This week is a break week for us. We're schooling year-round with a lot of time off. If you're following the Literary Explorations program, the upcoming books are Good Night, Gorilla and Corduroy with My Father's Dragon as the read-aloud.
We've had some fun unschooling experiences lately, including the discovery and identification of a barking tree frog in our bathroom, which we moved into our habitat for study and then released.
The Spawn also found my giant container of pattern blocks. I pulled out some pattern sheets and he went to town. These were a big hit.
We're gearing up for the tropical storm which is supposed to hit us directly late tomorrow into Friday, so we're talking about being prepared for storms and securing our outdoor belongings. We're packing our hurricane bags: Thomas engines, snacks and pajamas for The Spawn; chocolate, vodka and Jane Austen novels for me. Bring on the rain. I could do with an excuse to binge read the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for the 18,452nd time. Ah, yes. Also for our storm preparation: we'll not forget to pack our towels.
Begin each day by reading the story The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown.
DISCUSSION PROMPTS
Ask your student the following questions to jump-start a discussion.
Did you like the story, The Runaway Bunny?
Which part of the story did you like best?
What kinds of things did the little bunny become? What might you like to become when you are older? The bunny talks about running away. Do you think this is a good thing for the bunny to do? What might the bunny do instead?
ADDITIONAL READING: The bunny runs away to the circus to become a flying trapeze artist. Read the poem, The Acrobats, by Shel Silverstein.
ENRICHMENT ACTIVITY: Popsicle Stick Rafts
SUPPLIES
Popsicle sticks Glue Wooden skewers or small dowels Corks
Empty milk carton Straws and plastic bin for racing
Step 1: Paint popsicle sticks if you wish. Glue popsicle sticks together to make a raft. Glue two sticks onto the bottom parallel to your raft sticks.
Step 2: Cut a hole into one end of a cork. Glue a skewer or dowel into hole. Glue cork to raft. Step 3: Glue corks onto the bottom of raft. Step 4: Cut sail out of milk carton. Attach milk carton sail to skewer. Step 6: Fill plastic bin with water and use straws to blow your raft across the water's surface.
EXPLORATIONS
Practice "tightrope walking". Put down some tape or a rope and walk the line.
The runaway bunny talks about becoming a flower. Plant something and talk about caring for plants.
The Spawn has just started preschool which I have been planning since before I was pregnant. I'm not kidding. And since I know exactly how picky I am about things like, I don't know, facts with a healthy side of secular worldview, I knew that world history would be a tricky thing to prep. So I started early. Kindergarten will be devoted to prehistory/intro to geography and I'm piecing that together but 1st-4th grades we'll be on a Classical cycle:
1st grade: Ancient History
2nd grade: The Middle Ages
3rd grade: Early Modern Times
4th grade: Modern Age
Then we'll repeat the cycle in increasing depth twice more in 5th-8th and 9th-12th, with summer units to reinforce prehistory, geography, and the Cosmos.
I really, really, REALLY love the idea of a timeline. Specifically a timeline song. And I've done my research. A few years ago I began the search for the holy grail of timeline songs. And, as expected, all of the timeline songs that I found had something in common with the holy grail. They were either super-duper religious or totally non-existent. Warning: Python tangent ahead.
Ahem, as I was saying.
As I don't have a full orchestra in my homeschool materials closet (surprising, I know!) I've decided that writing, orchestrating, recording, and mixing my own timeline song is not a project that I wish to undertake.
Enter: Classical Conversations.
For those of you unfamiliar, Classical Conversations (CC) is a Christian company with classical homeschool materials and co-op programs. They also have a timeline song. And I bought it. Their timeline song is meant to go along with the CC Classical Acts and Facts cards. It also has a sign language component which is right up our alley.
Unfortunately, CC is decidedly un-secular. The timeline song begins with creation, goes through the fall of man, the flood, etc. This is totally expected from a Christian-based company. But it also includes motherfucking Billy Graham's birth as an event deserving of inclusion in a timeline of the Events of World History.
Picard does not approve of this fuckery.
I'm planning to replace these moronic additions with things like "3500 BCE" instead of "creation" and "Einstein's Theory of Relativity" in place of "Motherfucking Billy Graham". That last one might not be a direct quote from their version.
So I'm geeking out over my version of the timeline song. And I'm trying to work lesson plans with the usable narratives from SOTW and a whole bunch of secular reference materials: Usborne IL Encyclopedia of World History, Oxford Children's History of the World, A History of World Societies, The Humanistic Tradition, The Earth and Its Peoples, and A Little History of the World. Any suggestions for other reference materials that won't make me want to remove my eyeballs with a red-hot cocktail fork? Thanks in advance.
Step 1: Cut out the blueberry number labels and affix to small cups.
Step 2:Fill a bowl with at least 55 blue pom-poms (or rotate them out and do less numbers at a time).
Step 3: Show your student how to use the tongs to transfer the poms from the bowl to the cup.
Step
4: Help your student to count and transfer the appropriate number of "blueberries" to the corresponding cup.
The Spawn preferred using his fingers to the tweezers. They were a bit too large for his hands. This was a big hit and he asked for it twice after we'd moved on to other things. :)
ENRICHMENT ACTIVITY: Blueberry Muffins
INGREDIENTS
1.5 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 tsp salt 2 tsp baking powder 1/3 cup vegetable oil 1 egg approx. 1/2 cup buttermilk 1 cup fresh blueberries For the topping: 2/3 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup all purpose flour 2 tbsp butter at room temperature 1/4 tsp cinnamon (optional) DIRECTIONS 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray top and cups of muffin pan with non-stick spray. 2. Combine flour, brown sugar and baking powder. 3. In a 1-cup measuring cup, combine oil and egg. Add enough buttermilk to fill cup. Add to flour mixture. Stir until just combined. Fold in blueberries. 4. Fill muffin cups to the top. Sprinkle with crumb topping. 5. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Increase temperature to 400 and bake for an additional 3-7 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 5-10 minutes before removing. Crumb Topping: 1. Mix brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter with a fork until combined.
EXPLORATIONS
Go fruit picking. Look for you-pick farms and bring home a bounty of fruits or veggies.
Store something for the winter: You could learn to preserve or can food. If you have a fireplace or fire pit, go out and gather firewood. This is a good time to talk about saving money for later. Count coins into a piggybank or open a bank account.
Watch this video to learn what kinds of foods bears eat:
Begin each day by reading the story Freight Train by Donald Crews.
DISCUSSION PROMPTS
Ask your student the following questions to jump-start a discussion.
Did you like the story, Freight Train?
Which part of the story did you like best?
Do you have a favorite color from Freight Train?
ADDITIONAL READING: Read the book Inside Freight Train for more discovery.
ENRICHMENT ACTIVITY: Alphabet Matching Train
SUPPLIES
Construction paper Scissors
1.5” Circle Hole Punch Sticky dots or double stick tape (velcro if laminating)
Tape-safe surface or poster/foam board Black sharpie
Step 1: Cut out a train engine from 1/4 black sheet of paper.
Step 2:Cut 8 sheets of construction paper in quarters to make boxcars.
Step 3: Punch 26 circles of various colors of construction paper for each type of matching you want to do (uppercase/lowercase, uppercase cursive, lowercase cursive).
Step 4: Write alphabet letters on boxcars (3 per car) and attach a sticky dot or piece of double stick tape beneath each letter for the wheels. (I used felt/velcro because I laminated my letters. I know that Atlas will flip his shit if I try to take letters away from him after one use.)
Step 5: Attach train to wall or surface.
Step 6: Write alphabet letters on circles (wheels).
Step 7: Mix up wheels and have your student match and attach wheels to corresponding boxcar. You could also match uppercase and lowercase or manuscript and cursive.
Step 2:Print enough copies to have all of the letters in your child's name.
Step 3: Cut out the engine and the boxcars to spell your child's name.
Step 4: Have your child trace the letters of their name with a marker. Let your child color the boxcars. Step 5: Help your child to practice ordering the boxcars to spell their name.
ENRICHMENT ACTIVITY: Egg Carton Steam Train
SUPPLIES
Bottom half of a cardboard egg carton Scissors
Toilet paper tube Cotton balls
Tempera paint and sponges
Step 1: Cut egg carton in half lengthwise.
Step 2:Paint the first section of the upside-down egg carton black for the engine car.
Step 3: Paint each section of the carton a different color, red last for the caboose.
Step 4: Cut off 1/3 of the toilet paper tube and paint the remaining section black for the smoke stack.
Step 4: Attach the smoke stack to the black section of the train.
Step 5: Spread and squish cotton balls to create smoke and attach to smoke stack.
EXPLORATIONS
Snack Idea: eat fruits/veggies to match the train car colors. Monday: red apples (caboose), Tuesday: oranges/carrots (orange tank car), etc.
Each weekly lesson contains several elements. The units are developed for a 5-day week, but you could easily adjust to fit your needs. You should read the Primary Story and a Read-Aloud chapter each day that you "do school". All of the other elements can be spread through the week as you choose.
Begin each day by reading the story Goodnight Moon.
DISCUSSION PROMPTS
Ask your student the following questions to jump-start a discussion.
Did you like the story, Goodnight Moon?
Which part of the story did you like best?
Do you have a favorite picture from Goodnight Moon?
VIDEO
Watch this animated version of the story narrated by Susan Sarandon. It is a segment from the DVD, Goodnight Moon and Other Sleepytime Tales.
ENRICHMENT ACTIVITY
Teach some or all of the following ASL signs and have your student sign with you while you read or watch Goodnight Moon. You can view video examples of these signs at lifeprint.com.
Goodnight: Begin by holding your non-dominant arm horizontally in front of your body, palm down. With a closed flat hand, touch you fingertips to your lips with your dominant hand then place wrist on the back of your non-dominant hand, fingertips pointing down.
Moon: Make your thumb and index finger into a C-shape, while keeping your other fingers curled. Start with the C-shape near your temple and move it up and away from your face.
Telephone: Extend your thumb and pinkie into the “Y” hand shape, like an imaginary telephone, and hold your hand to your ear as if you were talking on the phone.
Balloon: Place your closed fists in front of your lips and expand them into an open shape, representing the action of blowing up a balloon.
Cow: Extend your thumb and pinkie into the “Y” hand shape. Place your thumb against your temple and twist your hand forward and back.
Bears: Cross your arms over your chest and claw your chest twice ending with the fingers in a claw shape.
Mittens: Use your dominant hand to trace the outline of a mitten on your non-dominant hand.
House: Use flat hands to trace the roof and walls of a house from the roof peak down the side walls.
Mouse: With an extended index finger, brush your finger past your nose twice.
Brush: With a closed fist, make a couple of brushing movements near your hair.
Bowl: Use slightly curved hands to show the shape of a bowl from the bottom up the sides.
Lady: With a closed fist and extended thumb, draw thumb tip along jaw toward chin and bring hand in front of chest to an open “5” hand position.
Hush: Place index finger to lips and lean forward slightly.
Stars: Extend your two index fingers and hold them together in front of your face. Raise and lower your two fingers alternatively higher as if you are pointing at lots of stars in the sky.
Noises: Point to (or touch) your ear and then shake your hands a couple of times in front of you.
Everywhere: Begin with both hands palm up at chest and spread hand apart and away from your body.
BONUS ENRICHMENT I made a felt board set for Goodnight Moon. I've seen these for purchase on Etsy if you want to use one but aren't interested in making your own. The Spawn had fun with this.
ENRICHMENT ACTIVITY: Van Gogh Layered Finger Painting
SUPPLIES
Apron Baking Sheet
Aluminum Foil Finger Paint: Blue, Yellow, White, Black
Gold or glitter paint White Paper
Step 1: Pour a small amount of blue paint onto a baking sheet covered in tin foil.
Step 2:Add small dollops of white and yellow paint.
Step 3: Use fingers to create swirls and patterns in the paint.
Step 4: Very lightly lay a piece of white paper on top of the paint and remove. Repeat with a few sheets of paper.
Step 5: Allow paper to dry for a while. You can repeat steps 1-4 a few times if you want more layers and depth.
Step 6: Repeat paint mixing process on foil, mixing gold paint of glitter and swirl with fingers.
Step 7: Lay paper gently on paint to pick up final layer. Remove and dry.
When your paintings have dried, frame them and hang them to enjoy. This technique can also be used to make greeting cards.
EXPLORATIONS
Snack Idea: cut sandwiches into crescent moon shapes.
Have a nighttime excursion to view the moon and stars.
