I Might Be Addicted to *Theme Units*

Because I'm totally a nerd mom I had to take a picture of some of the  packets, aka theme units I developed for K to work thru this last year-2nd grade (as I'm clearing out the clutter). I am such a sucker for theme units so I'd scour the internet for crafts, projects and printables and put it all together.

It never seems like much is accomplished in the moment and I always feel like we could or should be doing more, more, more.  Now that I look at these though...wow! Pretty cool. Some are missing for who knows what reason...lost, crumpled, left in the car and inevitably, tossed. Gasp! Which is where these are headed. In the recycling bin of course! 

Here are few of the themes we covered and shown in this pic: 

• My Five Sense
• Your Body
• Diary of an Elf
• My Reindeer Report
• Winter/Christmas Around the World
• Rain
• Spring
• Valentine's Day
• St. Patrick's Day
• Tropical Rain Forest
• The Arctic
• Oceans

Of course I found a couple that were left more unfinished than finished to include in this picture. Haha! We'll finish them up this summer. Think I wouldn't!?!

I choose a theme, which usually matches the current weather, season, or holiday of the month. It's super easy to find printables (mostly free) for every subject on every topic. Hello Pinterest!?! I personally have a few fav sites that I use regularly Education.com (some printables are free but I have full access with a subscription from our charter school) and Readworks.org (for language arts passages). Those two links usually make up my base. From there I search for themed math worksheets. He has a math book so those would be supplementary and colorful! I use multi-media like youtube to find interesting videos to match the theme.

I can incorporate language arts, math, science, social studies and/or history and even fine art. Science is often my starting point or subject because language arts can be incorporated with anything. Occasionally I will create a packet that focuses solely on language arts skills using reading passages, graphic organizers, writing prompts and reading comprehension such as a Fairy Tale packet I created. Or one that had beautiful, full-color graphic organizers that was all about writing good sentences and solid paragraphs with a main idea and supporting sentences.  

I use science topics the most though because helllooo...experiments! When I shared in class that I prefer to use theme units, my professor responded that it is hard and takes years of experience to create theme units. I don't know if that is true or not since I DO have years (19 so far!) of experience. I certainly don't think it is hard though. If I may be honest, I love theme units because it feels so easy. Like the lazy mom's way to home-educate! Why not use one topic and hit all the subjects instead of having 6 separate subjects AND topics?

Over all, I can say, now that it's summer, that we had a great year. I was doubtful at times. Scared often. Home-educating is a huge responsibility. My darlings aren't always as excited about it as I am! I don't know why. ;-) We also did a lot of organic learning...while hiking, visiting nature centers and various outdoor environments in different seasons and all kinds of weather.

Theme units aren't just for lower and elementary grades either. I created my high schoolers fine arts syllabus month-to-month following the same idea: theme, youtube, printable, art project. Voila! (I can share more about that later...on my homeschool blog --I promise to catch up soon. I have lots of drafts to update from this past school year.)

There you have it folks...the lazy mom's guide too homeschool. Maybe that should have been the title? 

Seeds, Sprouts and Second Grade Science

Our first "science experiment" of the year! Simple seeds and sprouts. Second grade science is very similar to first grade science. The first chapter of his science workbook include information about plants and the life cycle of a seed, parts of the male and female plants etc. There was an experiment, that he skipped many lessons to get right to.

Navy bean sprout with long, strong roots, ready to plant.

Kurtis wanted to follow the experiment exactly, which instructed placing the seeds with a damp towel on a tray. I knew they would dry out, (regardless of how many times I refilled it with water!) and suggested placing the seeds in a plastic ziploc bag instead. He did not believe me, of course! In the name of science, we did both, to prove which method was best. We used what we had on hand...sunflower and chia seeds, and white navy beans.

Look at those roots!

The seeds in the bag did splendid. After only a few days there were sprouts and roots. One seed on the tray sprouted but the paper towel dried out daily. It wasn't long before the seeds in the plastic baggie, were ready to plant.

This sprout stands tall!

This is a picture of our first sprouts.

Today he took the white navy bean sprouts, which had the longest roots and planted them into his pirate garden. I hope they continue to grow well. After this, (and after digging through everything to find his 'nature journal' that had mysteriously gone missing) he drew sketches of the sprouts and roots, then sat in the back yard for some observation time of the garden, sketching his observations into his journal...which included an explosive bomb? I don't know, guys...seven year olds! I just don't know. He promptly erased it when I  reminded him that I didn't believe he witnessed a bomb in the back yard. 

I think science used to be a challenge for me? I can't really remember but it's certainly not now. I love it and everything about it. It's so exciting and I love over-lapping into other subject areas, covering the full spectrum of S.T.E.A.M! 

Into the garden they go!

Math Brain : STEM

Creating animal dens.

It's been a rough few months due to the move and adjusting to all of that, so I have been off my home-educating game a bit. Haha. I love pinterest for inspiring ideas! I found various activities using marshmallows and tooth picks. I knew there were STEM challenges to do but I wanted more creative exercises. Sometimes all you need is one suggestion to spark your own ideas.

The middle schooler's structure.

The middle schooler could not help joining in when she saw the first grader starting his structure. 

Building a structure with tooth picks and marshmallows.

The initial challenge was to create animal dens from the supplies given. Once that was completed, I upped the ante by challenging my students to create the tallest, free standing structure possible. It needed to be sound enough to maintain it's height with out falling over. 

It's more challenging then it sounds. They enjoyed this and it covered all STEM areas: science, technology, engineering and math. Supposedly, right? haha. They definitely experienced and learned about the force of gravity. 

Can you guess which structure was created by the middle schooler and which was created by the high schooler & first grader team?

Fall Fun and Science

We took a quick walk around the block the other day, collecting leaves specifically to do a few leaf rubbings.

I forget how simply gorgeous leaf rubbings really are.

It's SoCal so...not too many varieties or fall-ish colors in my hood but we used what we could find and it was good enough. 

We attempted to do the rubbings using oil pastels, like I read on another blog but it did not work well. Back to good ol' crayola it was and that was great. The crayon rubbing really highlighted the veins of the leaves. 

After the rubbings, we took a closer look with our microscope. It's so fun to get such a magnified view. It's a school microscope but it's better then our natural eye. It still looks amazing and completely fascinating. 

To add to our Fall nature study, we did a classic craft: pine cone bird feeder.

I used the birdseed that I had left over from our summer sensory bin. We had actually tossed all the bird seed into the garden...but it was still in a nice pile.

We took a pine cone outside and poured (all natural!) peanut butter all over it. Then we rolled the pine cone in the bird seed pile, which was quite convenient actually!

I thought the perfect place to hang our bird feeder would be right outside our kitchen window. It's hard to reach from outside, so I hoisted Kurtis onto my shoulders and stretched on my tip toes until he could reach and hang it on the hook. Haha!

We also read this awesome book, Autumn Leaves. The pictures are great.

I love Autumn!

More Owl Fun

Continuing our owl theme, I found an owl craft...finger puppets!

I allowed Kurtis to use the glue gun. He was so careful because he was afraid to get burned. I reassured him that it's not as bad as it seems and once he gets burned it will be ok because then he will know.

Sure enough, he accidentally burned himself and he agreed that it wasn't so bad. That released him from the fear of being burned. 

I didn't have any googly eyes so I did a quick run to Dollar Tree! (I spend way too much time & money in that place--but SO worth it!!!) Of course they had them. I used felt I already had, which it only needed a few scrap pieces. I may or may not have had more fun than him but hey, at least we got something done together, right? I suppose I can count this as art? Will it still count as science, since it's an owl? I'm not sure. haha. Definitely fine motor skills!

I also did a test run of an owl writing project with a tutoring client. It went over well and I'm going to use it with him later...I'll share when I do. 

Autumn Inspiration

Isn't this adorable?

{*I was inspired by the online resources listed at the end of this post.}

I know my 1st grader definitely learns better with hands on activities, even though getting him to sit down for them is a moment by moment challenge.

We watched a simple but informative video about owls. It goes great with a few printable works sheets and graphic organizers I found and used from our fair field trip. We saw an owl there and had a great conversation with her handler.

Collecting objects like an Easter egg hunt! 

We started with a very short walk around the block to gather organic ephemera. We only collected what we found on the ground. We are experiencing another heat wave so being outside for only a few minutes was enough. We live in a nice suburban neighborhood where each block has a different set of trees planted. We headed straight for the pine tree block.

We collected pine cones, bark and from our lawn, acorns and acorn caps. We used those pieces to create our owl. Using hot glue, we attached the bits and pieces to a piece of bark to form an owl. Oh and a scrap of ribbon to hang it. 

What I love most is the unplanned excitement of learning new information. Each of my children, during their home educated childhood, has discovered the wonder of how these pine tree seeds fly. The seeds have light tails that cause them to twirl and spiral down through the air. This moment was no different. Kurtis squealed with glee and a smile that couldn't get any bigger. He couldn't wait to share his new found knowledge with his older brother. 

This keeps me going. You start out with some pine cones and an owl agenda...but learning is full of twists and turns, just like the flying seed. Our conversation moved along to the science of how seeds travel.
Owls to seeds. Nope, didn't see that coming. 

I am so grateful for free online resources. I have no problem NOT reinventing the wheel! I was first inspired by this owl unit study which led me to this simple craft. I definitely now subscribe to these educational videos too. 

Curricula Supplements

Though I have a core curricula I use for each of my students...I love supplementing with extra materials. I scour the internet for free printables and activity ideas for all ages.

For example, I add nature journaling, using the Handbook of Nature Study to my first graders science agenda (read more about it here). I also use these no-nonsense science workbooks, Focus on Science. The pages make great work samples for our learning record meetings.

These workbooks are black and white, with simple, easy to understand, age appropriate reading and in book activities that match the state standards for that grade.

For my older students, like my 8th grader...I look for supplementary materials that correspond with the lesson in her Oak Meadow Science book. This week was a lesson on solids and liquids. Perfect timing as I had just come across this free printable activity and worksheet. We didn't have all the supplies on hand but we had most. We improvised! :-)

I find most of my supplementary resources online in the form of free printables and worksheets (Pinterest is your friend!) but I have also found items at Dollar Tree, believe it or not, in their educational/school section.

Happy Educating!

First Grade Science: Nature Study

I acquired this Nature Portfolio to use with my 1st grader. It is totally MY style, I'll admit. I am in love with the idea of sitting and observing nature. What I did not realize that is that it goes along with the Handbook of Nature Study. It might be great to have a hard copy of this in the future but for instant gratification...I found a FREE copy of this in electronic form from archive.org.

You can use the Kindle app (or an actual Kindle) to read electronic books from Amazon or wherever. The app is FREE. I downloaded the archive e-book to my laptop. From there you email it to your amazon kindle account. It will then download to your device and you have instant and easy access. It's easier to carry around a Kindle device or use the app on your tablet or phone than carry around your laptop to read, isn't it?


Along with finding the book, it didn't take but a few minutes to of googling (it's not really a verb, you know!?!) to find a corresponding companion site, handbookofnaturestudy.com which offers plenty of great activities and FREE (see the theme?) nature study printables.

I love being outdoors and I believe my children do too. As much as I don't like to impose my idea of learning upon them, but rather allow it to happen organically, especially in an outdoor environment...I can't help but be attracted to the idea of nature journaling. Am I the only one who finds this romantic? (in a poetic, Walden-Thoreau-is sort of way)

Nature journaling combines my two favs: nature and journaling. How can you want anything more? haha. One more thing...keeping a journal of any time but especially a nature journal because it tends to include more pictures, it becomes the sweetest keepsake when your children are grown. It's lovely to look back at their childhood musings and elementary ramblings. It's too sweet for words!

How are you handling science this year? What are your favorite resources and style?

Ca Science Center

I had an opportunity to do an extra credit paper for my own science class. One of the extra credit choices was to visit the science center and write a paper on it. Of course I took the middles with me (& the toddler). We have been there before but not for a long time. We had such a great time.

The center now has a two story aquarium. From the top floor, there is an outdoor viewing area and downstairs is a full length viewing area. You can even walk through a glass tunnel that goes through the aquarium, sharks and schools of fish swim above you. It's really impressive.

Birdy had so much fun in this wind tunnel. On her arms are simulated plane wings. You feel the air resistance according to how you direct your wings.

Both Sam and Birdy loved pretending to do a newscast. They didn't skip a beat when our toddler decided to join them. Birdy just ad-libbed and pretended like K was also an 'expert' on the show. It was hilarious.

 They all couldn't get enough of this hang gliding simulation. I thought laying on that thing looked pretty comfortable.

Here are all three of them, using a giant lever to lift a truck. It really works and accurately demonstrates the various support it offers at different points on the lever.

We had a really fabulous time, so much fun. I'd like to go back. The aquarium was our favorite part and we spent the most time in that area. There are also different rooms representing different eco-systems. One was a desert and features flash floods. Kurtis was a little scared of the mock lightening and thunder. I was creeped out by the room that was all about compost and decay. I couldn't tell if the floor was supposed to be the floor of  a forest or decomposers. EEwweee....!!!

I can't wait to go back. There is so much to see and do there, too much for one day, for sure. We went in the late afternoon for only a few hours. It must've been a great time because we nearly had the place to ourselves.

Days like this remind me WHY I love home-educating so much. The freedom to step away from the books and learn via hands on in a fun and relaxing setting.

Linked to:

Bolsa Chica Wetlands

Today called for another field trip.  S's science this week is focused on wetlands so naturally I thought we should go observe one.  We went to one we've went before.  It was nice except it was so cold.  The temperature wasn't cold, we've been experiencing unusually warmer temps this week.  The wind made it cold. 

I couldn't stand very much of it so we left quicker than I planned. There were plenty of birds to see though, at least.  S is supposed to make a model/dioarama of a wetland this week to do an experiment.  I'm not sure if we are going to get to it though.  It requires some supplies that we don't have on hand. (I hate that!)

It was nice to get out for awhile though. Baby K really seemed to enjoy it. I'd like to go back and walk the past the 1 mile loop.  We have not done that before.

We're off to the fair!

We've been to the County Fair before but it's been awhile.  We had such a great time today!  We were able to get in free because we were attending for a *field trip*.  There was so much to do and see.  In the past we've paid attention to the CA History emphasis.  This time we paid more attention to the early Ameircan emphasis and there was plenty of that. I had never noticed it before, I guess.

The kids watched a blacksmith demonstration, wool felting demo, participated in hooking (latching?) a rag rug, created a rag doll and even played with and early American toy! The wool felting guy was so pleasant and friendly, telling us all about the craft and how to create toys, that we purchased a wool felting kit and can't wait to get started!  We were in that area for a few hours, then we headed over to the farm animals.

The children received free chocolate milk.  That was a nice treat.  They were able to pet and feed goats and an alpaca.  They viewed live chicks and chickens and read about their life cycle. We watched a sheep sheering demonstration and saw a live honey bee exhibit. Of course we couldn't resist buying some honey too!

S & L also made a real cowboy rope and rocked on a giant rocking horse. 

We couldn't resist checking out all the children's art and crafts entries.  There were so many talented pieces of artwork, photography, sewing, quilting, drawing etc.  I regret not having the kiddos enter anything this year...but I'm planning ahead for *next* year! ;-)

We payed extra to see the Body exhibit.  It is actual human bodies that have been exquisitely preserved.  It was so amazing.  They had human organs, healthy ones compared to cancerous and diseased ones.  It was so amazing to see how fearfully and wonderfully created we are.  To see the organs, veins and structures of the body was beyond anything we could imagine or create from our own minds.

It was a great but long day.  After that it was off to art class!

SMURRF

Santa Monica Urban Runoff Recycling Facility

That's where we went today. DH had another audition in Santa Monica and he likes to bring us with him so he can drive the car pool lane. I noticed this facility when we were at the pier last week and made a mental note to check it out next time we were down here.

It was pretty cool. It shows how water that goes down storm drains is reclaimed and cleaned up. This allows it to be reused and helps keep our oceans clean from debri, trash, oil, grime, germs and other pollutants.

It's a self-guided tour and I use the word tour loosely. There isn't anyone there but you can walk around the artistic perimeter that has explanations of the facility.

Near by at the base of the pier is an aquarium. Admission is cheap at $2 for adults, children 11 and under free. It's closed on Mondays so hopefully we can explore it next time.

Real life Oceanography

A night on the pier fishing & you never know what you will see or catch!

This is the underside of a fascianting creature we've since learned is called a ROUND RAY. Even though it is really NOT a 'ray' but a 'skate'. Funny name hanh? It took quite a google search to find out exactly what it was.

Pulling it up in the net.

Dad struggling to remove the hook from the mouth. They caught these creatures ALL night. They REALLY like to eat squid, which we were using as bait.

Check out that face & topside.

Oldest doesn't want it to get TOO close! lol

These aren't really the type of catch you want to 'eat'. We spent the evening tossing them back in the ocean. That would be the Pacific! lol

Field Trips on the Gooooooo!

We took a road trip, up the CA coast, to OR & even WA.

It was really cool & we saw a few really neat places.

We camped the first night in Northern Ca. It was odd for us to see forest right next to the beach...lots of cows, the cows even have beach front property! We camped @ the Reef Campground in the Fort Ross State park. For some reason I thought the campsite had electricity & showers--it did not. But it did have nice & clean toilets, one of the nicest, cleanest public/camping restrooms we've ever encountered. Hey---priorities, ya know? :D

This is a pic of some animal tracks we saw the next morning near the creek that ran along side our campsite.

After camping...we stopped @ a picnic area along the way. The Redwood trees were the main feature....there was a nature trail that we shallowly ventured into....maybe we can hike the complete trail 'next time'.

In WA we took time to visit the Mt. St. Helens visitor center. It is really inexpensive ($3 per person OVER 16 yo & free for under 16) &; informative. You can watch a video about volcanoes & one specefically about the Mt. St. Helens eruption. It even has a model of the inside of a volcano you can walk down into. I wish we could have spent more time & gone farther up to the other Mt. St. Helens 'attractions'.

On our way home, but before we reached CA again...we saw a sign for a 'Pioneer Museum'. We ventured off the highway to take a look. THIS was the highlight. This tiny museum was filled to the rim w/ pioneer artifacts, store fronts, odds & ends of rich historical value. I must admit the wall of human hair was creepy, regretfully, by orders of the 'Meanest sheriff in town' we were not allowed to take any pictures while inside. The Linn County Museum contains one of the last 3 remaining original pioneer wagons actually used in the westward migration of America.

Since we've gotten home, we are working on making books about our trip; recording, drawing pictures & writing about our wonderful 'field trips'....which will also evolve into another book about the Pioneers.