This week I wanted to share a few miscellaneous pieces of information.
If you live in the Houston, Texas area, you might want to check out
this event:
The Coordination Of Robotics Education (CORE) program of the
University of Houston, College of Technology will host the Lone Star
FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Tournament on Saturday, December 2,
2006, at the UH Student Recreation and Wellness Center. Come see
teams compete against each other as they prove their robotics,
research and engineering skills. The public is invited to attend this
free event.
CORE is a partnership between the UH College of Technology and the
NASA Johnson Space Center and provides robotic tournaments,
workshops, training seminars and other outreach initiatives to
students K-20. FIRST LEGO League is one of many programs
presented by CORE. Event and volunteer information is available on
the CORE web site located at: http://core.tech.uh.edu/
- I discovered a terrific learning tool this year...blank books! I purchased several hard back, blank books (about 12 pages in each) from an art vendor at our state homeschool convention. They are a great teaching tool for any child, but especially if your child is very artistic or is intimidated by writing in traditional "lined" books. This is a great way to practice writing and reading in a fun setting.
My daughter started using these to make "animal library books".
When we did our ocean unit, she drew one ocean animal on the
page and wrote the name of the animal. (Great writing and reading
practice, too!)
Now, she has improved upon her initial design. Her latest version is
an "Animals of the African Savannah and Rainforest" book. Not only
is there a picture of the animal, she has included details about its
habitat and has incorporated the prey of each animal.
On the page with the emerald tree boa, the boa is wrapped around a
tree branch eyeing a nearby bird! I first noticed some of the detail,
but as I went through this new book again and again, I realized she
was incorporating habitat and food chain information she had
internalized. All without being prompted...those seem to be the best
learning moments!
- We have thoroughly enjoyed our rainforest unit. Below are some of the terrific links we used. I hope they are of use to you, too!
http://www.rainbird.com/rainforest/download.htm http://www.srl.caltech.edu/personnel/krubal/rainforest/Edit560s6/www/animals.html
http://www.livingrainforest.org/about/
http://www.sdmf.k12.wi.us/bf/resources/rainforestweb/WebQuest.htm
http://www.rain-tree.com/schoolreports.htm
http://www.rfadventures.com/k-3_coloring.htm
See you next week on The Front Porch!
Michelle
Michelle and her husband have homeschooled their children for nine years. Before turning her heart toward homeschooling, Michelle worked in the biotechnology field. She holds a master's degree in Child Developement. Currently, she serves as the Judge Advisor for the North Carolina FIRST Lego Robotics Tournament. Michelle is the author of "RIC: Robots in the Classroom" and several other science unit studies available through Treasure Box Press.
Related Tags: lego, robotics, FIRST, unit study, rainforest, food chain, habitat, Mindstorms
