Spring is a great time to homeschool at the beach. It isn’t too hot and there aren’t many folks around. The sound of the ocean and the texture of the sand are soothing. Recently I took C5, A2, and P4 (my nephew) to the beach, and we had a great experience. Here are a few things that we did that you might want to try out.

~Go for a walk along the beach. It is really great exercise. Read more about the benefits of walking on the beach at Discover Walking.

~Skip rocks on the water. You can find out how to skip rocks at wikiHow. If you want to know why stones skip on the water, you’ll find information about the physics behind it at The Library of Congress.

~Collect rocks and shells. In addition to what I have included here, you can find more information about geology and art with rocks at Suite 101.

-Categorize the rocks and shells by size, by color, by shape, etc.

-Examine the rocks to find different geometric shapes. We found rectangles and trapezoids.

-Use the rocks that you collected to build with. The kids built a really great tower together.

-We used those shells and rocks to “write” the kids’ initials.

~Build sand castles. You can research the physics behind why sand castles sand at BNET. This post also includes an experiment for you to try.

Have fun and make memories at the beach with your kids!

Photo courtesy of MyAngelG

Wolfram Alpha is a new search engine set to launch on Monday, May 18. It works differently than other search engines, though. When you search a topic, Wolfram Alpha creates a single page of information including charts and graphs. It looks like an encyclopedia page online. You can even refine the search once you’ve started. You can read this article about Wolfram Alpha at Search Engine Land and watch detailed videos on how to use the “fact engine”.

Wolfram Alpha may be a great way to maximize your research time with your kids. With one page of facts at your fingertips you can quickly hone a particular research topic and find relevant information more effectively. Rather than spend time sifting through links, you can quickly find a whole host of data and immediately start a project.

If you try out Wolfram Alpha in your homeschool, I would love to hear what you think about it! Go to Wolfram Alpha to try it out.

Photo courtesy of Home Biss

~ Mom is Teaching has a link to an interactive US map that you might be interested in using with your children. I tried it out myself and had a lot of fun with it!

~ We have a US map puzzle that names the state and capital when you place the piece in. This is great for those kids who love doing puzzles. The multisensory nature of this puzzle makes it easier for children to remember the states and capitals.

~ We have flashcards for the United States with information about each state listed on the back of the card. You could make your own flashcards, but make them more like baseball cards. Research each of the states and record important information on the backs of the cards.

~ Make tourist brochures for the states that it would be most appropriate to vacation in. Include a map of the state and information about things important to tourists in it. You can even include photos of great places to visit.

~ Create a topographical map for a state. Use a large piece of cardboard as the base to draw the state on and make the topographical features with air drying clay. Paint the features, too. Create a key for your map.

Have fun learning US geography together!

~You can find copies of American Tall Tales here. There are also comprehension quizzes on this site.

~You can find a unit study on Tall Tales at German Town Academy.

~Tall Tales fit into a unit of study on the westward expansion. You can find general information about America in the 1800’s at this website. You will also find a host of educational resources at this website.

~Some Tall Tales are based on actual people. You can have your children research the lives of the Johnny Appleseed and Davey Crockett and compare the facts they find to the exaggerations in Tall Tales.

~You can make a lapbook on Johnny Appleseed. Homeschool Share has a free one.

~Have your children write their own Tall Tales. Remember to include exaggeration in the tales. Illustrations would complete the stories.

Photo courtesy of cliff1066

Myths

Myths are creation tales that include supernatural activity. For a more detailed definition go to About.com.

• Spark Notes is packed with information about mythology. It can be a great resource for you as you start to learn about mythology.
• Have your children read Myths from various cultures such as Native American and Greek myths. Examine the themes that appear in those myth,s and create a grid to of those themes as a graphic organizer. You can also have your children illustrate the myths in order to help them visualize the stories better.
• Discuss the religious nature of the myths that you read. Since most myths have something to do with creation, take this opportunity to discuss creation according to the Bible. You can even make a creation lapbook with your children. I found a free creation lapbook from Lapbook Lessons.

Legends

Legends are stories partially based on fact, but have exaggerated details.

• Children of all ages, particularly boys, love legends! Who can resist the adventures of Robin Hood and King Arthur? These are great, action packed stories to read aloud.
• Write a script for a favorite legend and act it out, or simply have your children choose a favorite scene to turn into a skit.
• Since it is March, you can research the legend of St. Patrick at History.com. You can also find information about St. Patrick at RiverDeep.net
• Write a modern day Legend after examining others. Have your children include illustrations of the legendary hero and his/her adventures.

Photo courtesy of Jorge-11

Are you planning on celebrating Read Across America Day on March 2 with your ‘tween or teen in your homeschool? Even though this day celebrates Dr. Seuss’s birthday, older kids can get involved in the celebration through a study of Dr. Seuss’s life and work.

~Have your child read a biography about Theodore Seuss Geisel. There are many great biographies available now. Here is just a sampling:

Dr. Seuss (First Biographies)

Oh, the Places He Went: A Story About Dr. Seuss (Creative Minds Biography (Turtleback))

Dr. Seuss: American Icon

Dr. Seuss: Young Author and Artist (Childhood of Famous Americans)

~Listen to the NPR interview with Philip Nel, author of Dr. Seuss: American Icon. Take notes on the interview.

~Read a variety of Dr. Seuss books as part of your research. Note patterns that you find in the texts.You can even create a grid with certain traits that are common to Dr. Seuss books such as rhyming, a message, fantastical characters, etc.

~“Interview” Dr.Seuss after you have researched his life. Watch the interviews with Audrey Geisel on the Reading Rockets website. Now create your own interview with Dr. Seuss. Have one child portray Theodore Geisel and one act as the interviewer. Have the children write a script for the interview and rehearse. Now film the interview. Show your interview to an audience.

Enjoy learning about Theodore Seuss Geisel to celebrate reading!

Photo courtesy of Allan Ferguson

It is the middle of the winter, and most places have plenty of snow. Learn about snowflakes this month in your homeschool.

~Wilson Bentley is famous for photographing snowflakes. He successfully photographed his first snowflake on January 15, 1885. Try researching his work and life. Watch this informative video about his life. It starts out told in the first person.

-There is a Snowflake Bentley website where you can find out more about his life. There are also copies of his photographs posted there.

-Read the following books to research Bentley’s life:

Snowflake Bentley (Caldecott Medal Book)

The Snowflake Man: A Biography of Wilson A. Bentley

My Brother Loved Snowflakes: The Story of Wilson A. Bentley, the Snowflake Man

~Learn about snowflakes. Go to the Cal Tech website for host of information.

-Read the following books to research snowflakes:

Snowflakes in Photographs

Ken Libbrecht’s Field Guide to Snowflakes

The Snowflake : A Water Cycle Story

-Observe snowflakes. How Stuff Works has a great lesson plan for this science experiment.

~Make snowflakes in various artistic ways. These books can help:

Snowflakes for all Seasons

Make Your Own Paper Snowflakes

Easy Tatting (Dover Needlework Series)

~At ProTeacher you can find a few math activities related to a snow theme. My two favorites are:

-Have a snowball fight. Write a math fact on a piece of white paper and crumple it up in a ball. Make a whole pile of these. Throw your “snowballs” at each other for a specified time. Then everyone takes turns reading the math facts out loud. Repeat.

-Use shaving cream on a table or desk as your snow. Have your child write in the shaving cream. Write math facts or draw shapes. Recite a number such as one hundred forty five and have your child write it in the shaving cream – 145.

Photos, Snowflake-024 & Snowflake-009, courtesy of yellowcloud

Plan a trip to your local children’s museum.

BEFORE YOUR TRIP

~Research together the exhibits in the museum including those exhibits that are there for only a short time. Plan out your schedule to include the exhibits you would like to spend the most time visiting.

~Decide how much money you will need to cover all of the expenses and create a budget. Don’t forget to include the cost of food and parking.

~Have your children use maps to locate the museum and determine the best route to take to get there.

~Read various books related to one of the exhibits.

DURING YOUR TRIP

~While visiting the different exhibits, ask your children probing questions. Encourage them to make hypotheses and deductions. Show them how certain things work.

~Bring your science journals along. Have your children spend some time at the museum writing about a science related exhibit.

~Take photos of the activities your children enjoyed the most. Use those photos to write a story. You can even make a book about your trip.

AFTER YOUR TRIP

~Write letters to the museum staff about your experience. Include postive experiences as well as anything you feel needs to be changed.

~Make note of topics that your children found interesting at the museum. Continue to study that topic in the coming weeks.

~Create your own brochure for the museum. Include directions, parking information, dining options, the cost of admission, and information about the exhibits. Use thumbnail size photos from the visit in the brouchure.

Autumn is by far the best season ever! The weather is chilly, but not too cold. The foliage is amazing, too. Then there are all of the great fall activities that we love to do like apple picking and hiking. We have focused on nature and the seasons this year, so we’ve read many books about fall so far. There is a downfall to this great season, though. The raking that needs to be done is a huge burden for us. Our yard is surrounded by our neighbors’ trees, and all of those leaves fall into our yard. That means lots of work for us in the autumn. My hubby and I decided to make a little game out of it with the kids, and it turned out to be a great teaching opportunity.

We had the kids walk around the yard and put leaves into their buckets to put them leaves into our compost pile. As they were doing this, they noticed that the leaves were not all the same. Daddy showed them what a maple leaf looks like. We have two other kinds of leaves in our backyard, oak leaves and another one that we didn’t recognize. Daddy suggested that the kids walk around the yard and sort the maple, oak, and unidentified leaves. They emptied the sorted leaves into the compost pile, and on our way back into the house, I brought several leaves inside for an art project. When we got inside, we found an interactive website at About.com to help us identify the last leaf and discovered it was an elm. Then I had the kids sort the leaves into oak, elm, and maple leaf piles. Then we used the leaves to make collages of the different types of leaves. The kids were so excited about this project from start to finish, and we all had a lot of fun!

I liked a lot about these particular activities. One thing that stands out is the kinesthetic nature of the work. The kids sorted the leaves in a very active way by collecting them in the yard, and then they re-sorted them when we got inside. I was able to show the kids how they can research on the internet as well. I also like the visual and tactile piece that came with making the collages. The kids manipulated the leaves in order to make their collages, and touching the leaves in this way gave them a clearer picture of the shape of each type of leaf. They also have these art pieces to refer to now to remind them what the different types of leaves look like. In the end, they will remember how to identify these leaves particular leaves in the future.

In our home school we are continuing to make our lapbook for Make Way for Ducklings, and we have worked on researching Mallard Ducks this week.

We reread the book and discovered that there is a lot of true information about ducks in it, so we decided to do some research on Mallard ducks. One day we listened to songs of the mallard duck online. We looked at photos online as well, and we watched a slide show of ducklings hatching. It was really fun to see the hatching. The kids wanted to listen to the songs over and over, too!

The next time we sat down for some school work, we read a brief article about Mallard ducks and filled out a report form while I read it. We wanted to confirm information on the internet as well, so we used a “Google” search. You could try Wikipedia, too.

On another day we used many resources from Homeschool Share including the From Egg to Animal life cycle wheel and the duck parts printout. The life cycle wheel requires a third page for the back so that you can put it in the lapbook and also for ease of spinning the wheel. I cut out the piece ahead of time so that we would focus more on the life cycle rather than the act of cutting. I had the children put the four events in order and glue them in the book.

Since the children had already noticed the differences in the male and female ducks in the illustrations in Make Way for Ducklings, we colored the duck parts print out as a scientific drawing for the research and discussed the differences. I had to do a bit of directing on this lesson in order to ensure that the parts were colored correctly. Interestingly, the little one even points out the “mommy” and the “daddy” ducks when we are reading now. The children also dictated how they determine if a Mallard is a female or a male.

We also discussed what migration is and used a map to find the migration patterns of the Mallard Duck. The children dictated information about migration to include in the book. They drew a picture of a duck on the cover of the migration book. I described drawing a duck as a big circle with a smaller circle next to it and a triangle on the little circle. I think it came out nicely!

Are you going to try researching Mallard ducks this week?