The First Thanksgiving

Scholastic has a website specifically dedicated to THE FIRST THANKSGIVING. We are using this site this week to learn more about the pilgrims, the Mayflower, the Wampanoag Indians, and what life was like for all of them.

Have a GREAT Thanksgiving!

Egyptian Costumes, Weaving, and Clouds (CTG Week 10)

The kids really enjoyed making their own Egyptian costumes this week. Coyote is Pharoah, and Road Runner is the Queen.

We used the book "Ancient Egypt" to give us an idea of how to make the costumes.

We also used this book to learn more about the Egyptian craft of weaving. I remember the kids' Aunt Jackie giving them a weaving loom for Christmas one year, so we pulled that out and used it to weave some pot holders.

A Science experiment we did this week involved making a cloud in a bottle. We used a clear, empty sodapop bottle and matches. The book "Genesis for Kids" gives the complete instructions.

Basically,  you put very warm water into the bottom of the bottle and lay it on its side. Light a match next to the opening, blow it out, squeeze the bottle to suck in the smoke, then quickly screw on the lid. Sqeeze the bottle several times. As you put pressure on the bottle, the air inside is clear. When you release the pressure, a cloud forms. Its hard to see it in the picture, but it really did work! The entire bottle clouded up.

Next week, we are taking a break from our regular MFW curriculum and will be focusing on Thanksgiving, the Pilgrims & Indians, the Mayflower, etc. I'm looking forward to it!

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Ancient Egyptian Homes, Air, and Veteran's Day (CTG weeks 8 & 9)

For the past couple of weeks, we have continued our studies about ancient Egypt. One of our projects was to make a model of what their homes might have looked like. We were able to use cardboard, or modeling clay. Coyote chose to use clay and, with a little bit of my help, this is what we ended up with:

Road Runner does not enjoy getting her hands dirty with clay, so I allowed her to draw her own version of an ancient Egyptian home. She loves to draw, so this was right up her alley.

We have also been continuing our voyage through Biblical history. Our travels have now brought us through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob & Esau, and Joseph. As we learn about these people from the Bible, we have been reading it from the Scriptures and also watching a cartoon version of each event on You Tube.

For Science, we are learning more about AIR. One of our experiements was to find out what happens to a candle after all the air has been used up by its flame.

Of course, the flame went out! And, a vacuum was left inside the glass. We did this experiment several times, as the kids thought it was pretty "cool."

TODAY is Veteran's Day. Since Fridays are usually our Creative Writing days, I found a project for the kids to do related to Veteran's Day. I found it on CurrClick.com for only 50 cents! It's a downloadable project, so all I had to do was save it on my computer, then print out the pages I wanted for each child to do. Today, the kids used their imagination to see what it might be like for soldiers who have to leave their family and friends to go overseas to serve our country. They had to figure out what kinds of things they might miss the most, and then write a letter to someone telling them about what they miss and look forward to coming home to.

Here is what Road Runner wrote. (Remember... She is a 13 year old with autism and this was her best work. I think she did a GREAT job! The only thing I needed to help her with was where to place the periods at the end of each sentence.)

Dear Grandma & Grandpa,

I miss my mommy and daddy.
I miss 2 cats.
I miss my room.
I miss my house.
I miss my table and chairs.
I miss the clock.
I miss the TV.
I miss the bathroom.

Take care,
"Road Runner"

Homeschool Blog Award Nominee

This blog (SONset Academy) has been nominated for the Homeschool Blog Awards under two different categories:  "Favorite Homeschool Mom Blog" and "Best Crafts, Plans & Projects." If you feel this blog is worthy of winning in either of those categories, please go HERE to place your vote. Thanks!