Hawaii Volcanologist Lecture at Hilo Library

On Friday, our homeschool group took the kids to enjoy a neat lecture by our local volcanologists. We started out with some reading to the kids and looking at books while they did their setup.


The lecture included a slideshow as well as some very neat videos. You can see some of the awesome footage of our volcanoes erupting at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory website.


The best part was when the speakers brought some kids up to try on the various articles of protective clothing used when studying the volcanoes and collecting lava samples. The kids also got a good first-hand look at all of the equipment used by the volcanologists.

In all, it was a really neat experience for the kids, especially seeing the clothing and getting to dress up. For more information about volcanoes and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, visit the USGS website for more. There is also information on current earthquakes caused by the volcanic activity.

More volcano info:
Hawaii Center for Volcanology
An Awesome Interactive Volcano Explorer
Volcano Links and Lesson Ideas

Animal Footprints Memory Game

I made this awesome wooden memory game for my daughter in about two hours. You can, too! You'll need thirty 1.5 inch wooden disks or squares and a black non-bleeding pen. I used a Sharpie pen - not a sharpie marker, but the pen in fine point. It looks like this. You will also need a pencil and a large eraser.

The wooden disks I purchased for a great price from My Heartfelt Designs on Etsy. You can grab 30 of them for $4.45 plus shipping.

First, choose the animal footprints that you would like to use. I used the following: human, bear, opossum, raccoon, cat, dog, deer, elk, pig, porcupine, beaver, bird, duck, rabbit and horse. For younger kids, be sure to avoid footprints that look too much alike or there may be some confusion during the game. I found pictures of most of the animal tracks at Bear-Tracker.

Carefully draw the outline for each footprint using a pencil. Work lightly or you will have a hard time erasing your mistakes. Place each footprint slightly above center so you will have room to write the name below. Be sure to add the name in pencil as well.

Once you have your matching footprints all drawn, use your pen to carefully trace over the pencil. Once your drawings are completed, carefully erase your pencil lines. Then use your pen to shade in the footprint shapes.

This game is great for kids of all ages. My three year old loves it and learned the names of all of the animal tracks after playing it only twice. It's a bit of work, but it's worth it and you can do it. Have fun!

Chalk Drawing

This is our first chalk drawing inspired by Waldorf artwork, specifically the beautiful work that we see on this blog.

Fairy Cottage

We spent the day at the beach today making this sweet little beachy fairy cottage. I built the cottage itself from pieces of coral. The thatch is ironwood needles which are like pine needles which are built over a lattice of sticks. We used more coral for the stepping stones, sticks for the picket fence and gathered plumeria flowers from the ground to plant a garden. A seed from a pandanus tree made a cute little gnome with spiky hair. This toy is a three-year-old's dream.


Check out these links to other fairy house web pages:

How to Build Fairy Houses
Disney Family Fun Fairy Houses
Bluebird Baby
Gypsy Magic

Free Word Search Maker

Check out this free word search maker by Lakeshore. Just input your words and it will create printable word search and key pages.

Faux Butterfly Collection

I am floored by this faux butterfly collection by Paper View. I like the idea of changing her craft up a bit and using it as an educational tool. Just go online and download some butterfly clipart. Then print it out on a color printer and cut out the butterflies. (The most precise way is to use an Xacto knife, so parents may need to do this part.)

Print out the butterfly names separately and have the kids look the butterflies up in a field identification guide. After matching the butterflies with their name, they can glue them to a board or frame with the appropriate name underneath. These would make a great educational project that is also decorative.

Dover Coloring Books

I just can't say enough good things about Dover Publishing. Their products are very affordable, the highest quality and they are made in the USA. I highly recommend them. They have a very extensive line of educational products that range from coloring and activity books to paper dolls, stickers and removable tattoos.


My current favorite is their Audubon Birds coloring book. The price is only $3.95 for a full-sized coloring book. Plus, if you order from Amazon, they are eligible for free Super Saver shipping. We aren't talking about cheap brown newsprint pages, either. Each coloring book features heavyweight white paper with good grain and clear, dark black print.


We purchased the Audubon Birds coloring book mostly for the beautiful images, but it also contains informational text under each image that describes the species of bird. There is also a guide inside the cover of the coloring book that shows all of the original paintings in full color so that you can use the true colors if you like. These are excellent for both older and younger children ranging in age from about two to adult. Even I can't seem to keep my hands off of them!

Tide Pools

This series is from a trip our homeschool group took to some local tidepools. The kids took a bucket and some fish nets and used them to collect any type of sea life they could find.

Holding a live sea urchin

There were sea urchins, sea cucumbers, hermit crabs, a worm and a coneshell. The coneshell was an excellent lesson in beach safety as they are venemous and can be deadly. The children learned how to identify and recognize several marine species using identification guides.

Handling marine invertebrates

The kids also had a lot of fun handling the non-venemous animals. Sea cucumbers are slimy and will expel their guts when threatened. Unfortunately for the poor sea slug (who was not harmed) the kids got a first-hand look at how this happens and why.


A couple of the older boys made drawings of the animals that we found and wrote down key information about identifying them as well as their habitat and lifestyle. Printout sheets are a great way for the kids to keep records of what they learn.

Of course, once the lesson was finished, the animals were returned to the tidepools where they were found.

A Lesson in Civil Disobedience

I love this article that my sister-in-law shared with me entitled Father: Why I Didn't Let My Son Take Standardized Tests.

The writer discusses his experiences with taking his son out of school and embarking on a test of self-teaching and real-life lessons.

62 Ways to Decorate Eggs

If you are looking for some more beautiful and unique ways to decorate Easter eggs this year, forget the PAAS kits and try some of these amazing egg decorating techniques at Martha Stewart's Everything Easter. Oh my gosh! This website has me crying for joy! Egg decorating is one of my most favorite things in life.