Travelin’ Thursday–Tennessee State Museum

Recently, our coop ventured to downtown Nashville to see a traveling Egyptian relics exhibit, which were a mixture of authentic artifacts and replicas from King Tut’s tomb at the Tennessee State Museum.

   

Here are some ideas for studying Ancient Egypt in a fun, hands-on way…
- use the Safari Ltd Ancient Egypt toob to make a sensory bin
- make a Pyramid and study how the Egyptians made the Pyramids
- make papyrus paper
- mummify an apple or a chicken, or wrap a doll in extra cloths to simulate the process of mummification.
- print and discuss these Egyptian word wall cards. (free download if you scroll down)
- make a cartouche, and learn how to write your name in heiroglypics.

Here’s a link to an Ancient Egypt unit study, or you can use Evan Moor’s History Pockets to learn more!  (These activities are for elementary kids,and not necessarily primary children; however the History Pockets are a great way to make learning fun and interactive.)

 

While we were at the museum, we also had a tour guide for the civil war part of the museum.  He was dressed in traditional clothing for the union army, and explained how Tennessee was divided between being a Union state and a Confederate state.  He also explained that the biggest killer during this time was the diseases caused by bacteria from unsterilized medical instruments.

 

We haven’t covered anything about the civil war yet, and probably won’t for a while, but it was educational, and Aikman got a big kick out of trying to be a soldier during this time.  One of the activities that the kids got to experience was how to pack like a soldier.  The guides explained the needs of a soldier, and then the kids picked their supplies for their soldier sack.  Aikman chose to grab a toothbrush, fork, pencils, and a deck of cards…. hmmm, no food; I don’t think he would have survived very long with that slim of a bag!  His buddy, Katie, did manage to grab a pot and drinking cup, though!

We will be attending some civil war activities later in the year, so I’ll be adding some informative links to those later field trip posts.

Note:  Some of the links above are linked to my Amazon affiliate store, in particular the History Pocket book and Safari Ltd toob.

Skipcounting by 5’s

We have been working on skipcounting by 5’s for the past few weeks. Aikman LOVES to sing songs, so we added to our “calendar time” some skipcounting songs for the 5’s.

Here’s our current list of favorites for skipcounting by 5’s…
- Whatcha’ gonna do? skipcount by 2’s, 5’s, 10’s
- exercise and count by 5’s
- counting with a leprechaun

I also bought some hand cutouts from the Dollar Tree a while back, which I labeled with the multiples of 5. This has been a great review of identifying 2 digit numbers and ordering the numbers from 5 to 100.

As Montessori shelf-work, I’ve placed it in a basket, and he primarily places them in numerical order. I have numbered the cards on back 1-20, so he can check his work; however, he hasn’t been wanting to use this method, but rather prefers to check it with a chart, so I’ve also listed the numbers in order from 5 to 100 for him to use as a control.

Up next – tally marks! (I can’t tell you how excited I am about teaching tally marks in a fun and hands-on way!)

I’m linking up to Montessori Monday and Math Monday.

Real LIFE Saturday–Stuffed muffins

One of our favorite “quick cook” meals is stuffed muffins, which I originally saw on Shannon’s Sharings.  Every few weeks, I make chicken and veggie muffins as well as pepperoni pizza muffins.  We haven’t tried this, but from what I’ve read, they freeze well.

The recipes that we follow are found here.  Eventually, I’d like to try the corndog recipe, or her newly added chili recipe.

A few things I’ve learned… don’t dice the chicken into teeny, tiny pieces; otherwise, you won’t taste it.  For the pepperoni pizza ones, we add spaghetti sauce to the top, BUT, only add a teaspoon max… my husband is not a fan of a well of spaghetti sauce on the top of his muffin.

I hope you and your family enjoys these recipes as much as we have!

Travelin’ Thursday–Nashville Shores

I'm starting a new series of posts, called Travelin' Thursday, which documents our field trips. Along with information about where we went and what we saw, I'll also include some links to how you can also study something that we learned about on our field trip. So, without any further ado, here's my first Travelin' Thursday post....

In August, a local water park held a homeschool week and offered half price tickets. We swam, slid, and explored our way around the water park, including enjoying up the “lazy river” without an innertube FOUR times! (Whew, I never knew that a lazy river was so much work!) Aikman was a couple inches short for the big water slides, but he didn’t mind, as he enjoyed playing in the kids area instead.

Here’s some pictures of our water adventures…

Wanna study water too? Here’s some ideas…
Sink/float Montesori tray from Sunscholars
sink/float an egg
31 water experiments
make a water wall from Let the Children Play
study the water cycle (with a really nice printable!) from Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational
make a water tower from Sarah’s Sweeties
or get out to explore a creekbed or the beach!

TOS review: Before Five In A Row

I have always heard amazing things about the Five In a Row (FIAR) books, but I never had the opportunity to try them out with Aikman.  When I found out that FIAR was offering their Before Five In a Row book/curriculum as a review item, I jumped at the opportunity to see how their system worked, and how it would work for our family, even though it was below his age level.

Five In a Row publications offers one Before FIAR volume (ages 2-4); four FIAR volumes (ages 4-8); three Beyond FIAR volumes (ages 8-12); and one Above and Beyond FIAR volume (ages 12+).  Specifically for Before Five In A Row, their website states, “Dedicated to protecting and nurturing the early years of childhood; BFIAR opens up the world of learning through great books and creative play, and builds a solid foundation for more formal education to come.”

Upon receiving the book, I was surprised to find that the BFIAR book was MUCH more than just activities to do with each classic children’s book.  Instead, the book is divided into two sections – the stories and activities that I was aware of, as well as a section section entitled Parent’s Treasury of Creative Ideas for Learning Readiness.

Of the 23 stories used in BFIAR, one of our favorites is Corduroy.  I chose to use this book to base several of Aikman’s works for the week.  Within the book, the activities that are given for Corduroy include Bible, manners, habitats, animals, science, saving money, art, games, counting, creative thinking, and literature connections.  After reading the story several times, we would choose an aspect of Corduroy to discuss, using the BFIAR book as the sounding board for ideas.  Since we have been recently working on some practical life skills of grace and courtesy, the lessons on manners were a perfect complement to our curriculum.  We discussed the little girl’s manners in the book, and how he had (or in some cases, had NOT) used the same type of courtesy to others.  We also discussed what it meant to be respectful and how to be respectful to others. 

Likewise, the BFIAR book mentions the use of a button game, as a supplemental activity.  We did not play the button game that was mentioned, but we did go on a button hunt throughout the house.  As a complement to Corduroy, I think a button sorting tray or any button ideas would work well as shelf work.  (I especially like the button turkey, and can only imagine someone making a felt Corduroy with little buttons to practice buttoning his overall back on… IF only I were so crafty!)  Likewise, demonstrating sewing lessons with the child might also be another extension to the included activities.

One of the aspects of the book that I really liked is that it was easy to read and follow.  The ideas are short and to the point, and are merely ideas for leading discussions (whew, I don’t have to think about ideas to pull out of this children’s book; it’s already been compiled for me!).  I also love the ideas in the second half of the book, that involve activities for reading readiness, fine and gross motor skills, and age appropriate toys.  If you have a child that is just now 2 or 3, this book is invaluable for coming up with ideas and literature connections with small children.

Before Five In A Row by Jane Claire Lambert can be purchased through Rainbow Resource for $35.  Likewise, if you are seeking a copy of some the children’s books used for this study, they can also be found at Rainbow Resource.  If you would like to read what other TOS Crew Members have to say about this book, click here.

Disclaimer:  I received a free copy of Before Five In A Row, in return for an honest review of their product, whether good or bad. I was not otherwise compensated for this review.

TOS Review: Time4Learning

For the past month, Aikman and I have had the chance to review the online curriculum/program Time4Learning.  Time4Learning is a comprehensive program for PreK to 8th grade.  It includes online instruction for language arts and math for every grade level, with bonus material in science and social studies for most grades.

You can read about the scope and sequence for each grade level here. 

I carefully studied this list, and decided to put Aikman into kindergarten language arts and first grade math.  Choosing which curriculum is right for my son definitely one of the aspects that I greatly enjoyed with the program, as Aikman is much more advanced in math than he is in reading.

Another bonus of the program is that your child can easily complete lessons one grade level above where they are assigned.  This came in very handy, as the first grade curriculum had science lessons, but the kindergarten level did not.

Time4Learning helps you plan out your child’s online curriculum, so you and your child know how many lessons to complete over the course of a year.  Using their handy lesson planning sheet, I determined that Aikman needed to complete 1-2 language activities a day, 1 math activity every other day, and 1 science activity per week. 

Since Aikman’s weakest area is language, I encouraged him to complete the language areas most of the time, and only complete math and science every now and then.  After the first few times being on the program, he could complete each lesson with minimal help.  I also did not show him that there was a “playground,” which is only accessible after a set amount of time for completing the lessons had elapsed.  He did eventually discover it; however, he only played on this area a time or two.

At first, we had a hard time finding just the right lesson to start for language… the kindergarten lessons were reviewing letter sounds, without introducing any words.  I soon realized that he was ready for the first grade reading lessons, rather than the kindergarten ones.  Once we realized that he needed to be bumped up, he started enjoying playing the games and lessons.  He quickly moved through Chapter 1, which reviewed the sounds of the letters, and the process of sounding out short vowel words.  The second chapter proved to be more difficult, introducing blends and the sounds of ea and ar.  However, by the end of the month, he had grown tired of same characters and games, which repeated the same activities but with different sounds/words.

How much did he get out of the program?  I’m not really sure… he has been working on the Montessori pink language materials (ie CVC words) for some time, and can now sound out these words with no problem; he just hasn’t reached fluency yet; and I have been meaning to print off some of the blue materials, to start work on the blends with him.  So, this has definitely been helpful in introducing these sounds.  However, I definitely noticed that instead of reading the book at the end of each chapter, he just clicked on the words without trying to read it himself.

Time4Learning costs $19.95/month for the first child, and $14.95/month for each additional child.  If you’d like to read what other TOS reviewers thought about Time4Learning, check the Crew blog here.

I received a trial membership to Time4Learning for 30 days as a member of the 2011-2012 TOS Homeschool Review Crew;  I did not receive any additonal compensation.  In return, I agreed to give an honest review of the materials – good or bad, and how it worked for our family.

Living and Non-living

We are joining our local co-op this year, which meets once a week for 4 hours.
Since I like to a be a hands-on mama who has to be a part of everything, I volunteered to teach the K-2nd graders math and science this semester. Our focus: zoology.

The first lesson was an introduction to living and non-living things. We used Karen Tyler’s album presentation on living and non-living things. I set out 3 baby food jars – one with beans, one with water, and one with air, as well as a mother/baby set of animals. We discussed that all living things eat food, breathe air, drink water, and have babies. You can read where The Homeschool Den and One Hook Wonder did similar presentations of this. (Sorry, I don’t have any photos of the actual class… I was the only teacher for the class, and I didn’t get a chance to take pictures of the students in action.)

To add a writing component, the children could either draw or write the words for the 4 properties of living things. (That’s my son’s paper above… he drew a banana, chocolate milk, wind, and an orange baby.)

Afterwards, we used Montessori Print Shop’s sorting cards for living and non-living thing. The children found it interested in what was and what was not a living thing, and some great discussion on what was/was not ensued – especially over things such as pencils, fire, and clothing.

One of the most difficult things for the students to understand was that some things are in a grey-ish area called “once living”, which I was having some difficulty explaining (and understanding myself!). Take for instance, a pencil… by our definition, it must eat food, breathe air, drink water, and have babies. A pencil in its own right does not do these things (HA! How amusing it is to entertain that a pencil has little baby pencils!); however it is made out of materials that at one point were living things… so a pencil was made out of the wood from a tree; therefore, it is characterized as “once living.”

photo courtesy Montessori Print Shop

This next week, in order to reinforce this idea, and hopefully to clear up a few misconceptions, I believe we are going to use MPS’s “Where does it come from?” sorting cards. We will probably address where a few other items come from as well… such as a wooden table, spaghetti sauce, raisins, and leather shoes.

Here are a few printables/worksheets to supplement your living/non-living studies:
- living/non-living cut and paste worksheet
- living/non-living cut and paste worksheet
- living/non-living booklet (either paste pictures into booklet or draw them in)
- circle the living things worksheet

I’m linking up to Science Sunday and Montessori Monday!

Remembering 9/11 -- 10 years later

Last year,  I posted about how my life changed forever on 9/11/01 – with a phone call from a dear friend who was being deployed immediately.

Just 11 months later, I visited where the World Trade Center towers once stood.  At that location, there was a line with a huge crowd of people who walked past and stared at the huge holes that once were the towers.

Silence.

Yes, complete silence – there in the middle of New York City…. where they pride themselves on the hustle and bustle.

The few people who spoke did so in whispers.

The somber sight of destruction left everyone in udder awe.

… and the thought of all of those precious lives were lost.  Maybe I’m sentimental because my husband is a policeman, who puts his life on the line daily, just as so many of those other HEROES did that day; but this picture (which I took – this is NOT a stock photo), just reminds me of those families whose heroes risked their lives and never got to return home that night.

I’m linking up to Remember 9/11 on NOBH.

Are you on pinterest?

I’m absolutely addicted to pinterest!  Over the past few weeks, I’ve pinned a lot of items as Montessori and/or homeschooling.

Here’s a quick snapshot of my homeschool board… (click on picture to go directly to the board)

… and here’s my Montessori board.

In particular, there are 2 specific pins that I think you HAVE to see…

 

This “cloud inspector”… which would be great if you are doing a cloud study

 

 

 

… and this at-home experiment to make your own stalactites and stalagmites!

 

 

 

Follow along beside me as I find more cool homeschool and Montessori inspiration at http://pinterest.com/montetidbit/

TOS Review–PIG PILE!

I don’t believe that I’ve mentioned this previously, but I made it on the TOS crew for this year!  As a part of the crew, I get the chance to review products, in return for an honest post about the product.

Recently, I was sent the game PIG PILE from R&R games to review.

PIG PILE is specifically designed for ages 7+, and with 3-6 players.  The object of the game is to gain as many pigs as you can.  The cards are numbered 1 to 12, with a “hog wild” card.  Likewise, there are 4 speciality cards:  #4 – “hog tied” (lose a turn); #8 = “hog wash” (discard pile is taken out of play), and #11 = “ewe turn” (the equivalent to a reverse in uno). 

To play, identical cards can be grouped together and played in the same hand.  One must play a larger card on top of a smaller card, until a piled is “washed” away or a “hog wild” card is played, resulting in the deck being set back to 0.  After a player has played, he/she automatically draws a card.  If a player cannot make a play, that player must pick up the ENTIRE deck of cards.  The discard pile can be entirely removed from play, called a “HOG WASH”, if a) 3 identical cards are played in a row – whether they are played by one player or more than one player; or b) a #8 “hog wash” card is played.  A player wins a round when he/she has discarded his/her last card in hand.  Then, the play continues until 2nd and 3rd place players are determined.  After the round is complete, the first, second, and third place players receive 3, 2, and 1 pigs, respectively.

My thoughts:  After reading the rules, I was extremely hesitant on Aikman playing the game.  First, he was going to have to sort the cards into numerical order, and then each hand, he was going to have to select a card (or group of cards) from his hand that was/were greater than or equal to the current card on the discard pile.

AMAZINGLY, he proved me wrong – he EASILY understood the concept of ordering his cards, and he had no problems selecting cards that were greater than or equal to the discarded card.

HOWEVER, the issue became that playing with only 2 people definitely took a LONG time to complete, and he would get disinterested in the game before we finished.

SOOO…. we changed the rules…
1)  Everyone starts with 5 pigs!
2) If you get a “hog wash” (lose a turn) played on you, you have to give one of your pigs back.
3)  If you lay down 3 identical cards (or play the 3rd card) to make a “hog wash,” you get a pig.

This made the game MUCH more exciting, and he wanted to pay close attention, in case he could get an extra pig!  AND, if I would get an extra pig from a hog wash, it was GUARANTEED that he would play a "hog tied” on me as soon as he could.

Not only has this game been valuable in letting me see that Aikman has already achieved some of the math concepts that I have not yet presented to him (per my Montessori presentations and albums), but that he has taken ownership of it, and created his OWN ideas of how to play this game!

One morning Aikman decided to add his own little touch to the game… he made 2 cards… a 100 card and a 1000 card!  His rules for these cards… the 100 card automatically causes a hog wash, and you get 2 pigs; the 1000 card automatically causes a hog wash, and you get 3 pigs.

As you can see, we have thoroughly enjoyed this game, and play it almost every day.  If you are interested in purchasing this game for your family, you can find it here for $15.95.  Check out what others are saying about Pig Pile and other R&R games on the TOS Crew blog!

NOTE:  R&R games has generously given a discount code through December 31, 2011.  Use the code CREW20 for 20% off on their website!

Disclaimer:  As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew, I did receive this game in exchange for an honest opinion of the product, whether positive or negative.