Field Trip!

So, what have we been doing since Ancient Greece and the Iditarod?  Well, we've been preparing for and going on our huge field trip to Washington DC.  Our friends over at Intellego have several excellent Unit Studies that we combined to give us an overview of the American Revolution, American Government and the Presidents of the US.  The Boys really enjoyed going through all the Presidents and finding out what they were known for and what was going on during different periods of history.  It gave us a good introduction to US History that we can build on as we go through it in more depth.

We also did a lot of planning, looking through the Smithsonian website (an excellent resource) and finding other interesting spots to visit in DC.  We checked out a few Washington DC with Kids guides and came up with long lists of what we wanted to see.

Then, finally, the trip came.  Needless to say, our list was much longer than the time we had to spend there.  But we got through our top picks:  Natural History, American History and Air and Space of the Smithsonian; the Mall, the Spy Museum, the Building Museum and the National Geographic Society.  The Boys loved riding the Metro everywhere and learned quickly how to navigate.  We also came back to the hotel most every evening in time for a swim in the pool.

Perhaps the highlight of the trip was at the National Geographic Society.  We went to see the new exhibit on the sinking of the Titanic (always a fascinating subject).  While we were there, watching the film about Bob Ballard finding the wreckage of the Titanic under 2.5 miles of ocean, who should walk in?  Dr. Ballard himself!  He was gracious enough to pose for a picture with the boys.  We've read more about him and his very interesting career since we got home.  We also found out about his Jason Project, a great resource for teaching science to middle schoolers.  We'll be using their Ecology unit in May.

The trip was full of interesting new discoveries and opportunities to see some of the things we've already studied.  We will be working on a scrapbook of our trip and possibly a project on the Titanic over the next few weeks. 

In May, we will be hosting our Homeschool co-op and planning four units of activities in History.  Needless to say, we have a plethora of materials to use!  We will also be doing a unit on Biology and Ecology.  I'm sure there will be several trips to zoos in our future.

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Ancient Greece and the Iditarod

I'm not sure how these two things came together, except that we were moving on to Ancient Greece and the Iditarod starts in March.  So we'll call it a calendar coincidence.

Our study of Ancient Greece has been a lot of fun.  The Boys are at a great age to study Greek Mythology - old enough so you don't have to gloss over the gory stuff.  The Mythology also really speaks to the need for heroes in boys (as evidenced by their love of comic book heroes).  Plus, it's just exciting stuff.  We have read stories from the Odyssey, the trials of Hercules, the lore of Pan.  We have studied the birth of democracy and contrasted it with the tyranny of the Pharaohs.  The Boys were fascinated with the differences between the artistic and democratic Athenians and the militaristic and minimalist Spartans.  We learned a LOT about archeology and how scientists date artifacts and piece together a picture of an ancient society.  Of course, we took a field trip to the Parthenon replica which just happens to be ten minutes from our house.  And, did I mention, we made a pretty vase!

 

  

 

We read the first two books in the Percy Jackson series as read alouds.  Again, I am really impressed with how Rick Riodan weaves the myths into a modern story while staying true to the original myth.  Even with all the mythology we were reading, we came across several references in the Percy Jackson stories that we hadn't heard elsewhere.  When we looked them up, we always found them to be almost exactly as he told them in the book.

So how does the Iditarod fit into all this?  Well, many years ago, I remember hearing a teacher giving an example of how she used technology in the classroom.  She had her class follow the Iditarod online.  I thought that was a really cool idea and it has stayed with me.  So when I saw the it was starting in March, we put it on our calendar.  We have learned about Alaska and its geography, the history of the Iditarod, the Junior Iditarod and a lot about dogs.  For our evening entertainment  (especially since it's pledge week on PBS and none of our regular shows are on), we are watching a Discovery Channel show about the 2008 Iditarod.  We've picked out our favorites and now we are tracking them in this year's race through the Iditarod site.  Pretty fun stuff.

The Boys don't want to end our study of Ancient Greece, but we're coming to the end of the unit.  They have decided to put together a two-man play of the Odyssey for their final project.  It's going to be adventurous and funny.  It will also double as their entry in the talent show our co-op will be doing in the Spring.  Stay tuned for more details.

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Chemistry Final Project

For our final project in chemistry, we decided to do a stop-motion animation.  I had been looking forward to trying this with the Boys and they really loved it.  We covered a lot more in our chemistry unit than the states of matter, but the moving molecules and different speeds made this the perfect subject for our first little film.  I think we'll do many more of these in the future - and Lego animation is definitely in the works!  If you have any toga-clad Lego people, please let me know.  I would love to stage the Odyssey in Lego-mation.

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Nature Therapy, Part Deux

Since we have left Egypt behind and finished The Red Pyramid, and because we've been spending so much time in the park, I decided to read My Side of the Mountain as our next read-aloud.  Boy1 and I read it together a few years ago, but he was more than willing to hear it again.  It was a big hit and very timely.  We ripped through it in a week because the Boys wouldn't let me stop reading.  We had to take turns reading when my voice got tired.  They are already begging for the next book in the series.  There is something about My Side of the Mountain that really speaks to this age - I know it did to me.  We also have a companion guide to the series that is full of project ideas.  I'm just not sure how we're going to fit it all in!

So now, in addition to birdwatching, the Boys have begun a new backyard project.  A tree that fell up against our swing set is now being turned into a new fort. Hmmm...I guess we're just going to have to live with the dead tree for a while.  They would kill me if I had it removed!

The Boys are collecting vines and sticks to weave through the branches of the fallen tree to enclose the space under it.  And they are working on carving some furniture for it.  The neighborhood boys have been over in the afternoon all this week to help work on it, even in the rain. Yes, there is mud all over my house.  No, I don't care.

Our volunteering at the nature park is going very well.  This past week, the Boys cleaned and refilled the bird feeders and got to help clean out the aquarium in the visitor's center.  I've already told the education person there that we are available for any projects she needs help on.  We also went back to the park the next day with two other homeschooling families for a hike and a picnic lunch up at the observation platform.

And, we hiked the trails and took the dog out for a good run.

We have finished up our Chemistry unit and for our final project, the Boys are going to do a stop-motion animation film to explain some of the concepts they learned.  We are also getting started on Ancient Greece.  I see more Rick Riordan books and plaster art projects in our future. 

 I downloaded a retelling of The Odyssey and some Herculean tales by Odds Bodkin.  I just can't say enough good things about Odds Bodkin.  If you have kids, you need to get some of his stories.  The Boys have been listening to him since they were in preschool.  His Little Proto tales, stories about a little protoceratops and his dinosaur friends and his Paul Bunyan stories are still favorites around here.  You can download his stories directly from his website now.  I highly recommend them.

 

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Nature Therapy

We started our volunteering this week at our local nature park.  We will be putting out bird seed at all the feeding stations once a week and checking the trails for obstructions.  The Boys were so excited to get out there for our first day, even though it was pouring down rain.  Unfortunately, I forgot the camera, so I have no pictures - but it was a great morning.  One of the adult volunteers took us around, showing us where they keep the seed and where all the feeding stations are.  The boys worked diligently to clean out and refill all the feeders and bird baths.  Afterwards, the staff made us some hot chocolate to thank us for coming out in the rain (they really didn't expect us to show up).  We sat in the rockers on the back porch of the Nature Center and watched the forest while we enjoyed our warm drinks.  Afterwards, the boys wanted to go in and watch the birds who came to the feeders through the observation window in the Nature Center, so we spent a half-hour identifying the birds.

They were so excited about their new bird-watching skills that they wanted to get a new feeder to put out on our back porch.  Now birdwatching is their new favorite activity.  This morning, they spent 45 minutes staring out our back door and recording all the different birds who came to visit our feeder.

Now, for those of you who don't know the Boys, let me just explain to you what a miracle this is.  These are two boys who "can't sit still", "can't stop distracting other students" and "who have trouble concentrating".  Yet here they are, sitting still and quietly, identifying and logging birds.  Amazing.

Later, we took our lunch to the park and hiked up to the observation platform where the Boys indulged in their other new favorite hobby: whittling.  They are both working on walking sticks.

I can see such a difference in the boys already.  In only one month, Boy1 has lost 10 pounds and stopped having the headaches he had 3-4 times a week when he was in school.  They are both much less focused on video games and popular music and their interests are starting to expand.

We have started several other new things this week - meditation, for one and using our new pedometers to track our daily exercise.  I hope to get a post up soon showing some of the books and other resources we are using.

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Side trip

One of the things I love most about homeschooling is the chance to take a side trip.  When I was thinking about homeschooling last year (a lot), I kept seeing opportunities that I would have jumped on.  The Royal Wedding- we would have gotten up to watch the wedding coverage, had a proper English breakfast, done a quick lesson on the British Monarchy, had a nap and probably ended the day with a Monty Python movie (oh, why not?).  The day of the last space shuttle flight - watch the lift off, visit the NASA and ISS websites, research the history of the shuttle program, watch Apollo 13 and then spend the evening identifying the constellations.

Well, nothing quite that big has hit since we started homeschooling, but today was the birthday of Lewis Carroll.  So, after math and reading, we took a little side trip.  We watched Alice in Wonderland (neither the Disney nor the Johnny Depp version, but the 1999 version which is much closer to the original story); had a proper English tea, complete with funny hats; and read several of Carroll's poems.

We discussed Carroll's writing style and how the Boys saw several similarities to Dr. Seuss.  We talked about how ironic it was that, despite his wild imagination, Carroll was a math professor by day.  And, most importantly, we discussed the joy of good tea.  We decided that we might make afternoon tea a weekly event.  Who knows?  Maybe I can even sneak in a few lessons in table manners!

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Adding on

Well, Egypt can definitely carry a unit.  Ancient Mesopotamia? Not so easily.  There was so much to do for Egypt that I really felt like we could have spent another week on it and still have stuff left over.  But we moved on to Mesopotamia last week and things got a little slow.  So this week, as we move into Ancient China, I'm moving away from focusing on just one unit at a time.  We added Chemistry this week and we are splitting our Unit Study time between the two.  It went very well.  We started on the study of matter and I had planned a few simple experiments about the states of matter.  The boys took off from there, wanting to see water go through the cycle of all three states.  So, out came the ice and the saucepans and we played with water for a good 30 minutes.

Then, we studied the properties of matter and played with gases.  Here they are making carbon dioxide in a measuring cup and trying to light a candle in it.

We'll be finishing up Ancient China this week.  Then we'll see if Chemistry can hold it's own for a week or two, because next up in Ancient History are the Greeks and the Romans.  That could take a whole month!

Also, three of my other main goals for us are more movement, more time outside, and volunteering.  It was 53 degrees today in January and we live right on the edge of one of the largest municipal parks.  So we grabbed Sanga and out we went for a hike.  It was gorgeous.  We stopped in at the nature center and after a short chat with their education specialist, we now have a weekly gig.  We'll be feeding the birds in the morning and checking the paths for obstructions before the school groups start arriving!

Here was our First Period today:

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