Make a Balance Scale to Use Outside

I love this idea for making a balance scale out of things you probably already have around the house. Attach a couple of buckets to a level (get the full DIY at Susy Homeschooler) and you’ll be ready to play and learn at the same time.

This is a modified version of a pan balance, which allows you to compare the weight of two objects or groups of objects.

There are so many ways to play with such a scale: weighing rocks, toys, water, sand or just about anything else you find outside. You can estimate which of two objects is heavier, or how many different smaller objects you would need to balance out a heavier object.

And if you don’t have these materials handy, she bought all the main components at the dollar store, so this can be an inexpensive project, too. What fun.

[Photo: Susy Homeschooler.]If you are looking for fun active games to get the kids moving, I highly recommend this Floor Is Lava Board Game

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Seashell Collage for Kids to Make

Every year at my daughter’s school I think it’s the second or third graders do an activity where they have to disguise a turkey to keep it from being eaten at Thanksgiving. The kids draw the disguise and write a little bit about why they thing that would be an effective way for the turkey to hide. There were some really creative ideas, including one year one was dressed as an eraser for some reason?

If this is an activity you’d like to try with kids in the classroom or at home, check out these turkey in disguise printables to get you started.

If you want to keep it totally basic you can just print out a turkey in disguise coloring sheet like these from The Best Ideas for Kids. There are a few different options kids can use to decorate and they write in what their turkey is disguised as.

My Bored Toddler has a similar printable that just asks what the child will cover the turkey with to hide it. This one would be fun to use in a plastic sleeve or laminated, then you can use it with playdough, cover it with leaves or glass gems or draw on it and use it again.

Easy Peasy and Fun has a paper doll-inspired take on turkey disguises, with printable costumes you can take on and off to hide your turkey quickly. The disguise is attached to the regular turkey with a tab so you can flip it up and down to have a regular turkey or one disguised as a peacock, football player, astronaut and more. This one includes a writing activity so students can explain why they picked the disguise they did and why they think it will work.

Red Ted Art has a set of 12 disguises you can buy (or you can get six random costumes for free) that come in both color and black and white. Kids can just assemble the turkeys or they can color them and then put them together. The set includes a basketball player, pirate, chef, unicorn, mermaid, robot and more. It doesn’t include a writing activity but you could also have kids write about which character they picked and why.

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