oes your child love bugs? My Bug Notes by Lyric and Stone helps your 8 to 10-year-olds research insects. This notebook includes a glossary of terms, words defining the anatomy of a bug, a diagram of an insect, and journal pages to record observations. You’ll also find some recommended websites and books to accompany this journal.

Geared for ages 8 to 13, Cool Chemistry Science Lab by Spice Box™ is a fun, hands-on activity set. When kids open the box, it is like having their very own science lab! The instructions are easy to follow, and the twelve different projects will keep them busy with science exploration. Activities like making rock candy, perfume, and erupting foam are just a few you will find in the kit.

Learn more about animals as you create simple, animal-themed origami projects with Let’s Classify Origami by Enslow Publishers. Each of the books in this series highlights a different branch of animals—such as birds, fish, and more—and includes six projects accompanied by educational information about the animal. These make great activities for groups or individuals. The step-by-step instructions and pictures are made for 8 to 11-year-old students to read and follow. Every project can be repeated again and again!

Use food and drinks to bring out the scientist in your children with The Curious World of Kitchen Science Series by Kane/Miller Publishers. Science just makes more sense when we apply it to the real world—and for middle schoolers that involves the kitchen. Whether making cell cookies, colorless cola, or calculating the density of popped vs. un-popped popcorn, students explore key principles of science in a hands-on, fun way. They’ll follow three steps: Discover, Learn, Experiment. Adult supervision is recommended for some activities. This series will serve as an excellent companion to your science curriculum or co-op class, to review previously learned material, or to introduce upcoming science studies. This series includes Biology of Bananas, Chemistry of Cola, Math of a Milkshake, and the Physics of Popcorn.

Chemical? Civil? Mechanical? Electrical? We know math and science are necessary for a career in engineering, but what else should be known to follow this career path? Engineering for Teens by Rockridge Press looks at what engineers do and gives you a glimpse of how engineers reshaped civilization, going back to ancient Egypt to the current. In the name of exploration, you will be introduced to concepts, read opinions from working engineers, and more.

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actus Counting Desert Activity Set by Hand2Mind ^® for ages 3 and up is a hands-on way to learn early math skills. Model numbers on a five-frame or ten-frame background. Explore addition and subtraction, number paths, patterning, and more! Includes 20 activities and 3 skill-focused games. Children will enjoy using the five-frames to “plant” different types of cacti while composing and decomposing numbers.

Your Business Math by Simply Charlotte Mason is such a creative, fun way for ages 8–12 to practice math and learn important business skills! Kids love to “run” a store and there are three different options: Book Store, Sports Store, or Pet Store. Students will learn real-life skills such as how to figure sales tax, pay bills, handle unexpected surprises, and more! Providing flexible scheduling options, Your Business Math helps students apply the four basic math operations, along with decimals, percentages, and rounding. The teacher’s guide provides a how-to-use section, teaching tips, worksheet answers, additional practice pages, and more.

If you need to reinforce algebraic equations, Choose Your Own Adventure^® Dregg Disaster: Algebra I Gamebook by Chooseco interactively brings algebra I into the storyline. Choose the right answer and advance to the next page. Wrong answer? Well, let’s just say, there may be time warps, giant wraps, or even death! Chapters include math tips, additional assistance, and answers. There’s even an online download with additional algebra practice problems.

For those hands-on kids, There’s Math in My Origami by Workman Publishing is great for elementary students who are learning geometrical shapes, angles, and basic fractions. Each of the 35 origami projects also includes a math problem to solve. The projects range in level of difficulty from beginner to expert and include both written and visual step-by-step instructions.

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ood News For Little Hearts by New Growth Press is a wonderful series to read together with your family. The stories use common life struggles and teach how to turn to God in every moment of life, opening the door for great conversations about the redemption of Christ. Each book ends with ways to help your child with a particular struggle and provides prompt questions. The perforated, four Back Pocket Bible Verses are easy to remove to carry with you. Stories focus on topics kids deal with. Each beautifully illustrated book is designed for ages 3 to 7 and it comes in multiple translations.

For ages 12 and up, Developing a Heart for God by New Leaf Publishing is a hardcover devotional commentary with lovely pages and stunning full-color pictures based on Psalm 119. One-page devotionals emphasize personally praying the Scriptures to draw close to God and meditate on the words of the psalmist, King David. Definitions of some words when they may differ from modern day use are included. This hardcover book is a lovely way to slow down and renew your love and passion for the Redeemer.

Need a family devotion book? WonderFull: Ancient Psalms Ever New by New Growth Press is geared for multiple ages. Beautifully illustrated, this keepsake hardcover book tells a story of a grandfather and grandson reading through the Psalms together under an old oak tree. It teaches us to pray through the Psalms as we face our own obstacles in life. Read through each psalm and the author’s commentary to gain a deeper understanding of the scripture. A guide at the end of the book helps older kids go deeper in their study, too.

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ow to Be Good at English Language Arts by DK Children is a great reference guide, especially for a visual learner (65% of the population). Short explanations and annotations with lots of illustrations really help the struggling learner grasp a variety of ELA points. Use the table of contents to find what you need, read that section, and go back to whwatever you might be working on. Topics include grammar, punctuation, different genres of writing, and more. This is a tool students can use on their own. I like how they show sentence building with horizontal puzzle pieces!

Let young students have fun learning letter recognition, parts of speech, and building sentences with Skill Builders! Sentence Puzzles by Learning Resources^®. Kids start with simple sentences that get more complex. The kit comes with 100 double-sided puzzle pieces and 12 write-and-wipe blank pieces to make your own words. Each word is color-coded according to its part of speech. Comes in a reusable storage box with an easy-to-carry handle.

aint and decorate this USA Oversized Map by Inspiration Direct. This wooden map of the United States is perfect for making your own travel map to display where you have been across the States! Use it as a fun educational project in a co-op or when doing a state study. The border of each state is outlined with a raised line, adding a 3D effect. Included are ten tiny, wooden hearts that can be added to the map.

Does your family enjoy visiting national parks? The USA National Parks Journal & Passport Stamp Book by Peter Pauper Press is a beautiful keepsake to record your memories. The logbook is comprised of 70 parks! When you visit one, collect the official stamp and record information such as the date, what type of weather you experienced, who you traveled with, favorite activities, and more. Includes a place for photos and a pocket to keep ticket stubs, brochures, maps, and other things.

An engaging book to work on as you travel or are at home, Marvels of the USA Activity Book by Kane/Miller Publishers has all kinds of fun activities like word searches, mazes, crosswords, codebreaking, coloring pages, and more. The focus is on the United States and its most amazing places and landmarks. It’s perfect for ages 6 and up!

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ntroduction to Dough Shaping Kit by Djeco allows little learners to explore with playdough. Not only are young children using fine motor skills that will help with handwriting and using scissors later, but they are enjoying a sensory experience! This set has all sorts of tools, from a roller to cutting shapes (cookie-cutter style) to a dough press that creates all manner of fun results. Imagination rules! Comes with 4 lidded containers of dough in 4 colors.

Do you have children who are constantly rearranging their rooms? Asking to paint a new wall color? Modifying their sheets into window treatments? Future Interior Designer’s Handbook by Schiffer Kids encourages their creativity and talent as they learn principles of design. They can draw floor plans and choose design elements while learning about types of furniture and lighting. Add some fancy, colored pencils and graph paper, and you have an inspiring gift for your creative kiddo!

Get a jump on homemade gifts with Holiday Ornament Kits by MasterPieces. Holiday Mini Nutcracker Kit comes with a wooden nutcracker, white fur, sticker sheet, 4 non-toxic acrylic paint tubs, and 1 artist-quality paintbrush. Holiday Plaster Magnet Kit includes a plaster ornament, 3 acrylic paint tubs, and paintbrush. With Holiday Sewing Ornament Kit, children get everything they need to sew a cute Christmas ornament. And the Holiday Sparkle Art Ornament Kit contains an ornament with sparkles to decorate it. Intended for ages 6 and up.

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hose Amazing Musical Instruments! by Naxos presents an overview of most of the various instruments in an orchestra. The book is full of colorful photographs and illustrations. A dedicated website (accessible via links or QR codes) lets you hear the sound of each instrument alone and playing with an orchestra: more than 100 musical samples in all! This is the kind of book that would be of great value to all musicians and any music lover who desires to increase their appreciation for and knowledge of musical instruments.

“The Sound of Music” was based on the true story of an Austrian woman, Maria von Trapp. Rodgers and Hammerstein researched the musical theories of a monk named Guido d’Arezzo and wrote the popular song “Do-Re-Mi” for the movie. First Notes: Story of Do, Re, Mi by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers is a book for 3 to 8-year-olds telling the true story behind the first notes—Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti and the monk called Guido who penned them. Though not readily accepted by his friends, his theories spread across Europe and elsewhere and led to the idea of written music. This hardcover book includes illustrations. More information about the song, a monk’s life, history about Guido’s life, and glossary are found at the end of the story.

Excellent for hymn study, Foundations in Worship by Master Books is also great for helping upper-level students to grow in their faith. Students study one hymn a week as they learn the history behind the hymn and connect the hymn to its scriptural roots. At the end of the week, students present what they have learned and sing or listen to the hymn with family. Your student will need a Bible, yellow and blue highlighters, and a notebook.

here are so many benefits to playing games! They promote teamwork, use creativity, and develop critical thinking skills, just to name a few. They’re also just plain fun! Enjoy these games to review or teach concepts or just have some entertaining family time together.

Math games work really well when kids need some extra help understanding certain concepts. Double Up, Double Down Dice Game by SI Manufacturing is an engaging game for all ages to practice doubles, addition, and subtraction in a bingo-like format. Each player chooses a different color and selects one of the cards as well as matching jewels in that color. The player who makes a line of 4 first, wins!

Bring out your creativity with Side Links by Outset Media. The idea is to make connections between the playing cards. For example, is there a link between “bananas” and “grass”? What about “map” and “directions”? Some are easy, while others are more difficult. A fun game for family night for ages 8 and up!

Winning several awards, the cooperative memory game Patchwork Garden Game by Blue Ninja Studios is an entertaining, quick game for ages 2 and up. Players grow a garden by placing tiles with pots and sprouts in their area. Players take turns drawing a garden card, then look for its match by turning over a sprout card. If they find a match, they keep the card turned over. Play continues until all matches are found and their garden is complete.

Doozy Dice Game by Doozy Games takes the win for the best new dice game of 2022! The goal is to complete five doozy combinations in as few rolls as possible. If you can’t complete a combination within 13 throws, you lose a doozy dot, but you can gain it back if you roll one in 3 or less throws. An entertaining game for family nights or holiday get-togethers for ages 8 and up!

Have a food fight without the mess with this 2-player game for ages 8 and up. Food Fighters Board Game by Kids Table Board Gaming is a fast-paced game using strategy to win a food fight. Each side controls a faction of fighting foods, and the goal is to knock out three matching foods from the opponent’s team. On your turn, you can move a fighter, roll dice to attack, or roll for beans to get cash. Let’s see what food faction is left standing!

KingFin Card Game by Continuum Games is another great family night option! For ages 6 and up, the object of the game is to become the big fish and conquer the sea by placing all your fish cards into the sea before your opponents. You eat the smaller fish by playing a bigger fish than the last one played. If you have a shark in your hand, even better—they will eat anything! You score points as you eat fish—and the first to score 100 points wins the game.

In this challenging word game, Words Over Easy by Winning Moves Games, the “eggies” in the baskets will have you cracking under the pressure to outperform your opponents. If you let your brain get scrambled, your opponents could poach your words! But don’t shell yourself short—you can do it! (Sorry, we just had to throw in some egg puns! ) Each round, roll six egg-shaped letter dice into the tower. They’ll come out into two baskets—red and green. All of the letters in the green basket must be used in a player’s word! The letters in the red basket are letters that absolutely cannot be used in the word. Players race to create as many words as possible before time runs out. Every round, a category card is in play too—so, not only do you have to use certain letters and avoid others, you must do so while keeping the words strictly on topic. It will take a real hard-boiled word enthusiast to outlast their competition and come up with the most words!