True North: Our Canadian Homeschool: September 2011

Extreme Environments - The Arctic

We studied the Arctic by reading the book Frozen Fire by James Houston. James Houston’s intimate knowledge of the Arctic really helps you as the reader, connect with the cold and other dangers of that environment.

I wanted our daughter to see the challenges in working there which is why I chose Frozen Fire. The story is about a teenage boy who’s father works in the Arctic. It is about him trying to find his father with the help of an Eskimo boy after his plane does not return during a storm. It is a story of bravery and of the many dangers in the Arctic.

Our daughter watched the movie “Alaska” as well as a few Discovery Education Videos on the Arctic.

She also looked at these books as part of this study.

Finally our daughter did a diorama based on Frozen Fire with a box, paint, styrofoam and Toob Arctic figures.

This was a great study, with alot of practical exploration of what it would be like to live and work in this extreme enviroment. Blessings!

One Resource - Two Children - The Body Book

I used this resource with our now 22 year old daughter and ten years later with our 12 year old daughter. Both were in grade 5 when the studied the Human Body. They are very different as you will see in the way that they chose to use this resource. They both learned a lot about the human body, but chose to express themselves in very different ways!! Our children are not cookie-cutters of each other, this is my plea to give them their individuality.

One child chose a lap book and one a scrapbook. One chose to make an almost complete body, the other chose to divide up the human body into systems and parts. One was very matter of fact, and the other added her own special humor!

The Body Book is an excellent resource. There are so many different ways it could be used. I have seen children use this resource and make a "life-sized" model of themselves with all the systems. The Body Book has experiments, explanations and then the models. It is a great resource for studying the Human Body. Blessings!!

Descriptive Writing Prompts

I have just uploaded the last set of the Writing Prompts. This one is a series of Descriptive Writing Prompts. Here are a few samples from the set.

This set can be found on my Homeschool Launch page along with many other writing prompts:
http://www.hslaunch.com/mypage/profile/8943
Blessings!!

Expository Writing Prompts

I have just added another set of writing prompts to my Homeschool Launch page. These ones are Expository. I hope that you will find them useful. Blessings!
http://www.hslaunch.com/mypage/profile/8943

Simple Machines

For our simple machines unit we used a combination of many resources to put together a variety of opportunities.

First, we used a resource than is no longer available. We used the Science Pockets by Dinah Zike which is no longer in print. If it were me I would use the Simple Machines Lapbook from Hands of a Child instead:

http://www.handsofachild.com/hands-of-a-child-products.html?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage_new.tpl&product_id=3706&category_id=230&keyword=Simple+Machines

We did so much more in our study than this though, and that is what I want to share with you. I was saying earlier that one of the first things that I purchased was a microscope years ago, well I think the second thing was a set of pulleys and spring scales. I have used these for many co-op classes over the years.

I had our daughter set up many different pulley and scale explorations. I had her do many fun things like raising and lowering a basket of felt pens with different pulley combinations. I also had her weigh her load based on these combinations. This was fun and seemed to go on and on depending on the load and the pulley combination.

I then had “Little one” go around the house and find anything that was part of a simple machine. She took pictures of each item and then described it based on what we had learned. This was a great learning experience as well. Most of the items she found in the kitchen.

Years ago I had purchased Gearopolis from Discovery Toys. It has had much use through many of our children. I had our daughter set up many gear combinations and get them to work based on the flow of the gears. She enjoyed build these. I think Gearopolis is still available through Discovery Toys.

Finally, I had “Little one” build her own simple machine. She built a spaghetti eating machine with several simple machines in it. This was an experience in learning and later great eating!!

Blessings!!

Webspiration - Diagrams and Outlines

The very best feature of Webspiration in my opinion is the "one-click" outline. The program allows you to freely flow between a diagram view of your project and an outline view. I have found with my children that one view has helped them clarify the other and vice versa. You don't need to perfect your graphic view in order to perfect your outline, you can work on both simultaneously. This is such a wonderful feature.
After reading "The Saturdays" by Elizabeth Enright here is our daughter's Saturday both in a graphic and outline form (my apologies for my scanner!!).
To change the form, on the far left of the toolbar there is a button with an A and a rotated = sign. That will change your document to the view you choose.

Graphic View

Outline View

Webspiration can start you out in the diagram view, but if your student works better getting the words down first I would say, start with the outline.
Webspiration allows you to add your own graphics as well. In the edit drop down menu there is a insert graphic button. That allows you to insert a graphic from a file or a URL.
On the bottom of the screen is the toolbar to "gussy up" your project with fonts, fill colours, text colours etc. This will help to personalize the project.
This project is basic in that respect but our daughter worked independently on this. She then took her outline and was able to write her narrative on "My Saturday" with a great outline to keep her focussed.
Blessings!

Persuasive Writing Prompts

Here is the next instalment of writing prompts. They are on my Homeschool Launch page:
http://www.hslaunch.com/mypage/profile/8943

Narrative Writing Prompts

I have been putting together some writing prompt pages for our daughter to use to help stimulate her writing. I don't really see these as where your child or mine will actually do their full writing, I see them more as a tool to write notes and get clarity of thought. I am doing them in sections of Narrative, Persuasive, Descriptive and Expository. When I get each section finished I will put them on my Homeschool Launch page. I have added in just a few screenshots for you to get an idea.
Here is the link to the Narrative Writing Prompts:
http://www.hslaunch.com/mypage/profile/8943

Blessings!

Project on Human Rights

Last year this was part of our study of Human Rights. I went to the UN Rights of a Child Charter from the UN Cyberschoolbus.

http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/humanrights/resources/plainchild.asp

I then went a site similar to this one (as the one we used is no longer free) and typed out the UN Rights one page each for our daughter to complete in cursive handwriting. For less than 10 days she copied them out and we discussed each of the rights.

http://www.handwritingworksheets.com/flash/cursive/paragraph/index.html

I then went to the internet and found pictures that I thought would represent some of these rights around the world. Our daughter chose which of the pictures she felt best represented the UN Rights of a Child Charter and made then into a poster along with the copied rights.

This opened up much conversation of how for some children these rights were not a reality. It tied into our study of Afghanistan, Eastern Europe and China.

Blessings!

Microscopes and Microscopic Organisms

One of the very first things we purchased when we started homeschooling almost 15 years ago was a good microscope. At that time we had our three older children to homeschool and my oldest daughter really loved Biology and Chemistry. We have never regretted that purchase. We have lent it out to many homeschoolers over the years, we have used it at co-op’s, classes and for so many different science units that it has been so worth the $300.00 we spent back then.

Last year we used it once again for our unit on Microscopes and Microscopic Organisms. The first thing that we did for this unit was I had “Little One” do another Classification Chart as a review more than anything.

Next, we did the Single Celled Organism Lapbook by Hand’s of a Child and it was excellent.
Our daughter enjoyed this and did the experiments included in the pack.

She had fun blowing up the balloon with the yeast in a bottle among other activities.

We also went out to a large pond nearby and collected pond water. “Little One” then put the pond water under the microscope to see what was in there. There was lots to see.

Did you know if you put your digital camera lens right up against the microscope you can take pictures like these? Our support teacher told us that and I was amazed at how well it worked!!

We have collected lots of pre-made slides over the years, and after we have been working on a project I just leave them out with the microscope.

Pretty soon we are tugging out hair, finding fuzz, exploring leaves and even getting a drop or two of blood to take a look at. Everything is just more interesting to explore under a microscope!

Happy Exploring, Blessings!!

We Got all Charged up About Electricity with These Resources!

First and foremost, the best thing about the Electricity Unit we completed last year was Snap Circuits. Our daughter loved experimenting with these over and over again. There are so many different circuits to be built even in the most basic kit.

http://www.snapcircuits.net

Secondly, we took advantage of online subscriptions. With Gizmo’s our daughter did the units on Magnetism and Electrical Circuits. These were great!

http://www.explorelearning.com/
We watched the video on Discovery Education Canada called The Magic of Magnets. It had blackline masters along with it that our daughter completed and put in her notebook.

http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=6E4A4FFF-3D1E-49CB-8E50-C7F28DB244FB&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US

This video also had a teacher’s guide and with magnets and iron filings our daughter explored more about magnetism.

"Little One" also did several of the worksheets and experiments on this page and put them in her notebook.

http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/science/science4a.htm

She also did the lapbook pieces and activities from this page:

http://www.homeschoolhelperonline.com/lapbooks/electricity.htm

Our daughter every once in awhile still brings out the Snap Circuits just for fun and tries circuits she hasn't experimented with before. This is a beautiful thing!!

Blessings!

Extreme Environments - Astronauts in Space!!

The study of Extreme Environments can be a challenge as there are not many books or resources titled “Extreme Environments”.

We tackled Extreme Environments by studying Space and The Arctic. In this post I am going to focus in on Space.

For our space study I wanted to find resources that were specific to astronauts, the obstacles they faced and the technologies that they used. I found this book and we used it for our spine. Eight Days in Space by Barbara Bondar.

Eight Days in space really did look at the challenges of living and working in space. Because it is written with Roberta Bondar it has a Canadian/World focus to it. We watched three IMAX videos about space. Destiny in Space, Hail Columbia and The Dream is Alive. Destiny in Space included footage about Roberta Bondar's crew and was such a great tie in!

http://www.imax.com/movies/m/destiny-in-space/

We also watched a Myth Busters about the NASA Landing Conspiracy. We had a great talk about it and about conspiracy theories in general!

http://mythbustersresults.com/nasa-moon-landing

You can purchase this episode on ITunes for $1.99.

Our daughter also completed this short astronaut study. It had some great links in it as well as lots of activities.

http://www.walkingbytheway.com/blog/?p=714152

We watched Apollo mission footage as well as other actual video footage from this site:

http://www.havefunwithhistory.com/HistorySubjects/spaceRace.html

We took a field trip day to our local planetarium as well and enjoyed the activities they had for learning more about space.

This was a great way to study Extreme Environments!

Discovery Education - Jeff Corwin

Today I just wanted to share about some great nature videos we have enjoyed several times over that are on Discovery Education. Discovery has so many different Jeff Corwin videos that we are planning on watching more as we study Ecosystems this year for Grade 7. Jeff Corwin’s enthusiasm for nature is infectious! Especially his love of snakes and reptiles!! Though at times we have not agreed with Jeff Corwin's standpoint on evolution, we have still enjoyed these videos and the amazing animals that he has shown us. Blessings!
Here is a list of the videos that are currently on Discovery Education (you will need a subscription to login):

in this Series

The Jeff Corwin Experience: Africa: Namibian Ecosystem

(Full Video)

The Jeff Corwin Experience: Africa: Zanzibar's Archipelago

(Full Video)

The Jeff Corwin Experience: Alaska: An Extreme Environment

(Full Video)

The Jeff Corwin Experience: Amphibians

(Full Video)

The Jeff Corwin Experience: Anaconda

(Full Video)

The Jeff Corwin Experience: Animal Encounters