Ancient Greece & Olympics Part 2

Ancient Greece & The Olympics, Part 2 Outline

1. Make Olympic Medals
Less paint = less time to dry = kids can actually wear them when done with The Games.

Here they are painting their "awards".


2. Make Olympic Torches

3. Make Olympic Olive Wreath Crowns

4. Play Olympic Games
We told them they all had to pretend to be boys, since no girls were allowed to play. They did Chariot Races (which were really them running riding their pony sticks), foot races and Discus (frisbee)


Here they are "racing their chariots".


Elias was a master discus thrower (we used a frisbee)


5. Awards Ceremony

Here's Elias with his crown of Olive Leaves, Medal and an Olympic Torch




My previous posts on this subject are:

Forming a Co-op
Magic Tree House Index
Dinosaurs Part 1
Dinosaurs Part 2
Vikings
Ninjas
Pirates Part 1
Pirates Part 2
Knights Part 1
Knights Part 2
Ancient Rome & Pompeii Part 1
Ancient Rome & Pompeii Part 2
Ancient Greece & Olympics Part 1

Ancient Greece & Olympics Part 1

This is what we did Ancient Greece, Week 1, in the Magic Treehouse Bookclub. Some activities can be found at the publisher's site: Random House

Ancient Greece, Week 1 Outline

1. Discuss various areas of expertise the Greek world had
ie Sculptures, Music, Mathematics, Philosophy, Poetry. I showed them a copy of The Odyssey, and various famous statues from the time.

2. Make an abacus
Each child had a shoebox lid. They cut lines down the lid and inserted paper fasteners. Sadly, for us this was not very functional. Many of the kids cut wide, jagged slits...which allowed the fasteners to slip through. When we opened up the fasteners, then they were not able to move back and forth. Maybe pre-made slits with an xcto knife would have worked better?

Elias making an abacus


3. Brought out a real abacus and did math problems
Each child got a turn, they really got the hang of it quickly.

The real one


4. Talked about the role of Masks in Drama

5. Made masks showing our emotions
Out of paper plates

6. Read the story of the Trojan Horse

7. Recreated the story of the Trojan Horse
We used a sheet and a pony stick....half the kids got "in the horse" and half were the "sleeping city. They took turn after turn after turn...really enjoyed "killing" each other in their "sleep" and being "inside" the Trojan Horse.

Trojan Horse


Extras:
Ancient Greece Coloring Pages


My previous posts on this subject are:

Forming a Co-op
Magic Tree House Index
Dinosaurs Part 1
Dinosaurs Part 2
Vikings
Ninjas
Pirates Part 1
Pirates Part 2
Knights Part 1
Knights Part 2
Ancient Rome & Pompeii Part 1
Ancient Rome & Pompeii Part 2

Ancient Rome & Pompeii Part 2

Here's Part 2 of our study on Ancient Rome and Pompeii (including volcanoes of course!)

Ancient Rome and Pompeii Outline Part 2

1. Paint the paper mache volcanoes



2. Talk to them about Pompeii. Show pictures of the casts of bodies found.

3. Talk to them about Ancient Roman Foods and menus

4. Make Eggs with Honey



5. Have an Ancient Roman Feast
I made: Chicken legs from this recipe They liked it.
The eggs with honey (which everyone LOVED!)
A platter of grapes, cheese and raisins
Cheesecake for desert
And the biggest Hit, the thing they will be talking about for years to come...The Jellyfish. Yes, you heard right. Jellyfish. Yup, people eat it. People even eat it today. I found some at a local Asian market. Here's the Jellyfish Recipe I used. It was very simple and pretty cheap. BIG reaction though! They actually LOVED it! Many took samples home for their dads. One little boy even called his grandmom to tell her about it, right then and there! What a hit! (Of course I was totally nauseated and had to stay out of the room EWWWW)

Jellyfish before it's cooked


This little girl ate SO much jellyfish I was actually nauseated FOR her!


Here's a partial look at our spread



6. Erupt our volcanoes. Luckily I had bought big jugs of vinegar at Costco...these volcanoes, being juice bottles, required a LOT of vinegar. We went through 4 boxes of Baking Soda!






Extras:

Go over some famous Romans (Cleopatra, Caesar, etc)
Learn about Roman Gods
Learn Latin
Compare Latin and English Words
Vacation Under The Volcano Lesson Plans
Ancient Rome & Pompeii Lesson Plans


My previous posts on this subject are:

Forming a Co-op
Magic Tree House Index
Dinosaurs Part 1
Dinosaurs Part 2
Vikings
Ninjas
Pirates Part 1
Pirates Part 2
Knights Part 1
Knights Part 2
Ancient Rome & Pompeii Part 1

Ancient Rome & Pompeii Part 1

Ancient Rome & Pompeii also took 2 weeks. Here's our first week's outline.

Ancient Rome Outline, Part 1


1. Story of Rome's beginnings
Myth of Romulus and Remus

2. All about Rome
From the Research Guide, showed pictures of the Colosseum, The Aqueducts, The Pantheon & The Baths. Much discussion.

3. What is a Gladiator

4. Gladiators Step Book
From the Gladiators Lesson Plan I made the books ahead of time for the 8 and under crowd. The others made their own. It got a good giggle out of them, trying to come up with similes about how gladiators smell, feel, eat, etc.

5. Interview with a Gladiator
I took turns having different children be gladiators and asking them the questions.

6. Make a paper mache volcano
This did take awhile to dry. good thing we didn't meet for a week! We made the base this week, inside a Rubbermaid container. Next week we'll paint it.




7. Erupt small volcano
This is a tiny plastic model volcano. The kids had fun just letting it "erupt" and adding different color food colorings to it.







Look for Part 2!
My previous posts on this subject are:

Forming a Co-op
Magic Tree House Index
Dinosaurs Part 1
Dinosaurs Part 2
Vikings
Ninjas
Pirates Part 1
Pirates Part 2
Knights Part 1
Knights Part 2

Space Derby & Tigers

 (Does a year late count? If so, read on LOL! Elias is now a Wolf, but this is the beginning story of his Scout Adventure)

No, not real tigers....tiger cubs!  Cub Scouts!!  Elias has wanted to do boys scouts for a long time, and I told him this year we'd do it.  Over the summer he told everyone he saw , "I'm going to be a boy scout!". Well, the pressure was on!  Find a nice pack.

My friend Angela and I used to lead cub scouts, way back when our teens were little. Then my son got out of it, and hers kept going, so I looked to her for advice on packs. You know, you want a fun pack, but one that's homeschool friendly...an organized pack that does cool stuff, and has nice leaders...lots of things could make or break the little guy's first experience!

So, Angela pointed me to 2 packs.  1 large, but super fun, super nice, but did I mention large? 1, newer, much smaller, but also fun and organized.  Anyone guess which one we tried first?!? Yes, the smaller one!

So we went Monday night to our first meeting, and he LOVED it.  They played games, they worked on activities, and the coolest thing..they are working towards the Presidential Physical Fitness Badge.  The leader explained that every day they have to write down some activity they've done, and then at the end of 6 weeks, she gives it all to the President, and he will send back a certificate and a badge!  Boy, was he excited!!!  Man, this pack has it going on!

Not only did the pack work for Elias, but also for me and Sebastian!  As a mom of a Tiger, you are required to stay.  Staying with a 2 year old, especially one with special needs.....not always the most fun idea. But, the leader has 2 special needs foster babies/toddlers.  There are actually quite a few kids with various needs in this pack. And the kids are SOOO loving with the babies!!  I have never seen so many boys want to play with or hold babies.  It was amazing. Everyone looked after the babies/toddlers, they weren't seen to be a problem when they cried, or when they ran all over..it was fabulous!

So, no need to try the other pack, we're very happy here!

So, that was Monday. This pack goes year-round, so they had just started their popcorn sales and they also let us know the Space Derby was on Friday.  Yes, as in, 4 days from then, Friday.

We got our Popcorn Sales stuff, and our Space Derby kit and got to working on it all.

The next morning, Elias jumps up, does his "exercises" and puts on his uniform to go sell popcorn! Man was he raring to go!  Ok, so by 10am on a Tue morning we're out selling popcorn to our neighbors.  Good thing they all know we homeschool!  The minimum "requirement" was $75, the kid sold $230 in half an hour!  He was so cute, "Hi, I'm Elias and I'm a Tiger.  Would you like to buy some popcorn?"  He had scripted it all out with me before we left the house, had play acted it out a bunch of ways.  He was so cute!!!!  We need to get back out and sell some more, but the Space Derby started to take precedence.

So, we started on our Space Derby Kit. Sanded it all down, then got to spray painting it.  Primer of white, then color blue.  I had to ask Angela's kids to help me figure out the directions  ( it takes a strong person to ask a kid for help!) and we got the pieces all glued into place.

Here's a picture of Elias before the event, holding up his Space Rocket.

Here's the rocket right before it launches.

Now, if you don't know anything about space derby....well, it's fun but its llloooonnngggg.  Have to keep disqualifying rockets after  giving them a bunch of turns.  By the end the kids had even lost track and were playing around.  Eventually everyone got given certificates of achievement and the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners were left.  Elias was one of them!  He got 3rd place!  It was so cute!  Here's that pic.

He's so enjoying scouts.  What a great way to start off in the program!

Infant Death

 Sometimes in life we have to deal with things that just shouldn't be, like infant death. Here's the contents of an email I sent a friend, she had a friend who's baby was dying. These resources are neat things, that if we know about, we can share and help our friends during such awful times. Hopefully they will help someone out there too.

"I am so sorry to hear about your friend's baby. That's such heartbreaking news. I want to share some resources with you that I've found...maybe it can make this time a more memorable experience. You decide...but I'd talk openly with them about various options, see what they might like.

1) Hand/feet casting. There has got to be someone in your area that does it. This is such a memory. It captures every single little line in their hands, every jagged nail. Maybe a set for grandparents too...etc. When Elias was in the hospital, it was Chawna who thought of this, paid for the lady to come to the hospital and do it there....we thought for sure we'd be losing him. Check with local attachment parenting loops etc, midwives etc for resources

2) There are companies that can come out to the hospital when you know the time is near...or after the fact. They will take beautiful photos of the family, and the little one...they retouch them and make them all beautiful. List of TX ones Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep

3) Bereavement Gowns. Something to think about now. This link has various sites and also patterns to show you how to make one
Baby Bereavement Gowns
Heaven Sent Baby-Burial Gowns
Patterns
Heavenly Angels In Need

4) This video....it's so sad, but so wonderful....to celebrate every day we have with our kids. The 99 Balloons Video

5) This blog...a mom of a little girl with trisomy 18....it's also sad..but the mom shares a lot of good stuff...and just wrote a book about her journey with grief. When it comes out, it should be a good read. http://poppyjoy.blogspot.com/ These are people, like your friend, who know ahead of time that they have precious little time with their baby.

6) Meals. Chawna uses this place in Dallas thats pretty cheap. You can go in and make meals to freeze, or they can make them...you get a bunch that you pick for a certain price. Freeze and then when you're not up to cooking you just defrost and voila. Look nearby for freezer meals, or pre-made meals. That would be a great present.

Some Additional Resources:

Resources Page...to donate breastmilk, find unique headstones, etc etc Infant Loss Organizations

MEND: Mommies Enduring Neonatal Death

Caring Hearts at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas Bereavement support for parents, 214/345-2613

http://heart-to-heart-tx.org/  "


This was an email directed to my friend in TX. While those local links may not help you, rest assured there are plenty of organizations out there by you that can lend assistance.  If you need help researching, send me an email, I'd be glad to help you find something. Just leave a comment with your need.

Baby Love Letters- Friday Letters

I found this site and think it is such an inspiration. It gives us a starting point for journaling to our children.

Friday Letters

"The purpose of this blog is to help parents create a meaningful letter to their child, even if it's only one paragraph long and takes 15 minutes to write.

Each Friday a new question will be put up on this blog. Your response to this week's question can stand on its own or be joined together with answers to future questions."