Study America Saturday ~ U.S.A. Maps

Sorry this is going up so late! Last night my husband and I went on a date. And, today was just an absolutely beautiful day, and I spent it outdoors planting fall flowers, cleaning out my gardens, and doing some fall decorating.

This past week, Brynne studied the state of Kansas. We have more activities to complete next week, so our official Kansas post will be next Saturday.

For "homework" in Eli's public school second grade class, his teacher sends home Literacy Bags for them to work on for a week or two and complete. So far he has had bags on frogs, main ideas, and this week, U.S.A. There are many mapping activities in the bag, so we have really been soaking them all in. Brynne has caught the fever and extended the bag lessons into her regular school day.

Here are the different things she did this week with U.S.A. maps:

Eli and Brynne used a United States laminated map to answer questions.

Eli has a fascination with China and wanted to know where it was located. The other side of the U.S.A. map had a world map. He said, "So you go this way [pointing to the right] to go to China?" I explained to him that the flat map is an "orange peel" of the Globe, and that you would actually go the other direction to get there because it would be closer. Their daddy went to Taiwan a few year ago, so he explained to them how he traveled there. We spent some time looking at the differences between the globe and flat maps.

While picking up some items from Dollar General to send to my grandma in a care package, I saw a U.S. foam puzzle for $1.00. Brynne came home and immediately went to work on that puzzle, completing it several times over the next several days. She used the laminated map from Eli's Literacy Bag for reference.

For her birthday, my mom gave Brynne a 60 piece, 2-sided jigsaw puzzle of the United States. Brynne worked on it on Thursday and completed the entire puzzle herself. While she was doing it she listened to "Fifty Nifty United States" on Youtube over and over.

We read There's a Map on My Lap! by Tish Rabe.

In the process of doing her puzzles, Brynne started reciting The Great Lakes that we learned about a few weeks ago, using the HOMES method. I was so proud of her!

In other map news, Brynne worked on a salt dough map of Kansas. The finished product will be shown next week. He's a sneak peek.

How did you study the U.S.A. this week?

Cells ~ It's What's for Dinner

Dawson made edible cells on Friday. He made an animal cell pizza ... and a plant cell chocolate chip cookie ... He reviewed what he's learned about cells the past two weeks, and I had dinner made by someone else. Win, win!! I am linking up at Science Sunday at Adventures in Mommydom.

A New Year, the Same Me

Happy 2019! It is that day of the year where everybody is up extra early starting their new exercise routine, eating only healthy foods, cracking open the pages of a new planner and Bible study, and debuting their Word for the year. You chuckle or roll your eyes, but you are doing at least three of these things. By the way, so am I. So let's start with the Word of the Year. Mine this year is Lagom. It's the Swedish word for "not too little, not too much, just right". It's a concept of being, doing or having just enough. So let's rewind to last New Year's Day. My Word was Might. And that's how I planned to tackle my year. And, I did. I worked out hard, I mommed hard, I traveled hard, I worked hard. And it was a good season. It prepared the way for this year. I accepted the Challenge I set for myself and succeeded. But, I don't need to keep up that pace. I am at a place in my life where I can kind of sit back and enjoy my life without f...

Science Sunday ~ Hmmm ... Let Me Think About It!

This week in our study of the Human Body , Brynne moved on to the Nervous System . Our first stop was a Pamela Hill Nettleton book called, Think, Think, Think: Learning About Your Brain . As part of our discussions about the brain , and the fact that it's the BOSS of the body, we discussed the importance of the spinal cord . We did a hands on spinal cord project by alternating gummy Life Savers and wagon wheel pasta on a pipe cleaner. We talked about why there was the "squishy" stuff in between the vertebra and how the back can bend and sway because of it. We completed "The Brynne" by adding the stomach, small intestine and large intestine, from our study last week of the Digestive System (although I just realized I have the large intestine coming out of the stomach, when the small intestine should be) and the brain and spinal cord. We are now done talking about the parts of the body and will conclude our study of the Human Body with a two-day unit ...

PhyllisOctober 2, 2011 at 9:44 AM
I love your maps, especially the foam map. We actually didn't do any geography this week, but I am sure we will link up next week.
CindyOctober 2, 2011 at 12:17 PM
Good morning and Happy October!

I’ve nominated you/your blog for The Versatile Blogger Award! :) Share seven things about yourself and pass the award along to the most versatile blogs you follow. Follow the link below for details.

Thanks for blogging!! Your blog makes me a better teacher and learner!

Cindy
love2learn2day
http://love2learn2day.blogspot.com/2011/10/versatile-blogger-award.html

Journey to Excellence

Search This Blog