Homeschooling

Seven experiments for Science Co-op

November 6, 2018 By Annette1 2 Comments

I’ve been teaching a science class this current co-op season. I had a couple of books that inspired me The Element in the Room and The Electric Pickle. Here are seven experiments for a co-op science class.

We discussed hydrogen and oxygen and learned to separate them with electrolysis.

We learned the iodine turns purple when it connects with a starch. This also gave us the opportunity to discuss diffusion.

We had a lot of fun playing around with mentos and pop. We got a lot of different pops, let the boys figure out an hypothesis, and test their ideas, their goal.. figure out why mentos reacted strongly with some pop but not with others. They got pretty close to figuring it out too! We ended up turning to the internet for the answers. It’s a combination nucleation and the the gum arabic and gelatin ingredients of the Mentos, combined with the potassium benzoate, sugar or (potentially) aspartame in diet sodas. The boys were shocked that the no sugar pepsi had the greatest reaction and had traced that down the aspartame. And my son had mentioned the bubbles that form on the mint mentos. We actually took two class periods to research this.

The boys were delighted to test out chip bags in the microwave. They excitedly showed them off to a homeschool mom who asked “did you do those in the oven?” They told her the microwave and she asked about sparks. We learned that two seconds in the microwave works fine. It was NOT my idea to do one with the contents still in it, but the boys thought it pretty cool. 🙂

Magnetic fun

One day we played around with magnets. I hadn’t anticipated this one but came prepared in case they were curious. I brought four different kinds of cereal and some milk. They floated the cereal and determined which ones had the most iron in them. Fruit loops of all things!!!!! Crushed them and discovered tiny amounts of iron filings. This was a total eye opener for them. Then of course, boys being boys, they played magnet hockey…in the process discovering north and south, and how magnets vary in strength.

Our last experiment was in discovering the joy of black snakes. Working with carbon was very exciting for these two lads. It was a windy day so we struggled getting things going and the bbq lighter was a bit of a challenge to use.

Since we are on vacation this week I didn’t actually plan an experiment for day six. I expect the lads will be too busy just setting things up and I always have stuff we can play around with. 🙂

Five Reasons to Share Your Writing

November 5, 2018 By Annette1 2 Comments

Do you know that when I first started writing poetry as an adult that it was REALLY hard to let people know I liked to write poetry much less let them read it? MAN that was so hard… and to be honest, it’s still hard but, other than at a writer’s conference I attended, no one has even dissected it and made me feel less than. It is so hard to do though, especially when you start. I want to encourage you with five reasons to share your writing.

I’ve learned to avoid writer’s groups … at least at this point because I don’t know enough about how to dissect someone’s poetry to be very comfortable about having others dissect mine.. I dunno .. does that make sense? This doesn’t mean I can’t share my poetry with others though. It’s an excellent thing to do.

Why?

SO glad you asked.

It gives us confidence to continue writing. Doesn’t it do you good when someone says “I really liked that piece”. Makes you feel like a million bucks doesn’t it? So then you want to do it again right? It’s a huge confidence booster isn’t it?
It gives our words meaning. We can’t just write for ourselves… writing is meant to be shared. Even if all you do is write back and forth to your best, longest lived friend. Or have a small blog in your corner of the universe, or have a mega blog with so many readers it boggles the mind.
It could be useful. Perhaps that poem your wrote, or article you spent time agonizing over, is just what the reader needed as an encouragement or to spur them on to better things, or was a balm to a wounded soul. Maybe that piece of non-fiction taught a 13 year old something he didn’t know before!
Feedback… Even though it’s hard and can crush your spirit.. feedback can also show you what you are doing well and how to make the rest even better. It’s a bit of a two-edged sword right? The side benefit is if you share your work with discerning writers (so not your very best friend or your mom who will probably like everything you do), you may just end up reading their work and finding your mind sharpened just a bit more. Fire feeds fire you know?
New readers, new friends, new opportunities. You never know where your writing will take you. Someone might read one piece, and then decide they need to read more, and then more and they will share it with their friends and before you know it, you might have a whole following.

What do you say? Give it a chance? Let iron sharpen iron? Find yourself encouraged? Finding readers that are encouraged or helped? Isn’t it a lovely thing? Share it!

Arty Facts: Our Bodies & Art Activities

October 31, 2018 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

Are you doing a human body study and looking for art projects to enhance your learning adventures? Arty Facts is a wonderful book to enhance any study of the human body. Let me tell you about this excellant art book resource, entitled Our Bodies & Art Activities, that will nicely round out your studies.

What do you get:

21 Chapters with titles such as strong bones, taste buds, touch and feel, brainbox and sound catchers, the human body is discussed and art activities suggested for each area of the body.

This isn’t just an art book with a little bit of info, it’s also a science book with good information about the body. I found the text geared to grades three and up. There is much younger children could learn, but for reading independently, probably grade three as a minimum level.

Each page of learning comes with an accompanying art activity. There is a great range of activities from working with paper Mache, sewing, or drawing etc. You get to work with paper, glue, buttons, foil, shells, paint, sponges, sequins and more. Some of the crafts are “Salt Dough Fruit Basket”, “Textured Touch Art”, “Circuit Board Collage” and “Puffing Bellows”. I found that the crafts ranged in complexity, some being suitable for upper elementary students, and others for lower. Pick the crafts/art activities that match the level of your students.

You’ll notice that the list of needed supplies in done on a red sidebar with pictures and words. The instructions were clear making it very easy to teach. There is a materials guide at the close of the book which tells you what some of the materials are and what suitable alternatives could be used.

My thoughts:

I think this is a great book and makes me want to go out and gather a bunch of kids together. Then I can do art and learn about the body at the same time. This book is great for kinetic learners to cement learning. I was pleased they didn’t include the Robotic Hand which I often find in stem and art books about the human body.

Our Bodies & Art Activities
Editor: Ellen Rodger
Crabtree Publishing
48 pages, softcover,
Art, Kids Crafts, Human Body, Science
Series: Arty Facts.

Jack the Police Dog

October 30, 2018 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

Today my son and I joined other members of the HOPE group to see a police dog demonstration. We got to meet Jack and his Handler Jackie. She is the smallest dog handler and has the largest dog in this area. She talked with us about the work that Jack does with her, his training, his likes and dislikes and demonstrated some of his skills.

Jack spends most of his time during general duties – going on patrol, clearing houses, looking for people, and other such normal activities for a police dog. He has also been trained in drugs and one other thing… bombs I think. My memory isn’t completely clear.

Came from Czechoslovakia when one year old $10,000. They work with European breeders because they need the pedigree of solid working dogs with good noses.

His handler did all the training with him. Jack works for his toy (a ball with a rope on it). His ball is his “good job” marker. They are trained using positive reinforcement only. She trained Jack in London and returns there twice a month to maintain training.

Carries a gun, pepper spray and a tazer. Tazers come with an inbuilt confetti that is marked with the number of the tazer. So forensics can always tell which tazer was used.

The students (and some of the moms) asked good questions that ranged from size of Jack (75-90 lbs), to ammunition needed (carry two clips with 14 bullets), to items they need to carry. The fun of trying to keep with a dog who can clear a 10 foot fence. Jack is currently the largest dog in the London, St. Thomas, St. Mary’s and Stratford area. He is a black German Shepherd.

He has had 6 apprehensions in his life. An apprehension is when a dog bites a suspect to hold them. They are trained to bite and hold rather than to bite and reposition. This training minimizes damage to the suspect.

She helped us understand why a police dog can clear a house quicker than a person can. Having a powerful nose lets them know if a person is hiding in a room even if a door is shut and locked. Means the officer doesn’t have to wait for a key to gain entrance nor do they have to search every cubby, closet or even the ceiling.

His handler was pleased to show us some of Jack’s skills. He SO loves his ball and watched it eagerly be tossed away and did everything he was supposed to before he finally was able to keep it. He ran through his exercise twice showing off different skills I only caught the first part on camera.

His handler ended up being called back to duty, but before she headed off, we were shown a secret from the police car. She has a button on her suit that can remotely open the back door of the vehicle. Jack is trained to burst out in full protection mode. Unfortunately Jack got the protection sleeve off his handler before I got the camera out and snapping a pic.

We learned that Jack lives with his person 24/7. At night he has an outdoor kennel that keeps him comfortable. The police vehicle is equipped with Jack in mind, with a temperature controlled environment and everything.

It was a great demonstration and I’m glad we went.

The Element in the Room

October 27, 2018 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

Did you know that I am teaching a science class? My goal was to base it solely in the periodic table, but I didn’t get the student numbers hoped for, so I’ve kinda turned it into a basic science class. We are still mostly doing the periodic table as the basis for our learning though, as elements make up EVERYTHING in the world you know? To that end, The Element in the Room, that I received as a review book from Raincoast Books has been immensely helpful.

From the Cover:

Did you know that without the ‘lead’ in your pencil, there would be no life on Earth? Or that diamonds and coal are both made from exactly the same thing? Or that the deadly ingredient used to make the most dangerous weapon in history can also be found in your bottled water?

Absolutely everything in the universe is made up of just 92 elements! And from aluminum to zinc, many of these atomic ingredients can be found in your very own home.

This funny and fascinating guide to the elements is bursting with brilliant facts about the ingredients that make up everything around us. Join the great scientific sleuth Sherlock Ohms as he explores the elements hiding in your home, and help his enquiries with explosive scientific experiments.

Ohms’ investigation will sort the isotopes from the allotropes, put the Able into Periodic Table, and electrify your electrons! Along the way, Atomic Comics show you the savvy scientists who discovered the elements and their extraordinary effects.

What you get:

Quite frankly, you get a delightfully informative book all about the periodic table. You start off learning the basics of what makes up an atom, what an electrical charge is, and building up from there. It does touch on the “big bang theory” as many science books are apt to do. Through talking about the stars and the how they fuse elements we are led into the periodic table.

As you can see, the elements are broken down into colour zone with what type they are labeled. Understanding that there are more than 100 elements leads to the question of how do they combine, so that explanation is given just before we delve into the world of the different elements in the room.

Each of the elements is discussed, some as part of a page grouping, others getting a page of their own and yet others spreading over two pages). In each case we are told where we can find the element in the world around us, the colour, how safe it is and it’s general use.

A sense of humour is evident through the pages. The author evidently enjoys science and wants to help the younger generation enjoy is as well. This is seen not only in the comics, but in the language and illustrations used.

The somewhat oversized book closes with the question…how many more elements will be discovered as scientists continue to make new ones. Will they be as unstable as the ones created thus far? Will one of today’s readers be the one to discover it?

To help the reader understand new terminology a glossary is provided at the close of the book.

My Thoughts:

What a delightfully informative book. There are several different ways to approach it.

You could read the comics all the way through from start to finish so you get the whole story at once.
Or you could learn about the specific element you are interested in
Learning the elements in their groupings
Checking them out by what state they are in etc.

In my co-op class we used it as a go-to for quick answers and for stimulating our thinking. We then took that knowledge to the internet to learn more details. One of the things I really appreciated was being told where we can find these elements in everyday life. It was an excellent Start here book for the 13 and 14 year olds I’ve been teaching. The comics weren’t just for fun, but to help us learn more of the history behind different elements being discovered. It’s led me to want to know about the Curie’s.

I disliked that the big bang theory as exactly that wasn’t introduced as the theory it is rather than being presented as fact, and… we can’t know that this theory is true. Evidence might point that way, but we still can’t know the truth. A theory should be taught as a theory, especially to impressionable young minds.

Combining The Element in the Room with The Electric Pickle has been a good combination for my co-op class. The boys are asking excellent questions as we do science.

The Element in the Room
Mike Barfield
Illustrator: Lauren Humphrey
Laurence King
Hardcover, 64 pages, 7 and up
Science, chemistry, periodic table

Reviewed for Raincoast Books.

Where to buy Amazon.

World War 1: War Starts!

October 27, 2018 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

For the past two weeks We’ve been looking at the first battles of world war 1. Germany attacking France (through Belgium) after Austria attacked Serbia. England engaging Germany.

Do you remember that we took a rhetoric course through Silverdale Press? Well, we took some of what we were learning through that course and are applying them to speeches we are finding about the start of the world wars.

Wilhelm of Germany and Lloyd Jones of England. The lad read through the speeches giving me the main points and figuring out what persuasive points each man made in favour of their own people and country. The lad was shocked to read Wilhelm say he wasn’t looking for war but he would take it if the opportunity presented itself. With the Lloyd Jones speech he asked “what made the Germans barbarians?” This led us to start understanding how the rhetoric happened.

Books Read:

The lad read through sections of the following books.

The Great War.
Desperate Glory: the Story of WW1.
First World War.
Battles.
The War to End all Wars.
The First World War.

Videos:

We watched these movies as well as others. I love watching these videos with my lad. We learn so much and often stop just to talk.

We paused this video frequently to talk about some of the ideas. The lad was really able to show me the results of his reading as he answered my questions and filled in some of the background this video doesn’t provide. For instance, he told me that Britain had a treaty with Belgium because of it’s proximity to a weak spot in Britain’s defenses. Having Belgium as an ally meant that if anyone wanted to attack Britain they would have to go through Belgium. This alliance meant that attacking Belgium meant you had a powerful enemy defending them. We watched the next four in this series as well. Taking us through the first five weeks of the war.

The lad had mentioned the Krupp420 to me a few times. It was 24 feet long, weighed 98 tons, and had the ability to fire 2000 lb shells over the range of 9 miles. The German’s used this gun effectively against the Belgium forts. It’s a massive gun.

And for variety I played this one… which ended up really helping ME understand how all the alliances came into play. The lad helped me put all the pieces together as well.

Since Germany first attacked Belgium, we had Belgium Waffles for supper on Thursday night. Seemed fitting. 🙂 I wanted to make a bigger, more “Belgium-ish” meal but couldn’t find what I needed.

Looking Forward

Looking forward we’ll be studying

Soldiers, training, recruitment, uniforms
Trench warfare
War at sea
More battles
Animals of war
Canada at war
Shell shock
Propaganda

I discovered some twitter accounts to follow that provide us with photos of the war to look at and information we didn’t otherwise know or even think to learn about. World War 1 & 2 Photos. News from the Front. World War II facts. WhatIfHistory. The Great War. Great war 100 years.

Others in this series:

Assassination!
Belgium in the early 1900’s.

Unschool without unschooling

October 26, 2018 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

The other day I had a conversation with a fellow homeschooler. She wanted to talk to me because I’ve been schooling a while and she is fairly new. She’s been confused by a few things and just needed to talk. Over the course of our conversation we got on the topic of unschooling and what did I as a Christian think about it?

Defining Unschoooling.

It’s always hard you know? To answer a question when understanding between two people might not be clear. How I defined unschooling is this: Letting a child choose what they want to learn about without using any curriculum. A child learns at their own pace without anyone actually teaching the child, just providing the resources for a child to teach themselves.

After we were on the same page I told her that as a Christian I didn’t believe in unschooling as a method of learning, but that said I believed that we could use the idea of unschooling in our daily lives. Raised eyebrows at this statement so I went on to explain myself.

For instance, your curriculum calls for you to study about sharks but your child has a love of alpacas… so study alpacas. You don’t need to study sharks. Or you are supposed to look into the history of the civil war, but your child has become fascinated by the Metis rebellion…study the Metis rebellion. You don’t have to do what the curriculum asks you to do. You don’t.

The world won’t stop. The curriculum company won’t call you on your choices. Your child won’t forget how to learn. Other homeschool moms (or dads) won’t yell at you and if they do.. WHY? Nothing horrible will happen. You don’t need to worry about gaps in education, what you need to worry about it instilling a love of learning.

Questions to ask:

You need to ask: Is your child learning and growing? Are they enjoying their studies? Are they retaining the information that alpacas take care of their young, they are mammals, with a backbone who are a domesticated vicuna from South America? Do they know that sharks are fish, and fish are animals.. just like alpacas are? Have they learned the history can be told from different points of view? That both sides have a story to tell? Do they know that learning your history helps you understand what is happening today?

It doesn’t matter what you use to teach,. You need talk to your children, see their delights and curiousities. Nurture that. Working with your child’s interests isn’t foregoing what is good and right in educating your children. You can use what they love in order to help them learn, to intentionally train them up. Isn’t that what we are about?

Homeschooling