Ancient History, Week 10

Ancient Egyptians: Pyramids

Tessa and I finally finished up our first survey of Ancient Egypt. We will pick it up once again in a month or two when we study people, events and things more closely associated with the New Kingdom time period.

My plans were for us to build a pyramid together out of Legos as our project this week, but we ran out of time and by the time we had time, it was time to move on.


Monday

• Watched Building the Great Pyramid DVD by the BBC from Netflix.

Quickly noting that there was one discreet sexual innuendo in this documentary but it went way over Tessa head. Also, there was a brief but not-too-intense death scene.

Tuesday

• Looked up and defined HO dictionary word for Lesson 7, Main Lesson.
• Read Who Built the Pyramid? by Meredith Hooper.
• Read The Scarab's Secret by Nick Would.
• Read "Sphinx" (page 4) and "Pyramids" (page 7) from Modern Rhymes About Ancient Times: Ancient Egypt by Susan Altman.
• Completed draw and color.

Wednesday

• Read Mummies, Pyramids and Pharaohs: A Book About Ancient Egypt by Gail Gibbons.
• Read How the Sphinx Got to the Museum by Jessie Hartland.
• Read "The Pyramid Builder" (page 8) from Voices of Egypt by Kay Winters.
• Completed "Ancient Egypt" history pocket ("The Great Pyramid" paper project).

Other Books of Interest

• You Wouldn't Want to Be a Pyramid Builder: A Hazardous Job You'd Rather Not Have - David Salariya
• Look, Find & Learn: World History ("The Mummy's Curse," page 4-5) - Jerry Tiritilli

* HO = History Odyssey

Atelier Art, Level 1 - Module A, Lesson 4

Clowns

We're still loving Atelier Art! My original goal for art was every other week (or at least twice a month). I think we've fallen off that schedule a bit, as history and science have been absorbing so much time lately. I really need to get us back on track. Tessa always enjoys art day.

"Clowns" is a lesson on pattern. I was afraid it might be a little complex and slightly daunting for Tessa. There's so much drawing and coloring to be done, but she remained focused and resolved. We were rewarded with a really cute piece of artwork.

After viewing several photos of various types of clowns and a little guidance from the Atelier Art teacher, Tessa set to work on her clown.

Tessa enjoyed using bold contrasting colors to create many different types of pattern.

Tessa's completed clown is a happy fellow! I especially like his rainbow hair.

Life Science, Week 9

The Lungs & Respiratory System

Breathe in, breathe out. Age-appropriate books are sparse on the subject of the lungs and respiratory system, so we relied on a couple of fun and easy hands-on activities to illustrate the concept.


Wednesday

• Read Breathe in, Breathe Out: Learning About Your Lungs by Pamela Hill Nettleton.
• Completed Evan-Moor ScienceWorks for Kids: How Your Body Works, Grades 1-3 "The Body Has Lungs for Breathing - A Respiration Experiment," worksheet and mini-book (pages 40-41) from TeacherFileBox.com.

Using a clear plastic bottle filled with water, a straw and modeling clay, we created a model of a lung. The plastic bottle served as the lung, the water as air, and the straw as a bronchial tube. When Tessa squeezed the "lung," the "air" was forced out through the "bronchial tube" to mimic exhalation. Releasing the lung created the reverse effect...inhalation.   

Thursday

• Tessa read Our Lungs by Charlotte Guillain during reading.
• Completed Teacher Created Resources My Body by Patty Carratello "My Lungs" activity (pages 32-34).
• Completed "Breathing Model" (pages 12-13) experiment from Usborne Science Acitivites: Science and Your Body by Rebecca Heddle.

Using a clear plastic bottle cut to size, balloon, piece of plastic (cut from a bag) and tape, we created a model of a lung. Tessa pushed and pulled a tab taped to the bottom of the "diaphragm" to deflate and inflate the balloon "lung."

Other Books of Interest

• Brianna Breathes Easy: A Story about Asthma - Virginia L. Kroll

Ancient History, Week 9

Ancient Egyptians: Gods

Short week for history this week. We didn't dive too deeply into Ancient Egyptian gods due to the lack of good readily available picture books, but the subject matter was too much to weave into last week's lessons.


Monday

• Watched Ancient Civilizations for Children: Ancient Egypt DVD by Schlessinger Media.

This video isn't really about Ancient Egyptian gods but we couldn't fit it in last week.

Tuesday

• Looked up and defined HO dictionary word for Lesson 6, Main Lesson Part 2.
• Read "The God-Kings" (pages 14-15) and "Land of the Gods" (pages 16-17) from National Geographic Kids: Everything Ancient Egypt by Crispin Boyer.
• Read "Ra the Shining One" (pages 6-9) from Egyptian Myths by Jacqueline Morley.
• Read "Isis" (page 24) and "Amun" (page 29) from Modern Rhymes About Ancient Times: Ancient Egypt by Susan Altman.

* HO = History Odyssey

Atelier Art, Level 1 - Module A, Lesson 3

Animal Textures

This quick and easy lesson on texture seemed more like a craft than true art, but it did the trick. Tessa now knows and understands the word "texture." It was a fun little project...one that we both enjoyed.

Tessa first chose a piece of glittery stiffened felt from a stack of differently textured fabrics. It reminded her of Speedy, a box turtle that we housed once for a local turtle race. After adding a head and legs cut from card stock, she drew shapes on its shell. 

Tessa enjoyed creating her textured turtle so much that she asked to make a second animal. A fluffy piece of purple fleece made her think of a sheep.

Ancient History, Week 8

Ancient Egyptians: Mummies

I was a little nervous about teaching the process of mummification to Tessa. The details really are quite gruesome...a level of gruesomeness that Tessa had not been exposed to before. Though she did wince and cover her eyes on more than one occasion, she embraced the knowledge and has been fascinated with all things mummy ever since.


Monday

• Read Usborne: Ancient World by Fiona Chandler (pages 12-13).
• Completed corresponding Blue House School ancient world worksheets.

Tuesday

• Looked up and defined HO dictionary word for Lesson 6, Main Lesson Part 1.
• Read Mummies by Kremena Spengler.
• Read Mummies Made in Egypt by Aliki.
• Completed draw and color.

Wednesday

• Read Road to Reading: Mummies by Edith Kunhardt.

Thursday

• Read I Am the Mummy Heb-Nefert by Eve Bunting.
• Read "Mummies" (page 12) and "Scarabs" (page 21) from Modern Rhymes About Ancient Times: Ancient Egypt by Susan Altman.
• Completed Lift the Lid on Mummies by Jacqueline Dineen.

I have mixed feelings about Lift the Lid on Mummies. Tessa absolutely adores the set, but I feel a little cheated for the price. I knew there were some cardboard pieces in it, but I really think the bottoms of the canopic jars should be made of resin like the lids. The gauze provided to cover the mummy is a little short as well. Just three or four more inches would have made a big difference. Besides placing the internal organs in their appropriate canopic jars and tucking the amulets within the mummy's bandages, Tessa could do little else. The cutting and paper piecing is too intricate for early elementary students. Having said that, Tessa did learn a few things and greatly enjoyed the activity in whole. 

Our completed mummy, canopic jars and cat coffin. Tessa and I stuck the amulet stickers onto cardboard remnants left over from the canopic jars and then I cut around them so she can play with them again and again. 

Friday

• Listened to Magic Tree House #3: Mummies in the Morning audiobook by Mary Pope Osborne.

Other Resources of Interest

• The Mummy Maker online game - BBC

* HO = History Odyssey

Life Science, Week 8

The Five Senses

We have come to a point in both science and history that 2-3 days just isn't enough time to appropriately cover some of the topics, so we are rotating weeks between the two as needed. Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, this past week's investigation of the five senses spanned two calendar weeks.


Monday

• Read My Five Senses by Aliki.
• Read Senses are for Everything: The Five Senses by Katherine Hengel.
• Read Rain by Manya Stojic.
• Read No One But You by Douglas Wood.
• Completed Evan-Moor ScienceWorks for Kids: How Your Body Works, Grades 1-3 "We Use Five Senses to Find Out About Our World - Five Senses Walk" activity (page 24) from TeacherFileBox.com.

Tuesday

• Read Hands are For Holding: The Sense of Touch by Katherine Hengel.
• Read Blastoff Readers: The Sense of Touch by Mari Schuh.
• Felt alphabet braille card from The Five Senses by Herve Tullet.
• Completed Evan-Moor ScienceWorks for Kids: How Your Body Works, Grades 1-3 "We Use Five Senses to Find Out About Our World - Touch is One of the Five Senses" activities and mini-book (page 25) from TeacherFileBox.com.
• Watched Sid the Science Kid: Sense-Ational Adventures DVD ("The Itchy Tag" episode) by The Jim Henson Company.

I used a cloth bag instead of a box for the "Touch is One of the Five Senses - Mystery Box" activity. Tessa used her sense of touch to identify and describe the mystery items in the bag.

Wednesday

• Read Mouths are for Smiling: The Sense of Taste by Katherine Hengel.
• Read Blastoff Readers: The Sense of Taste by Mari Schuh.
• Completed Evan-Moor ScienceWorks for Kids: How Your Body Works, Grades 1-3 "We Use Five Senses to Find Out About Our World - Taste is One of the Five Senses" activities and mini-book (page 26) from TeacherFileBox.com.

Following Monday

• Read Noses are for Picking: The Sense of Smell by Katherine Hengel.
• Read Blastoff Readers: The Sense of Smell by Mari Schuh.
• Read Nosy Rosie by Holly Keller.
• Completed Evan-Moor ScienceWorks for Kids: How Your Body Works, Grades 1-3 "We Use Five Senses to Find Out About Our World - Smell is One of the Five Senses" activities and mini-book (page 27) from TeacherFileBox.com.
• Watched Sid the Science Kid: Sense-Ational Adventures DVD ("What's That Smell?" episode) by The Jim Henson Company.

Tessa used her sense of smell to identify and match scents. I used cotton balls soaked (or dusted) in cinnamon, peppermint, pickle juice and vanilla.

Following Tuesday

• Read Ears are for Earrings: The Sense of Hearing by Katherine Hengel.
• Read Blastoff Readers: The Sense of Hearing by Mari Schuh.
• Completed Evan-Moor ScienceWorks for Kids: How Your Body Works, Grades 1-3 "We Use Five Senses to Find Out About Our World - Hearing is One of the Five Senses" activities and mini-book (page 28) from TeacherFileBox.com.
• Watched Sid the Science Kid: Sense-Ational Adventures DVD ("Too Much Noise!" episode) by The Jim Henson Company.

Following Thursday

• Read Eyes are for Winking: The Sense of Sight by Katherine Hengel.
• Read Blastoff Readers: The Sense of Sight by Mari Schuh.
• Completed Evan-Moor ScienceWorks for Kids: How Your Body Works, Grades 1-3 "We Use Five Senses to Find Out About Our World - Sight is One of the Five Senses" activities and mini-book (page 29) from TeacherFileBox.com.
• Watched Sid the Science Kid: Sense-Ational Adventures DVD ("Grandma's Glasses" episode) by The Jim Henson Company.

Following Friday

• Tessa read The Eye Book by Dr. Seuss during reading.
• Completed Evan-Moor ScienceWorks for Kids: How Your Body Works, Grades 1-3 "We Use Five Senses to Find Out About Our World - Review the Five Senses" worksheets (pages 30) from TeacherFileBox.com.
• Explored Leapfrog Tag Interactive Human Body Discovery Pack "Your Nervous System" section.

Tessa is quite fond of her Leapfrog Tag Reading System, so when I saw Leapfrog came out with this human body discovery pack, I just had to buy and incorporate it into our studies.

Other Books of Interest

• There Is a Flower at the Tip of My Nose Smelling Me - Alice Walker

* RSO = R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey