Layers of Learning

2012-01-27T17:27:00.001-07:00

Layers of Learning is participating in the Google+ Blog Hop Hosted by Classified Mom and Mama Mia's Heart 2 Heart.

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A Trip To The Ocean

2012-01-26T22:30:00.000-07:00

This week we're heading out on a family camping trip to the Pacific Ocean. We've been doing all sorts of things to get ready. We've mapped out a plan of our trip and where we want to go, made lists of fun things to do, and learned about the area's geography, wildlife, weather, and even a little history. We've also planned games, menus, and gathered our equipment.

It would be a whole lot easier for Mom and Dad to just do the planning and bring the kiddos along, but then no real learning would happen. Instead, we've let our kids really take ownership of our trip. They each get to choose some of our excursions and be "the leader" those days. They are each in charge of planning out the food and cooking on certain days. They have also each made a list of goals for the trip. My son, who is just starting Cub Scouts, has decided that on this trip he wants to start a seashell collection to help him earn a badge. He is also really excited about learning photography and will be bringing his new camera to document our trip. My daughter wants to find a starfish in the tide pools. She also wants to try to find some of the places that she's seen in pictures in our family scrapbook. We traveled to this area before she was born, but she has only seen pictures of the space needle, ferry boats, and the Pacific Ocean. They both want to learn to cook in the dutch oven and over the campfire.

Here I am in front of the Space Needle.

The last time we traveled here none of our kids were born yet!

Because we are taking the time not only to learn about things we will see ahead of time, but also to let them take some ownership in our trip, they are bundles of enthusiasm. Studying the ocean, tide pools, sea life, Seattle and the Puget Sound, transportation, volcanoes, explorers, and rain forests has all been 100% joy because it feels so real to them. School feels like play when it's part of their own adventures.

Thumbprint Autobiography

2012-01-26T05:37:00.002-07:00

Pinterest is a new love of mine. Check out this cool art project I just pinned:

Source: google.com via Karen on Pinterest

It's a thumprint self-portraint! Brilliant, eh? If you like this project, come check out my homeschooling board on Pinterest. You can find me at http://pinterest.com/kloutz/ I have boards on all kinds of topics and am always scouring the internet for fun new ideas to pin. Come join the fun!

Enter Our Cook'n Recipe System Giveaway

2012-01-25T23:40:00.000-07:00

Come over to our sister site, The Executive Mom, to enter to win recipe organizing software from Cook'n. It's absolutely perfect for busy parents.

The Story of Stilts

2012-01-25T05:06:00.001-07:00

A stilt walker fixing wires

Stilts were invented centuries ago, not for play, but for work and for transportation.

In Belgium they were a necessity for the citizens of Namur, a city situated by 2 rivers that frequently flooded. The people got around the marshy flood lands by using stilts. The people there even became exempt from taxes for a time because the archduke was so impressed with a stilt walker who came to see him from the town.

The real stilt capital of the world though, was Landes in France. The coastal area was so sandy that the ground was always shifting, making it difficult to walk. To solve the problem shepherds and farmers walked on stilts! They spent hours every day on stilts, watching their herds. They carried long poles to help keep their balance, and some even had little seats on top of the poles so they could rest right there on top of their stilts! A man from Landes actually stilt-walked all the way from Paris to Moscow! It took 58 days. Whew! Currently this area has been drained, and the need for stilts is, unfortunately in my sentimental opinion, a thing of the past.

Landes Farmers

Now stilts are typically toys rather than tools. Kids from many places around the world enjoy the challenge of trying to balance atop the high poles.

DangerouslyFun.com has a great tutorial for making your own set of stilts to try.

Additional Layers:

For little ones who want to walk tall, try making simple coffee can stilts:

Read "The King's Stilts" by Dr. Seuss
These days stilts are used as toys and by entertainers more than by workers. Compare the stilt walkers of the past with those of today (farmers versus clowns!).
Can you think of other toys that double as useful items?
Simple wood stilts have changed over time. Now they make velocity stilts and other modern versions made of lightweight metal that strap on to your legs.

Germany

2012-01-24T01:00:00.002-07:00

Color a map of Germany. Trace the rivers, label the cities, write in the seas, and don't forget the Black Forest and the Bavarian Alps.

The Saar River of Germany

Also remember to find Germany on a world map or globe so kids know where in the world it is.

The Lion-Makers, a Story From the Panchatantra

2012-01-23T06:00:00.002-07:00

The Panchatantra is a collection of ancient stories from India that were written down more than two thousand years ago, though the stories themselves are much older than that. They are the first fables ever told in the world. They're mostly humerous stories that have a very pointed point. Here's one of my favorites . . .

The Lion-Makers

Four Brahmans lived near one another and were friends in a small town. Three of them had been scholars their whole lives and had learned much, but they had no common sense. The fourth couldn't be bothered to study from dusty dry books, but he had a great deal of common sense.

One day they got together to talk and decided that all their accomplishments and learning were pointless if they didn't go out in the world to meet people, see places, gain a little political power, and make a little money. So they decided to travel together.

They hadn't gone far when the eldest said, "One of us is not smart enough or educated enough, having nothing but common sense. He won't make it very far in the world without scholarship, so let's not share our money with him. He should go back home."

The second said, "That's true, friend, you should go home." But the third said, "No, this is no way to treat our friend who we have known since we were small children playing together. He will stay with us and have a share of the money we earn."

So they agreed and all four continued on together. Soon they came upon the bones of a dead lion in the forest. One of them said, "Here is a chance to show off how intelligent and learned we are. Let's bring him back to life through our superior knowledge."

The first said, "I can assemble the skeleton for I know how it should go." The second said, "I can add on the muscles, organs, and skin." The third said, "I can give it life."

But the fourth, who was the man of no scholarship said, "This is a lion. If you give it life it will kill every one of us."

"The scholars replied, "We will not make all our learning pointless. We must use it at every opportunity." So the fourth replied again, "Then wait a moment while I climb this tree."

So the man of sense climbed a tree while the toher three brought the lion to life. The lion rose up and killed the three scholars. But thye man of sense climbed down after the lion ahd left and went home.

Scholarship is less than sense;

Therefore seek intelligence:

Senseless scholars in their pride

Made a lion, then they died.

What do you think the moral of the story is?

Do you agree with it?

In the story the Brahmans are extremes, either all learning and no sense or all sense and no learning. Why does the storyteller use these extremes? What is the true ideal?

Additional Layers:

In the press and in education circles it is often lamented that westerners focus solely on western literature ignoring China, India, Africa, the Middle East and other places, but no one ever actually puts eastern thought into a curriculum. What do you think should we include eastern stuff too? Why?
Apply the literature you read to your real life, both personally, and to your community and nation. How would this story apply to your life?
Learn more about the anatomy and habits of a lion.

We're Featured as a Top 100 Blog

2012-01-19T20:55:00.000-07:00

Teacher Certification Degrees listed Layers of Learning as a Top 100 Homeschool Blog.

A Grammar Sequence Checklist

2012-01-17T05:00:00.002-07:00

Karen gives her kids mini-grammar/language/literature lessons nearly every day as a routine part of school. She does this just out of the blue and out of her head as she notices problems with her kids writing or feels they're ready to kick it up a notch. For the rest of us a check list in sequential order is called for.

Since I made a grammar sequence checklist for me, I thought I'd share it with you. The list moves from the simplest grammar concepts for about 2nd grade and up to more complex topics culminating with five paragraph essays, roughly 8th grade level. You can intersperse this with lots of extra practice on each subject, dictation exercises, poetry memorization, story narrations, and reading good passages form literature out loud.

One of Karen's favorite methods of teaching grammar is to use D.O.L. (daily oral language). This list would work perfectly as a guide on writing bad sentences for the student to fix. If you're not Karen, you'll probably need a good grammar handbook to brush up on these subjects yourself. You can also just look up each topic online. Yes, that takes time and work, but you'll be learning all the stuff you forgot or were never taught in school.

The boxes on the left hand side of the list are for you to write in your child's initials as he/she masters the lessons. There is enough room to check off lessons for four kids. If this list is lacking it is sentence diagramming. But you really need a diagramming workbook for in-depth sentence diagramming. I'm sure there's other stuff I forgot as well and I know as grammar moves into greater complexity it doesn't make the list at all. Still, this is a very in depth basic grammar checklist.

Nesting Cans

2012-01-16T04:48:00.001-07:00

Teaching the concept of your city is in your state...is in your country...is in your continent...is in the world can be such a tough topic for youngsters. My kids still get mixed up on cities, states, and countries sometimes. Mandy Taylor teaches first grade and uses this cute idea:

Nesting cans with maps on each one! She starts by introducing the world, then pulls out the next one with North America on it, and so on and so on. Go visit her blog and you can read all about it. One of the comments on her blog even suggested doing this with the little colored nesting cup toys. Love it!

Edward III's Coat of Arms

2012-01-12T23:04:00.000-07:00

Edward III was monarch of England during the early years of the Hundred Years War. He changed his coat of arms from the three lions of King Richard I to the lions quartered with the fleurs-de-lis of France. He did this because he was declaring himself king of France as well as king of England.

The royal lines of Europe have often become tangled over the centuries due to conquest, intermarriage and alliances. In this case the kings of England believed they still held lands in France descended way back from William the Conqueror. There were certainly ties to France and it's possible they had a real legal claim, but obviously the English monarchs were not French and since the French had a king of their own with a much better and certainly legitimate claim, what it comes down to was greed and lust for power, and perhaps boredom and a desire for honor on the battlefield.

Edward and his son were very successful in battle and completely defeated the French in several great battles, but the war dragged on, with long periods of peace and recuperation in the midst of pitched battles. Eventually the English were completely driven from France, beginning withe the courage of a young French girl named Joan.

We colored the shield coat of arms of Edward III as we learned about the beginnings of the Hundred Years War.

The fleur-de-lis should be yellow on a blue background and the lions are yellow on a red background.

You can print out the shield to color here.

Additional Layers:

Back in the middle ages the king went to battle and fought side by side with his knights and directed the actions of the troops in person. He also was literally the defender of the realm. In most cases if there was an invasion or rebellion he personally took the field in defense. How would we choose our leaders differently if we still practiced that?
Edward III and his son, known as the Black Prince, were disdainful of the peasants of both England and France. As they traveled through the land their troops murdered and raped and pillaged and burned wherever they went. They are still known for the destruction of Limoges in 1370 during which more than three thousand peasants were slaughtered including women and children. The reasons were not all just pure cruelty however. They also recognized that the peasants provided all the work and without then and the food they produced France was crippled. How does this compare with modern warfare. How do we fight battles today and what are the practical results of our methods compared to theirs?
Take a look at the evolution of English heraldry over the years. What is the coat of arms of the monarch today and what does it mean?
The battles fought by Edward in France were the end of the great charge of knights into battle. The English longbow decided the fate of this form of battle. Beside this, new tactics such as a flanking movement were being tried out successfully for the first time, a movement which knights could not respond to adequately. the Scots were actually the first to defeat armored charging knights on horseback with foot soldiers. The Scots did it out of desperation, but the rest of Europe watched and learned.

Seusstastic

2012-01-11T21:33:00.000-07:00

Muslim Mosaics or Cool Random Art Project...You Pick

2012-01-09T23:23:00.000-07:00

We originally did this art project to go along with a study of the way Muslims traditionally made mosaics. Unlike the Christian mosaics which included people and landscapes, Muslim artwork focused on geometry of shapes and patterns. People were not seen on their mosaic murals at all in fact.

We started by making basic salt dough and barely mixing in a few drops of food coloring. We wanted it to look like an old wall made of plaster instead of a perfectly mixed batch of dough. I was planning on yellow for an old world look, but I am outnumbered by my children who all voted for blue. We put the salt dough on bits of parchment paper for easy clean-up, and just kind of smashed them into squarish patties. Then it was time for beads.

We used pony beads as our mosaic pieces, squishing them into the dough to create repeating patterns and geometric designs.

Each kid had their own color scheme and patterns. I've got to say, this was one of my favorite art projects of the school year. It was really simple and easy enough for all my kids to do (even the 2 year-old!), but the kids were engrossed from start to finish. The truth is, so was I. I couldn't help but join in and make one too:

I can't even articulate why it was so fun; it just was! We often paint and draw, and we even sculpt. We cut and paste and we make collages. This was the first time I had ever pressed beads into clay before. Brought me right back to my play-doh, light brite, easy bake oven days. I joined right in and felt like a kid again. Learning about the mosaics of the Muslims was really fascinating, but even if you aren't planning on that particular lesson, get some clay and beads and just go to town on this random, fun art project!

Canterbury Tales for Kids

2012-01-09T06:00:00.004-07:00

The Canterbury Tales were written by Geoffrey Chaucer in England toward the end of the 1300's. Less than fifty years earlier the Black Death had swept through Europe, killing perhaps a third of the population, the peasants of England had revolted around a decade earlier, demanding rights, which they didn't get, and everyone spoke, what we call today, Middle English. This is after Richard the Lionhearted and Robin Hood, but before King Henry VIII, the guy who had all the wives and removed England from the Catholic church.

The story centers around a group of travelers who have banded together for protection from bandits in their pilgrimage toward Canterbury Cathedral, a holy site on the south coast of England. The road was long, the people were strangers to one another and so to pass the time on the road the innkeeper suggests that they tell one another tales. The bulk of the Canterbury Tales is the tales each of the travelers tells.

Many of the tales are downright bawdy and irreverent, which come to think of it, by modern standards is a little odd for people who are on a religious pilgrimage (you'll have to research the reasons people went on pilgrimage to find out the secret to this conundrum). But there is one tale in particular that appeals to children, while at the same time providing enough material for a doctoral thesis. It is the Nun's Priest's Tale, called Chanticleer and the Fox.

Explain the Canterbury Tales, when they happened and what the frame story is to the kids. Then read the re-telling of the story, Chanticleer and the Fox by Barbara Cooney. It's a Caldicott medal winner so it's probably in your library. I hardly ever read a story straight through, at least not a meaningful tale like this one. I pause and explain vocabulary or concepts, I ask the kids what they think will happen next, I ask them if they can spot the mistake such and such a character has made, and so on. It probably annoys the children.

Garrett with the puppets he made.

Click here to print out the Puppet Templates

Next you can make puppets of the three main characters of the story: Chanticleer the rooster, Partlett the hen, and the fox. First color the pictures (I had the kids color while I read since it keeps them quieter), then cut the figures out in a rough outline, and glue them onto thin cardboard, like from food packaging. Tape a craft stick to the back side. Alternatively you can make them into flannel board figures by gluing a strip of sandpaper to the back.

Have the kids re-tell the story using their figures.

ADDITIONAL LAYERS:

Learn about Chaucer's life and the events going on in England and Europe during his lifetime.
Canterbury Cathedral was/is a religious site in England becasue a murder took place there. Find out more.
Other famous frame stories include the Thousand and One Arabian Nights, the Decameron, and the Panchatantra.

Dichotomous Key

2012-01-06T06:00:00.003-07:00

To help in identifying objects like rocks, plants, animals, sea shells or other stuff, knowledgeable people create dichotomous keys. When using these keys you answer questions about the object always beginning with number one and following the directions as you go along. Each question should create a situation where the object fits into exactly one of the categories. Using a dichotomous key in nature studies can help kids to understand concepts like the difference between a mammal and an insect or the more subtle differences between two types of insects. It also helps them to observe the subject closely, especially as they get into more complicated identifications.

We've created a very simple dichotomous key for you to use with young kids up to about 4th or 5th grade. The key includes photographs of a few living things and applies only to the specific set of images we provide with the key. You can't use it to identify anything out in your backyard for example.

Here's a visual image of how a dichotomous key works:

The printable key we created is especially useful when teaching young kids about the major categories of animals: mammals, fish, reptiles, insects, spiders, amphibians, and birds.

ADDITIONAL LAYERS:

Having kids create their own dichotomous key for a specific set of objects (like candy or toys or pets or family members) is a great way for them to really understand how this works. It's also an exercise in logic as they try to create categories that will allow each object to have exactly one answer. They will also understand that objects (or plants and animals) can be grouped in more than one way.
The dichotomous key also gives insight into how the animal classification system works. At each level of the classification system whole bunches of organisms are eliminated, narrowing the pool. For example, what happens when I ask whether the animal has a backbone? Well over half the animals are put into the non-backbone category and I can move on with a much narrowed field. Then I might ask if it has feathers. Everything without feathers would be shunted to the side and so on. For the most part people take into account the way animals look and the way they behave or function when putting them into categories, though in recent years the way their DNA stacks up against other animals is taken into account as well.

Worldview

2012-01-05T00:48:00.001-07:00

If you were an ancient Greek you thought the world looked like this:

This is a view of the world first drawn by Ptolemy in about 150 AD. Europeans were using this map of the world with few variations until 1492.

If you were Chinese in the middle ages the world looked like this:

This map was drawn in about 1389. It shows very little other than China.

If you were a Polynesian the world looked like this:

This is a Polynesian stick chart. Each individual navigator/mariner made his own chart from natural materials. The chart does not show land marks. It shows ocean currents and wave patterns. Only the maker of the chart could interpret it as each was unique.

Polynesians navigated by the stars, the currents, and the feel of the ocean waves.

The Arabs drew their maps like this:

Notice that north is at the bottom of the map. It has much more of Asia mapped than Ptolemy's map, but otherwise looks very similar.

Compare the different ways people viewed the world depending on their culture and location. Now every schoolchild in every country on earth learns from the same basic maps and globes. But five hundred years ago the world would have been mostly mystery.

From memory draw your own map of the world with your own town as the center. Begin at your town and expand your map outward showing only places you have actually traveled to. Include roads (trade routes), other towns, mountains and rivers, and major landmarks that are important to you. What is your worldview?

Additional Layers:

Our geographical surroundings aren't the only things that make up the way we see the world. Think about your religious beliefs, your cultural beliefs, the things you value most highly, and the manners you are expected to portray in your daily life. How do these differ form someone halfway across the globe? Does our differnt point of view make it hard for us to understand and accept one another?
The Polynesian navigation techniques and skills are unique in the world. Imagine lying down in the bottom of your canoe in the middle of avast ocean and telling by the feel of the motion of your little craft where the nearest land was located. There is evidence that Polynesians traveled far over the ocean, not just made little hops to the next island. For example puka shells from the Pacific have been found in archeological digs in Ohio.
People have always been curious to some extent about what lay beyond the bend in the road, but the British Geographical Society turned this curiosity and wanderlust into an absolute fanaticism for knowledge. They not only sponsored expeditions and created maps from information gathered, but actually trained and groomed explorers to find new lands, mapping and describing as they went. Many of their trained explorers, who traveled the world and understood customs and languages of far off and sometimes obscure places, were used as secret agents by the British government as well.
The map of the world changed drastically after 1492. What momentous geography challenging event happened that year?

Foundational Principles of Good Government

2012-01-03T22:00:00.000-07:00

Foundational Principles of Good Government is a high school US government course, designed to be a discussion between the student and mentor. It covers:

What are the different types of government
Why do we have government
Where does government get its authority
What are the duties and responsibilities of government
What are the duties and responsibilities of citizens
How is the government divided to provide checks and balances
What is the government is prohibited from doing
How do economics play into government
Warnings from the founders

Each of the nine units have an explanation and explains the topic discussed. Thought provoking discussion questions are sprinkled throughout along with direct quotes from the founders to back up the ideas presented. References to passages in the founding documents and the Federalist Papers are given so the student can do further reading. In the appendix we list further reading for deeper understanding. With some of the recommended reading this course makes for a complete semester long government course for high school.

This course is also for sale at Rainbow Resource Center in physical copy only (but if you buy directly from us, we get 100% of the proceeds).

You can also read the review at The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.

Recommended reading resources (most of these should be at your library or free online, check there first):

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T05:35:00.001-07:00

We hope you have a wonderful Christmas this weekend!
We'll be taking a break for awhile to spend this time with our families, but we look forward to seeing you again in 2012! Have a very Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

Love,

Karen and Michelle

The North Pole May Not Be As Far Away As You Thought

2011-12-23T07:55:00.000-07:00

For a fun twist on geography, instead of learning all about one place in the world, pick a theme and see how many places in the world have names around your theme. Since it's Christmas time, right now you could search for places named, North Pole, Santa Claus, Christmas, Noel, or similar names. Plot them on a Country or World map. It will give the kids good practice with finding places in an atlas and on research skills if you leave the original research up to them or do your research as a group.

Here are some that I found:

Santa Claus, Indiana (right next to Christmas Lake)
Santa Claus, Georgia
Santa Claus, Arizona
Christmas, Arizona
Christmas, Georgia
Christmas, Mississippi
North Pole, Idaho

There are tons more in the United States. Get creative and brainstorm all the Christmas related words you can like, joy, humbug, peppermint, reindeer, mistletoe, elf, each of the reindeer names . . . and search for them.

ADDITIONAL LAYERS:

Besides searching for towns across the country try searching for streets in your town, or the nearest big city, for Christmas themed names.
Imagine you could found a city or re-name your city what would you name it? Write a paragraph explaining the new name and your reasons for it. If you like you can write it as an official letter to the town council.
Find out why your town, your street, your county, and your state are named what they are named.

The History of Christmas

2011-12-23T06:41:00.001-07:00

I love learning about the history behind the things we take for granted. It gives an insight into aspects of our daily lives that we wouldn't even consider without the background information behind it. It's like stepping back and seeing yourself from the outside.

A fun thing to do at this time of year is to learn about the history of Christmas. We know and accept that it's the celebration of the birth of Christ. Even many people who are not Christian know that much, and while that alone is very important to many of us, unfortunately we don't usually know any more.

The actual date of Christ's birth is not recorded in the Bible or in any other ancient documents. It doesn't really matter what the actual date is, the important thing is that we are remembering. But if December 25th isn't Christ's actual birthday, then why do we celebrate Christmas then?

From almost the earliest days of Christianity, missionaries went out to convert the "heathen". But the people they went to convert weren't living in a religious void. They already had their own beliefs and traditions. While many were convinced of Christ, they had a tougher time giving up their pagan celebrations. The wise Christian missionaries, instead of demanding a destruction of their sacred festivals, turned them into Christian celebrations. The winter solstice was one of their bigger celebrations. It was the time when the days ceased to grow shorter and began to grow longer again. It was the promise of the spring to come. So the Christian priest substituted a pagan worship of the sun for the Christian worship of the Son.

To find out more check out these:

Reindeer and Caribou...What's the Difference?

2011-12-22T07:37:00.000-07:00

There are MILLIONS of species of animals on our planet. So many in fact, that no one knows exactly how many there are. Many of the species are very similar to each other, with only slight differences. Caribou and reindeer are two very closely related species. To compare them, use a Venn diagram to look more closely at just how they are the same and how they are different. You may want to print out each statement about the species, and then have kids place them where they belong on the Venn diagram. The statements about just reindeer would go on one side, just caribou would go on the other side, and the things they have in common would go in the middle of the diagram.

Reindeer are semi-domesticated.
Caribou are wild.
Male and female caribou and reindeer grow antlers.
Reindeer are shorter and stouter than caribou.
Caribou are long-legged.
Reindeer are sedentary and don't migrate long distances.
Caribou travel and migrate long distances.
Reindeer have thick, dense fur.
Caribou have thinner fur.
Reindeer and caribou have hollow guard hairs that keep their bodies warm.
Caribou calves are born at the end of May.
Reindeer calves are born at the end of April.
Reindeer and caribou have hooves that can be used as snowshoes.
Reindeer and caribou use their hooves to dig.
Reindeer and caribou live in arctic regions of North America and Eurasia.
Reindeer and caribou share the same genus (Rangifer) and species name (tarandus) *Some people say that this actually makes them the same species, but there are differences due to their domestication.)The first picture is of caribou and the second is a shot of several reindeer. Can you tell the difference?

Additional layers:

How did reindeer become associated with Christmas? Norse mythology tells of Thor, the God of Thunder, who flew through the sky pulled by goats. Goats became an important part of Norse myths and winter festivals. Eventually the role of the goat became a symbol of the Christmas season and was thought to pull Santa's sleigh and warn young children to behave. Clement Clarke Moore changed the goat symbol to reindeer when he wrote the famous, "T'was the Night Before Christmas." He was also the one to first give all the reindeer their names.
Robert May worked at Montgomery Ward, a department store, when he wrote the poem "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" as a marketing ploy for the store. He later republished it as a children's book and gave Rudolph his place as the most famous and beloved reindeer.
Learn how to draw a cute, cartoon reindeer with these simple, step-by-step instructions.
Use your imagination to come up with a silly animal that could pull Santa's sleigh instead of reindeer. Draw a picture of the sleigh pulled by your animal and then write in this style in your writer's notebook: "It would be funny if turtles (fill in your own animal) pulled Santa's sleigh because..."
Try this tongue twister: Running reindeer run 'round red wreaths.
Make reindeer food to sprinkle outside on your lawn this Christmas Eve. Just mix some oatmeal with a bit of silver glitter and sprinkle away! (Then get online and find out what reindeer REALLY eat!)
Read "Imogene's Antlers" by David Small and write about what it would be like to try to go through a whole day with huge antlers on YOUR head!

The Night Before Christmas

2011-12-21T02:19:00.001-07:00

Every year we read several versions of "The Night Before Christmas," the classic poem by Clement Clarke Moore. It's really interesting to read the same poem over and over, but with different interpretations by various illustrators. Today we read a very beautiful and classically illustrated one alongside the version by Mercer Mayer with his little critters. One was done with oil paints and has a old-time, formal feeling. The other was done in an animated style with animal characters rather than people. The difference in tone is amazing. We talked about illustration and what an illustrator's job is. Then for our book project we created our own illustrations for the poem. I typed out several lines from the poem on each page, bound it with simple yarn ties, and then let the kids' creativity and imaginations take over. Instead of straight illustration we got out a variety of collage materials and made each page come to life with some kind of texture on top of our basic drawings. Here are a few sample pages from our books:

This little door opens to reveal a little Santa Clause...
Here is Rudolph, complete with a yarn harness and glitter embellishments...

All of the blankets on this page were made with small fabric scraps...
Here's Santa with a cotton beard and a felt pipe...

The project took quite awhile, but having all the extra collage materials made it continually fun and creative. For some extra fun and discussion you may want to look up other versions of this classic (like "Cajun Night Before Christmas" where even more liberties are taken with the poem!) It's also a fun one for memorization.

Planet Ornaments

2011-12-19T00:23:00.002-07:00

Every year my kids and I make ornaments. They love making the glass ball ornaments that you swish paint and rubbing alcohol into for a marbled look.

This year they got the brilliant plan in their noggins to create the solar system out of their paint-swished ornaments.

It all began with creating a blue and green earth ornament. . .

And then progressed to other planets. . .

This is Jupiter with it's storm - the Great Red Spot

Here is Uranus. . . you can see how it's tipped on it's side with the vertical stripe representing the ring.

Mars, the Red Planet

Of course, the paint jobs are haphazard because after all, it is just paint squeezed into the glass ball and then swished around. Can't really expect perfectly formed continents from that! Still, I thought their solar system had a very spacey, far out look to it. A+ kiddos!

NORAD Tracks Santa

2011-12-18T21:58:00.000-07:00

Every Christmas we check out the NORAD site. They've got stuff about Santa up there all ready. They keep track of how he's coming with toy production, how the reindeer and the elves are doing and so on. They have a countdown on their site and then on the big night they follow Santa as he flies all over the world delivering gifts. Of course in this day of satellites and radar, Santa can't be quite as secretive as he once was and NORAD keeps track of his every move.

NORAD is the acronym for North American Aerospace Defense Command. They are a joint agency with the United States and Canada and are based in Colorado. Their mission is to watch the skies for unfriendly missiles or airplanes over the North American continent.

For kids interested in technology and satellite tracking, or just Santa, the NORAD site can be a fun place to go in December. They have information on who they are and how they track Santa, including radar and actual fighter pilots in the sky.

For kids interested in the military or tracking technology they can visit the official NORAD site as well.

Made In . . . Trade Around the World

2011-12-15T22:11:00.000-07:00

Once you get all those Christmas gifts try this geography lesson. Print out a map, use a globe, or use a wall map of the world. See where each thing you and your family members received for Christmas was made. Put a dot, sticker or tack on each location around the world. It will help you review the locations of countries and probably learn some new ones as well.

You can do this any time of year with the stuff from around your house. Our video camera was made in Japan, no surprise there, and no surprise that the kids toys were almost all made in China. But we also had a t-shirt from Lesotho (had to use the index of the atlas to locate that one), sweat pants from Mauritius (ditto), and our toilet paper is courtesy of Canada. Thanks Canada, we couldn't live without you.

We mapped over fifty items from around our house, most came from the United States or China. None came from Europe or South America.

Additional Layers:

Why do so many things come from Asia, but very few from Europe? See if you can find out the answers.
Is world wide trade a good thing or a bad thing? Should countries freely trade with each other or not? Different economists and politicians have had differing views on international trade. Decide what you believe and why.
How do goods get from one place in the world to another? Did your shoes come by boat, plane, train or truck?
Make a graph of countries your goods come from to see where you get the most stuff. Or you could do a graph of all the continents.