Tide pooling is one of our favorite winter adventures. Here in Southern California, December through early Spring is when we see the lowest low tides. These extra low tides are ideal for tide pooling. Creatures and their habitats are exposed during these low tide times that you wouldn’t ever even know existed the rest of the time. 

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Adventure to the Tide Pools

Tide pooling is a fun adventure for anyone, but being all about learning through experience and now a homeschooling mom, I like to tie our tide pooling adventures to curriculum and other learning to deepen our experience. 

That being said, if you have the opportunity to go tide pooling – GO! It’s super fun and often beautiful setting for an outdoor adventure. 

related curriculum or projects

• Ocean themes. My son is deep in a Marine Biology independent study. Tide pooling is perfect for extending this learning with hands on experience.
• Any animal unit. Although it doesn’t relate directly to giraffes or monkeys – tide pools are one example of an ecosystem, have various food webs contained in their pools, and can therefore be tied to other animal learning. 

Before You Go Tidepooling

Prep for your field trip by learning a little about tide pools. Books are a great place to start. THE TIDE POOL WAITS is one of my favorites.

Candace Fleming does a great job of describing tide pools with her beautiful words in this book. THE TIDE POOL WAITS is a delightful read aloud picture book about a tide pool. It is full of dynamic words, repetition, and fun creatures. The action packed, verb filled text and pleasant repeated phrases lend themselves well to reading aloud. The backmatter and careful inclusion of facts in the text offer plenty of information about tides and tide pools for young readers. A great nonfiction picture book that will get your adventurers excited about the tide pool.

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Beforehand it’s also helpful to explain expectations and gather supplies.

Tide pools are slippery, often large, often crowded, and of course near the ocean. Depending on the age of your child, you will want to think about how far you’re comfortable with them exploring away from you and communicate that with them beforehand. Other expectations like; no running, stay a certain distance from the water, and how to handle any creatures you might find with care could also be discussed. 

Things to Bring:

You don’t need much to explore a tide pool but a few things will make the experience more enjoyable. 

1. Waterproof shoes. Rocky, slippery surfaces aren’t ideal for bare feet or normal shoes. I recommend wearing shoes with some grip that will also keep your feet comfortable. My kids usually wear close toed sandals. These Merrells are our favorite tide pooling shoe. 
2. Clear buckets can be great for temporarily viewing tide pool animals. Everything must of course be handled with care and returned to their natural environment, but you can temporarily place octopus, starfish, sea slugs, etc in a clear bucket with water to get a better view. Anything plastic and clear works – we have something like this bucket. 
3. Warm layer depending on the weather. You’re right on the edge of the ocean so the weather is typically cooler and windier than wherever you are living or staying. Having layers to keep you warm enough to enjoy your adventure are important. 

When to go:

It is vital to check the tide chart for your area before you go. You can search “tide chart near me” to find your area’s high and low tides for the day. If you live in San Diego, this is where I usually check but it’s also in my weather app. You are looking for negative tides, preferably -1 or less. This is when the tide pools will be the most uncovered and you will have the most success seeing tide pool dwellers. In Southern California, these super negative tides during daylight hours happen the most in the winter months.

I recommend arriving about 30 minutes before the low tide point and planning to stay about an additional 30 minutes after the low tide point for about an hour total. 

Exploring Tide Pools

Tide pool explorations are open ended and unpredictable. You never know what you’re going to see and finding things often requires some patience.

Find slightly submerged pools and look closely in the crevices for any movement. 

Keep your eyes open. Watch your step. Pay attention to the changing tide and waves. 

Encourage your child to be very gentle with any touches. These are living creatures and we are invading their home. 

After Tidepooling

• Learn more about the creatures you found. Look them up in books, research more about them online. 
• Print pictures of what you saw for your child to draw or paint or study more closely. 
• Mark your calendar for the next low tide. 

Our Favorite San Diego Tide Pools

• Point Loma Tide Pools (located by Cabrillo National Monument)
• Tide Pools between False Point and Tourmaline Surf Park in Bird Rock. You can park in the lot at Tourmaline Surf Park and walk north on the beach.
• La Jolla Tide Pools in La Jolla

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Butterflying isn’t the first thing that pops in my head when I think about Fall activities. To me, Fall has always been more about leaf peeping, pumpkin picking, and apple farms. That all changed last year when we read CITIZEN SCIENTISTS.

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This is a cool book that gets kids excited to participate with and explore nature. There is an adventure/focus for each season and the Fall one is all about butterflying. I highly recommend the whole book for inspiring adventures.

I also highly recommend the book WINGED WONDERS by Meeg Pincus. It’s a gorgeous, fascinating book about how the mystery of butterfly migration was solved.

Butterflying in San Diego

It turns out, in Southern California Butterflying is an ideal field trip to do in the late Summer, early Fall. If you live further north, then mark your calendar for earlier in the summer to see Butterflies at their peek.

WHERE TO GO

A Butterfly Garden is the ideal place to go Butterflying. We went to the Butterfly Garden in San Dieguito County Park. This is a fun park to explore with kids. There are trails, playgrounds and a pond. There is also a Butterfly Garden.

The Butterfly Garden is at the Northern end of the lower park. You can park nearby in a lot. We parked at the other end and hiked to the garden and back. The garden has an assortment of flowers and other plants that attract butterflies (along with hummingbirds and bees).

More Info about the Park & Garden: WEBSITE

WHAT TO BRING

• Sunscreen
• Water bottle
• Journals and Pencils (for kids who love to draw or create on adventures)
• Camera to practice taking photos (for kids who love a tool to use on adventures)
• Butterfly Guidebook (optional for kids who want to know more)

Butterflying Activity Ideas for Anywhere

Below are a variety of butterfly activity ideas for all ages to expand on your Butterflying adventure.

• Look for a Butterfly exhibit near you. Many zoos have seasonal butterfly exhibits. There are also places like the Butterfly Wonderland in Arizona (which my kids absolutely loved!) that are open year round.
• Butterfly Storytime for Preschoolers from My Storytime Corner – excellent Butterfly themed read alouds and more extension activities.
• Preschool Butterfly Unit from Bambini Travel – great ideas for a range of ages.
• In the Garden Unit from Bambini Travel – for kids who want to learn and explore more about flowers.
• Butterfly Art Prompt: put out photos from your trip or from a favorite butterfly book with simple drawing materials and invite your child to draw a butterfly.
• Plant your own butterfly garden. Have older children research what plants attract butterflies and plant some in your own garden.

Photography was our first art unit of fifth grade. In a world of watercolors and oil pastels, that might seem like a strange place to start but it leaned into my kids’ natural interest in photography and our heavily science based curriculum.

As with most things, we taught photography in a variety of ways but focused on getting out of the house and practicing their photography skills in the real world. (You can read all about my philosophy on learning and teaching in Little Walks Big Adventures

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Photography 101 Essentials

You do not need a lot to teach basic photography. I recommend:

• Cameras ( my kids both have one of these cameras with a waterproof strap to hook on their wrists to limit dropping )
• Photography Journals or some other place to keep and share their photographs. We are using sketchbooks like this to paste their photos into because it will be their art journal for the whole year.
• Computer & Printer – to upload and print photos.

Photography Neighborhood Walk

Our first field trip was a walk around the neighborhood with our cameras.

Before you go:

• Go over basics of how to use your cameras. How to turn them on. How to take a picture. Go over any safety recommendations. For example, I encourage my kids to wear the wrist straps whenever they’re carrying their cameras to avoid lots of dropping.
• Talk about photography. Before we went on our Photo Walk, I had them go online and find a photo that they liked. Just one. It could be a photo of anything that interested them – buildings, flowers, animals. One photo that they found interesting. We printed it out, added it to their photo journals and then shared what they liked about the photo. This led to a conversation about some photography basics. In our case, light and perspective were both discussed. I kept this brief and basic, but we talked about how they photo might have been taken and why they liked the way the subject had been approached.
• When we went on our walk I brought these up again as they were taking photos by saying things like; I wonder how the light would change if you took a photo of that flower from a different angle? or I remember you liked the photo that was taken from a low perspective, have you tried taking a photograph of that tree from that same perspective? or I see you taking a picture of that flower, I wonder how many different interesting ways you could photograph that same flower?

Afterwards:

• We learned how to upload photos onto the computer.
• They reviewed the photos they took and chose a few favorites. Those were printed and then added to their art journals with a sentence about their photo.

Visit an Art Museum

• Visit an art gallery or photography museum.
  The Getty Center in Los Angeles has a building devoted to photography. They also have a lesson plan for middle schoolers about photography. Here in San Diego, Balboa Park has the Museum of Photographic Arts.

We visited the Getty Center which is an amazing free art museum in LA. The architecture and garden is amazing. Make sure to set aside time to explore the garden. That was the part my kids loved best. I also highly recommend the kids scavenger hunts that are available next to the front desk.

There is also a full building devoted to photography which is where we focused our art viewing for this trip.

Ideas to Increase Engagement:

• Check online before you go to see what exhibits are currently showing. Take some time to learn a little more about the artists you’ll be seeing
• Use the info on their website to create a quick scavenger hunt for the photography section of the museum.
• Another option is to have your kids look around and then sketch their favorite photography in their art journal or write about they are inspired to try after viewing the photos.

The Getty
1200 Getty Center Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90049, USA
Open 10a-5p Closed Mondays
Entrance is FREE but you must pay $20 to park and have a reserved timeslot to enter.
Website

Additional Resources for Learning about Photography with Kids

• Great American Artists for Kids
  We are using this book all year to study different styles of art. It covers a range of art forms and artists throughout American history. Ansel Adams and Sandy Skoglund are the photographers included. Each chapter has a little about the featured artist and then an activity related to that artist’s work for your child to try. Buy Online
• Combine Photography and Poetry with this Best Part of Me photography project.

Read More Photography Tips

Mythology hooked my kids in fourth grade. They dove into gods and goddesses, primarily in Greek culture, but learned about mythology from around the world. Here are some of our adventures and resources as they explored the magical world of mythology.

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Field Trip to the Getty Villa

Getty Villa

While in Los Angeles for a weekend we visited the Getty Villa. This is one of the two Getty Museums in LA. It has Greek and Roman antiquities housed in a re-created Roman country home.

The Getty Villa makes a huge effort to be family friendly. There are a lot of activities for families at the museum. The super cool thing for kids who love mythology is that you can take an immersive audio tour of the museum.

My kids absolutely loved having the characters in their ears as they explored the museum on their own personal quest. Access the audio tour here or ask for more info at the information desk.

Getty Villa
17985 Pacific Coast Highway, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272, USA
Open 10a – 5p, Closed Tuesdays
FREE to visit, $20 to park.
Must reserve a time slot online beforehand.
Website

Percy Jackson

Percy Jackson was our way into Mythology and I expect we’re not alone. Once my kids had read THE LIGHTENING THIEF, especially my daughter, they were hooked. Suddenly they wanted to know all about all kinds of mythology.

Percy Jackson Inspired Activities

• Make sure you visit the Rick Riordan website. There is a wealth of information including these Teacher Guides.
• There is a Lightening Thief Unit Study on Proverbial Homemaker.
• Fabulous Classroom has a huge list of resources about Percy Jackson learning inspired by the release of Sea of Monsters on DVD but they would work for a general unit as well in most cases.
• Here are some fun ideas if you want to have a Percy Jackson bookclub meeting from Adventures in Mommydom.

Book Recommendations:

There are SO many Percy Jackson books and related books, but in case your voracious mythology fan needs some more ideas here are some more series we’ve enjoyed.

• Hopeless Heroes series by Stella Tarakson
• Zeus the Mighty series by Crispin Boyer
• Thunder Cluck! Chicken of Thor by Paul Tillery and Meg Wittwer
• Goddess Girls series by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams
• Heroes in Training series by Tracey West
• Nico Bravo graphic novel series by Mike Cavallaro
• Wings of Fire series by Tui T. Sutherland

Mythology

Once my kids were exposed to mythology via Percy Jackson, they seemed to thirst to learn all they could.

Books to Read

• Usborne Illustrated Stories from the Greek Myths
• Myth Atlas: Maps and Monsters, Heroes and Gods from Twelve Mythological Worlds by Thiago de Moraes
• National Geographic Kids: Everything Mythology by Blake Hoena
• Gods and Heroes: Mythology Around the World by Korwin Briggs

Activities

• Impressive and diverse twelve week mythology study that covers all the curriculum areas on Redhead Mom.

Mythical Creatures

Mythical Creatures are some of the most fascinating parts of mythology, especially for kids who are huge animal fans like mine. If you want to go down this rabbit hole, here are some books and activities to explore.

Books to Read

• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by J. K. Rowling
• Mythopedia: What A Beast by Sophia Kelly
• Miss Turie’s Magic Creatures by Joy Keller – This is a cute picture book. If you’re diving into Mythology and Mythical Creatures with an early elementary schooler I definitely recommend this one.
• Wings of Fire series by Tui T. Sutherland is all about dragons that have to save their magical world. These are also good on audio.

Games to Play

• Createures Drawing Deck: This is game / art activity that is loads of fun if your kids enjoy drawing.
• Runes & Regulations: This is a strategy game that’s funny and also plays with mythical creatures.

Read About More Fourth Grade Units

Marine Animals are kind of an obsession in my house. My son has basically minored in sharks the last 3 years and my daughter vacillates between adoring anything from octopus to whale sharks to seashells and more.

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Declaring Marine Biology as one of our homeschool science subjects was an easy decision. We started the year exploring tide pools and learning about whales, then switched gear to study some other areas of science, before circling back again to sharks and Marine Biologists again in the spring.

Below are our favorite field trips and resources for learning all things Marine Biology with upper elementary school kids (so far – I’m sure there will be more).

5 Marine Biology Field Trips

Learning through adventure is a huge way that we explore topics around here. The hands on, real life experiences truly cannot be beat for getting kids exciting, curious, and engaged in learning.

Snorkeling with Leopard Sharks

La Jolla Shores is just a few miles from our house and happens to be the annual mating ground for leopard sharks. Wade into the water just off the beach and there they are. A few tips though because it took us a while to snorkel here successfully:

• Check the surf report before you go. You want the waves to be low and the winds to be light. This will also tell you what is appropriate to wear. The ocean is often cold even in the summer months and a wet suit is helpful if you plan to swim around out there for a while.
• Check the weather as well. You want a nice sunny day to really be able to see clearly in the water.
• Shuffle those feet. Sting rays abound in the same spot so make sure you go slow, shuffle your feet and keep an eye out for sting rays as well. If you do get stung, head to the first lifeguard you can find for treatment.

Read more about snorkeling with kids in this post.

Visit California Sea Lions

We are fortunate to live a quick drive from La Jolla where you can see California Sea Lions and Seals up close in their natural habitat.

Tide Pooling

We love visiting the tide pools at the beach when there is a negative tide. My biggest suggestion is to check the tide pools. You are looking for low tide and preferably a tide lower than -1. The lower the better. Around here in Southern California the winter months are usually the most ideal for tide pooling.

Read More: Top Tips for Tidepooling with Kids

Whale Migration

We are fortunate to live right on the Pacific Coast where seeing the annual gray whale migration is possible. Some years we have gone Whale Watching on a boat but because of Covid we didn’t feel comfortable doing that this year.

However, if you’re lucky it is possible to view the whales from the coast. Cabrillo National Monument offers a great point to view the ocean.

Aquarium or SeaWorld

Obviously, if you want to see marine animals up close, it is hard to beat an aquarium. In San Diego we have both Sea World San Diego and the Birch Aquarium. We have made many, many trips to both.

Children’s Books about Marine Biology

We have read so many books about Marine Biology. Truly almost all of what the San Diego Public Libraries have to offer on the subject and more we’ve ordered or been gifted. SO many books. These are our favorite though – especially for this age group.

Marine Science in the Real World by Carol Hand
About: Marine Biologists
Find Online

Ocean Anatomy: The Curious Parts and Pieces of the World Under the Sea by Julia Rothman
About: All of the Ocean
Find Online

Who Would Win? Hammerhead vs. Bull Shark by Jerry Pallotta and Rob Bolster
About: Sharks
Find Online

Life in a Frozen World: Wildlife of Antarctica
by Mary Batten and Thomas Gonzalez
About: Antarctica, the ocean and animals
Find Online

About Marine Mammals: A Guide for Children
by Cathryn Sill and John Sill
About: Marine Mammals
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Blue Floats Away
by Travis Jonker
About: Ice burgs, water process, climate change
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I Am the Shark
by Joan Holub
illustrated by Laurie Keller
About: Sharks
Find Online

Marine Biology Activities

Back at home, in between adventures outdoors, we explored Marine Biology in a huge range of ways. We used a variety of sources, books, music, hands on activities, experiments and more. Here are some great Marine Biology Resources for kids.

General

These are the two curriculum resources I used as the base for our Marine Biology learning. I took pieces from both, moved stuff around, and added more things – but these two are both a great place to start. They both have lessons on all of the main themes listed below.

Marine Biology Unit from The Good & The Beautiful – free download

Marine Biology for Kids

Learning about Oceans and Tides

• Ocean Song on Ted Ed
• Making Waves Activity from The Ocean Book: Aquarium and Seaside Activities and Ideas for All Ages
• Watch: The Magic School Bus Goes to Mussel Beach (on Netflix) and printable activities from Scholastic.

Learning about Tidepools

• You can’t replace actually visiting a tidepool. If this is a possibility in your area then I highly recommend it. Remember to check the tide tables (available online) for a negative tide so you’re actually able to see things!
• Read Ocean Soup: Tide-Pool Poems by Stephen R. Swinburne. It has facts about each animal alongside each poem. Afterwards, pick the animal you have the most questions about and research more information.

Learning about Rivers, Streams and Lakes

• Learn about frogs with Melissa Stewarts A PLACE FOR FROGS and her awesome learning ideas on her blog. I used the Teacher’s Guide that is on the right hand side bar.

Learning about Marine Life

General:

• Watch: The Magic School Bus Gets Eaten (on Netflix) and printable activity from Scholastic.

Sharks:

• Shark Week Unit Ideas has a full list of all of the fun shark activities we have done in the past few years.
• Watch: Shark Documentaries on Disney+ (SharkFest is one of our favorites)

Seals & Sea Lions

• Research. Gather a stack of books specifically about seals/sea lions and some that are just generally about marine animals and include pinnipeds. Take turns sharing information about both seals and sea lions. Create a Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting them.
• Blubber Experiment. This experiment works with many ocean animals (whales, polar bears, etc) but we did it with our mini-seals and sea lions unit. As part of fourth grade science we are focusing on animal adaptations. After the experiment, have your kids write or discuss how the adaptation of blubber is important for seals and sea lions.
• Watch: TedEd Video about Sea Lions

Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises

• Measure out the lengths of different whales outside and mark them on the ground with chalk.
• Read The Secret Life of Whales by Rena Ortega. An absolutely stunning book about all things whale.
• Read LITTLE WHALE and talked about migration. Map your favorite or local whale’s migration path on a map or the globe.
• We also enjoyed the Play the Lunch with Whales Game in the Marine Science for Kids book.
• Watch: Secrets of the Whales series on Disney+

Final Animal Projects

At the end of our Marine Biology Unit, my kids each did a presentation on one animal of their choice. This allowed me to assess a lot of common core standards (speaking, coherent presentation and writing, research skills, organization, use of technology, etc.) and was a fun way for them to dive in deep on an animal they love.

• Pick an animal.
• Do research. My kids used this Graphic Organizer to take notes while they researched and prepared their presentations. You can DOWNLOAD IT FOR FREE HERE.
• Pick a way to present and prepare a presentation.
• Present animal projects to family (or classroom).

Still More Ocean Ideas:

• 20+ Ocean Unit Activity Ideas for Kindergarten and First Grade
• Sea Turtle Unit for Preschoolers

Tucked into the lower level of the Casa de Balboa Building on the Prado in Balboa Park is the San Diego Model Railroad Museum. Don’t let the basement entrance fool you, at 27,000 sq. ft., it is the largest such indoor model train exhibit in North America, and one of the largest in the world.

Trains have been an interest in our house for a long time. My son fell in love with Thomas the Tank engine when he was about two and from there he dove into all things trains. By 3 he could tell you not just the name and type of every engine on the island of Sodor, but also everything from how a diesel engine worked to how fast a bullet train could fly down it’s rails. Whether you have a Thomas the Tank engine fan or a grandparent with a lifelong love of model trains or someone somewhere in between, the San Diego Model Railroad Museum has something for everyone.

Also Read: In Depth Look at Balboa Park for Families

San Diego Model Railroad Museum

If you have a train fan in your family, the San Diego Model Railroad Museum is not to be missed. It is wonderful for all ages – from toddlers all the way through grandparents. All train enthusiasts are welcome.

Basic Information:

San Diego Model Railroad Museum
1649 El Prado
San Diego, CA 92101

Check the website for current hours and pricing. Right now (Summer 2021) they are only open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays 11am – 4pm. Note: there is a military discount and the SD Model Railroad Museum is included if you have the Balboa Explorer Pass.

Website: https://www.sdmrm.org/

Tips for Visiting with Kids

• Come early. Like all things, it is less crowded the earlier you go. There was a small line when we arrived shortly before opening but once inside, even on a summer day, it didn’t feel overly crowded.
• If you have kids over about 7 years old, I highly recommend the scavenger hunt. You can pick it up just inside the entrance, after you’ve paid. There is a little stand in front of the end of the first exhibit when printed scavenger hunts. It helped my kids slow down and really look at all the incredibly detailed miniature worlds.
• Bathrooms are located outside the entrance, down the hall from the Model Railroad Museum. I had my kids try before we entered.
• If you’re there with smaller kids who don’t have the attention span to check out every single inch of the museum, make sure you don’t miss the outside area with the tram and the toy train room. Both are at the back of the museum.
• In the toy train room Thomas runs around the bottom of one of the exhibits. He’s the perfect height for tots and there’s a button you can take turns pushing to make him go.
• The whole museum is very kid friendly with interactive elements and steps for kids to get up higher for a better view.

Trains of all sizes. Fantastic details in the scenes around them. Interactive elements. Enthusiastic employees and volunteers. It is a really fun place to visit.

Terrific Train Ideas for Kids Who Love Trains

When my son was a preschooler he could not get enough of trains. We read all the train books. We rode all the nearby trains. He toddled around in his Thomas the Tank Engine boots and train engineer hat everywhere we went. If you have a kid in this phase, then a visit to the San Diego Model Railroad Museum is perfect, but what about when you get home? Here are some of our favorite ways to extend train play and learning after a fun field trip like visiting SDMRM.

Ideas from San Diego Model Railroad Museum

1. The San Diego Model Railroad Museum has a special page on their website for kids. It has storytime videos you can watch, coloring pages to print and more.
2. Thomas Fans! There is also a Thomas Page on their website that allows you to explore the Island of Sodor and More.

Literacy Activities

3. Read books about trains. This Ultimate List of Picture Books about Trains from My Storytime Corner is a great place to start.

4. Alphabet Train from Teach Beside Me

5. Freight Train Name Craft from Clare’s Little Tots

6. DIY Foam Train for Easy Bathtime Fun and Learning from Bambini Travel (also works with numbers!)

Math Activities

7. Train Carriage Counting Game from Rainy Day Mum

8. Transportation I Spy and Graph Printable from School Time Snippets

9. Chocolate Train Cookies from Inspiration Laboratories

10. Geometric Shapes Train from Mama Smiles

11. Train Track Card Game for Preschoolers from Preschool Powol Packets

Science, Technology and Engineering Activities

12. Transportation Playdough Mat from The Moments at Home

13. Transportation Sand and Water Play from My Bored Toddler

14. Fingerprint Train Ornament for Kids from The Educators’ Spin On It

Art & Fine Motor Activities

15. Freight Train Drawing Prompts from My Storytime Corner

16. Painting with Trains on Canvas by Play Trains

17. Build a Train from School Time Snippets

18. Train-Themed Unwrapping by Craftulate

19. Transportation Connect the Dots by Craftulate

Movement Activities

20. Easy DIY Paper Train Table for Kids from Toddler Approved

21. Polar Express Storytime with Yoga Routine from My Storytime Corner

You May Also Like:
50+ Kid Friendly Things to do in San Diego

California History is the social studies focus for fourth graders in California. Growing up in Wisconsin, I learned about Wisconsin history so this unit was almost entirely new information to me as well. We had so much fun exploring the diverse geography, history and people of California.

affiliate links are included

California Basic Facts

I used CALIFORNIA HISTORY FOR KIDS as the foundation for our study of California history this year. It covers California history from Natives and Early Explorers through modern issues like forest fires and pollution. It felt a lot less textbook like to read together than other options that I looked at and had some fun activities to do along the way.

My fourth graders also did a page in a California Dailies Workbook each week that helped to cover some of the basic facts, dates, and such we might have missed otherwise.

California Geography

California is one of the most diverse states in the United States. It has coastal areas, farmlands, mountains, and deserts. Helping my kids appreciate that diversity was a big goal this year and we visited each of these areas this year.

• Did Minecraft STEM Labs activities about maps, ecosystems, and city planning.
• Used California Region and State Pages from This Reading Mama state pack.

Coastal Region of California

• Visited Torrey Pines
• Took a field trip to see the La Jolla Sea Lions and learned more about sea lions with Good and Beautiful Marine Biology unit.
• Read: THE TREE LADY: THE TRUE STORY OF HOW ONE TREE-LOVING WOMAN CHANGED A CITY FOREVER by Joseph H. Hopkins

Desert Region of California

• visit Joshua Tree National Park. Visiting Death Valley National Park or Anza Borrego State Park would also be great choices.
• Visited the Balboa Cactus Garden and California Plant Garden at Balboa Park.
• Watch: Magic School Bus Dries Up and do activities on Scholastic

Forest/Mountain Region of California

• Visited Sequoia & King Canyon National Parks.
• Took weekly hikes at Mount Laguna in the Cleveland National Forest an hour from San Diego.
• Learned about Forest Fires

Farm Region of California

• I wish we could have visited Napa or a larger farming area, but we did visit an orange farm.
• We learned about what is grown in California and cooked with avocadoes and lemons.

California National Parks

California has some incredible National Parks and Fourth Grade is also the year that you can get a free National Park Pass for the whole family. Visiting the different California National Parks is an excellent way to support learning about California Geography and deepen your nature studies for the year.

Read: The Camping Trip That Changed America about Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir by Barb Rosenstock

Redwoods National Park

Sequoia and Kings Canyon

Joshua Tree National Park

Cabrillo National Monument

California History

We started the year by creating a huge timeline that we added to throughout the year as we traveled through time. Then we went chronologically through California history starting with Native Californians.

1500s – Early California History

Native Californians – We learned about tribes native to Southern California. This was a fun unit with lots of history and geography, but also art activities, awesome read alouds and more. READ FULL UNIT POST

Juan Cabrillo – read about him in our CA History book and then visited Cabrillo National park.

1700s – Spanish Missions

Father Junipero Serra founds the first California mission in San Diego. We visited the local Mission Basilica SD De Alcala. Then later in the year we went to Mission San Juan Capistrano in Oceanside. It is a bigger, beautiful mission with a free audio tour with admission. You could visit any of the other 21 California Missions up and down the coast of California.

1800s – Wars and Explorers

In 1821 Mexico gained independence from Spain and the Missions ended. This is a brief period before explorers start heading westward from the United States on the East coast. This led to the 1846-1948 Mexican-American War and then soon after the Gold Rush and statehood. This portion of history comes to life at Old Town San Diego.

Old Town San Diego represents life in the Mexican and early American periods of 1821 to 1872. It is a wonderful spot for a field trip with plenty of hands on activities and experiences. You can learn more about Old Town San Diego State Park on the CA State Park site. Girl Scouts San Diego also has a fun scavenger hunt (that can earn you a patch if you are in fact a Girl Scout) for Old Town San Diego.

Gold Rush, Telegraph, Pony Express, Transcontinental Railroad & Statehood

In 1848, James Marshall discovered gold at Sutter’s Mill and California’s path changed forever. As the Gold Rush began and people flocked to the west coast in search of fortune, statehood wasn’t far behind. California became the 31st state in 1850.

• Pan for gold, if you’re in the San Diego area you can do this at Old Town State Park and in Julian CA
• Read What Was the Goldrush
• Play Oregon Trail Card Game
• Built model covered wagons

What followed was a burst of development. The development of new forms of communication and transportation played a large part of these transformations.

• Read: Ride On, Will Cody!: A Legend of the Pony Express by Caroline Starr Rose to learn about the Pony Express.
• In 1861, telegraph messages began to reach California. Write notes to each other using Morse Code. Here are some more related activities from Education.com

Then in 1869 the Transcontinental Railroad was completed.

• Read Locomotive
• Cook food from The US History Cookbook. We made a Coast to Coast Apple Pie.

1900s: San Francisco

If you can visit San Francisco, it is such a fun city for families. Here’s a peek at our 48 hours in San Francisco during our California Road Trip.

Learn about the Golden Gate bridge and the 1906 Earthquake in San Francisco. We read What Was the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 to dive in more deeply about the Earthquake and how it shaped the state.

• Earthquake math place value activity from Orison Orchards
• Earthquake videos ( 1906 Earthquake – Why Do Buildings Fall in Earthquakes – Why Are Earthquakes so Hard to Predict )
• I used this free Earthquake worksheet to assess what my kids learned and document for their portfolios.

Movies & Film in California

1927 First movie with sound created. Film Capitol established.

• Visit Hollywood, Disneyland or Universal Studios if you are able.
• Read Who Was Walt Disney?
• Watched Imagineers docuseries on Disney+
• Read about Disney and history of movies in CA in California History for Kids

1941 World War II

• Visit Unconditional Surrender Statue and USS Midway
• Read On The Horizon by Lois Lowry
• Japanese Internment Camps which was included in our Japan Unit

Immigration

1965 Immigration increases with new laws

• Read: Between Us and Abuela
• Read: Santiago’s Way Home

Final Project

At the end of the Spring, each of my kids picked one topic from California History they were most interested in and created a presentation on it. They needed to explain the topic (how it was invented, the general history of it) and then explain how it impacted California History. My son did his on the Transcontinental Railroad and my daughter did hers on Disney and Film.

Apple picking season is upon us! We headed to nearby Vulcan Apple Farm in Julian CA early in the morning for some homeschool U-Pick awesomeness, Covid style.

Apple picking is a yearly expedition for us. We’ve gone every year with our twins since they were old enough to strap into a Baby Bjorn. Over the years we’ve learned some tips – these are the best ones: Apple Farm Field Trip Tips.

This year I was a little nervous though. With my Cystic Fibrosis we have been very isolated at home and hesitant to go most places. I know everyone feels different about this, but personally with inconsistent mask wearing in San Diego I don’t feel comfortable venturing out a lot. Apple picking seemed like a naturally distant activity though so I decided to give it a try.

However, if you don’t feel comfortable venturing to your area farm or you don’t have one close enough, this Apple Orchard post from The Educator’s Spin On It has a great collection of virtual field trip experiences related to Apple Farms.

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Field Trip Prep

The night before I prepped for our Apple Farm field trip. I packed and prepped:

• Snacks for the car and for a small picnic.
• Cash (needed to purchase some things at the farm)
• Loaded a new audiobook for the kids to listen to on the ride (we listened to The One and Only Ivan)
• Made sure we had face masks for each of us (required by the farm!)
• Sunscreen (this has been my favorite for a while now!)
• Made sure the car had gas

Apple Picking Vulcan Apple Farm in Julian CA

Vulcan Apple farm is located in Julian CA about an hour from San Diego. There are quite a few farms in Julian, but Vulcan is one of the biggest and had taken precautions for Covid19 this year.

We visited Vulcan Apple farm last year as well and it was largely the same experience. The main difference is that face masks are required for visiting to pick apples right now. I hope they are good about enforcing this so people like me can continue to feel comfortable enjoying apple season.

When we visited it was early in the morning on a Friday. There were definitely people there but nothing like we’ve seen on the weekends in previous years. If you’re worried about social distancing then I highly recommend a weekday morning. Heading into the farm, the line was spaced out, everyone was wearing a mask, and the attendants taking money avoiding any contact.

Vulcan Apple Farm has plenty of apples in several different varieties. We had zero problems filling our apple bags.

After we were done picking apples, we bought apple cider from their stand (cash only!) which was cold and delicious. We drank it and ate a snack at one of the picnic tables. Because there were so few people this again was easy to do while maintaining plenty of distance. If it were busier we would have brought the cider back to the car.

Then we headed home, via Julian Pie Co, with all of our apples.

Quick Farm Facts:
Vulcan Apple Farm
Julian, CA
Facebook Page
$12/bag (Cash or Credit)
$1 if you want to enter but not pick.
Military Discount Available

Other Farm Recommendations:

• Afton Apple Farm in Minnesota
• Alstede Farm in New Jersey
• 31 Apple Farms in NJ PA DE MD from One Day in Our Shoes

Apple Activities to do at Home

Back at home, there are so many apple themed ways to delve into whatever your learning goals are right now. Below are some of our favorites for ages 5 through 10 or Kindergarten through fifth grade.

Cooking with Apples (and Kids!)

• Apple Oat Cookies from Goodie Goodie Lunchbox
• Apple Pancakes from Healthy Little Foodie
• Apple Pancakes from Crafty Mom Share
• Apple Pie Bliss Bits from Goodie Goodie Lunchbox
• Caramel Apple Nachos from Taste Galaxy
• Cinnamon Apple Peels from Mama Smiles
• Easy Instant Pot Apple Caramel Cheesecake from Taste Galaxy
• Mini Apple Pies Recipe from The Educator’s Spin On It
• Nut Free Apple and Sunflower Seed Muesli Bars from Goodie Goodie Lunchbox
• Orange Flavored Applesauce from Mama Smiles

Arts and Crafts

• Apple Picking Read and Create from My Storytime Corner
• Apple Stamping Pumpkins Craft from The Crazy Outdoor Mama
• Pop Art Apple Coloring printable from Art with Jenny K
• Printable Letter A Crafts from Fun With Mama

Reading and Writing

• 6 Free and Fun Apple Themed Printables from Homebound but Hopeful
• Apple Farm Storytime with Apple Song Printable from My Storytime Corner
• Antonym Apples printable game from The Speech Bubble
• Apple Adjectives activity
• Free Printable Apple Worksheets from The Keeper of Memories
• Great Apple Themed Picture Book Recommendations and other fun apple themed activities on Crafty Mom Share
• Parts of an Apple Read and Color Printable Book from JDaniel4’s Mom

STEM

• Apples vs. Ball Stem Experiment
• Apple Taste Test with Editable Printables and Place Cards from JDaniel4’s Mom
• Apple Tasting Fun with Printable from Hopebound but Hopeful
• Types of Apples printable pack from Mrs. Hansen’s Helpfuls I put this under Science, but this is an awesome large pack that covers a lot of curriculum areas.

Also Read: Fall Unit for K and First Grade

Dinosaur skeletons were towering on either side of me as I fast walked through the Natural History Museum trying to keep up with my twins. I was starting to sweat, my shoulder felt like it was going to have a permanent strap mark from the weight of my bag, and I was frustrated. The dinosaur skeletons that I had lugged that heavy bag and two children on two trains to see were a blur as they quickly zoomed from one thing to the next.

We needed to slow down.

affiliate links are included below. 

Towards the corner of one of the exhibit halls I saw a bench and quickly asked if they wanted a drink of water. Gratefully setting down the bag, I started hunting for their water bottles and saw something that might just give me a moment to catch my breath.

The adventure journals were about to save our day.

3 Reasons Every Field Trip Needs an Adventure Journal

Since that morning our Adventure Journals (which I have since dubbed them because it just makes them sound more awesome) have saved many adventures and field trips. They have taken up permanent residence in that big bag of mine. In fact, they are one of the few things I don’t mind lugging at all because of the wonderful things they do for us.

1. Slow Down + Process

On that exhausting day at the museum I pulled out the journals with the water and ushered them onto the bench. I said we were going to sit for a moment and look around with our eyes.

What did they see? What was the best part of that room? How could they record that in their adventure journal so we never forgot what they saw? For about 10-15 minutes they sat and drew a picture or dictated ideas to me.

Those moments are nice, but more importantly when we get back up from these breaks they are often calmer. They still move quickly, but they seem to carry those questions with them and slow down to process what they are seeing a little better.

2. Literacy Opportunities

Anytime you can make writing meaningful it does wonders for encouraging literacy skills. Here they are capturing their adventure experience. They draw. They dictate labels and stories. It is important to them so they don’t see it as work.

Now at 5 my twins are starting to write some of their own words down. They are inspired to record these ideas so they work with me to sound out words and carefully write them in their journals.

3. Simple Waiting Activity

Travel with kids often includes a lot of waiting and sitting. In the car. On the subway. In lobbies. In restaurants. My kids end up waiting A LOT and it is not a strength of theirs.

With the Adventure Journals always tucked in my bag, we can use them to help us wait. We can draw or write about what we did. We can play drawing games – shared drawings are our favorites. We can stick stickers in there or write secret messages. They are one more simple tool to have to aid my kids during these times.

How to Start Your Own Adventure Journals Today

SO easy.

Find or Order a small notebook or journal (we have these cute monster ones) and gather some writing materials. My kids prefer having pens and colored pencils. 

Put them together in a ziploc bag or some other small baggie or pocket of your backpack.

Bring them on your next adventure and pull them out occasionally. Your tired shoulders and antsy children will thank you.

Also Read: 20+ Indoor and Outdoor Field Trip Ideas

There is something incredibly empowering about being high up in a skyscraper peering down at the city and teeny people below you.

This is universally true for all ages which is likely why experiences like going up in the Empire State Building or One World Trade Center exist. Even someone terrified by the experience, like me, can appreciate the awesomeness of this.

affiliate links are included below.

My kids, as you may know, are fascinated by skyscrapers. We did a whole homeschool preschool skyscraper unit building, reading, and otherwise exploring skyscrapers. When they found out we were moving to New York City this is the thing they were most excited about being near. (Their aunt and uncle were a close second!)

Going up in a skyscraper was high on their must-do list so we made it happen as soon as possible. If you are contemplating heading up in the One World Trade Center will little ones there are some things that are helpful to know.

5 Tips to Know Before You Go

Whether you are skyscraper enthusiasts like our twins or enjoy getting a view of the city (this is a great one) or are curious about the One World Trade Center after 9/11, these are great tips to know before you go visit.

1. New Yorkers Like to Wait

I’m joking of course, because I doubt they actually enjoy the experience but I am fairly certain that the average New Yorker spend more time waiting than any other US citizen. Lines are everywhere and waiting it just a way of life.

Children on the other hand do not like to wait. If you’re a parent, you are well aware of this unfortunate state of events. This is to say expect to wait and have some ideas of how you might pass the time. We have recently fallen in love with this Disney Found It Game to help us pass the time when we have to wait.

2. Entrance Times Can Be Reserved Ahead of Time

Go on the website beforehand and reserve a time. This won’t completely eliminate the wait time, but it will be significantly reduced.

The downside is that you are committed to a date and time. If you leave yourself extra time and choose your time/date wisely this is doable.

Your other option to avoid waiting forever is to pay quite heavily for an express pass which will cut you to the front of the line.

3. Consider the Weather

This is may be obvious, but going up in a tall building on a gray or foggy day is less fun. Your visibility is substantially less and no one will be impressed by your high up view of gray – least of all your toddler.

Tickets are non-refundable except in extreme circumstances.

4. Little Kids are Free

At least as of August 2019, children under 5 are free but they do need a ticket. This was huge for us! It was half the cost to go up in the One World Trade Center as it will be in another year.

5. Use the Bathroom Beforehand

This is likely my number #1 tip for all things New York – but insist that your child try to use the bathroom whenever you are near a restroom. There are times this will feel redundant, but just do it.

The number of places in New York City where there are no restrooms significantly outweighs the spots where they do exist.

There are bathrooms once you are past security inside and up in the tower, but during that waiting period outside and before security you are a bit out of luck.

Our twins loved our trip to the One World Trade Center. They loved searching for different buildings and seeing how small everything and everyone looked below us. One of their favorite parts was the Sky Portal which makes it appear like you are walking on the taxicabs and people below you.

At the end of the day, choose your date and time wisely and plan ahead. Do that and the One World Trade Center is a wonderful experience for all ages.

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