Geography Unit

We finalized our Geography Unit! I was so glad that we took the time to include Geography in our school year. We learned about continents, countries, and even World Landmarks. It was just an overview of World Geography but it was enough to allow J to explore the world around her. If you have time, include some Geography in your school. It was well worth it. Our base book for the unit was My World by Ira Wolfman.

J practiced the names of the continents by putting together a World Puzzle. We did this several times to give her a feel of where the continents belong.

We read about continental drift and practiced putting the continents together to see how they might have fit. This free printable came from A Little Pinch of Perfect (link below).

She practiced labeling the continents. All these sheets will go into her Geography Notebook.

She worked through some continent notebook pages that I found from Enchanted Homeschooling Mom (link below). You can see her new pixie haircut that she absolutely loves.

I found this awesome felt map set from the Discovery Channel Toys. J labeled the continents and added the animals.

This is a finished product. I love this map. I technically bought it for her Science last year but it came in handy with this unit.

I love the World Landmark Toob miniatures. I found some printable cards which we added to the map.

J is working on her mapping. After she would learn about a certain landmark, she would add it to her map.

Using our World Atlas App for the iPad, we learned about several of the landmarks.

J would learn about each landmark and add it to her notebook page. She would draw a picture of it and write a fact about it. Also, while I was at the Dollar Store this week, I found flag stickers of a ton of countries. She is adding those to our map as well.

We both have learned a lot from this unit. My favorite was learning about the Moai Statues on Easter Island and then having the privilege of actually seeing one in person at the Smithsonian! We are hoping for a family trip to Washington D.C. this summer. We will see...

Take the time, if possible, to include Geography into your studies. We definitely learned a lot and it opened our eyes to the world around us. After we learned about the Moai Statues, we saw them everywhere! J was so excited when that happened (so was I) because it made the learning real to her. I didn't use a pre planned curriculum - just a core book, a globe, a map, and a few landmark miniatures. You can do this too :)


Links

Hippo Hooray for Second Grade - has a link to a youtube video for a song about the continents and oceans that she created.

My World by Ira Wolfman

Enchanted Homeschooling Mom - free Globetrotters printable pack.

Worldsapart Geography Pinterest Board

A Little Pinch of Perfect - free continent printable.

Hands on Homeschooler - free printable 3 part cards for the World Landmark Toob.

Tot Tuesday

There is a running joke in my house about green beans....I have a strong dislike for green beans. I won't mention why but my kids know it. Now, I know that it is hereditary!

He's not so sure of this yucky green food....

Yeah, I don't think so! Ha! I will try them again later. I won't give up!

Human Body Unit - Kidneys, Spleen, Pancreas, and Cells

Before we left for Grandma's and Grandpa's, we worked through a quick over view of the kidneys, spleen, pancreas, and cells. Here are a few of the activities we did.

We started this week by reading/checking out as many resources as I can get my hands on from our personal library as well as the public library. She is working on her kidneys for her life-size human body.

She worked on a cell model. We read about all of the different parts and their functions. I didn't go into too much detail since she will be seeing this cell model again.

J colored a worksheet that explained the functions of the kidneys and spleen.

She learned about some of the different body cells and colored a chart which she added to her body chart.

She added her new body pieces to her chart. It is really coming along! I can't wait to see it finished. We are moving on to bones and muscles.

Links

Crayola - has the free printable cell coloring sheet that we will add to our human body notebook.

Dover Publications - free printable kidney coloring page for notebook.

If you are looking for the texts and printables that we are using, please visit our first post about our human body unit here.

A Little Time at Grandma and Grandpa's

If it seems that I have been missing lately, sorry. After Easter, the youngers and I went to Grandma and Grandpa's for a visit. Technically, for the whole month of April and we have been enjoying our visit. It just seems there is no time for blogging among all of the other activities we are doing. I apologize. I haven't forgotten about the blog. I am just enjoying my time with my parents:) See you soon.

Tot Tuesday

Riley got a special ride the other day....on Daddy's shoulders.

Loving those baby feet:) and those baby smiles :)

Human Body - The Heart

This week, in our Science Unit on the Human Body, we learned about the heart.

J put together a model of the Human Heart and added it to our skull/brain model.

We read some books about the heart. She wrote several facts about the heart on a heart shaped mini book for her Human Body notebook.

We watched several videos about the heart and took an online quiz.

She colored a diagram of the heart for her notebook.

She made a circulation wheel to follow the path of the blood through the body.

She also made a model of the heart and used red and blue yarn to model blood going through the heart.

J put together a puzzle of the Human Body by Melissa and Doug.

Lastly, she tried an simple experiment to see how strong the heart is by trying to "pump" the "blood" as fast as her heart was working. She didn't quite make it but she learned a good lesson - the body is amazing! The idea for this lesson came from Primary Theme Park (link below).

She added the heart to her body diagram. Moving on to the kidneys....

Links

Primary Theme Park - has a neat idea about racing the clock.

Cynce's Place - has free heart note booking pages and links to several videos about the heart.

Spell Out Loud - has some free printable for the heart plus several video links.

Fantastic Fun and Learning - has a neat stethoscope to make, if I had the tubing - I so would have made that!

Kids Health - had a wonderful mini videos about each organ and online quizzes.

Book Unit - Mouse Shapes

We finally had time to work on our second Mousey book - Mouse Shapes by Ellen Stoll Walsh. Kaleb has been busy "working" with his Dad so "school" has been waiting for him. We always start the day by reading the book. This gives him the exposure to the book every day. The sensory bin for the week was a simple one - black beans and lots of different shapes.

We used the sensory bin to determine how many different shapes we had. He used a spoon to pull out the shapes and then he "graphed" them to see how many we had. Using this graph, he was able to determine which one has the most and which shape had the least.

He practiced making shapes using popsicle sticks.

I found these mini shape links at Target last year. We discussed each shape represented and then he linked all of the same ones together. I love the look of concentration.

My smarty realized that two semi circles make a circle! :)

Using shape magnets, Kaleb made some of the pictures from the book - a house and a wagon.

We played a bean bag toss game. He tossed the bean bag and told me what shape and number it fell onto.

We played shape bingo by tossing the shape cube and putting a marker on the shape.

We played a Roll a Mouse Game - I made the pieces from foam. He rolled the die and added the piece of the mouse.

He sorted buttons according to its shape. We discovered that we had way more circles than any other shape.

I  made a simple name puzzle using foam egg shapes. We have been working on his name all year.

I made some simple shapes and 2 letters (M and K) on the floor using painter's tape. First, he traced the shapes with his trucks.

Then, he looked for the different shapes through out the house. He found Mouseys for the M's and keys for the K.

We made shapes with marshmallows and toothpicks. He enjoyed the mini snack - once I brought out the marshmallows, he was more interested in eating them!

He made a shape mouse as well as some Swiss Cheese, just like the book.

I left the shapes on the floor and later, I found him tracing them with his Mega Blocks.

Here is a picture of his mouse and cheese. They turned out super cute. We have one more Mouse book - Mouse Paint but it will have to wait a week or two. We are heading out of town for Spring Break to spend some time with the Grandparents! Yay! So, if possible, I will get to Mouse Paint at the Grandparent's house - we will see if that works out. Hope you are having a great week :)

Links

Or So She Says - has the idea for the popsicle shapes plus a free printable.

Mess for Less - has a shape contact paper art project that looks like fun.

Mama's Learning Corner - has a free printable shape sort game. You can use it as a cut and paste activity or as a simple game to reuse.

First Grade A la Carte - has the free printable Mouse Shape game.

Play dough to Plato - has a simple play dough shape activity using paper towel tubes.

The Pleasantest Thing - has the idea for the shape mice.

Growing Book By Book - has the shape name idea. I just used the egg shapes but it would be beneficial to use all of the shapes.

Imprints from Tricia - has the shape graphing idea.

Powerful Mothering - has a free printable - blocks with different shapes on them.

Living Worlds Apart Pinterest Board for Mouse Count, Shapes, and Paint