Me on the Map

L got the book Me On The Map by Joan Sweeney last year for her birthday.  We have both enjoyed reading it together as well as doing activities to go along with it.  L has mapped out her bedroom and pointed out our province on the map of Canada as well as our continent on the globe.

 When I saw this fantastic idea on Counting Coconuts a while back I knew we had to make one for ourselves.

I started off making six circles out of craft foam using a compass.

 I found almost all of the images on Google Images.  L colored this picture of the Earth and then stuck the stars on for space.

 I traced the continent onto orange paper and L pin punched it out.

 For my province we talked about different things we see and do here.  I printed off the images and L colored them.

We also did circles for my town and my house.  I took pictures of L by different places and then printed them out.

Once all the circles were completed I punched a hole in the top of them and put a ring through them.

I really love this activity.  It's a great way for children to narrow down their place on the map and also a wonderful keepsake.  Thanks again Counting Coconuts for the great idea!

First Finger Knitting

L and I learned how to finger knit today.  We watched this video on Youtube together and then she tried it out herself with this wool I'd been saving for ages for just this occasion.

L caught on pretty quickly and I just had to keep reminding her to start pulling off at her pinky each time.

I sat with her and helped along the whole way and she ended up making this bracelet.  She was so proud and decided she wanted to make something else.  I told her to go and ask Granny if she had any extra wool.  Well L hit the jackpot there.  She came up with a HUGE bag of wool scraps!

L ended up choosing this cheerful yellow to make a headband with.  Once again I helped and encouraged her.

I'm so happy that L is now able to finger knit and that she enjoys it as much as I'd hoped she would.  I think it will take a few more sessions before she is ready to do the whole thing on her own but she is well on her way!

Summer of Science Part Two

Lately we've been learning about matter and how it can change.

I introduced L to the three states of matter with this tray.  We talked about how matter is anything that takes up space and how it can be in three different states.  Once we discussed this L looked around the house to first find solids and then liquids and breathed in lots of gas (air : ).  It's wonderful to see the delight in a child when they first discover something new and the whole world opens up to them.  L was excitedly running around the house pointing to things and saying "my shampoo is a liquid, milk is a liquid....."

We then talked about how some things can be all three states at different times.  We used water for our example.  L is examining a glass with water in it, ice cubes and the steam from boiling water.

We've also been talking about reversible change and irreversible change.  L could see and experiment with how water can change into ice when frozen and then melt back into water when heated, which is an excellent example of reversible change.

We saw an example of irreversible change when we did the "heat" experiment with apples.

We also did an experiment on decay and talked about how all living things will eventually die then decay and turn back into soil.  This led to some interesting discussions as you can imagine but I tried to keep it light and scientific.

We took a large piece of watermelon that had been in the fridge for a while and did an observation of it.  L drew a picture of it in her science journal and we dated it.

Here it is a week later.

Here is L doing her second observation in her journal and noting the changes.  She didn't last very long out there as there were too many wasps and she retreated to the kitchen periodically going out to "observe" from the deck.
We left it out there until it was so small and shrivelled that we just dug it into the soil.

Our weather has been the pits this summer so it's been and ideal time to do all of our science projects.  Before I found Sid the Science Kid I have to admit that I was really unsure of how to introduce science to L but the show has made it super simple and tons of fun.  I also have a wonderful book of 101 Science experiments that we will move on to soon.

Australia Activites Part Two

Although we did these Australia activities ages ago I am only now getting around to posting about them.  You can see my first post with more Australia activities here and my Australia Continent Box post here.

I found these wonderful books at the library.  The first Sun Mother Wakes the World is a retelling of an Aboriginal creation myth with gorgeous artwork.  The second book Are we there yet? by Alison Lester was a huge hit and a must in my opinion for anyone studying Australia.  It is about a family who sets out in their camper and travels the whole way around Australia.  L was super excited to see the same pictures as her landmark cards and we looked up some others on google images to see the exact same picture.   

This is a picture of the materials I used to present the didgeridoo, Australian music and Aboriginal artwork to my music class.  To read more about it and for the link to True Blue Wonders see this post.

We also made our own boomerangs.  Your can find the template here.  I traced the template onto a cereal box and cut it out and then L used it to trace her boomerang and cut it out.  We decorated them and then tried them out.

These were a super fun outside activity and I would recommend trying different thicknesses of cardboard.

Included in the continent box are a few recipes.  One is for Lamingtons which is basically a few day old cake covered in chocolate and then dipped in coconut.  We tried out a bit more of a healthy option with bananas on a skewer and dark chocolate.  We LOVED them!  Warning this is a messy project but very tasty!

If you are working on your Continent Boxes and would like to win my classified cards you can enter to win here.

Australia Continent Box and Giveaway (Finally!!)

Okay the Australia Continent Box is pretty much done and I thought it was high time I posted about it since L and I finished covering it months ago.

So here we go.  This is the simple box which I found at a craft store and painted brown.  Eventually I will put a sand paper cut out of the continent on the top as well.

Inside we have four fabric folders of classified cards.  These are landmarks, plants, animals, and people.  The cards also have short definitions on the back.  I was debating on how to put the names of each category on the front of the fabric folders but luckily I learned in my Assistants course that the best thing to do is to have a card at the front with a few pictures of whatever the folder is about.  This way the folders can be used for readers and non-readers.  Since these Continent Boxes are ultimately intended for the classroom I am going to add them in.

Here is a picture of more of the contents.  At the top we have a tea towel with Aboriginal artwork and an Australian flag sticker.

Below we have some postcards of Aboriginal artwork, animal magnets, Australian coins, a wood carving of an Aboriginal boy, animal stickers, two magnets of Australian scenes in the shape of Australia, and an embarrassingly upside down felt cut out of Australia.

Here we have a map of the different states, some recipes, a tiny pewter koala with baby, Vegemite, a toy koala with boomerang, a real boomerang and the boomerang template.  I'm also still working on a CD with all of our Australian music.  We have the wonderful books from the Rebecca Johnson Australia series.

It's amazing how life works sometimes.  At the exact time we were doing our Australia unit I went to a small import shop that was going out of business.  To my delight they had this didgeridoo on for a ridiculously cheap price and I couldn't resist.  It was perfect timing to bring into my music class and have them all try it out.  At home we've all been learning through Youtube videos!

I've also pictured the learning materials that came with the True Blue Wonders package.

Wow looking at these pictures I'm amazed at how much I was able to fit into that tiny box!!  A huge thank you to our wonderful bloggy friends from Australia (you know who you are!) for sending us some of the cool things in the above pictures.

So now for the giveaway.   I've decided to share all of my files (via email) for my classified cards, definitions, pictures and recipes with three lucky winners.  All you need to do is leave a comment below.  You will get three extra entries if you blog or Facebook about this giveaway and leave a separate comment.  The giveaway will be open until Monday August 8th.  Good luck!

Land and Water Forms at the Beach

It's finally been nice enough to go to the beach!  L did the land and water forms at school this year so she was excited when I suggested we do some at the beach.

strait

bay

This was first a lake and then we added an island.

We did some others but my hands were getting way to sandy to keep taking pictures.  This was super fun and L loved running to the ocean to get the water to fill them up.

Cloud Gazing

We've been learning about clouds.  I had this wonderful vision of L and I lying on our backs in a grassy field gazing at the clouds with the sun on our faces.

Hahaha.  So far we've had two days that didn't involve the oppressive blanket of stratus clouds!

We really are hoping that our summer will start soon!

For our cloud study we first used some classified cards on the four main types of clouds, Cumulus, Cirrus, Stratus and Nimbostratus.  I have to say a huge thank you to my bloggy friend Aude over at My Montessori Preschool.  She did a wonderful unit on clouds earlier in the year which you can read about here.  She was generous enough to send me the file for these great classified cards. (Also a huge thanks for the wonderful things she sent for my Europe continent box, gotta love the people you meet in the blogsphere!).

Here are the cards.  There are two pictures of every type of cloud.  On the one with no label I put the definition on the back.

L made up a cloud book using cotton balls.  I printed up the labels and she cut them out and stuck them on.  She had a blast making this book.

Rain cloud experiment.  We also got this from My Montessori Preschool.  The purpose is to slowly add drops of water to the cotton ball 'cloud' and see how much it will hold before it starts to rain.  L did this three times in a row.

 We also tried making a cloud in a bottle which we both agreed was a fail.  I found some instructions on the Internet but we weren't impressed with the results.

Although we know stratus clouds really well now I'm looking forward to the days when we can name the other clouds and predict the weather.  

Summer of Science

This summer we've been all about science experiments.  As I mentioned in this Dental Health post we've been watching Sid the Science Kid and the show has really inspired us to do the experiments and also add in some of our own.

Flowers

L cut two white tulips from the garden.  We added about ten drops of blue food coloring to a glass and put the tulip into it.  After a couple hours we could already see blue dots along the edges of the petals.  This picture is after one day.  We also tried different colors but the blue was the most effective.

Exercise

We saw this one on Sid the Science Kid.  Learning about how exercise is important and how you can feel your heart beat faster once you've done some exercise.  First L and I thought about different ways you can exercise your body and then we tried them.  Below she has drawn her observations in her science journal.  We tried out biking, hula hooping, running, soccer and dancing.

Does it Dissolve?

I saw this experiment over at The Picky Apple .   We first talked about the definition of dissolve.  We got five different substances, coffee, sugar, lentils, flour and oats.  L poured water into the glasses and then made  predictions on what she thought would dissolve and what wouldn't.

She then poured the substances into the water glasses one by one and stirred them up.  She was able to easily see if they dissolved or not.  I made up labels for Dissolved and Didn't Dissolve and she put the substance labels under the correct headings.

Here are her observations in her science journal.  Sometimes she will write things as well or ask me to write if there are too many words.

Heat

This one was also from Sid the Science Kid and it was really cool.  L learned about how heat changes things.  We demonstrated this by cutting up some apples and putting them in a pot with some cinnamon.  L tried to mash them up but they were way too hard.  We added some water and put them on the stove for about 20 minutes, stirring them constantly. 

L tried to mash them again and they were super soft.  We enjoyed some yummy apple sauce and talked about how this was an irreversible change.  We also talked about what other food gets softer when we cook it such as spaghetti and potatoes and what foods get harder such as pancakes and eggs.

Here are her observations.

We have many more experiments lined up for the following weeks.  I really love the idea of keeping a record in her science journal that we can look back in to remember all of the different experiments.  Thanks Sid the Science Kid!

The Littlest Matryoshka

I just have to share this sweet little book that we've been reading called The Littlest Matryoshka.  It is about a set of six Matryoshka that have been lovingly crafted by a Russian doll maker and sent across the sea to a toy shop in America.  You can read more about the story and see some of the illustrations here.  This page also has some great thought provoking questions about the story.

L and I both love this story and have read it most nights before bed.  We found it at our local library and I would recommend it for all ages.

It has inspired her to get out her own set of Matryoshka to re-create the story and make up ones of her own.  I love how L plays on her own and really uses her imagination.  The other day my mom said she was playing in the sand box and chatting away when she got one of the small pails, brought it over to our dog Petra put it under her and then proceeded to pretend to milk her squirting noises and all!  My mom just about died of cuteness and the dog was a really good sport too!

 

Those Pesky Blueberries!

As I mentioned in an earlier post L is really big on dental health and brushing her teeth at the moment.  She is paranoid about getting cavities.
The other day she had lunch with my mom and had some fresh blueberries for dessert.  After lunch she went to the toilet and while she was washing her hands she looked at her teeth in the mirror.  Well she came out of the bathroom to my mom and her face was a study.  She was horrified and said " Granny, I have cavities in my molars!!".
My mom tried not to laugh and suggested she brush her teeth and see what would happen.
Phew crisis averted it was only bits of blueberries!

Don't forget to enter the gnome home giveaway if you haven't already!

L learning to needle felt

I usually do all of my needle felting at night when L is in bed but I finished up the gnome home for the giveaway in the afternoon.  L saw me needle felting and of course wanted to try.  I was really reluctant at first and explained to her that the needle is super sharp but she still wanted to try.

I set her up with my foam on her knees.  She chose a cookie cutter and then filled it with some of my wool scraps.  I told her to keep her other hand on the couch or holding on to the foam.  She forgot early on, held on to the cookie cutter and poked her finger.  There were a few tears but it didn't deter her and she carried on.  I'm really glad it happened so she is aware now of how sharp the needle really is and is more careful.

 First she did this butterfly and felted on the string to fly it around.  It kind of blends into the flowers here but I love the colors and how it turned out.

 She was so excited about her creation that she wanted to make another one.  She chose this bunny cookie cutter.  I helped her to start with joining on the tail and the eye because you have to hold the wool while you poke but she did 99% of it herself.

I LOVE how these turned out and the fact that L made them by herself (under constant supervision). They now have pride of place on our nature table.  L is going to make some more to give to her teachers for a thank you at the end of the year.

If you like what you see don't forget to enter the giveaway for the gnome home!

Dental Health

Dental health and teeth have been the hot topic around here this past week.  I've been wanting to introduce L to different science experiments and have her start a science journal.  Although I'm really not a big fan of TV for children I'd heard a lot of good things about the show Sid the Science Kid.  I recorded a couple of episodes and watched them.  In my opinion they are a great way to introduce the ideas of exploring, experimenting and recording observations.

So L and I watched the "Teeth" episode where Sid asks why he always has to brush his teeth.  The teacher explains how cavities are formed and about how teeth work.

Talk about the power of suggestion!!(this is why L doesn't watch TV normally).  L is totally obsessed now with brushing her teeth and cavities!  Thank goodness this is a positive thing! 

Here are some of the activities we did.

L explored inside her mouth and all of her different teeth.  We also talked about what they were called.

 We tried different types of food and L noted which teeth she used for each food.

Her favorite part was recording her findings in her new science journal!  Here she has drawn pictures of her different teeth and asked me to label them as she sounded the words out.  We did have a debate over if teeth was spelled with an "f" or "th" at the end.  The "f" won out much to my chagrin.

On the next page she drew the different foods she tried and I helped to write which teeth she used to eat them.

I have several shows recorded and we are going to watch them together and then do the experiments.  Once she has the idea down we will move on to trying our own experiments as well.