What we Actually did for Fourth Grade Physics

Like chemistry the year before, thinking of doing "physics" with a fourth grader was daunting for me, particularly because I had zero education related to physical science or physics proper.  I adopted the same approach during this year that I had the year before - while we tried to cover a number of physical science topics for the year, there were virtually no field trip or other outside activities in our area that pertained to this subject, so we also continued taking the opportunity to attend activities or field trips that pertained to other areas of science.  I'll list what we did by way of physical science topics first, followed by the other science we did over the course of the year.

Force and Motion

Week 1:

Began reading from Experiment with Movement, regarding force and motion.  Also read about the topic from How Science Works (same spine used from last year).

  (We also used this book a little last year....)

Began experiments from Science in a Nutshell:  Energy and Motion.

http://www.delta-education.com/productdetail.aspx?Collection=Y&prodID=1052

Week 2:

Continued Nutshell experiments.

My son read: 

Work:  Forces and Machines, Terry Jennings.
Everything Moves, Seymour Simon.

     (This book contains simple experiments and activities, too....)


(He began reading a lot more in science during this school year, in addition to his other reading.)

Gears

Week 3:

Completed Nutshell.

Read about gears in How Science Works and Experiment with Movement.

Began playing with gears and making gear assemblies.

Week 4:

Continued working on Gears Nutshell.

http://www.delta-education.com/productdetail.aspx?Collection=Y&prodID=1049

Read from The Clock, Wil Mara.



My son read about gears and pulleys from Simple Machines and How They Work, Elizabeth Sharp.
He also read Clocks and How They Go, Gail Gibbons.

  ( I actually got a lot of books at a library book sale the summer before we started this study.  I love the thorough and age appropriate way a lot of these books explain science concepts.  They are not rife with error, as so many more modern books, either....)

Week 5:

Worked more with gears (I also had a couple of kid's game kits that contained gears that he put together.)



Simple Machines

Week 6:

Began study of simple machines, using workbook pages from The Complete Book of Science 3/4.




Read about simple machines in Experiment with Movement.

Read I Want to Know About ... Houses; Circus; Tools for Building (last section) and also The Lever and The Pulley, Hal Hellman.

Finished by reading about simple machines from Science is Exploring, Scott Foresman and Simple Machines and How They Work, Elizabeth N. Sharp.

Electricity

Week 7:

Complete Simple Machines work and began working with the topic of Electricity.  Watched "Tell Me Why" children's DVD regarding "How Things Work"  and "Electricity and Electronic Safety."  Took quizzes at the end of the DVD.

Week 8:  Interruption for USAF Museum Homeschool Day

Attended two seminars regarding Space.  Did a scavenger hunt regarding fighter jets and other fighters.  Reviewed cards on space topics.  Visited various galleries.  Viewed three live demos on "Center of Gravity," "Air Flow," and "Newton's Third Law - every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

Back home, continued our study of Electricity by reading from How Science Works.

Week 9:

Read "How do we use Electrical Current?" from Science is Exploring, Scott Foresman (This was an older textbook that was well written.  I think I picked it up at a library book sale.)

Week 10:

Read from Usborne Young Scientists: Electricity.



Weeks 11 - 14:

Got thrown off track by other things (class at Arboretum) and temporarily halted physics study.

Took an architectural tour of Spindletop Hall.

Visited the Aviation Museum of Central KY with somewhat of an explanation of the physics of flight (which we will be studying later), then toured the airport.

Saw "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium" and received a worksheet on inventions that my son completed during this time period.

Week 15:

Back to Electricity.  We worked through several of the experiments in the Nutshell:  Electrical Connections.

http://www.delta-education.com/productdetail.aspx?Collection=Y&prodID=1054

Magnets

Weeks 16:

Read about magnets in Experiment with Magnets and Electricity.

Also read What Makes a Magnet?  Franklyn M. Branley



Played with magnet set.

Week 17:

Worked through My Very First Magnet Kit.


(This looks similar, but is not exactly the same....)

Week 18:

Catch up and complete all work related to topics covered over the semester.

Weeks 19 - 22:

Side tracked again!  (Mostly due to a Red Cross class.)  You'll have to check the other science areas to see what we managed to cover during this period of time.

Flight

Week 23:

Watched video entitled "Watch 'Em Work:  Fun in Flight" - showed a bird's eye view of how flight works.





Week 24:

My son read:  What's Inside?  Planes



He also began reading:  The Fantastic Cutaway Book of Flight, Jon Richards and How Things Work: Planes, Gliders, Helicopters and Other Flying Machines, Kingfisher, which he continued for several weeks.

           



Week 25:

Viewed LASC exhibit on Physics of Flight and played with interactive parts of exhibit.

Neat Inventions:  Cameras / Things that Float (Boats, Subs, etc.)

Week 26:

My son read Click!  A Book About Cameras and Taking Pictures, Gail Gibbons.  He practiced taking some pictures with a new camera for the next few weeks.

             

He also read Things that Float, Usborne Explainers.

  (This was a free, Chick-fil-A book!)


Week 27:

He continued his science reading on planes....

General Review

Week 28:

Watched "The Best of Beakman's World" with a friend (15 experiments, mostly physics related); then played "Wonders of Science" card game (Professor Noggins) and worked logic puzzles (Mindware).




Week 29:

During spring break week, attended a fantastic, hour long program "Dr. Z" Physics! (At the library.)  It was terrific!  He was given a workbook that he completed the following week that went along with it.

Week 30:

Completed physics workbook.

(He was also attending various 4-H science presentations for several weeks at this time....)

Week 31:

He continued his science reading on planes....

Artificial Intelligence

Week 32:

Read a very good book:  Science on the Edge: Artificial Intelligence, Philip Margulies.



Weeks 33 - 36:

He finished up his reading on planes and read from Inventions Explained, Richard Platt and How Things Work:  Boats, Ships, Submarines and Other Floating Machines, Ian Graham, through the end of the school year.  (He was also involved in some other 4-H programming at this time....)

        


Other Science:  Biology and Environmental Studies:

Week 1:

Viewed "Arctic Tale," regarding animals' struggle for survival on the ice, which is disappearing due to global warming (or something)....

Week 5:

Attended day-long trip to a nearby Fish Hatchery.  Toured the hatchery and learned about ten types of fish they raise, including endangered Lake Sturgeon.  Saw how they raise, feed and care for fish; trucks used to transport them; how bad algae, etc. is controlled (Filamentous Algae).  Learned about good (Blue-green) algae and importance of oxygenation.

Saw Blue Herons, Osprey and evidence of Buzzards.

Did a stream survey with excellent results!  Caught many crayfish and fingerling trout.  Saw algae oxygenating water in afternoon sun.  Used a taxa sheet to fill out a Habitat Survey and Assessment Report.  Results were excellent.

Week 7:

Visit to Salato Wildlife Center (run by state Department of Natural Resources - or something).  Completed scavenger hunt and ecology bingo.  Looked at rotting logs to see what insects were inhabiting them.

Week 8:

Began Arboretum class "All About Fall" by doing a seed walk and starting a collection.
(I think these were two hours, weekly, for four weeks.)

Week 9:

Continued class by starting a leaf collection and how to identify trees from bark.

Also attended fall nature walk at Raven Run and talked about insect hibernation, cocoons, etc.; poisonous plants, insects, etc.; different types of trees and other species native to area.

Week 10:

Talked about pigments in plants and made a wall hanging using pounded flowers and leaves.

Talked at length about various species of bats using models, mounted specimens, and live animals during Cincinnati Museum Center Homeschool Day.  Learned all about troglodyte classes of animals, as well.

Saw reptile display at the UK Geological Survey fall open house.

Attended Bi-water Farm Autumnfest.  Looked at corn; picked pumpkins and looked at other squash varieties; saw lots of farm animals and fed them; saw peacock eggs; saw llamas using a latrine, etc.  ( I have no idea now what that means, lol!)

Week 11:

Finished leaf books.  Talked about seasons, hemispheres, tilt of earth, etc.

Week 12:

Fall hike with scouts at Raven Run.

Week 20 - 22:

Began a Red Cross Basic Aid Training Course.  Eight hours, with certification.  Workbook provided.

Also, in week 20, visited only certified licensed goat cheesery in Kentucky.  Bottle fed babies; milked; learned about pasteurization process and health requirements; sampled goat cheese with herbs.

Week 25:

Visited dairy goat breeder in Winchester.

Week 26:

Saw short program at LASC regarding germs and handwashing; protecting skin from cancer; made vegi prints.

Week 27:

One hour 4-H presentation on Tree Life Cycles.

Week 29:

One hour 4-H presentation on Animal Adaptations and Fur.

Also in this week, saw numerous animals at Harry Potter Camp, Cincinnati Zoo:  snake, opossum, tarantula, crane, etc. - up close and personal.

Weeks 30 - 32:

Assorted 4-H Science presentations (one hour, each), regarding the environment:

"The Lorax" - planted giant sunflowers.

"Little House on the Prairie" - talked about prairie ecology.

"Entomology" - looked at live bugs.

Weeks 32-33:

Began 4-H "Growbiz" class, once weekly, from 10-11:30 at our local food co-op.  Class combined Jr. Achievement (business start-up and sales) with gardening.  Kids planted, raised, harvested, prepared and marketed basil plants. 

Weeks 34-36:

Continued Growbiz.

Attended two, three day each horseback riding camps at Asbury (horse care involved).

During week 35, also watched some Addison-Wesley tapes about different biomes of the earth (but I did not think these were very well done):  "Space Shuttle" - looked down on the different biomes; "Appalachians" - emphasized ecosystems; "Florida Keys" - emphasized air and water; ""Bryce Canyon" - emphasized landforms; and ""Hoh Rain Forest" - emphasized life cycles.

Geology / Earth Science:

Week 7:

Attended a Gem and Mineral Show and collected free sample specimens of lots of types of rocks and minerals.

Week 10:

Attended Cincinnati Museum Center Homeschool Day and did a "Lights Out Tour" of the cave, talking about formations, etc.

Also attended a Geological Survey Open House at UK.  Looked at tons of rocks, mineral and fossil samples.  Collected free samples, too.  Made impressions.  Played with water tables.  Looked at cut-away cave diorama.  Learned about earthquakes.  Learned about capturing CO2 in rocks, etc.

Week 26:

Saw short planetarium show at LASC regarding constellations in our sky.

Attended hour long 4-H presentation on Kentucky regions.  Prepared map and key.

Chemistry

Week 9:

Took part in a Mad Science" workshop at Beaumont Library.  Used the scientific method to experiment with mentos and sodas of various kinds.

Week 23:

Participated in a hands-on chemistry lab at a our local children's museum.  Sponsored and led by a UK chem professor we know. (About 2 hours)

Week 27:

Returned to children's museum to participate in another chemistry lab on viscosity.  Also spoke with professor about his research into creating new solar-powered materials.

Week 28:

Attended 4-H presentation on the water cycle.

So, once again, plenty of science of *some* sort getting done throughout the year, just not always physical science, lol!  I think he still covered a fair portion for his age....

Regena

A Sampling of P.E.

Now, you can accomplish P.E. through recess every day if you make sure your children are moving in some way, but there are, of course, a multitude of ways to approach this, as with any other subject.  Just as with our art and music appreciation, we never used a textbook or curricular approach to this subject.  I sought out activities and approached my child with opportunities as they came up to see if he was interested in them.

Doing things outside the home need not be overly expensive, either.  Sometimes other homeschool parents with expertise in something will trade "classes" with you - they will teach your children (and a group of others) in something they are good at and you return the favor.  There may be some costs for supplies, or you may help provide supplies, but learning something new need not be expensive.

Area libraries or recreational centers, YMCA's, local universities, etc. may all provide free or low cost options for learning.  So look around, listen, and ask questions!  You can also often arrange outside lessons in something for a small group at a low cost during the day when a place might not otherwise be busy - so do approach folks and try to work out deals with them!

Oh!  I'm totally forgetting the President's Physical Fitness program.  Don't know what they do now but you used to be able to log in your child's time and they could earn bronze, silver, or gold medal awards for their fitness activities.  I think there is more than one of these types of programs available to kids now, so do check that out.  My kids always loved getting a prize of some sort from an outside source!  (Which reminds me:  Pizza Hut used to have a Reading Award - don't know if they do it now.  It helped encourage new readers to read more and after that it was just a free pizza every month!  Mine loved it!)  ASK, and ye shall receive....

https://www.presidentschallenge.org/challenge/physical/index.shtml  (It looks like they are changing, but have at least three levels of programming available now....)

And they have a page for homeschoolers now: 

https://www.presidentschallenge.org/participate/ed-homeschoolers.shtml

Also check out:

http://fit.webmd.com/kids/move/game/fitness-challenge-game

http://www.livestrong.com/article/354733-fun-fitness-challenge-games/

https://www.healthykidschallenge.com/

http://kidshealth.org/parent/nutrition_center/staying_fit/exercise.html

Again, since I currently have out my fourth grade notebook, I will just pull the things my son did during that school year that I counted as "P.E."  These things are just to get you thinking about all the options that are out there for you.

Fall:

Eight weeks of golf lessons with a small group at an area golf course. 

This was something I arranged and was a great deal.  The man threw out a price during the day when he would normally have had no business on his course (and he was a great teacher, too - you do want to make sure you're not getting a grump - he ran children's camps in the summer all the time). I told him what price I'd like to get it for.  He told me how many I'd need to get that price.  I advertised and got a group together.  We did it.  Viola!

Twice weekly soccer practice with a local youth soccer league team @ about 1 1/2 hours each.  Games started in September and ran through end of October, generally 1-3 on weekends and about 3-4 on tournament weekends.

Week 4 through Christmas:  swimming with a local USA swim team - three times per week @ one hour each. 

October:

(This was another thing I came up with to get kids together for activities, so I arranged all these with area businesses.)

"Terrific Tuesdays"

Week 1 - bowling, two hours of play
Week 2 - gymnastics - 1 hour lesson plus 1 hour of free play
Week 3 - Kid's Place (a local, indoor maze and tunnel system) - 2 hours of free play in tunnels
Week 4 - Chuck-e-Cheese - lunch and free play

Nature walk of one mile at Raven Run.

Free play outdoors at Bi-water farm (we almost always visited an area farm during their "fall fest" before Halloween).

Attendance at weekend long Webelo's Woods with soccer and other free play; running with dogs, etc. Hiked about two miles on Saturday, up a ridge and down the other side.  Worked on first aid, geology, and various outdoor skills.

November:

Bowling

Three weeks of swimming at the YMCA (2 hours each) for homeschoolers - short lessons in safety and water games.

December:

Three more weeks of swimming at the Y.

Play date at Chuck-e-Cheese.  (Must have filled in fourth week with something through winter.)

January:

Bowling

Three gym and swim classes at YMCA.  One hour of gym class followed by one hour of free swim.

Continued Dolphin's swim through mid-May (wasn't really very happy with it).

February/March:

Completed last three Y gym and swim classes.

Bowling

Dolphin's swimming

March:

"Terrific Tuesdays" made a return!

First week - bowling birthday party
Second week - Chuck-e-Cheese free play
Third week - Kid's Place (tunnels) free play
Fourth week - bowling

Spring soccer season began.

Swim break for two weeks.

April:

Free play at park once weekly for two hours.  We had various groups that met for YEARS at area parks any time the weather was nice enough!

Gymnastics on cold days (there was one place here that allowed free play during a time when they would have otherwise had no business at a very low cost).

Soccer continued.

Swim resumed.

May:

Soccer concluded by end of month.

Winter swim concluded by end of month.

Continued park day free play (people met throughout summer if not too hot, too....)

At the end of May, he participated in two, three day horseback riding camps, back to back.  Asbury University, near us, has a working horse farm as part of their equine program and has done horseback riding for kids for many, many years.

Think of places in your area that provide opportunities for play or movement (if you live in a cold area you need some indoor places, too, if possible). 

Find out what hours they are open (or if they would be willing to open during "off" hours if they had some business - they might be there doing paperwork or something, anyway).  Try to arrange a "group rate" that is something your group could manage.  Talk to people in your homeschool community beforehand to see what, if anything, they can afford. 

If they cannot afford to pay anything, then look only for completely free offerings.  Some places might be willing to do a single free "demo class" for a group in order to try to drum up more business - so you might do a round of things like that one time.... 

Again, ask before you try to start scheduling if there are particular days/times that are better for more people, when they would be more likely to participate.  Try to make your events at the same day and time each week, if possible, so that people will be less likely to forget about it!

If you need free activities, check out your local library, recreation center, or parks in your area to see if they will provide either a one-time activity for your group, or perhaps a series of things over the course of a month or so.

If you live in an area where there is strong scouting and/or 4-H programming, then by all means take advantage of things they offer!

Regena

Fourth Grade Art and Music Appreciation

Look how different this is from our third grade year!  (Posted earlier)  Every single year is like that....

Week 1:

Viewed the beautiful cinematography of National Geographic's "Arctic Tale."



(Probably better on the big screen....)

Continued with piano lessons for the year.

Played a song at the end of one of the Russian folktales we read.

Week 2:

Read a book on Giuseppe Verdi as we studied mid-1800's Italy.  Listened to some of his music.

Began preparing for recital.

Week 3:

Visited UK Art Museum for "Hidden Treasure Tour."

Week 4:

Visited Cincinnati Art Museum to see "From Sea to Shining Sea" touring art show.

Began year long art class for children, taught in the Mona Brooks style.  Weekly lessons.  (So I won't repeat this, but will just list other things we did....)

Week 5:

Participated in Cincinnati Museum Center's homeschool day "Treasures of the Whydah" (a pirate ship recently recovered from the sea).  Toured National Geographic "Whydah" exhibit.

Week 6:

Saw children's theatre play:  "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe."

Week 9:

Attended "Dia de Los Muertos" ballet performance at Singletary.

Listened to Armenian music.

Week 10:

Visited Bi-water Farm for Autumnfest.  Enjoyed Halloween and Harvest décor in the outdoors on a lovely day!

Week 11:

Attended production of "Hana's Suitcase" (a play about WWII).

Week 12:

Saw theatre production of "Old Dry Frye."

Began attending free children's music class at Asbury (training for their music teacher students - 45 minutes, once weekly for six sessions).

Week 13:

Saw "Horse" art exhibit at Bluegrass airport.

Asbury music class.

Week 14:

Saw movie, "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium" - visually beautiful!



(Another that's probably better on the big screen....)

Completed a "stuffed turkey" craft at the library.

Asbury music class.

Saw "Sugar Plum" ballet performance at library.

Week 15:

Read The Great Migration, which was filled with the modern art of Jacob Lawrence and a poem by Walter Dean Myers.



Saw a children's theatre version of "Alice in Wonderland" that was visually stunning!

Attended "Extreme Explorers" group at the library to learn about holidays and traditions around the world - created a rain stick.

Asbury music class.

Week 16:

End of art class until after Christmas.

Asbury music class.

Week 17:

Attended free art workshop (I have no idea where or what this was about now....)

Saw children's theatre play "Laura Ingall's Wilder Christmas."

Asbury music class (last).

Week 18:

Resumed drawing classes, once weekly for 90 minutes.

Visited Waveland state historic site - beautifully decorated home of the mid-1800's.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSLLiuEtKGg

Listened to "Wee Sing for Christmas."



Played three songs in piano recital, including Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.

Week 19:

Visited Lexington History Museum in the old downtown courthouse - great architecture!





Week 20:

Did "Extreme Explorers" group at the library re: Ancient Egypt.

Week 21:

Piano lessons resumed after Christmas.

Week 22:

Attended "Pecos Bill and Slue Foot Sue" theatre production.

Week 23:

Helped make table décor for Blue and Gold Banquet, Cub Scouts.

Attended Valentine's party.

Week 24:

Saw "Spiderwick Chronicles" - beautiful cinematography.

Week 26:

Saw "10,000 B.C. - Modern Take on Ancient Fables" - well done.

Week 27:

Saw Roald Dahl's "BFG" play production (visually very exciting and a little scary!)

Attended Singletary's orchestral performance "Lincoln: The Man and His Music."

Week 28:

Read and discussed: 

Zin! Zin! Zin! AViolin, Lloyd Moss and What Makes an Orchestra, Jan Balet.

     

Week 29:

Read Look!  Zoom in on Art!, Gillian Wolfe, and discussed.





Attended third year of "Hogwart's School" at Cincinnati Zoo - very theatrical!

Week 30-31:

Continued with piano lessons and theory work.  Did a short study on Haydn at this time.

Week 32:

Listened to "Gift of the Tortoise."  (One of my all-time FAVORITE children's CD's of music - by Ladysmith Black Mambazo.)




Week 33:

Last art class for year.

Week 34:

Listened to "Cool Jazz" CD of Charlie Parker on sax.

Week 35:

Listened to "Cool Jazz" CD of Miles Davis on trumpet.

Week 36:

Watched "Sister Wendy's Story of Painting:  Modernism."  (Very good, as are all her videos!)  I don't know if these have been updated to play on CD....

Soooooo....  What would this year be?  The year of Cinematography and Art Lessons?  Sampling the world, musically speaking?

Building an Appreciation of Art and Music

We all know that the arts has received short shrift in all too many schools over the years.  There are so many ways to learn to appreciate art and music that you could literally do different things every single year, I think. 

Our art and music appreciation time over the years seldom involved any sort of formalized study and did look at least somewhat different every year.  I thought I'd give you a snapshot of one year, and have just randomly picked third grade, since I have that notebook out right now.

I happen to live in a somewhat smaller city and we have had a lot of access to theatre here over the years.  Many of our theatres offer school day performance rates that are about half the rate for regular theatre goers.  They have generally welcomed homeschoolers to join other school groups for these performances, so we have been lucky in that regard.

Here's what we did, generally by month:

August/September:

My son was into coloring during this particular year.  It was one of the only years that he ever wanted to color.  He would color the pages that went along with our Story of the World reading while I read to him.  I also had some Dover and Bellepheron books and he colored some pictures from those to add to his history notebook, as well.  He did this all year.

We read parts of A History of Britain Through Art, Jillian Powell.

Made large tissue flowers for geography class (studying Mexico, I believe....)

My son worked on a Kentucky scrapbook through most of the fall semester, for a co-op class that I taught.  We also had some field trips to various Kentucky locales to go along with the class.

He also was in a 4-H Horseless Horse Club for fall and worked on a scrapbook for that.

We read Echoes of the Elders and enjoyed the beautiful artwork of Chief Lelooska.

 

We attended a production of "Aesop's Fables" at our local children's theatre.

We also attended a production of "Huck Finn" in the same month.

We saw a production called "Kentucky Adventure," which was an interactive play at Fort Harrod (part of our Kentucky history class).

My son took piano and guitar lessons throughout fall.  He was preparing for a winter get together and his winter piano recital.  Piano was thirty minutes, once weekly.  Guitar was 45 minutes, once weekly.

Began year long theatre class at co-op.

October:

Attended a flower arranging class for Junior Master Gardener's at the arboretum.

Saw interpreter at Raven Run speaking about early settlers and the role of surveyors (also for KY history class)....

Made a flower arrangement for our home.

Looked at beautiful paintings in the book Children of China.  (These books generally went along with the history period we were studying at the time....)




Made a paper butterfly - pattern from the book Made in China.

  (I *think* this was the book....)


Saw a musical version of "Paul Revere."

Made a leaf collection scrapbook at arboretum, then walked the scarecrow trail (local people compete for most interesting scarecrow designs).

Read about some of the world's great composers of the 1700's (Germany/Austria).

Focus on Tchiakofsky for piano studio students this fall.

Symphony demonstration and "petting zoo" during theatre class at co-op one day.

November:

Saw Offrenda display in connection with "Dia de Los Muertos" ballet performance.

Saw and had an opportunity to speak with re-enactors at Old Salem and Bathabara Communities in Winston/Salem, NC.

Saw beautiful German made toys at the Toy Museum in Old Salem; also, beautiful examples of riflery, pottery and embroidery.

Listened to "Mr. Bach Comes to Call."




Listened to "Hallelujah Handel."




December:

Saw "A Christmas Carol" at the Opera House.

Saw a musical version of "The Shoemaker and the Elves."

Played piano at winter fest for co-op.

Played in piano recital.

January:

Continuing piano and guitar lessons.

Began art class at co-op.

Saw musical "Freedom Train" performance.

Saw "Rikki, Tikki, Tavi" at children's theatre.

February:

Saw "Anansi the Spider" at children's theatre.

Attended two Valentine's parties.

Continued art class and music lessons.

Visited Jack Jouett House (part of KY history).

Saw IMAX movie "Hurricane on the Bayou."

Celebrated Mardi Gras at home.

Went to Louisville to read for Young Authors and toured newspaper operations while there.

March:

Attended Harry Potter Camp at the Cincinnati Zoo.

Had a pirate birthday party!

Continued art class and music lessons.

Saw musical version of "Bridge to Terebithia" at children's theatre.  Wow - this was really a year for musicals, wasn't it?

Played a game about artists and their work.  (Have no idea now what this was....)

April:

Art class ends.

Music lessons continue.

Year-long "theatre class" at co-op finally really kicks into gear and the kids get serious about practicing their parts, etc. as the play date looms....  Play rehearsals intensify and become all-consuming....

There is a rehearsal dinner prior to the first performance and a cast party after it is all over.  It really does take up a LOT of time during this month.  Our production was a musical version of "The Secret Garden."

May:

Saw "A Year With Frog and Toad" (and it was a fantastic production - so glad we went, just for old times sake, since we love their books....)  AND, YOU GUESSED IT - IT WAS A MUSICAL!

Attended first wedding reception and danced the night away!

Visited wonderful artisan galleries in Amana, Iowa.  My son loved the copper sculpture studio.

Attended "Alebrijes!" ballet and viewed alebrijes artwork display from Oaxaca, Mexico.

Finished up coloring for history and geography sections of notebook.

Guitar lessons end.  Piano continues over summer.

Every year is so different!  If I pulled the fourth grade elements of art and music you would get a very different picture.  This was obviously the year of the musical....

Regena

What About Writing, Any Way?

I don't speak much about writing.  While I was considered a *good* writer in school (whatever that means), I've never really thought of myself as a good writing teacher, or coach.  My older son always wrote pretty effortlessly and had handwriting so good when he was little (now - not so much, lol!) that no one believed it was his writing.  They always accused me of writing things for him, lol - until I showed them MY bad handwriting.  His was much better than mine!  He used the entire Writing Strands program pretty much on his own and without difficulty.

My younger son was a whole 'nother animal.  He seems to have a "shadow" dysgraphia issue (according to a psychologist we see from time to time) and when he was little, he was definitely NOT ready to write, or writing well (in terms of handwriting or composition), at the same age as his brother.  I decided to take things slowly with him and try to allow him to excel at oral work as much as possible but still keep him writing some on worksheets for very short answers, etc.

So he WAS "writing" down plenty of work during the day.  Those hand muscles have to get exercise or it never really gets any easier - but he was not doing anything nearly like I had done the first time around.

In our homeschool, we always incorporated writing across the curriculum as much as possible, so I did not do a lot of writing just for the sake of writing - my younger son's writing was related to his science work, his geography work, his history or literature work, etc.  That said, we did do a little writing to try to give him a framework for expressing himself.

I thought I'd take a look at what he did during fourth grade, in terms of both handwriting practice and actual composition work.

In addition to his Getty Dubay workbook, a few grammar exercises and writing of spelling "trouble" words, filling in spelling workbook pages, taking spelling tests, filling in the math workbooks, etc., here are other things he did:

Throughout the fall, we read through Writer's Express about the process of getting started in writing, pre-writing and drafting, revising and editing.



My son wrote, over the course of several months, four types of paragraphs:  descriptive, narrative, persuasive, and expository. 

He also completed most of the exercises from the writing section of Abeka grammar and did a research report set forth in his grammar book.  The report was on George Washington Carver.

In January, he wrote an informational essay from Writing Express.

We did poetry work throughout the year and he wrote some poetry.  He participated in a once weekly, three-part poetry workshop at our local library.  At home we worked on Limericks and Haiku, among other forms.

We finished the year with a little workbook I had used earlier and liked for my older son:  Spectrum Writing.  I started it at the very end of third grade and my younger son worked the first two units of it then.  In looking over the books online now, I see that they have changed them to color illustrations and also seem to have rewritten them.  The closest one I see is the grade 4 book, so that must be what we used.  The newest edition has been rewritten again, and I'm not sure that I like it as well....  He completed sections 3-5 of a book very like the one shown in fourth grade.

  (This is the one I see that is most like what we used.)

The sections completed included:

Writing Comparisons - several lessons that include both short answer, fill in the blank type questions, as well as some longer writing of a few sentences, leading up to writing a paragraph.  Each section ends with a lesson on revising, another on proofreading, and a post-test.

Writing Details - each section is set up similarly.  He was already writing longer paragraphs, more of them, and even page long stories by the time he hit this section.  Now, the content, the penmanship, and the even the grammar (not to mention the spelling) still needed a LOT of work - but he WAS writing!

Writing Facts and Opinions - same set up as other sections.  (The sections covered in the prior year were:  Writing Main Ideas and Writing in Sequence.)

He also completed some copywork throughout the year.  I was able to print out a free copy of "My Lessons and Carols Copybook" (don't see the author's name anywhere on it) and he worked on it to help with his cursive practice during the months of December and January (because we did not work on it during Christmas break from school).

Oh!  I see that it is still available on Lulu.com:  http://www.lulu.com/shop/julie-shields/my-lessons-and-carols-copybook-gdi-cursive-gr-3-7/paperback/product-3928823.html

Julie Shields is the author.  She also has copybooks that go along with The Story of the World series, among other things.  She does these not just in Getty Dubay italic, but also in other scripts.

Also, I picked up some of the Draw Write Now books used from another homeschooler and he created his own little book (using those pages that have the space at the top for a picture and large lines at the bottom for children's writing, which I bound together in construction paper end plates).



So even though you don't see writing mentioned too much in my posts, it DID get done! 

Regena

So, What did we REALLY do for Third Grade Chemistry?

Attempting chemistry with a child was rather daunting for me, as I am old enough and came from such a small rural high school that I never received a good background education in chemistry, and it wasn't even required for my major in college at the time (should have been)....  Attempting an elementary version for the first time with my second son, I didn't entirely stick with it for the year (did much, much better when he was in middle school, the second time around).  This is just to show you that if you feel you need to change course during the year (for whatever reason), you can STILL manage to get in a good bit of science for an elementary child and make it worthwhile.

I always kept notebooks of sample work and weekly notes of what we did for each class.  I started this because I was always afraid I would have a compliance officer standing on my doorstep some morning when I was least prepared for them, but the notebooks have proved a wealth of information to me on numerous topics over the years, so I am very glad I kept them!

Our third grade science year:

Week 1 (as you will see from my curriculum post for this grade, we were supposed to be doing science daily):

What is Matter - States of Matter:  Solids, Liquids, Gases - What is Matter Made Of - Atoms and their Parts

Began intro to chemistry with How Science Works and Visual Factfinder:  Science and Technology (see my reading list on chemistry for details).

Began talking about elements, the periodic table and properties of elements. 

Did experiments re: brittleness and hardness.

Did experiment re: space taken up by solid vs. liquid form of same substance, using oil/butter/margarine, whipped butter and water (margarine good for demonstrating mixtures).

Read from How Science Works re: insides of atoms, elements, and compounds.

Did experiments on liquids re: viscosity and boiling point.  (All these first experiments are to be found in the How Science Works book, by the way.)

Week 2:

Continued reading from How Science Works re: inside an atom, elements and compounds....  (See how I'm already falling off?  I had a ninth grader still at home and was attending to his needs/classes/ extra-curriculars, too....)

Week 3:

Chemical Reactions

Read from How Science Works about chemical reactions. 

Remember!  Most schools don't really do science (or not to any depth) with children this young.  ANY science, especially with some discussion and experimentation, is a lot more than they will get at this age in most schools!  (Making excuses....)

Week 4:

Acids and Bases / Salts and Soaps

Read from How Science Works re: acids and bases, salts and soaps.

Week 5:

Organic Chemistry

Read from How Science Works re: organic chemistry.

Began "Mad Scientist Club"  (thought this would be an "out" for me, lol - teacher taught one class, on chemical reactions (acids and bases), then had a sick parent and went away for the rest of the semester....)

Week 6:

Atoms and Molecules

Read The Story of Oxygen, Karen Fitzgerald.



Oh!  We had one more "Mad Scientist" I forgot about - talked about properties of liquids (density) and made a "lava" lamp (different liquids of different densities in a column....)

Club did also provide us with info on Paracelsus (alchemist) and experiments with filling a balloon using a baking soda/vinegar reaction and talk of exothermic vs. endothermic reactions.  Had an observation/conclusion sheet to fill out.  Also, steps of the scientific method info sheet; "The Matter Rap;" and a similar observation/conclusion sheet for the oil and water molecule mixing on the second meeting date....  So that was something....

Week 7:

Read Routes of Science: Atoms and Molecules, Chris Woodford, et al



Week 8:

Continue Atoms and Molecules

Did intro vocab work from Adventures with Atoms and Molecules and first experiment watching atoms of blue dye dispersing through water and atoms of vanilla extract dispersing into the air of the room from inside a balloon.

Read A Drop of Water, Walter Wick.



Week 9:

Read The Quark, Fred Bortz



Did experiment to determine how small molecules are.

Did experiment to see how molecules move when heated/cooled.

Read What's Smaller than a Pygmy Shrew?  Robert Wells.



Read Hot as an Ice Cube, Philip Balestrino.




Week 10:

Looking at Sugar Molecules in Solution; Properties of Syrups; Nutritional Component of Sugars

Read:

Fats, Oils, and Sweets, Helen Frost
From Flower to Honey, Robin Nelson
From Maple Trees to Maple Syrup, Kristen Keller
Sugaring Season, Diane Burns
Let's Learn About Sugar, Maud and Miska Petersham
Ininatig's Gift of Sugar, Laura Wittstock (traditional sugar making)

      



     


Did experiment to see if there's space between sugar molecules.

My son was active in a 4-H Horse Club this year (for kids interested in horses who did not own horses) and related to our horse science studies he also watched a couple of videos this week:  "Justin Morgan Had a Horse" and "Eyewitness Horse."  He completed a worksheet regarding Justin Morgan and the Morgan Horse.

(See how I'm starting to get the idea that I can still do other science besides just chemistry?)

Week 11:

Acidity All Around Us:  Ozone; Other Acids in Nature and the Atmosphere (Acidic Gases)

Re: acids and bases, read selections from the book Ozone, Kathlyn Gay (You don't have to read ALL of every book - especially with smaller children!  Just read applicable parts; read captions or tables, etc. to draw them in and give them a taste without killing them - or yourself....)

Also read:

The Air We Breathe!  Enid Bloome
What Makes a Lemon Sour?  Gail Haines

Did experiment to see if gas molecules are further apart than liquid molecules.

Did experiment mixing a base with various acids to make gases.

Week 12:

Did the following experiments:

1) To see if molecules are attracted to a charge;
2)  To see if similar molecules attract each other.
3)  To show that work creates heat in molecules.

Week 13:

Reading about the scientific revolution in history this week:  Galileo and Newton.  Read several books regarding scientific theory, etc.  (Hehehe, make one class count for two....)

Watched "Magic School Bus Plays Ball," re: Newtonian Theory of Gravity, Friction, etc.  (Yes, really more physics related, but STILL science!)

Chemistry of Cooking (was *supposed* to start kitchen chemistry experiments here but it took a while....) - Yeasts

Read From Grain to Bread, Ali Mitgutsch.

Week 14:

Chemistry of Color

Read from:  What do You see and how do You see It?  Exploring Light, Color, and Vision, Patricia Lauber.

Also read My Science Book of Light, Neil Ardley and The Science Book of Color, Neil Ardley.

     

(Also more physics than chemistry....)

Week 15 and 16 - I got nothin'....

Week 17:

Began "Tree of Life" biology class (YES, I said BIOLOGY - I was teaching it at co-op, which is probably why I didn't get to science at home the two prior weeks....)

Started class with Bacteria and Protists, Classification, etc.  A professor from Transylvania University here in town brought good microscopes so we could look at stuff up close.  The kids drew and labeled basic parts of bacteria.  They also sketched what they saw on the slides they looked at and we discussed.

We then moved on, over the next several weeks,  to "bugs," amphibians, fish, reptiles (and a 4-H guy brought live samples to look at), then birds (we raised baby chickens using a 4-H loaned incubator), and finally finished up looking at some fungi.

I used a variety of worksheets related to the reptiles and amphibians and when the 4-H person brought some to class, they also sketched their favorites. They completed a critical thinking worksheet categorizing cold-blooded vertebrates (amphibians, fish, reptiles).

I provided them with lots of worksheets related to birds as we incubated our chicks.  And, at the end of class, they sketched some of the fungi we studied....

Week 18:

Energy:  Electricity and Sunlight

Read Energy Makes Things Happen, Kimberly Bradley - talked about examples given at end of book: toy cars striking in a row; tracing energy back to the sun, etc.  (AGAIN, more physics related, but batteries that fuel a lot of the electrical connections we're talking about do so through a chemical reaction, so I've always done energy as part of chemistry and physics, combined....)




Read Science Experiments: Energy, John Farndon.  Talked about the simple examples given as experiments, most of which we've often done, such as swinging, archery, jumping on a trampoline, etc.




Week 19:

More Acidity in Nature:  Acidic Liquids:  Acid Rain

Read and discussed Acid Rain, Mary Turck.



Read The Magic School Bus and The Electric Field Trip, Joanna Cole.



Watched "The Magic School Bus: Getting Energized" - use of new energy sources.

(Tree of Life Class:  Arthopods - I kept a separate notebook for this class so didn't list everything about it here....)

Week 20: 

4-H visited Tree of Life Class with live arthropods and mounted insects.  Brought scorpions, spiders, millipedes, hissing cockroaches, stick insects, etc.

I provided lots of insect/arthropod related worksheets for this portion of the class and the kids also sketched some of their favorites.  I also had puzzles, stamping kits to create your own insect; insect glasses or monoculars for them to experiment with how insects see, etc., etc.

Read:

All About Light, Lisa Trumbauer




How Did we Find out About Sunshine?  Isaac Asimov


Week 21:

Carbon Chemistry

Read from Sparks of Life: Carbon, Jean Blashfield.



Week 22:

Read from Invisible Journeys: Energy, World Book





Week 23:

Read from Acid Rain, Alex Edmonds




Week 24: 

My son began a two series physics class with an outside instructor (an hour long each).  Sketched a variety of simple machines.

Week 25:

Outside physics class continued.  (All hands-on experimentation.)

Week 26:

Little mini-co-op had another instructor who did a two series chemistry class (each an hour long).

Week 27:

Second outside chemistry class.  (All hands-on experimentation.)  Completed numerous worksheets on atoms and molecules; elements; etc.

Week 28:

Last class for Tree of Life. (I kept a separate notebook on the details of that class....)

Colloidal Suspensions

Read From Grass to Milk, Stacy Taus-Bolstad and From Milk to Ice Cream.

              



Week 29:

Read How Did we Find out About Superconductivity?  Isaac Asimov.





Week 30:

Did experiments from the book Chemistry and Cooking, Philip Carona.  (FINALLY.  I had only kept it overdue from the library for long enough to buy the poor little water-logged thing from the 1970's a hundred times over....)  I LOVE this book!

Read From Egg to Chicken, Robin Nelson.



Week 31: 

Attended Cincinnati Museum Center homeschool day regarding insects.  Saw Goliath, Bird-eating Spider.

I don't have notes for the last five weeks.  So I either fizzled completely or didn't manage to get them in the book, lol....  In looking back, however, he did do about 36 experiments - so that averages to one per week....

Other outside activities he did during the year:

In September, we visited an Apple Farm and toured the cider press, etc.  Owner explained raising of apples and making of cider, vinegar, etc. 

At the end of September our Arboretum at UK held a fall leaf collection workshop.

In the fall, I led a 4-H Horse Club (stopped finally due to poor attendance) to several field trips at area farms, etc.  We visited Ramsey Farm first and learned all about how a horse farm operates.  We also visited Claiborne Farms Stallions.

We saw the IMAX film "Hurricane on the Bayou" all about Hurricane Katrina.

He attended Harry Potter Camp at the Cincy Zoo, where they always do a little chemistry magic....

He attended the USAF Museum homeschool day, where they always have physics classes.  He did "Fun with Flight" and "Space Colony."  He sketched loads of planes in the wake of our visit.


All in all, it's a LOT more than you think when you look back.  Even if you don't stay organized or on track or on schedule, or whatever - just keep seeking those science opportunities and science WILL BE LEARNED!  This kid is now a math and science kid who wants to be a vet (I know, I know, the outlook is horrible....) 

He just got in to our Governor's Scholar summer program here (don't know if all states have something like this but it insures free or greatly reduced in-state tuition and can even help with scholarships to out of state schools)....  He has taken Honors Biology, Honors Anatomy, Honors Geophysical Science, Honors Chemistry, AP Physics 1 and is on track to take AP Biology and AP Physics 2 next year.  I am a totally non-physical science kinda person (save for geology).  You CAN cover subjects with your child, when young, and instill a love of learning in them for that subject that will stand them in good stead when they are older.

Regena