Q is for Qualls, Sean Qualls

-
Honestly I don't think I have spent as much time on any other letter of the alphabet as I did with Q!  Q really stumped me! I could not think of an author or series that started with Q.  I did a few Google and internet searches and found Sean Qualls.

We really enjoyed his book Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel of Ofosu Yeboah while learning about the various countries that make up the continent of Africa.

We discovered that he also illustrated a few other children's books that we can not wait to read:

The Case for Loving talks about the supreme court ruling in Virginia that finally made interracial marriages legal. 








Home Matters Linky Party - Grab Button

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Unschooling Ideas for all subjects

-
Image
The boys all piled into my bed for some snuggling and cuddling.  We talked and just enjoyed hanging out with one another for quite a bit.  Once they all started tickling one another, feet were flying and wrestling ensued I decided to sneak out and spend some time on the computer coming up with a plan of activities.



It seems our weeks go best when I have activity ideas already in my mind when the week begins. 

 If we don't get around to them it's not a big deal, but it seems to work best if I have suggestions for some fun learning games and projects.

Typically I only plan enough activities to last us until lunch and then they're on their own for actual unschooling.

I don't force anyone to participate in any lesson or activity;  I suggest things to do that I hope they'll be interested in.

Lately, I've made the mistake of not having ideas at the ready and it seems like we're all floundering for things to do.  I started out trying to make a list of 5 activitie…
Read more

Visiting Mammoth Dig Site and Evan's Plunge

-
Image
On our way  to the house we were renting in Rapid City, South Dakota from our hotel in Cheyenne, Wyoming, we decided to stop in Hot Springs Rapid City and check out the Mammoth Dig Site and Evan's Plunge (an indoor mineral hot springs).



Mammoth dig site is an active paleontological dig site where 61 mammoth remains have been found so far.  We had a fantastic time touring the site with our guide and learned a lot about the various species of mammoths as well as other animals that have been found in at the site.


Before entering the dig site we did watch a movie about how this site was discovered and what they have done to preserve it.

The site is completely enclosed and there are walkways all around.  You an volunteer to dig in the summer and both my boys and I were bummed we didn't live closer as they would have loved a chance to dig themselves!

This is the largest chamber with the lowest levels they've dug through so far.


An intact pair of tusks.


Tools of the trade!  Digg…
Read more

45 Hands on Projects & Ideas for High School Students

-
Image
I am always looking for ways to engage my boys in learning.  My oldest son doesn't really like to read so I have been looking for way to incorporate hands- on projects that might interest him instead of just reading books about various subjects.

Here are some of the ideas (broken into core subjects) that I've come up with so far for some hands on learning that I think would be great for him.  We've even tried a few of them with pretty great results!




Science:

1. Make a model of the solar system or the layers of the earth.



2. Put together an electronic kit

3. Extract a strand of DNA from a strawberry or an onion

4. Dissect a fish, frog, worm, clam, cat, etc.

5. Build a vegetable garden or plant a few vegetables to take care of in pots

6. Build a model plant or animal cell using household items or food



7. Put together microscope slides and draw what you see

8. Grab a camera and go on a photographic nature or architecture hunt

9. Use gumdrops or marshmallows and toothpicks to…
Read more

100 Days of Science #68-- Index Card Tower

-
Image
My boys did such a wonderful job with their spaghetti bridges and popsicle stick bridges that I decided to look up some other fun STEM challenges. 
I found a fun index card challenge that I thought they might like.  I handed each of them a package of index cards from the dollar store and asked them to build the tallest tower they could just using index cards.  


Evan struggled quite a bit at first not thinking about folding the cards in any way but once we saw what his older brother's were doing he hatched a new plan. 







Every now and then they'd stop to measure their towers.. being very careful not to knock them over.




Ian build his tower on our coffee table making sure to use a nice wide base.






Ian's tower was the tallest by just a few inches and Evan had the shortest.

This challenge really got them thinking about structural integrity and they had to be real careful of how they moved about too.

Have you ever tried a fun challenge like this?

Read more

99 Unschooling ideas and projects

-
Image
We've been leaning more and more towards unschooling.  I love the idea of letting the children lead.

I have been thinking of all the ways my children learn naturally through life and play.  I was getting excited and didn't want to forget any of them so I thought if I was going to be writing it down I might was well jot the list down on the blog and that way you can all share in my ideas.

Suggestions are always appreciated!


I have my ideas organized by subject since that makes it easier for me (even though many of these subjects/ project/ game ideas would touch upon more than one subject).  I don't plan to make them cover all the subjects all the time but I want to encourage them to bring as many subjects into their everyday lives as they can.

I thought we'd start with this questionnaire called When I Learn... that asks kids to think about how they learn best.  Not all questions will pertain to us since we're homeschoolers and unschooling at that but I figured it w…
Read more