Third Grade, Science, Set Seven

We did some different things during this set.

1. We completed the last three Nature Friend magazines.
2. We watched a pumpkin rot.
• First, we carved it and let a candle burn in it for six (or so) hours.
• Then we put it outside by our compost pile.
• We put an un-cut pumpkin by it for our control
• Each day K. journaled the progress of its decomposition.
3. We learned about Thomas Edison.
• I had a study guide/activity book that went with a video about Edison.
• We watched the video and completed selected sections of the book.
4. We learned about the Galapagos Islands.
• In Clipper Ship (see Reading) they mentioned the Galapagos Islands, so I thought it would be fun to learn more about them.
• Here are the books we read:
• Galapagos Islands by Cynthia Kennedy Henzel
• Into Wild Galapagos by Jeff Corwin
• A Galapagos Island Food Chain by Rebecca Hogue Wojahn
• We're Off . . . to the Galapagos by Michael Mastorakis
• "Galapagos" Means "Tortoises" by Ruth Heller
• We're Sailing to Galapagos: A Week in the Pacific by Laurie Krebs

Third Grade, Science, Set Six

Along with reading Nature Friend Magazines, we completed about five work pages from the Long Beach Aquarium. We went there on their homeschooler's day. I had printed out these papers to do while we were there, but we were too busy enjoying ourselves to do them then. I decided we could do them as well after our visit, using the Internet to find answers to questions we didn't know. It was actually fun, and made the experience last longer and we learned more.

K. was sick during our week off, so I decided not to insist on her doing a project.

Third Grade, Science, Set Five

This time K.'s project was to create a bug and tell about it. I had her go through boxes of saved stuff -- soap bottles, tubes, cartons, cans, foam trays, etc. -- and pull out something to use for a head, a thorax, and an abdomen. I helped her attach them together. We made legs and wings and attached antenna. Then (because she doesn't like messy fingers) I covered it all with newspaper dipped in starch. Then she painted it. Her bug is called a Colton. I gave her eight questions to answer about the bug. Such as: where does it live, what does it eat, how does it defend itself, what is it's life cycle. She made a poster to answer these questions. She never really got excited about making the bug, but she liked making the poster.

Third Grade, Science, Set Four

Here is the poster about the platypus.

We are continuing to read one Nature Friend magazine each week, getting more books from the library to learn more about some animals or subjects. K.'s project after set four was identifying birds on our vacation.

Third Grade, Science, Set Three

We are continuing to enjoy reading the Nature Friend magazines. K's project  is a poster about the platypus. I'll put a picture up when she finishes.

Third Grade, Science, Set Two

We are enjoying reading the Nature Friend magazines. K. really enjoys finding books at the library about animals. Here are pictures of her first two projects.

 

This is a poster she did about dolphins. She wrote a report, drew a picture, and found some pictures to print.

 

One week during Set Two, K. picked up a book about the difference between lizards and salamanders. On her own, she began writing a report, so I suggested she use this subject for her second project. She completed the report, did a Venn diagram, made this diorama of their habitats, and labeled a diagram of a lizard's body.

Third Grade, Science, Set One

We are reading one Nature Friend magazine each week. I read most of the articles to K., but on Monday I have her look through the magazine and place sticky notes on the three articles she wants to read. Two of them she reads aloud. On Friday she reads the last one silently and then I ask her four or five questions about it.

 

Also on Friday she chooses a topic to learn more about. After the first week, I learned to be more general. For instance, we aren't going to find books about harlequin ducks at the library, but we will find books about ducks. I show her the list of general subjects and have her number her first, second, and third choices. Then we go to the library website and find the catalog numbers for them. That way when we go to the library we are ready to find the books and don't have to mess with their computers, which sometimes aren't working. K. is learning how to find books using the Dewey Decimal System.

 

The first week she wanted to read more about comets.

 

The second week she chose owls.

The third week she chose whales.

The fourth week she chose birds.

 

Each magazine has a few activities (word search, crossword, etc.) that we do as we come to them. I put a plastic transparent sheet over the page (hold it still with sticky notes) and use a water base marker to write our answers. This way we can pass the magazines on to friends and they can do the activities, too.

Over the planning week she will do a project. I had planned on her doing one of the subjects she had chosen, but she wanted to do dolphins, so I decided that her being excited about learning was more important than my plan. This project will be a poster. After reading some books about dolphins, she will write things she learned on the poster and add pictures. (This is actually an assignment in our grammar book.)