Weeks 3-4 United States

[Julie - Staff]

Postby jasntas » Thu Sep 09, 2010 3:22 pm
Week 3 - Day 3 - Science - Nature Walk. It says to sketch and label a tree. Do they label the tree with it's proper name or label the parts of the tree such as trunk, leaves, roots, etc.? Do we visit this project again another time and they label another tree or is this the only time they do this project? I feel kind of dumb asking and I know it may not matter either way but wanted to do it right. TIA


Postby doubleportion » Thu Sep 09, 2010 4:37 pm
If I remember correctly you will sketch the same tree in different seasons (but maybe that was ADV?). So we chose one in the back yard. DD labeled the name of the kind of tree but not the parts of the tree. The next week you do your Tree Identification project. We really enjoyed canvasing the neighborhood and doing leaf rubbings and bark rubbings and collecting samples to bring home and put in our notebook. We looked up any trees we didn't know on the internet. It was fun and I'm sure the neighbors just stared at "those weird homeschoolers"
Edie


Postby dhudson » Thu Sep 09, 2010 11:34 pm
I had mine sketch a forest scene with floor, herb, shrub, understory, canopy and emergent layers.


Postby jasntas » Thu Sep 09, 2010 11:51 pm
Oooh!! I love the forest scene idea. I did my own, um, sketch of the layers on our white board when we covered this a few days ago. My ds thought it was funny. I wish I would have thought to have them sketch their own then.

This afternoon they just sketched one of the trees from our back yard. They each got a camp chair and set it up in front of one of our trees and they sketched away. I wasn't even out there guiding them. I helped them with the name of each tree but that was it. (That was a total first.) They each chose one of the trees they collected leaves and rubbings from last week. They seemed to enjoy this project.

Thanks for the help ladies.
Tammie

[SusanH]

I get the newsletter from Home Science Tools and this week it was on Forests and Trees. The info go right along with ECC. Scroll down to the 'way cool websites' section. My kids really enjoyed watching the lessons.

http://www.hometrainingtools.com/trees- ... er/a/1724/

[cbollin]

We are making the Apple Head Dolls from the Global Art book. It says, after peeling the apple and carving the face, to bake the apple in a 200 deg oven for most of one day, which we did. Then, it says to set them in the sun for a few more days to let them dry out more. Well, we're not having much sun in our neck of the woods lately...it's been overcast and chilly. Has anyone else done this project? Is there another way to dry the apples besides setting them in the sun? Could I bake them another day? How long does it take the apples to dry out?

Thanks for any help you can give me.

Jen,
I'd try in the oven again, but I've never made of these. I've seen plenty as I was growing up in the Blue Ridge mountains......


While waiting for experiences with the project... here are some things to read up on

take note of step #7 on this link (suggests car dash board)
http://www.appledolls.org/page2.html
it says "Drying apples in the summer may be difficult because of the humidity. You may want to wait till humidity has decreased or try using a food dehydrator. If you don't have a food dehydrator, try blowing a fan directly on the appleheads and/ or place heads in very low oven heat, 135 degrees or lower. If the temperature seems too hot, try turning heat on low to heat up, then turn the oven off before heads go in the oven. Warning! If the oven is too hot, the apples will cook instead of drying."

or this link to that site's home page with lots of cool pics of apple dolls, however, don't scroll too far down the page. I'm blushing a bit, but the info on the apple dolls is nice. and a few videos to show the process don't seem to load quickly.
http://www.appledolls.org/

check here for 3 day oven drying suggestions
http://www.suite101.com/content/how-to- ... oll-a48226

other sites are saying
Tips:
It generally takes two weeks for the doll's head to dry (longer in humid climates), but kids will agree that the result is worth the wait. (that is talking about those done in the sun, or not helped with oven)
and/or
Store the carved apple in a dry spot until it shrinks. To hasten drying, place it in a dehydrator or a 200-degree F oven for 4 to 5 hours and then air dry for 2 days.

Read more: How to Make an Apple Head Doll | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_3900_make-apple ... z10AYuVq3G
***********

-crystal

[Poohbee]

Hi Crystal!

Thanks for thinking of us. Well, after reading the info. on the links you gave, I opted against putting them in the oven again in case I would cook them rather than dry them. My dds would be disappointed if I ruined what progress we've made and they had to start over. So far, I've just had them sitting out on our kitchen counter, but they are still pretty moist. I liked the idea of putting them on a car dashboard, but it has been neither sunny nor warm here the last couple of days, and it is supposed to rain tomorrow, so I don't think that would help much. However, we are supposed to have an 80 degree day coming up here soon. Thought I would back my car out of the garage to sit in the sun and put them on the dash of the car (I'll probably do that with the grapes we are trying to turn to raisins for K, too). On several sites, it mentioned a dehydrator being the best way to dry the apples. I once had one, but I never used it. I gave it to my mom. So, I think I'll get it back from her and try to use the dehydrator. I just want to speed the process along because my dds have already made the doll bodies, and they are anxious to put it all together. I'll keep you posted as we make progress.

[Poohbee]

Just going to add that if you do want to cook it a little longer in the oven, but are concerned about it "cooking", leave it in the oven with just the oven light on over night. It will still get warm but not hot.

Tabatha,
Thanks for your tip, too. I am concerned about cooking them, so your idea sounds like a good one. I may try that if I can't get ahold of the dehydrator soon. Thanks so much!

[Poohbee]

Just thought I'd give a quick update on our apple head dolls for anyone who is interested. After letting the dolls dry on my kitchen counter for a week, they were still kind of moist and didn't really seem as dry as I thought they should be. They'd shrunk quite a bit, but they weren't looking that great, and they were quite a feast for some little gnats we have flying around our house (don't know where the gnats came from).

So, today we started over. I had checked out a children's book from the library called The Apple Doll, by Elisa Kleven. It is a cute story about a girl who makes an apple head doll. In the back of the book, it gives instructions for making one. We decided to follow those instructions and try again. This book, unlike the instructions in Global Art, said we should soak the apples in a lemon juice bath for about half an hour. (I think one of the websites said that, as well). The story indicated that soaking the apple in lemon juice will keep the bugs away). The book also said that any apple will work, but that Granny Smith apples work especially well. So, we used a Granny Smith apple and soaked it in lemon juice. Then we baked the apples for about 30-60 min. in a 200 degree oven and then baked them for most of the rest of the day on my oven's lowest setting. When we took them out of the oven, they had dried much more than our original apples had after a day in the oven and a whole week of drying on the kitchen counter. So, I don't know if the trick is the Granny Smith apple or the lemon juice bath, but we're having better results the second time around. I'll keep you posted as the apple drying continues. I am going to use a dehydrator for the next few days and see what happens.

This is a great project, and my dds have enjoyed it immensely. I just wish the instructions in Global Art had a few more steps, like soaking the apples in lemon juice. Just an observation. If you do this project using the Global Art book, I would suggest seeking more information on the Internet or in other books.

I really like the various projects in the Global Art book, and my dds do, too. We tend to be kind of artsy/craftsy around here, so we really enjoy doing the art projects. I like, too, that there are usually several to choose from for each unit. I'll try to post pictures, soon.

[Melissa]

I checked a book out of the library called I Pledge Allegiance by Michael Sampson for this unit (http://www.amazon.com/Pledge-Allegiance ... roduct_top). Inside the front cover is a cool American flag that was made with torn pieces of construction paper. I'm having the kids make flags tomorrow for our craft. It's really a cute idea and I think it will be easy. They all really enjoyed the book too.

Melissa

I checked out the virtual walk through the forest, looking at the different layers and the animals that live in each one, and my dd wandered in. We looked at the whole thing. She said, "This is neat." It was so perfect, because we had just read about it. What a wonderful way to see what we had read come to life.
Thanks!

[jasntas]

Which crafts of those ones listed for the USA section did your dc like the best? Which was the easiest? I am not very crafty. I would appreciate any input regarding crafts you have done that have worked nicely, even if they are \not in Global Art that seemed to stick to the theme of the USA. Thanks!

I have modified most of the projects from the Global Art book.

The two projects we used for USA were the Navajo Sand Painting and Early American Quilt Design.

I used the ideas suggested by others (Crystal)in the archives for the Navajo Sand Painting. I bought a set of colored sands and pre made sticker sheets created for sand art projects. You just peel areas, pour the sand color you want, knock off excess sand and you're done.

For the Quilt project I sort of borrowed an idea from pre made quilt sets I saw at Oriental Trading. I purchased felt sheets in blue and red, white yarn and glitter star felt stickers. I punched a hole in each corner of the felt sheets. The kids tied the corners together with the yarn and decorated the sheets with the stickers. They came out really cute.

If you have any questions about any other projects, ask again. You can also check the archives, too.

Here are pics. of our quilt and sand art projects .

On the quilt project I should have made sure the kids laid out the felt pieces so that the quilt would have been wider and shorter. (More of a square shape). Oh well. They were happy.

[cbollin]

Here's a link to my crafts that week and the pics
http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php ... =25#p39584

Lots of good ideas in that thread that I linked to. Brooke (who might be busy with a new baby) talked about blending the idea of "sand painting" with a cake and decorated a cake with icing and sprinkles.

Jen (poohbee) and her apple doll
http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php ... =50#p66414


Don't worry too much on Global Art, lots of us found ways to simplify or buy something in the craft store that is similar and all of that. I remember a "wire" sculpture from Global Art for us was done with "pipe cleaners" (aka chenilles thingys)

then in Mexico weeks, some people have done fancy pinatas, and others of us decorated a paper bag I remember walking past the recycling center in my old town and there was a store bought pinata sitting on the re-use side of the building and wow! there it was.

I am not a crafts type, so I scaled back or looked up and down the aisles at craft store for short cuts and just had fun with it.

I love reviewing the fun that people share in the ECC Ideas forum, and enjoying hearing current stuff too. Love the pics!

-crystal

[doubleportion]

We did the Sioux Coup Stick. Here's my post on my blog from that week with pictures of the craft. http://quietlyrunningtheracehomeschooli ... s-3-4.html Believe me, I always looked for the easy and least messy craft to do each time


Edie

[Julie in MN]

I was trying to remember back to third grade and I think my son tried the "flip book" which was to be patterned after the motion picture industry in the US? I also remember researching heavily the idea of tin punching, where you use a nail to punch holes in a can, following a pattern, and things like that. But I don't think we did that.

Don't worry too much in the USA. You'll get to do lots of fun USA activities when you get to 1850MOD. And that year, my dh bought a couple of leather-working kits and such for my ds to work on with him, as well as when ds was listening to stories etc.

Julie

[asheslawson]

Just an idea we did when we did the celery experiment. We did it as the curriculum suggested in water with xylem tubes removed & one stalk without removing them. However we did a 3rd glass...we slid a knife up through the center of the stalk from the base toward the leafy part, but stopped cutting about 2 inches taller than the glass. We put each part of the stalk into 2 different glasses, containing 2 different colored waters (we used red food color in one & blue in the other). The kids enjoyed seeing the tiny tubes suck the water up into the flower. The color was visible in the xylem tubes & then within a short period of time & over the next few days, the leaves began to have more & more of the color in them. The kids thought this was really cool!

[meagabby]

Oh what a great idea!!
We did the celery experiment several years ago... the kids still talk about it almost any time we have guests and eat celery.

[Buttercup78]

We just started doing Hero Tales yesterday. Today we had to write the character trait down and file it under the Bible section of our notebook. My question is... Are we only supposed to write the character trait name down? Or do we also write out a definition? The manual said it's multi- purposeful by helping with handwriting, which would lead me to believe they want you to write more than just the trait name. Any thoughts?
~Kristin

We write the whole sentence from the book.

[momonthemove]

We do the definition too because otherwise they don't remember it as well.

[kanderson]

Thanks ladies! I figured that was what we would end up doing.
~Kristin

[grtlyblesd]

We just finished week 4. I've been posting about it on my blog, http://grtlyblesd.blogspot.com/ All relevant posts are tagged MFW-ECC or homeschool. Can I just say, as a first time user of MFW, but a 14 year veteran homeschooler, I already feel like I'm learning more this year than I have in the last several years of our former curriculum? I'm not sure yet how sustainable MFW will be next school year when we have a toddler in the house again (we're adopting a 2 year old in the spring), but I hope we can find a way to make it work because I'm loving this! The world cakes were a huge hit, not only with my homeschoolers, but also my teens (attending private high school). And I found my 15 year old making a Navajo sand painting this morning because we left the supplies out yesterday (we did them while the "big kids" were at school). He made a Navajo Code Talker, after "hanging out nearby" while we were watching a documentary on the Navajo Code Talkers from WW2. I love that even the kids I'm not officially homeschooling are still getting something out of what we're learning!

[unitlovinmama]

I found it really interesting in Window on the World regarding the Navajo that, because their language is so unknown, they were able to use it as code in WWII. While searching for possible videos on the Navajo, I found one on Netflix (availble to watch now) by the History Channel called Navajo Code Talkers. My kiddos are too young for it, I think, but it may be great for "advanced" studetns doing ECC. I think I'd like to watch it too! Just passing along.