Introducing Messy Beautiful MATH!

Introducing Messy Beautiful MATH! 

An active and fun way to approach teaching math - at home or in play-based schools!

 Math.

What comes to mind when you think of teaching your preschooler(s) math? Tedious time wasted sitting down, rote counting exercises, boring worksheets? Concerned your little one isn't getting enough early learning in to help them succeed in kindergarten or homeschool? Introducing MessyBeautifulMATH! 

This curriculum is different from others in that it gets kids learning math through active play, time spent outdoors (with indoor ideas too!) fun crafts, and just enough sit-down work to teach them the basic concepts - and to put together a nice homeschool or classroom portfolio! It includes everything you need like daily lessons, cards, printable worksheets, and plenty of ideas!

Here is a peek at just some of the activities, the printables included in the activity guide:

What's Inside MessyBeautifulMATH?

Although this is just the very first unit of the preschool curriculum, here is what you'll typically find inside every MessyBeautifulMATH Graded Unit:

• Full daily lesson plans including fun activities to get your kids learning about math! Every day also includes an extension for kids who need more, plus full supply lists. I have also included the common core concepts the curriculum covers every week, so you know that your child(ren) are learning exactly as they would be in a traditional classroom setting.
• An activity guide to show how to use the printables in case you do not want to follow the lesson plans
• Printable worksheets, crafts, and ideas
• Record-keeping sheets that include all of the common core standards with space for you to write the date they were covered - perfect for record-keeping and portfolios!

What's Inside Preschool Unit 1?

Inside this unit you'll find everything you need to teach your kids about the numbers 1-5, BUT this unit goes way beyond just teaching how to count. Through easy games, fun crafts, nature walks quiet journaling and simple worksheets, it helps kids relate numbers to real life concepts, amounts, objects, and numerals. It's the perfect way to set them up for success in math! 

Here are just a few of the fun activities included in the 4 weeks of this unit:

• Making a math journal: Learners sit quietly in nature (or indoors!) and explore the world around them by drawing representations of numbers including objects and even sounds they hear!

• Writing a number story: Learners will think of a number story to write, like: "1 flower grew so tall it reached the sun and the sun gave it a high five!". They draw the picture to represent their number, write the number, then dictate their story to you.

• Number Jar Worksheets: A big favorite in this curriculum, these number tracing worksheets have kids find a number of nature objects (or craft items for indoor), glue or tape them into their jar, and then trace the numbers.

• STEM cards: Learners use the number sense they have gained to build simple, fun projects. For example, "Build a tiny tent using 5 sticks and some leaves"

• Subitizing in nature mats: Leaners will use the knowledge they have gained in subitizing while going on a nature walk (or a walk around the house!) For example, in the square on this mat representing the number 2 with 2 tally marks, they will place 2 objects.

• Plenty of activities and warm-ups! I've been sure to include fun warm-ups like blowing bubbles, playing hopscotch or other active games so that kids will get their energy out and be able to sit for 5 minutes and complete a worksheet. These can all be found in the lesson plans and used how you wish.

More Units Coming!

Unit 2 will be coming next month (July 2025!) If you begin unit 1 anytime soon, the following units should be out just in time for you! You can, of course, keep up with the updates here and also give the special page I made just for MessyBeautifulMath a follow: https://messybeautifulmath.blogspot.com/

So far, the next few preschool units will be:

• Numbers to ten
• Sorting and Classifying
• Comparing Numbers
• Patterns
• Shapes
• Measurement

I also plan to release grades 1, 2 and 3 over the next year!

Try a FREE Week!

If you want to give this curriculum a try, I've made the first week available for free! That way, you can decide if the layout and lessons will work for your family.

Check that out here!

Buy Unit 1 Below!

Want to give unit 1 a go? You can buy it now for $6 in my TPT or Etsy Shops! It covers 20 days of learning and unit 2 will be coming soon!

Buy it on TeachersPayTeachers

Buy it on Etsy

Free Science Inquiry Lab for Grades 7-10: Solar System Simulation

 Free Science Inquiry for Grades 7-10: 
PhET Solar System Simulation

We've been up to a lot of science lately! I've been trying to fill our lessons with inquiries and experiments - but the older my kids get, the tougher those lessons are to find online! So I've been making my own.😀

This lab is an inquiry using the free solar system simulator made available online by PhET. You can see that here. It's a really cool way to see the effects that certain changes could have on our own solar system by changing the mass, velocity and speed of planets or the star they revolve around. 

Want more science freebies? Take a look at my Science Printables page!

Students will start by making a few hypotheses and sharing their knowledge. Before introducing this inquiry, I highly recommend learning about the solar system, how the planets orbit each other, and how gravity, mass and velocity work together in planetary orbits. If you're teaching the 'learn as we go' model, you could use one question per day and have them experiment, then research the topics online.

The booklet then leads students through the experiment along with guiding questions - basically it asks them to think about why something might happen, then experiment to find an answer.  

You can download this free booklet by clicking on the link below. It's great for teachers, homeschoolers and online learning! Please be sure to leave my webpage on each page when you are using it, however, per my terms.

Download the Free Science Inquiry Lab Here

 

Free Science Experiment for High Schoolers: Measuring Light Speed with Chocolate

I have another fun and free science experiment to share with you today - and this one is aimed at the older kids (but easy enough for younger siblings to follow along too!)

Want more science freebies? Take a look at my Science Printables page!

I found this experiment for my 8th grader who is currently studying space and astronomy. I wanted to make up an experiment we could include to go along with her unit on light and space, but nothing too complicated or requiring any outdoor time (it's cold here this time of year!). 

All you'll need is a microwave, a plain chocolate bar, a calculator and a ruler! I have also included a pre-knowledge sheet for this experiment that explains how light is measured, how microwaves use light waves and even included a video from Youtube about how microwaves were invented and work.

Since the experiment follows the scientific method, this means that kids will need to come up with a question for their experiment. If they get stuck, I have included some that they can use or to help get them thinking up their own questions.

Of course, the best part of this experiment is that your kids will get to eat some chocolate afterward!

You can download this freebie below by clicking on the link - it will take you to the file on dropbox. You can feel free to use this in your homeschool, classroom or online classes as long as you leave my website on each page and follow my terms.

Enjoy learning - and some chocolate!

Download the Free Light Waves Experiment Here

Free Science Experiment Asthma Effects on the Respiratory System

 Free Science Experiment 

Asthma's Effects on the Respiratory System

I have recently been doing a human health and body systems unit with my youngest kiddo (in 4th grade) and wanted to include some fun experiments for her to make the textbook a little more interactive, and to practice using the scientific method. So I thought while studying the respiratory system it would be interesting to study asthma's effects on the respiratory system and how that can make a person feel. \That's what this experiment is all about!

It's a fun experiment to use while learning about the respiratory system and even gets kids up and moving - perfect for this time of year when we're all stuck inside a little more! I made this for my 4th grader but it can be used with kids to cover biology units from 3rd through 8th grades - elementary and middle school.

I wanted to be sure that we could practice using the scientific method while doing the experiment, including forming a question, making a hypothesis, taking notes and making a conclusion. So I have made sure to include all of those steps. 

I have also included a page of question prompts that students/learners can use if they're stuck on how to form a question - which is pretty common! I find this gets them thinking and can even help them come up with brand-new questions of their own.

Download the free science experiment below:

You can download this freebie by clicking on the link below and use it in your homeschool, classroom, school or online teaching (just be sure to leave my website on each page please as per my terms). I really hope that you and your students enjoy it!

Download the free respiratory system experiment here!

New Situational Math Problem for Elementary Cycle 2

 A new situational math problem for cycle 2 elementary (grades 3-4). Want more situational math problems? Check out my free math resources page!

In this unit, students will use their number sense skills to help figure out the problem. This unit is best done at the beginning of the year after you have covered the basics of numbers, decomposing numbers and reviewed basic addition (if necessary)

The problem focuses on a group of students who are part of an astronomy club and need to keep track of how many stars they have observed over a month. It would go great with a fun space-themed day or during a week when you'll be studying some astronomy together.

I've made sure to include an answer key to make grading easy, as this problem has one definite answer. I have also included a page going over how to solve a situational problem so that both you and your learners can show their work in a way that will be useful to them on future exams and tests.

You can download the unit for free using the dropbox link below. Enjoy learning!

Grab the Free Situational Math Problem Here