Homeschool Highlights - week of June 19, 2011

 Sunday: 

Phys Ed:  Spent time on the new playset, swimming, and playing Just Dance on the Wii.

Monday:

Read Aloud:  Finished Flat Stanley, Flat Again by Jeff Brown

Phys Ed:  Swimming and playing golf.

Unit Study:  God Made the Birds.  Genesis 1:20-25

• Listened to the birds singing and tried to identify them by their songs. (science)
• Discussed different bird songs.  (science & music)
• Sang song God Made the Birds to Fly (tune of The Farmer in the Dell), while flying around like a bird (music & movement)
• Played animal memory matching game.  (memory, focusing)
• Read aloud books about birds from our library. (reading)
• Made a bird shape out of a paper plate and covered with craft feathers. (art)

Tuesday:

Wild Day at the State Park.

The kids got to look at some interesting slides at this station.  They even got to make their own slides from things they found in nature.

  The kids had fun with this hands-on way of learning about the effects of pollution in our soil and environment.  They used all kinds of food products to be pesticides, oil, and other forms of pollution.

Learning about nature did not end with wild days.  Dad found this gartner snake in our yard and saved it from the blades of the mower.  This one was in the process of shedding it's skin.

Wednesday:  Wild days at the state park.

At this station the kids were learning about birds.  They had to build a nest with their beaks (a wooden spring clothes pin).  Our finished bird nest.

 At another station, we made tie-dyed t-shirts.  I think this is the best one we've ever done, if I say so myself :)

After the park, rush home to lunch and back out the door to dance lessons.  We had a surprise this week.  Becca had invited several other classes to meet together to work on songs for the upcoming show.

Saturday: 

Again we found nature in our own backyard!  Our dog treed these baby raccoons in a pine tree.

Birds of a feather nature program at the state park.  Even though we just learned about birds at wild days, they still came up with some fun and unique ways of learning.

First, we used wooden spring clothespins (as beaks, again).  But this time, not to build a nest, but to demonstrate how birds get their food.  The kids were given a plate full of things, and they were to only pick out the seeds. 

Next, they used pipe cleaners to make bird feet.

Lastly, they learned about feathers and tried their hands at writing like our forefathers did with quill pens.

Shayla is really earning her Junior Naturalist points!  She is up to 10 of the 15 points necessary to earn a prize!