Plans: Cycle 1 - Week 18

Moundbuilders!

(How cool is that?!)

History

* Read this article on the Adena civilization.
* Use this fun idea from Luv and Learning and make our own mounds:

* Watch this little introduction from Searching For the Great Hopewell Road on youtube:

It's just under two minutes and serves as a great (and quick!) visual of the mounds.

* Watch one more quick video on youtube:

This one is just under five minutes and goes into a little more detail.

* Read this book from the library:

I was soooo excited to run across a children's book about the Moundbuilders!

* Take a family field trip to the Moundville Archaeological Park in Tuscaloosa, Alabama!
* Update: Click here to see what we actually did (and the memorable melt-down).

Geography

* Read SOTW2: Ch. 32 - Mesoamerica.
* Use our map friends with our updated Geography Review Book.

* Use Crecia's Geography Cards from CCing it one day at a time. I use these and my review book e-ve-ry week!

Math
* So, I know won't use this with Mary right now, but I just had to share this; it's waaaay too cool! Have you ever heard of Flocabulary? It's a method of teaching with hip-hop music. Now, being a former high school teacher, I know this would absolutely get the students' attentions and have them singing math formulas with no problem. It's awesome! Click here to see their video for the area of a triangle. The video itself is very, very helpful, even if you don't care for the beat. If you have older kids who are losing interest with geometry, this just may be helpful.

Science

* Make this super-simple craft that has very little educational value but will be lots of fun:

Click here to see another version of the Ocean-in-a-Bottle craft on a grander scale (2-liter).

Click here to see a cool (and easy) fish craft for the younger set.

* If you need something for your littles to work on, perhaps while working with your older kids, check out the Ocean Preschool Pack from 3 Dinosaurs:

And here's the cutest-ever girl version from 1 + 1 + 1 = 1:

* We'll read this book:

* I found this book at church and fell in LOVE with it! God Made the Ocean is an absolutely perfect introduction to the ocean for preschool and elementary kiddos:

* If you want to spend $3 on one worksheet, you can get an ocean floor to label by clicking here. Do y'all use Teachers Pay Teachers much? I actually have a 'store' on that site, but it's nothing I can use with my girls right now; it's all high school English stuff. However, if you're ever looking for figurative language and essay-writing PowerPoints, I'd be honored to have you take a look!

* And we'll keep working in our Science book:

Latin
* Are your declensions running together and your kids can't remember which is which? Click here to get some absolutely fabulous ideas to help with Latin from the blog Teaching Boys. I printed off all the stories and plan to really work with Mary using these aids. We're horrible at Latin!

Christian Missionary/Hero

* David Brainerd is this week's Christian missionary. We'll read this great biography for children, and hopefully this book below:

Click here to see the full schedule for Cycle 1.

Sometimes I like to find an inspirational or motivation quote to end with, but this one caught my attention tonight instead. Ha! Enjoy, friends!

Poor empty pants

With nobody inside them.

~ Dr. Seuss

(Sometimes you just feel a little silly, y'know?)

This post is being submitted to the Half-a-Hundred Acre Wood CC Cycle 1 Link-Up.