• HOME
  • {A}’s Chipmunk Training Archives

 Homepage

  • The Homestead
    • Home Projects
    • Home Improvement
    • Home Decor
      • Seasonal Home decor
        • FALL Home Decor
        • WINTER Home Decor
        • SPRING Crafts and Creations
        • SUMMER Crafts and Creations
    • Our Chickens
    • Gardening
    • Organization
    • Re-Purposing
    • Furniture Refinishing
    • Budget
  • Crafts & Creations
    • Seasonal Home decor
      • FALL Crafts and Creations
      • WINTER Crafts and Creations
      • SPRING Crafts and Creations
      • SUMMER Crafts and Creations
    • DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Project
    • Kids Arts and Crafts
    • Homemade/Handmade Gift Ideas
    • Holiday Crafts
    • Fan Pulls
    • Free Printable/Downloadable
    • Sewing Projects
    • Giveaways
    • Business Features
  • Recipes/FoodFun
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Main Dish
    • Sandwiches
    • Appetizers
    • Slow Cooker
    • On The Grill
    • Side Dishes
      • Soups
      • Salads
    • Baking
      • Breads, Rolls and Muffins
    • Snacks
    • Treats
    • Desserts
    • Drinks
  • Homeschooling
    • Elementary Homeschooling
      • Elementary Homeschooling READING
      • Elementary Homeschooling MATH
      • Elementary Homeschooling LANGUAGE ARTS
      • Elementary Homeschooling SCIENCE
      • Elementary Homeschooling HOME ECONOMICS
      • Kids Arts and Crafts
    • Middle School Homeschooling
      • Middle School Homeschooling SCIENCE
      • Middle School Homeschooling HOME ECONOMICS
    • Language Arts
    • Math
    • History / Social Studies
    • Geography
    • Foreign Language
    • Field Trips
    • Games
    • Nature Study
  • The Big Picture
    • Life In General
    • Celebrations
    • Faith
      • Into the Light; The Series
    • Giveaways
    • Reviews & Sponsors
  • Photography & Lettering
    • Photography
    • truck lettering
    • vehicle graphics
    • Newborns
    • Kids
    • Engagement
    • High School Senior Pictures
    • High School Senior Pictures Sneak Peeks

The Metamorphosis of Butterflies – Photos, Our Experiment & Study | Homeschooling

July 27, 2011 By Laura 2 Comments

metamorphosis-butterflies-study-homeschoolig-10

Hatching butterflies is probably a pretty standard experiment and  study for students, in both formal and home school educations alike.  It’s one that can be used as a Science participation lesson more than once in the course of ones education, because the benefits of the lesson are different for various ages.

For very young students, such as toddlers-K, it’s a really fun & exciting process to watch every day. At this age, they are full of both intelligent, and sometimes humorous, questions.  They are able to grasp the basic understanding of the stages.  Some little ones may rather non-nonchalantly accept the transformation from a caterpillar to a butterfly, simply as magic, in a way.

Older students comprehend the cycle and the information of the lesson at hand, on a bit of deeper level. Their more mature experiences of curiosity and intake of the study of nature and Creation, throughout their ages of years, has led them to a wiser perspective.  They are more fascinated than ever, by the works of God, and the magnitude of His power.  They may also more readily make observations, younger ones may not pick up on, such as happened in our family, that I’ll tell you about shortly, further into this post.

metamorphosis-butterflies-study-homeschoolig

Our study was of the butterfly species, the Painted Lady.  We purchased what we needed at a lovely nearby place called The Butterfly Garden Boutique, in Bourne, MA.  The owner was very friendly, helpful and informative, and supplied us with live caterpillars in a container with their food, and a small net pavilion. (Larger pavilions are available as well.).

metamorphosis-butterflies-study-homeschoolig-1 We had 5 live caterpillars, and it wasn’t a day or 2 after getting them home, did a couple begin to make their way to the top of the container. Inside the lid of the container provided, is a fabric like piece of material, for the caterpillars to attach themselves to for their transformation process.  We learned they do this, by dispensing a thread from a hole beneath their mouths.

metamorphosis-butterflies-study-homeschoolig-2

By the following day, the rest followed.

metamorphosis-butterflies-study-homeschoolig-3

Once each of the 5 were hanging, the transformation begins rapidly.  They first shed their skin, revealing a the green casing that is their chrysalis.

metamorphosis-butterflies-study-homeschoolig-4

Once we had 5 chrysalises attached to the material, we carefully took off the lid of the container, and pinned the material to the inside of our pavilion near the bottom, as instructed.

metamorphosis-butterflies-study-homeschoolig-5

Here is a closer look.  It was evident which chrysalises attached first, and which were more recently formed.  It was absolutely fascinating to learn, that the inside of the chrysalises in this pupa stage, the caterpillar is turning into a complete liquid form, before forming into a butterfly.  In this photo, you can see the the patterns of butterflies, through the somewhat transparent casing.

metamorphosis-butterflies-study-homeschoolig-6

As a reference of sizes, this is our small tent-like pavilion, and you obviously can see the chrysalises pinned to the back bottom.  The door is only unzipped and open for the sake of this photo.  Throughout the entire study, the pavilion resided here on the shelving table-top, between our school room and kitchen.  The kids were allowed to look anytime, but not touch the tent, as to not disturb the chrysalises.  Of course, I carefully did open the door now and then, to take photos.

Some mornings later, there was all kinds of excitement in the house…..

metamorphosis-butterflies-study-homeschoolig-7

Michael got up (very) early for his morning church job, and discovered a butterfly had emerged sometime during the night!  He woke the little ones up to show them, and soon they were running through the house to spread the word.  To {A} and Mama. Darn! We missed it.

Right above the butterfly, you can see the empty casing the butterfly emerged from.

metamorphosis-butterflies-study-homeschoolig-8

Those who observe butterfly hatching for the first time, may be surprised to learn that the hatching process is somewhat of a messy business! The red staining you see, almost appears to be blood, but it is actually just the leftover liquid excreted from the formation of the butterfly, through the pupa stage. In other words, waste.

Just as mentioned before, it is even more noticeable now, which butterflies are likely to hatch next. Can you guess?  It would be the darkest one.

metamorphosis-butterflies-study-homeschoolig-9
Our first hatched butterfly of the 5.

As unfortunate luck would have it, we unbelievably missed the actual emerging of every butterfly from it’s casing!  Seriously. The 2nd one came out while we were not aware, because we were busy doing a math lesson.  2 others emerged while we were sleeping, once again. And the 5th was while we were not home.  So you know what this means! We need to do this again!

At the beginning of this post, I was talking about the benefits and differences of children doing a butterfly metamorphosis study.  Our oldest, {A}, hatched butterflies twice, consecutively, when she was very little, and an only child. This time, being much older and wiser teenager, was a whole different experience for her, such as the following occurrence:

It was fairly late at night, and the little ones were in bed, when I was in the kitchen and peeked in at the butterflies, and spontaneously exclaimed, “Oh my!”.  {A}, who was in the kitchen too,  looked in and, without surprise or question, said “Oh yeah, they’ve been doing that like, every night.”  Then gave me some wide eyes and a giggle. Butterflies waste no time, to get mating, once they are emerged!  They only live 2-3 weeks, so they have little time to get pro-creatin’! ; )  Over the course of our study, there was many observations she had had, as the oldest, and more in-depth facts she was aware of. So it’s a continual learning process as the kids grow, and still the fascination of the whole cycle, never wears off. Not even for me!

We decided that the evening of {A}’s 14th birthday, was the perfect time to release our butterflies.  We had had a wonderful family day together, and the time had come, and seemed right.

metamorphosis-butterflies-study-homeschoolig-11

Our gardens seemed to be the perfect place to let them go, as well.  We hoped perhaps they would stick around the garden beds for at least a few days, and do some pollination work for us!  But first, the kids took a few more minutes to just watch their Painted Ladies, and say goodbye.

metamorphosis-butterflies-study-homeschoolig-12
Then they opened the door, to set them free.
One flew out right away!

metamorphosis-butterflies-study-homeschoolig-13
The others needed some encouragement.

metamorphosis-butterflies-study-homeschoolig-14

metamorphosis-butterflies-study-homeschoolig-15

metamorphosis-butterflies-study-homeschoolig-16 Finally, out flew another.  {A} was reaching in to lift one that was determined not to move…


metamorphosis-butterflies-study-homeschoolig-17
….while out flew 2 more.

metamorphosis-butterflies-study-homeschoolig-18
This one seemed quite as hesitant to leave us, just as we have been to let them go.

metamorphosis-butterflies-study-homeschoolig-19

metamorphosis-butterflies-study-homeschoolig-20 Soon, it fluttered off the kid’s hands, to a nearby garden flower.

We really enjoyed this study, and plan to return to The Butterfly Boutique again very soon, to spend some time in their Butterfly House, which is a screen house guests can enter, full of plants, flowers, a water fountain, and you guessed it…..lots of live butterflies! There’s also a Gift Shop, with beautiful butterfly-related jewelry, home decor, and more. And the Hungry Caterpillar Snack Bar! The boutique as a whole is a small but charming and fun place, for kids and adults alike. If you live nearby, or find yourself visiting Cape Cod, The Butterfly Boutique is very near both the Sagamore and Bourne Bridges. Visit their web site to get more information, and their exact location, which is so easy to get to.

As you probably know, butterfly kids can be ordered online as well, such as from here. There is also numerous resources to assist you and your children with educational information and activities.  I have gathered just a couple of links for you today.  For your younger ones, this web site has simple and minimal basic information about the life-cyle of the butterfly.  Here is a print-out as well, to just review, or use as a guide with what to expect, as you are hatching your own butterflies.  For your older children (middle school +),  this link offers more in-depth information about the life of butterflies.

It’s important to remember, that children who have fun learning, will enjoy it and seek to learn more.  Case in point, our children have continued to use the butterfly pavilion, with self-launched studies all on their own.  Following the release of our butterflies, the kids found a HUGE furry, nasty-looking cocoon in our woods, and were excited to see what would emerge! (I was rather scared.  I thought maybe a bear….or one of those seemingly evil hummingbird-moth-things.)  I will share photos of what came of THAT pupa, on our Facebook Page, very soon! So be sure you are following us! At this very moment as I type, that pavilion now holds 11 moths, and 1 large grasshopper, as the kids study them.

The learning never ends, at Our House Of Joyful Noise. Thanks for visiting with us for this post, and please feel welcome to share your own experiences, studies and observations, with butterflies, or any other insects!




Save

Save

Filed Under: Elementary Homeschooling, Elementary Homeschooling SCIENCE, Homeschooling, Middle School Homeschooling, Middle School Homeschooling SCIENCE, Nature Study, Science Tagged With: butterflies, butterfly-hatching, cape-cod-places-to-visit, cape-cod-things-to-do, chrysalid, chrysalis, great-homeschooling-experiments, great-homeschooling-nature-studies, hatching-butterflies, homeschooling, learning, life-cycle-of-a-butterfly, metamorphosis-of-butterflies, Painted-Lady-butterflies, Science, The-Butterfly-Boutique

Now (Book) Reporting |Elementary Homeschooling

July 7, 2011 By Laura 7 Comments

book-reporting-homeschooling-elementary-1

It’s always nice to have friends, who care about your kids in a sincere way, almost as much as you do.  Don’t you think? I have had a friend in particular like that, for 13 years now or so.   About half-way into our friendship, I began homeschooling our oldest, and at the time, only child. Eventually, we added 3 more students to our school, 😉 and are now transitioning into our 7th year of homeschooling . As of this post, the triplets are 9 years old and ~ 4th grade level.

My friend had 3 kids of her own, all close to my daughter’s age, adding a 4th along the way. She has also happened to be a teacher.  But somehow, all along, those two facts or common interests, have never really come together between us.  Until this year.  Oh, I may have, at times, happened to say something to her about our schooling, as a friend would in sharing what is happening in their life in girlfriend chit-chat. She in turn, has talked about her teaching, as a friend would in catching up as well.

Mind you, we are good friends, and see each other frequently enough. Our families get together here and there.  So it’s always apparent we care about each other & each others’ kids.  But I was especially impressed when on one day she came over this past winter, she brought something for my kids.

book-reporting-homeschooling-elementary

A big bag full of books, for them to borrow!  She knew how much they loved to read, and perhaps I had mentioned to her how difficult it always is, to keep up with keeping new material around for them to read as well.  They devour them, tending to read every book 2-3 times, because they’ve read them all. And we can only hit the library so much, you know? With 4 kids who aren’t easy to remove from the library once we’re in, I think twice some days!  Oh the guilt. So, I was thrilled with this surprise delivery!  So were the kids, gathering around.

But wait….she had more….

book-reporting-homeschooling-elementary-2

She then told them that she brought each of them their own journal, and she wanted them to write book reviews in it.  She kept the suggested format simple, and their excitement grew.  Because she’s not only a very qualified & passionate teacher who loves kids, but a mother too, she knew just the manner in which to communicate with them. Her presentation was exciting, and so they were inspired. I was smiling inside, a great big grin!

The very simple and casual format she suggested they use to write, following each book they read, was as follows:

  • Book Title
  • Author
  • Whether they liked the book or not, and why.
  • What their favorite part was, or what part they really did not like, and why.

She told them she really loved so many of these books herself, and she couldn’t wait to read all about what they thought of them.

And they were off! They couldn’t wait to get to work.

Now honestly, my kids need no encouragement to read, as you may have gathered by now. Writing, they actually don’t mind doing too much either. But I like them to write as much as possible.  Not for the sake of penmanship, but for the sake of formulating thoughts, organizing them, and putting them down on paper in a meaningful way. As a homeschooling educator, I strongly feel that developing strong writing skills is critical.  So needless to say….but I’ll say it anyway….This ‘surprise activity’ was one I thought was FABULOUS!

book-reporting-homeschooling-elementary-3

On the other hand, some of the kids’ penmanship can always use more practice too! In the course of our school days, they have days where they print super-neat, and days when they don’t.  That depends on one thing: effort!  Sometimes, they are excited to express what they want to say, or are just in a hurry for whatever reason, so they just whip it out at lightening speed! So it comes out messy.  Some of them need to practice s l o w i n g  d o w n, and being a little more mindful of each letter (or number) they are forming. Other times, they are not focused enough on the use of space between the lines: being sure capitals go to the top, and lower case are around half the size of the upper case.  They need to practice adjusting their letter sizes, to the kind of paper they are writing on.

book-reporting-homeschooling-elementary-4

But for their book reviewing, in these journals, the qualities of their penmanship, was not a factor that mattered to me to press at all. I mostly wanted them to focus on their thoughts about the story they read, and what they had to say about it. Keeping it a fun and leisure activity, was the approach our friend gave them, and I wanted to maintain that.  I had them for all of their schooling, to address the rest. And I sure do. 😉  Also, correct use of punctuation, spelling, indenting, paragraphs, proper grammar.  < I’m a freak about these things, Yo. >  😉 

I was amused to find a book in the pile,that brought back some fond memories for me …..

Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson.

My memories involving this book, make me smile.  When I was a kid, I started a new school, in 6th grade.  I had only gone to one other school, in my whole entire life. 😆  It was scary to start at a whole new school, with all new kids.  But I got a teacher that I not only loved, but my whole class loved.  Mrs. Curry made everything o.k.  She was petite, and pretty, with dark eyes and long black hair, and she had such a soft-spoken voice, with an accent….that was really fun(ny) to listen to.

And we got to listen to her a lot!  Because every afternoon, for a little while, she took off her shoes, climbed up on an empty student desktop and sat on it, facing us, with her bare feet on the chair, and she read to us.  I loved watching her read, and listening to her voice. Soon, however, we learned Mrs. Curry was going to have a baby.  We watched her belly grow, her walk turn into a cute waddle over the weeks, and how she started sliding up on to the desk with her big belly and arched back, rather than the way she so used to so casually just hop up there before.  She read us many books throughout that year.  But the only one I really remembered, was Bridge to Terabithia. I think the story line drew me in enough at one point, to make me forget about focusing so much on how nice Mrs. Curry was, that I was actually, truly listening.  Studying the book cover that faces us, as we listened, was another part of story time, for me.  I was an illustrator in the making, so the cover was almost everything.  If the cover was lousy, I’d probably never find out if the rest was good, because I wouldn’t bother reading it.  I don’t remember now, exactly what this book cover (of Bridge to Terabithia, that year in school) looked like, but I recall quite enough to know that it was different than this illustrated cover above, from the kid’s bag. The one from 6th grade had a brilliant yellow/orange/red color fade, and I believe a silhouette of kids on a bridge.

Or something similar.

Turns out, my own daughter (the girl triplet) loved this book best too….

book-reporting-homeschooling-elementary-6

So strange to to think of it, too long.  As I do.

A full circle of sorts,  from my own grade school life, to my own childrens’, and this book.

My daughter’s book review reminded me of more of the story, than I originally remembered.  I think it effected her in a deep and sad way, as it probably did for me.  Maybe that’s why it is the book I remembered most?  Possibly. Disturbing things do tend to stick with me.  But tragedies are a part of life, and it’s likely best to start grasping that reality through books first, in our young lives, before we are faced with such difficult circumstances in real life.

Come to think of it, I think that was the last book Mrs. Curry read to us.  And perhaps it did prepare me for an imminent tragedy in my own life.  Well…through the perspective of a 6th grader, anyway. But not enough for me.

Mrs. Curry announced she was leaving.  To be at home with her baby on the way that summer.

I was devastated.  Sr. Cathy, who replaced her, was just o.k., on a really good day.  She was a far cry, from Mrs. Curry.

book-reporting-homeschooling-elementary-7

Our oldest (14) got her own bag of books, being of an age that was suitable for more mature content.  She is a true, true book lover.  A collector already, I would say. In fact, maybe I should be sure she returns these books she took on loan from our friend, come to think of it. ; )

Along with her books, came this from our friend too……

This is a scan of just the front page. In reality, it is 9 pages, stapled together, full of writing prompts.

Wow.  No excuse for ‘Writer’s Block’ this time, huh?

(Gosh….maybe I should grab it, for my blogging! ; )  )

book-reporting-homeschooling-elementary-9

As I said, with schooling, all 4 kids write a lot, anyway. It’s required in my school here.  Their reports for me are actually much longer than these brief book reviews they do.

But the point of these was to encourage both reading & writing, and keep it in the light of a leisure and enjoyable activity, that is always available to us throughout our lives.

To update you as to how they did with all of this : 

When the kids quickly made their way through the first bag of books, my friend picked it up, and brought another to replace the first. : )  As a multi-grade-level teacher over the years, she has en enormous collection of books, off the shelves of her various classrooms.  The younger kids read probably 95%, if not every book, she has brought, and they have written reviews for….far fewer than that.   They started off gung-ho with the writing part!  But it lost some fizzle along the way, as they jumped straight from one book to the next, to the 8th, to the 14th, in a matter of a week or 2, before I thought to casually ask if they were continuing journaling for each.  “No, not for all of them.  But some!!” And that’s ok, because again, there is plenty of writing not only in school, but willingly on their own for other things as well, such as personal journaling, poems, notes, copying (they do this for fun? lol…), recipes, and more. They have all read 100’s of books, besides this bag, as well, since February. They just blow through them.

So the book-reviewing in their journals is stop & go, giving random reviews in their journals along the way. But the book reading is non-stop, in their day-to-day life.  They play hard outdoors, and everywhere we go.  But they have always used reading as their way of resting.  I love that!

Oh the places they have been, and the places they will go, through the pages of a book.

I’m really so happy to have such a good friend, who deeply understands the joy of teaching and encouraging children in their learning process, and watching the rewards of their development in them, along the way.  It’s one more mutual appreciation, we can share now.

So I’ve shared all of this with you, for your consideration in getting your own little scholars a journal for some book reviewing, suggest the simple format above, or your own ideas, and see what they do with it.  You may just find you have new & entertaining reading for your own enjoyment!:  their reviews!

Happy Schooling!


Save

Filed Under: Elementary Homeschooling, Elementary Homeschooling READING, Homeschooling, Reading / Writing, The Big Picture Tagged With: Bridge to Terabithia, elementary-book-reporting, elementary-homeschooling, encouraging reading and writing with kids, homeschooling, kids-book-reports

Fun Word and Picture Puzzles: Building Important Skills | Elementary Homeschooling

January 10, 2011 By Laura 2 Comments

fun-word-and-drawing-puzzles-for-elementary-age-kids-hoeschooling-2

I know I’ve blogged about puzzles before.  But, that was puzzles of a different kind.  I believe all of the studies, that all puzzles, are just good for our brain – young or old. (People, or puzzles, for that matter.)  They can help keep our brain active, quick, and sharp, and God knows I could use all of that. (Ask Him!)

So when a puzzle sort of exercise came up in my triplet 8 year olds’ Language book, we ran with it.  Puzzles come in many different forms.  Any exercise, of trying to figure something out, can be considered a puzzle, in my book. It’s the search in your head, for a solution – whether it be for a problem in life, a jigsaw, or 17 Across. Regardless, I love puzzles.  (OK, I actually do not love the jigsaw kind.  They are o.k. on occasion. )

As I was saying…..when a puzzle sort of exercise came up in…..uhhhh, my 3rd grade  Language Arts class ( <—solution! ; )… I was thrilled.  Because, puzzles are beneficial for the above stated reasons.  But these particular kind we came up to in our daily lessons, I saw how they had other benefits to offer, after accessing them.  Here’s in what other areas: Comprehension, and following directions, through reading words that direct one’s actions, is pretty important skills for our kids (yours and mine, collectively speaking), to develop.  Right?  Kids especially, need to have opportunities to develop these skills, to continue succeeding in their advancing education, eventually in the workforce of their choosing (if they want to keep their job), and naturally for everyday occurrences in the process of living.  That’s what these exercises, I called puzzles,  would help develop.   But…..it just-so-happens, they are FUN too!  And as I have always said, having fun is always the best way to learn!

So, without too much more chatter, I thought I would share with you first, the two puzzles my three 3rd graders did, show you their results following them, and then welcome you to print them off  for your kids to do, if they are in the appropriate age range, and would like to do them, too.  (But I have to tell you, I’d enjoy doing them myself. So if you are inclined to print them off for yourself, I won’t tell a soul. ; )

Puzzle ONE

1. Draw a circle.
2. Draw an upside down ice cream cone above and on top of the circle. ·
3. Draw a half circle on each side of the big circle.
4. Draw a U in the big circle.
5. Make two dots over the U.
6. Make one dot lower than the two dots, but above the U.
7. Make a circle on the point of the upside down ice cream cone.
8. Make a W under the big circle.
9. Color your picture!

WHAT AM I?

If directions were followed carefully, the drawing should look something like this:


fun-word-and-drawing-puzzles-for-elementary-age-kids-hoeschooling-1

That is just one of my student’s puzzle solution /drawings, after following the directions.  Of course all 3 of them had similar results, with only slight variations.  But all were correct in terms of following the directions correctly.

* If you would like to print off the directions to this puzzle, just click on the link above named ‘Puzzle ONE’, or click here.  It is a downloadable  and printable Word document, if I did it right.

Here’s another:

Puzzle TWO

1. Draw a big circle.
2. On the left top of the circle, draw an upside down V.
3. On the right top of the circle, draw an upside down V.
4. Draw a big W inside the circle, near the bottom.
5. Above the center point of the W, draw an O.
6. Near the left side of the W, draw a V lying on its side with the point of the V toward the W.
7. Near the right side of the W, draw a V lying on it’s side with the point of the V toward the W.
8. Near the middle of the circle, draw two small circles beside each other.
9. Color your picture!

WHAT AM I?

Here’s the results of this puzzle, by one of my student kids:


fun-word-and-drawing-puzzles-for-elementary-age-kids-hoeschooling

*Again, if you would like to print off the directions to this puzzle, just click on the link above named ‘Puzzle TWO’, or click here.  It is a down-loadable  and printable Word document, if I did it right.

The kids had such a good time doing these, that I thought I would  keep working with these puzzles a little more, but put their own writing skills to use.  In fact, I was reversing their role, from puzzle solver, to puzzle creator.   I gave them the assignment, of each writing their own puzzle directions.  Then later, they would have the opportunity, to solve each other’s puzzles the other 2 had written.  They loved the idea, and had a great time doing it!!

SO……I have their puzzles, that they wrote themselves, to offer you too! I am displaying them in this post, (as their handwritten papers, which I scanned) but their titles are down-loadable links for you too! Now this time the downloadable links are PDF documents, and they are just what you see below – handwritten by the kids.  Why?  Because I totally did not feel like typing them all over.  I think they are readable enough for you to figure out, and they have some endearing homemade character.  Especially, my spilled coffee stain, on {S}’s paper. ; )    Just keepin’ it real!


J’s puzzle

fun-word-and-drawing-puzzles-for-elementary-age-kids-hoeschooling-3

O’s puzzle

 

fun-word-and-drawing-puzzles-for-elementary-age-kids-hoeschooling-4 –

S’s puzzle

fun-word-and-drawing-puzzles-for-elementary-age-kids-hoeschooling-5


You and/or your kids,  may have more fun than you think you will, doing these puzzles.  If you do, I will take total credit for that. You may also have less fun, than you think.  That will not be my fault.  I am easily amused, and often presume everyone is as easily amused as I am.  : )

If you do download the kid’s puzzles, or follow them from the computer, YOU KNOW WHAT WOULD BE FUN?  (Or, you know, I think it would be…).  Letting us know the solution you came up with, for each kid’s puzzle!!  What does your drawing look like?  Let us know in the comments section below, afterward. Don’t worry.  We’ll tell you if you are wrong! ; )

Hope you enjoyed this post!  And hope you enjoy the puzzles too!!

Don’t sprain your brain, now! ; )



Save

Save

Filed Under: Elementary Homeschooling, Games, Homeschooling, Reading / Writing Tagged With: building-comprehension-skills, building-following-directions-skills, educational-puzzles-for-kids, elementary-homeschooling, fun-activities-for-homeschooling, homeschooling, word-drawing-games, word-drawing-puzzles

Homeschooling in the Kitchen | Food for Thought; Literally!

November 14, 2010 By Laura 7 Comments

homeschooling-kids-in-the-kitchen-6

I’m sure I’ve been forthright about this before, as much as it makes me feel a little bad to say out loud.  (Figuratively speaking.)  But there always moments in time when these things come up, and there is some purpose in being truthful in the matter. Right?

Well, this is one of those times.

So the truth is, <whisper> my mother was just not very domestic in the kitchen. Nor was her mother. <end of whisper> Which says something not good.  Doesn’t it?

I’ll answer that.  Yes it does.

It says that the chances of me being one, was slim to none.

Unless of course, I broke the cycle, and took responsibility for myself.  Made different choices. And God-willing, began a new cycle for my children, and grandchildren, to carry on.

(I’m not really that smart.  I read something like that in a book once.)

I have to say, I did know plenty about cleaning, weeding gardens, and working hard coming into this holy-Sacrament-of-marriage-thing.  I worked for a little old lady from the time I was 11 years old until I was14, every Saturday.  Her name was Mrs. Flahive, (pronounced with long vowels.)  I cleaned her house top to bottom, kept up her gardens, weeded her stone patio, changed the sheets on the beds, did laundry, etc.  I even polished her silver with some grayish-brown, horrid-smelling stuff. I learned a lot from her.  Although I didn’t really appreciate the value in the tasks, at the time.  I never even thought about how they would serve me well someday, in my own home-keeping years.

Some things, she was very particular about how it was done….such as the fine techniques of folding sheets, or making a bed.  It’s funny that I insist on these same techniques in my own home now. lol   She was a nice old lady, made me a fine lunch which we enjoyed together, and later had an afternoon tea as well.  And then she paid me too! She paid me well, I might add. For a kid. Of course, I was also risking my life twice a day, every Saturday, as this 80 year old woman who peered through the hole of her steering wheel, picked me and and brought me home.   I’ll never forget that time we were heading for the side of the bridge…..

But admittedly, I was slow coming around as a new bride-to-be, in the cooking and baking area.  I think becoming a mother sort of kicked me into domestic-gear. Somewhat. Until then, my husband and I did o.k., together. He did have more of a domestic mother, all the way around.  From what I could tell, anyway.  So he had watched, learned, and praise God, was not helpless himself when we married.

Yes, all of this story-telling has everything to do with homeschooling.
In particular today: Homeschooling in the Kitchen

I don’t know if they even have Home Economics in school anymore.  Do they?  But I heard they did, back when I was in school.  Problem is, I went to a private Catholic high school, where the guidance counselor, was also the Geometry teacher sometimes, and the principal was sometimes the Religion teacher. (That was a bad run.). The gym teacher helped in areas he should have never been helping, with the senior girls, if you know what I mean. (But I won’t go there today.)  In other words, we were just a small school, without any extras.  We didn’t even have a football team. Or a field of any sporty-kind.

 

homeschooling-kids-in-the-kitchen My mom was a wonderful mother in many ways, so don’t get me wrong.  But seeing as though I was not learning much in the kitchen at home, it would have been nice to learn about some of the cooking and baking stuff, especially, somewhere.  In retrospect, I mean. (Because I am quite sure I could have cared less at the time.)   And so seeing as though my kids are not in school, and won’t be going to high school either, where they may or may not have gotten Home Ec classes, I feel it is up to me to be sure they get some!!  Otherwise, they could end up as a floundering bride or groom some day.  And if they marry the same, there is going to be a big problem.  Like. . . . a travesty. Know what I’m saying?

homeschooling-kids-in-the-kitchen-1 So I need to be sure, my kids get a domestic bone from me, some way, some how, some day.   Hopefully before they are married, or are out on their own.  Even if they are single, I don’t want them resorting to fast foods and whatnot!

And so it was that mindset that I was in, when I got my kids (happily) helping out in the kitchen, since they were about ohhhh….so tall. (Use your imagination.  It’s pretty short.)

But it was in having them help, that I realized just how much schooling can happen in the kitchen!  And the more we do it, the more I see the lessons happening.

It’s a whole lot more than Home Economics!

Let’s see…….

homeschooling-kids-in-the-kitchen-2

First, there is READING…..the directions.  I have them do it out loud. It’s such an opportunity for new kitchen-related VOCABULARY words, SPELLING words, and PROPER PRONUNCIATION.

On this particular day in the kitchen, we were making an ordinary box of  cinnamon streusel cake, and making the apple version.

homeschooling-kids-in-the-kitchen-3 Then, comes FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS, of what was just read, very carefully.


homeschooling-kids-in-the-kitchen-4 MATH is a biggie!  (age depending.)  There is counting, adding and subtracting, and measuring. (Especially when halving or doubling a recipe.)  Reading numbers, and temperatures!

homeschooling-kids-in-the-kitchen-16

SCIENCE is everywhere, in the operating kitchen.  How does one ingredient react, when another is added to it?  Why must we temper some ingredients first, before adding to the big batch.  (There’s another new word!  So what does it mean, and how do we do it?)

What happens with various temperatures set in the oven, and what is the difference between baking, and broiling?

homeschooling-kids-in-the-kitchen-5

Enjoying our time spent together counts for something too! For some, it truly is a learned behavior!

(Not for my kids, of course.  I’m just sayin’ ; )

homeschooling-kids-in-the-kitchen-7

How about the ins and outs of KITCHEN SAFETY?   We are using sharp knives, reaching into hot ovens….

homeschooling-kids-in-the-kitchen-8

…..and operating heavy machinery!

(After you read this post, you may want to find out how this sweet piece of machinery hummed it’s way into our lives, and MiXeD everything up, HERE. ; )

Uhh, by the way…….Where’s the fire extinguisher, just in case?  And how do you use that?

We don’t want to learn that Science, in an emergency. You want to know how to use that thing if you need to!  And if all else fails,< insert the family fire drill skills here>, and we’ll meet at the telephone pole across the street!

Back to the lessons at hand…

homeschooling-kids-in-the-kitchen-9

Learning how to WORK AS A TEAM, and also ……..

homeschooling-kids-in-the-kitchen-10 …….admitting when you need help, and allowing others to help you.


homeschooling-kids-in-the-kitchen-11

All of these lessons I mentioned, are just the topping of the cake.

I am sure you could think of plenty more, in addition to mine.

Think on it.

homeschooling-kids-in-the-kitchen-12
OH OH OH!! I just thought of another one!!  The one I think we all like to forget!:

The RESPONSIBILITY of cleaning up the mess!

homeschooling-kids-in-the-kitchen-13

But most times, we can do so, while we enjoy the mouth-watering smell we’ve created in the air.

homeschooling-kids-in-the-kitchen-14
Ahhhhhh……smells…..SO…….good!!!   We can hardly wait to cut into it, indeed!

homeschooling-kids-in-the-kitchen-15

Of course the best lesson of all:, our mouths and our bellies, REAP THE REWARDS OF our HARD WORK.

***

All kids, home schooled or not, can benefit from the lessons to be learned in the kitchen.

What lessons have I missed mentioning?  Help me out here.

I’ll be hoping you can you add to my list, because I know there is a lot more.  And you’re smart cookies.

While I wait, if you’ll excuse me, I need to head down to the laundry room, transfer clothes from the washer to the dryer, sort some piles, and start a new wash load.

And you can bet I’ll be taking a kiddo down with me.  And believe it or not, they’ll be excited to come and help! (And secretly learn.)

Hopefully, I’m cutting my chances here of them coming home on weekends from college, accompanied by several loads of laundry.  If they do, we’ll be repeating those lessons, that weekend.  ; )

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Filed Under: Elementary Homeschooling, Elementary Homeschooling HOME ECONOMICS, Elementary Homeschooling SCIENCE, Homeschooling, Math, Middle School Homeschooling, Middle School Homeschooling HOME ECONOMICS, Middle School Homeschooling SCIENCE, Science Tagged With: Catholic-blogs, Catholic-families, elementary-homeschooling, homeschooling, homeschooling-in-the-kitchen, kids-in-the-kitchen, kitchen-lessons-for-kids, middle-school-homeschooling, teaching-following-directions, teaching-kids-home-economics, teaching-kids-measuring, teaching-kids-responsibility, teaching-kids-science-in-the-kitchen, teaching-math-in-the-kitchen, triplets

Boston Museum of Science | Field Trip | Homeschooling

October 12, 2010 By Laura 3 Comments

One of our first field trips of this new homeschool year, was to the Boston Museum of Science!

001_boston_museum_of_science-214x300
{JM, O & S} are at that age now, where I knew they would really benefit from going, on an educational level.
{A}, of course, has been an appropriate age for some time, and she found many areas of interest that she enjoyed learning more about.

We left home early in the morning.  I have to add, that I had decided I was not going to lug my big camera equipment around…because that was one of the reasons why we got {A} the Canon point and shoot for her birthday, right? But I have to tell you…it was hard!  I felt like I was leaving one of my children behind! I was walking to the car in the drive-way as we left, asking myself…can I really do this?  I made myself leave it home, and I worked on learning how to work this little thing better.  And I’m still working on it. I’m an all manual girl for sure.

Anyway, we were there until late afternoon.  This museum really is a place where you could spend at least2, maybe even 3 days at, to really enjoy it to the fullest, and not miss anything. Thankfully, we live close enough that we’ll be going again soon.  The planetarium here at the Boston Science Museum, is currently under construction until early 2011.  So we’ll be returning to see that when it re-opens. Especially because the little ones are studying Astronomy this year.  But we certainly filled our day taking in all we could, enjoyed every moment expanding our knowledge on a variety of subjects, and having fun while we learned!

boston-museum-of-science-field-trip boston-museum-of-science-field-trip-1

This very large scale grasshopper model displayed the internal parts of the insect, and their function.  It was interesting to see the muscles of their legs, which are quite powerful in relation to their size.  They can jump up to 20 times the length of their own body.

boston-museum-of-science-field-trip-2

A real highlight of our trip, was this educational exhibit on electricity.  The scientist was extremely knowledgeable and held our attention for sure.  His ‘science lab’ was intriguing, as he explained a variety of facts.

boston-museum-of-science-field-trip-3

We were often advised to protect our ears for certain demonstrations where the electrical currents were very loud.  The kids were getting a little upset with me, because I kept uncovering my ears in order to take photos. But I got a shot with an electrical current like I wanted! Cool, huh?

boston-museum-of-science-field-trip-4

These 2 guys were sure they were stronger than a AA batteries.  But this demonstration proved them wrong. They were sorry they volunteered their manhood strengths, because the magnetic force that was created here, won in the end.

I was talking to my cousin’s middle school boy this past weekend (smart little fella), who took a field trip here when he was in 5th grade.  He mentioned one of the highlights for his class was the electricity demonstration here too.  They saw a couple different demos than we did this day.

The kids very all excited for this space exhibit, since they are currently learning all about astronomy.   So this area in the following photos was very educational for them, and really brought to life so much of what they have been studying.

boston-museum-of-science-field-trip-5

boston-museum-of-science-field-trip-6

boston-museum-of-science-field-trip-7

boston-museum-of-science-field-trip-8

boston-museum-of-science-field-trip-9

Inside the spaceship capsule, watching an educational video about the space shuttle.

boston-museum-of-science-field-trip-10

boston-museum-of-science-field-trip-11

boston-museum-of-science-field-trip-12

This contraption was something else.  There was so much it did.  Engineering at it’s best.  It was so much fun to watch it work.

boston-museum-of-science-field-trip-13

As we looked at it, and watched the intricate and clever functions of it all, I thought to myself, “I can see {JM} building something like this, someday.”

boston-museum-of-science-field-trip-14

No sooner did I think that, did he ask me to take his photo in front of it.  He was grinning from ear to ear, and I could see his wheels turning.  I think he was inspired.

boston-museum-of-science-field-trip-15

boston-museum-of-science-field-trip-16

I loved this wall.
–

But this was the highlight of the trip, for ME, at the Boston Museum of Science!  When I ever came around the corner, and saw this…..my heart was all a-flutter!….


boston-museum-of-science-field-trip-17 An old school house!  I know they around here and there..like at Sturbridge Village, my cousin reminded me.  I haven’t been there since I was very little, and I don’t remember anything there. (That’s another planned trip for us!).  But I was very excited to be able to see this one, and GO IN!!

boston-museum-of-science-field-trip-18

boston-museum-of-science-field-trip-19

boston-museum-of-science-field-trip-20

I was smitten, with every nook, cranny, and detail.

boston-museum-of-science-field-trip-21

And I couldn’t resist playing teacher!

boston-museum-of-science-field-trip-22

Thankfully I even had willing students, to play along and amuse me!!  Their clothing was all wrong, but I didn’t care.

boston-museum-of-science-field-trip-23

So was mine.  But I was having fun.  Michael was taking photos of my antics, left and right.  I was glad I had on one on his shirt for this shot….so no one could see my mom jeans.  ; )

Just kidding.


boston-museum-of-science-field-trip-24 {O}, pretending to write.
–


boston-museum-of-science-field-trip-25 Check out the desk.  Michael reminded me that we have an old school desk his parents gave him, when they moved from this area some years ago.  I forgot about that!!  I’m going to find it, and maybe bring it upstairs and put it in our school room. : )
–


boston-museum-of-science-field-trip-26 THERE’S the pencil sharpener I remember.
–

boston-museum-of-science-field-trip-27


boston-museum-of-science-field-trip-28 I didn’t easily leave the school house area!  As we stepped out and I looked at it from a little ways, I started to have crazy thoughts.  Out loud.  Like…”You know Michael, I bet you could build me one of these fairly easily.”  And to my surprise, he didn’t even chuckle.  He asked me where we would put it.  Huh.  Oh…..I guess I’ll find a spot then!
–


boston-museum-of-science-field-trip-29 I loved this display.  It slowly turned.

Behind it was a whole room of taxidermied animals!  As we explained to {JM, O & S} about what taxidermy is, the process, and when and why it is done, they were wide-eyed!!  We couldn’t help but laugh.  I remember being about their age, and trying to wrap my brain around it all, when I learned this little fact of life, too.  They were so cute.

{A} knew about taxidermy, but she said she found seeing the stuffed animals here very interesting anyway, because it gave her an accurate scale of the size of the animals.  For example, we saw a Grizzly Bear and a Black Bear side-by-side, and she was surprised to see how much larger the Black Bear was.  She always assumed Grizzly Bears were the larger.

boston-museum-of-science-field-trip33

It was a great trip, to a really great museum, for all of us.  We look forward to returning there within this school year again, to see the planetarium, and have another day studying the world of science (all of God’s Creation), history, mathematics and social studies.

Have you ever visited the Boston Museum of Science?  If so, what part of your visit did you like best?

Thanks for reading along and following some of our home schooling adventures we chronicle here.  We’re glad you stopped by.

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Filed Under: Elementary Homeschooling, Elementary Homeschooling SCIENCE, Field Trips, Homeschooling, Middle School Homeschooling, Middle School Homeschooling SCIENCE, Science Tagged With: Boston Museum of Science, Boston-area-places-to-visit, Boston-museums, homeschooling, homeschooling-field-trips, museums, Science, science-field-trips

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 11
  • Next Page »

We are wicked happy to have you here! We hope you find much inspiration, help, humor and enjoyment here.




Archives



POPULAR POSTS

* * * * * *

SUBSCRIBE to House of Joyful Noise blog! Every new post, delivered right to your email box!


Privacy Policy

Amazon Affiliates

Never at any additional cost to you, we may earn a small commission for our endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products from our website. Your purchase through our links helps support our family, while sharing with you the products we authentically use and recommend, for various ideas, and letting you know where you can purchase them. Thank you for your support!

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2025 HouseOfJoyfulNoise.com · Genesis Framework by StudioPress