Here are 50 Snow Day Boredom Busters. Make a numbered list the ones you like and have the supplies you already own. Write numbers on to popsicle sticks. Select one at random whenever the kiddos start to whinge. Make your own list: knit, bake (while the power is still on), play a board game, build catapults and knock things down in the basement, complete a puzzle, etc. Let your imagination roll!
we get the snow or ice forecasted, we’re all going to need some ideas. What about unplugged coding? This article’s Code a Friend’, ‘A Loopy Routine, etc are ideal for siblings. It has simple activities, such as origami, to help kiddos understand the concepts underlying coding. Start with ASCII Code and make a Binary Bracelet, necklace, code with Twizzlers, knit in Binary Code (I knit a scarf in binary.), create a game with egg cartons, and Code a Snowman. If your wifi doesn’t crash, learn to code with MIT’s Scratch. We needed a book to work through the steps to get the kitty to jump. I hope everyone impacted by the up-coming storm stays safe!
If your kiddos like coding, they might like secret codes. This introduction to ciphers includes Morse code, Pigpen Cipher, the Phonetic Alphabet, Tap Code, Grid Code, and more. Here, here, and here are Morse codes to decipher. Make a decoder wheel. Have you tried cryptograms? They are like secret codes and very addicting. Here is a free site. It’s easier to solve cryptograms if you copy them on to paper. Would you like to write a secret message? The ACS Invisible Ink uses alcohol, turmeric, and sudsy ammonia. This invisible ink involves a white crayon and water colors. Have you tried Lemon Juice Invisible Ink? HST Invisible Ink includes the type I use with phenolphthalein (PHTH) and another with cobalt chloride, which looks fun, too. If you use PHTH, and test it with Windex, be sure the Windex has ammonia. I just use a little sudsy ammonia.
As a teacher, I had any number of science textbooks available. Often private school teachers have the autonomy to select their textbooks, unlike public school teachers. I did like several of the mass-marketed textbooks. However, I’m sticking with Apologia’s Science textbooks for all grades. Why? They are Christian. I don’t have to worry about odd propaganda inserted to make the textbook more current. (I’m looking at you Climate Change!). The National Biology and National Chemistry groups are promoting Next Generation Science Storylines currently. Previously there was a huge push for Project Based Learning (PBL) and Flipped Classroom. (Look at the NSTA conference to get an idea about current trends.). Science teachers try to insert the basics of their disciplines around the current instructional flavor. You don’t have to navigate trends.
Sooner or later, science teachers revert to the basics. Stick with Apologia’s textbooks. The core topics, ideas, and skill sets are all there. Apologia understands the hand of God is written over every aspect of science. Do I supplement? Yes, all the time. I know teens need more problem sets in Chem than Apologia offers. I like to add labs, such as the Bubble Membrane or a lesson such as Borneo Cats (unintended consequences) to Bio. I’ll raid any number of Physical Science textbooks to add fun labs. But at the core is Apologia. I’m sticking with the fundamentals.
I love thrift stores. I have had great luck with Good Will online. Check back regularly to see what kind of deals they have available. Don’t forget to check the shipping. I’m trying to resist the magnetic stirrer. I know from experience I rarely use it. Why? Kids dump the little magnet bars down the drain before you can say, ‘Wait! Watch out!’ Determine a max price for any bid which includes shipping. Happy hunting!
Let me do a deep dive in how to structure an AP course. Let’s tackle AP Language and Composition. First look at everything on College Board: Course Description. College Board has more materials if you join as a teacher. The issue is the audited syllabus—a bear! It must be approved by an administrator. Don’t worry. There is plenty of material to use on the web.
1. Here are materials from College Board, such as Quill and AP Teachers’ Recommended Sites, Rhetoric, Chief Reader Comments, and Argument. Download freebies from TPT. Look for syllabi: Mr.Rosenberg, Montgomery Schools, Golden Valley, and Texas Tech. These look like audited syllabi for College Board, which requires loads of details for approval. You’ll get a good idea about the course’s scope and sample assignments.
2. Look for great, summer assignments: Walden, Scenarios, Thank you for Arguing (Guide), Course Videos, Analysis Charts, Several Assignments, and Intro Essay. Summer assignments are used by teachers to launch their classes. You can, too!
3. Dig for FRQs. Free Response Questions (FRQs) are part of the AP exam. I use released FRQs as quizzes. Here are tips and samples. Here are FRQs from 1981-2025. Look at Sample Student Responses. These explain how a given FRQ is awarded points. Here is another example.
4. Locate released exams, the multiple-choice questions: 2007 Test and 2007 answers, 2015 (has answers), Princeton Review Sample Test, High School Test Prep, and College Board Practice Test. Use these exclusively for testing. Really.
5. Study Guides are also useful: AP Lang Study Guide, Marco Learning, and Matterton Middle High. Look for how-to sites: How to Write Lang Argument, Argument Guide, and Test Taking Tips.
6. Look at teachers’ websites: Mrs.Rosen, Ms Effie, Mrs.Walsh, and Avon Grove. Look for a detailed website and follow their schedule and assignments. Look at pacing guides.
7. Look for published book guides: Scarlet Letter, Emily Dickinson, Great Gatsby, and Flannery O’Conner.
In another life I taught AP science classes. I was an AP instructor, Reader, Table Leader, and College Board consultant. I taught AP Bio (once), and AP Chem and AP Environmental Science several times. These are grueling to teach. You might want to consider just taking a college class. If your heart is set on AP, let me give you a bit of help. First, here are the test dates for May 2026. Here is my first tip: Take the test on the date assigned—not the make-up date. The make-up test is no harder; it’s graded very strictly, however. Khan Academy offers AP courses. There are Openstax AP courses, too: AP Bio, AP Physics, AP Chem, and U.S. History (supposed to be AP).
Before you take on an AP subject look at the courses description: AP Literature and Language, AP Language and Composition, and AP Eng Lang FRQs. Look for tips: On Your Mark, AP Bio First Time, or Seven Tips. Find teacher weeblys. School districts love to change learning management systems. In self defense, teacher create their own websites. Teachers post their resources: AP U.S., A.P.Bio, AP Lang, and AP Stats. Look at POGILS, especially for science courses. But, here is a POGIL for Claim-Evidence-Reasoning, which is used in AP Lang. Every discipline or course has its own subset of resources, such as Quill, HHMI, National Constitutional Center, and AP Stats. There are also Facebook Groups for just about every course.
I do not want to be discouraging. By all means, if you have an undergrad major in one of the AP courses, go for it! Just bear in mind, if your teen passes the exam, he or she gets college credit. It’s intended to be hard. It is!
