Ever since I was in college, I have always wanted to make my own hula hoop. I was at a graduation celebration once and saw this girl doing the most amazing tricks with her hula hoop. Her impressive feats have stayed in the back of my mind this past decade. During this pandemic time when I'm trying ...
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2020 U.S. Presidential Election Lap Book
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Please Note: The updated version of this lap book for the upcoming 2024 election can be found here. Once every four years, those of us in the United States get a wonderful opportunity for teaching our kids a little about how our government works. In 2016, I created my first presidential election ...
2020 U.S. Presidential Election Cards
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Please Note: An updated version of these cards with the 2024 presidential candidates can be found here. Four years ago, I created Montessori-inspired, multi-part U.S. presidential election cards and a lap book to go with it. I've had several inquiries about whether or not I would be updating my ...
Unselfie
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It is really important to me that I raise empathetic kids. From my standpoint, if my kids are able to put themselves in other people's shoes, then there will be less fighting in our house. I'm all for anything that brings about peace. It has always been my parenting philosophy that rather than ...
Fourth Grade Minimalist Math Curriculum
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Traditional math curriculum is so repetitive. I understand that kids need repeated exposure in order to fully grasp a concept. However, I worry that traditional math curriculum takes SO MUCH time that elementary-aged kids are missing out on more important activities, like playing. Sometimes kids ...
Stone Age Bread Activity
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After the success of our cave painting activity, I wanted to continue the hands-on learning fun. We got the idea to make some Stone Age Bread, or more specifically, Neolithic bread, from this History Quest Study Guide (affiliate link). Overall, this exercise was a successful failure. It was a ...
Third Grade Curriculum Choices
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In my experience, I have found third grade to be a year of increased maturity. As their reading skills improve, kids are able to work more independently. This lets them play a bigger role in navigating their education. They can choose what they want to read and find interesting projects to work on ...
Adventures with Waffles
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I'm pretty sure this is the only read aloud that made me laugh so hard I couldn't continue. Other books have made me laugh until I cried, but with this one, not only was I crying, but I literally couldn't get the words out. I had to hand the book to my ten year old to read a sentence for me. Don't ...
Third Grade Minimalist Math Curriculum
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Math is so important. As an engineer, I understand exactly how much can be accomplished with a solid understanding of math. However, I'm personally not a fan of the way math is taught in elementary school. All the repetition seems unnecessary and often kills a child's love of math. I want my kids to ...
Evan Moor History Pockets Review
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I am a scissors and glue kind of person. As a child, nothing filled me with glee like colored pens and fancy erasers. While I am not a huge fan of worksheets in our homeschool, I really like hands-on, colorful learning. Since cutting and gluing are kind of my happy place, I don't mind the prep work ...
Michelle has a PhD in Engineering from Stanford University and a Bachelor's Degree from the California Institute of Technology. 