Tag Archives: teacher resource links

Salem Witch Trials

This being Halloween week, we have decided to study the Salem Witch Trials for our American history lessons. Our goals for this study go beyond learning history and adding pages to our notebooks . I hope that when this week is over we will have a better understanding about how dangerous rumors can be, and how easy it is to fall into the trap of contributing to the spread of false accusations.

As with all of our studies, this one started with a library trip. These are the selections we chose for our witch trial studies.

Below are the links to the online resources we are using.

Easy to read 2 page article about the Salem Witch Trials http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/colonial/jb_colonial_salem_1.html

Biography of Increase Mather and witch trial word puzzles, printables, worksheets and quiz http://gardenofpraise.com/ibdmath.htm

Witch Hat themed writing paper printables for notebooking and journaling

Video walking tour of Salem http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qau3Xrv7-g

The following links are what my teens are following for further study.

Short article explaining the possible causes of the mass hysteria occurring during the Salem witch trial era http://ancientstandard.com/2011/07/11/salem-witch-trials-mass-hysteria-or-mass-lsd-trip/

From the History Channel http://www.history.com/topics/salem-witch-trials/videos#

Letters, maps, sermons, art, and trial transcripts http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/home.html

PDF of Author Miller’s The Crucible http://asbamericanlit.edublogs.org/files/2011/10/21078735-The-Crucible-Arthur-Miller-2hmdzot.pdf

Salem Witch Trial Interactive Game – “Can You Survive Salem’s Witchcraft Hysteria?” (This is not for younger children, it needs to be played/reviewed by the parent before giving the link to the teens)

Free Teaching Resource Links of the Week

Free Educational Links of the Week

Roar!

Dinosaurs…kids love them and want to learn about them so homeschooling parents teach it. But the study of dinosaurs can lead to debate, especially for the parent who is using social media to ask for lesson links or curriculum suggestions. This discussion/debate is active once again as many of us are planning out our studies for the school year. I have some thoughts, article links, and some teaching resources here.

https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/05/25/dino-debate/

betty jo

Happy Birthday America

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Even though today is a holiday, it is not going to be a day off from homeschool/summer school. The learning possibilities are too numerous to pass up by not having some lessons.

We will be starting here with a slide show of a trip across America on the Google home page. https://www.google.com/

I download the freebie, Why We Celebrate the 4th of July, from Simple School and Currclick yesterday for J and Z. We got started on it and I think it is very nice. It contains some historic information and copy work, It even has a couple of things the older kids can use, too. http://www.currclick.com/product/48874/Simple-Schooling-Why-We-Celebrate-the-4th-of-July?it=1 (You will need an account to get the free download. If you don’t already have one, I highly recommend you getting one and sign up for their e-mail newsletters and updates. This is my favorite resource site.)

Also, Activity Village is offering some free 4th of July printables that we’ll be using. http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/fourth_of_july_activities_for_kids.htm

Quiztree has an interactive art and history activity that we will take a look at. I think this is very cool. You hover the mouse over each person in Trumbull’s famous painting, The Declaration of Independence, and the name of the person appears at the top of the screen. http://www.quiz-tree.com/Declaration-of-Independence-Trumbull.html

We’ll follow this link for music appreciation http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1801-1900/1st-performance-of-samuel-f-smiths-america-11630412.html?utm_source=This%20Week%20in%20Christian%20History%20-%20Christianity.com&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=07/03/2013

Movies are are the planner for today also. E suggested we watch The Patriot, and she and B can, but that’s not suitable for my younger boys. We all can watch this episode of Liberty’s Kids though.

Finally, we’ll end up our studies in the kitchen. We’ll be making this simple angel food cake, blueberry, strawberry, and whipped cream layered dessert.

We even have a community service project tonight. We will be passing out mosquito repellant bracelets with our church at our city’s fireworks display.

Have a safe and happy Independence Day!

betty jo

Log Cabin

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According to my special days calendar, June 25 is Log Cabin Day, a day to appreciate the historic importance of log cabins. And it’s a day to remember what life was like a couple of hundred years ago when things weren’t so easy. Log cabins will be the topic of our homeschool/summer school lesson of the day.

We will go here for some general information and history about log cabins. Western Expansion: Log Cabin

Make a pretzel and graham cracker log cabin! https://www.marthastewart.com/272922/presidents-day-log-cabin

Milk Carton and Stick Craft http://www.dltk-kids.com/usa/mcabin.html

Check out these Dream Home Log Cabin Photos! https://loghome.com/articles/category/home-tours/

E, B, and I will watch an episode of Frontier House, a PBS documentry from a few years ago. It featured modern families who agreed to try homesteading like the pioneers would have in the 1800’s. (Some of the dialog may not be appropriate for younger children, so I’m hoping to distract Z and J with their Lincoln Log set.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m7ovkbu7cw

betty jo

The Great American Backyard Campout

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June 22 is the Great American Backyard Campout! This event is organized by the National Wildlife Federation. Thousands of families across America will be camping out and connecting with nature and each other.

I really have no desire what so ever to sleep on the ground. But, we will set up our tent so Z , J, and their friends can play in it. And if they can talk B into staying out with them, then they can spend the night backyard camping. However, I am in favor of campfire roasted hot dogs and s’mores and have volunteered to help with the campfire cooking.

As a homeschooling mom, I tend to make every thing a learning opportunity. I found these links to follow as we learn “camping”.

Tips, songs, recipes, campfire stories, and more at the Great American Backyard Campout site http://www.nwf.org/Great-American-Backyard-Campout/Get-Ready.aspx

Free camping activity pack from the coolest nature resource website http://www.naturedetectives.org.uk/packs/camping_pack.htm

Last summer, the week before the Great American Backyard Campout, we made this camping lapbook from http://www.homeschoolshare.com/camping_lapbook.php It was neat looking back over it. It is also a great reminder of what Z and J are going to be needing for their backyard campout this year.

betty jo

Garfield (the Cat, Not the President)

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According to my special days calendar, June 19 is Garfield’s (the cat, not the president) birthday! We will be having fun learning with our favorite cat as part of our homeschooling summer school subject of the day.

I’ll be combining math, health, science, and life skills as the kids add up the calories contained in our crock pot lasagna kitchen project, and figure how much Wii Just Dance it will take to burn those calories.

We checked these out from the library for hilarious reading.

I found these links for the kids to follow for computer lab, art, and fun.

Garfield Online Comics

educational games http://www.professorgarfield.org/pgf_home.html

how to draw for younger kids http://www.dragoart.com/tuts/12843/1/1/how-to-draw-garfield-easy.htm

drawing for older kids http://www.my-how-to-draw.com/how-to-draw-garfield.html

games for fun http://www.garfield.com/fungames.html

And what would a Garfield themed day be without a nap? I’m putting that in our day’s plans, too.

betty jo

Mathematical Art

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“For me it remains an open question whether [this work]
pertains to the realm of mathematics or to that of art.”

– M.C. Escher

June 16 , 1898 is the birthday of mathematician/graphic artist M.C. Escher. He combined art with science and geometry. He created colorful and interesting tessellations, polyhedra, and topologies. His bizarre and fascinating works are more famous today, than they were during his lifetime.

As part of this weeks homeschooling summer school calendar studies, we will be following these links as we learn about M.C. Escher and attempt some mathematical art of our own.

Biography http://www.surfnetkids.com/go/205/about-mc-escher/

Picture gallery http://www.mcescher.com/Gallery/gallery-symmetry.htm

Art gallery tour https://www.nga.gov/features/slideshows/mc-escher-life-and-work.html

How to draw an impossible cube Escher style http://www.wikihow.com/Draw-an-Impossible-Cube

Online tessellation games http://www.mathcats.com/explore/tessellationtown.html

Printable worksheets http://printableworksheets.in/?dq=M%20C%20Escher

betty jo