From His Treasuries - Homeschool Blogger

Unplugged Project ~ Cats!

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:34:00 -0600

This week's Unplugged Project theme is: CATS!

We decided to be a little zany with this project. We made Dancing Cats!

With magnets, this cool cat dances!

you will need a handful of washers & nuts

Cut out the cat pieces from a cereal box

make the eyes and buttons with washers/nuts -- hot glue then; I attached the two cardboard cat pieces with a paper fastener/brad

add them to the hands and feet as well

make 4 paper clip chains, 4 in each

connect the hands and feet the paper clip chains

make a background from the other half of the cereal box and attach the cat body with the same paper fastener/brad

attach the paper clip chains/hands and feet to the cat

Now, if you take a magnet, and put it behind the cereal box where the washers on the hands and feet are, they will move!!

A dancing cat!

Corn Husk Dolls

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:39:00 -0600

We had a nice crop of dried corn stalks that were just hanging out in the garden. My girls and a friend decided to try their hand at Corn Husk Doll making.

I happened to have a book from the library ( newly written, 2009 book, click the book to get more info ) with the idea in it, I said, 'here's an idea for all those husks.' I let them be and when I returned, sure enough, they had made them! They even took pictures for me!

Bravo Girls!

Oak Trees & Acorns

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:06:00 -0600

To continue on with the Autumn Series Challenges ~ we moved on to Oak Trees & Acorns.

We talked about the two classes of Oak Trees ~ the White Oak and the Black Oak classes; there are several Oaks in each class.

White Oak:

leaves have rounded lobes
leaves are rough & light colored
bark light in color
acorns have sweet kernels that mature in one year; which means no acorns are on the trees in winter

Black Oak:

leaves end in sharp points/angular lobes
leaves are smooth
bark is dark
acorns have bitter kernels that take two years to mature; which means there will be acorns on the trees in winter

We used Anna Comstock's book ~ of course!

my tree climber, Jayda, trying to find acorns

pointed leaf lobes

dark colored bark

lots of acorn caps

a double blessing! River found this, they are stuck together

the tree has to be 20-50 years old before it can make acorns

They can be 200-400 years old! It is said there are Oaks that are alive from back when William the Conqueror reigned.

a few acorns still on the tree

So based on our finds, this is a Red Oak, which is in the Black Oak class.

See River?

Here's a notebooking page from the Autumn Series Challenges.

Next Read Aloud ~ Amos Fortune

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:23:00 -0600

We finished up Sounder today. The kids and I enjoyed this read. We especially loved all the references to Bible stories and the lovely hymns 'the mother' would sing. One thing the kids brought to my attention is the characters have no names, they found that a little odd. The main character is referred to only as 'the boy.'

But a good read!

Here's a picture narrative from Sounder

Our next read will be Amos Fortune, the true story of a man that was kidnapped into slavery at the age of 15, in the year, 1725. We will use this book as one of our Living History Books and compare Amos' life to that of Ben Franklin. They were born only 4 years apart, but of course had very different lives.

Poetry Day

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:22:00 -0600

Here's our poem of the week...focusing on trees

The Oak is called the King of trees

the Aspen quivers in the breeze.

The Poplar grows up straight and tall,

the Peach tree spreads along the wall.

The Sycamore gives pleasant shade,

the Willow droops in watery glade.

The Fir gives useful timber,

the Beech amid the forest lives.

~ Sara Coleridge

Unplugged Project ~ PURPLE

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 15:34:00 -0600

I decided to head back over and revisit Unplugged Mom @ Unplug Your Kids and see what her theme was for the week -- we really enjoyed these when we were doing them regularly, so hopefully we can continue on.

This week the theme is: purple

We tried our hand at homemade candles....they were supper easy and super fun -- a little messy!

We shared the adventure with friends, also fellow homeschool blogger.......I think they enjoyed it as well.

You will need glass wax, wicks, color & scent, oh yes, your glass jars too!

Here we are cutting the glass wax so it can be put into a pot

Taylor is trying her hand at cutting the wax & Jayda is looking on

We took pencils and wrapped the tall wicks around it to hold the wick in place

The color above and the scent below, after chopping ( kids chose Ocean Mist )

The wax, the color and scent are melting in the pot. We needed to wait til the temp went down to at least 175 before pouring it into the jars.

Aren't they lovely?!

They came out so well, we were all very pleased.

And purple popcorn balls for the littles.......

Fall Trees

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:39:00 -0500

A few trees from our neighborhood......aren't they beautiful?

Composer Study ~ Bach

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 15:21:00 -0600

Today, we listened to Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G

One of my children said the piece made her think of 'A Nice Day.'

Here is a wonderful list of living books on Bach.

Our favorite book are the Opal Wheeler books :

The Boy From Thuringia.

Art Appreciation

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 15:13:00 -0600

In continuing with our Autumn theme, thanks to the Autumn Series for including this, we went with this lovely piece.

Well, Millstone and Cistern Under Trees, 1892 by Paul Cezanne

A couple of the kids' recreation ~ taking a break from our usual watercolor median;

one done with markers and the other colored pencils.

Seasonal Tree Study

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 16:32:00 -0600

We've taken a look at several of the trees in our yard over the last few years and have drawn them through the seasons.

The second challege in the Autumn Series is just that -- a seasonal tree study. Just taking a peek at a tree in autumn and recording what you see. Then of course you will want to revisit that same tree in each season and draw what you see. My children really enjoy this!

Kaden is using our Snow Thyme Crabapple ~ here is his notebooking page, once again, these pages are on the Autumn Series website.

New Read Aloud ~ Sounder

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 16:02:00 -0500

Going back to Newberry & Honor Award books....

It was suggested by one of my sisters, we are enjoying it thus far. Word of caution, the 'N' word is used. :( However, we used it as a learning opportunity.

Creative Writing

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:15:00 -0500

Wow! So much has changed since I first blogged about our new writing adventure. The kids have taken off and are so excited about their writing! It went from just a few sentences to now 3 & 4 pages worth of writing.

Jayda ~ age 9: It was a windy day and a sunflower plant was bending in the wind. One of the seeds fell out and this is where it went........the seed went all the way to a park and there were people there. One little boy saw it and he picked it up. He showed his mother and father and his siblings. He chewed the seed and it was yummy, Jimmy said. Then they all went home to rest. Jimmy asked his mom if he could go outisde and his mom said 'yes, you can.' Jimmy went to every single house and said, 'do you have a sunflower plant?' Soon enough Jimmy had 17 sunflower seeds. Jimmy went home and he told his family he got 17 seeds. Then he was so tired from all the work, he went to bed.

Kaden ~ age 10: Summer is over and all the bugs have to go away. This is what happens to them during winter......some bugs go to the south for the winter. Other bugs stay underneath the ground. This time I'm going to Mexico, where its warm. So I got my stuff ( I'm a bug ) and pack it and left my house and went through the grass. When I went a little fast I steppend on something. I looked down and it was a letter. I picked it up and opened it. It was from a kangaroo. The letter said, 'dear Friend, are you coming to Mexico? When you are here, meet me at my den. Please come! Signed Kangaroo. I was on my way to Mexico. I went to a fence and went under and saw a dragon fly. I said, can I get a ride on you and get to Mexico? The dragon fly said sure and then I hopped on the dragon fly's back and I said thank you and then the dragon fly said you're welcome. Then we took off and flew. It was only one state to get to Mexico. 3 hours later we arrived. the dragon fly landed and I hopped off and saw the kangaroo. I went to him and lived with him. The End!

Viking Unit

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:02:00 -0500

We completed a unit on the Vikings last month.

Using lots of Living Books, we read through them all and even created shields, swords, helmets and tried our hand at paper mache boats!

Here are a few of the books we read, and enjoyed!

Vikings by Allison Lassieur

The Vikings by Elizabeth Janeway

( we struggled through this one, kinda dry )

Vikings: Raiders & Explorers by Aileen Weintraub

Explorers of the World:The Vikings ~ DVD!

Here is Kaden's drawing of a Viking!

Revisiting Cattails

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 16:27:00 -0600

We decided to jump start our fall nature study by using the Autumn Series Challenges.

The first challenge is Season Cattails. Although we have looked at them before and did a little study, HERE and HERE, it was in another season so this was a perfect spot to begin.

We learned by reading in

The cattails will die if there is a flood ( or too much water ) as well if there is not enough. They can bascially drink themselves to death....odd thought, eh?!

Also, we found it neat how God made this plant's seeds to utilize the wind and the water to scatter their seeds.

There is a notebooking page given as well

There was quite the change from spring & summer til now for our beloved cattails.

They are pretty much on their way out til Spring.....sadly.

Next Read Aloud ~ Robinson Crusoe

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:30:00 -0500

We've finished The Sign of the Beaver, what a fantastic book!

Here is a painting from one of the kids.

I had a request from the children for our next read aloud. Robinson Crusoe! It was mentioned in the last two read alouds and apparently the kids interest was piqued! This time, we decided it might be fun to try a book on CD, so mom gets a wee break from reading. Well there are other read alouds, but this is one less. It's been great so far. I have never read it so I am just as tuned in as they are.

Bach ~ Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:11:00 -0500

We are still enjoying the works of Johann Bach.

We listened to Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring and the kids recognized it right away. It's often used in weddings.

CLICK HERE to listen

Here is the english translation, it was first written in German:

Jesu, joy of man's desiring,

Holy Wisdom, Love most bright;

Drawn by Thee, our souls, aspiring,

Soar to uncreated light.

Word of God, our flesh that fashion'd,

With the fire of life impassion'd,

Striving still to truth unknown,

Soaring, dying, round Thy throne.

Through the way where hope is guiding,

Hark, what peaceful music rings!

Where the flock, in Thee confiding,

Drink of joy from deathless springs.

Theirs is beauty's fairest pleasure;

Theirs is wisdom's holiest treasure.

Thou dost ever lead Thine own

In the love of joys unknown.

The kids then drew what came to mind as they listend. One thought 'Christmas Time' and another pictured a pleasant place, with a peacrful sky and flowers.

Creative Writing

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:18:00 -0500

We've begun creative writing this year and I have to say the kids have really stepped up to the plate. They are really enjoying it and I am enjoying seeing their creativity. I start them off with a line.......then they go from there. I do not correct their mistakes ( grammar, spelling ) but allow them to be free.

I will ask each of them weekly to choose something from their sibling's daily writings they'd like to share with my bloggy friends.

Here are the choices this week:

It was a cold, dark night when I looked out my window and saw......a great big, white owl. At first I got scared, but he was really nice. He had silky white fur, like a pillow. When I went to bed, he was there. The next morning, he was gone. That night he came back, every night he would come and sleep with me. The End

If I were a frog and lived in the swamp.....I would go on an adventure and look for more frogs and toads and would swim in the swamp. I would jump in the swamp and have lots of fun. I love being a toad b/c its the perfect creature that I want to be. Oh my, I just found a good, beautfiul toad and I want to go meet her! Hello, my name is Cody the Toad. What's your name? My name is Christy the Toad and I have a brother. Want to meet him? Sure, I would love to meet him. OK! Hi, my name is Cody the Toad, what's your name? My name is Kordy the Toad. Oh, cool name, said Cody the Toad. And soon Cody and Christy got married and had little baby frogs. She had 4 little baby toads. The End

Art Appreciation ~ Monet

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:05:00 -0500

By request, we have moved on to Claude Monet.

He was a french impressionist painter; Nov 14, 1840 – Dec 5, 1926

Our first painting to discuss.....

Garden in Bordighera, Impression of Morning
1884

Kaden's recreation.....I think he did a fantastic job!

State Flower

Fri, 4 Sep 2009 15:01:00 -0500

We've been using NaturExplorers e-books by my friend and fellow blogger, Melissa. We started with the Wildflower one, but she has a ton, do check them out! Click the above graphic and it will take you there.

We used the notebooking pages this past week and found out about our state flower.

The white and lavender Columbine, or the scientific name Aquilegia caerules, was adopted as the official Colorado state flower on April 4, 1899.

Giraffes!!

Thu, 3 Sep 2009 14:24:00 -0500

We took a trip to the zoo and spent some time with the giraffes!

Every coat is different, just like human fingerprints. Here, the kids are checking out how soft the giraffe's coat is. A zoo volunteer had a piece for them to touch.

I'm holding a piece of rubber that shows how long the giraffe's tongue is. 18-21 inch tongues!! The dark color of their tongues protect them from getting sunburned while reaching for leaves on trees.

Both male and female giraffes have two distinct, hair-covered horns called ossicones.

A giraffe can eat up to 75 pounds of food per day. Giraffes spend most of their day eating because they get just a few leaves in each bite. Their favorite leaves are from the acacia tree. Acacia trees have long thorns that keep most animals from eating the leaves. But those thorns don't stop the giraffes! They use their long tongues to reach and go around the thorns. They also have thick, sticky saliva that coats any thorns they might swallow.

Giraffe's use infrasound ~ low pitched sounds that can't be heard by humans ~ to communicate. It can travel many miles and even through solid objects. ( buildings ) There was a study done at North Carolina on how giraffe's communicate. A computer was used to see the sound waves ( infrasound ) and then a special program was used to increase the sound so that humans could hear it. Giraffe vouices sound like low drum beats.

Giraffe's eat like cows. They have 4 stomachs and chew their food as cud. YUCK!

Here we are at the zoo doing some work in our journals, we were joined by another homeschooling family that day.