Edible Maps

Last week, the older boys had a geography activity to help them learn directions and the continents. The instructions were to bite the shapes of the continents out of graham crackers and then use them to make a map. This was a fun project! The graham crackers kept breaking in half, and weren't really wide enough to get the true shape, but the boys had a great time working on it. Of course, the map only lasted long enough for me to take this picture. Oh, and South America broke in half and started to float into the ocean. I would have had them fix it, but we were out of crackers.

 One of the things I love the most about our curriculum this year is how 'hands-on' it is. Just in the first month of this year, the boys have done MANY more art projects and science experiments than they did in all of last year. In History last week, we were studying Pocahontas. For art, the boys made 'Indian Blankets.'

 Our science experiment this week was to show why soap and warm water are best for getting rid of germs, and therefore, why germs spread so easily and so many people died of illness in Colonial America. I sprinkled gold glitter all over the children's hands (even Louie wanted in on it!) and then had them try to wipe it off with a paper towel, then try to wash it off in cold water, and finally wash it off with warm water and soap. The boys were amazed, and I predict that for at least the next day or two they will be better about washing their hands.

Just in case anyone is wondering, the kids ARE also studying Math, English, Spelling, and Reading; those subjects just aren't as interesting to photograph. Punky has started Dictation this year, rather than traditional spelling, and I have to say that I really like this method. He studies a passage of well-written literature, and when he's ready, I dictate it to him and he writes it down exactly as he studied it. He continues to work on the same passage each day until he is able to write it with no mistakes in spelling, capitalization, or punctuation. So, he's learning a lot more than just spelling. When we started the year the passages were very easy for him. Fortunately (he may disagree with the use of that word) I was able to find the upper levels of the book as a free download on google. Win!


We took Columbus Day off this week because Keil had the day off, so we will be doing Saturday School tomorrow. I'm still not ready to break up a 5 day unit. See, my brain is itching just from the thought of it!