Car Repair and Maintenance

Today Ian and I rotated the tires and changed the oil in the car.  First we talked about safety when jacking a car up. We decided that neither one of us was going to crawl under anything being held up by just a jack.  Ian chose two large rocks to use as wheel stops on a wheel that would stay on the ground.  I pried off the wheel covers and broke loose the lug nuts. Then we looked under the car to identify good locations to put the jack.  We jacked one corner of the car up with a screw-scissor jack and then lowered the car down on a jack stand also placed at a strong place where a suspension member is bolted to the frame. Ian was impressed that with the jack even he was easily able to lift the heavy car up.  We calculated that the car weighs about 100 times as much as Eric does, and since Ian can just barely lift Eric, the jack makes Ian 100 times stronger.  Then we jacked up the other corner of the car and set it down on a jack stand too.

Ian used a wrench to remove the lug nuts.  We inspected the tires and talked about how siping makes snow tires grip better. We checked the tire pressure in all the tires.  We talked about how tire pressure changes with temperature, but I'm not sure Ian totally grasped the ideal gas law equation. We'll have to revisit that concept again, I'm sure. We also inspected the brake pads, discs, CV joints, and suspension bushings.  After swapping the tires front-rear we reinstalled the lug nuts, just snug at first... and then papa tight in a star pattern.  Then we turned the car around and rotated the tires on the other side.  That side went much faster because we used a hydraulic jack.  We don't carry the hydraulic jack with us in the car because it is very heavy, but it sure is easier to use.

Then we changed the oil and oil filter.  We noticed that the old oil was black but the new oil clear and golden in color.  Ian helped find the oil filter by looking at the new one to see what it should look like.  We also checked the coolant, brake fluid, power steering fluid, and windshield washer fluid.

World Religions

Ian and Eric made rolled beeswax candle Christmas gifts.

This month we learned about three major world religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.  We learned each religion's symbols, holy books, places of worship, and leaders.  We also learned ways religious holidays are celebrated today.  Some activities included eating latkes (traditionally eaten during Hanukkah), tasting dates (traditionally eaten to break the fast during Ramadan), and making Christmas presents.

The boys had a lot of fun at our Thursday co-op Christmas party.  Games included Blind Snowman, reindeer hunt, winter Mad-Libs, and marshmallow toss.  Eric was excited to win the marshmallow toss by getting the most marshmallows in his bucket.  We also decorated cupcakes and watched A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Books:  The Nativity by Vivas;  Many Ways: How Families Practice Their Beliefs and Religions by Rotner and Kelly;  Places of Worship: Muslim Mosque by Wood; How the Reindeer Saved Santa by Haywood;  My First Ramadan by Katz;  Celebrate Hanukkah by Heiligman;  The Night Before Christmas by Moore;  I Am Muslim by Chalfonte;  Psalm 23 by Moser;  Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors by Khan;  A Sweet Year: A Taste of the Jewish Holidays by Podwal;  Places of Worship: Christian Church by Wood;  Harvest of Light by Ofanansky;  To Every Thing There Is a Season by Dillon

Videos:  Holidays for Children: Ramadan by Schlessinger Media

Spice Wars, Pirates, and Columbus

Map Drawing 9: The Indian "Subcontinent", where many spices are grown.

Our Monday homeschool group is using Ellen McHenry's Mapping the World by Art curriculum.  Every week we watch an instructional video and draw a map of a region of the world.  The mapping lessons are intended for older students, so I assist Ian with drawing and labeling.  Ian especially enjoys drawing mountains, rivers, and islands.  After the map drawing, one of the parents leads a related activity.  Activities have included games, videos, regional food, and discussions about historical events/people/places.

This month we learned about European/Indian spice trading, Barbary pirates/privateers, and Christopher Columbus's journey to America.  Ian loves to play the "Pirates of the Mediterranean" board game from Mapping the World by Art.  European ships try to cross the Mediterranean to get to a Middle Eastern spice port while pirates are trying to stop them from getting to their destinations. 

Books:  Animals Christopher Columbus Saw by Markle

Giving Thanks

One of our family's Thanksgiving traditions is to make a Thanksgiving Tree.  Autumn leaves list some of the things we are thankful for in our lives.

The topic of this month's Thursday co-op was giving.  We discussed the differences between needs and wants, and appropriate items to donate to food-banks.  Our family celebrated Thanksgiving this year with a special meal, playing Mad-Libs, and boating at Colyer Lake. 

Books:  I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie by Jackson;  Leaf Jumpers by Gerber;  The Autumn Equinox: Celebrating the Harvest by Jackson;  Over the River and Through the Wood by Child;  The Circle of Days by Lindbergh; The Giving Tree by Silverstein

Videos:  Scholastic Storybook Treasures: Giving Thanks by Swamp

Maya, Aztec, Inca

The Inca developed a record-keeping system using knotted strings called quipu.  We made a quipu with yarn.

This month we learned about early civilizations in the Americas.  We discussed the Bering Land Bridge theory as a possibility of how humans migrated to North America.  We also discussed the shift from hunting and gathering to farming that occurred in the Americas.  We specifically learned about the Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations, and we compared them to ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations.

We made a large time-line to put our history lessons in perspective.  The time-line included:  Bering Land Bridge; corn domestication; Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations; ancient Egypt and Mesopotamian civilizations; the beginning of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; Columbus's voyage to Americas; electricity in homes; and Ian and Eric's birthdays.

Books:  The Maya by Takacs;  Woolly Mammoth by Manning;  The Inca by Takacs;  The Ancient Maya by Maloy;

Resources:
Bering Land Bridge
Making Quipus

Elections

Ian added his "I Voted" sticker to his self-portrait.

Ian learned about the election process at a Thursday homeschool group lesson.  The lesson included discussing the criteria for running for president, the criteria for registering to vote, and the Republican and Democratic Parties.  The lesson activity was to make a collage with election related newspaper articles/pictures/cartoons.

Ian and Eric accompanied me when I voted on Tuesday.  On our walk to the polling location, we discussed the political yard signs we passed.  On our way home, we discussed why ballots are secret and how votes are tallied.  The boys didn't get to vote in the national election, but they did get to vote for their favorite book at the library.

Books:  Duck for President by Cronin;  Running for Public Office by Capua;  Getting Elected by Nelson and Donovan

Halloween

Ian and Eric with their carved pumpkins.

This year for Halloween, we made Cat in the Hat and Thing 1 & 2 costumes.  Ian is learning how to use our sewing machine and helped sew his costume.  The boys were excited to dress up and trick-or-treat with their friends.  

Other Halloween activities included learning a finger play for the song "Five Little Pumpkins Sitting on a Gate", entering a pumpkin carving contest, walking though a haunted corn maze, and playing a toilet paper mummy game.

Books:  Apples and Pumpkins by Rockwell;  Five Little Pumpkins by Mantle;  Celebrate Halloween by Heiligman;  The Spooky Sound by Lagonegro;  The Spooky Tire by Scieszka;  The Trip by Keats;  The Pumpkin Book by Gibbons

Poem:  "Come Little Leaves" by George Cooper

The Human Body

The skeleton floor puzzle is taller than the boys!

This month we have been learning about the human body (nervous, circulatory, respiratory, skeletal, muscular, digestive, and reproductive systems).  The boys have enjoyed reading lots of books about the human body and playing skeleton floor puzzle games.

At our Monday homeschool group Halloween party, we made a blood model and did a bone dance.  The blood model included plasma (yellow dyed water), red blood cells (cheerios), white blood cells (marshmallows), platelets (pom-poms), and salt.  The dance was the hokey pokey to the song Spooky Loo by Wee Sing, with bone names substituted for body parts.

Books:  What Happens to a Hamburger by Showers;  The Nervous System by Riley;  Human Body by Bingham;  The Circulatory System by Taylor-Butler; Germs Make Me Sick! by Berger;  Amazing You! by Saltz;  The Respiratory System by Petrie;  The Skeletal System by Petrie;  The Digestive System by Petrie;  The Muscular System by Petrie;  See Inside Your Body by Daynes & Colin;  Digestion and Reproduction by Llamas

Videos:  Scholastic Storybook Treasures: Dem Bones by Barner;  Human Machine (Bodyzone) by Eyewitness

Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egyptian house and pyramid we created with clay.

This week we visited the Bloomsburg Children's Museum.  We toured the museum's Egyptian Tomb exhibit which includes replicas of art, a mummy case, and other artifacts.  The boys also learned how to write their names using Egyptian hieroglyphs.  

At home we built an Ancient Egyptian style pyramid and house.  I cut the foundations and blocks out of natural clay and Ian was the bricklayer.  The pyramid contains passageways with a hidden mummy and his treasures.

Our Monday homeschool group is using the Mapping the World by Art curriculum by Ellen McHenry.  Ian drew maps of Mesopotamia and the Nile River during the first two lessons.

Books:  Mesopotamia by Apte;  I Wonder Why Pyramids Were Built? by Steele;  "World History and Geography" in What Your First Grader Needs to Know by Hirsch

Venn Diagrams

Ian and Eric used a Venn diagram to sort their toy animals by diet: herbivores (left), omnivores (center), and carnivores (right).

This fall we have been working on classifying things with Venn diagrams, and then using the data to make tally charts and bar graphs.

Classifications:

• Acorn collection was sorted into acorns without caps, acorns with caps, and caps without acorns.

• Toy animals were sorted according to diet: herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores.

• Halloween creatures were sorted according to day/night activity patterns:  nocturnal, cathemeral, and diurnal.  Most Halloween creatures, for example witches and ghosts, were determined to be nocturnal (active at night).  Cats are cathemeral (active at night & day) and most humans are diurnal (active at day).

We are also working on skip counting (by twos, fives, & tens), writing numbers to 100, recognizing place value (ones, tens, hundreds), addition facts to 10 +10, and telling time to the half-hour.

Seed Collection & Dispersal

Magnified weed seed that travels by sticking to animal hair.

Seed Activities:

• Collected seeds (dill, coriander, Echinacea, Cosmos, & marigold) from garden to plant next year

• Field trip to Mac's farm to observe soybean combine harvesting

• "Seed Dispersal" puppet show (Hands-on Nature by Lingelbach & Purcell)

• Seed Examination:  looked at various seeds with magnifying lenses, experimented to determine which seeds float/sink in water and which seeds float in the air

Books:  The Tiny Seed by Carle;  What Kinds of Seeds are These? by Roemer;  From Seed to Plant by Gibbons

Migration

Feltboard story about a Swainson Thrush (on left) that chooses to migrate and a Black-capped Chickadee (on right) that decides to stay home for the winter.

This is the second bird lesson I taught for our Thursday homeschool group.  The first lesson was about bird feathers, beaks, and feet.

Bird Migration Lesson:

• First we discussed the Autumnal Equinox and changes in daylight hours, weather, and plants.  We also discussed how animals adapt to these changes.

• Next I performed "Fly Away or Stay" (Hands-on Nature by Lingelbach & Purcell), modified from a puppet show to a feltboard story.

• Then we reviewed the following birds: Northern Cardinals, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, and Double-crested Cormorants.  For each bird, students thought about if the bird's food is available here in the winter, and then decided to stay in place or "migrate" to the back of the room.  Then we looked at the bird's range map.  The students also estimated how far Ruby-throated Hummingbirds migrate using the range map's scale bar.

• Last, students drew a picture of a bird that migrated or stayed for the winter.

Also this month, the boys and I met with another homeschool family to hike Bald Eagle State Park Butterfly Trail.  We saw a few migrating monarchs and other butterflies on our hike.

Books:  Luck: The Story of a Sandhill Crane by George;  Bird, Butterfly, Eel by Prosek

Reference Books:  On the Wing: American Birds in Migration by Lerner; 

Feathers, Beaks, and Feet

Magnified chicken feather.

This month I taught two lessons about birds for our Thursday homeschool group.  The first lesson was about bird feathers, beaks, and feet.  The second lesson was about bird migration.

Feathers, Beaks, and Feet Lesson:

• First we read the book What Makes a Bird a Bird?  by Garelick.  Then we discussed different types of feathers (contour, flight, and down) and feather parts (shaft, vane, barbs, barbules).

• "Focus on Feathers" Activity (Hands-on-Nature by Lingelbach & Purcell).  Students examined various feathers with magnifying lenses.  They also experimented to determine if feathers float or sink, and what happens if drops of water are dropped on feathers.

• Next we discussed different types of bird beaks and feet and how they are used. 

• "Mix and Match" Activity (Hands-on-Nature by Lingelbach & Purcell).  I used the following Pennsylvania birds for this activity: Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Red-tailed Hawk, Double-crested Cormorant, and Northern Cardinal.  For each bird, students looked at a picture of the bird and guessed what the bird might eat based on the bird's feathers, beaks, and feet.  The students "flew" to find the food.  The food choices were flower nectar, snakes, fish and seeds.

The boys and I started a list of birds we have been able to identify:
Bird Identification List

Books:  What Makes a Bird a Bird?  by Garelick

Railroad Horseshoe Curve

Map of the Railroad Horseshoe Curve National Historical Landmark that Ian created from memory.

 

Horseshoe Adventure

by Ian

Eric, Papa, and I took a trip to Horseshoe Curve. There was a big rain storm while we were driving to Altoona, Pennsylvania so we went inside a store. When it stopped raining, we went to Horseshoe Curve. 

First we paid at the visitor center. Then we looked at the funicular. In the middle of the track there is a switch where both tracks turn a bit, and then there's another switch. When the funiculars meet in the middle, one goes on one side and one goes on the other. We decided to go up the stairs. The person in the visitor center said there are 92 stairs. 

We were right on time for a train. The train was a diesel train pulling mail cars and pipes. Two hours later, we saw a second train with three engines in front pulling pipe cars and flat beds with tractor trailers on them. The train had two back engines. The back engines returned when they were done pushing the train up the hill. 

We climbed down the stairs and went to the other visitor center which had wooden toy trains to play with. Then we went home because it was almost dinner time. It was an exciting adventure!

Books:  Trains by Oxlade;  A Train Goes Clickety-Clack by London;  Trains on the Move by Clark;  Legendary Journeys Trains by Steele

Music:  Train Singer by Schindel;  New Tracks Train Singer by Schindel;  Cars, Trucks and Trains by Murphy

Summer Festivals

Ian used a three-pendulum rotary harmonograph to create this picture at the Dominion Science Center.

This summer we attended the Nittany Antique Machinery Show in Centre Hall, Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts in State College, People's Choice Festival in Boalsburg, Farm Fest in Centre Hall, Ag Progress Days in Rock Springs, Bellefonte Arts & Crafts Fair, and CrickFest near Millheim.

Activities included:  antique lumber sawing demonstration, blacksmith demonstration, painting, musical instrument petting zoo, inflatable bounce houses, hands-on science exhibits, mini-train ride, animal petting zoo, live music, mechanical cow milker demonstration, pedal-powered tractor races, pony ride, creating nature sculptures, duck race, and water bottle rockets

Raising Butterflies

Ian releasing a black swallowtail butterfly we raised from a caterpillar.

Books:  Monarch and Milkweed by Frost and Gore;  Butterflies by Hurtig;  Life Cycle of a Butterfly by Royston;  Monarch Butterfly by Gibbons

Reference Links:
Raise Black Swallowtail Butterflies Indoors
Papilio polyxenes

Using Maps

Map we made of the Island of Sodor (from Thomas the Train & Friends).

Ian and Eric love treasure maps!  This month I made maps of the yard marked with the location of a special hidden treat.  The boys used the maps to find the treasures.  Then Ian hid a treasure and made a map for me and Eric.

Map topics we discussed included legends and symbols, cardinal and intermediate directions, and bar scales.

Books:  Follow That Map! A First Book of Mapping Skills by Ritchie;  The Secret Box by Lehman;  A Map Is a Picture by Rinkoff;  Kat's Maps by Scieska

Eggs

Ian collecting eggs from our chicken coop.

Our chickens started laying eggs this month!  Ian collects the eggs every day.  The boys were excited to discover double yolks in many of the first eggs.

Activities:

• Rolling Eggs (Small Wonders by Garrett & Thomas)
• What's Inside an Egg? (Small Wonders by Garrett & Thomas)
• Imagine Hatching: A Guided Imagery (Small Wonders by Garrett & Thomas)
• Chicken Egg Development Wheel
• Read many books about eggs of various animals such as reptiles and fish

Books:  A Nest Full of Eggs by Jenkins;  Guess What Is Growing Inside This Egg by Posada;  Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Suess;  Amazing Eggs by Hodgkins;  What's in that Egg? by Baines;  How an Egg Grows Into a Chicken by Kant;  Chicks & Chickens by Gibbons;  Where Do Chicks Come From? by Sklansky;  Animal Eggs by Cusick & O'Sullivan

Videos:  Reading Rainbow: Birds of a Feather

Bees & Butterflies

Ian painted this bilateral symmetrical butterfly by painting one side with finger paint and then folding and pressing the paper.

Last weekend we attended "Wings in the Park - A Celebration of Bees, Blossoms, and Butterflies".  Ian and I learned about monarch migration, host & nectar plants, and the difference between bumble bees & honey bees.  We also looked at several different kinds of live caterpillars and Ian held a monarch butterfly.

We often see bees and butterflies in our vegetable garden and yard.  This week the boys helped me transplant some native plants to attract more pollinators.

Bee & Butterfly Activities:

• "Honeybees in Their Hive" puppet show (Small Wonders by Garrett & Thomas)
• "Collecting Pollen" (Small Wonders by Garrett & Thomas) - Ian pollinated flowers in our yard with a cotton swab.
• "Comb Shapes" (Hands-On Nature by Lingelbach & Purcell) - We compared hexagonal and circular comb shapes.
• "The Caterpillar" and "Here is the Beehive" hand rhymes (Hand Rhymes by Brown)

Books:  The Icky Bug Counting Book by Pallotta;  The Best Book of Bugs by Llewellyn;  Insectlopedia by Florian;  From Caterpillar to Butterfly by Heiligman;  Where Butterflies Grow by Ryder

Resource Links:  Penn State Center for Pollinator Research, The Great Sunflower Project

Water

Ian's rain drop painting made with diluted tempura paints, eye droppers, and a straw.

Eric's rain drop painting made with diluted tempura paints, eye droppers, and a straw.

Ian and Eric spend hours playing with water.  They dance in the rain, splash in puddles, "paint" the porch, wash things, fill containers, and water plants.  They also make their own streams, dams, and lakes in the yard and at the beach.  This month we tried a "Frozen Balloon" activity (Preschool Art: Clay and Dough by Kohl).  I filled various shaped containers and balloons with water and froze them.  The boys made ice sculptures using spray bottles, salt, and paints.  They also experimented with the ice in the wading pool.

Ian and Eric love the humorous and educational puppet shows from Small Wonders by Garrett and Thomas and Hands-On Nature by Lingelbach and Purcell.  Sometimes we use our puppets and puppets borrowed from our local library.  Other puppets we make from paper, felt, and wooden sticks.  Usually we repeat the puppet show several times.  One of the puppet shows we did this month is "Water, Water, Everywhere" (Hands-On Nature by Lingelbach and Purcell), which is about Wally the Water Drop's journey through the water cycle. 

Books:  We Use Water by Nelson;  Water Up, Down, and All Around by Rosinsky;  Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Aardema;  A Drop of Water: A Book of Science and Wonder by Wick;  The Snowflake: A Water Cycle Story by Waldman;  Hey, Frog! by Grobler;  I Am Water by Marzollo;  Did a Dinosaur Drink this Water? by Wells

Boats

Ian and Jenny boating on Black Moshannon Lake.

Ian has been learning about boat designs by assisting Mac with full-size boat building.  Ian used his knowledge to create various shaped aluminum foil model boats.  He tested his boats to see how much weight (pennies) they could hold and and how well they moved through the water.

One of Eric's favorite games is Float or Sink.   He puts objects in the bath or wading pool to see what happens.  Eric has discovered that some things, for example washcloths, float at first but then sink when saturated with water.

Books:  Rescue Boats by Ethan;  First Look at Boats by Butler;  Sail Away Little Boat by Buell;  This Boat by Collicutt;  Boats, Ships, Submarines, and Other Floating Machines (How Things Work) by Graham;  Captain Duck by Alborough

Videos:  Mighty Machines: Boats to the Rescue!

Reference Books:  Liquid and Buoyancy (Fun with Simple Science) by Taylor

Additional Pictures:
Plywood Adirondack Guideboat
Mouse Boat

Independance Day

United States Capital drawn by Ian with stencil.

Ian calculated that the United States is 236 years old this year.  We celebrated our country's birthday by attending a dinner party and watching fireworks.  We also read about Michelle Obama's "no-beet" White House Garden, past presidents, and the history of the Liberty Bell.  Ian is especially interested in the Liberty Bell and would like to visit it in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Books:  First Garden: The White House Garden and How it Grew by Gourley;  The President's Stuck in the Bathtub by Katz;  The Liberty Bell by Ashley;  K is for Keystone: A Pennsylvania Alphabet by Kane

Graphs

Number of strawberries picked from our garden for five days in June.

This month Ian practiced collecting data and interpreting graphs.  Ian counted the number of strawberries he picked from our garden each day for five days, and I graphed the data.  Ian can tell from looking at the graph, how many strawberries were picked each day, and which days the most and least strawberries were picked.

Temperature of water in the sun and water in the shade over time.

We also did the following experiment:  Two buckets were filled with cold tap water.  One bucket was put in the sun and one bucket was put in the shade.  Ian measured the water temperatures with a digital thermometer every hour for five hours.  I graphed the data.

This graph is more complicated, but Ian can see that the water in the sun was warmer than the water in the shade.  We also discussed increasing and decreasing lines on graphs.

Books:  Graphing in the Desert by Roy

Summer Solstice

Sun print Ian made with flowers and leaves.

Our summer solstice was hot and sunny.  A perfect day to track shadows, compare water temperatures in the shade & sun, and swim at the city pool.

Also this week, we performed the puppet show "Sun Power" (Hands-On Nature by Lingelbach & Purcell), modeled day & night with a globe and a flashlight, and made sun prints.  

Books:  Summer Solstice by Jackson;  Why Do Elephants Need the Sun? by Wells;  Under the Sun by Kandoian;  Swing Around the Sun by Esbensen;  Gift of the Sun: A Tale From South Africa by Stewart;  What Makes a Shadow? by Bulla

Sculptures

Eric creating a clay sculpture.

A sculpture that we visit often is a bronze statue of Lucy Lederer in Lederer park.  Park visitors decorate Lucy with flowers, grass, and pine cones.  This month we also discussed the Statue of Liberty, Northwest American Indian totem poles, and Alexander Calder's Lobster Trap and Fish Tail.

Ian and Eric have the most experience working with homemade play dough.  They enjoy making food and of course, transportation related sculptures.  We recently started working with natural clay.

Books:  Mount Rushmore by Doherty;  From Clay to Bricks by Taus-Bolstad
  
Reference Books:   What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know by Hirsch

Native Americans

Clay pinch pots Ian made.

Native American Activities:

• "Baby Rattlesnake" feltboard story by Te Ata in Travel the Globe by Webber
• Native American Picture Word Bingo game
• Made clay pinch pots (Art for Small Hands Pinch Pot Lesson).  We let the clay pots air dry.  We tried painting the dry clay with tempura paints but the paint did not stick very well. 

Books:  The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush by dePaola;  The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses by Goble;  The Goat in the Rug by Blood & Link;  Many Nations: An Alphabet of Native America by Bruchac;  The Iroquois: Longhouse Builders by Koestler-Grack

Music:  Cleft in The Sky by R. Carlos Nakai;  The Earth is Our Mother by Music Together (Flutes Song Collection)

Videos:  American Cultures for Children: Native American Heritage

Lines, Color, and Stories in Art

Ian likes this painting, The Hunters in the Snow by Pieter Bruegel.

Ian and I attended a workshop at the Palmer Art Museum.  We explored the Color My World: Color Photography from the Permanent Collection exhibition and then made a photo collage.  Also this month, we discussed how colors and lines are used in art, and how art can tell a story.

Pictures of the following paintings were used to discuss warm & cool colors, and emotions of colors.

• Hunters in the Snow by Bruegel
• Tahitian Landscape by Gauguin
• Blue Atmosphere by Frankenthaler
• Le Gourmet by Picasso

Pictures of the following artwork were used to discuss lines - thick & thin, patterns, and shape (straight, curved, zigzag, wavy).

• People and Dog in the Sun by Miro
• The Purple Robe by Matisse
• Tuning the Samisen by Hokusai

Pictures of the following paintings were used to discuss stories in art.

• Children's Games by Bruegel
• The Bath by Cassatt
• Snap the Whip by Homer
• Mother's Helper by Rivera
• The Banjo Lesson by Tanner

Books:  How Artists See the Weather by Carroll;  Lines by Yenawine;  Colors by Yenawine;  Shapes by Yenawine;  I Spy a Freight Train by Micklethwait

Reference Books:   What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know by Hirsch

The Wright Brothers

Propeller plane stuck in a tree.

Ian was intrigued by a short story we read about the Wright brothers and how they invented the airplane.  So, we read more books and learned what made the Wright brothers' glider successful: lift and control in three dimensions (roll, pitch, and yaw).  Ian asked me why the Wright brothers kept trying after their first glider didn't work, which led to a discussion about trial and error, frustration, and determination.  The Burgess brothers enjoyed flying their own gliders and rubber band propeller planes made from balsa wood kits.


Books:  The Flyer Flew!: The Invention of the Airplane by Hill;  Flying by Gail Gibbons;

Reference Books:  The Wright Brothers for Kids by Carson;  "Wilbur and Orville Wright" in What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know by Hirsch

Garbage, Garbage, Garbage!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

Garbage, especially the trucks involved, is a popular topic at our house.  The boys help sort recycling and take out the trash.  They also help compost food scraps and yard waste.   Ian can describe in detail the different trash collection methods he has observed in Montana, Texas, and Pennsylvania.

This week we took a tour of the Centre County Solid Waste Transfer Station.  First, we watched a front loader and snaggletooth loader move and compact garbage.  Next we went to the recycling center, where workers were sorting and baling cardboard.  We also saw bales of aluminium cans and shredded newspaper.  We didn't get to see how steel cans are separated from aluminium cans with magnets, but the kids experimented with magnets and cans at home.

Books:  Here Comes the Garbage Barge! by Winter;  Garbage Helps Our Garden Grow: A Compost Story by Glaser;  A Day in the Life of a Garbage Collector by LeBoutillier;  Recycle! A Handbook for Kids by Gibbons;  Where Does the Garbage Go? by Showers;  Garbage Trucks by Tourville;  Buried in Garbage by Kalman

Videos:  Totally Trucks: Garbage Monsters;  Mighty Machines: Lights & Ladders

Rocks

Rocks from the garden and rocks we made.

Rock Activities:

• Rock Sorting  (Small Wonders by Garrett & Thomas)  Characterised rocks from our yard.  Hardness was tested with a fingernail, copper penny, and common nail.  We discovered that some of the rocks bubbled underwater.  
• "Rocks Aren't Forever" Puppet Show (Small Wonders by Garrett & Thomas)
• Made "igneous" crayon rocks by breaking up crayons and melting them in the oven.
• Made "sedimentary" rocks by mixing sand, plaster de paris, and water.

Books:  Re-Cycles by Ross;  If You Find A Rock by Christian;  Let's Go Rock Collecting by Gans

Videos:  Eyewitness: Rock & Mineral

Early Farm Life

Ian's weaving project.

Last week we joined a homeschool tour of the Pasto Agricultural Museum.  The museum collection includes rare and unusual farm and household items used before electricity and gas-powered equipment were available.  One of the gadgets used dog power to wash clothes AND churn butter at the same time.

At home, Ian learned to weave on a simple loom, and the boys learned how to play jacks.  We still use an apple peeler/corer tool similar to one we saw at the museum.  Ian said he also wants to have a hand tool that pits cherries. 

Books:  Old-Time Toys by Kalman & Schimpky;  Ox-Cart Man by Hall;  Historic Communities: Tools and Gadgets by Kalman;  American Tall Tales: Johnny Appleseed & Rip Van Winkle by Rabbit Ears (audiobook)

Tree and Ground Squirrels

Squirrel and his nuts collected for winter (drawn by Ian).

Activities:

• backyard gray squirrel observation
• discussion of common tree and ground squirrels in Pennsylvania (Wikipedia List of Mammals of PA)
•  "Hop Ol' Squirrel" (Music Together: Maracas)
• Scurry and Freeze game (Small Wonders by Garrett & Thomas)
• Squirrel Tail poem (Small Wonders by Garrett & Thomas)

Books:  Hello Squirrels! Scampering through the Seasons by Glaser;  Chipmunk Song by Ryder;  Chipmunk Family by Bastian;  How Chipmunk Got His Stripes by Bruchac;  The Raggedy Red Squirrel by Ryden

Playing with Money

Playing store is always a favorite activity at our house.  Sometimes the kids buy snacks from me and sometimes the kids sell me toys.  This week we also did the following activities from What your Kindergartner Needs to Know by Hirsch: Identifying Money and Money Bingo.

Spanish Class

We started a new Spanish class a few weeks ago.  The class meets once a week and we read books, sing songs, and play games.  Ian especially enjoys playing "gato, gato, perro" and listening to the song "Los Pollitos Dicen".

Videos:  Spanish for Kids: Adentro y Afuera

Easter Eggs

This week we played a fun game with the homeschool co-op.  As a group, we searched for plastic eggs hidden in the house and the yard.  Each egg contained a clue to find the next egg.  For example, one clue was "a method of transportation" and then the next egg was found on a car.

On Easter Sunday, we decorated hard boiled eggs and had an Easter Egg Hunt.  Purple & Blue plastic eggs were specially hidden for Ian, yellow & orange eggs were hidden for Eric, and hard boiled eggs were free-for-all.  We had Easter dinner with our neighbors.

Books:  The Birds' Gift: A Ukrainian Easter Story retold by Kimmel

Maple Harvest Festival

Ian using a pioneer drill.

Last weekend, we attended the Maple Harvest Festival at Shaver's Creek Environmental Center.  The Maple Sugaring Demonstrations tour included:

• History of Maple Sugaring: From American Indians to Pioneers
• Identifying Sugar Maples
• Measuring and Tapping a Maple Tree
• Collecting Sap
• Making Maple Syrup at the Sugar Shack

We also ate pancakes & maple syrup, listened to live folk music, and viewed the other Shaver's Creek exhibits.

Books:  Maple Syrup Season by Purmell;  Welcome To Our Sugarhouse by Fischer

Wegman's Field Trip

Road signs, building, tree farm, and car pulling motor boat on trailer that we made at home.

This week we joined a homeschool field trip to Wegman's, a local grocery store.  We visited the following departments: produce, bakery, meat, seafood, and dairy.  Department representatives lectured about the food groups and their nutritional benefits.  Eric's favorite part of the tour was looking at live lobsters.  Ian's favorite part of the tour was sampling sheep cheese.  

Books:  The Vegetables We Eat by Gail Gibbons;  What's So Good about Vegetables? by Randall;  Rah, Rah, Radishes! by Sayre;  What's for Lunch: Oranges by Llewellyn

Spirit of Uganda

This week we attended the performance Spirit of Uganda at the Eisenhower Auditorium.  The performance included East African music, dancing, and storytelling.

We also borrowed the Africa concept kit from our public library and did the following activities:

• "How Jerboa Tricked Lion" (Travel the Globe by Webber) flannel board story
• played African instruments
• played with African animal puppets

Books:  Jaha and Jamil Went Down the Hill: An African Mother Goose by Kroll;  African Animals by Squire;  One Child, One Seed by Cave

Reference Books:  The Animal Atlas by Taylor

Shapes

Pattern block pictures Ian made

Ian was excited to show me the semi-circle shape he found on our bike trailer.  We looked closer and found more semi-circles, rectangles, triangles, and parallelograms on the trailer.  Ian can also identify pentagons, hexagons, octagons, parallel & intersecting lines, cones, and cylinders.

Ian enjoyed completing "Geometry in a Box Pattern Blocks" activities and making his own shapes with the pattern blocks.  The book Shapes in Transportation has been a favorite this month.

Books:  Fire Engine Shapes by McMillan;  Shapes in Transportation by Roy;  Shapes in Sports by Rissman

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

We recently joined a homeschooling co-op that meets once a week.  This week's lesson celebrated Dr. Seuss's birthday.  We read several Dr. Seuss books, did matching & pattern worksheets, played a fishing game, and learned about how Dr. Seuss became an author.  The most popular Dr. Seuss book at our house this month is The Lorax. 

Books:  The Foot Book by Seuss;  One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Seuss;  Oh, the Places You'll Go by Seuss;  The Lorax by Seuss

Mixing Colors

Color wheel we made

This week we learned about primary and secondary colors.  We mixed paints to create secondary colors and other colors such as brown and gray.

Books:  Warthogs Paint: A Messy Color Book by Edwards

Reference Books:  Painting: A young artist's guide by Waters & Harris

Trains

Rail and road system Ian built

Ian and Eric spend hours playing trains.  They design track layouts, drive trains, build trains with blocks, and even couple themselves with clothes hangers and chug around the house.  The boys enjoy watching Thomas the Tank Engine and retelling the stories to me.  Favorite train related vocabulary words include buffer, siding, couple, and shunting.

Books:  Stop, Train, Stop! A Thomas the Tank Engine Story by Awdry;  Terrific Trains by Mitton;  The Little Engine That Could Giant Lift-and-Learn Book by Piper

Bicycling to the Library

We often bicycle to our public library; Ian rides his own bike and Eric rides in the bike trailer.  The distance to the library from our house is a little over a mile and includes a few hills.  Our route includes riding on neighbourhood streets, side-walks, and bicycle lanes.  Ian is learning about road signs, traffic rules, bicycle safety, and bicycle maintenance.  We often stop to observe interesting things (e.g. construction, barn mailbox, and a Weinermobile).

Books:  Duck on a Bike by Shannon;  Getting Around By Bicycle by Mayer;  Bicycle Book by Gibbons

Flying Frogs

Ian and Eric's favorite puppet show is an adaptation of the book Tuesday, in which frogs are able to fly on their lily pads one Tuesday night.  The boys also love to jump like frogs and play the "Winter Sleepers" game (Small Wonders by Garrett & Thomas, pg 90).  Ian can describe the life cycle of frogs.

Books:  What Is a Frog? by Darby;  Froggie Went A-Courting by Priceman;   From Tadpole to Frog by Pfeffer;  Tuesday by Wiesner

Riding on the Bus

Eric sleeping through the moment of silence for Joe Paterno

Ian and Eric have been riding on city buses since they were babies.  We practice reading bus schedules/maps and telling time.  We discuss how planners decide when and where buses stop.  We also discuss the advantages/disadvantages of the transportation options we use (bus, car, bicycle, walking, and occasionally airplane).

Ian was puzzled when I told him we can get to the library faster by bicycle than bus.  He understood when I explained that although buses travel faster than bikes, the bike route is more direct than the bus route.

My favorite  on-the-bus conversation was when Ian and Eric were discussing whether it's easier to back up a city bus or a garbage truck and the passenger in front of us joined the conversation.  They decided a garbage truck is shorter and therefore easier to back up.

Books:   Telling Time with Diego by Bergen

Airports

Today we flew from Dallas, Texas to State College, Pennsylvania with a layover in Washington DC.  At the airport, the boys observed the following vehicles:  baggage truck, food truck, fuel truck, de-icer truck, fire engine, security vehicle, shuttle bus, propeller plane, and jet plane.  They also learned about airport security and airplane boarding procedures.

Ian enjoyed looking out the window of the plane and identifying things from above.  Arriving by plane was a great way to see the unique ridge and valley topography of central Pennsylvania.

Books:  A Day at the Airport by Scarry;  Amazing Airplanes by Mitton;  Planes (Eye Openers) by Royston

Videos:  Mighty Machines: Roadways to Runways