Netflix, Mummies, and Moldy Bread

TV ISN’T ALL BAD, IS IT?

A couple of years ago, we got rid of our satellite TV in favor of Netflix. Our primary motivation, I’ll admit, was cost…not the prevention of the childhood brain-rot that is supposed to develop from too much TV watching. We care about their brains, though, and Netflix has helped us keep a closer eye on what and how much the kids are watching. You can’t hide from the “recently watched” list, as I learned when I accidentally clicked on Hot Yoga (which, as I should have guessed, involves men doing yoga in their underwear).

Netflix has also allowed us to explore the kids’ non-fiction TV interests, and it turns out that they all LOVE documentaries about animals. Anything nature, animal, or dinosaur-related is a huge hit, and it has the added bonus of being educational (anti-brain-rot, you might say).

The best part about Netflix is the search feature, which returns something relevant nearly every time we use it. Rather than scour the library or take our chances with the cable TV schedule, we can supplement our classroom work almost effortlessly.

Our current history study is on Egypt – the building of the pyramids and the rise of the pharaohs. A quick 10-second effort on Netflix yields 13 awesome-looking documentaries from Nova, National Geographic, The History Channel, and others that would be a great addition to our reading and other school activities.

TOOLS AT THE LIBRARY

I love the library. I would love it more if I could go by myself and look at the grown-up books, but I still love it when all the kids are with me and we’re digging through the Dora books in search of the one that we haven’t already checked out 6 times. I may not have a sound grasp of the Dewey Decimal System, and I will never get over my weakness at the “free to a good home” rack, but the library will always be one of my favorite spots.

What I didn’t know until I started homeschooling was that the library has just as much to offer online, from the comfort of the couch, as it does in the actual building. The Carroll Public Library has a TON of free online resources that are either costly or unavailable otherwise.

Some examples – all free:

• EBSCO – search for academic periodicals/articles
• Hobbies & Crafts – read all kinds of articles on all kinds of hobbies (knitting, fishing, you name it)
• Learning Express – get extra practice in Math, English, and other subjects appropriate to your grade level
• Searchasaurus – online kids’ dictionary, encyclopedia, thesaurus
• Global Road Warrior – learn everything you could possibly want to know about other countries & cultures
• Other cool stuff you can do:
• Check out e-books and audio books, search the library’s physical stock, reserve books, renew books, create book lists, and search for books at other IA libraries.

WHAT WE’VE BEEN DOING

This week, we’ve been learning about how and why the pyramids were built. It turns out that the first and primary task of each pharaoh was to figure out how and where he would be buried. Thousands and thousands of men would work throughout the pharaoh’s entire reign to construct his tomb, which was usually raided and completely robbed of its’ treasures shortly after the pharaoh’s death.

We’ve also just finished memorizing the 39 books of the Old Testament, which earned us a trip to A&W for some ice cream. There’s a great song on YouTube that we used to help us with the memorization:

HTTP://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=T7GLF9ZFXSO&FEATURE=SHARE&LIST=PL68754DCDDC0552DF

Or search for Old Testament (a.k.a. the Ice Cream Song) by Phil Joel.

Our Greek vocabulary word for the week was TELE, which means “from far away.” Isaac learned how to find common denominators, and Simon learned about place value. Spelling was tough this week, but I think Simon has finally mastered the word “naughty” (the concept, of course, has been in his repertoire since birth). Esme learned that “c” makes the /k/ sound, as in her favorite animal, “cat.”

HANDS-ON STUFF THIS WEEK

Our curriculum does a great job of incorporating hands-on projects into each lesson. I do a somewhat less-great job of actually carrying them out. However, this week was good.

This week, we’re attempting to grow mold on three different slices of bread: one that’s plain, one that’s toasted, and one that’s been coated with antibiotic cream.

We also buried several things in the backyard to see what decays more quickly:

A plastic toy

A piece of wood

A peeled apple

An intact apple

A peeled potato

An intact potato

Can you guess why we’re studying mold and decay?

Hint 1: They don’t really come to life and try to eat you

Hint 2: They’re not really wrapped in toilet paper

Hint 3: You don’t need hint #3, do you? It’s because we’re learning about mummies!

    

Aunt Ann's House, Mummies, and the Unification of Egypt

Usborne Internet-Linked Books

Our program from My Father’s World is based on “real books” (as opposed to traditional textbooks – this is a Charlotte Mason concept, whose educational model we try to follow), and one of them is what’s called an internet-linked book from Usborne publishers.

The book we’re using, Ancient World, is currently teaching us about mummies and pyramids in ancient Egypt. We can read the material in the book, then log on to www.usborne.com/quicklinks to learn more online. 

We simply type “Ancient World” in the search box, find the book, then browse by page number to view links to pictures, articles, videos, and activities that relate to the pages we’ve just read from the book.

Today, after finishing pages 12-13 in the book, we logged on to watch a video about the tombs of ancient Egypt from National Geographic. Then, we played a game in which you had to properly embalm a mummy in order to send him to the afterlife.

No password or purchase is necessary to view the Quick Links pages, so take a look around!

Homeschooling Magazines

There are several print and electronic magazines available to homeschoolers and their families, and many have at least some material available for free. Here are a few that we like:

Homeschooling Today:

http://www.homeschoolingtoday.com/

The Old Schoolhouse:

http://thehomeschoolmagazine.com/

Practical Homeschooling:

http://www.practicalhomeschooling.com/

Homeschool Magazine:

http://homeschoolmagazines.com/

Home Education Magazine:

http://homeedmag.com/home-education-magazine/

Home School Enrichment:

http://homeschoolenrichment.com/

Heart of the Matter:

http://heartofthematteronline.com/

Field Trip to Aunt Ann’s House!

Lego Land

http://kansas.legolanddiscoverycenter.com/kansascity

(...and then, I got lazy with the camera...)

Kansas City Aquarium

http://www.visitsealife.com/Kansas-city/

Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead

http://www.opkansas.org/Things-to-See-And-Do/Deanna-Rose-Childrens-Farmstead

Fiorella’s Jack Stack BBQ Restaurant

http://www.jackstackbbq.com/

Cinzetti’s Sunday Brunch

http://www.cinzzettis.com/

The Unification of Upper and Lower Egypt

Did you know that in ancient times, Egypt was separated into two distinct nations, Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt? I had no idea.

Did you know that Upper Egypt was in the south and Lower Egypt was in the north? Me – totally clueless.

Did you further know that Upper and Lower Egypt were so named because the Nile River flows from south to north, terminating in the Mediterranean Sea? Again, I was unaware. Who even knew rivers could flow from south to north?

Isaac, Simon, and Esme are pictured above re-enacting the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt. Isaac portrayed Menes, the victor over Simon, and Esme was a queen. There were no actual queens in our lesson, but we tried not to dwell on that. Or on the fact that Isaac won and Simon lost. Or on the tragedy of  Grace ripping Esme’s crown in half shortly after this photo was taken.