Petting a lion cub

Pumpkin with a real lion cub

It's not every day that you get to pet and play with a REAL lion cub.  Especially, on a school day.  

Well, unless you're homeschooled that is.

Field Trip: Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam, once known as one of the 7 wonders of the world,  was a government sponsored project that was completed 2 years AHEAD of schedule, came in UNDER budget and paid for itself and then some!  Can you imagine the likelihood of that happening again?

If you look behind us you can see where the waterline used to be on the mountains (the white border).  Truthfully, the children weren't that impressed with our Hoover Dam visit,  but they were happy to know that they've visited a National Landmark and could cross it of their lifetime bucket list!

Artist Study (assorted)

One of the subjects I feel very comfortable "subbing out" is Art. My children seem to possess a drawing and painting gene that I don't have. Or, maybe they just have a good instructor? At any rate, we would be lost without their Art Teacher who has a wonderful way of teaching art.

Her technique is to:
Review the biography of the artist,
Discuss their famous works
Learn about the technique that made them famous
Reproduce one of their works

Can you guess which artists are portrayed below?

We are in the final 5 weeks of our art study for the year.  I will try to do a better job keeping up!

Wisconsin Fast Plants: Life cycle of a plant

We enjoyed our unit on the life cycle of a Wisconsin Fast plant and I was so impressed with the materials we purchased from Carolina Biological.  It is one of my favorite resources for science supplies and lab activities. Their catalog is huge!

In just a little under 45 days the children were able to see the plant grow from a seed, pollinated plants using dried bees, and harvested seeds from the seed pods produced after pollination.

making  pollination wands from dried bees

pollination wands

Don't ask me what I did with the photo of the seed pods or the seeds...But trust me, we had them!

This hands-on approach coupled with notebooking made this unit not only fun but a learning success!


Do you like teaching science through hands-on labs and experiments?  If so, what are your favorite resources?

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Cutie Pie is very excited to have her own special school time with Mom and is really enjoying her preschool lessons. Although preparing lessons for 4 children is starting to become a little overwhelming, I must admit that I really enjoy teaching preschool again and revisiting some of our favorite homeschool activities.

One of our favorites is the unit study based upon the book, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, which is quickly becoming a preschool family in our home...4 down and 1 to go!

Resources:
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom prop
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom book and audio set

Printables:
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom lapbook
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom coloring book
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom paper craft
Counting Coconuts booklet



Online Video:
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom video