Learning Log for March 2012

Hey everybody,

We had an interesting month. My DD6.5 asked lots of questions about Heaven and dying. He kept asking to see what a brain looked like. After showing him some books and pictures, he was not satisfied. He kept saying he wanted to see the real thing. So I found some YouTube videos on real Human Anatomy Dissections (links below). We mostly watched the first few minutes of the videos, but it was enough to satisfy his curiosity. We talked about deep things like the human spirit, body and soul. We talked about what is like in Heaven. So funny how one thing leads to another, how children connect the dots. We also talked about the human eye, colors and how we see.

Beware this is a long list. I am tired just by looking at it. I can't believe we did all this, but we did it!!

Titles in BOLD letters are the ones that I highly recommend!

Websites/ Great Links

Geometric Coloring Pages - we used these while listening to Adventures in Odyssey.
Olga's Gallery - Art work and Biographies of Great artists cataloged by name and movement. This link provides the Movement Index. Wonderful resource.
TeachKidsArt - Wonderful, inspirational website I am using to get ideas to do more art projects with the children. - We did the Dr Seuss art work to celebrate his birthday and read tons of Dr Seuss books.
How to Read a Painting 
Seusville - Dr Seuss based website with games and videos.
Carnegie Hall - through videos the history of Carnegie Hall is told. Very interesting!
New York Philharmonic website for kids - great resource. Teaches parts of an orchestra, name of instruments and is interactive too.
BBC History for kids - DD9 and DS6.5 explored how to make a Mummy and more.
TED Talks - check out my post HERE.
SUDOKU games for kids - printable beginners puzzles and more here
Starting Seeds E-book  FREE

Audio Files/ Audio Books

Whits End - Adventures in Odyssey - Adventures in Odyssey presents original audio stories brought to life by actors who make you feel like part of the experience. These fictional, character-building dramas are created by an award-winning team that uses storytelling to teach lasting truths.We heard the following on the above website ONLINE for FREE:

Episode 438 - The Lyin' Tale and Two Roads

Episode 441 - What do you think?

Episode 445 - No Boundaries

Episode 446 - A Matter of Manners and the Seven Deadly Dwarves
Episode 449 - The Big Deal- part 1 of 2
Episode 450 - The Big Deal - part 2 of 2
Episode 394 - Saint Patrick - part 1
Episode 395 - Saint Patrick part 2

Jonathan Park Fiction audio dramas that teaches science from a creationist point of view. It presents the Evolutionist point of view also and the difference between both. Lots of Bible verses and the main families involved are homeschooling families. My children listen to these and music every night before they fall asleep. Lots of scientific information as well as geography, history and Bible knowledge.


Lamplighter Theater - Another wonderful resource for wholesome Christian content. Read HERE their mission statement.  From time to time, they will post some of their audio dramas for you to listen online for FREE. We have heard Teddy's Button ( you can see HERE the link for you to listen to Episode 1 and 2 online for free) and this month we are listening to Charlie's Choice. My DD9 eats it all up and the rest of the children enjoy it too.

Your Story Hour - we heard a story about how God protected a family from locusts.

* How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell - audio tape

Books
(most of these were checked out of our Public library.)

* Bible every night.

* I love to Paint! by Jennifer Lipsey - My Favorite Art Book - The children loved this book, specially DD9 who loves everything artsy and crafty! We did many of the projects together, or independently.
* Zoo Girl by Rebecca Elliott - the illustration were so pretty! So very mixed media!!
* Lola Reads to Leo by Anna McQuinn
* All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon - another beautiful book with gorgeous illustrations... I wish I had all the time of the world to sit and draw, color and paint!

* The Sneetches and other stories by Dr Seuss
* If I Ran the Zoo by Dr Seuss
* Sleep Book by Dr Seuss
* Bartholomew and the Oobleck by Dr Seuss
* The Lorax by Dr Seuss
* The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins by Dr Seuss
* McElligot's Pool by Dr Seuss
* Did I ever tell you How Lucky you are? by Dr Seuss
* The Butter Battle Book by Dr Seuss (as a native of Brazil I hadn't read Dr Seuss other than The Cat in the Hat. I was fascinated by how he made up words to rhyme with the existing ones. Also how the themes of his books are so current in spite of how old the books are since they were first published.)
* How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr Seuss
* Happy Birthday to You! by Dr Seuss
* The Bippolo Seed and other Lost Stories by Dr Seuss
* Ruby Valentine Saves the Day by Laurie Friedman
* The Bears in the Bed and the Great Big Storm by Paul Bright 
* The Science Book by Sara Stein - lots of simple experiments and information. Some of it reads like a textbook. All in all, a good reference book if you don't have a curriculum for Science like us.
* Everything you need to know about Science 4th to 6th grade. A desk reference for students and parents by Anne Zeman and Kate Kelly. Again another good reference book to use as a base for a Science Curriculum if you don't have one or a curious of what students are doing in Public School.

* Yucky Worms by Vivian French - DD4 was captivated by this book.  Reads like a story book and the information is weaved into the story and illustrations, which are so darling.
* Earthworms by Elaine Pascoe - Nature Close Up
* Missing Math - a number mystery. by Loreen Leedy
* Everything but the Horse by Holly Hobbie - beautiful book, gorgeous illustrations, sweet story BUT I didn't like the end. I thought the story ended too soon and there was more to be told. Then again, it's the author's childhood memory. :)
* Mr Putter & Tabby Run the Race by Cynthia Rylant - really cute series that focus on the life of Mr Putter and his neighbor. They are both senior citizens. :)
* Mr Putter & Tabby - Clear the Decks by Cynthia Rylant
* Buster goes to Cowboy Camp by Denise Fleming
* Henry and Mudge and the Wild Goose Chase by Cynthia Rylant

* I pledge Allegiance by Bill Martin Jr and Michael Sampson  A wonderful book to teach the Pledge of Allegiance to a varied age group of children.
 * Fun With Roman Numerals by David A. Adler - highly recommend if you have a child who is inquisitive, likes to read, but doesn't like to do "traditional" math school work. She/ he will love this book. Mine did. We made up a game and the children had a ball playing it.

DD6.5 independent book list:

* Dinosaur Food by Rupert Matthews - This whole series is very interesting and will captive your child's attention. Lots of scientific information as well as geographic data.

* Dinosaur Families by Rupert Matthews - Another book of the same above series. This is NOT written from a Creationist point of view. I use with my children and we discuss the differences of both point of views.

 * The Dinosaur is the Biggest Animal that Ever lived and other wrong ideas you thought were true by Seymour Simon - This book stayed in my DD6.5 bed for over a week. Every night he would read a little bit and the next day share with me what he found out. This book was good just because it caught his interest and he read it by himself on his own time. I recommend if you find a book your child wants to read, even if you think it's over his vocabulary, to let him read it. He will learn more than you could ever teach him. :)
* Bones, Bones, Dinosaur Bones by Byron Barton 

DD9 independent book list PLUS all the books above: 

* Informania Sharks by Christopher Maynard
* The Man in the Iron Mask (Marvel Illustrated) vol. 1: The Three Musketeers (DS6 read parts of it independently)
* The Man in The Iron Mask (Marvel Illustrated) vol. 2: High Treason
* Amazon Diary: The Jungle Adventures of Alex Winters (written in a diary format in child's handwriting! Really fun!) - Second time my DD9 checks this book out.
* How to Draw Dinosaurs by Christine Smith
* Happy Birthday Everywhere! by Arlene Erlbach (a great way to teach Geography and different cultures)
* The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells (Great Illustrated Classics)
* The Call of the Wild by Jack London (Great Illustrated Classics)
* Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne  (Great Illustrated Classics)
* The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo  (Great Illustrated Classics)
* Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift  (Great Illustrated Classics)
* Dogs Have the Strangest Friends and other true stories of animal feelings by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson
* Nature Close Up - Earthworms by Elaine Pascoe 
* Mercy Watson thinks like a Pig by Kate DiCamillo
* Mercy Watson Fights Crime by Kate DiCamillo
* Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride by Kate DiCamillo

* Ancient Egypt Revealed - a DK book - DD9 has checked out this book at least 4 times. Each time she discovers something new. It's funny how she has her own opinion about Egyptians' beliefs.
* Hank the Cowdog #53 - Drover's Secret Life by John R. Erickson
* Saving the Ghost of the Mountain - An Expedition Among Snow Leopards in Mongolia by Sy Montgomery
* The First Tortilla by Rudolfo Anaya - A Bilingual Story
* Houses and Homes by Carol Bowyer
* Bionics - cool science by Judith Jango-Cohen
* Blizzard of the Blue Moon - Magic Tree House #36
* Judy Moody Declares Independence by Megan McDonald
* Magnus at the Fire by Jennifer Armstrong
 

Movies/ TV Shows and Programs/ Videos 

* Frontier House - very interesting series from PBS made in 2001. We all watched together and talked about the major differences and struggles of the 1880's and now. It was a starting point to talk to my children about attitude and thankfulness. I really enjoyed it. Composed of 2 Discs.
* Out of the Wild - Venezuela - We watched all 8 episodes in 2 days. It was a Marathon, but it was so fun. Great tool to learn geography, basic survival skills in the wild, team work, study of religions and more. Streamed from Netflix.
* Charlotte's Web - VHS from our library
* Babe
* The Last Lions - we got this one from the library. My children are fascinated by animals and I think movies like this allow for lots of questions and answers and opportunities to point to the Creator, although we don't necessarily agree with the view of the director who is not a Creationist.
* Felicity - An American Girl Adventure - My DD9 read the books last year and it was fun to revisit the story watching the movie. We all watched together and we were captivated by Felicity's heart. A truly beautiful movie. The story takes place just before the American Revolution. There are patriots and loyalists in the same family and people need to live in peace although they differ in view points.From Netflix.
* The Adventures of Tintin  
* The Colonial House - PBS series like the Frontier House. Rented from Netflix. 
* The Backyardigans
* Babar

YouTube Videos

There's a Wocket in my Pocket by Dr Seuss

Fox in Socks by Dr Seuss

Human Anatomy Dissection - Forearm and Hand (GRAPHIC CONTENT ! May not be appropriate for small children. Please preview BEFORE showing it to your children!)
Human Anatomy Dissection - Torax and Heart  (GRAPHIC CONTENT ! May not be appropriate for small children. Please preview BEFORE showing it to your children!)

St. Patrick's Story by Veggie Tales - we watched this a couple of 3 times. So funny!!
The Calm Christian Parent - I found this website and this Dad one night and watched many of his clips. This is one of the longer ones (50 min or so) and if you are at your whit's end needing help with disciplining your children or better communicating with them, please watch the video.
* How to germinate seeds in egg shells.
* I also watched a lot of videos on Youtube about growing tomatoes and other plants. Check out my favorite videos on my channel.

Activities/ Field Trips/ Co-op classes

* We went to the park, played in the rain and had a great time.
* Many nature walks with time to take pictures, play and have a picnic. Once we invited another homeschooling family and we spent 4 hours at the park. It was so much fun. While the children played, Moms got some much needed adult time. You can see some of the wonders of God's creations HERE.
* Art  Class - I am leading an art class once a month. This month we learned a few vocabulary words like still life, landscape and portrait. Then we learned what the elements of art are and we identified them by looking at the artwork around my house. The children got to paint a still life: a fruit bowl. Some of the useful websites I used to teach this class was: TeachKidsArt, AwesomeArtists and ProjectARTiculate. As well as the Unit Study All About Colors I purchased at Hearts and Trees.
* Reading Hour at our Public Library. - games, a story book, snack and just fellowship. We checked out a lot of NEW books that the library had just got in. :) Find out the activities going on at your library and make a point to participate.
* We colored some Shamrock with crayons then painted them in black paint. Such a cool effect. Another project from I love to Paint! 
* We build raised beds to plant a garden. DH cut and screwed boards together. The children and I tried to help. We also sprouted seeds, planted tomatoes, transplanted some indoor herbs to the garden. Planted collard greens and squash.
* We visited a friend's farm. We were able to see a horse being shod.  The children played with the chickens, fed the llamas, goats and pigs; they rode the horses and just played to their hearts content.
* Dissection lab - DD9 and DS6.5 dissected an earthworm and a grasshopper. Kit was purchased from Carolina's Website. The kit comes with instructions and each specimen comes preserved. We will be doing the crayfish and frog next month. While the "bigger kids" were cutting up the bugs, the little ones were creating art with colorful noodles in the room next door.
* Lots of drawing, coloring, sketching, practicing of cursive letters, writing letters to friends, sewing, karate and just plain monkeying around. :)

Mom's Eclectic Reading List

* The Vow (The true events that inspired the movie) by Kim & Krickitt Carpenter - the story that gave life to the movie. I had no idea that the couple involved were Christians.While the story gives glory to God, the book was very dry. It was not a page turner. However, I admire the commitment of both in spite of the circumstances they found themselves in. In a world like today, it's a story that needs to be told. Too bad it was not better written.

* A love that Multiplies by Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar
*  Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp
* Discover Share Inspire Website - Check it out!!!

I think that's all for this month, y'all!!!

Blessings,
tereza