As we near the end of the school year, our original curriculum has been mostly used up. We’ve been making due with the books I have here at home and using some online resources here and there but I wanted to find something that helps us put what we’re learning on paper, that isn’t just filling out a worksheet or answering reading comprehension questions. My son is a hands-on kid and likes to focus on a project rather than write everything down in paragraph form. I do make him do writing prompts and reading comprehension now and then, but I want to help him learn in a way that is fun for him, because I can see the thoughtfulness in his eyes and in his work when he is doing something that he enjoys.

While I am pretty good at developing writing prompts and putting together general lessons, my creativity lacks when it comes to projects that display what he’s learned. There’s really only so much you can do with a paper plate. And while I love looking at pinterest, I get lost in the images sometimes and find that some of the projects require so many special materials that I don’t have on hand. And I’d really like to cut back on the time I spend browsing the internet. So I went and browsed the local teacher supply store and found these two books packed full of creative project ideas. Perfect!

Friday is our adventure day so I didn’t have anything planned for the afternoon, but I found an easy activity in 40 Fabulous Social Studies Activities that my son thought would be fun. He’s reading about Japan right now, so he started his own Band Book about Japan. Here is some of his work:

The band book is a few pieces of paper cut into strips, folded over, and you cut triangles off at the corners leaving the pages connected by the middle section  at the fold. Wrap a long rubberband twice around at the fold and fold the pages over so you get a book with a rubberband binding at the top. Easy, cute idea that he thought looked fun and he is choosing to add things about Japan like Mt. Fuji and the raccoon dog. Tomorrow he plans on adding the Japanese words that he knows.

There are tons of other great ideas in these books. If you are like me and need some help with project development, I definitely recommend these!

What are your go-to resources for project ideas?