September and October Update

Georgia had fun trying to put together our "Mr. Bones" after learning the names of some of the bones. We also had fun learning about the brain, skin, heart, and lungs at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/guides/science/humanbody/index.html#

We were able to watch demonstrations of each system as well.

We also enjoyed trying to place the internal organs of a human and get the body working at http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/incredible-human-machine/

Very interesting...you should check it out.

We learned a little bit about Greenville's history, and visited some sites around town.

Olivia worked with money, trying to identify the name of each coin and its value. We used some flashcards and real money to sort and count.

She also practiced reading. We read a story together and she had to highlight certain words when she found them.

And she had fun putting together an alphabet puzzle she got from Grampa Trueman. This helped her think of and use alphabetical order.

Olivia also worked with time. The girls both had fun making their own clocks with paper plates. Olivia likes to match her clock to the clock in the living room.

Georgia wondered why oil and water do not mix. So we talked about the properties of water and oil. Then we played around with them. We tried different kinds of oil, and hot and cold water, to see if there was a difference.

Olivia enjoyed this activity, too.

She liked adding blue food coloring and watching the bubbles and waves of color.

The girls painted some pumpkins.

Georgia finished studying Texas. We made Texas Chili and talked about the history of chili, and of the pioneers. She also learned about the Alamo, Davy Crockett, Tornado Alley, armadillos, geography and resources of Texas, etc.

She then studied Ohio. We made Cincinnati Chili, which the girls did not care for. I had never tried it but really liked it...it is unique. We also made some Ohio Buckeye Candy. She learned about Ohio's geography, government, history, we read a biography on Johnny Appleseed, and another on the Wright brothers. She learned a lot about Ohio's resources and biodiversity, such as the cardinal, buckeye tree, flint, and ladybug. The girls both made some salt dough maps of Ohio, too.

They mixed the dough, after measuring the ingredients. I think we did 1 cup of salt, 1 cup of flour, and half a cup of water.

Then the girls shaped their dough on top of a map of Ohio I printed.

Georgia shaped hers, and is pointing to where we live.

I helped Olivia shape hers.

Then they needed to dry....we probably waited about a week!

Once they were completely dry....the girls painted their maps.

Here's Georgia's finished map. The NE corner broke off...oops! She still wants to mark the capital and where we live, too.

And here's Olivia's finished map.

Other topics we have discussed or read about are:

Mythology (Norse, Greek, and Egyptian)
Static Electricity....with a balloon activity
Sound Waves...with a straw flute activity
Natural Disasters (watched a nice overview at nationalgeographic.com)
Fire Safety (reviewed our safety plan, changed batteries in alarms, and other safety tips)
Columbus Day review, with a map and vocabulary activity
Similes
Venn diagrams
International Date Line
Prime Meridian
Differences in Hemispheres
Millepedes (actually caught one and got library books about them)
Center of Gravity and Balance....with activity
Drugs, what it is, legal and illegal drugs, effects on body
Moon, sun, and other space facts
Magazine clippings collage poster
States and Capitals review and game
World Facts
Presidents
Typing and e-mail practice
Game SET (love it!!!)
Life cycle of a pumpkin
Bead jewelry
Painting, and paint by number
Money, saving, spending, values, etc
Military
Library Skills
Math Textbook work
And we have started studying Maine now.

Also...since Olivia turned four, she can now have her own library card. She now takes out her own books, as Georgia does.