Welcome to the 14th edition of The Hands On Homeschool Blog Carnival. 

This month we had several submissions relating to preschool and young child activities.  We can learn so much from seasoned homeschoolers and the many young families starting out in their homeschool journey.  Sometimes when I'm surfing along and I see these wonderful posts for activities to do with the young children I glance by and keep going because I think the preschool activities are just for new homeschoolers.  But I can't forget the little ones in our multi-child families.  I have a five year old at home and I often have to remind myself to not only include her in our lessons for the older kids, but to also include lessons that are just for her at her level.  Just because I have done something before doesn't mean she has! 

I'm going to start this edition with our preschool submissions so we don't forget these young ones and how fun their school time can be!  If you have only older children at home, don't worry!  We have lots of hands on ideas for you too!

~ For Our Littles~

Amida presents Journey Into Unschooling: Bead People posted at Journey Into Unschooling.

You'll get to see an adorable video of A Picture of "One" posted at Baby Steps.  

Rachel says this is a "great way to incorporate masterpiece artworks into a learning activity, that doubles as emergency entertainment when out-and-about. I love this, DIY I Spy Board!"  Mini-Whiteboard becomes Animal ?I Spy? posted at quirkymomma.com.

Martha presents The Chef-a-nator Working on Fractions posted at Sunrise to Sunset.

~ Moving on to those "older" kids... ~

This month I wanted to share something in the math department.  This is Hands On Geometry with my 7yo posted at Talking to Myself.

Five in a Row is generally for younger ones but I gotta say my older daughter enjoyed many of our lessons when we did FIAR a few years ago.  So don't let this next post fool you, it is a field trip for kids of all ages especially those boys at heart...

Dawn presents FIAR Field Trip posted at my4sweetums - Homeschool Blogger.

Kris and friends held a Mesopotamia Party and she shared some pics at her blog Science of Relations. 

Brenda presents Rocks in My Dryer posted at The Tie That Binds Us.

There seems to be a rock thing going on this fall. Kris is studying geology too and submits her Saturday Science Challenge #12 on At Home Science.  And if you like science, you'll love the new At Home Science Yahoo group.

Rachel presents Try a Shoe Box Journal posted at Minds in Bloom.

Barb and her kids do a fabulous artist study and she shares her son's artwork here on her post Jean-Francois Millet Project-Oil Pastels found at Harmony Art Mom.

Writing...How do you make writing hands on?  Well you could argue that writing is in fact hands on just because of the nature of holding a pencil in your hand.  But I'm looking for something more than that.  Something that make writing more tangible, something that brings writing out of the mundane and into the extraordinary.  This next entry just might get us started in that direction.  There's nothing like a contest with funny rules to make writing interesting.

Pamela presents It's Almost NaNo Time! posted at Blah, Blah, Blog.

Another family with preschoolers running about, this final post doesn't really meet all of the guidelines for our carnival but it was such a great post that I hope will inspire us all in a way of life that will help us to meet our goal of doing more hands on projects with our kids. 

Adam presents Still No TV? posted at The Faughn Family of Four.

Thank you all for sharing your hands on projects here with us at The Hands On Homeschool Blog Carnival.  I look forward to seeing you next month.  If you are reading this and you have never submitted an article of your own, I encourage you to blog about your next educational, hands-on project and share with us here. 

Submit your blog article to the next edition of hands on homeschool blog carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

If you are interested in hosting an upcoming edition of The Hands On Homeschool Blog Carnival or you'd like to be on our monthly reminder email list, please send me an email.

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Edition #13 of the Hands On Homeschool Carnival has been posted at Jimmie's Collage.  There are loads of entries this month.  I think everyone is enjoying the start of the new year and it shows in all their wonderful submissions. 

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The Hands On Homeschool Blog Carnival will continue to post on the second Monday of each month during the school year.  We found it to be a comfortable schedule over the summer and we're sticking with it.  This month's edition is hosted at Science of Relations.  There you will find many wonderful ideas for hands on projects to kick off your new school year.  Enjoy!

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The next edition of The Hands On Homeschool Blog Carnival is coming out this Monday and although the submissions we have already are AWESOME, it's looking pretty bare!  I know you gals have some great ideas to share but summer is summer and most of us aren't doing school. 

Need some ideas for a great submission?

• Check your archives.  You probably have a wealth of hands on projects that you've already blogged about but they are hidden away in posts from years gone by.  Bring these babies back to life and submit them to the carnival.
• Blog about your summer field trips.  Many field trips are interactive.  Share the educational side of your summer outings.
• Dig into nature.  Many of us spend more time outside during the summer exploring nature with our children.  Finding frogs, identifying wildflowers and climbing trees to peek into a bird's nest are all hands-on activities.  Take some pictures and don't forget to share your discoveries with the rest of us in the homeschool world.
• Practical living is educational too.  Are you using the summer's downtime to make home improvements, expand your home-based business or deep clean and organize?  How are you involving your children in these adventures?  An education in practical living is just as important as math and grammar and tends to be the most kinesthetic learning your children experience.  I look forward to reading about how your kids are learning outside the classroom this season.

Read our carnival guidelines here if you have never posted before.  Ready to submit?  Click here.

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It's the middle of the summer and the weather is finally starting to look like summer around here so we're not spending a lot of time indoors.  Thankfully some people have spent just enough time to post some really great articles for the Hands On Homeschool Blog Carnival.  Cindy has posted the July edition over at Our Journey Westward.  There you will find plenty of ideas for your school planning.  Hope you have a chance to check it out amidst your summertime fun.

To see the guidelines for the Hands On Homeschool Blog Carnival go here.  We'd love to have your article submitted to the next edition!

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Yikes!  Nothing like being a WEEK late!  Sorry friends! 

The Ninth edition of the Hands On Homeschool Blog Carnival is up over at Science of Relations!  Quick go see before it gets buried.  This one is jam packed full of great stuff!

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I'm so glad you made it to this edition of the Hands On Homeschool Blog Carnival because we have some exciting activities to share with you.  All of our contributers have given us a well-rounded set of subjects to peruse from art and literature to science and history.  Enjoy!

Natalie is having a blast with her kiddos and she has encouraged me to try this too.  To learn a new way to use your cardboard boxes up go see Thinking outside the box... posted at Clever Kiddos.

Cindy presents Published Books posted at Our Journey Westward where she shares her children's own written and illustrated books, a creative, confidence-building activity your kids will surely enjoy.

Dana says, "What do you get when you cross an egg carton with a tub of water? A Titanic experiment! Here are two experiments my son came up with on his own."  Dana presents Titanic Experiments posted at Our Sunny Side. This is a young scientist at work!

"Gardening with my children is one of the best parts of the spring season."  Heather presents Gardening with your children posted at Special Needs Homeschooling.  There is nothing like gardening for a tactile learner.

Specific ways to teach area and perimeter in a hands-on and living way.  Jimmie presents Living Math with Area and Perimeter posted at One Child Policy Homeschool.  

Martha reminds us how important field trips can be when she presents Buffalo Bill Day posted at Sunrise to Sunset.

Kris presents Making Knight's Shields and Swords posted at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers.  This is a step-by-step guide to making a very nice set of midieval battle gear.  Of course one of the best ways to get your lessons to stick is to have the kids dramatize and Kris's kids have beautiful costumes and gear.  They are all set to star in their own production.

Because I do love parties and drama so much I wanted to share with you the Prairie Party my friend hosted in the fall.  When you "reinact" your history, you can't help but enjoy it.  Of course we do only include the fun parts! 

We are studying the states and the Civil War right now so I love anything I can find that is Civil War related.  Visit Marie at Montana Moments to see her son's Civil War Notebook.

We'd love to see what kind of hands-on activities you are doing in your homeschool too.  If you'd like to share with us please go read the guidelines and click the link there to submit your article.  The next edition of the Hands On Homeschool Blog Carnival will be posted at Science of Relations on May 11th.  See you there!

Art Credit: Drawing Hands by M.C. Escher

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