Story of the World links

I am compiling a list of links to go with Story of the World, which we are using as our homeschool history curriculum.

Volume 1 resources and activities

http://museofthemorning.com/homeschool/2013/10/21/the-ultimate-guide-to-resources-and-activities-for-story-of-the-world-vol-1/

Volume 1 quizzes

http://www.bradenbryce.com/homeschool/index.htm#chap_18

Movies to go w/Volume 1

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/historical-movies-and-documentaries-to-supplement-the-story-of-the-world-volume-one/

Art by time period

http://www.incredibleart.org/lessons/elem/art_period.html

Lapbook for Volume 2

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14519953/SOTW%202%20Ch%201-23.pdf

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14519953/SOTW%202%20Ch%2024%2B%20Final.pdf

Volume 2 book list

http://airskull.com/story-of-the-world-volume-2-the-middle-ages-book-list/

 I will add more as I find them.  

Volcano

Last week we made the volcano from the Magic School Bus monthly science kit.  If you read my earlier review of the MSB science kits, you know I have mixed opinions about it..  However, this experiment actually worked really well!  We were all impressed.

First we paper mached (equal parts flour and water) a water bottle covered in black construction paper.

Then we painted it black. 

We added dishwashing soap (provided in kit), baking soda, food coloring (I only had a little green on hand--next time I'll get red or orange for more realistic lava), and lastly the vinegar.

 

 

 

Stand back and watch it erupt!

 

 

 

Our homeschool coop went on a field trip to a local farm today.  The kids enjoyed petting the donkey, petting and feeding carrots to the goats, and feeding grapes to the chickens.  I learned that you can tell what color a chicken's eggs will be by looking at the color under it's ears.  We also enjoyed a picnic lunch on the farm.

Emma's Lemonade Stand

Emma had her first lemonade stand today (after asking to have one for a long time) in conjunction with our neighborhood yard sale.  She only made a few dollars but is donating some of it to Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation (http://www.alexslemonade.org/).  I am so proud of her.

Archeology Festival

We went to an archeology festival at Iron Hill Museum in Newark, DE on Sunday.  It was a bit cold but at least the rain held off until we left. 
Here are some pictures.

Playing old fashioned games.

                                                              Face painting

Making corn husk dolls.

 

One of several mystery boxes

                                                     Digging for treasure (probably the girls' favorite part)

                                                       Archery (Bob's favorite part)

This site is the home of the first one room school house in Delaware.  There is also a small natural history museum here.

Field trip to DEEC

Today the girls and I went on a field trip to the DEEC (Dupont Environmental Education Center)  in Wilmington, DE.  Emma got to make a letterbox book and stamp and then go searching for letter boxes (this was my first experience with letterboxing, to find out more about it go to letterboxing.org).  There is a nice boardwalk surrounding the wetlands there and although we only saw one Canada Goose, there are turtles, frogs, beavers, and many different birds that make their homes there.  We enjoyed the field trip and the weather was warm and sunny for it. 
They have other family programs at the DEEC (which we had never been too before) so hopefully we can check some of those out in the future.  And who knows, maybe we will start letterboxing so Emma can fill up more of her book!

Emma with her letterbox book.  She chose the name Talking Dog.

                                                   Getting their books stamped after finding a letterbox.

                       

                                                   The 2nd letterbox the kids found was in this beautiful area.

Summer Bucket List

As the weather's finally getting nicer and I'm starting to think about summer I realized that I never made my spring bucket list.  Sigh.  Oh well I guess I will just go ahead with my summer one. 

This is a work in progress.  Emma will only be doing a few weeks of camp this summer so I need lots of ideas to do with the girls.

1. We are going to join a pool this summer since the girls like the water so much.
2. Backyard camp out.
3. Plant a garden (probably container gardening since that seemed to work the best last year).
4. Do the Delaware State Parks challenge (posted about this before) again this year.  We are aiming for the 1st place prize this year!
5. We have season passes to Dutch Wonderland, a fun amusement park for young kids in Lancaster, PA.  We hope to go there at least once a month.
6. Emma has been wanting to have a lemonade stand so we will be doing that.
7. Annual beach vacation to Wildwood, NJ in August.
8. Bike riding at the park and around our neighborhood.  We have already been doing this--the girls like to explore the pond in our neighborhood.  Hopefully we will have baby geese to watch grow again this summer.

I'll add updates and pictures as we complete things.  Stay tuned.

Monthly subscription boxes

We have been receiving several monthly subscription boxes for the last few months.  So I thought I would give my opinions on them.

Magic School Bus (http://theyoungscientistsclub.com/)
My daughter loves the Magic School Bus books and science so I thought this would be a hit with her.  Not so much.  The first month she was into it but after that her interest fizzled out. 

There is a different theme each month and about 10 experiments relating to that theme.  Most material is included along with directions. The experiments, for the most part, are very quick and easy to do.

However, many of these experiments do not work at all.  For the magnet theme, the magnets (which were needed for every experiment) were missing completely.  The company did quickly send some when I emailed.  The lodestone was not magnetic at all as it should have been so that experiment didn't work.  In the human body one, the lung experiment was a complete failure.  This month the theme is bacteria and fungi and after about a week the agar solution has still not gelled which means we can not do several of the other experiments.  We have yet to try the yeast experiment but I'm not very confident that will work and Emma doesn't have much interest in doing it.

Overall, I would have better luck using a book and coming up with my own experiments, which is what I did before getting this kit.  Emma seemed to enjoy doing science experiments more when I did that then she does with this subscription.

Above is the magnet kit.  The lodestone experiment that didn't work is shown and the directions.  The bottom picture is the homemade compass, which Emma did like making.


Little Passports (http://theyoungscientistsclub.com/)
When you first subscribe to Little Passports you get a cute suitcase, a nice world map, and a passport.  Each month Sam and Sofia travel to a different country and bring your child back a letter with a game on the back of it and a souvenir from that country.  Also included each month is a map sticker to add to the map, stickers for the passport and suitcase, and a boarding pass (with a code to access more activities on their website).

I have had mixed feelings about this subscription.  Each month it comes in a rather small manila envelope.  At first Emma didn't seem interested in it but now after a few months she has started looking forward to seeing where Sam and Sofia have gone.  Some months the souvenirs are better than others.  For example, for France it was a small plastic camera with rotating pictures.  The girls both liked it but me not so much.  For Egypt there was a nice pyramid that Emma had to crack open with the included tools to discover a mummy.  Even though the pyramid was small this took Emma a surprisingly long time to do and she actually stuck with it!  It also came at the perfect time as we were studying ancient Egypt in SOTW.

One thing that would make this better is if they included real pictures of the locations instead of pictures with Sam and Sofia in them.  Also there is only a one page paper with the letter and a game or two on it.  A little more meat would be nice.  Plus the games are a bit advanced and not very interesting for Emma so I usually end up doing them.


Citrus Lane (citruslane.com)
Because I didn't want Abby to feel left out, this subscription box is for her.  This is an eco friendly/natural box which is why I chose this one.  Citrus Lane is by far my favorite monthly subscription box.  Every month there is a high quality toy (Plan Toys cutting fruit, Melissa and Doug puzzle, Green Toys pot, etc.).  There has also been a nice, hardcover book, plate, bowl, lotion, snacks. There is usually 3-4 things in the box each month.  I have liked almost everything that has come so far.  Abby played with last months' puzzle set for a long time and she usually isn't interested in puzzles. The boxes are geared for your child's gender and age from infant to preschooler.  My only complaint is that occasionally there are household or mommy items in the box and I would prefer that everything be for Abby.  But otherwise I love Citrus Lane and highly recommend it.


Ecocentric mom (http://www.findsubscriptionboxes.com/box/ecocentric-mom/)
This box is just for me!  There are three choices from this company--mom box, mom-to-be box, and baby box.  I have only been getting the mom box so can't comment on the other two.  It is full of both sample and full size beauty products, health, household items, and snacks.  All are eco friendly/natural (again, why I picked this one).  Some of the recent things I've received are laundry soap samples, granola bars, lip balm, etc.  It's a great way to try and discover new products.  Discounts and buying info are included in the box as well.  Most of the things I have liked although there have been a few food items I'm not to sure about and some beauty stuff that I will never use.  Unlike the others, this box only comes every other month.  So since I've only received a couple so far I'm still undecided on how much I like this one.


If you are interested in subscription boxes, one site I recommend with listings and reviews of them is:  http://www.findsubscriptionboxes.com/box/ecocentric-mom/.




*We pay for these boxes ourselves, all reviews and opinions are my own, and I am in no way compensated by the companies.

Curriculum for next year

I've finally decided what curriculum I'm going to be using for Emma next year.  She will be doing 1st/2nd grade in the fall.

Language arts:
First Language Lessons
Bob books (she is able to read 3 of them so far completely by herself!)
Lots and lots of reading!
Homeschool coop


Math:
Muqion Math or Math U See
Life of Fred
Homeschool coop

History/Geography:
Continue with Story of the World Volume 1 (we are having a lot of fun with this)
Little Passports monthly kits (review to come)

Science:
R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey (Life)
Magic School Bus monthly science kits (review to come)

Spanish:
Continue learning at the homeschool coop

Music:
Will learn piano and have drum circle at the coop

Art:
Coop
Art coloring books and Usborne art sticker books


I think that about covers it for Emma.

For Abby I am going to start letteroftheweek.com with her.

potty training!

Abigail (2 1/2) has started using the potty this week.  She's been peeing in it really well and has pooped in it once.  Today she peed in it 6 times!  She gets so excited and proud of herself when she goes on the potty.  She knows how to clean out her little potty, wipe herself, and wash her hands.  She is so independent.  We got her some cloth training pants and Minnie Mouse big girl undies (she loves Minnie!) and I'm sure she will be potty trained in no time.  I am so proud of her!

Today she spent quite a while decorating her potty with Minnie Mouse (and other Disney) stickers.

Update

So after about a week I did get my new computer.  However I also got very sick with a bad virus that according to the doctor is going around.  I had a high temperature, chills, no appetite, coughing, etc. which put me out of commission for about a week.  Even now I still have a bad cough and am a bit queasy but am regaining my energy.  Hoping we are done being sick here and I can get back to my usually routine and return to blogging.

Computer troubles

Emma dropped my laptop the other night so until I can get a new one (repairing it would cost $300+!)   I will not be blogging as trying to type a lot on my iPhone is too difficult and our very old, very slow laptop is too frustrating to use for this purpose. So hopefully by next week I will be back with some interesting posts. I plan to review the Little Passport and Magic School bus monthly kits that Emma has now been getting for a few months.

Snow, snow, and more snow

Like most of the east coast we got hit by a big snowstorm.  14 inches in our part of Delaware!  And a chance of more snow tomorrow!  There has been more than enough snow this winter and I am so ready for spring to arrive.

Our poor dogs have to hop through the snow and our boxer has to be pushed outside since he really hates the cold and snow.

 

Since we were snowed in yesterday I made the girls a sensory bin.  I filled a plastic container with rice, then found things around the house to make different categories.  So far I have shapes, colors, spring (including Easter), winter (including Christmas and Valentine's day), and Fall (including Halloween and Thanksgiving).  It was a huge hit with the girls, although an extra mess for me to clean up.  I recommend doing it on a tablecloth that you can just shake off outside.

                                                      Color category

                                                    Shapes, fall, and spring

                                                       Winter

Story of the World

We just started using Story of the World Volume 1 for our history curriculum this week.  It came highly recommended to me by several moms at our homeschool coop.  We read the first chapter this week and I really like it.  Even Emma seems to like it as she sat still and listened to the whole chapter and asked questions about it.  We then read a few other books from their suggested list and did some of the crafts and projects in the activity guide.  I also got the CD so we can listen to it in the car.

There is a facebook group for SOTW and some websites that list additional activities and links to go along with Volume 1.

Here's my favorite that I have found so far: The Ultimate Guide to Resources and Activities for SOTW volume 1.
If I find anymore I particularly like I will add them here too.

You can buy a separate student activities package with just the activity pages (no crafts, etc.) but I'm just copying the pages we plan to use so I can reuse the activity book for Abby.  SOTW is a good curriculum for multiple ages and when Abby gets older I'll be able to use it with both girls at the same time.  I think there are currently 4 volumes available.

Chapter 1 is the Introduction.
We read Me and my Family Tree and I can be an Archaeologist. 
We have started the family history book and the timeline.
I will set up an archaeologist dig so they can find buried "treasure".
I am planning to break a clay pot, hide the pieces, and then have Emma try to put it back together.

Ancient Egypt tour

As mentioned earlier in the week, yesterday (1-16-14) was our homeschool group field trip to the University of Penn antropology museum where we took a tour of the ancient Egyptian hall.  It was a very interesting and informative tour.  Here are some pictures from the tour.

                                                    Real mummy of a young boy

                                                     Reproduction  of the Rosetta Stone

                                              This is the largest Spinx in the United States.

Ancient Egypt Unit Study

On Thursday we will be going on a homeschool field trip to the Penn Museum in Philadelphia for a tour of the Ancient Egypt exhibit.  So I put together a unit study to do this week to prepare Emma.

I got most of my ideas from Pinterest.

Here are some of the things I have planned for us to do this week.  I will be back to update and add pictures of what we did and well as pictures from the field trip.

*Mummify a Barbie doll.  We used gauze and adhesive tape.  I think it came out really well.

*Write our names in hieroglyphics (we have a stamp set for this).  We did this but I forgot to take a picture.
*Color related pictures
*Make a pyramid from Lego's or other blocks.  We didn't get to do it this week but still hope to at some point.
*Locate Egypt on the map or globe.  Check.
*Make Egyptian cuffs out of toilet paper rolls

*Read books (Magic Treehouse Mummies in the Morning and related research guide; Ms. Frizzle's Adventures: Ancient Egypt).  Read these.
*Talk about the importance of the Nile river.  This was covered on our tour.

I am optimistic we will accomplish at least most of these things before Thursday.