Nature Challenge 2011!

We are participating in the North Texas Nature Challenge this year.  I thought it would be a good way to study nature scientifically using our observational and recording skills.  The boys have enjoyed the two challenges we have done so far: Fort Worth Botanical Gardens and River Legacy Science Center.  Both have been scavenger hunts where the boys and I read clues or look at photos that show where we need to look and when we get to the point of interest there is information and questions that are posed to make the us think more deeply about it.  Their favorite so far was turning over logs at the Science Center to see what kind of life was sustained in that habitat.  We found a 6 inch long centipede and some worms of different sorts-the boys were stoked!  We have also had some great photo ops and MiMi and Uncle Alex joined us to make the experience even better!

 

http://fwbg.org/

http://www.riverlegacy.org/

 

Aviation Unit Study

We just wrapped up our broad study on aviation and although we did not complete all the projects we wanted to, the boys enjoyed the subject matter immensely.  I always collect some fun worksheets online-there are a ton of free, printable worksheets to choose from and so I chose some word scrambles, searches, and other fun stuff.  We read several airplane and aviation books from the library.  Mason did a short (1 page hand-written) biographical report on the Wright brothers.  I also found a great book at the library that offered some easy to assemble with stuff laying around the house or at least nearby projects ;) Last but not least, we took a trip to the C.R. Smith museum where the boys got to learn about American Airlines, but also about aviation and how planes fly with some interactive exhibits.  http://store.crsmithmuseum.org/store/

All in all we had a good time studying aviation and it was a good transition into Spring Break.  Fun!

 

             

The book we used had some wonderfully simple and interesting projects. Mason worked meticulously to build this airplane out of cardboard, straws, a stick and some tape.  C just whipped his up as quickly as possible (with my help) to see what it could do! 

Games to teach

I have been struggling lately to get my youngest to be excited about math. This scares me because I really, really don't want them to check out of math and not think it is fun or at the very least important and doable.

Games are always a good way to make something more fun. We use workbook or text style curriculum for both math and grammar but sometimes they need a break from the same old-same old. So, I have a couple that we have been enjoying recently.

For math we like Monopoly and other classic games but I recently purchased Math Dice to use with my eldest for multiplication but it can be used for far more than that, we can use it for any mathematical process we want; adding, subtracting, multiplication, division, powers and you can make the rules to suit any learning level.

This word game, Bananagrams, has turned out to be a hit for the boys. They like the simplicity of making small words and being able to go backward and forward, up and down.

I am planning on hopefully implementing more of a "station" type of learning environment where they get to choose what they want to do with each subject while at that station. I think this will reduce power struggles and let them explore the subject matter more at their own pace.

Homeschool day at the Fort Worth Zoo

We had a GREAT time at homeschool day at the zoo! It was a gorgeous day and the boys loved the educational live animal show that was offered. The boys learned two new facts about animals: 1.) The OPOSSUM is in fact a different animal than a POSSUM which is an Australian animal and 2.) The black Rhino has prehensile lips!

My boys love animals and are huge Nature fans so they know tons about animals but these were two facts that we did not know.

The Fort Worth Zoo is one of the best we have been to and they are adding new, exciting things all the time like the MOLA (Museum of Living Art) and a brand new outdoor education center.

Here are some pictures of our trip (some of the boys' photography as well)

Structuring our day

We are still trying to figure out the best way to structure our day. One of my boys is an early bird and the other likes to take it easy for awhile before delving into the day. At first I thought for sure I would have at least one subject done with my early bird before the other started but it turns out that having a relatively late(8:00) start to the "school" day works for all of us.

Math always is first, I think it's the best to get that subject done when our minds are freshest. We then continue onto read aloud time. Then it's onto language lessons and writing. Any project work or supplemental math & science is(usually) next and then history, which we do as a sit, read, write time twice a week. This all is (normally) done in about three hours or so.

I will think of two art projects per week to get done, which the boys normally do in one sitting. We are now into springtime so baseball and soccer are in full-swing so I have backed off of a regular P.E time, but the boys are outside at least half the daylight hours doing random things like running, playing at the park, practicing sports, or exploring so I am not so concerned with a structured P.E. They also do a home-school P.E class with a trainer every other Friday. This summer I plan on taking them swimming to work off some energy as well. We also have karate, guitar and theater on different days of the week so those extracurricular activities are built into some days of our week. We also try and get some grandparent time in as well.

Soooo, our days are organically structured but not in a by-the-minute sort of way. This has been surprising to me since I had begun thinking that was the healthiest approach but the boys have shown me otherwise. They want to know what to expect but they also don't want me hounding them and they need time to focus on their own interests which makes them happier and everything run smoother.

Overall, I believe that having a plan is a good thing but being flexible with time is important as well. I have begun to talk with them about time management and how important of a skill it is, in order to achieve their goals (and mine;) they have to manage their time, and everyday I think it sinks in a bit more and they are becoming more conscience of it which will lead them to be proactive and independent.

Quick, easy science (again!)

This is a quick science experiment that shows how metals react when put into a bath of vinegar (acid) and salt...