Timeline

 

Homeschool 2014 / Grades: 1st & Pre-K

We have begun our study of History by making a Timeline.

I am so glad that my grandchildren are able to study some subjects together, such as History, Science, and Art.  

St. Patrick's Day Craft...

 

 

Not only did the kids' "wearing of the green" craft project help prevent them from being pinched, (who started that crazy tradition, anyway? lol!) but it also set the stage for learning how St. Patrick used Ireland's own shamrock (three leafed clover) to teach the natives about the Trinity (the three manifestations of the one God). 

"M m" is for "Mittens"...

 

 

We have been learning the letter "M m".  "M m" is for "Mittens".  Today we learned the poem / story about the "Three Little Kittens Who Lost Their Mittens" (literature / reading).  My two young students and I made a large poster depicting these kittens wearing their mittens (art).  The kittens represented each of them, as well as their baby brother.  This poster makes a great visual aid for learning the story, learning rhyming words, recognizing the letter "M m" and the sound it makes (phonics), learning the opposite words "lost" and "found", learning colors (brown, black, tan, etc.),  and learning to recognize the numbers 1-2-3 (math). I suppose the story of the three little kittens could also be counted as a social studies lesson as it shows how irresponsible behavior will result in a negative consequence. 

 

"M m" is also for "Mammal".  We discussed the characteristics of mammals (science).  They are warm-blooded, have hair / fur, give birth to live young, and they produce milk to feed their babies.

Our poster is almost as large as the children's school table, which will comfortably seat 4 small students.

"R r" is for Rocket ( lift-up book ) craft project...

Fold a piece of cardstock in half to make a tall, slim book approx. 11 and a half inches tall and 4 and half inches wide.  Copy a free coloring picture of a rocket from the internet, color, and glue to the front of the book.  Give your book a title.

On the inside of the book / card stock sheet, color the right half black (outer space).  Add star stickers or dabs of glitter glue, and a partial picture of the moon (to the top of the page). My moon picture was cut from a magazine.  If you prefer, you could copy a picture of the moon (to color) from the internet.  

Next, color half of another piece of cardstock black.  Cut the black section away from the whole page. Cut about 1/5 of the length off of the top of the black section.  Put glue on the back of the lower 1/4 of this piece and attach it to the bottom of the black, colored side of your book.  Add a partial picture of the earth to the bottom.  My earth picture was cut from a magazine.  If you prefer, you could copy a picture of the earth (to color) from the internet.  

Fold this black section in half toward you.  Then fold the upper half (also in half) away from you.  Attach a small picture of a rocket to the top fold with the tip of the rocket and the exhaust from the rocket extending slightly past the upper and lower edges.  

Unfold the loose, black section and color in some exhaust fumes ascending upwards from the earth to the rocket.  Add more star stickers or dabs of glitter glue.  On the left-hand side of the page/book, add some facts about rockets, the moon, the first man to walk on the moon, etc.  Add a "countdown to blast-off" if you'd like.  This would be a good way to bring numbers/math/counting backwards into your lesson.  After everything has dried well, fold down the rocket section, then unfold it back up to demonstrate how it travels to the moon.

Curriculum covered by this project:  Science,  Math,  Art,  History / Social Studies.  You could even add a Geography lesson by finding on a map and/or globe the location of the blast-off.

A fun way to do school!

I got this idea from the Teacher Resource Book entitled How to Make Books with Children, Volume 2  by: Joy Evans & Jo Ellen Moore.