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