We moved slowly through this, yet again. We added in some additional learning (Spelling) and that did present a learning curve. I admit with a houseful of needs I am always trying to stay ahead and on task. I want to provide for all of the needs of all of the people, while still keeping my smile on.
More coffee, please?
And somehow we are still going and still loving what we are learning after the first couple of weeks.
And the big kids are learning well, keeping themselves on task (most of the time).
And the toddler is not coloring on walls (I think) and the baby is fed.
and two weeks are done with these two.
More coffee, please?
And somehow we are still going and still loving what we are learning after the first couple of weeks.
And the big kids are learning well, keeping themselves on task (most of the time).
And the toddler is not coloring on walls (I think) and the baby is fed.
and two weeks are done with these two.
On to our overview
Air
Air
Our Air unit was very simple. We did a few fun experiments, played some simple games and made a couple of crafts together.
We read
Science with Air, Usborne Science Experiments
A favorite craft this time was this
Wind Vane
and it really works. It is simple to put together. You need just a few basic supplies.
a pencil
a paper straw
a pin
a ball of playdough
paper pieces (we cut these out free hand for the arrow)
a paper plate
Step One
Add your North, East, South and West to your paper plate.
Step Two
Create notches in your straw for your arrow die cuts, then slide the pieces into those notches.
Step Three
Add a nice round ball of playdough to the center of your paper plate. Then, stick your pencil, eraser side up, into your dough. Make sure you poke it into the center of your circle and push until it is firm and steady.
Step Four
Poke your needle through your paper straw and then into the pencil eraser. Make sure to also center the pin into the center of the eraser, and push down nice and firmly. You will want to play with the straw and pin a bit until it spins freely.
Now you are ready to watch the AIR spin your straw and find the direction of that air as wind! This was well timed along with creating a compass with our Columbus studies.
and we created musical pipes
This simple craft stick with varying sizes of straws was quite a hit. We glued them securely to a craft stick with hot glue. We even had our own parade through the house!
Our favorite experiments
We used a large plastic bottle and submerged it into a tub of water to see what would happen...
and we saw lots of bubbles!
We learned that most things that look empty are actually full of air.
Having a juice box is a pretty special treat around here and this was a great way to experiment with air, from blowing bubbles to emptying the box of juice and then filling it back up with air. This was really fun. and simple.
and simple is so nice for this busy mommy.
Our favorite game "Paper Races" was a huge hit from our air unit was the simplest thing we could have chosen, and I am highly recommending it if you are studying air with your children. All you need are pieces of paper, with a small fold on one end, and some cardboard. You use the cardboard to simply "fan" the paper. As you fan the paper, it cruises forward. We found facing the edge that was folded and bent upwards towards us as we fanned was most effective. We also taped a start and finish line, too, with masking tape on the floor. I think they would have played this all day if that were allowed. I am so glad it was included in our reading this week!
We read
Science with Air, Usborne Science Experiments
A favorite craft this time was this
Wind Vane
and it really works. It is simple to put together. You need just a few basic supplies.
a pencil
a paper straw
a pin
a ball of playdough
paper pieces (we cut these out free hand for the arrow)
a paper plate
Step One
Add your North, East, South and West to your paper plate.
Step Two
Create notches in your straw for your arrow die cuts, then slide the pieces into those notches.
Step Three
Add a nice round ball of playdough to the center of your paper plate. Then, stick your pencil, eraser side up, into your dough. Make sure you poke it into the center of your circle and push until it is firm and steady.
Step Four
Poke your needle through your paper straw and then into the pencil eraser. Make sure to also center the pin into the center of the eraser, and push down nice and firmly. You will want to play with the straw and pin a bit until it spins freely.
Now you are ready to watch the AIR spin your straw and find the direction of that air as wind! This was well timed along with creating a compass with our Columbus studies.
and we created musical pipes
This simple craft stick with varying sizes of straws was quite a hit. We glued them securely to a craft stick with hot glue. We even had our own parade through the house!
Our favorite experiments
We used a large plastic bottle and submerged it into a tub of water to see what would happen...
and we saw lots of bubbles!
We learned that most things that look empty are actually full of air.
Having a juice box is a pretty special treat around here and this was a great way to experiment with air, from blowing bubbles to emptying the box of juice and then filling it back up with air. This was really fun. and simple.
and simple is so nice for this busy mommy.
Our favorite game "Paper Races" was a huge hit from our air unit was the simplest thing we could have chosen, and I am highly recommending it if you are studying air with your children. All you need are pieces of paper, with a small fold on one end, and some cardboard. You use the cardboard to simply "fan" the paper. As you fan the paper, it cruises forward. We found facing the edge that was folded and bent upwards towards us as we fanned was most effective. We also taped a start and finish line, too, with masking tape on the floor. I think they would have played this all day if that were allowed. I am so glad it was included in our reading this week!
We continued on in our Early American History studies focusing on the life and adventures of
Columbus
The notebook pages were a bit better this time around.
And I cannot tell you enough how much we LOVED this book! It was our favorite read aloud, yet, this year! They really enjoyed hearing the perspective of those children who were close to their age and what it would have been like for them. We are really going to look forward to when we get to pull out this book this year!
and we added Beautiful Feet Early American History
Lessons 11-20
Lessons 11-20
We enjoyed the notebooking together. There was a lot of improvement in just a short time. I notice better and better handwriting and coloring as they have begun to appreciate their notebooks. I am excited to see the books at the end of the year and how they compare to the beginning.
In lesson 19 of the Beautiful Feet Early American History Primary Study Guide
the children were instructed to create a map of Columbus' first voyage to the New World in their notebooks. In place of that we decided to create these maps using grocery bags.
These are FAR from perfect. Not much like the ones we had seen online. I am realizing it is more important to me that they can complete the activities themselves, than to have ones that look so "neat and perfect". I know they are learning more this way, and they also have a wonderful sense of accomplishment at what they made. themselves. with little help.
and hopefully they are learning that this learning stuff, it is supposed to be fun.
We also made little ships recycling egg crates, instead of drawing some on the map. We made up some of our favorite playdough (adding some blue natural food coloring) and topped them with simple paper flags/labels with some craft sticks.
We also used the leftover scraps from the bags to create these fun "props". We used them to act out the story together. The hats were created from recycled bags and simple spyglasses we created used both paper towel rolls and tissue paper rolls.
Come back soon to see more of our learning adventures.
No comments:
Post a Comment