We have had a cold in our house. It hit me first, then my freshman. My husband and two older teens have somehow dodged it. It has been just over a week for me, and while my congestion is less, the fatigue still lingers. My freshman had a rough weekend, but woke up better this… Continue reading Tuesday Teaching Tip #17: Making models with air-dry clay & recipe
Tag: homeschool science
Five ways for your students to fall in love with Biology
Use videos to help explain complex topics, like Amoeba Sisters and Crash Course Biology. Teach concepts with fun, hands-on experiences. Labs can be engaging and fun without specialized equipment or complicated prep. Use models! Engage students by building models of biological systems. Explaining the process and drawing parallels between models and real-world phenomena utilizes critical… Continue reading Five ways for your students to fall in love with Biology
Tuesday Teaching Tip #15- Use candy to build models
Kids love candy. I learned early in my teaching career that if candy was involved, there was engagement. Even if the candy was not consumed, it was familiar and fun. Using candy to build models in science automatically engages student interest, but it also engages higher order thinking skills. When using models, students have to… Continue reading Tuesday Teaching Tip #15- Use candy to build models
Using molecular model kits in biology
(Purchases made through links in this post for my TeachersPayTeacher.com store and Amazon help to support this blog. Thanks!) We are about to wrap up Unit 1 in our biology curriculum, which includes a biochemical section on biomolecules and reactions. As a classroom teacher, my approach to biomolecules was geared toward the types of questions… Continue reading Using molecular model kits in biology
What we are using for 9th grade 2025-2026
My youngest started high school on Monday. It is bittersweet. She has always been homeschooled; never attended public school like her sisters did. It is so exciting to see her start high school and set up her high school transcript this week! But, I am also sad knowing the homeschooling adventure for our family will… Continue reading What we are using for 9th grade 2025-2026
Have Fun Learning About Cell Part 2: Plant Cells
(This post contains links to products in my Teachers Pay Teachers store and Amazon Affiliate links. Purchases help to fund the blog. Thanks!) While learning about the differences between cells of different kingdoms in biology, some of the differences discussed are the presence of a nucleus (eukaryote vs. prokaryote), chloroplasts for photosynthesis, the presence of… Continue reading Have Fun Learning About Cell Part 2: Plant Cells
A Matching and Memory Game for Learning Cell Organelles
My kids love games. On Fridays, we historically play math games, but sometimes we add in geography games, logic games, or puzzles. I have decided to create a few games to use in science to help with learning vocabulary that my middle schoolers will be using again soon in high school biology. We just started… Continue reading A Matching and Memory Game for Learning Cell Organelles
Planning for a year of Magic School Bus
I have been wanting to do this since last year: design a complete year's hands-on science curriculum based on Magic School Bus books and videos. My oldest kid is going into fifth grade. It's now or never. The science lessons for each topic are based on the 5-E method: engage, explore, explain, elaborate, evaluate. Engage… Continue reading Planning for a year of Magic School Bus

