Rock Investigation + Easy DIY Dig-&-Discover

Do you want to grow children who know how to have FUN without the latest whizzbang trendy gadgets or expensive kits and boodles?

Hook your kids on rocks with this fun investigation!  I mean, heck, rocks are everywhere and they're totally free!  These activities will give your children a greater respect for the Earth.

Explore hardness using a DIY kit, plus make your own dig-and-discover activity.  Or if you can't be bothered with all that, try a fun family bonding activity that requires no resources.

This is not a whole geology unit, just an opportunity to observe different properties of rocks (Year 4, Australian Curriculum).

We used this fantastic Rock Observation Chart to investigate the following:

• colour
• texture
• lustre
• streak
• hardness
• size
• magnetism  

For the DIY kit you need...

• a nail
• a coin 
• smooth beach glass
• a magnet 
• a ruler 
• and obviously some rocks to test!

This is a great kit for taking out in your Nature Backpacks!  Simply use the materials to test the properties of the rocks and record your findings on the sheet.

For the dig-and-discover kit, you need:

• Clay 
• Something to put inside, such as Lego, gum nuts, foreign coins...
• A small hammer
• Child-size safety glasses
• A dust mask
• An old towel to contain the mess
• A paintbrush

I used terracotta clay.  I kneaded a small Lego kit into it.   The bigger the lump, the longer the drying period.  Mine took about three weeks to harden completely, then I gave it to my son with the hammer, brush and safety gear.  It was my first attempt at a dig-and-discover activity and it was super successful!

If you want to see how I presented the materials and which books I used, please watch the video! Just be warned that the footage is low quality and it's very... um... wordy at the start.  I promise I've learnt my lesson about waffling!  (S-Man says, "Oh really, mum?!")

Finally, if you can't be bothered with the DIY kits, try our favourite family bonding rock activity: "Sedimentary rock"!  Yup, you guessed it, we all lie on top of each other like layers of rock :-)

As you'll see from the video, I scored a bucket of clay from four kilometres under the ocean.  Now the only question is, what shall we make with it?!  Please post your ideas in the comments!  Also, where are the best places to observe interesting rock formations?  If you know, please tell us!

Thanks for popping by!  If you're looking for more things to do with rocks, try our Aboriginal Story Stones!  For more Nature Study, check out our Unzoo Post (with Printable) or try making one of our Bird Feeder Suggestions.

How To Make Someone Feel Special For A Year

Would you like to make your Significant Other feel special for the whole year, not just on his birthday?  Lots of happy and harmonious homes make for a happy and harmonious world!

We created a birthday booklet with a present for every month!  It was an enjoyable writing activity. (Creating texts, Australian Curriculum, Year 3)

We included:

• Handwritten letters by the kids

• Cardboard cut-outs of wine (which I have hidden away until the time)

• Gift vouchers from his favourite stores

• A ticket to choose the menu for a week (and a Get-Out-Of-Cooking-Free card!)

• Hot chocolate sachets and tea bags

• Cardboard cut-out of a 'massage t-shirt' (hidden away) and massage voucher

• Drawings, photos and printed text conversations

• An interview for him to complete as a 'snapshot in time'.

He's loving opening one every month!

Do you have any ideas for making your SO feel special?  Please tell us in the comments!

Thanks for reading, and if you enjoyed this English activity you might also like some tips for successful Poetry Teatime.

Maths Books for Primary Grades 3 to 6 Plus Pi Pie!

Mmmm, pie... What is better than pie?

Pi pie, of course!

My family cooked me Pi pie for Mother's Day.  You can make it yourself with any pie recipe found online, just cut out pastry Pi symbols to add on top.  Here's a good one!

And here are our recommendations for top maths books for Grades 3-6:

• Adam Spencer's Big Book of Numbers (anything by Adam Spencer)
• Helen Prochazka's The Mathematics Book (and the More Than Numbers CD, both Tasmanian)
• The Murderous Maths series
• Usborne's See Inside Maths (for younger primary students)
• Impossible? Suprising Solutions to Counterintuitive Problems by Julian Havil (tough read)
• The Number Devil by Hans Magnus Enzensberger (a living book)

There are some good mathematical riddles on Ted Ed, too.

If you want a glimpse inside some of the books, here is the video:

Do you have any favourite maths books for primary kids?  We'd love to know about them in the comments!  Happy pie-eating!

And if you like maths, you'll love our 10 Favourite Maths Games!  

Poetry Teatime Books and Hints

We've been experimenting with Poetry Teatime. (Examining literature, Australian Curriculum, Year 3.)

This was definitely a mum-initiated activity that the kids totally rejected have warmed to gradually.

During the process, I have discovered a few things that make it more likely to succeed.

1) Yummy treats! Sometimes we have iced tea, biscuits, hot chocolates... toasted marshmallows are a favourite!

2) Set the scene with a beautiful tablecloth, crockery and centrepiece.

3) Invest in a collection of amusing and moving poetry books, including children's books and foreign language books.  Our picks are:

• Unreal Banana Peel 
• Read-Aloud Poems for Young People by Glorya Hale

You could also include some songs and some poetry written by your family!

Here is a video with more book suggestions (plus a cute recital by Roo and my favourite short poem!)

What are your favourite poems?  Please share them with us in the comments!

Poetry is a great way to get into Nature Study.  To find out more, try our Nature Study post.  If you want more book recommendations, check out our Maths Books Plus Pi Pie.

Leaf Hunt Printable

I created an Autumn Leaf Hunt which I'm delighted to share with you for free here on TPT. (Australian Curriculum, Year 5: Features of living things.)

All trees in this hunt are common deciduous trees found on the lawn below the conservatory in the Tasmanian Botanical Gardens.  Late April or early May is the ideal time to complete the hunt.

If you're looking to identify local Tasmanian trees, I highly recommend the EucaFlip and TreeFlip available from the Botanical Gardens Shop or online (I am not affiliated with these products, just love them!).

So... pack your Nature Backpack and have some fun exploring the gardens!  And be sure to let us know in the comments if you used our Leaf Hunt and found all the trees.

Watch the video to see our adventure, and to find out who cops a faceful of leaves!

Thanks for reading.  You might like to check out our Rock Investigation with Instructions for a DIY Dig-&-Discover Kit!  New to the Afterschooling Blog?  Try the A-Z of Afterschooling.

Learn Piano At Home The FUN Way! 11 Ideas

Do you have a misodoctakleidist on your hands, that is, someone who hates practising the piano?!

These suggestions are for parents who want to encourage piano learning at home.  Some of the suggestions can be used for other routine tasks, like doing homework or chores.  (Australian Curriculum, Music)

I have collected ideas from around the web to help keep it FUN:

1) A novelty music stamp to record practices.  Keep it within easy reach, e.g. on the piano.

2) Iwako erasers for picking out keys, scales and chords on the keyboard.

3) Novelty rings for helping with fingering.

4) A variety of fun worksheets.  We never insist on worksheets, but my kids like to do them.  (And yet they dislike workbooks!  Go figure! Maybe a whole book is too intimidating?)

5) Soft finger puppets, again for picking out chords.

6) Talking 'Easy' button.  Maybe I like this one just a little more than the boys...

7) Whiteboard with stave on one side and blank on the other for playing dice games. (Easy to make!)

8) Erasable highlighters for marking difficult patches in the music.

9) Card games, if your children are into those.

10) Stick with googly eyes for sight reading.

And finally, the most important tip of all...

11) Fun music, that they actually want to play!  If our boys are ever struggling with motivation, this is the key to encouraging them back to a place of enjoyment.

If you'd like to see how we set everything up, including a sneak peek inside my lesson plan folder and the boys' music scrapbooks, please watch the video! (Terribly low quality footage, sorry...)

We use and recommend the Hal Leonard Student Piano Library series (no affiliation).

What are your tips for enjoying piano at home?  Let us know in the comments!

If you liked our tips for keeping music learning fun, you might like our Harry Potter Chemistry invitation to play.

STEM Playroom Tour

Even if you don't have the luxury of a playroom, you can make a few simple changes to help your child get excited about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)!  Here are our top tips.

1) Inventions Box filled with recyclable odds and ends (more info here);

2) Pegboard with bags of dollar shop goodies (making use of vertical space);

3) Clipboards and pencils available for planning and documenting.

To find out how we have set up our STEM playroom, or to get recommendations for a couple of our favourite STEM materials, please watch the room tour!

I'd love to know your suggestions for encouraging your children to experiment with STEM! Please share in the comments!

As always, thanks so very much for reading and watching!

If you like our STEM Playroom, you might like our post on different ways to make bird feeders (a design and technology challenge) - coming soon.  If you're looking for more organising tips, check out what we packed to go Worldschooling for three months, or how we organise our piano learning.

A Trip To The Unzoo (With Printable!)

Are you in Hobart and looking for some good family fun?  If so, read on.  If not, skip to the end of the post for a video of some cute (and not-so-cute) Tasmanian animals! 

The Unzoo in Taranna (formerly the Devil Park) is a doable day trip from Hobart.

In order to get the most out of the Unzoo I have made up a brochure where your kids can tick off 6 animals as they see them.  You can get it free here on TPT, or by clicking on the images below.

This helps children identify the different external features of living things (Year 1, Australian Curriculum).

We enjoyed watching the devils being fed using a new bungee system.

The kids loved feeding the kangaroos.

An absolute highlight of the day was the bird show - don't miss it and bring a coin for a fun surprise!

We took a peaceful walk to the lagoon and played Yahzee on a picnic bench.

We highly recommend a trip to the Unzoo as a FUN family adventure and learning opportunity!

You might prefer to stay overnight on the Tasman Peninsula and enjoy some of the other local attractions, like Sommers Beach (a great family beach) or the Lavender Farm.

Here's a vlog of our day, with lots of footage of Tasmanian Devils for our overseas friends:

We visit the Unzoo on a regular basis and it has given us an immense love for the amazing animals and plants on our planet.

Please let us know in the comments if you use our printable!!

If you liked this post, you might also like our learning activities about Animal Features.