mcconnellboys
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Posts posted by mcconnellboys
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These are the things I had picked out to go along with SWB's history of the world and a Spielvogel text. This was with the understanding that every bit of every work might not get covered:
Bible: Genesis – Job (weeks 1-2; two hours per day devoted to reading; using an easy to read version of the Bible for this work)
Gilgamesh (week 3)
Homer: The Iliad, trans. Robert Fitzgerald (week 4-5)
Homer: The Odyssey (week 7-10)
Greek Lyrical Poetry: Sappho, Pindar (week 11)
Sophocles: Oedipus the King
Agammemnon -
Herodotus: The Histories, Robin Waterfield, Trans. (week 12 - 15)
Euripides: Medea (week 16)
Aristophanes: The Birds
Other Euripides?
Thucydides: The Peloponnessian War, Steven Lattimore, Trans. (week 17 - 20)
Plato: The Republic, Desmond Lee, Trans. (week 21 - 22)
Aristotle: On Poetics, Seth Benardete, Trans. (week 23)
Aristotle: Rhetoric – online book: http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/a/aristotle/a8rh/
Read the book of Daniel in the Bible
Horace, from Lit of West. Civ. - Do both the Odes and his Satire (week 24)
Lucretius: On the Nature of Things, A. E. Stallings, Trans.
Cicero: The Republic (and the Laws), Niall Rudd, Trans. (week 25)
Virgil: Aeneid – online: http://classics.mit.edu/Virgil/aeneid.html (week 26 - 27)
Ovid: Metamorphoses, Mary Innes, Trans. (week 28)
Bible: Corinthians I and II (week 29)
Wars of the Jews, Josephus, Betty Radice, Trans. (selections - week 30 - 31)
Plutarch: The Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, Robin Waterfield, Trans. (week 32 - 34)
Tacitus: Annals – use online version to cover what we can this week and perhaps next: http://classics.mit.edu/Tacitus/annals.html (wks. 35 and perhaps continue some during next week, if possible)
Saint Athanasius: On the Incarnation available through Amazon - Also online: http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/history/ath-inc.htm (week 36)
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Mine is up: http://greenapplesblush.blogspot.com/2012/04/week-30-2012.html
...and here is last week, which I didn't manage to get up until late:
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I'm afraid they're jumping the gun on the shelving, LOL!
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We make x-box, etc. go away for extended periods of time when attitudes get bad.
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As others have said, all Coolidge's books are adapted for children and a joy to read!
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I think this topic is too broad and daunting for me! There are just too many choices....
Do you want great classics for all ages, such as Tolkeins works or the Narnia series?
Do you want other great children's classics, such as Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, Frog and Toad, The Wind in the Willows, Amelia Bedelia?
Or do you want more specific historical fiction for different time periods, such as The Golden Goblet, The Bronze Bow, or Rosemary Sutcliff's many wonderful books? Laura Ingalls Wilders books, or Francis Hodgins Burnetts books?
Or do you want non-fiction that is really literary, such as Rachael Carsons works? (The Sea Around Us, et al) Walden? Pilgrim at Tinker's Creek? I like books such as Napoleon's Buttons, too....
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I think the newer version is good! My son also loved this book (he read it on his own). He loved Little Lord Fauntleroy, too....
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I got Easy Grammar Plus for seventh grade and we would read through the "lesson" pages, then do one workbook exercise page a day. I saved some of the exercises in each area for eighth grade and we're going back over the "lesson" pages this year, then he's completing those other exercises. I also added in the new, EG Ultimate book this year and he does one page of that a day, too....
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I LOVE this! Please tell us more as you go on!
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Of those you mentioned, I like Island of the Blue Dolphins or Heidi best. My son loved Little Lord Fauntleroy. We both like The Borrowers....
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My older son began violin at age 6 and the younger one started piano young. I don't know if Kindermusik classes are still around (they used to go up to age 7 or 8), but they also might provide a musical outlet for you, if available in your area....
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I have heard that some schools are taking the Forest Kindergarten idea and expanding it for older students. I don't find anything online right now except one program from Spain that is a "forest club" of sorts. They seem to be taking the "man vs. wild" approach by teaching lots of survival skills, but that sort of thing could be expanded to learning about herbs and other wild, edible plants (and by extension, all areas of botany: flowers, tree i.d. work, etc.) Of course, nature study, entomology, pond and stream studies, soil studies, and other such things could be incorporated, too.
http://www.forestschoolspain.com/
Here's some more info at another site that identifies a list of concepts covered:
http://www.treejumpers.com/forest-schools-in-kent/early-years-primary-schools.aspx
Depending on the area where you live, you could come up with potentially lots of patterning and number problem ideas. In my neighborhood, for instance, I'd have my son find out how many streets are in the neighborhood and which is the longest/shortest. I'd have him count a representative sample (say, 10%, including the longest and shortest streets), then find an average number of homes per street and multiply that by the total number of streets to get an estimate of the total houses in the neighborhood. Then we'd compare that to the actual number and talk about finding averages, sample sizes, etc.
Are you in a neighborhood where the same xxxx number of types of houses are built? Is there a pattern to those (only one of each type per street, or every so many houses, for instance?)
Survey the neighbors on any number of subjects (if they're friendly)....
Are there certain types of trees required to line the streets in your neighborhood? Our town has a set number of types that are suggested to line streets. Our neighborhood has all one type, but is looking to change over to allow a variety. If you have a variety, is there a pattern to how they're set out? Can you count the trees on a certain number of streets (as above), then find an average and estimate how many there are lining all the streets of the neighborhood?
Do you have water features in your neighborhood? If so, can they walk off the perimeter or length of those? How about finding out the depth and calculating volume of water held in them? You can drop a leaf in a stream and measure how far it travels in 6 seconds, then multiply by 10 to get speed per minute of water movement....
Graph the number of trees in your yard vs. number of shrubs vs. number of perinniels (if you have lots of plantings) - or do it for another yard that does have lots you can see....
Graph the total number of different types of birds, insects, or all wildlife seen in a set period of time - say 10 minutes....
Graph the number of different types of clouds seen in a week or a month....
Write a paragraph (or 3 sentences, for the younger one, perhaps) about something seen outside: plants, wildlife, clouds, water features, etc. Do these writings in a nature journal that goes outside with them - and include drawings or taped in samples (can be put in ziploc bags and then taped in) of things they're seeing....
Talk about the writing and identify the basic parts of speech of each word in several of the sentences (and use this work to correct the writing, if necessary, once it is seen that perhaps a sentence is missing something, or could use more descriptive adjectives, etc.)
Take some of the things you're seeing outside and turn those into a spelling list for them (i.e., types of birds seen today: robin, cardinal, mockingbird, etc. or types of trees identified: oak, pine, fir, arbor vitae, etc.)
Read some good books about nature while lounging under the trees (perhaps with a picnic)....
Prepare some nature poetry, songs, etc. and go over those for memory work while outside....
In spring, compare types of buds and flowers; in early summer, do a leaf collection (before bugs ruin leaves); in late summer, compare warm season grasses (different sizes and types of seed heads; can use different sizes for measuring); in fall, collect seeds, cones and nuts (can compare and graph those); in winter, compare twig sizes (more measuring) and bark types (more graphing)....
Measure the length of needles on different types of pine trees.
That's all I can think of at the moment....
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Yes, especially with younger students (but I really think it makes more sense that way, for anyone)....
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Invertebrates - Insects and Spiders:
Using DK Picturepedia as a spine. Completing pertinent portions of the Complete Book of Animals. I utilize the Nature Readers a lot for this section. They provide a fun, gentle way to introduce odd creatures to younger children. Also utilize pertinent portions from Animal Homes and Societies here.
Buzz! A Book About Insects
If You Were a Bug
Lady Bugs and Other Insects: A First Discovery Book (Scholastic)
The Life of a Butterfly
Usborne First Book of Nature - section on butterflies and moths
Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing Butterflies and Moths, Arnosky
Eyewitness Butterflies and Moths - video
Butterflies and Moths, Bobbie Kalman
Amazing Worlds of Ants
Armies of Ants
Mysterious Castle Builders: African Termites, Tom Lisker
Termite, Karen Hartley
How Insects Build Their Amazing Homes, W. Wright Robinson
An Insect's Body, Joanna Cole
Ants Have Pets, Kathy Darling
Magic School Bus: Inside a Bee Hive
Honeybees
How Insects Build Their Amazing Homes, Robinson
Wonders of the Wasp's Nest, Sigmund Lavine
Water Bugs, Helen Frost
A Dragon in the Sky: The Story of a Green Darner Dragonfly, Laurence Pringle
I Can Read About Spiders (easy reader)
Spider's Lunch (easy reader)
Spiders, Gail Gibbons
Magic School Bus Spins a Web (video, too)
How Spiders and Other Silkmakers Build Their Amazing Homes, W. Wright Robinson
A Mosquito is Born, William White
(Fiction: I Know Why Mosquitos Buzz)
Plants:
Incredible Plants (but I'm not using it as a "spine"; I'm using the Scholastic First Discovery books for this.)
The Tree: A First Discovery Book (Scholastic)
I Am A Leaf (easy reader)
Secret Life of Trees (easy reader)
Usborne First Book of Nature - section on trees and flowers
Fruit: A First Discovery Book (Scholastic)
Vegetables in the Garden: A First Discovery Book (Scholastic)
Plant Stems and Roots (easy)
Plant Leaves (easy)
Among the Flowers (easy)
Diary of a Sunflower (easy)
Flower: A First Discovery Book (Scholastic)
Plants Bite Back (easy reader)
Desert Giant (re: Saguaro)
Mushrooms and Molds, Robert Froman
DK Picturepedia: Food and Farming - sections on plants grown agriculturally
(easy readers: Orange Juice; Pancakes! Pancakes!, Carle)
The Human Body:
Using DK's My First Body Book as a spine.
Let's Explore: Me and My Body (DK)
Why Do We Laugh? Questions About the Human Body (DK)
Let's Explore Sound and Music (DK)
Magic School Bus: Inside the Human Body
I Know Why I Brush My Teeth
Hooray for Teeth!
I Know How We Fight Germs
A Book About Your Skeleton
Look Inside Your Brain
Stop, Look and Listen: Using Your Senses From Head to Toe
Magic School Bus Explores the Senses
Why Boys and Girls are Different
Where Do Babies Come From?
Me and My Amazing Body
The Human Body Riddle Book (easy)
Library books for this subject:
Look at Faces, Henry Pluckrose
Faces, Shelley Rotner
Skin, Teeth and Hair, Anna Sandeman
Your Skin Holds You In, Helen Doss
All About Your Skin, Hair and Teeth, Donna Bailey
Hairy Science, Jess Brallier
Straight Hair, Curly Hair - Augusta Golden
Magic School Bus Flexes Its Muscles (video)
You Can't Make a Move Without Your Muscles, Paul Showers
Cuts, Breaks, Bruises and Burns: How Your Body Heals, Joanna Cole
The Human Body: The Inside Scoop! (video - Walt Disney)
The Heart and Blood, Steve Parker
Let's-Try-It-Out: About Your Heart, Seymour Simon
I Know Where My Food Goes, Jacqui Maynard
Food and Digestion, Steve Parker
My Five Senses, Aliki
You Can't Smell a Flower Without Your Ear! Joanna Cole
My Busy Body, Bobbie Kalman
Mystery of the Senses - video
Nerves to Senses, Steve Parker
Touch, Taste and Smell, Steve Parker
Finding Your Senses, Seymour Simon
You Can't Taste a Pickle Without Your Ear! Harriet Ziefert
Sleep is for Everyone, Paul Showers
Hear Your Heart, Paul Showers
Mixed Animal Groups or Habitats:
Magic School Bus Explores the World of Animals
Wonders of Swamps and Marshes
A Picture-Perfect World
Around the World: Who's Been Here?
Under the Ground: A First Discovery Book
In the Forest
Night Creatures: A First Discovery Book
Endangered Animals: A First Discovery Book
One Day in the Woods, Jean Craighead George
Animals Do the Strangest Things
I Wonder Why Skunks are Smelly and Other Neat Facts About Mammals
Wild Animal Go Round (DK)
Animal Skin and Scales (easy)
Animal Feet (easy)
Animal Feathers and Fur (easy)
Munching, Crunching, Sniffing and Snooping (DK easy reader)
Amazing Animals (DK)
101 Questions About Desert Life
Amazing Nature (Barron's)
The Really Amazing Animal Book (DK)
Incredible Little Monsters (DK)
Incredible Great Hunters (DK)
One Day in the Desert, George
Wonders of the Desert
Wonders of the Forest
Wonders of Rivers
I see Animals Hiding, Arnosky
How Do Animals Talk? (Usborne starting point science)
Animal Senses
Explore the Wild
Look Again!
One Day in the Tropical Rainforest, George
Bamboo Valley (Smithsonian, I think)
I have a similar sort of list that I used for second grade earth and space science. It is here:
http://greenapplesblush.blogspot.com/2010/12/second-grade-earth-and-space-science.html
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I loved doing this sort of thing for elementary. We just read, read, and read some more! I did add in field trips, and some experiments, as well as some films, but we mostly read. I usually picked one, larger book to use as a spine, just to sort of organize the topics I'd cover, but you really wouldn't even have to do that. This is what I did for first grade biology, although it could certainly be used with older students:
General:
DK Why Are Zebras Black and White? Questions About Color
DK Why Do Sunflowers Face the Sun? Questions About Nature
Mammals:
I'm using DK's Picturepedia: Mammals as a spine, so basing book order on their spreads.
I'm using McGraw Hill's Complete Book of Animals along with biology this year for "worksheet" type activities. If you are interested in using it, I can correlate the pages with the different subjects for you.
National Geographic Mammals (This is a really nice set of books. I only got the one on Mammals, because it was free, but if you can't find the Picturepedias, these would make nice spines.) I use applicable parts along with the Picturepedia throughout this study.
I have noted to pull library books on various animals, such as aardvarks, etc. and have checked to see that my library has titles on these animals, but sorry that I haven't generally written down the actual book names. I won't even list these unless I have noted a specific title.
What on Earth is a Meerkat? Jenny Tegar
(And I couldn't resist here) Riki Tiki Tavi
Otter on His Own (Smithsonian)
Skunks and Their Relatives
Cats, Big and Little
Cats: A First Discovery Book (Scholastic)
Animal Homes and Societies (I use applicable parts throughout this study; by Billy Goodman)
The Eyes of Gray Wolf
Foxes for Kids
Wolves for Kids
Bears for Kids
The Polar Bear: Masters of the Ice
Wild Bears, Seymour Simon
Jane Goodall: With Love
Gorillas, Seymour Simon
Aerial Apes: Gibbons of Asia, Geza Teleki
Mountain Gorilla, Michael Bright
Tamarins, Eric Braun and Sandra Donovan
Bats, Gail Gibbons
Magic School Bus: Going Batty (my library has this on video, too)
Mice are Amazing
Discovering What Gerbils Do, Seymour Simon
What is a Rodent? Bobbie Kalman
What's a Lemming? D.M. Sohza
Squirrels, Brian Wildsmith
Scamper, A Gray Tree Squirrel
Gray Squirrel at Pacific Avenue (Smithsonian)
Whales: A First Discovery Book (Scholastic)
Killer Whales, Seymour Simon
Whale, Seymour Simon
Horse Heroes (a DK reader)
Pigs and Peccaries, Anne Marie Schmidt
All About Deer, Jim Arnosky
Deer at the Brook, Arnosky
DK Picturepedia: On the Farm
Birds:
I'm again using a DK Picturepedia as a spine for this study. I'll bet the National Geographic book would be very comparable, as was the mammal book.
Again, I'm tying in pertinent sections of the Complete Book of Animals and Animal Homes and Societies. Again, I won't list categories of books I've noted to check out unless I've listed a specific title.
World Wildlife Federation: Birds
Usborne First Book of Nature - section on birds
Gone Again, Ptarmigan - Jonathan London
Clem: The Story of a Raven, Jennifer Dewey
Soaring With the Wind: The Bald Eagle, Gail Gibbons
Jays, Lynn Stone
Herons, Frank Staub
Spoonbill Swamp, Brenda Guiberson
Loon Magic for Kids
The Black Swan, Paula Hogan
The Puffins are Back! Gail Gibbons
Penguins! Gail Gibbons
Vultures, Roland Smith
The Book of North American Owls
Reptiles:
Using Can Snakes Crawl Backward? Questions and Answers About Reptiles, as a sort of spine. Adding in pertinent portions of the Complete Book of Animals and Animal Homes and Societies.
Slinky, Scaly Snakes (early reader)
Snakes, Patricia Demuth (early reader)
Discovering What Garter Snakes Do, Seymour Simon
All About Rattlesnakes, Arnosky
All About Alligators, Arnosky
Turtles and Snails: A First Discovery Book (Scholastic) - pertinent portions
Hide and Seek Science: Where's that Reptile?
Amphibians:
No real "spine". Using pertinent portions of Complete Book of Animals.
Frogs are Fantastic (early reader)
Rainforest Ride (early reader)
Magic School Bus Hops Home
A Frog's Body, Joanna Cole
Growing Frogs, Vivian French
All About Frogs, Arnosky
Frogs, Gail Gibbons
Frogs and Toads, Steve Parker
Moon of the Salamander, Jean Craighead George
Salamanders and Newts: A Complete Intro.
Eyewitness Amphibians - video
What is an Amphibian? Lola Schaefer
A First Look at Frogs, Toads and Salamanders, Milicent Selsam
Amphibians and Reptiles in 3-D, Mark Blum
Fish:
Questions and Answers About Sharks
Eyewitness Fish - video
Fishes and Their Young, Alan Fletcher
Crinkleroot's 25 Fish Every Child Should Know, Arnosky
A Fish Hatches, Joanna Cole
Fish, Steve Parker
Brian Wildsmith's Fishes
Discovering What Goldfish Do, Seymour Simon
Tell Me Why: Fish, Shellfish and Other Underwater Life - video
Pertinent portions from Animal Homes and Societies. Pertinent portions from the Complete Book of Animals.
Invertebrates - Ocean:
At the Ocean
Tide Pool, Rood
Starfish: Stars of the Sea
Exploring an Ocean Tidepool
Seashells, Crabs and Sea Stars, Christiane Tibbitts
Sea Jellies: Rainbows of the Sea, Elizabeth Gowell
Gentle Giant Octopus, Karen Wallace
Seashore Surprises, Rose Wyler
Seashells by the Seashore, Marianne Berkes
Is This a House for Hermit Crab? Megan McDonald
Hermit Crabs, Sylvia Johnson
Discovering Crabs and Lobsters, Jill Bailey
Lobsters: Gangsters of the Sea, Mary Cerullo
The Blue Lobster: A Life Cycle, Carol and Donald Carrick
Animals that Live in Shells, Dean Morris
Mollusks, Joy Richardson
A First Look at Seashells, Millicent Selsam
Shells are Skeletons, Joana Victor
Pertinent portions from the Complete Book of Animals.
Invertebrates - Land:
The Snail's Spell
Turtles and Snails: A First Discovery Book (Scholastic) - pertinent portions
A First Look at Animals Without Backbones, Millicent Selsam
Invertebrates, Alvin Silverstein
Sorting out Worm.... Samuel Woods
Mini-Beasts - video
Info. on worms from Christian Liberty Press Nature Reader 3 (I have their first three titles and like all of them.)
Discovering What Earthworms Do, Seymour Simon
Rest of the post to follow....
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I think it's just about who would best fit the part, looks wise. Plenty of other non-conservative actors have played conservative presidents in past films....
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I know! I just saw an article where the beef association was trying to say that if only the term "pink slime" term had not become public, everything would be okay. I keep thinking, "really?" Do they really think we're that stupid? The parts being used were never intended to be sold for consumption and it's only because of treatment that they can even be mixed in with real meat at all without killing everyone (and they may be killing everyone, slowly, if those parts associated with the spine contain prion disease)....
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I'm afraid I'm very boring, too, but mine is also up....
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I subscribed to his blog, but he withdrew it. I don't know if he has started another....
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I always just make it with a simple viniagrette: equal parts water and vinegar and oil, with just a little sugar....
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I'd get one of those comprehensive skills books, but mainly just read, read, read and perhaps watch science videos, do outdoor nature study if the weather's great where they live, etc. Schools don't do much the last two months, except perhaps testing and some field trips....
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Century Farm is very good, but maybe not for littles.... Bobbie Kalman has a number of great books out related to farming:
Sheep Farming
http://www.alibris.com/booksearch.detail?invid=11077552911&browse=1&qwork=2986031&qsort=&page=1
Orchard Farming
http://www.alibris.com/booksearch.detail?invid=11189338663&browse=1&qwork=2986025&qsort=&page=1
Beekeeping
http://www.amazon.com/Hooray-Beekeeping-Farming-Bobbie-Kalman/dp/0865056544
Dairy farming
Farm Animals
http://www.powells.com/biblio?isbn=9780778795773
Poultry farming (don't know if there are any of these available anywhere, but maybe libraries still have them)
http://www.abebooks.com/9780865056657/Hooray-Poultry-Farming-Kalman-Bobbie-086505665X/plp
Baby pigs
http://www.boomerangbooks.com.au/Baby-Pigs/Bobbie-Kalman/book_9780778739623.htm
...and there are tons of others!
If you want info on an earlier period of farming, there is Early Farm Life
http://books.google.com/books/about/Early_Farm_Life.html?id=-bpOSZRoyNUC
...and if you want to look at what was done with excess produce, etc., there's Early Stores and Markets
http://books.google.com/books/about/Early_Stores_and_Markets.html?id=vWOVybs3ltsC
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I didn't see Frontier mentioned. They carry a lot of organic products and my co-op stocks a lot of their stuff:
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How is your Tuesday going so far? We're finished and it went off just fine. Today is my husband's birthday, so we're taking him out to eat tonight....
What's on your menu for today? We ate lunch with friends at Culver's but I didn't really eat. I was craving a green smoothie this morning so ran home to make one while my son was in his Spanish class (about 5 minutes from my house)....
What's the weather like where you live? It has been in the 80's so much that I'm a little concerned about the summer to come. I finally broke down this afternoon and planted my small garden (about 6 weeks early for our area)....
How many years have you homeschooled? This year makes 13 and may possibly be my last, unless I continue teaching courses for other kids. My son is lobbying to go to high school next year....
Week in Review - 9/7/12
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
Hello,
I'm teaching several classes this year and doing a little tutoring. I have just begun posting some info on the classes that are ongoing and have included a lot of books and links that some might find useful as reading resources for various subjects.
My last post covers ancient history work I'm doing with an elementary age child. The one before it includes some resource info ideas for covering logic with older elementary/middle school ages, and there's also a post on covering world geography with elementary children:
http://www.greenapplesblush.blogspot.com/
Perhaps someone else might find something of use here,