CKLA Free Language Arts Curriculum

I found another free reading and language arts curriculum I want to share:  CKLA Skills series.    This is a full language arts curriculum, but I've mainly used the reader (which are included from KG Level 4 up, and are decodable and engaging and have great illustrations .  I really adore the free printable readers and have been using them to supplement the readers from the other curriculum I use with the kids I tutor in reading.    New skills are added gradually and in the earlier grades are marked in the text.   While I haven't used the rest of the curriculum, it looks solid (at least at the Kindergarten level, which is what I've mainly looked through). 

But man, I wish they made these easier to find on their site.   They aren't all listed in one place  (at least that I could see).  In stead you have to use their search function to find them, and they don't always come up in order.   So, I thought I would link to these resources in order to make it easier for you all to find.

The curriculum covers grade KG - 3.   They have other curriculum on their site that goes further which you can also find here.   Also, this site has interactive online versions of  3-4 of the stories for these levels.


CKLA Language Arts Skills Series


Kindergarten Skills

Note:  Readers are not offered until KG Unit 4.  The names of the readers are included next to the unit link.

KG Ancillary Materials (Used in various levels)

KG Unit 1

KG Unit 2

KG Unit 3

KG Unit 4 - Pet Fun

KG Unit 5 - Ox and Man

KG Unit 6 - Kit

KG Unit 7 - Seth

KG Unit 8 - Sam

KG Unit 9 - Zack and Ann

KG Unit 10 - Scott



1st Grade Skills
 

1st Grade Ancillary Materials

1st Grade Unit 1 - Snap Shots

1st Grade Unit 2 - Gran

1st Grade Unit 3 - Fables

1st Grade Unit 4 - The Green Fern Zoo

1st Grade Unit 5 - Kate's Book

1st Grade Unit 6 - Grace

1st Grade Unit 7 - Kay and Martez

2nd Grade Skills

2nd Grade Ancillary Material

2nd Grade Unit 1 - The Cat Bandit

2nd Grade Unit 2 - Bedtime Tales

2nd Grade Unit 3 - Kids Excel

2nd Grade Unit 4 - The Job Hunt

2nd Grade Unit 5 - Sir Gus (Chapter Book)

2nd Grade Unit 6 - The War of 1812

3rd Grade Skills

3rd Grade Ancillary Material

3rd Grade Unit 1 - Classic Tales

3rd Grade Unit 2 - Rattenborough's Guide to Animals

3rd Grade Unit 3 - How Does Your Body Work

3rd Grade Unit 4 - Stories of Ancient Rome

3rd Grade Unit 5 - Adventures in Light and Sound

3rd Grade Unit 6 - Gods, Giants and Dwarves

3rd Grade Unit 7 - What's in Our Universe

3rd Grade Unit 8 - Native American Stories

3rd Grade Unit 9 - The Age of Exploration

3rd Grade Unit 10 - Living in Colonial America

3rd Grade Unit 11 - Intro to Ecology

Torn Paper Mountain Craft

 

Making torn paper mountains is a fun, really easy artwork you can do with kids of almost any age (or even adults!).


Supplies: 

Different color paper
Glue
Scissors (optional, for second part).


You will need different shades of paper.   In mine I used different shades of purple cardstock, plus black for silhouettes in the front and a blue background.   Shades of green or blue look nice too, or you can also do this with multiple colors of paper, or even patterned paper, for a different look.  

First, tear the paper in a zig-zag or wave pattern to make mountains.

Before gluing anything down, you might want to suggest your kids figure out what order they want their mountains in. 

While it seems obvious, as adults, that you have to glue the mountains in the background first, you may need to explain that to your children.   I've done this with two groups of kids now, and I notice little kids often start by gluing the mountain in the foreground, even though that needs to go over the the other mountain.   

Also, if you are going to add trees (see below) decide if you want any between your mountains before gluing.

OPTIONAL - ADD A TREE

The mountains on their own look beautiful, but if you want you can add a silhouette of a tree, or a few trees, like the ones I cut out here.  

Here are several arrangements I tried of my trees...I encourage kids to move around their pieces and find the way they would like them to be placed before gluing.

Why I Love Visual Guide Workbooks

I'm not big on workbooks generally, but I love the Visual Guide Workbooks.   They feature colorful, fun, infographics packed with great information, and questions and activities to go with them.    I have a child who often struggled to pay attention to long written passages but  almost always remembered the stuff he saw in the pictures and diagrams.  That made these workbooks perfect for him.   

While the lessons aren't in any particular order they do tend to focus on some major themes.    And so I've put together a free printable guide to the topics in these books so that, if you wanted to you could use them to supplement things you are already learning about in your homeschool. I've found that it's ok to skip around in the books a little.   A friend of mine who's a reading teacher says it's good for kids to have access to both reading passages exactly at their levels, and ones a little lower and a little above their level, and I find this good advice.   So I organized my "guide to the guides" in a way that you could find all the pages in all levels of the book on a certain subject.   That could be useful if you were using this with more than one child as well. 

Solar System page from the Visual Guide to 3rd Grade

Look at that gorgeous page on space!  Space is a major theme in several of the Visual Guide books (see the bottom of this page for links to all the books and a listing of their major themes).   My child really responds well to colorful, quality graphics in workbooks and worksheets like these.  But while you can find a loot of great free worksheets online, pages with colorful backgrounds like this are expensive to print, so if you want something like this, it's actually cheaper in the long run to buy workbooks like these.  

Animals of Africa Map page from the Visual Guide to 1st Grade

All infographics are followed by activities and questions.  You can see what these are like on the lesson on Animals of Africa above.   There are more hands on cut and paste activities as well.

Ben Franklin page from the Visual Guide to 3rd Grade

 

Ancient Egypt page from the Visual Guide to 1st Grade

These books include a lot of pages from History too.    Most are are related to US history but in the 1st grade book there's a little world history sprinkled in as well, like the page on ancient Egypt shown above.   Each of these pages is followed up by questions, and often activities, on the following pages.

Human Anatomy page from the Visual Guide to 3rd Grade

Monarch butterfly page from the Visual Guide to 2nd Grade

 

There's so many great science topics included, too.   Animals, human health and anatomy, earth science, conservation, and more.  

Below you can find links to these books, and major themes in them.   I considered it a major theme if there were 3 or more sections related in some way to it.   These are of course just a few of the topics included in these books.

Visual Guide to Kindergarten

US Symbols, Plants and Farming,
Animals Life, Inventions


Visual Guide to 1st Grade
National Parks and Monuments,
American History, Native Americans*, 
US Government/Our Capitol, Africa, World Cultures,
Animal Life, Environment and Conservation,
Space, Weather

Visual Guide to 2nd Grade
American History, Presidents/Patriotic Symbols,
National Parks and Monuments,
Animal Life, Earth Science, Sports, Weather*



Visual Guide to 3rd Grade
National Parks and Monuments, American History,

 Environment and Conservation, Animal Life, Sea life,
Earth Science, Space, Technology, Health

Free Printable Topics Guide
Use this guide to find topics in the
Visual Guidebooks to supplement
your homeschool lessons

Opinions are all my own.   I was not paid to promote these products but this post does contain affiliate links through which I could earn commission. 

Making Mud Bricks

 

The bricks shown here were made with a mix of 

garden sand/soil mixed in, and came out kind of

crumbly.  "Texas clay" straight out of my back yard 

worked much better - it dried solid like rock.

Back in 2010 our church did an Egypt themed VBS that included making mud bricks, and I can tell you, it was a blast.  It's cheap, fun and really does give kids a glimpse into a common part of life in ancient Egypt (and lots of  other places in the ancient world where people made their homes out of mud brick, such as Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley civilization, and ancient Nubia).

For these instructions I consulted the instructions on the Biblical Archaeology website and several other websites (see sources at the bottom of the page) and added some suggestions we learned while doing this project with groups of kids age 4-11.  


MAKING THE BRICK MOLD

There are two main ways to make your brick mold...single-brick molds or multi-molds.   Both use the same basic materials.

MATERIALS:

Nails
1x4 or 2x4 (to be cut into smaller lengths)

SINGLE-BRICK MOLDS

The brick molds shown below were made by cutting 1x4 or 2x4 boards into smaller sections and nailing together in the pattern you can see below.  Ours were a little narrow (making 2" wide bricks...3" wide are better).     For 3" wide bricks cut wood in the following dimensions

FOR 1x4
5" end pieces
6" side pieces

FOR 2x4
7" end pieces
6" side piece 

You can of course go a little longer or shorter if you want, for different sized bricks.

Then you nail the ends together.  

Note that actual Egyptian brick molds may not have used nails.   There's a picture of an ancient Egyptian mold here, and it looks like it was made with joinery (interlocking wood joints).   Off Grid Web also has an article showing how these can be made without nails (though it looks like a rougher technique than the Egyptian molds).  It  might be fun to show your kids, though would be much more challenging to replicate.

MULTI-BRICK MOLDS

You can also make a long mold for several bricks by using a longer piece of wood and putting slats between it, as shown here.   I prefer the smaller one when working with multiple children though because it allows them to more easily  remove the brick themselves, in stead of all being crowded around one larger mold. 

RESERVE A PIECE FOR PACKING MUD

Whichever type of mold you use, it's helpful to reserve a short 2x4 to use to pack the mud and help push the bricks out of the mold if they stick. 

MAKING BRICKS

MATERIALS:
Brick Mold  (see above)
Bucket
Dirt (see note below)
Water
Hay or sand (optional)
Shovel, board, or other tool, to mix mud
Short 2x4 (optional, see above)
Plastic Butter knife for each child (optional, for smoothing top)
Cookie sheet or board (optional)
Spatula or other flat tool (for help removing bricks from drying surface)

For Mess Management:
Towels
Tarp or plastic sheet (such as a disposable plastic tablecloth or cut up trash bags)
An extra bucket of water to wash in
Trash bags to protect clothing


GETTING THE RIGHT DIRT
The best dirt to use is a clay like dirt (not too sandy, not too "woody").   If you live in central Texas, what is in your backyard is perfect (if you haven't amended it much).   In other places your backyard soil might be less perfect, but what is in your backyard may still be better than what you can buy in a garden center ("clay" dirt is a nightmare for growing most plants in, so this type of dirt isn't usually sold).


MAKE YOUR BRICKS

1.  Pick your time and prepare your location. (It's best to do this craft outdoors if possible, on a warm sunny day.   Bricks can take several days to fully dry, so do not try this when rain is expected.)  

If you have an outdoor location, hard ground or cement is preferable.   If the only outdoor location has grass, you will need boards, cookie sheets, or other flat hard surfaces to put your bricks on.  If picnic tables are available they work well...but remember to cover them with a plastic tarp or disposable tablecloth. 

If you are doing this in an indoor space you will want to lay out a tarp to contain the mess, and cover any table you use (a cut up trash bag can work if doing this with just your own children).   You will still need to take the bricks outside to dry.   To make it easier to move them outside I suggest getting a board to make your bricks on, or cookie sheets (using these can also allow you to do this craft outside on grass).

If doing this in a group you will also want to set up a washing station for cleaning muddy hands and have a towel set aside for wiping feet as children leave the brick making area, so they don't track mud outside that space.  You will also probably want to have kids wear a trash bag with holes cut in it for the arms and head (in our camp we used pillowcases for kids to wear, which doubled as a costume once we added a colored sash). 

Child playing with the muddy water we used to mix our bricks.
This was not the "mud" but the water we scooped into the dirt,
which is why you'll want something separate to wash with.

2. Mix soil and water in a large bucket or other container to create a thick mud (it should not be too watery).  Kids really like taking part in this, usually.

3.  (OPTIONAL) SEVERAL DAY STEP  
For a more authentic experience, and sturdier bricks, add straw ( around a half pound of straw for every cubic foot of mud mixture), and then KNEAD DAILY FOR FOUR DAYS, then leave the mixture alone for a few days before using (kneading the mixture one more time on the day you use it).   This allows the straw to ferment which creates a chemical reaction in the mud that makes them three times stronger than regular clay.   But, understandably, you might want to skip this, as we did, as it's time consuming (and the fermentation may possibly create a smell).   Still, its good to tell kids that this was part of the original process, and what it was for.   Just adding the straw without the extra days of kneading doesn't seem to add much strength to the bricks, and actually seemed to make them a little more fragile.  

4.   Whatever surface you've prepared to make your bricks on (unless it's already covered by a plastic sheet), distribute hay or sand on it to make it easier to get the bricks off it later (WARNING:  sand can damage cookie sheets).

5.   Pour the mud into the molds and pack them down with your hands or a short 2x4 piece.  Scrape off any excess mud with a piece of wood or other flat tool such as a plastic knife.  

6.  (OPTIONAL) Let molds sit to solidify for 20 minutes.   This was suggested in the original authentic method, but we were able to remove the mud from the molds right away without much problem. 

7.   Remove the brick from the mold.   You may need to gently push them out with a short 2x4 piece or other tool.  

8.   If you are indoors, carefully move your cookie sheets or board with bricks outside to dry.   If you are outside, leave your bricks alone.   Bricks may dry in a day but can take several days.   They are usually sturdy enough to transfer onto a paper plate after several hours of drying though. 

MORE READING ABOUT ANCIENT BRICK MAKING
These were my sources for this article, and are fun extra reads.

How to Make a Mudbrick

Biblical Archaeology, written by anonymous Biblical Archaeology Society Staff,    August 15, 2020 

Primitive Technology: Making Mud Bricks
Off Grid Web, Written by Patrick McCarthy on September 27, 2017  

Mudbricks Give Clues to Understanding the Bible

www.BibleIsTrue.com (Lion Tracks Ministries), unknown Author, unknown published date, accessed 3/8/2021

Why bricks with straw in Egypt at the time of the Exodus?

Patterns of Evidence, by Dr. Dale Mannor, published February 26, 2021, accessed 1/18/2025

Ultimate Guide to MudBricks

The Survival Journal, Publish Date Unknown, Last Updated August 30, 2020, Written by Editorial Staff, accessed 3/8/2021

Mudbricks
www.mummies2pyramids.info, unknown Author, unknown published date, accessed 3/8/2021.

Senegal Architects Ditch Concrete and Revive Old Techniques
I didn't use this for the article, but thought it was interesting how they are returning to mud bricks (sort of). 

Most of the photos were not taken by me, 

but by other wonderful photographers at Dayspring Baptist Church. 

---

Shared on Dear Homeschooler Bookshelf

Archaeology + Paleontology Layer Cake

All photos on this page are by Megan Evans

Don't have a yard suitable to doing fun archaeology digs in?   Well, then just try layer cake!

I can't claim to have come up with this brilliant idea.   That honor goes to amazing homeschool mom Megan Evans who made the archaeology/paleontology cake below, and graciously allowed me to share her photos of it here.

She didn't have a yard so she baked "artifacts" into a layer cake to "excavate" later.   That is the tastiest archeology dig I've ever heard of.
 

On the top we have a scrumptious campsite.

 

Then underneath we see the layers.

I like how she made the layers from

different color cake mix.   

 

The top layer had some modern items.

In the middle layer, a grave with grave goods.

(Love the use of the ring as a crown!)

And for the bottom layer, moving from

archaeology to paleontology, 

we have dinosaurs.

This is a project that would be so worth the sugar rush.  If you didn't want to eat through all that cake at once I could see gradually "excavating" it over several days.   For older kids you could have them string the top area off like a real archeology dig and diagram where they found things in the cake.  Such fun!   Thanks Megan for sharing this great idea!

TRIVIA  

• Archaeology and archeology are both correct spellings of the word in the US.   To learn more, read this. ) 

• Paleontology and Archeology, while they overlap some, are different.  Learn more here.

 

See More History Posts

My 5 Favorite Read-Aloud Picture Books

Here are five of my favorite picture books to read aloud to, or with, my kids.  

(This post contains affiliate links through which I can earn commission.)

 

1.  Stellaluna


My oldest son had most of this book memorized at 3 years old - we read it that much!  In it a bat gets adopted by a family of birds, but eventually finds his mother.   The story is so touching, the characters so vivid, and the dialog is just wonderfully fun to read. 

The rhythm of the dialogue even seem to fit the characters...the lines spoken by the birds are full of short words that sound chirpy when you read them aloud, while the bat's dialogue has a smoother sound.  And, the illustrations are nothing short of beautiful.






 2.  Click Clack Moo, Cows That Type

We got four fun farm animal stories by Doreen Cronin in various Chick File kids meals (the others are Dooby Dooby Moo, Giggle, Giggle, Quack, Duck for President), and there has never been a kids meal toy we liked better! We have read these over and over and over again and it's always a joy.  They are hilarious.  Click Clack Moo is the one I loved reading aloud the most because I always made the "moo" deep and loud (although after a while the kids usually wanted say this part...which of course is even better!)











3.    We Are In A Book

I love ALL the Piggie and Elephant books.  These are the books that moved my youngest son from hating reading, to wanting to do reading first thing.  Most of the books just have two main characters, Piggie and Elephant, and the book is a dialogue between them, shown in speech bubbles in a large, easy to read font.  I would read one character's part and my son would read the other, which was a fun way to encourage him to read.

I had a hard time choosing just one to feature, but picked this one because I think it's the best one to read first, and because it has a lot of fun features especially for reading aloud.   In it Piggie and Elephant discover that they are in a book, and the way they interact with the reader is super charming and fun.  Plus, you get to say banana...many times, and who doesn't like that?  

I do want to mention my second pick though, also.   I Am A Frog is about pretending, and is super fun to read.  It is fun narrating Elephant as he worries about turning into a frog, lets you do some great animal noises, has a cute, insightful nod to parents mid way through, and a really funny twist at the end.








4.  Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm


My mom grew up in New England and I think she bought this book wanting to share a little of home with us.   I really enjoy reading this with my kids.  It's so matter of fact and down to earth.   The way they describe the personalities and quirks of the different animals on this farm make me think of the animals we've had in our life. 

It's not squeamish about things like cats catching mice and hens being carried away by foxes...but it's not brutal about those things either either.    There's a frank gentleness to it.   One of the last pages is a remembering of beloved animals on the farm that had been buried in a little secluded wooded patch on the corner of a field...it's a touching moment, and I think would be comforting to a child who had lost a pet.  

I have read this book so many times, and never get tired of it.

NOTE:   It is pretty long to read in one setting, so I usually would read a several pages from it over several days (and its easy to split up that way).










5.  A Quiet Night In


This is a charming story about a dad who is too tired for the birthday celebration his family was planning for him, and asks in stead if they can do "a quiet night in."   The humor is really directed at parents, but my children loved these books.   I love how tender the family members are to each other, even when they are mad or annoyed.   I The dialogue is fun to read, and if you have a large family you will really relate. 

(I can't find this story for sale by itself anymore though, which is why I linked to the set.   The only other one of these I've read is All in One Piece which was also a fun read, though I liked A Quiet Night In better). 

What are your favorite read-alouds? 

Learning Games for Elementary

Playing games can be a great way to make learning fun, and spend quality family time together.   Below are a list of learning games you can use to practice and learn about various topics (for middle and high school games go here).   While there are many great online games too, in this list I'm only listing games you play offline with others (siblings, parents).    

Some of of these games are meant to be played with other children the same age.  If a parent is playing, I suggest adding an element of chance  to the parent's turn to make it more fair (For example, the parent could have to guess what hand your child is holding something in to be able to play their turn, or if it is a quiz style game, or the children could answer all the answers and the parent only moves if they get the answer wrong).   If an older child is playing with a younger child in a game of skill, I suggest giving the younger child some sort of similar advantage (a head start in a race game, two turns for every one turn the other child plays, etc.).

Most of the items on this list are free, but there are a few board games (some of which may already be in your closet) or printable games you can purchase which I've include, which are marked with a $. 

KEY

$ = Not a free resource

$ + $ = Free and not free resources

PK = Preschool (May or may not include 2-3 year olds)

KG = Kindergarten

EE = Early Elementary (KG - 2nd)

E = All of Elementary

LE = Late Elementary (3rd - 6th)

MS = Middle School/Junior High (6th - 8th)*

HS = High School (9th - 12th)*

K-12 = All school age (not PK)

ALL = All Ages (May or may not include 2-3 year old)

*Why do I even bother including MS/HS on an elementary school list?   Because sometimes its nice to find a game you can play with the whole family that everyone can learn from.   If you're looking for more games for Middle and High School, check out Ellen McHenry's Basement.

Mixed Skills
Educational Bingo Games
Jump and Learn Game

5 Learning Games (these can be used for various skills, ALL) 

Early Learning Skills

Colors and Shapes

Jump and Learn Game (Requires chalk, PK/KG)

Dino Sort - Teaches Sorting/Classifying (Printable, PK/EE)

Soccer Spin - Probability, Predictions, Tally Marks (PK/K)

Math

Various/Mixed Math Skills

Angry Bird Math - Counting/Probability (Printable, EE)

Storm the Castle Game (EE)

Sheep Herding Math (ALL)

Math Card Games, Various (Requires Card Deck, PK/E)

Traditional Native American Games Organized by Math Skill (ALL)

6 Math Games (board and card games to use for learning math $)

Bluebird Math Circle (All) - Math activities for various ages, many of which are related to Native American history and culture.  

Number Recognition

Number Bingo (Printable, PK/KG)

Jump and Learn Game (Requires chalk, PK/KG)

Subsidizing (Ability to quickly tell how many of an object there is)  

Caterpillar Number Match (Printable, PK/KG)

Ten Frames War (Printable, PK/KG)

Skip Counting
Various skip counting Games (Printable, KG, EE)

Place Value
Place Value Game (Printable, EE)


Money

Coin Recognition Game (Printable, ALL)

Race to a Dollar (Printable, Requires Change, EE)

Coin Recognition Games, Various 

Monopoly (Board Game, LE/MS/HS $)


Addition
Five In a Hive - Mental Math/Adding to 5 (Printable, PK, K, EE)
Find 10 - Adding to 10 (Printable, K/EE)
Adding to 10 Game (Printable, K/EE)
Adding Up to 12 Game (Printable, E)
Adding Dice Game (Printable, Requires Dice)
Race to a Hundred  +10/Number Charts (Printable, EE)
15 Game (Printable)
Sea Slide Addition Game (Printable, EE)
Addition Facts that Stick - 5 Week Game Based Curriculum (Printable or Book, E, $)

Subtraction
Subtraction Facts that Stick - 5 Week Game Based Curriculum (Printable or Book, E $)
Dino Subtraction Game (Printable)
No Prep Subtraction Game (Printable)
Robot Subtraction Game (Printable)
 

Number Lines
Frog Jump Number Line Game (Printable, E)


Multiplication

Loot the Pirate Ship (Printable, LE)

Multiplication Games by Games 4 Learning (Printable)

Multiplication Facts that Stick - 5 Week Game Based Curriculum (Printable or Book, E $)

Kingdominoes (Board Game, LE/MS/HS $)

Multiplication Facts Games by Cooties and Cuties (Printable Games, LE)

Division
Loot the Pirate Ship (Printable, LE)
Division Facts that Stick - 5 Week Game Based Curriculum (Printable or Book, E $)  

Fractions
Monster Math: Factions vs Decimals (Printable, LE)

Decimals
Monster Math: Factions vs Decimals (Printable, LE)

Prime Numbers
Loot the Pirate Ship (Printable, LE)


Area 

Area/Array Game (Printable)

Area of a Triangle Card Game (MS/HS)


Language Arts

Various/Mixed
Language Arts Adventure (EE)


Alphabet - Letter Identification
Jump and Learn Game (Needs chalk, PK/KG)
Alphabet Bingo (Printable) 
Bunny Hop Alphabet Game (PK, EE)

Reading - Phonics
Uno Style Phonogram Game (Printable, E $)
Hard and Soft G Go Fish (Printable, E)
Homophones Game (Printable, E)


Reading - Sight Words
Rotten Bananas (Needs Colored Paper, K, EE)
Sight Word Go Fish (K, EE)

Spelling
Spelling Balloon Game (Need Balloons, Sharpie, E)
Boggle Word Game (E/MS)

Grammar
Silly Sentences (Puzzle Game or Board Game, E, $)

Vocabulary
Various Vocabulary Games

Prefixes/Suffixes and Greek/Latin Roots

Affixes and Roots Games (LE/MS/HS)

Greek Roots Tarsia Puzzle (LE/MS/HS)

Roots and Affixes Go Fish (LE/MS/HS)

Writing/Composing

Campfire Storytelling Game (All Ages)

Computer Coding

Computer Coding Game  (Requires Cards)
Computer Coding game
 

Geography

World
Various Geography Games by Ellen McHenry (Various Ages)
Coleoptera (Beetles/Weevils) Around the World (printable, LE/MS/HS)


South America
Birds of Brazil Bingo (K-12)

Antarctica
Scientists of Antarctica (LE/MS/HS $) 

US States - Multiple States

13 Colonies Game (K-12)


US States - Specific States

Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Geogrphy/Geology - Bottom of Page (K-12)

Texas
Ride 'em Cowboy Texas Game (E)

Foreign Language

French
On Vacation Around the World (in French) (Printable, E 7+/MS)



Health/Nutrition
Fruits and Vegetable Nutrition Game (ALL)



History 
The first section are game from historical time periods, and others are games that teach about these time periods.

Historical Games
These game are actual games played in ancient cultures and other times in the past.   They are useful for living history style exploration.  

Senet - Ancient Egyptian Game (LE/MS/HS)

Ancient Egyptian Snake Game (ALL)  

Ancient Rome - Tabula, an Ancient Roman Game (LE/MS/HS)  

Rota - Roman Tic-Tac-Toe (ALL)

Native Americans - Games from the Aboriginal People of North America (ALL)

World History

History Buffer Games (Various Eras - Printable, LE/MS/HS $ + $)

Egyptian Trivia Game (Printable, LE/MS/HS)

Digging Up Greece (LE/MS/HS)

Zeus on the Loose (Card Game, E/MS $) 

Age of Exploration Dice Game (E/MS $)

Viking Voyages (LE/MS)
    + My Viking Voyages Expansion Pack (LE/MS/HS)

Age of Exploration Dice Game (LE)

Sail the Seas - Explorers/Bodies of Water (LE/MS/HS)

Storming the Bastille French Revolution  (LE/MS/HS)

US History

History Buffer Games - US History (Printable, LE/MS/HS $ + $)

Great Depression Simulation Dice Game (LE/MS)

Bluebird Math Circle (All)
Math activities for various ages, many of which are related to Native American history and culture.

Religion (Christian)

Journeys of the Apostle Paul Game (LE/MS $)

St. Patrick of Ireland (LE/MS $) 

Science

General/MISC
Scientists of Antarctica (LE/MS/HS $) 


Animals and Habitats
Various Animal Games by Ellen McHenry (All)
Safari Animals Seek and Find (PK - K)
Phyla Ecology Game (LE/MS/MS)
Birds of Brazil Bingo ( K-12)
Birds of Prey (LE/MS/HS $)
Gastropods (Mollusks) Bingo (EE, MS, HS)
Poison Dart Frog (Requires cardboard, Lots of Set Up, E/MS)
Various Frog Games See links in post...it's more than just the pictured game  (Elementary)
Pond Scum - A Protozoa Game (LE/MS/HS)


Cells
Pond Scum - A Protozoa Game (LE/MS/HS)


Chemistry
Make 5 - A Game About Mineral Chemical Formulas ( LE, MS, HS)
Various Free Games by Ellen McHenry  (K-12)


Earth Science
Various Games by Ellen McHenry (K-12)


Nature Study
Nature Scavenger Hunt (K-12)



MISC

Family Friendly Version of Cards Against Humanity (LE/MS/HS)
Lego Building Game (Requires Legos, ALL 4+)
Various Lego Building Games  (Requires Legos, ALL 4+)
Bible Games, Various (ALL)
Concentration, Memorization, and Observation Games (LE/MS)  




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INDOOR GAME: Laundry Basket Ball

MATERIALS

• Laundry Basket
• Large Ball (beach ball or rubber/plastic ball best...avoid hard balls)
• Masking Tape,  Washi Tape, or Painters Tape
• A blank wall

SET UP

1.  Set an empty laundry basket against a blank wall (remove any glass picture frames or similar items from the wall...posters can stay).

2.  3 to 5 feet away from the basket (or further if you have room), put a short line of masking tape or washi tape on the floor (paralel to blank wall)



GAME PLAY

1.  One player at a time will guard the basket.   Their goal is to keep others from throwing the ball into the basket.   Toddlers and very young children may stand, others should kneel in front of the basket while guarding.  The ball may be hit back or caught, but if caught it must be thrown back immediately.

2.   All other player lines up behind the tape.   Whoever is in the front will try to throw the ball into the basket (younger children may stand, older children must kneel).   When the ball is blocked/returned by the "guard" those in the back can help to grab and return it to the person throwing.

3.  Once someone throws the ball in the basket, they become the new goalie, and the current goalie goes to the end of the line behind the tape.  You may make a 1 minute time limit to get a basket if that becomes an issue (in which case the person throwing would go to the back of the line and give the next child a turn). 

4.  Children may keep their own score of how many baskets they got, but I've found scores aren't really necessary. 

5.   Game plays until a certain score is reached, or until everyone is worn out. 

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