My six-year-old is so excited to get started with first grade. He actually started his math over the summer because he did not want to wait. I am not naive enough to think that means we won’t have bad days or tough subjects, but I am glad he is enjoying school at this point.

It is important to evaluate curriculum options each year based on what worked and did not work in the past and on the individual student.

*This post contains affiliate links, see full disclosure below.*

Reading

We found All About Learning Press years ago when we struggled with spelling, and it has been an excellent fit for all my children. We started All About Reading Pre-Reading level last year and learned all of his letters.

Due to some speech difficulties we put aside the letter sounds for until this fall so that he had time to work on them in his speech therapy. This year I plan to finish the Pre-Reading level and begin working through level 1. I love the phonetic approach and the fun touches included in this program.

We will be supplementing this with some great programs from Schoolhouse Teachers. They have a fantastic series with a short video for each letter to reinforce what we are learning in AAR.

We will be continuing lots of reading aloud and he loves to listen to audiobooks in his free time or while he is working on chores. We also utilize our Read Aloud Revival membership for fun literature study.

Math

Math for a Living Education is a math series from Masterbooks. My son loved the kindergarten level so much that he finished it in April and he has already begun the first grade level.

We love how they weave a story through the book to show real-life examples of math skills. I also find that there is enough practice without being overwhelming or feeling like busy work. (If you have a child that needs extra practice, they offer a separate book with additional reinforcement.)

In addition, we will be using some calendar math from Schoolhouse Teachers to reinforce essential math concepts as well as days of the week, months of the year, etc.

Science

After our bucket list National Parks trip last year, both my ten and six year-olds really wanted to learn more about rocks. I dug around to see what we had and what was available for elementary geology from a Christian perspective and decided to create my own course using materials from a couple different companies including Master Books and Northwest Treasures. You can get a free copy of my creationist geology plan and find out more over at this post.

In addition, we will be doing nature study at least weekly (we often do it more when the weather is comfortable.) Sometimes our nature study is as simple as going outside and observing, but we also love to use our subscription to Homeschool Nature Study to take things a little further and help me find some great activities and ideas.

History

My original history plans had us moving back into Story of the World. However, after our trip and based on my children’s interests, we decided to use the Prairie Primer this year for history and literature combined. This plan goes through the Little House on the Prairie book series and incorporates history, science, and other subjects.

We will mostly focus on the literature, history, and cooking projects that are included. However, I may also add in a few of the other subjects as we have time and interest. I will note that there are some nutritional lessons that I would disagree with ( I think its just outdated information) so we will just skip those components.

I think the boys will enjoy learning more about the history of the settling of the western part of the United States and be able to make connections to some of the wonderful places we visited on our journey.

Art/Music

Nana would probably cringe if she heard me say it, but I am not an artist, so I love having an art program that will help my children in my area of weakness. We have been using You Are An Artist Chalk Pastel lessons for several years with my older children, and we love them.

Music is another area where I like to call in help teaching, and we use Practice Monkeys for music lessons. We have been with them since 2018, and I cannot say enough good things. Joseph will continue to take violin lessons as well as receive some help from my high school aged daughter. They offer Zoom Suzuki violin, cello, guitar, and piano lessons at a super affordable rate for families.

Handwriting

I am excited to be trying Master Books Handwriting A to Zoo this year. I love that in addition to handwriting he will pick up some fun animal facts and that it gives glory to the Creator. I also appreciate that it is fairly open and go, which is important for me as I balance teaching three students and having a baby in the house.

Morning Time

In addition, we will do family Bible and World Watch during our morning time each day. We will also rotate in a variety of other subjects. You can see more about what we are incorporating during Morning Time this year and learn why it is my favorite time of the day in this post: Morning Time Plans 2024

A Typical Day

All of these subjects (except music lessons and some of our nature study) can be completed in the morning. If my first grader is being diligent about his studies, he can be finished in time for lunch with everything on his checklist. Violin and nature study are the exceptions because the music lesson is scheduled in the afternoons and we often do our nature walks and hikes in the afternoons as well.

This schedule allows him to get a good foundation in the academic subjects but still have lots of time for free play and exploration. We try to ensure he gets several hours outside each day and plenty of time for building with legos and other projects. Over the years, I have come to realize that children can learn as much through that free play as they do through academic instruction.

I would love to know what your favorite resources are for first grade! Also, if you have any questions, please ask them in the comments.

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

When you sign up for the Schoolin’ Swag free resource library, you will get a link and password to the library, we are adding to the library each month with new items. You will also get a bi-weekly newsletter email to keep you up to date on what we have going on.

Resource Library 

This post may contain affiliate or referral links, including Amazon affiliate links. As always, I will never recommend a product that I don’t believe in, and you will never be charged more for purchasing through our links. It does help pay for the costs associated with the blog.

Deals and Freebies

If you have not tried SchoolhouseTeachers.com, you don’t want to miss this sale!

You might be exploring Petroglyph National Monument with teens if you hear one of them say, “I wonder if hundreds of years from now people will be looking at today’s graffiti this way.”

Petroglyph National Monument is a site in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with several different trails featuring rocks with petroglyphs.

(We have been taking advantage of my son’s Every Kid Outdoors Pass and visiting as many National Park sites as possible. For this post, I will use National Park to mean any park site, including historic sites, monuments, etc.)

*Some of the links in my posts may be affiliate links. See below for more information. *

Our Suggested Itinerary

Petroglyph is different from many parks because it is located in a city, and the different trails are several miles apart. Your first stop should be the information center. This is a small center that offers information and a gift store. There are also vault toilets at this location.

This is where you can get your passports stamped, your junior ranger books, and a good map of the trails. There is one small trail behind the information center, but no petroglyphs are there.

Once you have your map, you can choose one or more trails. We only had a few hours at this site, as it was a stop along our route for the day. So, we chose to only go to the Boca Negra location. This location has three trails, picnic tables, and a bathroom.

Some of the trails are wheelchair accessible, and they have viewing tubes for those who can’t get up close. However, we hiked one of the trails up the canyon and were able to see many different petroglyphs up close. There was also an amazing view of the area from the top of the trail. We enjoyed the hike and the petroglyphs but did not feel like we missed out on anything by not being able to go to the other locations.

If you only want to visit one or two trails and the information center, you can do this park in about two hours. However, if you have more time, you could check out the other trails and spend a full day exploring.

Science and History at Petroglyph National Monument

The primary focus of this park is the petroglyphs. There is much to learn about indigenous cultures from the drawings they left behind. While there are some information boards about the petroglyphs, we found that we needed more information to dig into the history. We purchased the Easy Field Guide to Southwest Petroglyphs to help my children learn more.

From a science and nature perspective, the canyon is volcanic rock, which provides a really interesting nature study. You can also see a variety of different desert plants and animals. We enjoyed seeing all of the plant and animal life, but if I had it to do over again, I would get field guides like this plant guide and this guide for animals to bring with us.

If you get a chance to visit, let me know how you like it. Don’t forget to take your park passport and get it stamped! We have found that the passport is a great way for the children to get a souvenir at each park with no additional expense after the initial purchase.

Where:

Information Center: Albuquerque, NM Unser Blvd. NW at the Western Trail intersection, approximately 3 miles north of I-40

Trails are located within a few miles of the information center.

Hours of Operation:

Information Center is open from 9 am to 4 pm seven days a week (closed on major holidays)

Costs: Free

Homeschool Discount: n/a

Website: https://www.nps.gov/petr/index.htm

Food: No food is available on site, but restaurants and parks are nearby.

 Pro tip: find a grocery store that sells Biscochitos, the New Mexico state cookie. The anise flavor is delicious.

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

When you sign up for the Schoolin’ Swag free resource library, you will get a link and password to the library. We add new items to the library each month. You will also get a bi-weekly newsletter email to keep you updated on what we have going on.

Resource Library 

This post may contain affiliate or referral links, including Amazon affiliate links. As always, I will never recommend a product that I don’t believe in, and you will never be charged more for purchasing through our links. However, it does help pay for the costs associated with the blog.

Deals and Freebies

Schoolhouse Teachers is also offering a BOGO great sale! They are a great place for a one-stop shop curriculum or for having many options to fill in different electives and courses into what you have already chosen.

Emotions can be intense and confusing for young children. Even as adults, we sometimes struggle to put our emotions into words, and it is often much more challenging for young children. I was excited to get the chance to review Spark’s How Does Bear Feel?: A Social Emotional Learning Tool for Timberdoodle.

What is How Does Bear Feel?

How Does Bear Feel? is an activity that teaches children about different emotions and helps them recognize the body language cues associated with those emotions. The kit includes 50 double-sided story cards (100 stories), 20 bear emotion cards, and an instructional card.

You read a story card aloud, and the students help to pick out which of the bear emotion cards they think the bear would feel based on the story. Then, they can also talk about how the card displays that emotion.

For example, the big smile shows he is happy. The open mouth and arms up show a surprised bear. The crossed arms and frown show an angry bear.
The other side of the instruction card also shows a miniature version of each of the emotion bears and names the emotion.

How Did We Use How Does Bear Feel?

I used How Does Bear Feel? with my son, who is just finishing up kindergarten. He sometimes struggles with expressing and handling his emotions. We sat down and made it a game. I would read a card, and he would find the emotion bear he thought matched.

Then, he would name the emotion and tell me why he thought that was the right bear.
Sometimes, I would ask him about other emotions that might also be correct to help him think about the situation.

For example, a bear might be happy and surprised simultaneously. He enjoyed the game and had no issues understanding how to play.
You could also use the bear emotion cards to help students talk through their own experiences or make up different scenarios that apply to them.

What Did We Think?

Overall, I thought that How Does Bear Feel? was a great tool for helping young students learn to understand and talk about emotions. I really appreciated that it not only helped them name the emotions but also examined body language to help them recognize and understand body language in others.

I appreciated that it had twenty different emotions to help students work through different nuances of emotion and see that they can feel a variety of emotions in any one situation. I also liked that it was flexible in the amount of time spent using the product. You could do a card a day in just a minute or two. You could also sit for as long as the student was interested and go through different story cards.

This product is generally great for ages three to six but could also be used for older students struggling in this area.

If you have a young child who is struggling with expressing emotions, understanding social cues, or handling big feelings, go to Timberdoodle and check out How Does Bear Feel?. You can purchase it individually or it is included in their Pre-K kit.

Is it a tree? Is it a rock? At Petrified Forest National Park, the answer to both questions is yes. We left New Mexico and headed west to Arizona to visit several national parks. Petrified Forest National Park was first on our list and it did not disappoint.

(We have been taking advantage of my son’s Every Kid Outdoors Pass and visiting as many National Park sites as possible. For this post, I will use National Park to mean any park site, including historic sites, monuments, etc.)

*Some of the links in my posts may be affiliate links. See below for more information. *

Our Suggested Itinerary

There are two visitor centers at Petrified National Park, one at either entrance, and they are twenty-eight miles from visitor’s center to visitor’s center. Due to bad weather the day before, we only had a half-day in the park. We could see most of what we wanted, but if possible, I would recommend a full day if you do a lot of hiking.

There are some excellent trails throughout the park, but if you do not have much time or have people with physical limitations that make hiking difficult, you can still see a great deal from various overlooks.

We started at the park’s south end with the Rainbow Forest Museum and Visitor’s Center. We chose this due to our location, but it worked out perfectly. We visited the visitor’s center to pick up our junior ranger books, took a short hike behind the visitor’s center to learn more about the petrified wood, and then started through the park.

If at all possible, you will want to drive the entire twenty-eight miles through the park. There are many parking lots and “overlooks” where you can see various features. Some you can see right from the parking lot, and others may require a short walk.

There are also some longer hikes available. On the day we were there, it was overcast and rained, so we mostly stuck to shorter hikes to make sure we were not too far away from the van in case the weather worsened.

The south side is very focused on the petrified wood, and there are many pieces you can see and some you can touch. Be sure to grab a map at the visitor’s center to know what is available at each stop; some are just trailheads, others are overlooks, and some have picnic shelters and restrooms. If you were in the park all day, one of these stops would have made a great lunch stop. No food is available on the stretch between the two entrances (except for an ice cream shop).

We personally really enjoyed the Giant Logs and Crystal Forest trails. They were short, relatively easy trails with great up-close views of the petrified trees.

When you cross into the northern side of the park, it is known as the “Painted Desert.” The terrain changes and there are some beautiful scenic overlooks over dessert mesas with brilliant, colorful layers. Even on a cloudy gray day, it was stunning to see.

Along the way is a small museum and national landmark, the Painted Desert Inn. It was closed when we reached it on our visit, so check the current hours of operation if you want to stop there.

At the end of the twenty-eight-mile drive is a second visitor’s center, a lovely gift shop, and a restaurant. If your children have completed their junior ranger booklets along the way, they can turn them in here (you can also get them here and turn them in at the other visitor’s center if you are going in the opposite direction). They also have junior paleontologist booklets you can get, and you work through them at several National Parks sites.

We arrived at this point after the restaurant had closed, but the gift shop had some beautiful (and expensive) pieces of petrified wood. They also had a small box of pieces you could buy that was very reasonable and made a great souvenir. (It is illegal to collect petrified wood from within the park.)

Tips for the Area

If you are finished at the park and looking for a treat, there is a little “hole in the wall” type restaurant in Holbrook, AZ just a short drive from the park called Mr. Maesta’s. We stopped because they had fry bread and Indian tacos. The inside had an eclectic atmosphere with LOTS of vintage decor. We picked up the fry bread and tacos to-go and they were delicious.

If you wish to camp (tent or RV) nearby, check out Homolovi State Park. It was a beautiful park in its own right with some amazing Native American ruins and nice hiking trails. It is also in a great spot to do day trips to several other sites.

Science at Petrified Forest National Park

Petrified Forest National Park is full of science opportunities. There is so much to learn about the petrified wood and the science behind the Painted Desert. Students can learn how different minerals cause the different layers to be different colors. The process of petrification is explained along the short trail behind the visitor’s center (a brochure with more details is available at the trailhead).

There are also exhibits about the different plants and animals that call the area home.

All the displays at national parks present information from an evolutionary point of view. However, as creationists, we still felt there was much to learn from visiting and understanding the basic process. We then added listening to a couple of episodes of Jonathan Park and reading about the Petrified Forest from Answers in Genesis to our learning to help my children understand how the Genesis Flood could have caused the petrified forest.

There is also a little bit of history with a pull-out dedicated to an old Studebaker and the things done by the CCC.

If you get a chance to visit, let me know how you like it. Don’t forget to take your park passport and get it stamped! We have found that the passport is a great way for the children to get a souvenir at each park with no additional expense after the initial purchase.

Where:

Northeastern Arizona

Westbound Interstate 40 travelers should take Exit 311, drive 28 miles through the park, and connect with Highway 180 at the south end. Travel 19 miles on Highway 180 North to return to Interstate 40 via Holbrook.

Eastbound Interstate 40 travelers should take Exit 285 into Holbrook and then travel 19 miles on Highway 180 South to the park’s south entrance. Drive the 28 miles north through the park to return to Interstate 40.

Hours of Operation:

Park Road Hours

Park hours are 8 am to 6 pm.

Visitor Centers and Museum Hours

Painted Desert Visitor Center and Rainbow Forest Museum & Visitor Center

8 am to 5 pm

Painted Desert Inn National Historic Landmark Hours

9 am to 4 pm

Costs:

$25 per vehicle (or $15 for an individual) or Free with a pass

Homeschool Discount: n/a

Website: https://www.nps.gov/pefo/index.htm

Food:

There is an ice cream store at the Painted Dessert Inn and a restaurant at the north entrance. (Also, see my note above about some great fry bread a short drive from the park.)

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

When you sign up for the Schoolin’ Swag free resource library, you will get a link and password to the library. We add new items to the library each month. You will also get a bi-weekly newsletter email to keep you updated on what we have going on.

Resource Library 

This post may contain affiliate or referral links, including Amazon affiliate links. As always, I will never recommend a product that I don’t believe in, and you will never be charged more for purchasing through our links. However, it does help pay for the costs associated with the blog.

Deals and Freebies

Schoolhouse Teachers is also offering a BOGO sale right now! You can get two years worth of curriculum for your whole family for less than $300.

We love the Who, What, Why book series from Thinking Kids Press and now is a great time to buy with 20% off! You can check out our review here.

“Rocks, rocks, rocks, I’ve never seen so many rocks. I’m ready to see some trees.”

Those words came out of my teenage son’s mouth as we traveled around part of the western United States this spring. We live on the East Coast, and most of the rocks we see come from somewhere else. The land is beautiful but flat and sandy.

While he was joking about wanting to see some trees, we really enjoyed seeing all the different rock formations, canyons, and even petrified trees.  So, it was no surprise that my two elementary-aged boys wanted to learn more about rocks this year.

Why Geology?

We do our science studies together as a family in elementary and middle school. We usually choose a topic together each year. We primarily use Apologia, but this year, when my son said he wanted to learn about rocks, I went digging to see what we had and what resources were available to teach about rocks and geology from a creationist point of view.

Resources for a Creationist Geology Study

We already had the Wonders of Creation: Geology book from Master Books, which is geared towards students in grades seven to twelve. The two that I am teaching this year are grades one and five. Wonders of Creation: Geology also does not contain hands-on activities because it is a spine used as part of another curriculum.

However, I really liked the content and the fantastic illustrations in Wonders of Creation: Geology, so I decided to use it as a spine and create my own study.

I found an excellent book for younger children called Rocks and Minerals for Little Eyes by Patrick Nurre. This book is designed for pre-K to second grade and includes some very basic content and a lovely selection of hands-on activities. It was perfect for the students I am teaching this year, but they also have other levels if your students are older.

Next, I searched our Homeschool Nature Study subscription to see what was available. To my delight, there is a whole unit on rocks. This included hands-on studies, notebooking pages, and more.  We have a “bingo” card to fill out with different hands-on activities, outdoor activities, indoor projects, and so much more.

Finally, I knew we would need some rocks to study. Part of our study will be collecting rocks where we can find them, but thankfully, we also had a small rock collection to get us started. We had picked this up secondhand, but there are lots of options on Amazon. This set will give us a more extensive variety of rocks to study and help us have some known rocks to compare to the ones we find.

Once I had gathered my materials, I set out to make a plan. The Wonders of Creation: Geology and Rocks and Minerals for Little Eyes covered many of the same topics but in a different order. The materials are more basic since Rocks and Minerals is for a younger audience.

How Are We Using our Geology Resources?

Therefore, I decided to start each topic with that book and then go into the Wonders of Creation: Geology book. Once I laid out a schedule that incorporated both of those books, I added the components of the Rocks Nature Study course according to where they fit best with the other material. I have put this information on an easy-to-use and edit chart in our free resource library for anyone who wants to use these materials to teach geology.

I set up my timeline to cover each topic over two weeks. During those two weeks, we will read the sections in each book, complete activities from the Rocks and Minerals book, and do the related nature study activities.

We Are Covering in Our Creationist Geology Study?

• Creation
• The Flood
• What the Earth is made of/Parts of the Earth’s surface
• Different Types of Rocks
• Different Geological Processes (fossilization, erosion, etc.)

Based on that timeline, I have twenty-two weeks of geology study. While many curricula use the thirty-six-week timeline, we like to take December off of our regular studies for Christmas-themed studies. By finishing early, we can use those last weeks of school in the spring to further our hands-on rock study with nature hikes and field trips. If you want or need a full thirty-six weeks, you can take more time to cover the other topics or add more in-depth study using library books about specific topics.

Geology Field Trips

There are so many field trip options for this study! You can start with simple trips like a nature hike in a local park to look for rocks. There are also a variety of museums that have rock and mineral exhibits. You can visit a mine and learn more about that process and see what the different rocks and minerals look like when they are found in the Earth. Various state and national parks also focus on geological features or remarkable rocks and minerals.  I’m sharing about different national parks in my Field Trip Friday series.

We are looking forward to diving into our geology study, learning more about the rocks and geological features we saw on our trip, and getting outside to explore rocks “in the real world.”  If you have studied rocks and geology, what were your favorite resources?

Remember, if you want to study geology this year, you can download our curriculum plan in our free resource library.

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

When you sign up for the Schoolin’ Swag free resource library, you will receive a link and password to the library. We add new items to the library each month. You will also receive a monthly newsletter email to keep you updated on what we have going on.

Resource Library 

This post may contain affiliate or referral links, including Amazon affiliate links. As always, I will never recommend a product that I don’t believe in, and you will never be charged more for purchasing through our links. However, it does help pay for the costs associated with the blog.

Deals and Freebies

Schoolhouse Teachers is also offering a BOGO sale right now! You can get two years worth of curriculum for your whole family for less than $300.

We love the Who, What, Why book series from Thinking Kids Press and now is a great time to buy with 20% off! You can check out our review here.

Have you ever heard of the Manhattan Project? It might make you think of New York City, but if you are familiar with World War II, you will know that the Manhattan Project created and tested the atomic bombs.

(We have been taking advantage of my son’s Every Kid Outdoors Pass and visiting as many National Park sites as possible. For this post, I will use the term National Park to mean any park site, including historic sites, monuments, etc.)

*Some of the links in my posts may be affiliate links see below for more information. *

Our family loves history, but my husband, in particular, is a history buff, and he was very excited to visit part of the Manhattan Project National Park. While several parks are spread over more than one state due to their large size (Yellowstone) or just because they are close to a border, this one is unusual in that it is in three distinctly different locations. The three parts of this park are in Tennessee, New Mexico, and Washington states.

Our trip only brought us to the portion in New Mexico, but we hope to make it to the Tennessee portion on our next adventure.

Our Suggested Itinerary

The New Mexico portion of this National Park is actually very small. It consists of a small two-room visitor center with a few informational boards. However, they also have a map for a walking tour of the area near the visitor’s center, where you can see various buildings that were an integral part of the town that was built there due to the Manhattan Project.

On the tour, there is also a wonderful (and free) science museum, which includes a short film about the town’s and the Manhattan Project’s history.

I would recommend starting at the visitor’s center to get your passport stamps and Junior Ranger badges. The wonderful rangers and volunteers there will show you the map and help you get your bearings. Then you can start your walking tour. Our family took about an hour to complete the walking tour portion.  The tour is approximately a mile from the visitor’s center and goes back to the science museum. The local history center also has some guided tours available.

We went to the Bradbury Science Museum at the end of our tour. There, you can watch a film about the history of the Manhattan Project and see and interact with multiple other exhibits about nuclear science. There were earthquake simulators, models of the atomic bombs, information about nuclear defense, and more. This science museum had exhibits for all ages. We only had about an hour to spend at the museum, and we got a good feel for the various exhibits and watched the film. However, if you had more time, you could spend two to three hours exploring the museum.

History and Science at Manhattan Project National Park

The Manhattan Project National Park (New Mexico site) is one where history and science naturally come together.  The site and the town reflect the fact that it was built during the wartime period. For example, one of the housing sections was bathtub row because they were the only homes in town with bathtubs because they were built before the war. Due to the war efforts, the materials were unavailable to put bathtubs into the new construction.

The Bradbury Science Museum, a partner with the park site, provides an abundance of science related to the Manhattan Project. There are exhibits about how atomic bombs worked, a simulator that shows the difference between how bombs and earthquakes shake the ground, magnetics, and more. We especially appreciated that the content was appropriate for a wide variety of ages and knowledge levels.

If you can visit, let me know how you like it, and remember to take your park passport and get it stamped! We have found that the passport is a great way for the children to get a souvenir at each park with no additional expense after the initial passport purchase.

Basic Information About Manhattan Project National Park (New Mexico Site)

Where:

Los Alamos Visitor Center

475 20th Street, Suite C

Los Alamos, NM 87544

Hours of Operation:

National Park Visitor’s Center:

Friday-Monday 10:00-3:00 (Closed Major Holidays)

Bradbury Science Museum:

Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m.

Costs:

Free

Homeschool Discount:

No Fees

Website:

https://www.nps.gov/mapr/index.htm

Food:

No food is available on site, but restaurants and parks are nearby.  

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

When you sign up for the Schoolin’ Swag free resource library, you will receive a link and password to the library. We add new items to the library each month. You will also receive a monthly newsletter email to keep you updated on what we have going on.

Resource Library 

This post may contain affiliate or referral links, including Amazon affiliate links. As always, I will never recommend a product that I don’t believe in, and you will never be charged more for purchasing through our links. However, it does help pay for the costs associated with the blog.

Deals and Freebies

Schoolhouse Teachers is also offering a BOGO sale right now! You can get two years worth of curriculum for your whole family for less than $300.

We love the Who, What, Why book series from Thinking Kids Press and now is a great time to buy with 20% off! You can check out our review here.

Stickers are one of my favorite activities for preschool and early elementary years. The children tend to love them, they have so many educational benefits, and they are quiet, which can be a welcome reprieve during those wonderful but loud and busy years. So, I was excited to get the chance to review the My First Sticker by Number set from Timberdoodle.

What is the My First Sticker by Number Kit?

This set included eight large picture cards and 480 stickers to complete the pictures. Each picture was of a different animal: a cat, giraffe, butterfly, chicken, turtle, duck, fish, and tropical bird. Each picture was accompanied by a page of stickers specific to that picture, with square and triangular stickers of different colors. The colors had a number noted beside them.

The student chooses a picture and finds the appropriate sticker page. Next, the student matches the colored stickers to the numbered blocks to complete the picture.  When done, the student will have a fun and colorful image that can be displayed or given away as a cute gift to grandparents or neighbors.

This activity works on fine motor skills, number recognition, spatial awareness, and independent play. Talking about the colors as your child works through the pictures can also reinforce color names.

My six-year-old knows his numbers well but needs some practice with fine motor skills. He was able to independently complete these pages and really enjoyed them. As a parent, I had one concern before we tried them: whether the stickers would peel easily. Nothing will ruin the independence of a sticker activity like hard-to-peel stickers. However, these peeled well, and he could get them independently.

Using the My First Sticker By Number Kit

Since we tried these over the summer, I let my son work through them during his afternoon playtime when it was too hot to be outside. However, they would also work great when taken to appointments or other places with quiet waiting times.

In the words of my six-year-old, ” I liked them. They have different shapes and colors. They are not hard or easy, but kind of in the middle. My favorite picture was the duck.”

During the school day, they could be used to give little hands something quiet to do during a read-aloud time or to give a student something to work on while they wait for the parent to be able to assist them with something else.

Overall, we really enjoyed the My First Sticker by Number set from Timberdoodle. It is fun and educational and makes for a great independent activity for preschoolers and early elementary-age children. You can purchase this sticker kit individually, or it is included in the Pre-K Kit.

Have you ever climbed into a volcano? That might sound like a new adventure series’s plot, but you can climb into a volcano at Capulin Volcano National Monument.

We have been taking advantage of my son’s Every Kid Outdoors Pass and visiting as many National Park sites as possible. For the sake of this post, I will use the term National Park to mean any park site, including historic sites, monuments, etc.

*Some of the links in my posts may be affiliate links. See below for more information. *

We had a chance to visit Capulin Volcano this spring, and I am very glad we made the time to stop. Capulin was not on our original itinerary, but we saw that it was not too far out of the way and decided to try and make it work. While it is not an exceptionally large park, it is worth a visit.

Our Suggested Itinerary

I recommend starting at the visitor’s center to better understand the volcano’s history and the great science behind it. Your students can also pick up their Junior Ranger books and work on them as you tour. This is also your chance to use the restroom. There is a restroom facility up at the volcano, but it is only open seasonally.

Once you have seen the visitor’s center, you can head up the road to the volcano. If you have a camper, you must unhook it before driving the steep, narrow road to the top of the volcano. However, they provide parking spaces for campers at the visitor’s center.

It is a short drive up to the parking lot at the top of the volcano; once at the top, there are beautiful views and several information boards with more information about the volcano. Then, you can start down the trail into this extinct volcano. I consider this relatively short paved trail easy/moderate hiking. When we went, there was some snow cover that made a few spots icy.  There is hardened lava rock all along the trail, and my children were very excited to think about actually being inside a volcano.

Once you have finished your walking tour, you can return to the visitors center to turn in your completed Junior Ranger books. Most people could probably complete the visitors center and crater hike in one to two hours. However, if you have time, you can take longer. There are some additional trails near the visitor’s center to see more of the area’s nature.

Science at Capulin Volcano National Monument

Obviously, the main science focus at this park is volcanos and the science behind why and how they form. This particular volcano is an extinct cinder cone volcano. We learned about the different types of volcanoes.

*If you are a family that believes in young earth creationism, you will want to talk to your children about timelines different from those in the exhibits. *

In addition to the information on volcanoes, there is information on different animals and plant life in the area.

If you get a chance to visit, let me know how you like it, and don’t forget to take your park passport and get it stamped! We have found that the passport is a great way for the children to get a souvenir at each park with no additional expense after the initial purchase.

Basic Information about Capulin Volcano

Where:

Visitor Center

46 Volcano Highway

Capulin, NM 88414

Hours of Operation:

Visitor’s Center: Seven days a week (Closed Major Holidays)

Summer: 8:00 am-5:00 pm

Spring/Fall/Winter: 8:30 am- 4:00 pm

Costs:

$20 per private vehicle (Free with 4th grade or National Parks Pass)

Homeschool Discount:

Scheduled Group Field Trips can be exempt

Website:

https://www.nps.gov/cavo/index.htm

Food:

There is no food available on site. However, there is a picnic area if you bring your own food or several restaurants in the town a few miles away.  

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

When you sign up for the Schoolin’ Swag free resource library, you will get a link and password to the library. We add new items to the library each month. You will also get a bi-weekly newsletter email to keep you updated on what we have going on.

Resource Library 

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Deals and Freebies

Schoolhouse Teachers is also offering a great sale!

Journey Homeschool Academy is offering my readers 10% off this week with code SWAG