Day 72 / 101 - More Map Work

Earlier this fall I posted a US states and capitals map that my daughter had made.  The map pictured above is my son's.  Along with memorizing and identifying all the states and capitals this year, my children are also learning and identifying, on a US map, over 70 geographical features (i.e. mountain ranges, rivers, deserts, lakes, canals, etc.)  Once again, the simplest way for them to retain and master this information is to draw the map.  First they trace it, then they trace it again, then they trace it a third time, and on and on until they are able to draw the map from memory.

The picture above is a traced version of the map, but I'm hoping within the next few weeks, my son will be able to reproduce this map entirely from memory.

Day 71 / 101 - American Girl Accessories

My daughter is amazing.  I know everyone says that about their children, but I believe it when it comes to my daughter's ability to create.  I appreciate her determination to create a project of her own.  She would always rather make something rather than buy something.  And, if it were up to her, she would spend every hour of every day making something.  I appreciate her willingness to try to create or recreate something she's seen, as well as how quickly she moves on crafting a new creation.  I remember the first time she flipped through a Highlights magazine about two years ago.  She saw a bouquet of paper flowers made with hand prints.  Within an hour she had gathered the necessary supplies (improvised with some as needed), found the workspace, followed the directions, and presented me with a bouquet.  This is how she differs from me. I would see the idea, think 'that might be fun to do someday', put the magazine down, and never revisit the project to complete it.  My daughter immediately moves on the idea and makes it happen.

That being said...a few weeks ago she discovered some YouTube tutorials on how to make items for American Girl dolls.  (To let you know how little I was involved in these projects, I could not even link you to the videos because I have no idea what or where they are).  One is a bed made out of cereal boxes, stuffing, duct tape, toilet paper rolls, etc.  The picture above doesn't even do it justice, because you can't see that the bed has an actual mattress.  Next to the bed is a mini-chair that was made out of a Quaker Oats container.  While rummaging throughout the pantry to find the necessary boxes and other supplies, she did carefully dump all food items in Ziploc baggies before she started cutting up the cardboard.  The chair has a stuffed pillow on it, and a notebook for her 'girls'.  She's been making these notebooks like mad.  She's also made lockers, televisions, soda cans, a club house, etc.  She made the entire tu-tu below out of tulle and a ribbon.  Somehow she even managed to get her father to take her to Michael's to buy the tulle.  I'm not even sure when she acquired it all.  Last week he bought her a role of cheetah print duct tape from Home Depot.  She disappeared into her room for over an hour.  When she came out, she had assembled a belt, a book mark, several bows for her hair, along with various other projects all created from the duct tape.

I need to mention that she's 8!  I cannot wait to see what she can craft, build, and create when she's 18!

I also need to mention that she has three actual American Girl doll beds.  However, the bed of choice, that all the dolls want to sleep in, is the one made out of duct tape and Rice Krispie boxes.

Day 70 / 101 - DeBussy's La Mer (The Sea)

Our fine arts lessons during our final six weeks of Classical Conversations introduces students to the instruments of an orchestra and the music of famous classical composers.  We discuss composers and enjoy a detailed, listening time of their compositions in class each week.

This spring we've been listening to pieces from the Romantic period.  Claude DeBussy is a Romantic composer who tried to evoke a picture or impression with his pieces.  The piece above is the one we listened to in class.  DeBussy tries to recreate the ocean's various moods with his composition.  The actual title is "Dialogue of the Wind and the Sea".

We enjoyed the video posted above because it showed how the music helped us picture the different moods of the wind and the sea.

Day 69 / 101 - Dolphin Unit Study

It should come as no surprise that, after our trip to Florida, my daughter has wanted to endlessly study dolphins.  Here are a few facts we've studied:

 - mammals
- echolocation
- where they live
- how they play
- different types of dolphins
 - mothers and calves

She made the above display for one of her weekly presentations.

Day 68 / 101 - Declaration of Saint Patrick

Two Latin letters survive which are generally accepted to have been written by St. Patrick.  One is his Declaration (in Latin, Confessio).  To celebrate the holiday we read through part of it in Latin.  Then, my son copied the first part in Latin for his copy work.  The above reads:

I, Patrick, a sinner, a most simple countryman, the least of all the faithful and most contemptible to many, had for father the deacon Calpurnius, son of the late Potitus, a priest, of the settlement of Bannavem Taburniae; he had a small villa nearby where I was taken captive.  I was at that time about sixteen years of age.  I did not, indeed, know the true God; and I was taken into captivity in Ireland with many thousands of people, according to our merits, because we were away from God, we did not keep his precepts, nor were we obedient to our priests who used to remind us of our salvation.  And the Lord brought down on us the fury of his being and scattered us among many nations, even to the ends of the earth, where I, in my smallness, am now to be found among foreigners.

Day 67 / 101 - Scale of the Universe

I was unaware that NASA had a picture of the day until yesterday, although they date back 17 years.  Yesterday's was an interactive flash animation on the scale of the universe.  By moving the scroll bar across the bottom, you can explore a diversity of sizes and clicking on different items will bring up descriptive information.  If you are anything like us, this trumps all lesson plans for the day, because you could easily spend hours days on this animation.  Check it out by clicking the link above!

Day 66 / 101 - Roll of the Die Place Value

This was inspired by something I saw once upon a time on The Price is Right.  A contestant would try to guess the correct price of a car by rolling a die.  The number that was rolled needed to be locked into a place value spot.  I think there was more to their game, but for us, this is where we stopped.

I played this today with my daughter as we worked on correctly reading and writing five digit numbers.  We each had our own whiteboard, and the goal was to try to create the largest number.  After each roll of the die, we 'locked' that number into a place value.  After five rolls, the person with the largest number was the winner.  My daughter then needed to write her number in words.

Day 65 / 101 - Pinewood Derby

Last Friday night was the Pinewood Derby for Cub Scout Pack 789.  My son lives for the Pinewood Derby.  In fact, I think it's the only reason he's a scout.  There are numerous posts I could make about my son and scouts and how the two fit together into our homeschool curriculum (the popcorn he's sold, the badges he's earned, etc).  But, what he loves most is the Pinewood Derby.

This car is 100% his.  He designed and shaped the car.  He sanded and filed the car (sometimes at the expense of his other school work, but of course, by choice).  He tirelessly greased the axles over and over again.  I'm sure there were countless other responsibilities and tasks that needed to be completed, but he took ownership for each and every one, which is why I'm completely unaware of all he accomplished.

His hard work paid off, because his car won first place for the Webelos.  It took second overall for the Pack.  He now advances to the District Finals in April.  We'll keep you posted.....

Day 64 / 101 - VanCleave's 201 Experiments

We've had fun this year completing science experiments from Janice VanCleave's 201 Awesome, Magical, Bizarre, and Incredible Experiments.  This book is a collection of science experiments designed to show students that science is more than a list of facts.  It shows that science is a way of solving problems and discovering why things happen the way they do.  It takes science out of the laboratory and puts it into our daily life.  We find the answers to many questions by doing the experiments in the book.

The experiments in the book cover five different fields of science: Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science, and Physics.  Since we've been studying Biology and Chemistry this year we've completed experiments in Biology (the way living organisms behave and interact) and Chemistry (the way materials are put together and their behavior under different conditions).  For instance, we've asked the questions, how do our lungs work? or what are fingerprints?  The book then guides us through the steps necessary to successfully complete a science experiment and to teach us the best method of solving problems and discovering answers.

The picture above is a little unclear, but it shows how we grew needle-shaped crystals of Epsom salt.  It was one of our chemistry experiments showing us how an element's behavior changes under different conditions.

Day 63 / 101 - Sea World

Another one of our Orlando days was spent at Sea World.  Needless to say, my daughter would now like to be a 'dolphin trainer' or some type of marine biologist when she grows up.

Day 62 / 101 - T-Rex

We had a prehistoric dining experience at the T-Rex restaurant in Downtown Disney.

Day 61 / 101 - Swimming with Dolphins

This will probably only make it on our lesson plan once in a lifetime.  The kids and I have just returned from a visit to Orlando where my parents treated us to a day at Discovery Cove.  It was definitely worth it!