“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.

Snake Facts Slide Show

Image Gallery: Snakes of the World

The topic of earthquakes came up back in August when we studied skyscrapers, then again in September as part of our disaster preparedness studies.  Since we live close to the New Madrid fault line, and the boys were interested, we took a bit of a detour from our regular lessons to focus on learning about earthquakes.  As to be expected when the boys pick the topic of study, it was fantastic.  Below are the online resources we used as we researched, experimented, and learned about earthquakes.

Earthquakes explained, facts, and information  http://www.weatherwizkids.com/weather-earthquake.htm

Extensive list of earthquake related vocabulary words and their definitions http://www.brighthubeducation.com/science-homework-help/53594-earthquake-vocabulary-words/

17 Bible references to “earthquakes”  https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=earthquake&qs_version=NIV

Live Earthquake Map and Stats  From Around the World (Even now that our earthquake study is over, we’re still checking this site daily.  We’re amazed at the seismic activity that goes on everyday!)   http://quakes.globalincidentmap.com/

Information about the most severe earthquakes…

Years ago, at the family visitation before my daddy’s funeral, we were sniffling and dabbing our teary eyes, when my mom spoke up, “I wish your daddy was here, we could use a joke!”   My father would have had just the right one to tell.

My dad knew the art of telling a joke, eye contact, expression, dramic pause.  Some he made up, some he read or heard.  None were ever rude or offensive.  Though as a teen I would groan and roll my eyes when he told one, I would repeat it I first chance I got.  Whenever I see someone that knew my dad, they always say something about his sense of humor.

According the my special days calendar,  International Joke Day is celebrated on July 1.  This is a day to tell jokes not play jokes (pranks).  The purpose of this day is to make as…

The 4th of July, America’s birthday, is a fantastic opportunity for family fun, fireworks, food, and summer school learning!  I’ve found some great cross curricular and multi level resources to share as we celebrate,  explore, create, learn, review, and play through a unit study.

American Revolution Timeline starting with The Stamp Act (1765) and ending with The Treaty of Paris (1783)  http://www.ducksters.com/history/revolutionarywartimeline.php

Early America Resources – Documents, Photos, Biographies, and Videos https://www.varsitytutors.com/earlyamerica

Revolutionary War Videos          http://www.havefunwithhistory.com/HistorySubjects/AmericanRevolution.html

Tour Revolutionary War Battlefields                                  http://johnsmilitaryhistory.com/revvirtual.html

‘Revolutionary War’ Famous Paintings                                                    http://www.reenactmag.com/7-paintings-define-revolutionary-war/

Museum of the American Revolution – Impressive collection of objects, works of art, manuscripts, and printed works!     …

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/

Photo Gallery of arranged flowers from all 50 states

Free  US map of official flowers and each state’s official flower  coloring pages

Photo Gallery of Official State Flowers

Free Flower Anatomy Printables

Step by Step Flower Dissection Instructions 

Flower Science Experiments

Gardening and Flowers Vocabulary List

Wild Flower List

Wild Flowers Identification Guide

Edible Flowers