Homeschool Update

Some of what we've been up to on the days we are home or at the library:

Lots of reading about dinosaurs (what else is new?), a fantastic book on the history of life on earth, called Evolving Planet, that was so good I had to buy it, more dinosaurs, a book about the development of alphabets, kids books from the Boston Museum of Science about engineering (not pictured, but worth checking out here), more math books by the author of How Much is a Million? (not pictured), holiday stories, and even a little Spanish. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the remains of my high school Spanish are sufficient to allow me to read aloud simple children's books.











We started our Oceans unit with a project from Awesome Ocean Science, which we modified to suit Food Allergy Boy by using hummus and guacamole to represent the proportions of land to ocean on the earth (our guac is ocean). Mikro put breadstick candles on it and called it a B-earthday cake...



We are getting ready to do some data collecting for the World Water Monitoring Day project (just hoping for a little bit warmer day to go collecting water samples) and we've read the free storybook for the project.

We've discussed feudalism, the Divine Right of Kings, the Magna Carta and limitations on royal power, and the Declaration of Independence. Watched documentaries on Ancient Egypt, Dinosaurs, a crocodile autopsy, and goodness knows what all else. I have been very bad about writing everything down, and will have to revisit my book stacks to make a thorough list to keep NY State happy...

And here are some teacher books where I found booklists, games, projects or ideas I could use:

We celebrate Thanksgiving as a day of gratitude for the good things in our lives, like family, friends, the freedom to homeschool, and having enough to get by. But we don't do the whole happy pilgrims and indians thing, because I'm not into mythologizing history, and as someone who is in small part Native American, I don't think my kid needs to hear the fiction, but rather the real story of what happened between his ancestors from both sides of the table. So, weird hippie vegetarians that we are, our Thanksgiving is pretty much a celebration of the harvest, full of veggies and fruit. And just 'casue we never do anything "normal", we had gluten & casein free brownies for desert, rather than pumpkin pie (besides, I'm the only one who likes pumpkin pie, and I live with a pair of raging chocoholics...)



Mikro's favorite part, of course, was licking the batter bowl.

Before dinner, we went outside to see if we could spot the international space station and space shuttle flyover. And we did!

And here's Mikro's list of what he is thankful for:

Said in a cheerful, chirpy voice: "The ISS, the Space Shuttle, there being dinosaurs, God, the sun, the Earth, [mom's] car, our house, clean food, clean water...

Said in an Eeyore voice: "And even being homeschooled."

Mondays are Chemistry & Art

Chemistry was about light and things that glow under black light, like luminol and some other chemical compounds, and certain colors. After playing around a bit and observing under black light common items like their clothing and worksheets they had colored, the kids were given bags of pipecleaners and asked to sort them into 2 piles: Those that they thought would glow under blacklight, and those they thought wouldn't glow. Then they used the blacklight to check. They also sorted money based on certain characteristics that were given them for telling real from counterfeit, then checked themselves with blacklight. Fun stuff.







In art class, they made and decorated homemade sketchbooks and started filling them with drawings.



Sadly, these were the last classes for the semester. We are hoping to take another Mad Science class in January with our homeschooled friends. The next topic will be Spy Science.

Homemade Holidays at Beczak

Mikro had a great time at Homemade Holidays at Beczak Environmental Education Center. First, he made hand dipped beeswax candles. They smell sooooo good!





Then he made a feeder for our birdie friends:



And we made some gift wrap and a card. All while listening to holiday music in a warm, candlelit atmosphere.

And we saw some cool critters:

Nature Is For the Birds

Homeschool Nature Class was about bird habitats. The kids visited various habitats, armed with binoculars, and hecked out the birds to be found there.

Up in the meadow, we saw crows and two harriers, all too far off to photograph. In the trees near the park office, we saw what Scott identified as a flycatcher. At the Croton boat launch, we saw swans, geese and seveal species of ducks. And back at the nature center, in the "edge" near the feeders, we saw nuthatches, sparrows, titmice and chickadees. And a pair of chipmunks.







After class, we explored the park and goofed around on the playground.









It looks like winter is finally coming. We had the warmest November I can remember, but there are signs of what is to come...



Our feeders are well stocked in anticipation of the coming season, and for Project Feederwatch, a citizen science project of the Cornell Ornithology Lab, which promises to be great fun.

NYCHEA History Fair

We went to NYCHEA's History Fair, intending to watch and see how it was done so Mikro could participate next year. The format was a quiz show, and the kids gave clues about what historical personage they were, so that the audience could guess. Mikro was so enthused by this, that he asked if he could take part. So we quickly concocted some clues, and up he went.



Here are the clues:

• I lived 400 years ago.
  
• I was English, but I sailed for the Dutch.
  
• I was looking for a Northwest Passage.
  
• I was killed in a mutiny.
  
• There is a river named after me.
  
  

Got it yet?

The final clue:

• My ship was the Half Moon.
  

So, who was he?

Henry Hudson!

Who else would we pick, given all the quadricentennial stuff we've done this year?

Red Hawk Native American Dancers at the Paramount

We saw the wonderful Red Hawk Native American Dancers at Peekskill's Paramount Center for the Arts with Tri-County HomeSchoolers. Mikro really enjoyed the show this year, especially since he has been studying the Iroquois and other local tribes and had some background to relate the experience to. He got up on the stage and joined in dancing the Iroquois Smoke Dance. It looks more like manic hopping than dancing, but he enjoyed himself!

Mondays are Chemistry & Art

Chemistry was about dry ice, which is cooled and compressed carbon dioxide. Dry ice goes from a solid state to a gaseous state when it warms up, a process called sublimation. The gas released can fill a balloon, make steam, and dry ice will freeze water in a spoon on contact.





It also can make a really cool cloud!



And if you drop dry ice in water, you make seltzer (which Mikro thinks tastes icky). The cup we're drinking from is thermochromic -- that is, it changes color as the temperature changes. It stared out white and turned blue when the cold seltzer was added.



In art, the kids learned about Frida Kahlo's life and artwork, and then they made self portraits, with things in the background from their homes and culture that they love. Mikro's background is the Dinosaur Halls at the AMNH.



To quote Kahlo, in the wake of her life altering accident:

"I'm still alive, and besides, I have something to live for, and that something is painting."

Painting kept me sane after my accident, and gave me a purpose in dark days when pain seemed to define my world. And then I had Mikro, and figured out how to find joy again. I'm grateful for painting, homeschooling, my supportive husband and my amazing son. Without a doubt, I have a lot to live for!