and we had temporary custody of this critter:
John brought it home, in the wee hours of the morning, Wednesday. It was in his office, and he saved it from being unjustly executed by a co-worker who thought it was a copperhead. John insisted it was a baby rat snake, and an internet search proved him right. Its markings are similar to those of a young copperhead. This provided fodder for family discussion of defenses and mimicry.
Juvenile Rat Snake
Juvenile Copperhead
As you can see, the head of a copperhead would be markedly different, as copperheads are vipers (distinguished by their head shape). Rat snakes are constrictors. The kids observed — even before John told them rat snakes are constrictors — that “Joey,” as James called him seemed to be trying to wrap himself around a cricket. Good practice for conquering larger prey, like mice.
James and I experimented with an on-line field guide […]
Original post by tribeofautodidacts
Sept. 1
We played Pig again.
In turn, each player is handed four dice. He can choose to roll 1, 2, 3 or all 4 dice. He can roll as many times as he likes.
Each time he rolls, he computes the sum of all the dice he rolled. That is his score.
If he rolls one “1″ at any point, his turn ends, and he loses all the points he’s scored in that round.
If he rolls two “1″s — his turn ends, and he loses all the points he’s scored so far in the whole game.
The first player to reach 100 points wins.
with 1 die there are 6 (6 to the 1st power) possibilities
with 2 dice there are 6×6 (6 to the 2nd power) possibilities or 36
with 3 dice there are 6×6×6 (6 to the 3rd power) possibilities or 216
This time I asked the kids this question: “What are the odds of getting […]
Original post by tribeofautodidacts
Discussion:
We reviewed the six kingdoms of life and made a new chart — kind of a “mind map” — which the kids decorated with magazine clippings.
We talked a lot — again — about how the animal kingdom is divided into phyla.
We talked about how scientists divide animals into kingdoms (by the type of cells, how it is nourished, etc.)
Lab:
John led us in a biology lab — studying specimens of various animal phyla. We used a biology textbook for reference. Since my kids already have a basic understanding of natural selection and evolution, I wove that into the discussion. We emphasized the way animals are believed to have evolved from protists (which we studied in our last lab).
We started with a starfish — which is basically a mass of unspecialized cells, then moved on to cnidarians (like jellyfish), which have simple specialized parts (basically a tube-like body and tentacles, both […]
Original post by tribeofautodidacts
This is from this post –
We played “Pig,” a simple probability game that has become a regular for us. This game provides practice with addition up to sums of 24 along with intuitive experience with probability. (math: computation & probability)
In turn, each player is handed four dice. He can choose to roll 1, 2, 3 or all 4 dice. He can roll as many times as he likes.
Each time he rolls, he computes the sum of all the dice he rolled. That is his score.
If he rolls one “1″ at any point, his turn ends, and he loses all the points he’s scored in that round.
If he rolls two “1″s — his turn ends, and he loses all the points he’s scored so far in the whole game.
The first player to reach 100 points wins.
Since I’m focusing a bit on adding without counting, I modeled logical ways of adding the […]
Original post by tribeofautodidacts
Best laid plans of mice and men …
It seems the more I plan and the more money I spend on a unit or project, the worse I flub it up. Our Biology unit is unfolding kind of like a big meal, with pots and pans on all the burners, with nothing being ready at the same time. My big order from Wards science company never arrived, and they haven’t responded to my e-mails. Meanwhile, Carolina Science sent the living specimens for the lesson we were SUPPOSED to be on this week (on protists). So we just had to move forward with what we had. I am feeling lost, confused, and totally inept — but I am determined to keep going and keep learning.
We had our first “class” yesterday. The first thing we did was review and explore the six kingdoms of life a bit. My kids have learned a […]
Original post by tribeofautodidacts
We continued our probability and statistics gig Tuesday by playing some simple games. In each case, the kids were asked, is this game fair? What do you predict will happen?
(very easy) Flip a coin. If it lands on heads I get a point; if it lands on tails, you get a point. (Fair, each person has a 1:2 — or 50% — chance of scoring)
(very easy) Spin a spinner equally divided among 4 colors: red, blue, yellow & green. If we spin red, I get a point; if we spin blue, you get a point. (Fair, each person has a 2:4 — or 1:2 — or 50% — chance of scoring)
(easy) Spin the same 4-color spinner. If we spin a “cool” color, I score a point; if we spin a “hot” color, you get a point. (Fair — there are 2 cool colors (blue & green) & 2 hot colors […]
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I can proudly say that I am not one of those home schooling moms who’ll make you feel intimidated and overwhelmed. My kids aren’t making their way through all the great classics, translating Latin, or winning geography bees. But they are — in most respects — right where I think they “should” be. James who is almost 10 is essentially just starting to master basic writing, grammar & spelling. Before I became acquainted with unschooling and Charlotte Mason, I would have been embarrassed to admit this. But I see things differently now.
James has really never done any writing except for occasional captions for his pictures and comics. He is a prolific artist (mostly monsters and dark creatures), a competent reader, an enthusiastic storyteller, and a kid who’s been able to give detailed, articulate narrations since about he was about 6. But he likes scratching out even a few sentences […]
Original post by tribeofautodidacts
I am one of the majority of people in the U.S. who doesn’t “get” math. Despite my best efforts to the contrary, I did learn some math in school, but it was all poorly understood rote procedures. I certainly never understood what was interesting about this subject. I eventually got good enough at Algebra problems to enjoy them a little — they were kind of like puzzles. But beyond understanding that I was using arithmetic to budget and balance a checkbook, I NEVER saw math as something three-dimensional in the real world.
In high school, we used square and cubic numbers. It was something I understood two-dimensionally (literally) as problems on the page of a textbook. Much later, as a 30-something-year-old home schooling mom, I was playing around with some of our 1-centimeter cubes (you know — math manipulatives — those things we home schoolers have all over our carpets, between […]
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James and I just finished reading Because of Winn Dixie by Kate Di Camillo. I really love this book. The author manages — with a very light hand — to offer a story that is realistic and profound, with a lot to say about human experience, yet gentle, fun, and — at times — fanciful.
I don’t think James, who is 9 and more into straightforward action and magic in books, got all the subtleties in the novel. But he still seemed to thoroughly enjoy it. I’ve always thought that was one of the hallmarks of a really terrific book. It meets the reader right where he is and is enjoyed on many different levels.
In part of the story, Franny Block, the librarian, tells about her great-grandfather, Littmus W. Block, who fought for the Confederacy when he was only 14. It led us on a rabbit trail.
We read Pink and Say […]
Original post by tribeofautodidacts
Serendipitously, I was headed here to post a few notes on our first efforts to get our feet wet with probability when I saw that Jove had a great post up about the importance of learning probability. Check it out!
James did a few “games.” I’m borrowing my ideas from an old edition of About Teaching Mathematics by Marilyn Burns.
We played with two multicolored spinners. One had four colors, divided equally into quarters. As he spun the spinner again and again, we recorded the results with a makeshift pictogram. (When he spun yellow, we put a yellow counter in the yellow column, and so forth)
Then we did the same thing with a spinner that was half yellow.
In both cases I asked him:
Who do you predict will “win?”
What do you predict this chart will look like when we’re done?
What are the odds of spinning yellow?
We also played “Pig.” I have no idea […]
Original post by tribeofautodidacts
Sarah plays “On the Money” at the grocery store. She keeps track of the cost of each item we select in the grocery. Then she estimates the total grocery bill, using rounding, addition, and multiplication. She wins a little money of her estimate is very close.
Here, her estimate was only off by $2 on a $62.50 grocery bill:
Each of the kids has an “account” with me, in which allowances are kept. They can add or withdraw money from their accounts when they need too. Today, they computed their balances.
Sarah did it pretty easily. James needed help. He has a strong visual-spatial learning style and good number sense. But he has difficulty with anything requiring a step-by-step process. If he can’t just look at the problem and “get” it, he becomes lost and frustrated.
One thing he will NOT do is traditional column by column, right-to-left addition and subtraction with regrouping. (Egads […]
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We had a picnic and the kids explored the creek for a while. It was teeming with frog eggs and tadpoles.
Then we went to the lake
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Trishy and Granddad
Smithsonian Butterfly Garden
A view through the fountain
In the NGA sculpture garden
Sarah spent a lot of time in the National Gallery of Art and visited the National Museum of Natural History. We also explored the National Gallery’s sculpture garden.
James and Trishy spent a lot of time in the National Museum of Natural History, particularly the geology exhibits. We also explored the National Gallery’s sculpture garden.
Original post by tribeofautodidacts
Here are some pictures of the kids at a get together at Riven Rock today. They played in the creek and looked at tadpoles and fish. Sarah also found a spot where a multitude of Swallowtail butterflies was gathered. “It must have been mating time.”
James and Aengus, one of his very best buds, functioning on about 5 hours of sleep after a “sleep” over
Trishy
Sarah kicking butt and taking names in a water fight with the younger kids. She considered at least one mom to be fair game, too.
Original post by tribeofautodidacts
I have been thinking about plans for James for the coming year. (I’ll talk about the girls in separate posts.) I typed up a “report” of sorts on what we’ve been doing for the past year, along with some future plans and a checklist for our language arts studies. I just wanted to see it all on paper … y’know? In the unlikely event that anyone actually wants that much information … … here it is.
We recently did a mammal project, and part of our plan was to visit the National Zoo and the Hall of Mammals at the National Museum of Natural History. We’ve never been to the National Zoo. We went to the Hall of Mammals about a year ago. Its development was still in progress at that time; it showed mammals living on different continents. I thought it was quite good. With everything that’s been going […]
Original post by tribeofautodidacts
We live less than 30 miles from the Blue Ridge Parkway, and we are surrounded by an natural area that is really an embarrassment of riches. We don’t take advantage of it often enough.
Here are a few pictures from a recent hike up to the Humpback Rocks. Believe me, the photos don’t come close to doing it justice:
A word of caution. If you go up there, allow plenty of time for the hike. Don’t give into the temptation to watch the sun set over the Blue Ridge Mountains from the top of the Humpback Rocks. (It gets awfully dark on the way back down!) If you do, bring a flashlight. It’s tricky trying to find your way down the trail, in the dark, with the light from your cellphone.
Don’t ask me how I know this. Because I’m way to smart to do something like that … right?
Original post by tribeofautodidacts
Must be the Oktoberfest! No, not the real one. As part of Our study of Germany, we went to this event at the Frontier Culture Museum.
Music and Dancing …
Bratwurst …
In addition to the ubiquitous beer stands and the ever-popular Beer Hall music, there was a Beer Barrel Rolling Race. I’m telling you, the German people take beer very seriously. James, my high-energy kid, was really into the barrel racing. He participated four times!
Here’s the German farm:
some Polish Chickens
one of the interpretive guides, making pear butter
Hmmm … that would be a long way to fall. I wonder how deep that is?
James playing Kegelspiel
There was also the usual assortment of things offered at a Virginia fall festival, including face painting, pony rides, and - of course - funnel cakes. You can’t have a shendig here in the Valley without selling funnel cakes.
Here’s Sarah, helping Trishy paint pumpkins:
Overall, it was a fun day, […]
Original post by tribeofautodidacts
James at Junior First Lego League
I helped get this group off the ground and our awesome leader/coach, Laura, has been running it pretty much single-handedly. The First Lego League theme this year is Alternative Energy Resources. They’ve learned about energy sources, visited a power plant, and - of course - built stuff. They start their “big project” next week.
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“Around the World” Unit:
We started reading:
A Life Like Mine (Unicef)
I am glad Theresa reminded me of this fabulous book. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child outlined certain fundamental rights all children should have. This provides the book’s framework. It is arranged into four sections — “Survival,” “Development,” “Protection,” and “Participation.” It looks at how children throughout the world get (or don’t get) clean water, health care, education, and other things they need.
It is important to me that the kids understand that the way we live is not typical throughout the world. While we are not considered rich by middle class American standards, in the broad scheme of things we are obscenely wealthy. We have the luxury of focusing most of our time and energy on our kids’ education and development, while we take all our basic needs for granted. When I really stop to think about […]
Original post by tribeofautodidacts
from Funschool today. James played with his friends at Funschool for hours, then came home for a playdate with one of his two best buddies. He is getting worn out from all this time spent hanging out with his friends. Ah - these poor unsocialized home schooled kids!!
Here’s James with his OTHER best buddy, Aengus.
Oh, and have I mentioned lately how SWEET and considerate these kids are. *Laughing* James made me a birthday card Wednesday. It had a beautiful picture on the front. Inside, it said, “Happy Birthday Mommy, You Are OLD Because You’re 41.” Charming - huh?
I guess this is karmatic retribution. In 1980, my mom turned 40. I persuaded my little brother to buy her a card that said, “You’re 40. Congratulations! You’re finally as old as you look.”
If there is any justice she’s in heaven now … LAUGHING.
Original post by tribeofautodidacts
In “Part One”, James tested three types of paper airplanes - The Dragonfly, The Big Brown Bat and the Bald Eagle - by flying them and measuring the distance they traveled.
Next I helped him make a bar graph showing the results.
Last year, we sorted and graphed types of Hotwheels and Yu-Gi-Oh cards in his collection. (We created a pictograph for the Hotwheels and a bar graph for the trading cards). I definitely think he’s got the hang of this now.
We talked about the animal each plane was named for, and about the fact that the design of the airplane was loosely based on that animal’s adaptations for flying. For example, The Dragonfly had a large wingspan, but the Bald Eagle was more aerodynamic. We discussed adaptations and natural selection. He surprised me my showing me he remembered everything I’d taught him about natural selection. This led into a […]
Original post by tribeofautodidacts
I like to think of James as a Kinesthetic Learner (though the word “hyperactive” sometimes comes up in conversation).
Today he got his feet wet with the Scientific Method and practiced measurements with paper airplanes. It was adapted from this activity on the SREL Kids DO Science site.
James’ dad helped him make three paper airplanes.
L-R “The Dragonfly,” “The Bald Eagle” and “The Brown Bat”
The style of each airplane was loosely based on the adaptations that animal has for flying.
They both made a prediction as to which would fly the farthest. Dad predicted the Dragonfly would win. James chose the Bald Eagle.
They discussed independent and dependent variables. Then they collected data, measuring the distance with a tape measure.
The bald eagle is the winner!
Next Up: Graphing the Results
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… and it was a spectacularly gorgeous day!
James is on the Tsunamis. It seems apt to name a gang of 9-year-old boys after a natural force of destruction.
(Note: Other kids’ faces are blurred to protect their privacy)
Original post by tribeofautodidacts
The Northern Gods Descending
by William Gersham Collingwood
I. Social Studies: Around the World Unit
We’re continuing our unit on Germany. We have been reading Norse Mythology. I explained that early Norsemen came from Northern Europe (e.g. Denmark, Norway) into what is now Germany. They became Teutonic tribes (the earliest Germans) who worshipped Norse gods.
We’ve been reading:
D’Aulaire’s Book of Norse Myths (Just as good as their book on Greek myths)
Iduna and the Magic Apples by by Marianna Mayer, illus. by Laszlo Gal (Lovely illustrations)
II. Science/Nature Study
James and I started Noeo Biology II, learning about insects.
III. English
A. Sarah
1. She has been reading alone and with me, immersing herself in young adult literature.
2. We are continuing to revise the first draft of the novel we wrote together.
3. She started writing a new novel, and has plunged into it at full speed. The protagonist of her book is a teen-age boy with Asperger’s Syndrome. He has a […]
Original post by tribeofautodidacts
Friday, for nature study we started reading this book:
One Small Square: Pond
by Donald Silver
I gave each child - Sarah and James - two new nature notebooks. One was a plain sketchbook (like we’ve used in the past). The other was a “fill in the blank” type book titled My Nature Book:
Then we went hiking and swimming at beautiful Sherando Lake.
Sarah and I were not able to finish the rather steep, rocky trail we hiked. You guessed it, we’re badly out of shape. Of course, my having a toddler on my hands didn’t make this endeavor a little easier. James - he was the guy with the energy.
I have a serious weight problem and I’m hypothyroid. Sarah is now overweight, too. It seems to be due to some meds. she was taking. Having to be dependent on medications is quite an adventure in itself.
I set a goal […]
Original post by tribeofautodidacts
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