American History Lesson Plans: Living History Wax Museum event

Hello my Omschooligans! We've been busy around here writing poetry for Poetry Month and making recycled trash crafts for Earth Day! Then yesterday, we planned a one room schoolhouse event. I hope that was fun! I sure enjoyed creating it. And speaking of living history, spring is all about gearing up for summer reenactments like our Grand Haven Feast of the Strawberry Moon. But we don't have to wait.  Let's explore American history by performing a "living history wax museum."  

Why people hate history 

I'm a history nerd but I know a lot of people say they hate history, especially how it was taught to them in school. That's sad because exploring the past can be fascinating! But not if your only contact with history was via boring textbooks, uninspiring paper and pencil lesson plans and endless memorization of facts. Nothing could be more antithetical to the way history should be learned. History is about more than people and times long past. It's about learning from them. It's a medium for synthesizing new ideas and processes. It's a vehicle for change. It's not about dead and gone, it's about life! 

Bloom's Taxonomy vs. rote memorization

Bloom's taxonomy sequences educational tasks in order of basic to advanced. It encourages teachers to move from memorization and comprehension of facts (at the bottom) towards HOTS (higher order thinking skills) which include analyzing, applying to life, evaluating and finally, synthesizing (creating new content). 

 Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) Chart

Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) move beyond rote memorization. They require students to process information, connect ideas, and apply knowledge to new situations. This chart breaks down the top levels of Bloom's Taxonomy, focusing on the cognitive processes that define complex thinking. Use these definitions and action verbs to design engaging learning activities and assessments that promote deeper understanding and critical thinking.

Bloom's Taxonomy breaks down educational tasks using the HOTS acronym. In education stands of higher order thinking skills.

HOTS Level	Definition (What it involves)	Action Verbs (Examples)
 Creating	Generating new ideas, products, or ways of viewing things. Building a structure or pattern from diverse elements.	design, construct, plan, produce, invent, compose, formulate, hypothesize, generate, compile
易 Evaluating	Justifying a decision or course of action. Making judgments based on criteria and standards. Checking for consistency.	judge, critique, justify, defend, debate, recommend, assess, conclude, test, support
 Analyzing	Breaking information into parts to explore understandings and relationships. Determining how the parts relate to one another.	compare, contrast, breakdown, categorize, differentiate, examine, question, connect, organize, outline

Living history is alive! 

And HOTS is what living history requires! It's putting all the recalled and digested facts into a fresh, new context. Authentic useful history lesson plans should include historical reenactment, cultural immersion and student-directed, hands-on history activities. Students should experience history activities through all five senses. They should engage in interactive history activities. Then they begin to see the big picture. Here are cross-curricular history activities that teach reading, writing, speaking, research, art and drama.

Wax Museum tableaux

Students will create tableaux for historical reenactment in the Living History Wax Museum. Here's how to create a living history wax museum: (I've included cross-curricular references and HOTS skill practiced). 

• Assign students the task of choosing an historical figure to personify (evaluation, application, synthesis) from whatever social studies content you're studying: exploration, colonial period, a country, inventions, mythology. 
• Another living history variation is a cultural diversity wax museum, where students represent famous people who share their ancestry. 
• Fine arts wax museum: with famous musicians, actors, artists and composers.
• Design a local history wax museum. Grand Haven Michigan hosts the Feast of the Strawberry Moon 1760s reenactment to celebrate its voyageur history. 
• Connect to books with literature-based living history wax museum. Students might choose literary figures or famous characters in favorite books. (apply, compare, synthesize) 
• Students should research their person, her life, work and lifestyle. (analysis, explore). Then prepare a short biographical speech to introduces themselves (details below).
• Students will produce a living history tableau with a costume, props, artifacts and an appropriate backdrop for historical reenactment of their chosen figure. (application, analysis) 
• Individual tableaux will be set up like wax museum exhibits that guests will visit. Arrange living history exhibits in a multipurpose room, series of smaller classrooms, along a hallway or outdoors. This provides math connections. 
• Divide tableaux with portable partitions or use large recycled cardboard refrigerator boxes to create individual niches for each student. You could also hang curtains on free-standing poles to designate each area. Let students use problem-solving strategies to decide how to arrange. This provides more math and science connections. 
• Each student should bring or be provided a table or shelf to display props and a tripod to place signage. 
• Organize work days for students to construct props/backdrops. Provide paper, recycled materials and large cardboard boxes. 
• Students should compose a 1-2 minute first-person script in the character's voice. Encourage them to include interesting biographical details and vignettes. Their historical reenactment should end with a quote from their chosen person. 
• Have students practice their narratives with each other and provide each other with feedback. Students should memorize their monologue and recite it to guests who come to the wax museum.
• Have students write a transcript of their speech. Assemble narratives into a printed booklet for guests to take home. 
• Students should anticipate questions guest may ask and be prepared with answers. 
• Students to locate themselves on printed maps to show where their person originated.
• Have students write invitations to guests. 
• They should make promotional advertising for their living history project and wax museum.
• Students could organize themselves into committees, too.
• Save programs for student portfolios. 
• Extend lesson plans by having students prepare foods from their time period or country to to serve as refreshments.

How the performance works 

• During the performance, guests travel from character to character. It could be done onstage as a pageant, but booths where guests can circulate is more informal and comfortable for families with small children or senior grandparents. 
• Encourage younger guests to collect "autographs" on their programs.
• Place a notebook at each booth so visitors can leave responses. Consider using feedback to determine overall living history project grade. 
• Students should evaluate their performances and grade themselves. Explain how grades should reflect creativity and participation. 

Early American one room schoolhouse living historical reenactment activities

Hello my friends of the Omschool! Have ever wanted to live in the olden days of American history? What if I told you I could "time travel" you back there so you could experience it? Here's a DIY guide for students, teachers and homeschool parents to create your own "One Room School House" experience. I created this Early American history unit 40 years ago! And I've been adding to it since in my museum docent role and historical re-enactor. It was designed around the living history or cultural immersion model.  Think Laura Ingalls and Little House on the Prairie. 

The original "day in a one room schoolhouse" in 1986 was held at Walden Green Montessori school. We dressed in costume, ate period correct foods and did lessons like they would have in a "dame school." Then I was able to elaborate on it, by renting a one room schoolhouse from our local Blandford Nature Center Interpretive history facility for our homeschool group. That's an extra special treat but you can just as easily do this unit as an in-school field trip in the classroom or outdoors at any park. For years, I did hosted a dame school at our Grand Haven "Feast of the Strawberry Moon" voyageur encampment. on Harbor Island. The lessons are adaptable. Here is the procedure to  set up a one room schoolhouse. 

Get parents/ homeschool families involved 

Alert parents that you are going to host a "day in a one room schoolhouse" activity. Request volunteers to help you create an environment, share artifacts and prepare an Early America picnic lunch. I invited some teen girls in our homeschool group to create roles as teachers. 15 was the age many young women began teaching. And they couldn't be married back then so onboarding teenagers is perfect. The girls totally loved the experience. They did a fantastic job, coming up with things I hadn't thought of. And, if you're homeschooling, it gives the older kids a chance to participate as teachers not just students. 

Set a specific time period and region

The one room schoolhouse will look different depending on which place and century you set it in. If you're going back to the 1600s before the revolutionary war, the "school" will be a "dame school." These were taught by women out of their homes and just for very young children, usually not boys. Women weren't considered intelligent enough to educate boys back then (😕). The more traditional one room schoolhouse (like Laura Ingalls taught in) was the Monitorial or ladder school. This one works the best for a large group. Here's a breakdown of education systems in US history. 

Colonial–Early 1800s Informal tutoring and Dame Schools (private/home-based).

1840s–1850s Transition to Graded Elementary Schools; birth of age-based classes.

1870s–1890s Establishment of public High Schools as the next tier after primary school.

1920s Inclusion of Kindergarten and Junior High as common rungs on the ladder.

Create period correct costumes 

Assign each student to make his costume. Kids can get as fancy as they want but simple is fine too. I The simplest are overalls and flannel shirts for boys. Girls can wear long skirts and blouses and straw hats if available. They can go barefoot if parents allow. Or you can get more creative and make drawstring breeches with white muslin chemise-style shirts gathered at the neck. Tell students that these would be worn as nightgowns too, by boys and girls.  A simple skirt pattern is to sew a "channel" of folded over fabric and run a ribbon or string through it. They don't even need to sew it. Just pin in place. Remind them that there was no money to waste and clothing was about function rather than style (despite the romanticized version you see in "period dramas.") Here are some free printable historical costume patterns. 

Lunch Menu

This was the favorite part next to recess! I left this to the parents and they did a bang up job! In my first one room schoolhouse I aimed it toward a New England school and served clam chowder and cornbread with fresh seasonal berries. You can also serve  

• hard-boiled eggs
• round sourdough bread
• homemade butter (made in school as a lesson plan, see recipe below)
• crackers (hard tack)
• cheese
• pickles
• apples
• nuts that grow locally
• jerky 

Beverage would be water with dipper but remind kids that many illnesses are waterborne and grow in impure water. So often times people turned their water into a mild ale to sanitize it. (the kids version could be ginger ale or "sarsaparilla." Serve lunch with cloth napkin, checked tablecloth and mason jar glasses. If kids can procure metal lunch pail that would lend authenticity. 

What to bring to school 

Along with a lunch, children should bring a quill pen or twig pencil, 10 little pebbles, "journal" or slate and hornbook (if desired). Here are instructions for creating each of these. 

• How to make a quill pen. These are quite frustrating to use so warn children ahead of time. 
• Make twig pencils. These are easier to make and use. Just burn the end of a twig and when the charred part runs out, stick it in the fire again. 
• Make ink from berry juice or from soaking walnut hulls. Here are some DIY ink guides. 
• Make simple journals using brown paper grocery bags as parchment paper. Fold a cover. Insert several pieces of paper bag, punch holes and tie with twine. In times past, vellum was used but vellum is freakishly expensive. 
• How to make a hornbook. These are reusable books you can write on and erase.
• Slates were commonly used, too. Make slates by spray-painting chalkboard paint on pieces of wood. 
• Coal scuttle "chalkboard." Abraham Lincoln did his homework by scratching on a coal scuttle. You can simulate this by rubbing chalk or ashes on a flat piece of wood. 
• pebbles will be used for counting and math

Teaching the lessons

If you will have teenagers teach, assign each girl a subject and time slot that she will teach that subject. Each lesson should be simple and last no longer than 15 to 20-30 minutes. Popular early American school subjects included: 

• penmanship
• spelling
• nature study
• drawing, geography,
• arithmetic
• civics
• dictation
• recitation
• reading.  Some ideas we've used include:

Here are some sample lessons. 

  --copy a proverb from Poor Richard's Almanack by Benjamin Franklin (here's a copy to download and print free)

--trace a map. Here are free printable early American maps. 

--figure sums using rocks  

--make butter (basically you just shake whipping cream in a glass jar till it forms a butter mass, but here's a full how-to recipe guide to making butter with kids)

--explore a fur pelt, taxidermy (stuffed) animal

--draw a tree

--recite a poem (The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge or Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's The Wreck of the Hesperus" were commonly used.)

Common textbooks used were in early American schools included

• the McGuffey Readers series. 
• Spencerian Handwriting/Penmanship 
• Ray's Arithmetic
• Harvey's Grammar
• History/Civics Under God. You don't need to purchase textbooks if you can borrow from your local library or historical society. 

Teacher costume

 Teachers should create a simple historical costume for the day. Local history museums or community theater guilds may have costumes to rent or borrow. The costume can be as simple as a long skirt, blouse, bonnet and shawl. The girls who participated in my one room schoolhouse events had a wonderful time preparing their lessons and creating their costumes. It was a great experience for all of us.

One room schoolhouse schedule

Write the schedule on a chalkboard. Begin the day with the pledge of allegiance, prayer and a song. "Good Morning to You" was a popular one. 

Early American games

• Tag and Running Games: Tag, hide-and-seek, and "snap the whip" were popular, requiring no equipment.
Rolling Hoops: Children rolled wooden or metal hoops with a stick, often racing them.
Battledore and Shuttlecock: A forerunner to badminton, played with wooden paddles and feathered shuttlecocks.
Quoits: A ring toss game using rope, leather, or metal rings, similar to modern horseshoes.
Ninepins: A, Dutch-imported, table-top or ground bowling game with nine pins

Visit this link for games kids played in colonial America. Here are some more early American games suggestions. 

Recycled trash gift crafts for kids to make for Earth Day

Hello my friends of the Omschool! Do your students hate to write? That might be because they've not had enough practice. Writing skills are so important and yet often overlooked in curriculum given our digital communication age. One way I found to encourage writing is to help kids write with a flourish, so it becomes a treat instead of a chore. Today in the Omschool, we're making flower and feather pens! 

Now you know Teacher Omi, she always designs lesson plans with an eye toward eco-friendly and penny pinching. So we'll make our craft projects from reused, repurposed and recycled trash as much as possible. And just in time for Earth Day, Wednesday April 22, 2026, we'll weave these weave these activities into ecology lesson plans based. AND, with special holidays nearly upon us, these recycled trash crafts for kids make excellent gift crafts. Use this guide to design lovely flower pens, feather pens and decorated vases. Give gift crafts for Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Teacher Appreciation Week, birthdays, Grandparents Day (hint, teacher Omi would love one!) and any holiday that involves gift-giving. You could even make them as baby or bridal shower, wedding or graduation open house party favors. 

Recycled trash crafts for kids: Flower pens and feather pens (called quills) 

It's more fun to write when you have a fancy flower or feather pen! These make great gift crafts for loved ones. And they do double duty as interactive crafts for kids. Best of all trash crafts are cheap or free and lots of fun to make! Even the youngest can have success making recycled trash crafts for kids. You will need only three things: 

• a new pen or pencil
• a silk blossom or large plume feather (available from discount, dollar or craft stores). Or, save flowers from old floral arrangements for recycled trash crafts. Silk roses, carnations, daffodils and tulips are nice large single blossom flowers. Choose an ostrich feather or large plume for the feather pen. 
• strong tape. Floral tape works best for this craft project as is is both sturdy and easy to tear. . 

How to make feather or flower pens

• Trim blossoms and feathers to a point on one end so they will attach more smoothly to the pen or pencil.
• Attach flower or feather to the upper quarter of the pen or pencil, by winding tape around both. Begin just below the bottom of the flower (feather) and continue overlapping around for about two inches up the stem. You can leave the eraser exposed.

 Create a bouquet of flower pens using several different kinds of silk flowers. 

Recycled trash crafts for kids: Decorated vases 

Create decorated vases from recycled trash to place flower or feather pens in. Find any recycled trash glass jar or bottle. Remove label and scrub clean. To make decorated vases, paint jar with stained glass or window cling paint. Both of these dry clear bright colors!

❁ Omi (Grandma) Tip

You can also use paint pens. Kids love to color with these! My grandson Moses adores the set he received from us. You can even get paint pens designed specifically for very young children (sometimes called paint sticks). Our granddaughter Juno received some for her 3rd birthday and they've made craft projects so much more user-friendly for her age!

❁

Here's a link to some paint pens I bought from Amazon for Moses (10). Here are the paint sticks  designed specifically for very young children, like we got Juno.  

❀ ❀ ❀ ❀

Make your own window cling paint by mixing tempera paint and school glue or by adding food coloring to glue. Then water it down a little if it's too tacky. 

Decoupage decorated vases for kids to make as gift crafts

Decoupage was popular when I was young (a lot time ago). This craft involves painting a glue wash over paper scraps and applying them to recycled trash containers. Clear plastic or glass jars work best. You can try it on a sturdy cardboard container too. Just don't let it get too wet. 

• You can buy a special product called Mod Poge (boy does that take me back!) Or you can just water down white school glue, with half water and half glue. 
• Place glue in a recycled trash aluminum pie plate. 
• Tear recycled trash wrapping paper, tissue paper or any lightweight paper scraps into inch square pieces. Or you can cut out individual images and affix those. 
• Dip paint brush in glue wash and brush it on the back of a scrap of paper. Attach to jar. Apply another layer of glue wash over the paper. Continue doing this over the entire jar, overlapping edges to cover jar.
• Create different colors by overlapping primary colors. Layer red, blue and yellow to make the secondary colors - purple, orange and green. As your decorated vases dry, the tissue paper will become more transparent and the glue will give it some shine. It takes on a sort of stained glass window look.

Decorated glass jar vases. 

Here's a link to an article I wrote with instructions on how to make other recycled trash vases from glass jars. You can use these crafts projects for kids as ecology science lesson plans. They are just the ticket for Earth Day activities. Or have children make these crafts to give as Mother's Day gift. 

How to build vocabulary by collecting new words like friends

Hello my dear Omschool-igans! Your host, teacher Omi has a special new job as you'll soon see in this post. I'm feeling spunky this evening after completing an onerous project I've been side-eyeing and avoiding. So tonight I'm going to treat myself to a "dessert" post for the Omschool because you all are such delights to write for. Tonight we're exploring words! Particularly the composing of them in prose and poetry. And we're going to do this in a fanciful stroll down the rabbit hole! 

National Poetry Month in April

We've been discussing a lot of Earth Month (April) themes on this blog. April is also National Poetry Month in the US. Which I think dovetails very neatly with Earth Month. It's springtime here and I can't think a more perfect subject for youth poetry than nature as she awakens, like a sleepy princess, from her winter slumber. And the best way to do that is to get outside and start scribbling down some ideas. Let's go word collecting like we would collect rocks at the beach. I was going to say butterflies but we don't cage wild creatures because that would be unkind. And we are kind. We just observe them where they land, bid them farewell when they leave and be glad to have known them for a few moments.

A eulogy on logology (or a lecture on lexicon)

Before we begin, we must speak of a sad thing about logology. And that is that a good vocabulary is dying off by lack of oxygen. Some research says that of the 10,000 or so words we use a day and the 42,000 words we know, most use only about 1,000 unique ones. Why don't more words get used? I think it has to do with size. "Big words" seem to intimidate people. Which is unfair because they're just gentle giants there to help us articulate our thoughts clearly. And using the same trite words rather leads the listener, like this poor little fairy above, to bored ennui. So let's be the change those other 32,000 words need! 

Word Wonder Wandering  

Libra-fairy 
(n.) One who protects all the lovely words, not to hoard them, but to give them away.

I don't collect many objects but I do amass words like a squirrel gathering black walnuts. So today I have dubbed myself Jenny-Us Loci the Libra-fairy Lady. Tada, that's my new job! I am the benevolent spirit of this place whose self-assigned task is to protect all those forgotten and lonely words and share them with you. Think of me as a granny fairy with glasses. Unlike Mrs. Corry, the gingerbread proprietress in Mary Poppins, I give words away instead of selling them. And unlike Faintly Macabre the Not-So-Wicked-Which from The Phantom Tollbooth (Norman Juster), I share and don't hoard words.  Because that's the beauty of them. Words are the gift that keeps on giving. And like lakes, no one can own them.  And certainly no one can own your thoughts. So follow me on a word-seeking jaunt into the woods, or park, or down your street. Or in your apartment building. You can discover so many new word species and you don't even need a net or jar. 

How to catch a word or phrase

It's quite easy if you try. And that's my assignment for you, my Om-schooligans: keep your acute pixie ears open and your tiggy-winkle noses quivering with curiosity. When a new word flies by, like in something someone says, or something you see or read, hold it for a moment in that big brain of yours. Write it down in a word journal or in a notebook. You can even keep a list on your phone if you have such a magical device. And then let it go again so someone else can discover it. 

Look it up

Chances are you won't know what your mystery word means because it is new to you. So pay attention to how the word is used. What words surround your new friend? This is called observing the context. And knowing the context is a method used when learning a new language. Then look it up in a dictionary or online. Ask whatever AI tool you use. I like Gemini and Copilot. They will not only define it but tell you how to spell and pronounce it. If you don't know how to spell it, give it your best shot to pronounce it as you heard it (that's what your pixie ears are for!) And AI is pretty intuitive and can usually figure out what you mean. 

Synergize it! 

But don't just pocket it and forget. As soon as possible, parse it in a new way, in a piece of writing or in speaking. Here's a f'rinstance. I just heard a word on an old TV show, that I'd not thought of in, well, I don't know how long. I couldn't even recall what it meant. So I looked it up and wow, so glad I did. It's a marvelous word, worthy of its own chapter in The Phantom Tollbooth! The word is "transmogrify." It may have even been in the Phantom Tollbooth where I last read it. I had occasion to use it very soon afterwards in a poem I just wrote. I'm not going to tell you what transmogrify means. Try to "collect" it yourself! 

✨ Your Mission, Young Padawan:

Find the meaning of "Transmogrify." Once you've caught it, try to release it into a sentence of your own this week! Hint: ask Trans-Frog-Grify to help you if you're stuck. 

“Behold! A common ceramic teacup caught in the marvelous act of being transmogrified into a woodland frog. His name is "Trans-Frog-Grify"

Stay tuned to this woodland fairy station for more word-ventures with Jenny Us Loci the Libra-fairy Lady! Just one of Teacher Omi's many roles. 

Recycled trash crafts for Earth Month: Decorated glass jar vases and planters

Hello my friends! Welcome to Earth Month in the Omschool! During April, we focus on all things ecology. I'll explore ways to reduce waste, reuse discarded items, recycle trash and repurpose it in new ways. One of my favorite ways to do this is in creating recycled trash crafts for kids. Here are some recycled trash crafts that combine repurposing with gardening. 

Recycled glass jar vases

Did you ever take a close look at recycled glass jars? Some are really quite decorative and lovely. Recycled glass jars like pickle jars and jam jars have pretty patterns. And recycled glassware can be made into trash crafts for kids. Make decorative vases from recycled glass jars. Use for seed planting crafts for kids. Use these trash crafts for kids as gifts for Fathers Day gifts, Mothers Day gifts and Earth Day activities. 

Repurposing glass jars as vases or planters, addresses two important science concepts: ecology or conservation plus seed planting for science lessons.  These make great school and homeschool group craft projects. Use recycled trash crafts for kids summer camp activities, VBS and scout troop merit badge activities too. I'm going to bring this craft project to our upcoming family reunion! The possibilities are endless. 

Materials you will need (per student)

• small recycled plastic container (drinking cups, sour cream or yogurt cup)
• Styrofoam tray or pot pie tin (for drip tray)
• clean recycled glass jars in 32 oz sizes large enough to place plastic cup inside. 
• spaghetti jars
• pickle jars
• jam jars
•  peanut butter jars
• potting soil
• recycled sticks or pencils
• hardy flower seeds 
• daisy
• sunflower
• aster
• lavender
• bright lights cosmos
• brown-eyed Susan
• or herbs seeds such as:
• basil
• rosemary
• thyme
• cilantro
• sage
• oregano
• parsley 
• plant food or plant sticks
• paint pens (all the fun, none of the mess of paints)
• stencils (if desired)
• recycled ribbon and yarn scraps
• assorted buttons and gems
• glue dots (all of the convenience of hot glue with none of the dangers)
• watered down school glue (for "decoupage")
• cotton swabs or paint brushes
• fabric scraps 
• fabric scisssors
• tape for stencils

Instructions for seed planting: 

• poke three holes in the bottom of the plastic container to drain and aerate.  
• fill with dirt, plant seed according to instructions on package
• set box in window or outdoors in a safe place. 
• Place drip tray underneath. 
• Water regularly. 
• Add some plant food as directed. 
• Tie stem loosely to a stick as it begins to grow, to help keep it straight

To make decorative vases from recycled glass jars

• Give each a glass jar.
• Provide recycled scrap paper to sketch design.
• Set out paint pens and stencils to share. 
• Provide assorted fabric, notions and yarn scraps.
• Tape stencils to jar and demonstrate how to trace with paint pen.
• Let students "free range" through scraps to create their own design. 
• Show them how to "paint" fabric with glue wash and apply. 
• Affix buttons and ribbon with glue dots. 
• Place decorated on scrap paper in a safe place to dry. 

Putting it all together

Place the entire plastic container in the glass jars. If it won't fit, just place it as far in as it will go. Then be sure to add enough water to reach bottom. Transport in paper or plastic bag with handles. Students may decorate this as the wrapping paper. 

Here are some more of my articles on recycled trash crafts and Earth Month lesson plans.

Barney Bag Recycled Trash Crafts

10 Science Games from Recycled Egg Cartons

Free Printable Endangered Species Lesson Plans

Recycled trash crafts for kids using the Barney Bag

Hello my friends of the Omschool! Remember Barney the bouncy purple dinosaur? Can you believe that show first aired 38 years ago? There was a lot of criticism for Barney and the PBS iteration of Barney & Friends. But children adored Barney and his buddies. Including my kids who were kind of forced to because PBS was all I'd let them watch. There was on part of the show I loved. I still use it in the Omschool today, for preschool learning centers and book based lesson plans. 

And that is the Barney Bag. You can use this concept to make cool collage art and recycled trash crafts for kids. This a perfect Earth Month lesson plans for Earth Day April 22, or any time in April. Here's a Q-and-A to get started. 

What is a Barney Bag? Barney had a rainbow-colored satchel about the size of a small suitcase that contained all kinds of "gizmos and gadgets, odds and ends; even some old strings"--aka lots of cast-off stuff that he used to make recycled trash crafts for kids. It's perfect for collage preschool learning centers. There was a special song that accompanied it. You can listen to The Barney Bag song and learn it here at YouTube. 

When do you use the Barney Bag? You can schedule regular weekly time to make recycled trash crafts. Or weave the Barney Bag into collage art learning centers. But it works best to haul out Barney Bag spontaneously. I used it as a special treat that for rainy days or when the kids were feeling bored or glum. Spending time creating collage art from recycled trash is a great way to beat the blues. I would just start quietly singing the song to my children and they would eagerly rush to get our version of the Barney Bag from the closet, singing along. Suddenly they weren't grouchy anymore. Making spontaneous trash crafts for kids was a real sanity-saver when everyone came down with chicken pox at once. And it was great for homebound snow days too. If you homeschool, you can throw a surprise craft-fest to break up the monotony of schoolwork or if the children are well-behaved. 

How do you make a Barney Bag? I kept a large recycled trash shopping bag in the kitchen near the recycle bin. You can make your Barney Bag as plain or elaborate as you like. Then place in it, along with the usual recycled items (cardboard, glass jars, paper, plastic and metal),  toss in 

• unique packages
• fabric scraps
• odd-shaped containers
• bits of yarn, string, thread and fiber
• foil and wrapping paper scraps
• fabrics scraps
• used ribbon and bows,
• decorative trim
• mismatched buttons
• gumball machine toys
• assorted game pieces
• old magazines
• stickers
• envelopes with stamps
• playing cards
• metal washers and springs
• jewelry pieces
• keys
• small broken utensils,
• plastic mesh from produce bags
• egg cartons
• packing peanuts
• coins
• perfume or cosmetics containers
• plastic gems
• feathers
• dried beans
• pasta
• and just about any discarded item imaginable. 

Just put it all in the Barney Bag and let children enjoy rummaging through to discover treasures. They will love finding new and creative ways to repurpose in their recycled trash craft projects.  

How do children use the Barney Bag? First, assemble a tray of:

• glue sticks (or plastic lids with glue and Q-tips)
• scissors (plain and decorative edged)
• glitter
• crayons or markers
• paints
• shaped paper punches and stamps. 

Spread an old tablecloth or shower curtain on the floor to protect against spills. Make paint coveralls from dad's old T-shirts. Or used recycled plastic grocery bags. Cut the bottom out, slip over the child's head use grocery bag  handles over shoulders as straps. Cover the table with newspaper. 

Announce Barney Bag time by singing Barney's little ditty. Encourage them to come up with a themes or give them one. I like to tie in craft projects to books we've just read. Recycled trash crafts with literature connections make perfect book report alternatives too. Happy Earth Day! 

10 Science lesson plans from recycled egg cartons

 

Hello my friends of the Omschool! April is Earth Month with April 22 being Earth Day. The purpose of Earth Month is to bring our focus to conservation and preservation of our earth's natural resources. When Teacher Omi was young we called this Arbor Day (aka Tree Day) and a common activity was to plant a tree. Earth Day has been expanded to include the many areas in which we can practice earth-healthy activities like conservation (also called ecology). 

Teachers and homeschool parents, there are so many great environmental lesson plans you can use to celebrate Earth Month. My favorite Earth Day activities include practicing ways to reduce, reuse, repurpose and recycle the many items we use in our everyday lives.  We teachers have a special responsibility to teach earth-friendly habits in how we ourselves repurpose found materials, reduce waste and consumption of resources, reuse items on unique ways and recycle every possible scrap. Because while we focus on these disciplines particularly in Earth Month, we need to be  demonstrating them all year long. 

Probably the most effective recycling lesson plan is to used recycled trash as classroom materials. I like to use a visual such as a trash bag filled with reused items, to show students how much landfill waste we saved. You can make it a game or personal challenge to students to see how many ways they can repurpose, reuse, reduce and recycle. Assign them to list in science journals how many conservation activities they completed each day. 

And when it comes to materials for craft projects and lesson plans, your recycle bin is your best friends. I've got loads of ideas to share on how to reuse various recycled items but today I'll focus on the ubiquitous egg cartons. Here are some ways that teachers and students can repurpose recycled egg cartons as science experiments, science games and science crafts.  This will save money and reduce pollution. 

Attribute sorting science activities and games

Sensory exploration is the core of science and a key component of preschool and Montessori education. Students can practice sensory exploration in hands-on science games. To play, pass out clean, recycled egg cartons--paper, plastic or Styrofoam-- with each section labeled with words or pictures of attributes. Attributes listed will depend on materials being sorted and science subjects being studied. Items may be sorted by color, shape, size, living/non-living, wood/metal/plastic, etc. You can play this as a scavenger hunt in which students search for objects--preferably recycled-- to fit each attribute category. Labeling and sorting materials into recycled egg cartons builds science vocabulary, adjective usage and description.

Sensory Exploration sorting science games for preschool lesson plans

Sort edible items by:

   *Taste: Sweet, sour, salty, bitter, fruity, tart

Sort edible and non-edible by:

   *Smell: spicy, bitter, sour, soapy, flowery, fruity, moldy, metallic, woodsy, earthy

   *Touch: furry, fuzzy, smooth, cool, warm, hard, rough, scratchy, bumpy, squishy, sticky

   *Sound: squeak, ring, buzz, beep, pop, clang, snap, crackle, scrape, scratch

Ecology experiments using recycled egg cartons.

Paper or Plastic? Use cardboard and Styrofoam recycled egg cartons to demonstrate what happens to both in a landfill. Place a piece from each carton in water and soil put them in the window. Note any changes to each over time. Use this to explore biodegradable materials and renewable resources for Earth Month. Discuss how pollution is an environmental hazard and harms plants and animals.

Geology science experiments for Earth Month:

Use recycled egg cartons to classify and identify rocks and minerals. Here are free printable rocks and minerals identification charts to download and use. Here's are more free printable rocks and minerals guides with beautiful color illustrations. Students should label the sections of recycled egg cartons and sort by:

hardness on the MOHs hardness scale (use this free printable MOHs scale)
rock type (metamorphic, sedimentary and igneous)
mineral composition (calcite, silicate, carbonate, etc.)
uses (building, abrasion, decoration, chemistry, etc.)

Eco-Friendly Printing Tip

Since you’re already repurposing egg cartons, here’s a quick tip to keep the rest of your science lesson just as sustainable:

Pro Tip: To save paper and reduce waste, print your worksheets and charts on the blank side of used paper. To save on ink, print in grayscale (black and white) unless the images are essential, and select the lowest saturation or "draft" setting on your printer.

Biology science games. 

Label the sections of recycled egg carton science crafts with taxonomy classifications from the kingdoms (plantae, animalia, etc). Use these free printable animal taxony charts. Students might sort by subcategories 

KPCOFGS (kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species). 

Students might cut out pictures or make tiny cards with names of members of various groups. Then they can sort pictures or words into categories. They can test each other in partners or in groups. Label the bottom of the egg carton with answers for self-checking. This can be adapted to any age or grade depending upon what you are studying.

Quick Tip: Mastering the Taxonomy Hierarchy

Memorizing KPCOFGS (Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species) can be tricky for students. Use this classic mnemonic to help them remember the order from largest group to smallest:

"King Philip Came Over For Good Soup"

• Kingdom

• Phylum

• Class

• Order

• Family

• Genus

• Species

Systems science crafts. Most all science experiments are based on a system or cycle. Use recycled egg carton science crafts to make 3D flow charts or graphic organizers Places objects in each section to represent parts of the cycle and draw arrows to show how they interact. Demonstrate electrical current, the water cycle. food chains, human body systems, habitats, plant development and insect metamorphosis.

Science Timelines. Use recycled egg cartons to demonstrate how things change and develop (or regress) over time. Make timelines of science inventions, transportation, etc. Use this with any area of science that you teach.

Students find science experiments boring when they engage in same-old activities. These homemade science crafts and science experiments will challenge and intrigue students while also providing opportunities to practice vital conservation and ecology skills. The simple act of recycling works to improve all aspects of conservation: deforestation, global warming (climate change) from greenhouse gasses, over-consumption. We even practice wildlife preservation every time we reuse, repurpose or recycle instead of discard! And that improves all our lives. 

Free printable conservation and endangered species lesson plans for Earth Day

Hello my friends of the Omschool! Are you enjoying your Spring Break and Easter holidays? In this lovely month of April, we celebrate Earth Day, which replaces the original holiday Arbor Day (Tree Day). For the past years April has also come to be celebrated as Earth Month, culminating with official Earth Day, April 22 on the Spring Equinox. 

To explore this important holiday, here's a free printable environmental science and endangered species booklet Save our Species, with information, activities and coloring pages exploring endangered species in the US. The purpose of Earth Day is to celebrate our earth, educate people and explore ways to protect natural resources. Protecting our earth includes supporting our animals, plants, habitats and ecosystems. Earth Day reminds us that we rely on the earth for sustenance and the earth relies on us for care and safety. 

Understanding endangered and threatened species helps us to learn better ways to care for our environment as a whole. The EPA has developed a free printable 28 page environmental science activity and coloring booklet entitled Save Our Species. This free printable endangered species resource book is perfect for Earth Day. It has been developed for and provided to the public as an educational information guide. On Earth Day, and all Earth Month, students can explore endangered and threatened species in the United States, by coloring the animals, plants and habitats. 

This free printable environmental science activity book can be used as a field guide or zoo field trip planner. This booklet includes free printable coloring pages of endangered species and threatened species (species whose habitats are being encroached upon and destroyed). It explores 16 species of endangered animals in the United States and five threatened species.

Spotlight: The Black-Footed Ferret

One highlight of the Save Our Species booklet is the Black-footed Ferret. Once thought to be extinct, this resilient creature is making a comeback through careful conservation efforts. Sharing success stories like this in the classroom offers students a sense of hope and shows them that environmental protection really works!

Here's a unit on animal extinction lesson plans which explores the annihilation of the passenger pigeon population. This planned extinction is unique in endangered species in that it happened so quickly. An entire bird species was wiped out in a matter of years. Here is a website called Revive and Restore which endeavors to de-extinct lost species. So far, the gene editing process has not been successful which shows just how true is the maxim "extinct is forever." 

John Ball Zoo, in Grand Rapids, Michigan has extensive free printable Zoology lesson plans. There are science lesson plans on migrations, animal habitats, conservation and a host of other animal related activities. Featured animals are monarch butterflies, penguins, lions, chimpanzees, hummingbirds and more. 

Local Spotlight: The Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake

In our own backyard near Grand Rapids, the John Ball Zoo is doing vital work to protect Michigan’s only venomous snake. The Eastern Massasauga is a "threatened" species that relies on our local wetlands. Teaching students about these misunderstood neighbors is a great way to explore local biodiversity and the importance of habitat preservation!

Additionally, local initiatives in Native Planting to boost populations by planting Michigan-native species Eastern Hemlock or Spruce, in schoolyards or home gardens to support local wildlife. Michigan has struggled with invasive species, some of which, like purple loosestrife, were planted as ornamental flowers and ended up taking over wetlands and destroying the entire ecosystem. The golden loosestrife beetle was introduced to eradicate this rampant invasive species. Replanting original native species helps restore balance to Michigan's precious natural resources, including the precarious dune structure. 

These free printable environmental science resources make an excellent Earth Day tool for classroom, homeschool, scouting, 4H and any organizations dedicated to the preservation of natural resources. The website includes a free printable Save Our Species poster and lesson plans for teachers and homeschoolers. Decorate the school hallway for Earth Day by assigning each student to color a certain number of endangered species images. Place a large map on the wall and arrange endangered and threatened species pictures around the map with arrows pointing out areas to which the endangered species is native.

Use these endangered species lesson plans to raise awareness to our vital yet fragile ecosystems and to the importance of protecting them. Here is a final thought from teacher Omi who has loved the Lake Michigan dunes and beaches for decades. 

Dune Icon: The Great Lakes Piping Plover

If you’ve ever walked the beaches at Sleeping Bear Dunes or along the West Lake Michigan shore, you may have seen areas roped off with "psychological fencing." These protect the nests of the Piping Plover, a tiny shorebird that is a true conservation success story. Once down to just 17 pairs in the 1980s, the population hit a record 88 nesting pairs in 2025! These birds are so well-camouflaged that they look like "stones with legs." Protecting their nesting sites doesn't just save the birds; it preserves the wild, undeveloped beauty of our dunes for everyone to enjoy.

Free printable Easter Bunny activities and Peter Rabbit crafts

Hello my friends of the Omschool! Easter is probably the most quintessentially preschool-first grade holiday of all. And teacher Omi has 10 grandchildren in that age category. So I'm sharing free printable Easter bunny lesson plans and crafts galore. From Easter baskets, candy, egg decorating, bunnies, baby animals, spring--little children love this festive season. For the young and young at heart, here are free printable Easter bunny crafts. I've included printable activities based on my two favorite bunnies, Peter Rabbit and the Velveteen Rabbit, too. Parents and homeschoolers, use for preschool lessons; teachers, you'll want these for preschool classroom fun. 

Easter bunny masks and costumes

Preschoolers love to dress up (so do many parents and teachers). Everything is more fun when you're in costume. That first link takes you to a plethora of printable animal masks. Actually, Woo Jr. (see link above) has an array of printable masks for masquerade, Greek theater, tribal cultures, Halloween and more. For more free printable Easter bunny masks visit First Palette. Print on plain paper. Have kids color their masks then glue on recycled cereal box cardboard then cut it out. This makes masks more durable. You'll find all kinds of fun Easter crafts here too. 

Vintage Easter crafts 

Now that you are properly Easter Bunny attired, let's make some Easter baskets and greeting cards. The Toymaker has free printable egg baskets, bunny cards and an egg roll game (like they play at the White House). Make cards and baskets, then fill with Easter eggs or candy and deliver to a lonely senior neighbor (wearing your mask, of course). The Easter bunny loves to visit his older friends, too!

Printable 3D Paper Bunny Crafts

The calendar may say spring, but Easter is often cold and damp. Settle kids down to an afternoon of serious rainy day crafting with free printable 3D bunny-themed paper toys from First Palette and Woo Jr. I'm partial to the old-fashioned Easter Bunny diorama. Get baskets full of free printable Easter Bunny crafts here. DL-TK has a blowout of Easter bunny coloring pages, bunny masks, paper bunny ears, stand-up toys, pop up rabbit crafts and much more. I love how easy these are to make. Simple instructions, step-by-step how-to--perfect for preschool and special needs children who need no-fail activities. 

Free Peter Rabbit printables. 

Peter Rabbit, Beatrix Potter's rascally rabbit has his own page, along with other Beatrix Potter friends. There are printables based on the Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams, on Making Friends. It's part of a complete free printable unit on rabbits. Print Peter Rabbit coloring pages, lesson plans and activities the Peter Rabbit website. Look for more bunny coloring pages, games, puzzles, dot-to-dot and color by number, felt board games and felt board patterns. First School offers a free printable Peter Rabbit activities unit with learning games, literature activities, writing prompts and stories. Teach alphabet, simple math, counting and reading with these worksheets. 

Enjoy reading books on rabbits for Easter as well! 

The Velveteen Rabbit

Beatrix Potter Treasury on Peter Rabbit

Knuffle Bunny (Mo Willems)

Peter Cottontail (Thornton Burgess)

Bunnicula (for older kids) (James and Debra Howe)

Richard Scarry features rabbits in many of his books! Teacher Omi had and loved The Bunny Book (shaped like a rabbit) when she was young, a long time ago! I found copies of this beloved story book on Thriftbooks. 

Happity, Hippity, Hoppity Easter