According to the Special Days in August list, the 14th is the anniversary of the invention of Wiffle Ball. Wiffle Ball is one of the best backyard activities! The game doesn’t require expensive equipment, a large area, or a lot of people. It’s wonderful for PE and science (and history too)! Here’s some resources to learn about the history of the game, the science behind the Wiffle ball, and the rules on how to play.
The last week of July is the official Discovery’s Shark Week! This must be a popular summer learning theme for homeschools, summer schools, and families, because there’s awesome resources available! Here’s the resource links to what is being shared in the Facebook home education groups and through my e-mail subscriptions.
“Snakes. Why’d it have to be snakes?” asks Indiana Jones, and this homeschooling mama is asking that too! I know some people who have pet snakes and enjoy them and others who have extreme fear of them. Growing up in Kentucky, I’ve even heard rumors of snake handling in churches! Personally, I’m in more of a basic “just avoid them” category. Honestly, I’d rather avoid a snake study but “July 16 – World Snake Day” was marked on our list of Special Days in July , which means it’s an interest study request. I don’t want to say no to an interest study, and it’s been a while since we did an animal research project, so …
Here’s my collection of cross curriculum snake themed resources to share with you for when you find yourself facing a snake study.
Snakes in Art – Statues, paintings, pottery, drawings, and more, from ancient to modern day, and from all over the world. (Again, Heads up! Not all will be appropriate for families, but you can easily choose which pieces suit your study.)
Printable Snakes and Ladders Game – “When you download the game, you will get a printable board and a set of question cards. With every move the player has to answer a question in order to stay on their new position. This game comes with the questions of the World of Knowledge game. But you can create your own set of questions. But you can also play it without any questions, just roll the dice and have fun!”
I couldn’t find a “snake” math resource so I’m thinking I can use some printable math task cards for the above Snakes and Ladders game.
There’s hundreds of thousands of snake related videos on Youtube and I’m sure we’ll watch a few of them. Since we’re fans of “Good Mythical Morning” I have this one saved for ‘fun?‘ and a crazy PE idea (not real snakes but maybe a rubber one or two).
I’ve already been to my local library’s website and put some snake books on the hold shelf. We don’t have a zoo in our area, but we do have nature centers and pet stores, so I think a field trip can be easily planned to wrap up our snake study.
These photos are showing a few of the flowers we have growing in our backyard. We’ll be looking at them closely as we venture on to our next summer school study.
American Flowers Week begins June 28th and that’s a wonderful time to begin a summer school study about flowers! Here’s a fantastic list of free cross curricular resources for learning about and with flowers!
“American Flowers Week is the advocacy, education and outreach campaign …” Find out more about the celebration and how to participate at their website! https://americanflowersweek.com/
June 21 is the first day of summer and the start of fantastic summer time learning! Here’s a list of free cross curricular summer themed resources and activities:
A Mid Summer Night’s Dream from “No Fear Shakespeare” ( Shakespeare’s language side-by-side with a facing-page translation into modern English) http://nfs.sparknotes.com/msnd
Still Learning Something New 