Digestive system

 This week we will be working on the digestive system.  I believe I will combine my younger children with my older children in these lessons because I think the concepts are relatively easy to understand.  I'm really excited about the hands on lesson on Wednesday from teachinginroom6 blog.  And I'm a little worried about the Corn experiment on Tuesday.  But I have a 11 year old that was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and I think it will be very good for him to see how his body digests or not digest certain food


 Monday - 

Khan academy Digestive system



Tuesday

National Geographic - Feed the System

Corn experiment 



Wednesday

Teaching in room 6




 Thursday

Kids Health



Friday

 

Plants

Knowledge about plants is a fundamental part of understanding the world around us.  It is so important to allow small children to have interactions with the out of doors.  This allows them to foster an appreciation for natural resources, earth science, and dare I say most important of all CURIOSITY (one of my two favorite words).  This is such an easy thing to do.  Go outside.  Allow your kids to be outside.  Sometimes you may have to  MAKE your kids go outside.  It is so healthy for them to be outside.  To hear, touch, smell the natural things around them.  Allow them to run in the grass with their shoes off.  Talk about how grass feel on their feet and how it may turn their feet green (conversation on chloroplast).  Find a flower and compare it to a tree.  Find the parts that are similar and ones that are different.  Compare, Analyze, Talk, and most importantly - Do.  For pete sakes - We're homeschoolers - lets go outside.

I don't know how many times I've thought about the irony of looking at pictures in a book and reading words on a page on a subject that was less than two feet away out a window that could be experienced.

Having said all this.  I've added links that I thought were fun. Hee-Hee.

Making a plant grow

Plant Growthh



Parts of a Plant


Plant Life cycle Game

Below are pictures of an activity we've been working on.  We took seeds we had around the house(I really had no idea if they would actually grow or not).  We had Chia seeds and two sizes of white beans.  We put them in a plastic ziplock baggie with a wet paper towel.  Then we taped those to our sliding glass door that doubles as our learning board and Viola.  The Chia seeds were fun because they started sprouting roots in about 24 hrs.  Amazing.  Then the small bean sprouts started about a week.  And our last runner up were the large white beans.  These took about two weeks to start to sprout.  It was fun to see the difference in all three and the time it took for each one to start to sprout.

This leads to an excellent conversation about each and every thing has a time and a season.  Some seeds start to sprout very fast and some take more time.  Each one has a unique root system.  Each seed has a different way of sprouting.  It's been really fun for the kids and for me.

About two weeks after we started watering our seeds we were able to transplant them to a pot.  We will continue to grow them to watch the full life cycle of the plant.

Genetic Traits

Can I just say that genetics was one of my favorite subjects in college.  I love genetics.  I could do punnett  squares till the cows come home.  But how to foster this love in my brilliant kiddo's.  I just don't know.  This week has a lot on Khan academy which I absolutely love.  It's one of the most comprehensive-no strings attached sites I've stumbled on.  Thank you Mr. Khan.  My kids love you and know your voice well.  They could probably pick you out of a crowd just from your voice.

So, back to genetics.  There is a genetic heart defect in my family (assymetrical septal hypertrophy).  There was not a lot known about this condition when I was in college BUT - just from doing simple punnett squares and knowing my ancestry and who showed signs of having this anomaly, I deduced that it was a  dominant trait that ran down the family tree. And I had a 50% chance of having it.  At this time, none of my siblings showed signs( I have 5).  So I estimated then that at least 50% of us should be showing signs.  But this is a difficult condition to pinpoint because most people do not show signs until their 30's, which is when my Mother started having complications.  We were all young bucks.  Fast forward fifteen years and sure enough, three of my Mothers six children have complications from this condition. So, not so great for the family tickers but amazingly fascinating for me.


Monday

Introduction to Heredity

Khan Academy Intro to Heredity

Heredity Worksheet





Tuesday

Punnett Square

Khan Punnett square fun

Furry Family Punnett Game

Dragon Punnett Game





Wednesday

Hardy Weinburg

Khan Academy Hardy Weinburg

Class activity

















Thursday

Sex - Linked Traits

Khan Sexed linked traits

Flipping over sex-linked traits activity






Friday

Genetics 101 Khan

Thermometer math

Reading thermometers is very important and can lead into a lot of discussions and lessons on numbers, conversions, science, weather, and seasons.  This  we checked the temperature on a daily basis both outside and on the web.  We talked about weather and storm systems.  We went outside and talked about temperature change feels like.  How 75 degrees feels in comparison to 60 degrees.  We discussed what kind of clothes we should be wearing and what kind of activities we should do.

Interactive thermometer


Thermometer Quiz


Math Nook Quiz

Counting Money

This is such an important lesson.  I didn't realize how often I use my debit card instead of cash and coins until we worked on this.  I think we may be seeing a time when actual currency could be done away with and all the implications that it would bring.  AGHhhh - It's mind blowing.

I believe it is still very important to teach our children to count coins and dollar bills.  Just teaching them what currency represents is such an important lesson.  So this week we continued to count coins and pinch pennies.  Ha!

Learning Coins














//

Clock math

This is a lesson like coin math.  So important but not used a lot today.  I was amazed at how difficult it was for my older children to tell time on an analogue  clock.  What has the world come to.  No time for analogue clocks or rotary phones or cassette tapes (how do I explain to my children the frustration of rewinding and fastforwarding a cassette tape over and over again to get to just the right place in my favorite Michael Jackson recording.

I've gotten off track again.  I've realized the need to display only analogue clocks in our home and asking my children (even my older kids) what the time is.


Clockwise






Time telling games

Living and Non living

OK - So I have a Kindergartener and a First grade and I'm realizing the cell division stuff I'm doing with the older kids is a little above their heads.  So.... to stay in line with the common core standards we will be doing simplified lessons for them.

Living and Nonliving lesson plan






Living and nonliving games











living and nonliving unit


Living and nonliving youtube

Mayan

One of my favorite things about home schooling is that I get to go into as much detail on any subject I deem worthy.  My main downfall is that I am easily fascinated with about any subject and could spend years on one thing.  Ancient American history is definitely one of these things.  On the other hand I believe that history of any kind enriches our lives so much that it deserves a little research and attention.

The Mayas




Mysteries of Mayas video



Mayankids.com






Duckster Link

Kidkonnect.com











Crafts

Aztec

Aztecs for kids










Crafts


crafts



sun

Olmec civilization

Olmec Civilization
















Link for ancient american blog post





Link to Olmec printable packet

Peru ancient civilization

Lost civilization of South America

Andes







Mandala art activity

conqistadors on the east coast

The conquistador invasions of the 1400-1600's explain so much of modern day culture.  These lessons are so critical for our children to understand the world around them and the movement and growth and desolation of civilizations.  It also explains a lot of todays economical and political concerns and conflicts.

North carolina Conquistador fort








Florida Conquistador



pbs micheal wood diary


vasco nuez in North America


Early Explorer Link











Interactive map of explorers


Lots of explorer activities