Are you thinking of participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count but need a few ideas to “flesh out” your unit study on birds? Here are a some links that will get your creative juices flowing to create a project of interest for students of all ages:
Bird unit study ideas from Adventist Home Educator
All About Birds from Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Bird crafts from DLTK Kids
More Bird crafts from Family Fun
Cross-curricular ideas for bird unit study at Squidoo
Bird coloring pages at Squidoo
Here’s a great idea I found on Pinterest if you need to practice b,d,p & g. The original source is linked at the bottom of the illustration.
Printable outline maps are always valuable to homeschool families. Here is a selection of maps to meet a variety of geographical and historical needs.
Online Map Bank – A huge selection of maps categorized by country, region empire and event. Middle to high school level.
NASA Outline Maps- A downloadable .pdf file of continents and regions. Upper elementary to high school level.
Eduplace Outline Maps – Historical and geographical maps. Primary to upper elementary level.
US Dept. of the Interior printable maps- A variety of US maps, including some with climate or other science information. Upper elementary to high school level.
National Geographic Education – A beta (test) site from National Geographic featuring customizable, printable maps. Upper elementary to high school level.
Looking for a Bible reading plan appropriate for younger children? Here is a link to the Adventist Junior Youth Bible Reading Plan. This reading plan takes four years and uses 12 different themes to organize the readings. Download the two-page .pdf file HERE.
Here is a list of free SDA resources that you can use/adapt to fit the needs of your homeschool program. This is not a comprehensive list, so look for a new list with even more resources coming soon!
Bible/Church History/SDA pioneers
God’s Messenger – Lesson plans and mp3s on SDA pioneers.
Youth Bible Reading Plan – A four year Bible reading plan for young people.
The Bible Story lesson plans Volumes 1-6 and Volumes 7-10. – From the South Pacific Division, lesson plans to accompany the “blue books” that so many of us have on our bookshelves. Download Note: the documents are large!
Planning a study of Adventist pioneers ? This gallery of drawings of Adventist pioneers will be helpful to your study. Adventist Pioneer Library has a nice page with brief biographical sketches and pictures as well. If you are also creating a time-line of church history, here’s a sample parallel timeline showing key events in US history, world history and SDA church history. Makes a great model to help your student create their own parallel time-line.
Free study guides for 22 E.G. White books.
History/Geography/Missions/Biographies
Maranatha Volunteers International – Lots of inspiration for hands-on mission work. Free DVDs available.
Adventist Missions– Lots of ideas and resources. Be sure to check the past children’s quarterlies for games, puzzles and recipes.
Adventist Frontier Missions– Inspiring first-hand accounts of reaching the unreached.
CIRCLE : Browsing Adventist Missions – A page full of Adventist mission websites and resources.
Visionary for Kids – Online kids magazine issue focusing on Adventist missions.
Unit Studies
Adventurer and Pathfinder awards make great outlines for creating fun unit studies.
Adventurer Club Awards- Award requirements
Adventurer Awards Wikibook Helps for completing awards.
Pathfinder Club Honors Honors requirements
Pathfinder Honors Wikibook Helps and answers for honors
Nature Study is mentioned quite often here on Shaping Hearts and Hands. Nature is a vitally important learning environment, especially for very young learners. Many families enjoy getting outdoors and seem to naturally pick up on things to explore and do. Some households are not outdoor-oriented and getting started in nature study may be harder. For those who need a bit of inspiration and practical direction in getting started, the Handbook of Nature Study blog is a perfect resource. This fabulous blog by a homeschool mom is one of the best nature study resources you will find on the web. Using Anna Comstock’s Handbook of Nature Study (available free online) as a foundation, this blog will give you valuable ideas for a weekly outdoor hour as well as seasonal nature challenges and information on creating nature journals. There are lots of great freebies on the sidebar to get you going in the right direction. Now that we are about to experience a change in the seasons, this is a great time to incorporate nature study into your homeschool curriculum. Exploring the nooks and crannies of this valuable blog will take time, so grab a cup of tea and prepare to be inspired!
Seeds + Dirt = the beginnings of a great nature study!
You will find that even very young children love the idea of helping to grow a plant. There are lots of options for learning how a seed becomes a plant. A wet paper towel inside of a sealed sandwich bag is a fun way to watch a seed sprout. A small pot with soil will create great interest as your child waits for the seed to pop through the soil. Quick germinating seeds like radishes, melons, or lettuce will be exciting to wait for. If you have the space outdoors, a manageable-sized vegetable or flower garden for the entire family to enjoy is a worthwhile project.
Dropping a seed into soil is more than just a fun school project. There are valuable character lessons for your children to to learn: responsibility, diligence, perseverance, and more.
“The parable of the sower and the seed conveys a deep spiritual lesson. The seed represents the principles sown in the heart, and its growth the development of character. Make the teaching on this point practical. The children can prepare the soiland sow the seed; and as they work, the parent or teacher can explain to them the garden of the heart, with the good or bad seed sown there; and that as the garden must be prepared for the natural seed, so the heart must be prepared for the seed of truth. As the plant grows, the correspondence between the natural and the spiritual sowing can be continued.”
Child Guidance, 56
Here are a few links to give you inspiration:
The Adventist Home Educator 