Well, the election is over but our family’s study of the presidents, the election process, and the government will continue a couple more weeks.  I have been roughly following The Elections Unit Study by Amanda Bennett.  The kids have been greatly enjoying it.  They can rattle off all kinds of information about past presidents and the government.  And I must say, one of the great joys of homeschooling for me is that I get to learn (or re-learn?) so much cool stuff!  I have never known as much about the founding fathers as I do now.  I love it!

We have always involved the kids when we actually go to vote.  However, this year they had a particular interest.  Although they can both vaguely remember the last presidential election, they had a fervor of interest this time.  During this election, we were deep into learning about the process of electing a president, we were following the campaign, discussing the issues important to our family, and learning the biographies of the candidates.  Knowing so much about each candidate and why we select one over the other gave them a vested interest in who would become President Elect.  Before we went to vote, I had the kids fill out a paper ballot with our selections.  We then drove to the polling place and each child was able to check the boxes, choosing their candidates, and finally push that big red button to cast their vote!  They felt great!

After voting, we drove to Grammy and Poppy’s house to have dinner and watch election coverage (we have no TV).  It felt like an election party and the kids watched with interest (as long as they could).  After dinner they made up questions to poll everyone in their own mock election.  They teamed up to count the votes from the secret ballots, tally the results, and announce the totals.  There were some very silly outcomes!  We continued to watch the coverage late into the night.

No matter the outcome, this is an election that the kids will remember.  They are anxious to learn about more presidents and about the upcoming inauguration.  Overall, it has been a wonderful current issue study.

To discuss the elections or other homeschooling topics, please visit the HMHS Discussion Forum.

We have a fun craft project that we have available in our new store!  Mr. Skeleton is about 5 feet tall and very easy (and cheap) to make!  We have had one in my parent’s home that I can remember hanging every Halloween as a child.  My mother informed me yesterday that that particular skeleton has hung around for 36 years!  Even your youngest can easily participate in this craft and it can be a keepsake tradition for your family.  For the older kids, I thought that it would be an opportune time for learning the real names of all those bones.  So, I have gathered some links to learn the names and test them as well.

Vocabulary

Defining terms you will be using throughout a study is a great way to introduce vocabulary words and an important part in understanding new concepts.  Besides the names of the bones, there are some other terms you may encounter.  Have your kids take turns looking these up in a dictionary as a good way to develop dictionary skills as well as finding the answers.  You can look in an online dictionary, but I prefer the paper version to teach the kids research skills.  My kids write vocabulary words on index cards (word on one side, definition on the other), to use as flashcards throughout the study.

• osteology, joint, tendon, ligament, axial, appendicular, irregular, sesamoid

Naming the Bones

Next, I would learn the names of the bones.  My favorite is a cute, but very informative movie at Science With Me.  You must register on their site, but it is completely free and well worth it.  To see the skeleton movie, go to animations and click on Stanley the Skeleton.  Turn up the volume and enjoy.  I think this works well even for older kids, but, if yours want something more “grown-up”, there is a labelled diagram of the skeleton you can use.  I would label index cards with the names of the bones, mix them up, and have the kids lay them out as though they were building a skeleton.  Breaking them up into groups can also help.  The two groups of bones, based upon where they are located, are Axial and Appendicular.  The five types of bones, based upon their shape, are Long, Short, Flat, Irregular, and Sesamoid.

Once they have the names down pretty well, there are some good links to interactive skeletons to test themselves and solidify their learning.

• BBC Interactive Body has a Skeleton Game.
• Get Body Smart has an Interactive Skeletal System.
• Label the bones on this animation.

There are also free printable worksheets available at Science With Me and Lesson Tutor.

Here is our skeleton craft: We’re sorry, the Mr.Skeleton craft is no longer free. But, you can purchase it for only $1.49 from our new store!

Also, be on the lookout for notebooking pages and complete unit studies coming soon from Homemade Homeschoolers!

To discuss science, crafts, or other homeschooling topics, please visit our HMHS Discussion Forum.

I have designed this unit study to be completed with all online resources.  But, you can always add so much more by simply visiting your local library, too.

Whenever we do a unit study, I compile research objectives, activities, worksheets, music, recipes, etc. in one place to get a general plan of where we will go.  I have my children write the answers to research questions on notebooking pages and include lots of drawings, maps, and decoration.  For my youngest child, I allow her to narrate answers to me, while still drawing her own pictures, so that she has a completed notebook just like the other two.  You can choose a method that works best with your own homeschooling style.  Nothing MUST be written down, that is simply my style and my children’s practice for writing.  Number one is having fun and following the interest of your children.  If they are absolutely absorbed with the castles of Germany, but couldn’t care less about the clothing, then delve as deep as they wish into the history, architecture, and battles of the castles and just breeze through the clothing.

Visit Country Reports.org for a very condensed timeline of German history and explore the site for a photo gallery and other good information.

Geography

Find Germany on a world map.  What continent is it on?  Does it connect to an ocean?  If so, which one(s)?  What are the neighboring countries?  What is the capital city?  Print out a blank map of Germany and label major cities, mountain ranges, forests, and rivers.  What countries and oceans would you have to travel through to get to Germany from your home?

Make the German flag using strips of black, red, and yellow construction paper.

Enchanted Learning has outlne maps of Germany and Europe and flag information,

National Geographic Xpeditions has wonderful printable maps.

Worksheet Works has costumizable maps and crossword puzzles.

World Atlas has a great, large color map for overview.

Culture

Study the traditional clothing of Germany.  An easy way to see pictures of all the different types of clothing is a tour through the online catalog of Ernst Licht, but you can also search Google Images.  What are lederhosen, dirndl, mieder, bundhosen, gamsbart, and bayern vests?  Have your child choose one outfit to draw.

Make a traditional Bavarian hat out of construction paper.  The pattern is here.

Learn to say the numbers 1-12 in German at Enchanted Learning.

Tour the castles of Germany online.  Choose one castle to study in depth.  Record it’s history, date of construction, layout, architecture, location, defenses, and battles.  Try to build your own castle using construction paper, paper towel rolls, tissue boxes, Dixie cups, toilet paper rolls, chenille stems, etc., or using playdough.  Be sure to put in lots of spires and turrets!

Here are links to explore German castles:

Castles of Germany, Destination 360, and Top Ten Must See Castles in Germany.

Music

You can listen to samples of German music on Amazon.com.  There is also a selection of German music on Grandpa Schober’s MIDI Music (scroll down to the German section).  What is Polka music?  What is it’s history?  Did it originate in Germany? Listen to Polka music on 24/7 Polka Heaven.  What is an accordion?  What are it’s bellows?  What types of music is it used in?

Language Arts

The Grimm Brothers are writers that were born in Germany.  Study their lives on the Grimm Brothers’ Home Page and Wikipedia.  Read some of their original writings online.  Make a list of their most famous stories.  How many do you already know?  Which stories have been made into movies?  Have your child choose their favorite story and either narrate or write a new ending to it.  Can they invent their own fairy tale?  Draw illustrations for it as well!

There are a great multitude of famous German people.  Read lists of them here and choose one to write a short biography about their life.  Why are they famous?  Where in Germany were they born?  Did they live their entire lives in Germany?  When did they live?  Did they have children?  What contributions did they make to the world?

Oktoberfest

Finally, read about the history of Oktoberfest.  When was the first Oktoberfest?  What did it origianlly celebrate?  Why does it begin in September?  What was the most popular activity in the first years?  How do they celebrate today?  Is it a popular festival?

I would end the unit study with a German meal as suggested in Grammy Sheryl’s blog, Happy October! Then I would gather as a family with full bellies and watch Sound of Music!

Have fun!

To discuss unit studies and other homeschooling topics, visit our HMHS Discussion Forum.

We moved into our home in the TN countryside a little over a year ago.  Although it was a nice home and well kept, shortly after moving in we noticed a little visitor in our kitchen.  It’s one of those moments when you see something in your peripheral vision and then immediately doubt whether you saw something or not.  A quick flash of movement, but then never track anything down.  So, I began a thorough investigation by pulling out the refrigerator and stove.  Ah ha!  Mouse droppings.  I cleaned the areas and patched the teeniest, tiniest hole in the wall behind the stove.  Well, I guess I patched his favorite escape route.  He didn’t remain in my peripheral vision anymore!  I began to see him on the stove, running across the kitchen in broad daylight, and even sitting on my forks when I opened the utensil drawer!  Okay, Mousey must go.  Of course by now the kids thought this was the coolest thing ever!  They would NOT hear of killing it!  Being the mother that I am, and animal lover to boot, I searched for a no kill mousetrap.  I ordered it on next day shipment.  That night I snapped a picture of our little friend behind the stove and was feeling quite satisfied (because he was really cute) that I was going to gently relocate him to a farm meadow a mile from our home.

Our mouse behind the stove.

Shipment day dawned.  I went to feed my big, silly dog and found, to my horror, our little mouse floating in his water bowl!  Oh dear!  He would have had a beautiful life in the field if he had just waited one more day.  What to do with him now?  To other people’s horror, I decided this was an unbeatable learning opportunity.  I took our little guy and dried him off, double bagged him in a ziplock, and popped him in the freezer.  I then gathered all I needed to embark on one of the best unit studies we have done to date!  Over the following days, we examined our specimen, recording it’s length, weight, color, and sex.  We compared his tail length to overall body length and compared this information to data collected on our pet rats.  We researched and recorded the scientific names and distributions of various mouse species.  We used Draw Write Now to draw and color pictures of mice.  The kids wrote essays on their findings and fictional stories involving mice (my youngest, only 4 at the time, would dictate to me).  We read several books with mice in them, including The Mouse and The Motorcycle, The Rats of Nimh, and Stuart Little. We discussed these stories and completed numerous activities relating to them.  We then read all of the Beatrix Potter stories involving mice and studied her life as well.  We made a timeline of her life and major world events during her time.  We mapped where she lived and compared that to the mapped distribution of the mouse species.  It was a wonderful time of learning!

Studying our little frozen friend.

Because I’m just a city girl, my mom needed to tell me that where there is one mouse, there are almost always more.  So, I set our anxiously awaited trap.  Two days later, we had one live mouse to compare to our frozen mouse.  Since the trap is transparent, we were able to gather all the data we needed without being bitten!  That evening, we took our live mouse and released her in a pretty field near a copse of trees.  We also had a formal burial ceremony for her dearly departed husband.  Over the following weeks we captured and released a total of 3 more mice using our wonderful trap.  Each time we could gather data and compare it to previously recorded mouse information.  Needless to say, the kids are now experts on Mus musculus (the House Mouse) and really enjoyed this educational experience!  Our kitchen visitations stopped completely.  No mice were seen and no evidence of mice could be found.   The trap was subsequently lent out to several friends to catch mice and escaped pet gerbils and hamsters!  It worked each time.  Our mouse problem was gone.  Until….last week I was cleaning up in the school room and found mouse droppings!  With much excitement, we dusted off the mouse trap and set it up with a little peanut butter.  The very next morning, we found not one, but TWO mice in it!!  Very cool, and something the kids will remember and talk about many years from now.  An educational experience to last a lifetime!

Two at a time!

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A successful catch and release!