Homeschooling Updates

We've been enjoying so many fun things and are looking forward to many more this month. I bought Ethan Magnetix for his birthday and mentioned it to a friend who also bought some, then a couple of days later, a neighbor brought over some things from her daughter, and lo and behold - another container of Magnetix. God does things like that all of the time for us, bringing up just the right opportunities at just the time we are studying something. The books and DVD were already requested and on the library shelf, and we happily embarked on a few days of magnet study. We also had a magnet kit that had been given to him last year and I'd stashed away. It has several cards of information and experiments. Making a simple compass was a highlight.

Ethan has picked up on our enthusiasm for Ron Paul. He said, " I want Ron Paul to be the president because he believes in the Consitution." Then, "Mom, what's the Constitution? Can we read it?" I love that boy. So today, or maybe tomorrow we'll embark on a study of the Constitution and some other history of that period. We have a few books, including a book on tape about Martin Luther King, Jr. to read on his birthday first.

Last night, Brian and I were happily engaged reading some of the Revolution/Constitution books and watching Schoolhouse Rock.

Videos:

1. Schoolhouse Rock! : America Rock
2. Shh! We're Writing the Constitution

Books:

1. . . . If You Were There When They Signed the Constitution
2. We the Kids: The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States - this cute little book is going to make memorizing the preamble a snap!
3. A More Perfect Union: The Story of Our Constitution
4. Heroes of the Revolution
5. Redcoats and Petticoats -this is a storybook about the Setauket Spy Ring

I've been requesting (at the library online)and saving books on snow for a snow themed day. We never got to the paper snowflake contest on New Year's Eve, so we'll make them and maybe have some Mayfield's snow cream too. It would be nice if we could have a real snow day this month and read them then...

Snowflake Bentley
My Brother Loved Snowflakes: The Story of Wilson A Bentley, the Snowflake Man
Snow
Blizzard
The Big Snow
and others

Also in the mix is an upcoming MAP day, dedicated to maps, globes, and other geography-like pursuits, and, inspired by our My America history book today, some video exploration of some of our national parks, monuments, and historic sites. And looking ahead to February, I've been collecting picture book biographies for Black History month including, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Sojourner Truth, Jesse Owens, and Samuel Morris. And books for a unit on China and Dragons in time to celebrate Chinese New Year.


What have you been enjoying lately?