Free printable Valentine's Day Lesson Plans: Love coupons

 Hello friends of this free printable lesson plans blog! I'm teacher Omi (grama) of the Omschool! Today I'm sharing free printable Valentine's Day lesson plans to make Love Coupons. We made these years ago, when I was homeschooling our children. A love coupon book is very easy to make with kids of all ages, from toddler to teen. And they make great Valentine's Day gifts that cost nothing. 

You can get free printable love coupons and love coupon booklets to personalize from Spruce Crafts and FTD. BH&G has more Valentine's Day love coupon printables and crafts. But you don't have to print anything if you don't want to. Kids can design their own and probably will enjoy it more. 

For homemade love coupons, simply have kids design a frame pattern like a store coupon. I made some for my now-husband, when we were dating, using index cards. Even the youngest can illustrate or color the coupons. Kids can write in "this coupon entitles the bearer to__________" with a blank to fill in. You can then photocopy the page of coupons to fill in. 

Then practice writing skills having children fill in what the Love coupon is good for. Here are some great free Valentine's Day gifts kids can give. 

--back rub

--do the dishes

--play with little brother

--clean garage

--wash the car

--hugs and kisses

--make breakfast

--feed the cat

--walk the dog

--fold clothes

--quiet time for parent nap

--shovel snow

--rake leaves

--reading to siblings

The list is endless! And best of all, none of these task cost anything. Toddlers can help by doing shorter simpler tasks (sorting socks, picking up toys, drawing a picture). I really encourage all teachers and homeschool families, to keep lesson plans simple. As much as possible, make them, individualized, open-ended, hands-on and designed for high success. 

Creating easy free homeschool lesson plans with toys around the house

 Hello friends of my Omschool blog. Omschool is lesson plans from Omi (grandma), a 40 year veteran teacher and homeschool parent. My focus is always on free, cheap and recycled so today, we're looking at free easy homeschool lesson plans with toys around the house. Here are ways to repurpose the play room as a homeschool and toys as lesson plans. 

First, select multipurpose, educational toys. Whenever you purchase a toy for a child, consider how to use it in lesson plans. When people ask what you'd like for the kids, give learning toy suggestions. You could even have a Target, Walmart or Amazon registry. Every toy should provide quality learning experiences. Otherwise it's just a waste of space. 

Now when you plan lessons, you can select from the toys and save money. Montessori says that quality educational activities should use materials found on hand. During the Covid 19 quarantine, I read on Facebook of so many parents looking for online learning activities for their kids. It made me sad because here was a chance for parents to homeschool their kids and all they wanted to do was stick them in front of yet another screen or buy an overpriced, unnecessary curriculum package. 

I get it though; a lot of folks are worried they don't have the skills to educate their children and let Omi just assure you...YOU DO! I was talking to a young mom whose daughter was just diagnosed with autism. She was convinced to enroll the little one in a very expensive program. Basically all the program had done so far was to tell her to engage her daughter in activities (wait for it) around the house. $6,000 to be told that? I'd have told her that for free. 

You don't have to pay for something to learn to do what you probably already do anyway. Trust yourself. There are many excellent schools and programs but ultimately you are the first and most crucial teacher. So give yourself permission to sit back and enjoy watching your children play (as you are able). Montessori also says "Play is a child's work." 

Stay tuned for my list of best educational

toys for children. 

Book BAGS: Apple Party with books, activities, games and snacks

 Hello my dear friends in the Omschool-iverse! Teacher Omi (grama) here with more apple activities plans for autumn harvest lesson plans. We talked in my last post about crafts and snacks for an apple party and today we'll extend that with a Book BAGS unit. Book BAGS are my lesson plans that focus around a (B)book with accompanying (A) activities, (G) games, (S) snacks and craft projects. These free printable lesson plans cover cross-curricular activities: math, reading, literature, science and social studies and are geared to Pre-K up to about grade 2. Book BAGS are heavy on hands-on, multisensory activities for all learning styles and special needs. They're multiage for homeschool families, too! And being that I'm teacher Omi, they feature my beloved baby grands Silas, Moses, Lola, Lucian, Ezra, Remus, Milo, Juno, Emmett and Henry in starring roles (Hi, guys!)

Let's begin with kids books about apples. Here are some favorites.

Ten Apples Up on Top by Theo LeSieg (aka Dr. Seuss!) Here's a video of Ten Apples Up on Top for all learners to sing and read along with. This is perfect for the younger toddler and preschool learners to practice counting (Juno, Ezra, Emmett, Remus this one's for you!) Dr. Seuss books provide perfect emergent reading practice also. Also, value added are games for simple physical education by balancing apples on your head! Then off course you can eat the apples or make them into applesauce. 

The True Tale of Johnny Appleseed by Margaret Hodges. There are many wonderful kids books about explorer and environmentalist John Chapman (Johnny Appleseed) but this one is my favorite. There's a Disney version of Johnny Appleseed legend from 1948 that children will love today. The wonderful thing about this story is that unlike other Americana legends or tall tales like Paul Bunyan or Pecos Bill, this one is essentially all true. Read John Chapman's wikipedia page for details on his life. This book/movie combo is perfect for teaching apple science. 

Use free printable apple lesson plans from Enchanted Learning. This website feature dozens of free printable apple themed activities from craft projects, reading, creative writing, penmanship, science, drawing, phonics, math and more. 

Oh and speaking of applesauce, young learners will love Tigger and the Apple Tree from the Mickey's Young Reader books. The ever-bombastic Tigger assists Rabbit's applesauce-making in his own avant-garde style! Follow up reading by bobbing for apples in a tub of water (older kids) or using fish nets to "fish" for apples (younger learners). Then make your own applesauce with honey (Pooh Bear's recipe). You can peel and core apples or, if you have a applesauce mill, use that (much tastier and prettier). Simply add a dab of honey when done. 

Plant parts booklet. Kids love making their own books and apple science is a perfect subject. You can make kids books simple. Staple a few sheets of paper together (recycled from recycle bin) .Or get fancier and bind books and make a cover. Draw progress of apple from seed, sprout, stem (trunk), leaves, blossoms, fruit and finally back around to seed. Students can make it like a flip book if they choose also. 

Visit and apple orchare and host and apple tasting party. Assemble various types apples and have students sample, rate and categorize. They might arrange by color, sweetness and texture. Make a map of where different apples are grown regionally. Here are some apple varieties to try:

Granny Smith

Northern Spy

Macintosh

Ida Red

Paula Red

Jonathon

Red Delicious

Yellow Delicious

Pink Lady

Cosmic Crisp

Fuji

Gala

Honeycrisp

Sweetango

Winesap (harder to fin)

Host and an Apple Hunt (like an Easter egg hunt). Then make apple prints. Cut apples widthwise and find the star hidden in the apple. Saturate paper towel with food coloring to make stamp pad. Or use lightweight paint  to make apple print T-shirts. 

Teach Bible lesson plans on apples. Of course there's the Adam and Eve story, but I like to focus  Christian lesson plans on the more positive Bible verses such David being the "apple of God's eye" meaning beloved. We are all beloved, as children of God, by extension. 

Teach Jewish Rosh Hashanah lesson plans with apples and honey. Chabad.org offers wonderful lesson plans and activities for kids to explore this Holy Day tradition. 

Free Printable Apple themed Fall Harvest Lesson Plans: Apple Party

Hello to all of Teacher Omi's  ( Grama's ) Omschool friends! I'm Omi to 10 going on 11 wonderful grandkids and as a former teacher and homeschool mom, I'm all about educating kids! The Omschool is 2nd gen homeschool with the grandchildren and I'd love for you to join us! Today we're thinking about one of Omi's favorite foods: apples! Let's explore some free printable apple themed activities for fall harvest lesson plans. 

We live in Michigan and in autumn, Michigan is pretty much apple central! So why not celebrate this fall harvest goodness by throwing an apple party with a potluck of apple foods, apple themed crafts and games and apple lesson plans! First the free printable apple lesson plans.

California Apples.org has a harvest basket full of apple themed lessons, games, crafts, cross-curricular lesson plans, coloring pages, apple recipes, etc. Michigan Apples has a free printable apple resource kit for homeschool parents and teachers. 

For your fall harvest apple potluck, you could make anything from apple soup to apple dumplings, to pork roast with apples (my Omi's special recipe) to Our youngest Emma's famous 9-egg apple peanut butter cake (made when she was four and complete with peelings and seeds!) Last year, I gave each member of the family a bag of apples when they went on sale preference is McIntosh). This includes children. Each was tasked with looking up or inventing an apple themed recipe. This year, we're looking for even more creative goodies. 

I've got to dash to work but I'll post more later in part two of these apple themed lesson plans (plus great-Omi's apple pork roast recipe!)

Book BAGS: preschool book-based activities, games and snacks for "Blueberries for Sal"

Hello friends! Teacher Omi (grama) here. As a former homeschool parent and special needs teacher, I'm excited to bring this passion for education forward to the next gen grandchildren. When he was 4, my eldest grandson Silas called me Teacher Omi (grama) so I'm calling this new phase of homeschooling our Om-school.

I've been putting together a series of Book BAGS (literature-based units with books, activities, games, snacks and crafts). Today's Book BAGS unit is based on the 1949 Caldecott winner "Blueberries for Sal" by Robert McCloskey. My mom read it to me when I was 4 and it's become a family favorite. We also live in Michigan blueberry country and it's coming on blueberry season, so a perfect story to celebrate. I've geared this to homeschooling, erm, Om-schooling families with activities for all ages. If you're using in a group setting, preschool to 2nd grade would be best. I'm dedicating these free printable bear lesson plans and activities based on "Blueberries for Sal" to our grandboy Lucian, bear aficionado and explorer extraordinaire. 

Begin your Book BAGS unit by reading "Blueberries for Sal." Enjoy the beautifully detailed block print illustrations of Robert McCloskey.  I recommend getting your own copy of this classic story and Thriftbooks is my go-to for reasonably priced used books. 

Note the similarities between the bear cub and his mother and Sal and her mom. Both moms are preparing for winter. Sal's mom is going to can the blueberries while Little Bear is exhorted to "eat all you can hold for winter." "Blueberries for Sal" is the perfect segue into life science lesson plans on bears and hibernation. Bear.org has a plethora of free printable bear lesson plans and activities based on bears. 

You might actually do a fruit canning project with children. Or if you're like me and not much of a home-canner, make freezer blueberry jam. Here's a freezer blueberry jam recipe from Farmhouse Harvest. Jam-making lesson plans are perfect for multiage classrooms or homeschools because everyone from the baby on up can participate. Toddlers like my Omschool littles Remus and Emmett could practice eye-hand coordination and fine motor skills placing canning jar rings on a spoon (as Sal does) while the prechoolers Juno and Ezra could be blueberry stem removers and squashers. The 4 and up crowd (Lu Bear, Milo, Lola) can get math skills practice measuring and counting. The big Kahunas like our Moses and Silas can be project coordinators. And everyone will enjoy the tasting! 

If you don't want to mess with making jam (and I confess I for one might not LOL), you can make a multitude of snacks from blueberries for your unit. How about rainbow sandwiches? Spread bread with cream cheese, slice strawberries, mandarin oranges, bananas, green grapes, blueberries and red grapes and arrange like a rainbow! Or make Super Berry Chicken Salad with cubed chicken, celery, green peppers, blueberries, cashews (or chow mien noodles) mayo and Dijon mustard. Lots of slicing and chopping for cooking skills practice. Or you could do blueberry muffins or pancakes. 

Grade one and up might also discuss how things have changed in Sal's 1948 family kitchen and what things have remained the same. Stoves for example look much the same but are fueled differently (discuss how). You might assemble a collection of "vintage" cooking utensils like a rotary hand beater, potato masher, metal cookie cutters, flour sifter and pastry dough cutter. Put these in the  sand and water table for exploration. 

A perfect game for "Blueberries for Sal" Book BAGS (bags is book, activity, game and snack) is clothespin drop which lets kids explore another old-time tool, clothespins. This was a favorite at birthday parties when Omi was young. All you need is a package of clothespins and a canning jar. Students practice eye-hand coordination and fine motor skills dropping pins in the jar. 

And for the activity or book-based craft, make clothespins into "puppet" characters from "Blueberries for Sal" and act out the story. Here's where that recycling bin I'm always on about is invaluable. Let kids forage for scraps from there and a fabric scraps bag, to clothe and fur the characters. No fur fabric for the bears? Just draw on brown paper bags! Then add faces and voila, your own puppets! 

Make a pet baby tornado: fun, easy, free science activities and recycled crafts

 Hello teachers and homeschool friends, "Omschool" teacher Omi (grandma) here with easy, free recycle bin crafts for science lesson plans. Today we're making pet baby tornadoes. This science experiment is easy for all ages from toddler on up. It's perfect for a highchair craft. The pet baby tornado is free to make with items from the recycle bin. You just need water, a clean glass jar with lid and a tiny drop of dish soap. 

To find baby tornado, just shake round and round to create a swirling in the water, called in science talk, a vortex. This is the force that drives a whirlpool and also the force that is generated by the drain in your sink or bathtub. Water doesn't just fall down the drain, it swirls round and round as it goes down. 

I realized after I made my pet baby tornado video that it was difficult to see him clearly. So I tried adding a little food coloring to make baby tornado show up better. You can also add some glitter if you  have some, to show how things floating on the surface are pulled into the vortex. 

 

Extend your science fun with some cross-curricular connections. Make a book about baby tornado. Research tornados and the force they create. Draw your tornado and maybe make up a song about him (her!) 

Here are free printable tornado lesson plans from A to Z Teacher. And here are some more free printable tornado lesson plans from Teach Engineering. 

DIY Sand and Water Table alternatives for homeschool and classroom

 Hello fans of my Omschool blog. I've been a licensed general and special education teacher for 37 years and part of my career work was spent homeschooling our four children. Now, I'm Omi--grandma--to 9 going on 11 and am continuing the homeschool traditions I began, with the second generation as Omschool (Omi's school). Lesson plans are designed with cheap to free materials, many of which are reused, repurposed and recycled. 

For today's lesson plans, we'll create a DIY sand and water table for preschool, special education and lower elementary learning centers. This sand table alternative was developed in our homeschool and works well for small spaces. As budgets are usually tight, whether in public, parochial or homeschool, this is a low cost alternative as well. 

Instead of the expensive sand and water table purchased from school supply companies, I've used a repurposed child's sandbox such as the enclosed Little Tikes turtle sandbox or Step 2 brand sandboxes. The turtle sandbox is washable, portable and covered. It moves easily indoors or out. For an even more budget friendly alternative, get a small plastic wading pool. I've found these as cheap as $7 from Dollar General. Inflatable kiddie pools will work too however they aren't as durable. 

The last sand table alternative is a low sided plastic box or tub with lid. This works very well when space is limited. When learning center activities are done, simply close the box with media and manipulatives inside and stack in the storage area. Here's my blog post on homemade sand toys for the sand table. 

These preschool learning center activities worked very well for our homeschool. I could allow the  youngest children to explore independently while instructing the older children. The DIY sand and water table wasn't just for preschool learning center activities either. The older kids could use it to practice and explore mathematical concepts such as measurement, geometry (volume) and science (sing various media). Sand tables provide excellent sensory experiences. More on sand table filler alternatives later! 

I'm sorry I don't have an image of how this sand and water table fit in our homeschool. But let me assure you the even in our tiny 10x10 room, it fit well! I've linked the picture to Amazon. This small reasonably priced Step 2 sandbox would work perfectly.