This week, we're spending three days on Easter Island... in the South Pacific. I got the idea from a reading comp., workbook page that I found. Since, I had never learned about this remote island..owned by Chile..and its oh-so creepy and mysterious...I thought this would be a perfect adventure to dive into. To explore. Something different then what we've been doing. Isn't homeschooling great? If you're burn out of learning/teaching about the Revolutionary War...you can set your sails south... take a break and go into uncharted territory!
Here's one happy kid. We've got the globe. The table map. A bag of pretzels. A few pencils. And the Venn diagram. I am requiring this precious tween-ager to write a three-day diary of "my journey to Easter Island." He is smiling...because he's actually writing about the cannibals and how he "thinks they probably used blow guns a lot." Oh, I'm sure they did. Only a homeschool family can get away with discussing blowguns at great lengths and the different gross stuff you could blow through them
Here's the poster, with a Venn diagram that Tommie worked on. It has artwork- using oil pastels, vocabulary words, a map and lots of comparison facts. You know, it really is quite an interesting island. And, the statues are amazing...they say, all but one face inward. One of the websites I used for such detailed information is: Easter Island. If you scroll back up and look at the actual statue...they say about 20 feet of it has been dug and buried beneath the land.
Tommie is still pressing on with his Presidential study. He's on Abraham Lincoln. You know in Abe's speech, where he says, "Four score and seven years ago?" Well, I didn't know how long a score is? Do you? It's 20. Geesh, what else didn't I learn in public school?
i bought four emu eggs. they measure just about six inches. and the shell is very, very thick. this is their natural color. much like an acorn squash!
my idea was to buy several of these and paint them funky for Easter. but, my dear brad...really loves the original color. he is not easily impressed...but these were an exception! they knocked his socks off. well, almost.
this is the emu farm... look close, you can see the world's largest non-flying bird- cousin of the ostrich... black head right in the center of this picture...the mate is right up near the fence... stooped down. the birds are native to australia. and grow up to 6 feet 5 inches tall.
This week, we're spending three days on Easter Island... in the South Pacific. I got the idea from a reading comp., workbook page that I found. Since, I had never learned about this remote island..owned by Chile..and its oh-so creepy and mysterious...I thought this would be a perfect adventure to dive into. To explore. Something different then what we've been doing. Isn't homeschooling great? If you're burn out of learning/teaching about the Revolutionary War...you can set your sails south... take a break and go into uncharted territory!
Here's one happy kid. We've got the globe. The table map. A bag of pretzels. A few pencils. And the Venn diagram. I am requiring this precious tween-ager to write a three-day diary of "my journey to Easter Island." He is smiling...because he's actually writing about the cannibals and how he "thinks they probably used blow guns a lot." Oh, I'm sure they did. Only a homeschool family can get away with discussing blowguns at great lengths and the different gross stuff you could blow through them
Here's the poster, with a Venn diagram that Tommie worked on. It has artwork- using oil pastels, vocabulary words, a map and lots of comparison facts. You know, it really is quite an interesting island. And, the statues are amazing...they say, all but one face inward. One of the websites I used for such detailed information is: Easter Island. If you scroll back up and look at the actual statue...they say about 20 feet of it has been dug and buried beneath the land. 
Today, I made a hand's on game for using semi-colon's. I wrote several sentences out on construction paper... as you can see...I drew a semi-colon's on popsicle sticks. Tommie then worked independently on placing the semi-colon in it's proper place...which was a no brainer for him....however, I did make a homemade semi-colon worksheet up to use afterwards... but, it proved to be very challenging, since it was based on Anne Frank. I just love having homemade re-usable games on hand... because this household needs review!
One of my favorite stories around St. Patrick's Day is, Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato by Tomie DePaloa. Each year, since Tommie has been a tot...I'd pull it out and read it. Don't laugh, but...this year- his 5th grade year, was no exception! Today, we sat on the couch and casually read it... I took this opportunity to teach him "cause and effect." I noticed in the spines that I use, I haven't covered that part of language arts. See, that's what's so good about homeschooling... you can catch up in a heartbeat...just by reading an Irish Folktale. 
