Posted by Cindy on November 12, 2008
It just so happens that we’re studying chemistry this year AND the Living Arts and Science Center has a special exhibit open called Invisible World: The Beauty of Microscopic Life. Perfect!
Observing prepared slides of all sorts.
Completing a scavenger hunt of the hands-on exhibits.
Making our own pond water slides for the microscope.
Guessing what items are magnified.
Do I look any bigger to you?
Magnifying letters using various unconventional tools.
Fingerprinting with pencil lead and tape in order to observe the prints under hand-held microscopes.
We visit the LASC every year. They do a wonderful job with hands-on learning!
Posted by Cindy on November 11, 2008
For the last few weeks, we’ve been studying Degas and Tchaikovsky during our artist and composer time. For the study of Degas, we spent some time each Tuesday either reading a book about him, observing his artwork or doing an art project related to him. In studying Tchaikovsky, we took some time each week to listen to his story at Classics For Kids or listen to some of his more famous pieces online.
I found several ideas and pictures to study Degas at the following websites:
Degas for Kids
Picture Study with Questions
Sculpting Activity
Last week’s studies included listening toTchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. (The week before we listened to the 1812 Overture.) For Degas, we studied a few of the non-ballerina pieces found here. (The past few weeks have all seemed to focus on Degas’ ballerina paintings and sculpture.)
Since both of my big kids love horses, they latched onto Racehorses at Longchamp, Jockeys in the Rain, and Race Horses right away. After studying each of the paintings a bit, I let the kiddos try their hand at placing a horse within a landscape. Drawing a horse is pretty hard work. Add that to drawing a horse inside a landscape and you’ve got quite a task for 3rd and 6th graders. I love their finished products, though.
This week, we’re starting Winslow Homer and Franz Joseph Hayden!
Posted by Cindy on November 10, 2008
October/November = lots of falling leaves and lots of candy. What better to do with both of those things? Math, of course!
Whether you have extra M&M’s, Skittles, Smarties, Runts, or just a big bunch of assorted candy bars, take a few minutes to turn those sweets into more than cavities. Even little bitty ones can sort candy, place the pieces on a blank grid, then color a bar graph. As the kiddos get bigger, all the more fun they can have graphing their candy. Click here to check out my candy math ideas!
And don’t forget all those autumn leaves! Make a nature walk even more productive by collecting a sack of leaves to sort and graph.
Literal or concrete graphs are not only fun, but help younger ones understand better what a graph on paper represents.
After making the concrete graphs, my children jotted the information and used centimeter grid paper to design their own graphs.
Happy graphing!
Posted by Cindy on November 9, 2008
My last baby has (finally) stopped nursing. We’ve both cried some, but he is a big boy who understands that it’s time to move on.
On the positive side, though, I can have dairy and citrus products again! (He’s allergic to both and I have truly sacrificed for him for nearly two years without cheese and ice cream!) Dairy Queen Blizzards – here I come!!! I’m thinking lasagna might be on the menu this week, too…..
Posted by Cindy on November 6, 2008
We did many projects to go along with our Colonial Life unit study, but this one tops the list. Not only were these embroidered hand prints a wonderful handicraft activity, they turned out beautifully, too. So much so, that they are gracing my mantle right now and I plan to hang them on the wall soon.
Sorry, this isn’t the best picture. Place a piece of plain colored fabric tightly in an embroidery hoop. On the back side, trace your child’s hand with a pencil.
Using any stich you like, have your child embroider around the traced hand using a brightly colored embroidery thread. Remember, all the knots and not-so-pretty parts of the stiching will go on the side where you have traced the hand.
As part of the unit, we had made homemade buttons out of Sculpey clay. These just seemed to be a perfect addition to the embroidery.
The final product turned out to be quite a keepsake. I’ve written their names and the date on the back of each.
![](http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o241/cindykwest/vday9.gif "Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival: "Love"liness Edition")
