Feb. 5, 2010 Idaho History Co-op Lesson Week Three-Oregon Trail
Where would Idaho be without the Oregon Trail?This was a lot of fun. We made covered wagons as an introduction to the lesson. Now many of the students already knew about the Oregon trail and so it was really not much more than a review. So here are the links for what we did.
Wagon details: http://www.thecraftyclassroom.com/CraftPioneerWagon.html This was a bit different from what I planned. for the bottom of the wagon I took a piece of cardstock that measured 5 1/2" x 8 1/2 ". I then scored each side at the one inch mark. I snipped one line on each corner so that I could fold in the tabs. This was a lot easier for a group of kids to do rather than the popsicle "skills" sticks. For the cover I also used something a bit different. I used a piece of clotton cloth that was durable like canvas--though not quite canvas. I folded it over at the top and bottom and sewed a pocket for yarn to be run through to tie it down. For wheels just used cardstock Here is a picture of our finished wagon. With Ma and Pa inside.
Ma and Pa are yarn dolls Instructions can be found here: http://www.thecraftyclassroom.com/CraftPioneerYarnDoll.html We did NOT do Ma and Pa during class this was only for my example of a wagon. One of the boys, much to my surprise, was really sad that we didn't get to do them.
This took up most of our class time, But we did find time to cover the lapbooks I had already cut out and assembled--though we didn't have time to glue it in. Here are the links to the lapbooks.
Idaho landmarks along the oregon Trail: http://www.mediafire.com/?nqiwyrmzzn2 I created this to simplify the landmarks in Idaho. www.lapbooklesssons has a blank template for this exact same thing. your child would then draw in the landmarks.
Vocabulary cards side 1: http://www.mediafire.com/?mdyeuwoqw2q
Vocabulary cards side 2: http://www.mediafire.com/?jzx2wtjktmt
Vocabulary pocket: http://www.mediafire.com/?cwtj25niiyn This makes a cute folder to place your cards in. I used a small square of velcro piece to hold the folder closed. I'm not sure where I found the folder and it is a tad bit short for the cards I made, but the kids thought it was fun that they stuck out.
This page is from ChildToChild.net though the site is down for construction. I have turned it into a PDF for ease of use. This is on some of the hardships that the pioneers faced. This is a drawing (could be writing if that's their choice) http://www.mediafire.com/?cwtj25niiyn
What did they take? http://www.mediafire.com/?mdzmmcjmmmm This mini-book I created. I also have a typed answer on the page. Again I was dealing with time constraints. you do not have to use the typed answer.
Oregon Trail Map: I used the map from www.lapbooklessons.com. they have a great lapbook on the oregon trail as well. you can pick and choose what you want/need.
We finished our lesson with a bit of hardtack and beef jerky. I made the hard tack using a very simple recipe and cheated by buying some jerky! ;) here is a pdf of the recipes though if you would like to try your hand at it: http://www.mediafire.com/?y43yinm3wym
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Feb. 5, 2010 Idaho History Co-op Lesson Week Two-Lewis and Clark
This week went by rather well, although we did go over time wise. Also, planning and putting things together took forever. I think it's because I was a bit intimidated with the subject matter. I wasn't comfortable shoving an entire study on Lewis and Clark into one hour. Every lesson plan that I came across was 6-7 weeks worth of information. Shortening it and cropping it to fit my needs was really hard. I think I finally came up with a good compromise. And it was more informative than I originally thought it would be.
My advice on this though is to PLAN AHEAD!! :)
First I needed to come up with something for their folders. And right away I thought of a lapbook mini-book. I had planned on one for the entire lesson and was trying to work with that. Well that wasn't working. I couldn't figure out how to put so much information into a single lapbook. Especially when many of the kids in the class were resistant to writing. So I came up with a combination of mini-books that would cover some of the important information.
My next bit of a problem was getting this information to them. I only had so many books from the library and none of them were the same book! So it would have been hard to go page by page and share the information that way. So I finally decided on a movie. Though it wasn't a "historical fiction" type of movie and it was more along the lines of a re-enacted documentary, the kids did find some interesting facts. The movie was "Lewis and Clark, Journey through the Centuries" And the first "jump forward" on the DVD after you start it happened to be where they are just entering into Idaho. So that is where I began our video. We watched for about 20 mins. Again, this was almost too long as I was beginning to loose them. So we started our lapbooks and reviewed the information as we put them together and glued them into our folders.
here are the links to the lapbooks that we used.
3 of the mini books I used from here: http://dynamic2moms.webs.com/lewisandclark.htm I used "the mission," "the time-line," and "the map" pieces. The map though I cut off the green part as it just wouldn't fit.
I then took some of her ideas and changed them to fit with my plans. I wanted the members of the corps to be reviewed, but I didn't want a whole page on them in our folders so I created a SMALL pocket and made little "trading" cards for each of the members. I also made sure that we would have a "who is who" answer for the back of each card. Some even had blanks to fill in so that the kids would have to think to figure out who was really who.
Here is a pdf of the corps members: http://www.mediafire.com/?nm1dwqzyy5y
Here is a pdf of the answers for the back (Also contains the timeline answers and the answer to The mission mini-book.: http://www.mediafire.com/?qnmwyjm1zem
Keep in mind that the Trading cards really are VERY SMALL. Some other things to keep in mind were that I had ALMOST everything cut out. Hind sight though tells me that I should have had them all cut out (answers too!) and had them fully assembled and ready to glue them in. The kids lost a lot of comprehension I think because they were so concerned with what goes where and how==then they were remembering who was who. The time crunch really played a part in this. Next week I will have everything fully assembled so that we can take our time going over the information.
At this point we needed a bit of fun. The kids were tired of thinking and we were running out of time. Though I wish I had just 20 more mins! :)
The hands on project that I chose was to cover a note pad to make a journal. One thing about both Lewis and Clark is that they both carried a journal. They were Hide bound with leather ties to keep it closed. Now I didn't have leather to work with--though I thought I had a box still out in the shed! So I used simple felt cut into a size that was large enough to cover the notepad on the bottom, and the top with a bit hanging over to overlap. I then had them cut out a small hole to tie the ribbon to and then used the ribbon to tie it closed. to keep the note pad in the cover, I used a piece of velcro to affix it to the back of the cover. You can then change the notepad by adding a new piece of velcro to the new note pad.
The kids really had fun with this, though it was really rushed. Mom's were coming in and giving their kids a hand to hurry them up.
So that's week two! |
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Feb. 4, 2010 Idaho History Co-op Lesson Week One--MAPS
A couple of notes on my co-op plan. I originally read that there was a 10 week schedule, but later realized that because of the lateness getting started after the holiday season--we only had 8 weeks for the session. So this is now actually a 8 week plan instead of a 10 week plan. However weeks 2 and 3 can easily be stretched into 2 weeks. And so could some of the later weeks. So play with it if you need a longer schedule. :) Also that plan was a rough draft and should be used as such. I lot of my original plans didn't work out so I had to come up with some new ideas.
Planning I needed to create my outline (which originally showed up as a blog post. This has been changed into a pdf and can be found here:
10 Week Outline: http://www.mediafire.com/?2zzujnueqlw
8 Week Outline: http://www.mediafire.com/?himoyw4zzzi
I created a check list sheet. This was more for my benefit to get ready, but could easily be used as a check list for the students to be sure that they have accomplished everything.
Checklist for both 10 week schedule and 8 week schedule; http://www.mediafire.com/?n1ozyyzfmyz
On the top of the 8 week outline, I have stated my plan for using 2 file folders that have been "linked" together to create a book for their display. I also have on the top of my 10 week plan a link to a display board that was part of my original plan. Either will work for either week, I just felt with less time that we shouldn't worry about spending part of our time displaying our boards for the parents.
Now on to the lesson plan for week one!!
Week one went fairly smoothly except for loosing them the last few minutes. They were tired after a full day of classes and were tired of maps. So I don't really blame them! ;)
Our basic lesson was a break down of where in the United states Idaho is, what states surround Idaho--AND what country borders her. We then went in and broke down the Counties. Now this one was a bit harder to teach. I was stumped on it until I looked in an old Idaho History book that I came across in the library. I didn't check it out so I'm not sure wha tthe name is. The picture in the book had several counties randomly drawn on the page. It really looked like a jigsaw puzzle. I thought that was a great idea. Most kids like jigsaw puzzles. I photocopied, labled, and laminated 4 copies of an Idaho county map, I then cut them out and placed them into ziplock baggies. I also copied 4 blank county maps so they could lay the pieces onto the sheet--to make it easier. During class I divided the tables into teams and had them put the puzzles together. The kids had a lot of fun with this. Be sure to give enough time for everyone to get the puzzle at least mostly done. If you only have an hour like I did, you may not get all the puzzles put together. We still had one that wasn't quite done, but time dictated that we move on.
After the puzzle I had the kids start on their maps. I gave them all of the maps at once in a packet. Looking back, I really should have handed them out one at a time. In this order:
****Starting with the country map. Find Idaho and surrounding states/countries. (on the sheet there is easy boxes that state what needs to be done on the page)
****Then moved on to the Gem State map--find the capital, draw in the state borders and country borders etc. (on the sheet there is easy boxes that state what needs to be done on the page)
****Then move on to the County map. I provided a BLANK county map. This worked well for my more advanced students, but my trailers really had a hard time with this. Looking back I should have had a few labeled for my strugglers. there are other tasks to do on this--such as coloring the capital "bearing" county and the county that they live in (some were the same county and so I had them create a pattern with the two colors!)
****the next map is the physical/topography map.Adding in rivers, mountains, lakes, etc. This page again gives directions. Looking back I should have stuck with my original plan of making a playdough/salt dough map. They would have had more fun, and they wouldn't have burnt out on maps quite so easily.
At this point we were done. Some things I would have changed but I learned a lot since this was my very first Co-op meet since I began homeschooling.
Below are links to the Map packet that I created with help from various sites. (any sites used has the website addy listed) Please feel free to copy as you need them.
Here is the .doc file: http://www.mediafire.com/?fewidrfjzzo
Here is the .docx file: http://www.mediafire.com/?jfogemfnjna
Here is the .pdf file: http://www.mediafire.com/?vjmhcz4o3n5
*********Please be aware that there are more maps in this packet then what we used during week one. the rest will be used during week 5.*********
After class I had everyone stick their maps inside their folders and make sure their name was on their folders--just on the tab portion as the cover will be done during week 8. THE FOLDERS DO NOT GO HOME UNTIL THE END OF THE SESSION! At home I took 2 page protectors for each student and slid in the maps back to back. (There are 4 maps to be done during this lesson so it worked out perfectly.) I then used large brass brads to secure the page protectors to the inside of the front cover.
And that's it for week one!! |
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Jan. 20, 2010 College Of Homemaking Co-op
Hey everyone! We will be starting up the next session on the College of Homemaking Co-op On Monday. We have many members that are ready to begin the Master's Degree. If anyone is interested, you are more than welcome to join us. You can begin with the Bachelor's degree even though other's are working on the next degree. It's a great way to learn some of those skills that you may have missed and are finding that you need. And just an idea, it's a great way to help your teen daughter learn these skills before she on to college--sigh--or get's married!
Master's Degree delves into the harder techniques and (the new and modernized version) will also include many things for today's homemaker.
So join us if you have the time! ;) To join there is a "join the Yahoo group" button on the right side bar. Hope to see you there!
T8ermomma |
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Jan. 5, 2010 Workboxes: Our way!!
Everybody has their own way of doing things. We are no different. It has taken us quite a while to get in a groove with school. To be honest, most of it has been my fault. I'll figure out what I want to do, but I want to keep it all organized, so I keep it put away. Then its the mess of pulling it all out, getting everything put away from the last subject at the same time and it just turns into a disaster. Let's not even mention the time it takes to figure out who's doing what, what they need and so on. much of our days were jam packed with "what's next, Mom" and "hang on, let me finish with your sister and I'll tell you what to do." Well I think workboxes has brought an end to that!
Today as we went through it was smooth sailing. i did have to stop to explain something here and there, but really it left me a TON of extra time to focus on the others. Hmm, and dinner was even on the table at 6pm!!
So here is what we are doing. We took Sue's basic ideas and we made them work for us--not only our personality, but also our space! :) We used the drawers I pictured before, And they are so wonderful space wise. I turned the table and put the drawers so they were facing out each side of the table. Effectively giving each of my older two a workspace.
On top I have their notebooks that are a bit wider than I expected them to be and our Pen/pencil caddy. It's in a central location and out of the way. Now if you notice the pages hanging down. This is our chart (it has been laminated) that we use to keep track of where the girls are. And mark them as done. They are just being held on by rings that open and close. here is a close up of it:
As you can see, we have used 10 cards, with 11 and 12 being left on the chart. We have 10 drawers in our carts, but I have 12 "assignment" slots available. I'll explain how I use those in a minute. Each of the 10 missing numbers goes on the front of our drawers. As pictured here:
Ok, two things that you should note here. First there is a blue box. Now our drawers are NOT all that deep. So I have decided taht anything that doesn't fit in the drawer will go beside it. If it being kicked around becomes a problem, I will put it in a container.
The second thing is that I have a cord hanging out of one. My oldest uses a NetBook for a lot of her subjects. It makes it really convenient to be able to just slide it in her drawer with her first subject that she needs it for. now I know that it's being charged, and it's not going to get knocked off the table.
You see the numbers, but what about listing what is what inside? Do I just stick the book in and hope all goes well?? LOL, yes and no. I have each book marked with a book mark. Most of our subjects is just "do the next page" so if they move the book mark after doing each assignment it makes it really easy to keep track. Hmmm, but sometimes I have subjects that don't have a book. Or like the blue square that wouldn't fit in the drawer, I may be using manipulatives they won't know what to do with. Or there is an amount of time that I want them to work on something. So I made cards for them. Here is a photo of ours.
and then there is this type:
These cards are cardstock (Scraps actually) that I have cut down to fit in these bookmark covers. I have attached adhesive backed velcro where I needed them to fit the cards. I have 2 or 3 on each card depending on what subject/what was going on. Now remember numbers 11 and 12 that were still hanging on the chart?? I have the velcro set up so that I can put the 11 or 12 card where the Mom's Help card is at. So, if DD13 has another assignment for 11, I just take her 11, place it on the 3rd velcro piece and hang it from her chart. (you may be able to see the whole in the top of the pocket that makes it perfect to hang on the ring on her cart) This will let her know that there is another assignment she needs to do in order to be done for the day. (The bookmark covers I purchased a LONG time ago from www.clearbags.com--once on the page do a search for bookmark cover-they are slightly different than what I have here as it has been over 7 years since I purchased them. Also the price has gone up. They are now $18.00 for 100 of them. If you have a friend that would like some as well, it would make sense to go in together to purchase what you want)
Now I do have a lot of options for my assignment cards. I used various downloads that I found on the internet for the actual cards. I found these and so much more at the following websites:
Homeschool Creations
These are tags I used.
Heart of Wisdom
I didn't use these, but they are very nice as well
Homeschool Launch
There are so many downloads at this site including games and planner pages.
Now how do you organize all of them?? lol, ahh, my first plan of attack was to use Jolanthe's idea (Picture is linked directly to her site, please know this is HER work and not mine--Homeschool creation's link is listed above)
I had my cards cut out and placed in my pocket chart just like they are above. But I couldn't figure out a way that I could use them and not lose them! LOL, so I came up with the idea of velcroing them to the cards. but then I discovered that they wouldn't fit into the pocket chart. The velcro was just too thick. So I racked my brain for another solution. I came up with one that I think my Mother-in-law would be proud of. LOL The old stand by--SHOEBOX! So I have them in baggies, sorted by subject or concept such as below I have all the "outings" in one baggie together:
And then I toss them in the shoebox. that also has the extra cards in bookmark covers
It does take some work to get it set up, but once you do it, it's done. Each Sunday I plan the week ahead. If there is anything that i need to copy for assignments, I do it then. I cut out anything that needs cutting out, etc. I plan it so that I have it all ready for the week.. Each day after dinner, I go through their drawers, pull out anything that needs grading (or trashed!) and then place in new assignments, move things as needed and add in a snack or two. To keep things easily handy for the week I use a magazine box to hold the copies I made for the week, their workbox schedule and anything else I need to keep handy to make the workboxes go smoothly. here is a picture, I have one for each ot the girls.
This speeds up my organization time so much during the week. I was finished updating the drawers in 15 mins tonight. So a bit of organization goes a long ways toward keeping momma sane, and doesn't take up so much of my time! :)
Hope this helps!!
T8ermomma
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