Exploring education through books, travel, and adventure
Let’s talk about creative writing! We don’t use a fancy or formal creative writing curriculum. We mostly just write. That’s it. Putting ideas onto paper and watching them go! I love seeing where my kids’ imaginations take them! Lately, I have been experimenting with some […]
Have you ever heard of the dreaded summer slide? As year-round homeschoolers, it is something we have hoped to avoid. I remember when we first started our homeschooling journey, we had A LOT to re-learn after our summer break! When you aren’t actively putting to […]
It is no surprise that I am a huge fan of Evan-Moor products! They are consistently my go-to materials for homeschooling. As I planned for our geography unit this year I was so excited to stumble upon The 7 Continents series! We will be learning about countries all around the world and what better way to introduce them than by learning all about the continents they are in! First up is North America!
I *just* discovered the 7 Continents series from Evan-Moor and it is wonderful! As I mentioned above, we are learning all about the countries of the world this year! I let the kids pick the countries and they decided we would start with Mexico! They didn’t have to twist my arm!
As part of learning about a country I think it is important to get a more global look at things and see where the country is located in relation to the rest of the world. Part of that is learning all about the continent it is on!
The 7 Continents: North America Grades 4-6 is packed with reproducible information pages and activities. The book is divided into the following sections:
The book is full of activities from crossword puzzles to map work to assessments. I am blown away by the vast amount of printable maps included…there is even a link to download several maps online. We are highly visual learners, so having access to all of the maps is so helpful.
One of my favorite aspects of Evan-Moor’s books is that they excel at combining multiple subjects into one. While you might think you are just getting a geography book, you are actually getting practice with reading, math, science, and more! They tie so many things together in such a seamless way!
My kids really love the reading selections that are included. They read about Central America, The Caribbean, Canada, Hydroelectricity, Fishing, Coffee, and so much more! See, I told you they cover such a wide range of topics!
Much like our other Evan-Moor books, The 7 Continents: North America is extremely user-friendly. The passages to read are short and interesting, the assignments aren’t overwhelming, and the tasks are finished in a very manageable period of time. This book has made a perfect addition to our unit. I look forward to adding the other continents as we continue our travels around the world.
Also, as a mom of 3 kids in 3 different grades, I love that this book can be used with all 3 kiddos. Even though my youngest is in 3rd grade, he has been able to do everything right along with my girls!
One last detail that I LOVE is the Note Takers section at the back of the book. This is a section full of printables and ideas to let the kiddos explore further topics of their choosing. This lends itself perfectly for my two older kiddos to pick a topic to study and begin researching on their own. I LOVE the layout of the printables and think we will use them time and again.
For a complete flip through of The 7 Continents: North America, you can head straight to Evan-Moor’s website here.
To check out one of my other favorite Geography resources from Evan-Moor click here.
7 Continents is also available in your TeacherFileBox subscription! You can go to TeacherFileBox to get a free 30 Day Membership! We absolutely LOVE our membership and it is SO worth the yearly membership fee! Here is a post about why we love it so much!
We are just at the beginning of our astronomy and space unit! The kids have been looking forward to this unit for months! I have spent so much time collecting resources, books, supplies, and organizing activities and I can’t wait to share it all with […]
My kids love Poetry Teatime! If you have been in the homeschooling game for more than a minute you will likely have heard about the fabulosity that is Poetry Teatime! If you haven’t heard of it, never you fear…check out this wonderful description over […]
I am so excited to be reviewing Evan-Moor Skill Sharpeners Science Grade 4! As a homeschooling Mama of 3 kiddos, I am always on the lookout for lessons that I can teach as a whole group! There just aren’t enough hours in the day to create individual instruction in EVERY subject! Some subjects lend themselves much better to group instruction than others…and science just happens to be one of those!
Confession time? Science is NOT my strong suit. If I could teach History, Geography, and Reading ALL day, I would do it in a heartbeat! It’s not that I don’t love science, or find it fascinating…it just isn’t my area of expertise! SO, I am so excited to find Evan-Moor Skill Sharpeners for Science! I am a HUGE fan of the Skill Sharpener books…you can find reviews for Skill Sharpeners Geography here and Critical Thinking right here!
Skill Sharpeners are educational activity books created for children in PreK – Grade 6. There are 6 different topics covered: Critical Thinking, Math, Science, Reading, Spell & Write, and Geography. Skill Sharpeners are a perfect addition to any homeschool curriculum to provide enrichment in a specific topic area, to plan grade level appropriate lessons, or as a review. Each Skill Sharpener book is aligned to grade-appropriate standards so you can easily gauge your childs grasp in a particular learning area.
Skill Sharpeners Science Grade 4 is broken down into the following 4 units:
As I mentioned above, Skill Sharpeners Science is broken down into 4 main units. Each of those units is then divided into 4 sections. Within the sections, you will see things like reading passages, open-ended question and answers, crossword puzzles, labeling, hands-on activities, experiments, and so much more! I want to take you on a little tour through one of the sections! As a visual learner myself it always helps me to see what is inside!
So, we are going on a little tour of the first section of the first unit: Muscles and Bones! I am just going to share a few of the pages to give you an idea of what is included…but each unit contains much more!
The first part you will come to will be a reading passage! We LOVE that it has the definitions posted above in a box as well as in bold in the reading passage. The paragraphs are short, interesting, and include a great diagram! I also love the addition of the Concepts on the side…very helpful for my kids to understand what the focus area is!
I am so excited to see the inclusion of these hands-on activities! How much fun is this? These are simple activities that do not require a lot of extra supplies but really bring the concept to life for the kids! I can’t wait to do this activity with my kiddos…It is going to be a big hit!
Now, this is absolutely awesome! This is the “application” section. This allows the kids to take what they have learned about and put it into practice! I love that it includes physical activity. My 7 year old loves to be able to get up and move and this is the perfect activity!
I love that there is a chance for the kids to put the vocabulary they have learned into practice! Not only are they learning new words throughout the unit but they are having a chance to test their knowledge.
The thing I love the most about Skill Sharpeners books is how easily I can adapt them for use with all 3 of my kids. I have a second grader, a fourth grader, and a sixth grader. I plan to use the fourth-grade book with all 3 kiddos. For my second grader, I will work with him to complete the work…I know some of it will be over his head but I also know that he will absolutely be able to grasp a lot of the information because it is presented in such a kid-friendly manner. He will also adore the crossword puzzles, experiments, and hands-on activities. For my sixth grader, I will add in some additional vocabulary words and perhaps an extra writing assignment…I honestly think that she will greatly benefit from the information presented in the book even though it is geared for fourth grade. This is what I love about the books!
I highly recommend Skill Sharpeners Science for any homeschooling family looking to add some science to their lives! I can’t say enough wonderful things about all of the Skill Sharpener books that I have had a chance to use. They are such beautiful and interesting books that are presented in such a great way for kids of all ages.
For a sneak peek inside, here is a wonderful video from Evan-Moor!
These books are an amazing value at only, $9.99! To grab your own, just click the image below!!
