Ramblings...

For this month in our science learning we are covering the Earth’s structure, some simple plate tectonics, as well as some features *like volcanoes, mountains, etc.*, and of course earthquakes. During our co-op activities we discussed Earthquake safety and how earthquakes happen.

We also did a fun little experiment I’m going to share with you all. It’s really simple, but tons of fun to do.

First gather your supplies.

You will need:

(These are what connect your marshmallows in your building(s), I highly recommend the toothpicks that are round with the pointy ends. I was only able to get my hands on the flat squared ones, they get the job done, but I think the sharper ones would have worked easier with less breakage.)

Paper towels

(You will build your buildings on these, it allows for easier clean-up, and ensures you don’t pick up whatever is on the top of the table if you happen to be working somewhere other than your home or the home of a friend. A sheet long enough to catch the building if it falls should suffice (about 2-3 sheets long)).

And lastly, Two Tables (The tables will create your fault line, and of course your earthquake *with a little help*).

Now that you have your supplies let the kids loose to create whatever kind of building they want. The goal is to try and build something that could withstand an earthquake.

Once everyone has put the final touches on their marshmallow buildings, set up your “town”. Then make sure everything else is removed from the table especially any breakables. Have everyone step back and then begin the EARTHQUAKE. Moving the tables back and forth against each other did the trick, and my arms got a little workout in the process so it was all good.

After the earthquake assess who still has a building and who is literally picking up the pieces. With an older crowd you can then go into why they think certain buildings were able to withstand the earthquake. *What was different about the way they made their buildings compared to other buildings, how close were they to the fault line? Did any of the buildings closest to the fault line withstand the earthquake? If they did why do you think they did? And so on*.

For a younger group we found they enjoyed clean up the most. Either way it was all good fun, and the kids got to see first hand what happens to buildings in an earthquake. While all of these kids have lived through a number of quakes here, it is a completely different experience when you are creating it in a classroom and when your bedroom is shaking.

I think it is safe to say they preferred the marshmallow building quake more.

*Just a heads up for those with smaller children: We found it necessary to monitor the little ones while they were taking apart/eating their buildings, since the squared toothpicks were easily breakable they would break in the marshmallows upon dismantling. And of course kids being kids, they still attempted to eat them without looking first. Both mommies got sticky fingers from toothpick removable, but thankfully no one ate any toothpick pieces. Just something you should be on the lookout for if you do this activity with smaller children. And another reason I highly recommend trying this with the sharper/stronger toothpicks. *

Copyright(C) 2010 Rayven Holmes

For history we are currently studying Ancient History *since we follow a classical approach in regards to history*, and our focus for the next couple of weeks will be on ancient Egypt. To kick off our studies we headed to an Egyptian Mummy Exhibit the local museum was hosting. *Pictures weren’t allowed inside so I don’t have any photos from the exhibit itself…just the massive poster outside the exhibit room*.

The boys loved it, despite not having one of those handy headphone sets to tell us about each piece *they only had them in Japanese*. My goal with our history lessons is to allow the boys to actually step back in time and experience the time period as much as one can in the 21st Century.

First we started with going on an archeological dig as an intro to Ancient History, then they boys got to be cave boys for a day when we entered the Stone age. Now for our Egyptian studies we will be extending our fun.

Some of the things that will be used:

History Pockets: Ancient Civilizations
Spend the Day in Ancient Egypt
Egyptology Search for teh Tomb of Osiris
Free Ancient Egypt Unit Study and Lapbook *I don’t know if we will make the lapbook, but the library list that comes with this unit study will come in very handy*
Facts and Recipes
Explore the Pyramids
A Child’s History of the World

Both History Pockets and Spend the Day have activities that will help guide our studies along with the Free Unit Study. We will also devour books I plan to scoop up at the library tomorrow morning, and enjoy some fun hands on digging/discovery items that some friends of mine told me about. All of this will be the build up to our Egyptian Festival! Which we will be doing with another homeschooling family we are very close to.

We will don handmade traditional Egyptian garments and jewelry, partake in traditional Egyptian games, and dine on traditional Egyptian food and beverages. It’s shaping up to be a great time.

I absolutely love all the wonderful things we can do since we are doing school at home! Not even the sky can limit all the wondrous possibilities we have.

Are you looking for a great way to get the kids reading during the summer? Than head to your local library and checkout their summer reading program(s). We are taking part in two summer reading programs this year. One requires the boys to read at least five books a week, after reading our five books we take the booklist to the library, they sign it off, and give both of the boys a free coupon for ice cream! Of course ice cream is a big hit during the summer. There will also be a huge party at the end of the program.

The second program we are taking part gave the boys cards with pictures on them that they must color in after 30minutes of reading, each card equals five hours and they must complete five cards during the program. After they complete each card we take it into the library and receive a prize. At the end of the program there are other prizes to be won as well. Basically these treats and prizes give a great incentive for children to read, especially with the call of the outdoors/TV/video games/ect. constantly screaming their names during the summer. They are really great for us, because of where we live by around 10am it is far too hot to spend time out and about unless you are at a beach or pool. Thanks to these programs I can easily lure the boys to a stack of good books, instead of losing them to the TV and video games that are so flashy and welcoming on a hot summer‘s day.

So if you haven’t checked out the summer reading program(s) at your local library head over and see what they have to offer. You may even discover a homeschooling program as well!

We brought in the summer with some fellow homeschoolers by having a planting party. We gathered our soil, rocks, planters, seeds, and enjoyed plenty of sunshine while we planted away. The boys and I planted carrots, bok choy, and a few other vegetables. I also got them sunflower seeds, since we discussed sunflowers about a month or so ago, I thought it would be great if they grew their own. After having our skin kissed by the sun and getting covered in dirt, we all retreated in doors for an impromptu play date.

It was a great way to kick off the summer and start our vegetable garden. Hopefully our seeds will sprout into something yummy and beautiful, until then we have a wonderfully hot summer to enjoy *thank goodness for a pool!*

So how did you and yours welcome summer?