Having Fun with Math

We put away our Math books away last week for the year. I searched my files for an Math idea that would be creative and a bit challenging for my bunch. With a grade level range from Pre-K to 4th this can be a bit of a challenge to please both of my boys on either grade level ends. This we had fun building geometric shapes. I found the large dome you see in the picture from a blog called the Crafty Crow. The geometric dome is made using recycled newspapers. You will need 100 full sheets to accomplish this building task. I had the kids count out 4 large sheets and then we rolled them into 25 rolls. Using 15 of the rolls 5 triangles are constructed and stapled together and joined at the top to connect each one. The final last 5 tubes are made into a tube star and staple to the top. Please search the Crafty Crow site it has a more detailed step by step process with pictures included.
For the the other geometric shapes I had an old AIMS handout from my teaching days in the school system. The handout suggested clay but I used gumdrops to make it fun for the kids. Use toothpicks and the gum drops just like you would Tinkertoy to create geometric designs. We discussed vertexces, edges and faces of a geometric shape. It was a bit of a challenge for my younger two but I offered a hand for my daughter and she caught on real fast. For my Cowboy he had sun with just 1 dimensional shapes.

Have fun with Math this week! I'm not quite sure what I have planned for this next week in Math. I will have to put on my thinking cap for this one.

Alaska & Hawaii 5/12-5/16/08

Here are the activities that we did for both Alaska and Hawaii....

1. Mapping skills

2. Learn about polar bears and life on the Tundra. Last year while we were camping in the Rocky Mountain National Park we drove through and visited the Tundra areas. They are nothing quite like the ones in Alaska but they got the idea that the snow never melts and trees no longer grow at certain elevations.

3. Eskimos The kids made their own igloo out of a Styrofoam ball. After I cut the Styrofoam balls in half I had the kids scoop out the middle with a spoon. Then they cut a door. Dancer is still using it for her dolls.

4. For Hawaii we learned how pineapple are grown and harvested.

5. We tasted some strawberry, pineapple and banana smoothies. Yum Yum!

I know we could of done more stuff for these two states and several others that we didn't do justice for but I was glad to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. This unit was very long this year.

Here is a list of the books that we read for this Region:

- Sled Dogs Run - Jonthan London

- A Polar Bear Journey - Debbie Miller

- Life in the Tundra - Penny Clarke

- Eskimos - M. Wilson

- Tundra - Lynne Stone

- Welcome to the USA Alaska- Ann Heinrichs

- Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do you Hear? - Bill Martin

New England States 4/28-5/9/08

New England States



Here is a quick overview of what the kids learned about when we studied the New England States:



1. We mapped out the states for Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island.



2. We learned about whales. I had the kids use a tape measure and mark off how many feet an actual whale is. They were amazed. We also watched some quick videos on YouTube about whale Harpooning in Finland.



3. The life cycles of a cranberry. I had the kids create a comic strip as if they were the cranberry growing.


4. We ate clam chowder for lunch with sour dough. The sour dough isn't quite a New England idea. It's more of a San Francisco one but once you eaten a Clam chowder bowl you can never eat just an ordinary plain bowl of chowder again.


5. The life cycles of a lobster. We even dissected a cray fish on our Science laboratory table (yes, our kitchen table). It didn't turn my dancing daughter away from wanting to eat lobster or crabs again.














6. The clam life cycle too. We watched a National Geographic video online that I came across about clams. They are real
bizarre creatures. Similar to snails in that they too use a large foot to move dig themselves underground. They were a lot harder to dissect. I got grossed out just by all the dirt and debris inside their shell. Once inside the shell, the shell's pearl color could be seen.

7. Learned how maple syrup is harvested. No wonder maple syrup is so expensive it tales 40 gallons of maple sap to equal just one gallon of maple syrup. My kids are spoiled we stitched over to the real maple syrup a few years ago. I am still trying to add whole foods to my kids diet.

8. The importance and significance of lighthouses near the coast.

After we completed our New England State Study we took a trip to the local beach here to explore the Tide Pools. My Cowboy was learning about hermit crabs. He was making a lapbook on ocean life so what better way to learn about sea creatures than a trip to the Tide Pools. Here is a few snippets of our Tide Pool Discovery Day

It was a perfect day for the beach. We saw numerous creature there. Lots of hermit crabs, other crabs, ocean spiders, anemones ( green mushroom types in the pictures), the purple spiky things are sea urchins, fish, giant starfish and many other living things as well. Cowboy was a little afraid of the crabs because they were everywhere. The colors were beautiful. It was too tempting we wanted to touch everything but were warned by the tide pool patrols that we would be fined. The whole trip was free of charge except for the traveling money down there and back.

The books we read for this region were:

- Animals without bones: Lobsters - Jason Cooper

- Oceans Alive Lobsters- Marthan Rustad

- Finestkind O' Day: Lobstering in Maine- Bruce Mc Millian

- One Morning in Amine- Robert Mc Closky

- Cranberries Fruit of the Bogs- Diane L. Burns

- A House for Hermit Crab - Eric Carle

N is for NUtmeg: A Conneticut Alphabet - Elissa Gordin

- Shells - Jennifer Coldrey

- G is for Granite: A New HAmpshire Alphabet - Marie Harris

- Sugar Snow- Wilder

- M is for MAple Syrup: A Vermont Alphabet - Cynthis Furlong Reynolds

- The Big Tree- Bruce Hiscock

- Sugar on Snow - Nan Parson

Atlantic States 4/21-4/24/08

I'm finally getting around to posting the rest of our 50 state study. I apologize for taking such a long time. The longer I delay this the harder it is to keep track of all that we accomplished with this unit. Without further a do here goes....

1. We mapped all the states that are considered the Atlantic states.
-New York
- Pennsylvania
- New Jersey
2. Learned about Ellis Island and the history of New York.
3. Read about Peter Stuyvestant
4. Made a paper model of the Statue of Liberty
5. Watched My Fair Lady. My dancing daughter loved the costumes in this movie.
6. Listened to lots of Broadway show music.
7. Learned about the Amish


Here are the books that we read for this region of states:

- Welcome to the USA New York - Ann Heinrichs
- Building Liberty: A Statue is Born - Hochain
- The Story of Ellis Island - Stein
- On the Day Peter Stuyvesant sailed into Town - Arnold Lobel
- The Amazing Impossible Erie Canal - Cheryl Harness
- Rip Van Winkle - Washington Irving
- Welcome to the USA Pennsylvania- Heinrichs
- Welcome to the USA New Jersey - Heinrichs
- G is for the Garden State: A New Jersey Alphabet - Eileen Cameron

California Adventure 2008

 

Legoland Homeschool Day May 12, 2008

 

Wow how time flies.....

I appologize for not blogging lately. Life has gotten in the way. My freetime has been spent going to Sport's baseball games, studying and finally purchasing next years curriculum, attending too many amuzement parks.

This is the second year our eldest son Sport has signed up for the local Pony league baseball league. Before this he was involved in our Church T-ball baseball program. Last year we had a positive first year with the Pony league but this year has been a real challenge for my hubby and I as well as Sport. His coach this year has the win-win attitude which is good but he can be extremely hard and negative on the little guys. Mind you this is just 9 & 10 year olds out on the field. I being a Moma bear just want to protect my cub and yank him from the team. My hubby on the otherhand has been holding me back every step of the way.

I share this with my readers for two reasons. One is to vent obviously and to explain to you that my husband saw something more important that was taking place during the practices and games than I had. Our son was learning there are different styles of coaches in this world positive ones and negative ones. We have been able to use this year as a learning stepping stone into the real world. Sometimes there will be people in this world that we just cannot please. We serve our duty as a team member to play our part or to serve our role. We also pray earnestly for those who we are serving under in this case a hot headed coach. We have made a point to pray each day for this coach and let me share with you his attitude is softening. Now I don't know if it is due to the countless prayers for him or for the fact that we have no way of making it to the playoffs. But I do know this he has been happier a little more relaxed around the kids and they have been winning! Too Bad the coach hadn't tried this attitude approach sooner he could be smelling victory at the end of this season.

Yes, our school year is almost over and I finally have an idea and a plan of what my munchkins will be learning about next year. We have enjoyed four years learning different unit studies with the help of KONOS. For next year, I decided to sadly put it on the back burner. I had been praying for several years for a chronological history program that does not put such a heavy focus on foreign gods or mythology. I finally found that in Heart of Wisdom by Sampson. I ordered her HOW book in January and read it in about a week I believe. Her philiosohy and history of education is right on track. I am looking forward to beginning next year teaching the kids the history of Adam to Messiah. This will include Summerian, Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Greek and Hebrew history as well. For Science we will be covering Creation vs. Evolution for my older two, Light, Energy, Matter, Motion and Electricity.

I still have plenty of planning anf getting things ready for next year but I am looking forward to it.

Yes, learning about motion should have been taught this year. We have been to more amuzement parks this year than ever before. We enjoyed Disneyland for Dancer's 8th birthday, California Adventure as part of the 2fer deal and just yesterday we were at Legoland for their homeschool day. The family had so much fun and our Cowboy couldn't believe everything was made out of legos. He was awe at Thomas the train made out of legos as well as Las Vegas, New York, California and areas of the southern state repicas. We hadn't been there since I was pregnant with our little Cowboy and my that park has gotten bigger. There is a chance we will be going back to Legoland. Yesterday, we showed our ticket stubs to Guest Relations booth to claim five free return tickets that must be used before June 15th. The kids were excited about this!!!! What a deal a discount and then a freebie.

In the next few days I will try to post some pictures for you from our Lego land and or California Adventure. I also will need to add some information about our 50 state study. Can you believe this is our final week on the 50 states. Today and tomorrow we will be learning about Alaska and then Hawaii on Thursday. I'm burning out quickly on this state study and our notebooks prove it. We did so many pages on the earltier states learned and have petered out toward the end. Yes, the end is near.. Finally. A wrap up family 50 state party is in my planning notebook of things to do this week. Dancer would like to have a Hersey candy bar eating contest in honor of Pennsylvania. Yummy....Hmmmm I will have to plan some fun things for this one.

Blessings to all of you,
Amy