s Day Word List

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Seasonal Recipe Challenge: Oatmeal Packet

This is meant to be an open-ended activity. No recipe is given, but suggestions and tips are offered. It is strongly recommended that you record what you do in some way:

Video, writing, drawing, etc..

Tweak your recipe as needed, and when you come up with something you like, write it down in a homemade recipe book or on an index cards.

You will need: A packet or two of instant oatmeal

Tips

· Quick oats may also be used for this activity, but a little more liquid may be needed for a recipe to work.

· The average oatmeal packet requires between 1/2 to 2/3c of water to make oatmeal. Try using about the same amount of liquid (eggs, milk, water, cream, etc.) when making your recipe.

· Think about how you will cook your creation before you begin: Bake, frying, a fun new flavored oatmeal

· Consider making a dough or batter.

· Use small pans for oven baked goods.

Ingredients to try:

Honey Maple Sugar Brown Sugar Cinnamon Nutmeg

Flour Raisins Eggs Banana Baking Powder Baking Soda

Chocolate Chips Salt Vanilla Sugar Butter Nuts Fruit

Milk Peanut Butter (any type) Pumpkin Yogurt Coconut

Dried Apples/fruit Beef/Meat Vegetables Cheese Chocolate 

Nutritional Yeast Jelly/Jam Something of your own choice

What to make:

Small Muffins Mini Pancakes Cookie Bread Granola Raisin

Oatmeal Cookie Burger Crepe Dog Biscuit Pizza A Fun New Oatmeal flavor

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Snowflake Fun Page

How many words can you make from the words:

CATCH A SNOWFLAKE

Note: Add some fun twists and turns to your game with the info in this post.

Snowflake Word Search

Snowflake Related Activities

Snowflake Experiment

Online Activities

Online Puzzle: Snowflake – How long will it take you to do this online puzzle?

Coloring Pages: SnowflakeChoose from a variety of pages to print.

Videos

Related Posts

The following topics can be found on FranW.com

Fun Pages

Snowflake Activities & Resources

Snowflake Science

Snowflake Math

Snowflake Language, Social Studies, History and Geography Skills

Snowman Activities

Build A Snowman

Snowman

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Spring Fun Page

How many words can you make from the words:

SPRING HAS SPRUNG

Note: Add some fun twists and turns to your game with the info in this post.

Challenge: How many Spring related things can you think of? Make an A to Z list of them. Use the list you make to create fun games, puzzles, stories, etc..

Word Fill-In

Fun Spring Activities

TheJigsawPuzzles.com: Mixed Spring Bouquet – How long will it take you to solve this online puzzle? When you get to the site, click on “Click Here” to begin the puzzle, then click on help to learn how to flip the pieces.

DLTK has fun Spring activities to check out.

Coloring Page

Coloring Pages: SpringChoose from a variety of pages to print.

Videos

Spring Related Posts

All of the following topics can be found on FranW.com

Celebrate The Season of Spring: Learn about the Spring equinox and find some fun activities to do.

Bird Eggs – Links to science projects with eggs, make egg salad with a twist, and learn about the anatomy of bird eggs.

Bird Watching Activities – Bring the birds to you by making a bird feeder and bird food and learning how to identify them by shape, sound and color.

Spring/Easter Egg Craft – Make a hinged egg with a surprise inside. Full instructions and printable pattern available for this activity. This creative project is a great storytelling activity for any age.

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St Patrick’s Day Word List

If you made an A-Z list of St Patrick’s Day related words as suggested in the previous post, St. Patrick’s Day Fun Page, the words in the following list can be added to your list, if you haven’t already thought of the ones provided below, to do the activities suggested.

Discovery Educations has a free Puzzle Maker that can be used to make original puzzles.

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St Patrick’s Day Related Posts:

FranW.com: Ireland – Resources include: Links to Geographical, historical, and cultural information. Videos have been included as well.

FranW.com: Cabbage – Cabbage experiment suggestions, recipe for homemade coleslaw, links to cabbage information.

FranW.com: Fun Putty – How to make fun putty and fun things to do with it.

Irish & Celtic Folktales: Fairies – Sites about Irish & Celtic Folktales, with a focus on fairies.

St. Patrick’s Day Activities – Activities that can be found on FranW.com

Shamrocks – Learn about shamrocks.

St. Patrick’s Day Fun Page – Incorporate fun learning activities into your day.

Resources Off FranW.com

St Patrick’s Day Activities – The following sites will take you off FranW.com, unless noted.

The 3 Sisters: Squash – Pumpkins

Did you know…

Native Americans called pumpkins, “isqoutm squash”

Recipe: Original Pumpkin Pie (with a modern twist) and Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

One of the first pumpkin pies were baked right in the pumpkin shell! A delicious custard was prepared and poured into a cleaned out pumpkin and the whole thing was baked until the pumpkin flesh was tender and the filling completely cooked.
Would you like to make this uniquely interesting desert?
Here is what you will need:
1 5-8 lb Pumpkin
6 Eggs
3/4 c Brown sugar
1/4 c Raw sugar
2T Molasses
2 1/2 c Heavy whipping cream
1 tsp Ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Vanilla
3 T Butter
Aluminum foil covered cookie sheet
Aluminum foil
Preparing the pumpkin:

Cut the top of the pumpkin off and reserve, this will become your lid. Remove the stringy fibers and seeds – save seeds for roasting. Once the inside is clean, scrape out 4 cups of the inner flesh and reserve.
If your pumpkin has a stem, leave it on.
Preparing the filling:
Place eggs, sugars, molasses and spices in a blender and mix together. Next add the 4 cups of reserved pumpkin flesh, butter and the heavy cream – blend until smooth.
Filling the pumpkin: 
Place pumpkin on a foil cookie sheet and pour filling into the pumpkin. Do not overfill, leave about an inch of space to allow the custard filling to expand. Put the lid on the pumpkin and cover the top and sides with aluminum foil. Place the cookie sheet in a 350 oven for 2 hours or until custard in done – a metal tester will come out clean.
Allow to cool in oven to prevent splitting. When cool, place pumpkin in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator overnight. Pie can also be served warm.
Serving the pie:
Pumpkin pie slice with whipped cream
This unique pie can be served two ways and will feed 6-12 people depending on the size of the pumpkin and the portion taken.
1. Remove the lid (or cut it off) insert a spoon and have everyone serve themselves by taking a spoonful of custard and cooked pumpkin flesh.

2. Cut around the stem of the pumpkin with a knife and serve by cutting slices of the pumpkin. Do not eat the skin.
Add a modern twist to one of George Washington’s favorite deserts!
This pie is not overly sweet and for some, may not be sweet enough, if you find this to be the case, feel free to use any of the following suggestions:
  • Before adding whipped cream, drizzle with maple syrup
  • Top with sweetened whipped cream
  • Serve with vanilla ice cream
  • Drizzle with a warm caramel sauce and top with sweetened whipped cream
  • Top with honey roasted pecans.
  • Serve with spiced whipped cream by adding a dash of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger to the whipping cream
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
You will need:
Raw pumpkin seeds
Sea salt
Aluminum foil covered cookie sheet
What to do:
Place seeds in a colander and wash in cool water. Shake off excess water before spreading seeds on an aluminum foil covered cookie sheet, and lightly salt seeds before placing in a 425 degree oven for 10 -12 minutes or until golden brown. Watch them carefully around the 10 minute mark so they don’t burn. When cool enough to touch, enjoy.
Question of the day:
Pumpkins are one variety of squash, how many other types of squash are there?
Learn more:
Information about how to grow.
Pumpkins, pumpkin facts, pumpkin education and more.
Activities that can be done with young children.
List of Gourds and Squashes
Pumpkins are a gourd-like squash, find out who their cousins are.

The Many Colors of Pumpkins

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St. Patrick’s Day Activities

Funschooling Resources to help you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day all week long!

Ireland – Resources for Ireland include: Links to Geographical, historical, and cultural information. Videos have been included as well.

St Patrick’s Day Activities – St. Patrick’s Day Activities includes: Crafts, Lesson Plans and videos.

Irish & Celtic Folktales: Fairies – Sites about Irish & Celtic Folktales, with a focus on fairies.

Shamrocks – Cultural and botanical information about shamrocks and lots of links for crafts for kids.

Make Your Own: Fun Putty – How to make fun putty and fun things to do with it.

Cabbage – Cabbage experiment suggestions, recipe for homemade coleslaw, links to cabbage information.

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25 Fun Activities You Can Do Inside, When It’s COLD Outside!

When the temperature drops, and it gets toooo cold to play outside for long, here are some fun things you can do inside!
Below, you will find drawing activities, brain games, dice games, science experiments, paper folding projects, and other fun things that can be found on FranW.com. 


1. Learn about Fractals –  There’s a good chance that you’ll find frost on a window or a snowflake or two to look at for this activity! After you observe them, draw/make a few of your own.

2. Make your own Geometrical Designs – Draw a variety of shapes, add some lines, and grab your coloring supplies for this fun activity!

3. Try Zentangles! – If you enjoy drawing while you’re chilling out, you may find this activity de-stressing.

4. Observe Spirals – Spirals are fun to draw and there are a few different types. Find out more by visiting this page…but before you do, make a list of something of the things you can think of that are naturally shaped as a spiral…fruits, animals, plants….

5. Ten Fun Projects You Can Do With Symmetry – Make one half of a picture and give it to someone to finish off in the same way! Draw it, use building toys, Tangram pieces, or something else.

6. Play with Circles – Grab your craft supplies and find out how many cool things you can make from a simple circle.

7. Tangrams – Can you believe that over 5900 puzzles can be made with the 7 shapes offered in this puzzle-game! How many can you make? Find out with the resources on this page. Turn those puzzle pieces into a work of art too.

8. Make Folded Hand Puppet – Create a few puppets, decorate them, and make a puppet show with them.

9. Paper Airplanes – Learn how to fold some simple planes and cool stunt planes, check out the plane that won a world record, and get helpful flying tips.

10. Rainbow Code – Grab a friend and play a game where colors reveal the code.

11. Yatch – Dice Game – There are so many cool dice games out there and this is definitely one of them. Play with a friend, on your own, or on line.

12.  Make your own: Bottle Cap Stamps – Take a minute to raid the recycling bin and take all the bottle caps you can find, big and small, then put on foam sticker on it and get ready to have some fun. Stamp a story or play the brain game offered in this post.

13. Holiday and Winter Origami – Fold a sled, snowman, pine tree, penguin, or a snowflake and make a wintery scene with them.

14. Magic Square Puzzles – In the mood for a brain teaser? Try the Magic Square puzzles in this post, then make some of your own to share.


15. Roman Numerals – Spend some time learning how to add, subtract, and multiply in a fun new way.

16. Hangman/House – Use a whiteboard and colored whiteboard markers to play this old favorite…with a fun twist of course.

17. Solitaire Challenge #1 Peg Solitaire – Whether you decide make your own game board or print one out, have fun trying to finish this puzzling game with one last piece in the middle.

18. Make Your Own What’s Missing Picture – You can use stamps, stickers, or draw something out to play this tricky observation game.

19. Petals Around The Rose – Play this brain game on line or with a set of dice. If you figure out the pattern, don’t tell anyone, give them a set of dice and let them figure it out for themselves.

20. Snowflake Activities & Resources Learn about snowflakes in fun new ways, make some of your own, and look at some cool photographs of these elusive little wonders!

21. Mini Marble Run This mini marble run is great for older kids who want to do something different. How long can you keep your BB from getting to the end of the run?

22. Make Your Own Tic-Tac-Toe Game Board Did you know that Tic-Tac-Toe is a strategy game? Grab your craft supplies and make your own board to play on with a friend over and over again.

23. Inspiring People Cardstacker – Make sure you have a few decks of cards ready to use after watching what this man can do! Amazing!

24. Bubblegum Find out who invented bubblegum then how big of a bubble can you make with the activity offered in this post. There’s an experiment you can do with chewing gum as well.

25. Shadow Puppets – Create your shadow puppets during the day and tell your story while you show them off at night. Perhaps a story about cold wintery night!

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Easter Activities

Information

Wikipedia: Easter – Info about the Christian Feast.

History Channel: Easter – The origins of Easter.

Huffington Post: Easter Eggs: History, Origin, Symbolism And Traditions – Learn about Easter eggs and look through a picture gallery of beautifully decorated eggs.

Crafts

Mother Earth News: Natural Egg Dye – Learn how to make your own egg dye from beets, blueberries and onion skins.

DLTK: Easter – Crafts and activities.

Pam’s Place: Easter Craft ideas for all ages!

Enchanted Learning: Easter Crafts – Bunny crafts, flower crafts and much more!

FranW.com: Spark of the Day: Make an Easter Egg with a Surprise Inside – An open ended egg craft that allows the creator to use their imagination and language skills. Also, Eggshell Art – Save your colored eggshells to make fun scenes such as rainbows and flowers.

Across The Curriculum
 
Lesson Plans Page: Easter – Lesson’s that reach across the curriculum

Dltk: Holidays-Easter – Easter puzzles, games, craft ideas, about Easter (history), dying eggs
 
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