Antarctica

This is the last continent we are studying this school year. One more week to go, and we will be done with Exploring Countries and Cultures (ECC)!

This week, we took a closer look at animals in the Arctic and Antarctic:  Different types of penguines, Snowy Owls, Polar Bears, Lemmings, Wolverines, Orca Whales, and Seals.

Here's a fun video about one lucky penguin! He just barely escapes getting eaten by an orca whale by jumping into a boat.

And, in this video, you see a very interesting event of an orca capturing a seal. Be sure to continue to the very end of the video for a neat surprise!

Here, you can see the kids painting crystalized snow flakes. After painting, they sprinkled salt on them to make the crystalizing affect.

Here we did an iceberg experiment, where we floated a large piece of ice in some water to see how much of it actually floats above the water.

Then, Coyote decided to make it more "real" by adding a toy seal getting ready to go after a penguin. I love his imagination!

G-Day Mate! (Australia, Part 2) - FUN STUFF!

G’day Mate!

We finished up Australia (Oz) this week. We continued learning about island life and different kinds of animals in Australia, especially marsupials (which are animals that raise their young in a pouch.) We also learned some Australian dialect, which I’ll tell you more about later. First, here is a list of the animals we covered:

• Kangaroos & Joeys
• Wallabies
• Echidnas (a spiney anteater)
• Wombats
• Parrots and other Oz birds
• Koala Bears

Here’s a neat video from BBC Wildlife about Wombats. NOTE: If you are claustrophic, you may not like this video. But, its short and shows the interesting home life of an underground wombat.

Here you can watch the amazing birth of a baby kangaroo and how it instinctively knows where to go after its born. Nothing short of a God-thing!

When we learned about koala bears, we made little, edible KB's. Here, the kids are mixing 1 TB of Sunbutter (or Peanut Butter, if you’re kids are not allergic), and 1 TB of powdered sugar.

Once its all mixed, use clean hands to shape into 2 balls - a bigger one for the body, a smaller one for the head. Then, roll them into cocoa powder, place the head on top of the body, and add rasins or Craisins for the nose, ears, and 4 feet.

Then, eat it!

As I already mentioned, we also learned some Australian dialect, and picked out a lot of the words we learned in an old Australian song, called Waltzing Matilda. I have heard this song before, but never really understood what it meant. It’s a song about a wanderer who is going on a long hike (called a waltz). He takes a pot to cook in and several other necessities, all rolled up into his bedroll, which he calls Matilda - sort of like his companion, since he’s out there all alone. He, then, finds a sheep drinking by a pond on someone else’s property. He takes the sheep and stuffs it into his food bag. Then, the landowner sees it and calls the troopers (policemen on horses). They arrest him and are taking him away when he jumps into the pond, never to be seen again. However, the legend lives on...

Here is the song, sung by Slim Dusty, who is known as Australia’s king of Country music. As you listen to the song, you can pick out these words:

swagman = wanderer
matilda = bedroll
billabong = pond
billy = pail used for heating water
coolibah = a type of gum tree
jumbuck = sheep
tucker bag = food bag
squatter = land owner
troopers = policemen on horses

Slim Dusty has several other neat songs that we listened to as well, and were able to pick out the Australian words in them. There’s a song he sings about a DINGO, which is a wild dog that roams in the BUSH (countryside) of the OUTBACK (the interior portion of Oz that is mostly desert). There is another song he sings about the ABORIGINES (the native people of Oz). And, there is a song he sings about a ROAD TRAIN, which is a semi truck that has up to 3 trailers attached to it, carrying goods across the country.

I could tell you more, but think I will stop there. Overall, we had a great time learning about Australia, and it would be neat if we could visit there someday.

Ta (Good-bye) for now!

Having Fun with Australia!

This week, we started learning about Australia, and we've been having quite a bit of fun! For part of each day, we learned about an animal that lives in Australia or the surrounding islands.

Remember the old song about a laughing Kookaburra bird? I remember learning it when I was in school. Coyote & Road Runner enjoyed learning it this week, too:

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree.

Merry merry king of the bush is he.

Laugh kookaburra, laugh kookaburra.

Gay your life must be.

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree.

Counting all the gumdrops he can see.

Stop kookaburra, stop kookaburra.

Save some there for me.

(Head on over to KIDiddles to hear the music and see the rest of the lyrics.)

Other animals we learned about were a kangaroo, dingo, Tasmanian devil, and a platypus. We mainly used The Complete Book of Animals (by American Education Publishing); and also found the animals on You Tube, so we could see them in action.

When we learned about the platypus, I found a really cute video from a ventriloquist by the name of Steve Axtell. You have GOT to watch this! (Warning: It can become addicting!) The kids love this video...

We also found an old cartoon the kids enjoyed about the AUSTRALIAN PLATYPUS. You might enjoy watching that, as well.

For Science, we've learned about coral reefs and islands - what they are, where they are, and how they are formed. One of the animals found in the Galapagos Islands (near Ecuador), is called a Blue-footed Booby Bird. Have you ever heard of such a thing? They are very interesting. In case you were wondering (like I was), the name "booby" comes from the Spanish term bobo, which actually means "stupid," "fool," or "clown." I looked it up on Wikipedia and, the reason for this name is because the Booby is a clumsy bird on the land. Also, they tend to be very tame, which makes them easily captured, killed, and eaten by humans. Here's a short video you can watch from National Geographic about the birds. And, yes... they really do have BLUE feet! See for yourself!

One more thing I wanted to tell you about is a neat website for kids called “Can Do Street." I found out about this from MANY HATS MOMMY, who has a child with autism. It is a FREE online program that teaches about social skills. There are programs (short interactive videos), games, activities and other resources all geared towards helping children make good choices about personal safety, appropriate behavior, helping others, and other life skills. There is also a blog for the parents/teachers, lesson plans, and craft ideas. Check it out!

CAN DO STREET

Russia, Easter & Safety Day

As we're nearing the end of Exploring Countries & Cultures, I have slowed down on my enthusiasm, but we are still learning.

Over the past couple of weeks, we studied the country of Russia. We didn't make or do anything real exciting, so I only have one picture to show. We tried a Russian recipe called Pirog, which is a type of Russian apple pie. It was okay. It turned out more like a cake than a pie. Road Runner liked it the best out of all of us. She loves cake.

During the week before Easter, we spent time going through the Resurrection Eggs. And, on Easter Sunday, we made Resurrection Rolls. Those were yummy!!!

Last Friday, we attended a Safety Day and the kids enjoyed learning about the ambulance, fire department, electrical safety, personal safety, etc. Here is Coyote being put into the back of an ambulance...

And, here, the kids got to meet Jesse Walker, a weatherman from WTWO in Terra Haute. They enjoyed talking with him and were also excited to see their picture on the evening news that night.

Other than that, I don't have much to share. Hopefully, next week, we will get more "into" our subjects again. We will be learning about Australia, and it looks like it will be fun!
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Recap of the past few weeks

Over the past few weeks, aside from our usual "readin', ritin', and rithmetic," we also....

...Studied about JAPAN

...Tried a new kind of beef noodle soup. (It was wayyy too salty!) 

...Tried our hand at making origami animals (That didn't turn out too well. Wayyy too complicated!)

...Learned more about the ocean and its different levels.

*The ocean has 3 levels to it:  sunlit zone, twilight zone, and midnight zone.

...Learned a bit about beaches and estuaries.

* An estuary is a point where the sea water and the fresh water come together.

...Attended a curriculum sale/swap.

...Attended a Creation seminar with Gary Bates from Creation Ministries International.

...And, went on a field trip to visit area businesses (Flower shop, Grocery Store, and Bank).

* The kids got to turn carnations into bunnies, tour a grocery store (bakery, freezer, produce, checkout, etc.), and cash in their change for dollar bills.

THIS week, we started on RUSSIA; and, we are also focusing some of our time on Easter (Resurrection Sunday). We are going through the "resurrection eggs," reading stories of Easter, drawing pictures, and watching music videos - all to help us focus on the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord. Here are a couple of the pictures the kids drew. (We have been discussing how the signs of Spring, bunnies, and eggs are all symbols of new life - just like the new life we have when we have faith in Jesus.)

Road Runner's Picture

Coyote's picture

HAPPY EASTER!!!

Two Weeks of China - Lots of Pictures!

For the past 2 weeks, we have learned about China in our History and Geography lessons.

It has been a fun two weeks. Here are a few pictures from only some of the activities we did...

We learned how to play Chinese Checkers.

We ate a Chinese meal of stir fry and fortune cookies. The noodles you see in the stir fry are called rice sticks. It was a nice change from the usual rice grains, or wheat noodles.

We used our Global Art book to learn how many Chinese artists will not sign their name to their artwork but, instead, will stamp their initials onto it. To explain this, we gouged out the kids initials on a small eraser, then used an ink pad to stamp the "signature" onto their artwork.

We learned about Tangram puzzles, where shapes are cut out and designs are made with the shapes. Here, the kids used their shapes to make a swan.

We also made paper Chinese lanterns and watched You Tube videos about the Chinese New Year, a time when a lantern festival takes place and hundreds of lanterns are released into the night sky.

I finished up our studies of China by pulling out some of the keepsakes given to me by my pen pals from Taiwan many years ago. My husband and I also received some things from two Korean college students who stayed with us for a weekend (before we had kids). The kids enjoyed looking at all the items, but especially the delicate art of papercutting. After we looked at all the paper animals, each of the kids chose one they wanted to draw and put into their school notebooks.



Road Runner took a look at the purple dog and decided she wanted to draw that. Not a surprise, since dogs are her favorite animals!

Coyote decided to draw a dragon.

We also listened to Chinese music, learned a little about Buddha, learned about the ancient practice of foot binding, and read about some missionaries who went to China. 

For Science, we mostly concentrated on oceans. We labeled the 5 oceans on a worksheet, learned about the different levels of the ocean, which animals live in the ocean, and got to see what the ocean tastes like when I mixed 1 tsp. of salt with 10 TB of water.  

Aside from our usual school studies, we also took a field trip to the local Bank and Post Office.

Here we are inside the bank vault where all the safe deposit boxes are kept.

Here we are in the Board Room.

At the post office, each of the kids took a turn at hand-stamping a letter.

And, since our Aggie Cat has been feeling much better, the kids have been enjoying spending some extra time with her.

Next week, we start learning about JAPAN!

India, Mountains, & Volcanoes

For the past 2 weeks, as part of our studies about Asia, we mostly concentrated on the country of India.

The kids colored the flag, and learned what the different colors represent:

Orange = Courage & Sacrifice
White = Purity & Truth
Green = Faith & Fertility
The wheel = Ancient symbol called Dharma Chakra (Wheel of Law)

We learned about the Taj Mahal, one of the world's most magnificent buildings, and did a crossword puzzle containing different facts about India. 

We also tried a popular unleavened bread recipe that is eaten in India, called Chapattis. I mixed 4 cups of flour with 2 TB of canola oil and 1 tsp. of salt. Then, gradually mixed in 1-2 cups of water to make a thick dough. Then, the dough was divided into 12 equal balls and flattened with a rolling pin into a 5-inch circle.

The bread was then fried on a hot griddle and served warm with butter and honey. It was edible, but not our favorite. Too bland, and too heavy. Maybe it would be better with a little sugar mixed in and/or some cornmeal instead of all flour.

For Science, we learned about mountains and volcanoes. The kids made models of a mountain by, first, taping a plastic cup to a paper plate with masking tape.

Then, covering the cup with newspaper and taping it down onto the plate.

Then, painting it brown....

After it dried, they added cotton for the snow, green tissue paper for the trees and bushes, and dried beans for rocks.

And, here was the final product....

A few days later, we used a Volcanoes Kid Kit (from Usborne) to learn more about volcanoes and watch one “erupt” on our kitchen table. I believe this kit is currently out of stock with Usborne but, if you do an online search for it, similar items will pop up for purchase elsewhere. Or, you can follow the instructions in the My Father's World manual for ECC and make a volcano out of clay. (We would have done that if we didn't already own the volcano kit.)

First, we gathered all of the ingredients we needed: dish soap, baking soda, vinegar, tissue, empty bottle, and our volcano model. We added a food coloring tablet to ½ cup vinegar and let it dissolve.

Then, Coyote poured it into an empty BBQ sauce bottle (hidden under the volcano), and Road Runner added a squirt of dish soap.

After that, I added baking soda rolled up in a piece of tissue. Then, we waited a couple of minutes for the reaction to occur. It was a neat site to watch as the “lava” flowed from the top of the volcano.

On Friday, we heard about the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan, so spent some time learning about tsunamis, as well as praying for the people who have been affected by it.

We also had a Dr. Seuss day at the library on Friday, with several other homeschoolers, and shared what some of our favorite books are. From what I could tell, we don't even own a Dr. Seuss book anymore because I think we gave them away before we moved a couple years ago. But, the kids do enjoy watching "Horton Hears a Who" on DVD, which we still have.

So, that's it for now.... Next week, we start learning about China!
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