Sites for finding books that go with history time periods

History is one of our most central subjects here, so I love finding literature assignments and family read-aloud books that are about the eras being studied.  Here are a couple of wonderful sites to help with that!

http://www.readingyourwaythroughhistory.com/
http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/history.htm

Article on public school education

My friend Marc emailed this article about school this morning.  Very interesting -- though not completely surprising.  :)

If you've never microwaved soap before...

Awhile back I saw a fun science experiment with Ivory soap.  So this afternoon, we decided to play around and see what we could do.

First we tested a couple bars of soap to see which one would float:  Ivory did, the other did not!

 Looks like they're really getting scientific in the picture below!

Then, we put the bar of Ivory soap on a plate and I told them we were going to put it in the microwave.  I asked each of them to guess what they thought would happen.
Strider said he thought it would melt.
Colsen said he thought it would dissolve.
Rayna said she thought it would turn brown.
Miles was still grumpy from waking up from his nap, so had no guess.

Experiment begun!

It started to grow and grow and grow...

... and this was the result!

 No one's hypothesis was correct, but they thought it was really cool anyway.  Their conclusion was that it came out "marshmallow-y."

Then, of course, they wanted to try nuking another bar. (Things are starting to degenerate obviously -- why is there a child sitting on the counter??) So we put it on a plate...

... and back to the microwave we went with great anticipation.

This one turned out quite differently!  "Omelet-y" they said.

(Somebody please tell the child to get off the counter!)

 They all had fun playing with the results.

And, Miles, as usual, thought he needed to get into the action more.  (Who wants to bet there will soon be 2 children on the counter?)

Fun afternoon with soap!

School prep

I think my favorite part about teaching is the planning.  I love to get ready, to figure out how all the pieces should fit, to make schedules and charts, get organized.  This year, since we'll only be here for the first semester, my planning was more complicated and confusing -- and pretty overwhelming.  I'm so thankful to live in an area where there are so many different classes and electives and clubs and activities offered.... but my decision-making-impairedness is very challenged by it all!  Slowly, I've made some progress, though, and was happy to at least finally get a few charts and new systems put in place!

Here are the things I'm most pleased with:

 This is my chart mapping out every half-hour of each day, and what each member of the family should be doing during that time.  I know that we are likely to actually do these things only about 10% of the time, but at least it's something to shoot for!

 The kids' bulletin board has their schedules and their chart identifying their responsibilites for each day.

 I don't have a label-maker, but I pretend like I do!  (I just cut these out of a full-sheet label paper).  Now, theoretically, the books should be put back in the same place every day, reducing the amount of time spent answering the "Where is my math book?" daily question.  I know this will only work for the first few weeks -- or until the labels are peeled off, whichever comes first.

 And speaking of label-peeling...  I was so proud of myself to dig out this hand-me-down shelf unit and label all the slots to cut down on the paper confusion around here.

 But -- and this is not an exaggeration -- within mere MINUTES of me setting it up, someone had already come by and done this!  What is with my kids and their need to constantly peel things off of other things??

Anyway, I'm still excited about the promise of this new school year.  And I'm mostly excited about the fact that we have an in-home, electric pencil sharpener, which is now going on 15 hours of working life -- I'm pretty sure that's a record for us.  What a luxury to have all kinds of sharpened pencils at the ready!

No pressure to start school early

This recently published academic paper is reassuring!  Starting the kids later in an academic setting (and letting them PLAY and be kids while they are young) is not detrimental to their later schooling.... In fact, starting too early can actually have the opposite of the intended effect!

http://papers.nber.org/papers/w17085#fromrss

A great summary: Why would anyone homeschool

Much better said, and done, than I could ever do!

http://www.aholyexperience.com/2011/05/pros-cons-homeschooling-christian-educatio/

If you're not going to the Sistine Chapel anytime soon....

... or even if you ARE going, but won't be able to get up close to the ceiling, here is an interactive web site that shows all the detail of Michelangelo's work.

We think it's awesome!

http://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/sistina_vr/index.html

Good "bug" videos

My kids have been getting a kick out of these today!  I highly recommend them.  There's a whole series, each about 4-5 minutes long.

Not surprisingly, the one titled "hyperactive" has been a favorite:

If you watch them, make sure to have your speakers on.  For being "wordless" the sounds still convey the best part!

Science experiment day(s)

Today's co-op theme was science experiments!  This was such a hit last semester, we decided to do it again.  Which means we (moms) had to come up with even more fun experiments to do.... I guess it was sort of a Science Fair for us mothers!  Thankfully God has made a very interesting world, and there never seems to be an end of cool science to learn.

My station/experiment was about the difference between baking soda and baking powder.  (Did you know baking powder has an added acid in it, so it begins to react (fizz) when any liquid is added?  That's why we have to mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately until right before we bake muffins!)

We also taste-tested corn muffins, one batch made with just baking soda and one made with baking powder, to see the differences in texture. Strider said he felt like he was on the tasting lab of "America's Test Kitchen."  That made my day.

The other moms had separate experiments for groups of kids to rotate through as well...  I didn't get to see any of them first-hand, but from what I heard (and these pictures which Strider took), it appears there were experiments about the freezing nature of salt, the floating nature of salt-water, putting a sharp stick through a balloon using vegetable oil, .... and.....

the perennial favorite:  Mentos exploding in a Coke bottle!

Two weeks ago our co-op topic was about electricity, and the kids got to see how to make a battery out of vinegar (or a lemon or a potato), a nail and copper wire.  I love this stuff!!

And the kids do, too!

Something to teach the kids this week

What a great video about reversing our thinking!

http://www.sermonspice.com/product/28742

Learning about Dance

For co-op this week, my friend Melanie helped me (long-distance) in creating a lesson plan to teach the kids more about dance and movement.  Melanie has taught grade-school kids in a program for the Lincoln Center in NYC, not to mention the fact that she is a choreographer and professor in the dance program at University of Buffalo, so I knew she'd be the perfect person to give me some ideas!  And she was.

So here's what the kids ended up doing...

First they explored all different ways a certain action word could be demonstrated with their bodies... like BEND

or SWAY.

Then, in the style of famous choreographer Merce Cunningham, the kids all put together random motions built on action words (verbs) paired with quality words (adjectives or adverbs), and repetition.  The results were fun to watch! 

In teams of boys/girls, they also acted out specific scenes for the other team to guess.  Here are the girls doing "sunrise and sunset:"

(The boys guessed this right away!)

Finally, we watched a couple of professional dance pieces, to discuss, compare and contrast the styles and messages.  First up was one called "Beach Birds" by Merce Cunningham.

When the kids were able to get past their issues with the "costumes" the dancers were wearing, they were able to see how some of the random movements did actually look like birds on a beach.

Then we watched this video online of Melanie herself performing! 

Afterwards, we were able to discuss the very clear and profound message that this dance portrays.  "Those who hear not the music, think the dancer mad."  And the kids were really able to SEE this and understand it.  I thought that was pretty cool.  (I highly recommend this video/dance.... it's really good!)

What fascinating ways God has created our bodies and our minds, and our desires and abilities to communicate with one another.  We had a fun morning exploring the creative ways we could express concepts and ideas -- in ways we normally don't.

Project FAIL

If I were to make a list of the Top 10 Disadvantages to Homeschooling,  papier-mâché would probably make the top of the list.

I think it's become accepted that all American children have the inalienable right to make a papier-mâché project at some point in their childhood, and since my kids do not have access to the well-stocked art room manned by the unflagging, ever-creative art teacher, the task of providing the experience falls to me.  So.... since it was suggested in our Learning Calendar for this month that we do one of these projects, I gamely complied.

And, man was it messy!

 We got the flour-water mixture everywhere!  What a pain it was to clean off of all the surfaces.  Pete came home in the middle of the disorderly process, and before he even had time to sigh in exasperation, I assured him, "Don't worry -- we are never doing this again!"

(Later, after he had spent a considerable amount of time scrubbing out the pot we had used, he reminded me of my promise.)

The kids had fun... why wouldn't they?  And by the time we had finished with the first stage, I was able to eke out a smile of my own -- since the hard part was now over, I figured...

Then, a couple of days later, we excitedly popped the balloon that was the basis of our structure, and the kids ooh-ed and ahh-ed at how the shape still stayed formed.  We had decided to make it into a hot air balloon, so after a lot of contemplation and negotiations about design (stripes?  solid color?  horizontal or vertical orientation?) and color (red-and-yellow?  blue-and-yellow?  red-and-blue?), they finally arrived at a conclusion:  just put a bunch of paint on it.

(Extreme mess #2)

At this point, I am assuming all the expert papier-mâché-ers would gasp in alarm because, as we soon discovered, we had followed the steps in an incorrect order.  Apparently we should have painted before we popped the balloon!  Once the shape became all wet again with the paint, this is what happened:

So, our big hot air balloon never even got off the ground before its pathetic demise.

The moral of the story, then, is to paint the structure before you pop the balloon.

Or, actually, I think the real moral of the story is don't ever do a papier-mâché project at home.  At least at our home.  I wish the public schools would just let my kids come for art class!

Inspiration for teaching

"I dispense the honey of the Holy Scriptures,
the old wine of the classics,
the fruit of grammar,
and the dazzling splendor of the stars."
    -- Alcuin (an English monk who created a palace school, under the reign of Charlemagne)

Teaching sure sounds magnificent the way he puts it!  Much better than "I'm reading verses, making my kids read books, drilling grammar rules and math facts, and going through a science textbook."

 I need this fresh inspiration right around this time of year!  Thankful to be homeschooing today...

Homeschooling at its best

I walked into this scene yesterday.

Colsen was teaching himself some Oceanography, and Milo was reading some History.  (He's so smart he can read upside-down)

I love when they have their own little school while I'm busy teaching their older siblings!  Of course this has only happened once in awhile... most of the time they're busy destroying something.