The Land Down Under

So, we spent last week "visiting" the Land Down Under!  I have to tell you that a REAL visit to Australia has always been on my bucket list, and this study just made me want to go all the more!  What a unique and interesting country!

On our first day, we located Australia on the map, and learned about some of the famous landmarks there such as the Outback, Ayers Rock, and the Sydney Opera House.

For our craft that day, we used a quarter-sized piece of poster board,  some paint, and paper plates to create the famous architectural wonder which stands in Sydney Harbor.  This is an idea I found on Pinterest.  Thought it turned out cute!

The next day, we learned a little Aussie slang.  It's fascinating to hear all the different ways the Australians have come up with to refer to common people, places or things!  For example, a male is a "bloke," a female is a "sheila," and a friend is your "mate."  If you want some chewing gum, better ask for some "chewie" instead. 

 It was really fun to listen to a little Australian music as well!  The Waltzing Matilda is Australia's unofficial national anthem, but it has absolutely nothing to do with dancing!  It's actually a ballad about a homeless man "waltzing matilda" (backpacking) through the "brush" (Outback) who chances upon a "jumbuck" (sheep) drinking at a "billabong" (pond) and catches it for his next meal.  The "squatter" (land owner) catches him and brings the "troopers" (authorities) in to arrest him, but the "swagman" (homeless man) will have none of it.  He jumps into the billabong and drowns, preferring that outcome to being imprisoned. According to the song, his ghost can still be heard when you pass by that billabong, singing, "You'll come a waltzing matilda (backpacking) with me!"  If you'd like a charming version of this song to show your children, try this link on YouTube: Waltzing Matilda by Slim Dusty.

As you might expect, we spent a good portion of the week learning about all the unique and amazing animals Australians enjoy! 

     This koala craft was made by painting his hands (minus the thumbs) gray and white, and adding a gray circle with a face.  Cute, but blissfully simple!

The next day, we learned not only about kangaroos, but also about Haiku poetry.  If you are not familiar with Haiku, it is a Japanese form of poetry in which the first line has five syllables, the second line has seven syllables, and the third (and last) line has five syllables.  Most Haiku poems are about something in nature. We wrote a "Kangaroo Haiku," which fits neatly into the kangaroo's little pouch!  If you are interested in this item, the pattern and form are available in my Australia Unit on TPT.

  

We also learned about the native Australian Aborigines.  They are famous for their dot paintings, so we attempted to copy that idea with this fun kangaroo:

                            
Our centers this week consisted of a color by the sum page (addition practice),  clothespin clip cards in which he had to add three numbers together, making sentences with Australian words, and this center, in which he had to read a sentence and determine the part of speech of the underlined word.  All of these activities are included in my Australia Unit on TPT.  If you are interested, click HERE.

Well, that's pretty much our week.  It was a fun one!  (Any unit filled with that many cute animals is a fun one for me!)  : )   

I hope you are having a great day that's full of joy!  Thanks so much for visiting!

Blessings,

Laurie

     

Egypt ~ Then and Now

     Well, if you happen to find yourself (or that kid who got on your last nerve today!) in need of mummification, I've got just the fellow for the job!  He's only seven, but he can tell you all the steps in the process!  If you haven't already guessed, we've been studying Egypt for the past week and a half! 
     We began last week by learning to locate Egypt on a map, and getting to know about the country as it is today.  But my son's favorite part of the unit by far has been our travel back in time to Ancient Egypt.  Here are a few of the things that have been keeping us busy:

Egypt is the first stop on our "Around the World in 180 Days" adventure.  I plan to spend a good chunk of this school year studying other countries and cultures. To help remember our "trips," I created this interactive travel journal where my son can chronicle what he's learning.

On the first page, we have a fold-out world map on which he colors in the country we are "visiting."

 I had him add a fact or two about Egypt as well.

The next page opens to show the modern-day Egyptian flag.

I wanted to have him write here about the colors of the flag and what they represent, but we ran out of time.

The next page has four tabs which open to reveal various facts about the country.  In case the pictures aren't clear, the tabs say: Amazing Animals, Famous Landmarks, Fun Foods, and Saying Hello.

Here is what my kiddo wrote under the Amazing Animals tab.  I told him he must list at least two of the animals we talked about.  Notice how he chose the two most deadly!  (What is it with boys being magnetically attracted to danger?)

I admit we did focus on crocodiles for one day.  We read Bill and Pete Go Down the Nile and completed the following chart:

Next, we had fun with this cool crocodile weaving project I found on Pinterest!  He's never done weaving before, but picked up on it pretty quickly.  Turned into a cute craft!  Great for fine motor skill development too!

 Here's the final product.  Please forgive the red eyes.  Seven-year-old boys (or at least mine!) think EVERYTHING has to be evil-looking!  I should note here that the version I created as a sample had wiggle eyes and was adorable.  But he wouldn't hear of having a CUTE crocodile!  (Sigh....) 

I did manage to get one cutesie craft done though!  On a different day, we learned about camels...the ships of the desert.  We read How the Camel Got His Hump and did the chart as shown.   

Next, we did a handprint camel!  Isn't it precious??  This is a definite keepsake! 

This week, we talked about pharaohs and mummies.  Here is our pharaoh craft.

 My son enjoyed the Egyptian Graphing Page he did as a center this week as well. 

Here is a picture of the cube he rolled and the data recording page. Copies of this activity are included in my Egypt Unit from TPT, which is accessible at the bottom  of this post.

 For a fun science project, we are going to do some mummification of our own.  We are going to try to mummify an apple.  This is an activity I bought off of TPT, and comes with complete instructions plus an interactive notebook page or two.  Here is the link, if you're interested:
Apples & Mummies, By: Kelly's Classroom

It's a pretty simple project, really.  You wash the apple, carve a face into it with a knife, put it in a ziplock bag and cover with salt and baking soda.  Wait one week before removing it.  The theory is that the salt and baking soda will work like the natron salt the Egyptians used and will absorb all the liquid to dehydrate the fruit.  Should look interesting when we're done.  My son thought this project was super cool! "We get to make a mummy???  Cool!!!"  

Now he can't wait for next week to get here so he can see his "mummy."  The instructions say that it may take up to two weeks to have the full effect, so I hope he will at least be able to see some changes after only one. 







If you are interested in any of the activity sheets shown in this post, they are available in my Egypt Unit on TPT.  Click HERE to check it out!  Here's a quick preview of some of the other things that are included:



Thanks for stopping by today!  Have a great week!

Blessings,
Laurie

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Pirates, Ho!

Well, we've survived the first week of school!  I know some of you haven't even begun school yet, but we started last Tuesday.  Being that we homeschool, we did not need to spend time with "Getting to Know You" activities, or going over routines and procedures.  So, we were able to jump right into learning!

In an attempt to get my son excited about going back to school, I elected to spend our first couple of weeks learning about one of his favorite topics:  Pirates!  Here are just a few facts we've discovered:

• Pirates have been around for as long as there have been ships at sea.
• The Golden Age of Piracy, the time during which the most famous piracy took place, lasted from the mid-1600s to the mid-1700s.  It was during these years that all the famous pirates like Blackbeard, Calico Jack, and Captain Kidd did their looting.
• Pirates considered treasure to be more than just gold and jewels!  For example, they frequently raided ships to steal fresh food and water, medications to treat common illnesses, supplies like new ropes and sails, tools and weapons, and especially maps of local coastlines!  
• When pirates did strike it rich with chests of gold, they rarely buried them!  Instead, they headed to islands like Tortuga (yes, it's a real place) to enjoy their good fortune by gambling and drinking it away.  Most often, they spent their treasure as fast as they stole it!

In addition to the historical significance of this unit, we've incorporated the theme into our language arts time as well.  Here are a couple of charts we've done so far:

In addition, we've set our reading series aside for this week to focus on some non-fiction passages I created about pirates.  These passages are available in my Pirate Unit on Teachers Pay Teachers. We used Guided Reading to read the passage, and then my son answered the comprehension and inference questions that went along with the reading.

My son has enjoyed some of our pirate centers this week as well, including this one featuring subtraction facts practice clothespin clip cards:

But, of course, we've had some fun along the way as well!  Here are a few samples of our crafts from the week:

The pirate he was supposed to make.

Seven-year-old boy's version. I guess it IS more realistic.

                                 

Our spyglass made from a painted paper towel tube and a party cup.  (Embellished with metallic gold tape.)  This was not my creation....got it off Pinterest!

Treasure Chest......outside.....

....and inside.

Finally, I must share my favorite of his creations from the week!  We talked about treasure today and I explained that treasure did not have to mean gold or silver, but could be anything of value.  Then I had him complete a writing prompt that asked, "What do you consider a treasure?  Draw a picture of it and write about why it is special to you."  He didn't follow the directions exactly but, hey.......do you think I had the heart to correct him????  This is one of those precious moments I think about on days when I wonder why I am homeschooling!! 

If you are interested in having this writing prompt for your own children, you can grab it for free below:

Click HERE to download page. 

Hope you enjoy this and that your responses are as sweet as the one I got!  Have a great weekend!

Blessings,

Laurie

Book Boogie!

If my "happy dance" had a name, it would be the "Book Boogie!"  New books cause me sheer joy, especially when they come at a great bargain or meet a great need.  Today, I found one that did both! 

A few weeks ago I received a few coupons in the mail to Barnes & Noble.  They sat on my kitchen counter until yesterday, when I realized they were about to expire.  Recalling that I still had some money left on an old gift card in my purse, I stashed the coupons next to it. As soon as I dropped my oldest son off at band camp this morning, guess where I headed?  Home!  (The bookstore doesn't open quite that early!)  ; )  But come ten o'clock, I was there with bells on! 

I didn't have a particular book in mind; I just thought I would look for something that would go with one of the units I plan to do this year.  I'm venturing out of my comfort zone of units on Pumpkins, Penguins, and other Kindergarten and First Grade topics, and heading into the uncharted waters of Ancient Egypt, and Great Inventors.  I don't want to bore my now second grader with a rehash of the things we did last year and I feel that he's old enough for a little more of a challenge.  Having never taught most of these new units before, I have been collecting books like crazy at consignment sales, garage sales, etc.  But, after browsing around a while, I ended up bringing home something (for free, with my coupons and gift card!) I didn't even know I needed until I found it!  Behold my prized discovery: 

Click HERE to see a preview, and how you can order a copy!

This is a great little book with a page for each state.  Each page is written as if it were a report on that state by a student.  It includes the state's capital and nickname, as well as interesting facts about the state.  And it will be PERFECT for my Geography Center!  Each week, we focus on a new state and my son (or students, if I'm teaching in regular school) uses a U.S. map to try to locate the target state.  Previously, I have had a small, blank U.S. map form for him to color the state once he locates it.  However, this new book inspired me to create a fresh, updated form.  Below is a picture of my geography center, as well as a picture of my new form.  Would you like a free copy?  Just click on the text below the picture!  

And here is the form:

Click HERE for a copy!

I hope you enjoy today's freebie!  Take care!

Blessings,

Laurie

All About Me!

Another day, another freebie!  Just for my blog readers, I'm making my "Owl About Me" packet available for a free download!  This packet sells for $1.50 in my TPT store.  It is great for the beginning of the year when we are all trying to learn more about our students and help them learn more about themselves!  Many early childhood teachers like to do an "All About Me" unit, but I put a little twist by making this one owl-themed!  I add a photo of the student to the front cover.  Then there is a page for a self-portrait, one for a handprint, one that tells about the child's weight and measurements, a page to tell about the child's favorite things, as well as things he/she does NOT like, etc.  When I make this with students, I typically mount each completed page to construction paper, laminate all the pages, and bind them together for a wonderful keepsake book!  Moms and Dads will love you for this, and it's a great thing to have out on your students' desks if your PTA has an open house a few weeks after school begins!  I would use this for children in preschool through maybe 2nd grade!  Check it out!

Click HERE to download the packet!

I hope this is something that will be useful to you as you begin your new school year!  If you enjoy it, please drop me a comment and let me know!  If you like what you see, I'd love to have you as a follower here on my blog, as well as on TPT!  Thanks so much for visiting!

Blessings,

Laurie

Only Two Weeks?????

I don't know when school starts back where you live, but here in Alabama we are down to only two more weeks of summer!  Even though I homeschool my youngest, we still follow the city school calendar for the most part, since my older two are still in public school.  It's just easier if we're all on the same schedule!  I have a list a mile long of things I was supposed to accomplish this summer, but only about half of them have been checked off.  Where has the time gone?

When I was teaching in regular school, I always liked to start off my year with a reading of Kevin Henkes' book, Wemberly Worried.  It really doesn't matter what age you teach.....it's always safe to assume that your littles (or maybe not so littles) are all feeling a little anxious about a new classroom, new teacher, new friends, etc.  Heck, if we're honest, most of  US feel a little anxious / nervous at this time each year too, don't we?  So we can all relate to poor Wemberly, who worries about everything.....particularly starting kindergarten!

If, like me, you consider this book to be a MUST for the first day of school, you may be interested in a TPT product I offer to accompany this wonderful story!  It has several literature activities, as well as a pattern for this cute craftivity:

If you are interested in checking it out, please click HERE.

And just for visiting my blog, here's a freebie for you, from that packet:

Wemberly Worried Freebie  (Click Here to Access)

Hope you enjoy it!  Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,
Laurie

     

Sometimes Dreams Do Come True!

So after longing for a cute blog that was affordable, I did some research (As they say,  "Dreams don't work unless you do") and found a great website called Blogaholic Designs.  If you are in the market for a blog template, I highly recommend them!  They have some really cute FREE templates, and many others in the $10-30 range!  So, with support from my sweet husband (who manages our finances), I purchased one of their teacher blog templates, and that's what you're looking at!  How do you like it??  

It's still not quite as "adorable" as I'd like, but it's still quite cute, professional-looking, and even pink!  It came with explicit directions on how to install it, customize the fonts, font colors, and sizes, and insert social media icons.  Not having any idea what I was doing, the instructions were so perfect that I still managed to not screw anything up!  Pretty cool, huh?  

Now I can stop working on my blog design every day and get back to what I'm supposed to be doing...preparing for school!  Can't believe we only have two more weeks!  Aggggghhhh!  Best of luck with whatever YOU are working on today!

Blessings,
Laurie  

Blog Dreamin'

I've been dreaming again.  I keep visiting all these cute blogs from other teachers and wishing I could have a comparable one!  As you can clearly see, I don't.  $150-200 is simply out of my price range, and the type of blog I want costs about that much!  I'm a stay-home, homeschool mom and while I earn a lot of love and affection from my children and respect from my husband, I haven't been able to find a blog designer who will accept hugs as payment for their services!  : )  I try to make a little extra cash on TPT, but what little I do earn goes right back into TPT to purchase clip art, borders, frames, and curricular materials for my son.  I'm a bit of a TPT addict, I must confess!  So, I thought I would show you what I wasted my time on yesterday afternoon.  I SHOULD have been working on preparations for school to begin in just a few more weeks.  Instead, I decided to see what I could come up with if I had any idea how to design my own blog (which I do NOT!).  I used Microsoft Publisher and just had fun with it.  If I were actually creating a blog, I would certainly put a little more effort into it and more attention to details.  But I was just playing to see what I could get it to look like.  Here are the results:

Well, what do you think?  Too much pink?  I know it's a lot, but I LOVE pink and I especially love polka dots!!  If I had any artistic ability, I would create my own clip art of an actual "candy apple" to replace the polka dot apple at the top.  But, alas, the artistic talent in my family skipped a generation!  My father could draw / paint anything!!!  My oldest son can draw anything!  I do well to draw a smiley face!  ; )  

Well, for now I'll just keep dreaming about what my blog could look like......maybe one day I'll win the lottery!  (Of course, that is doubtful since Alabama doesn't have one and I don't buy lottery tickets!)

Blessings,
Laurie

Language Arts Charts

Welcome back, friends!

Today I'd like to talk a little about one of the things that makes my class a little different than most.  It is a teaching strategy I learned straight out of college from some award-winning teachers on my (then) first grade team.  

As I said in my last post, I teach thematically whenever possible.  I do use a basal reading series, though I supplement with chapter books for older or advanced students.  But my units do not usually go along with the basal.  They are selected based upon my interests, the interests of my students, their ages, and the science and social studies standards for whatever age group I'm working with.  

After the typical morning routines, we begin each day with our unit lesson.  I read at least one book (some fiction, some non-fiction, sometimes a mix) that goes along with our weekly theme, and then we discuss facts regarding that day's aspect of the theme.  Let's take, for example, my insect theme.  One day's unit lesson may consist of me reading Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar,  after which we might discuss the life cycle of a butterfly.  After we have covered the science or social studies material for the day, we complete a Language Arts Chart.  The purpose of this is to use the thematic unit to reinforce important language arts skills or concepts, which makes them more meaningful to the children.  

Here is what the Language Arts Chart time might look like, based upon the previously-mentioned Insect theme.  After reading and discussing the book(s) and facts, I point out a language arts skill that will be the focus of our chart that day.  Using the above example of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, I might point out that "butterfly" is a compound word.  I would inform or remind students of what a compound word is, and then ask them to brainstorm to try to think of as many compound words as they can.  As they name them, I would write them on the chart.  Or , perhaps, I might choose to focus on the "fl" blend in the word "butterfly," and we would brainstorm other words that have that blend in them.  Those examples might be for a first or second grade class.  For a pre-K or Kindergarten class, I might focus on the beginning sound in the word "butterfly" and we would brainstorm other words that begin with the /b/ sound.  This not only provides practice in the specific skill you have chosen for the day, but in categorizing as well!

After we complete our chart, the children use a form I provide to either copy a select number of words from the chart or, for older/advanced students, to use some of the words to write sentences.  Below is a copy of what some of our charts have looked like, as well as a picture of the forms students use to copy the charts or write their sentences.  I always add pictures for visual appeal, but it's not absolutely necessary.  The forms always tell a little about what we've talked about that day so that when they are sent home, they allow the parents to keep up with what we are learning about! 

    

I hope these ideas are something you can use in your classroom or homeschool.  Recent units I have been developing for TPT include color pictures to use on the chart, as well as the forms for copying the charts, as you see above.  These two are included in my Pirate Unit.  You can get the Pirate Unit here:  TPT Pirate Unit

Blessings,
Laurie