Magnet Unit Study
Posted by Cindy on November 2, 2009
Our study on magnets only took a week – but a fun, hands-on week it was!
Magnets
Presidents of the United States Unit
Posted by Cindy on October 27, 2009
Another unit bites the dust! 
We’ve been motorin’ on the schedule so far and it makes me smile!
This unit took only two weeks. We simply read a book everyday about past presidents, being the president, the White House and Washington D.C. Each kiddo had to choose five presidents to research and complete a project about each one. At the end of the two weeks, they presented their projects – short, sweet and simple for me!
They were able to choose from the following project choices:
- a file folder report
- a photographic poster
- a sculpture and mini-report
- a cereal box report
- a newspaper article
- a mobile
I gave them very little direction in completing projects this time around. After the presentations, we talked about each project and the good points. We also evaluated what could’ve been better. My children were pretty hard on themselves – harder than I would’ve been! But, it was good for them to notice what they might improve on next time.
On to the projects…
Below are the unit resources that have been in my sidebar just in case anyone’s interested in a study of the presidents in the future.
Presidents of the United States
Coloring Pages of the Presidents
Spider Webs Everywhere!
Posted by Cindy on October 9, 2009
October is an awesome time for finding spiders and their amazing webs in my area. Take a look at the webs we found in and around a barn.
Orb Web
Sheet Web
Funnel Web
Tangle Web
And I couldn't pass up this picture of spiderlings that recently emerged from their egg sack!
I tell ya, once you start looking for things in nature, God is always good to give you quite a show!
Enjoy spider nature study with oodles of ideas in the NaturExplorers Spectacular Spiders study.
Energy
Posted by Cindy on October 7, 2009
Well, another unit bites the dust! We had a great time learning about energy, with a main focus on heat and electricity. This slide show gives you just a glimpse into some of our hands on experiments.
What turned out to be THE BEST of all the curriculum we used was the Electric Kitbook. In fact, I liked it so much, I’m going to do a review about it soon at The Curriculum Choice.
At the end of the unit, I gave the kids a test that you can find on my Homeschool Launch page. I’ve been enjoying adding more tests to the curriculum this year. It keeps everyone on their toes!
Below is the resource list that’s been in my sidebar. I hope you find some treasures the next time you need to plan an energy/electricity unit!
Energy
Moving Beyond the Page Energy Unit
Next stop – Presidential History!
Fungi of Summer/Late Summer
Posted by Cindy on September 19, 2009
Many people think fungi are only around during the wet and warm spring months. How are these for August and September fungi finds??
Unidentified Polypore
Silky Parchment
Mustard-yellow Polypore
Tapioca Slime
Likely another image of Silky Parchment
Likely some sort of Carbon Mushroom or a Slime Mold
Likely a Jack O'Lantern or False Chantrelle
This area of fruiting body was huge!
I have no idea what this is, but it looked like a mold.
Hairy Parchment
Possibly Carbon Balls or Red Cushion Hypoxylon
Possibly Bear Lentinus
I took these pictures near the edge of a creek on rotting logs and on a walk in the woods. They were everywhere! Finding fungi is one of my new nature study passions ever since writing the Fungus Among Us NaturExplorer unit! Since there are many thousand varieties of fungi, it’s sometimes hard to pinpoint exactly what you find. But that’s okay, just seeing them is enough for me!
