I know that STEM is more than building 3D puzzles, it's doing math, engineering, science and technology. Using all those things. I get that. :) The way I see it though is... 3D Puzzles are engineering and technology. The science eh... perhaps a bit iffy and the math well.. not really other than the need to finesse the puzzle as sometimes the pieces don't fit perfectly. So how do I add that to make this a proper STEM activity?
We can pick up the science and the math through reading and video can we not? For instance I liked this video because it taught us to take care when looking at history, that looking at it from different perspectives broadens our knowledge.
And we can see the science and math of how they were built though videos like this:
Which broadens our understanding as we build a 3D Puzzle.
What did we learn about St. Peter's Basilica?
commissioned by Pope Julius II
started in 1506 and completed in 1615
originally designed around the shape of a Greek cross, this was later changed to a Latin cross
Michelango was a chief architect
And because video is more interesting to listen to and occasionally watch while building heres's another video.
So building a 3D puzzle can indeed be a STEM project. :) You just need to work around what it isn't eh? :)
This build wasn't an easy one to do. The pieces were sticky and quite a few of them needed to be trimmed in order to fit into the holes probably. It tested the patience of the lad and I quite a bit.
Today's Five Minute Friday word prompt is the word Breathe. Don't know what Five Minute Friday is all about? It's all about community gathering around a single word, sharing our thoughts in a five minute free write. Just letting that word soak into our brains and letting that single word spill out onto the screen in front of you. Then.. after linking up... taking time to do what I love doing... encouraging others who are spilling out as well. :) So today... shall we breathe together?
We continue our study in Ezekiel, the last time we met was about The Watchman's Job. You can read more in my Ezekiel Studies here and here.
Now that Ezekiel knows his job full well, God talks to him saying "Say to the the house of Israel". So Ezekiel, the watchman, has a warning a "beware" to deliver to the people he is on the job for. ‘Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we rot away because of them. How then can we live?’11 Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God,
I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn
from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for
why will you die, O house of Israel?
It's a fair question to ask don't you think? For God to show them their sin and then ask ... is this the hill you want to die on? What sin is so important that you will die to continue committing it?
I almost forgot to do a post this week! Can you believe it? And a good reminder came in the mail today.... sample pages from Cursive Logic's new book. Guess what they have created? It's a colouring book for adults!
This book is actually in final production stages so I can't tell you what the actual book will be like but I can tell you this. They have mentioned to me how the final product will be made on paper superior to what they are sending as samples...and boy.. that will be REALLY nice paper since what they sent is very solid, great paper that won't leak through, printed only on one side, and just a gorgeous paper for a colouring book. This book is very much geared to teen-adult learners rather than children, as seen from the fine details found on this page.
Let me tell you what I like about this book.
It all ties together. If you are wanting to improve your cursive abilities or simply want to learn how to do cursive, wouldn't it be lovely to practice those skills and make some lovely art at the same time?
It's a colouring book and the images are beautiful, the learning the cursive movements is tied into the art work seamlessly.
Quotes that appeal and give me something to think on.
4. Cursive Logic instruction is not forgotten in the desire to create a gorgeous book.
You will find the same shapes and movements of the teaching pages contained within the colouring pages. It's actually quite well done.
I really really wish I could convey the beauty of the paper... it is SO nice and very solid. It would be great for using any kind of medium to fill in the pictures. Though I have to admit, I wish they could have included a sample of each of the kinds of paper they are thinking of using so I could have judged them. :)
Anyways, if you like colouring... get this book. If you want to improve your cursive.. get this book. Either one...you'll improve a skill and have a good time doing it eh?
The information from Cursive Logic:
like to print on
thick, art paper
with perforated edges for ease of coloring and for display
they are doing a kickstarter campaign which you can find here: bit.ly/2taclrc It's a great way to support a cool book and get interesting product in return. :)
I received unbound lesson pages and four sample pages in exchange for this review.
My son is learning to make a lab report, so I'm transcribing his report for him as I'm proud of the effort he put into this. This came up as part of studies on Canada. Hypothesis: Icebergs will melt faster in freshwater than in salt water.
Procedure: Get two bowls. Make one bowl saltwater like the ocean 3.5% salt needed. Have the other bowl be fresh water. Let the bowls sit so they are same temperature. Freeze two cups of water in two identical cups. Take them out of the cups when they are completely frozen. Use cold water to get them out of the cups. Weigh them. Put them in their bowls. Then weigh them 30 minutes later, Then 15 minutes later.
I noticed at 30 minutes that the fresh water one had melted the
most. At 15 minutes I did it again and noticed the same thing. Observations: take the icebergs out of the water and weigh them. They will be slippery and cold plus you don't want the heat of your hands changing the results so wear gloves. Put them back in the water as soon as you weigh them.
Conclusion: Because the fresh water one melted the most I proved my idea correct. Fresh water will melt icebergs faster than the saltwater probably because of the salt in the water. Other questions raised:
I noticed that both Filli and Killi were left with their heads frozen in the ice and wondered why their heads thawed out last.
This morning we were learning about some of the different animals of Canada using this book.
We learned about seals, walruses, a variety of birds, reindeer and so much more. I said to the lad "pick an animal and we'll learn more about it". He picked the Artic Tern. The Artic tern is a fascinating bird, did you know it flies an annual trip of 40,000 km, from it's Artic Breeding grounds to wintering grounds in the Antarctic. The Artic Tern is a medium sized bird. Newborns are gray or brown. Adults are gray to white in color during the
breeding season. Their beak and legs are red, and a black patch covers
the head and forehead. During the non-breeding season, the legs and beak
are black and the black patch of color on the head shrinks.
Artic Terns are a long-lived bird, living into their decades and don't start to breed until 3 or 4 years old. Artic Terns can moult so quickly that they can be flightless. When they moult they tend to sit on blocks of ice near the water's edge.
The downy young come in two colours, grey and brown, and colours can be mixed in a single hatching.
They normally eat fish and crustaceans, but will also eat insects. They also will steal food from other birds by flying at them and startling them into dropping their catch.
Anyways, that's a lesson in the Artic Tern. Ready for my boy to learn tomorrow. :)
I grew up on tuna melts.... it was a quick and easy meal that us girls could make and mom wouldn't be wondering what we were up to. :) The recipe I grew up with used relish and boiled eggs, salt and pepper in it along with miracle whip and I used to love, but as I matured though I've developed a resistance to relish so have needed to find a way to replicate the taste without side effects. This had led to be playing around with what I like in my tuna melts.
My current rendition:
Ingredients:
1 regular can of tuna, drained... for melts I like flaked tuna. mayonnaise PC lemon-herb seasoning 2 pickled eggs
2 slices of bread 2 slices of cheese
Directions:
Chop up the pickled eggs. Then mix the rest of the first four ingredients in well. Add mayo and seasoning to taste. I tend to like a drier mix, others like wet.
Put on two slices of bread. Cover with cheese slice (one for each slice of bread eh?) Put in oven to heat through (350 if I recall until bread is browning basically), then under the broiler until cheese is all melty... or if you are like me until slightly burnt (if using the black diamond style cheese slices). Works equally well in regular oven or a toaster oven.
Welcome to week "C" of blogging through the alphabet. I am so happy you are joining us today.
Today I am going to talk to you about our national anthem "O Canada". The C being the C from Canada or if you wish Chant National as it was originally known. :) Did you know that O Canada was originally called “Chant national”? Our anthem was written by Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier, in Quebec City, with musical composter Calixa Lavallee. Originally written in French, it was first performed on June 24, 1880. It was sung widely in French but the English versions varied widely for quite a few years, partly due to the translation from French into English, until the version written in 1908 by Robert Stanley Weir became popular. It is very similar to the verses we use today. "O Canada" was approved as our national anthem on March 15, 1967, but the current version wasn't officially approved until June 27, 1980 under the National Anthem Act.
January was a good month. It was . It had it tough moments with the church closing, but overall.. a good month. I am finally, for the most part, healthy. Hubby had a good night of sleep (though needs many more). We finally have SNOW again!!!!! Perhaps hubby will be able to get away for a couple of nights of camping yet!!! :) Anyways, we got some books read this month and I thought you might like to know about them.
Books that I read with my lad
World History Encyclopedia
This was a great book for us to read through. One two-page spread per night, and we learned so much. Tons of pictures, maps, artifacts and so much more.
I love these 100 facts books. This one was on World Wonders. Again, we read a two page spread every night, and often paused to look things up that interested us. It caused me to say "hey, I could do up a worksheet on that, or this would make a great ebook". :) But that will wait.
We read these three biographies and found them fascinating. The smallest one was about Sojourner Truth... An interesting black lady with a strong will and mind. Learned the importance of obedience, learned the importance of standing for what was right, a fervent fighter for freedom from slavery and women's rights. She was a speaker who travelled far and wide Sharing: the story of the Mayo Clinic. This was a read that told us how the Mayo Clinic started and gave a reason for why the Mayo Brothers shared so easily with others. Facing a Challenge: the story of Terry Fox. My son never understood who Terry Fox was or why he's so important, and now he does. :) Fighting cancer, fighting to be who he thought he was, fighting to help others...his story continues to this day. I read a variety of books for reviews:
Fatal Frost - Christian mystery without the indepth romance part.
Current Reads: War Plan Red (review) Dog in the cave (review) The Overlook (for fun) The nature book (with the lad) Snakes (with the lad) Bronze bow (with the lad) Tirza (with the lad) Nieces book that I can't tell you anything about other than ... IT"S GOOD. Rainforest Journey (with the lad)
We continue our study in Ezekiel, the last time we met was Ezekiel 32. You can read more in my Ezekiel Studies here and here.
Today Ezekiel 33:1-9 The word of the Lord came to me:2 “Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman,3 and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people,4 then if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.5 He
heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; his blood
shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved
his life.6 But
if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so
that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one
of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand.
"11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb.12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet.13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.”14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus.15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her." John 20:11-18
Lyrics
I come to the garden alone, While the dew is still on the roses, And the voice I hear falling on my ear The Son of God discloses.
Refrain: And He walks with me, and He talks with me, And He tells me I am His own; And the joy we share as we tarry there, None other has ever known.
He speaks, and the sound of His voice
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing, And the melody that He gave to me Within my heart is ringing. I’d stay in the garden with Him, Though the night around me be falling, But He bids me go; through the voice of woe His voice to me is calling.
Charles Austin Miles wrote this hymn in March 1912. In his own words he said "I was seated in the darkroom where I kept my photographic equipment and organ. I drew my Bible toward me, it opened at my favourite chapter, John 20....that meeting of Jesus and Mary had lost none of its power to charm. As I read it that day, I seemed to be part of the scene. I became a silent witness to that dramatic moment in Mary's life, when she knelt before her Lord, and cried "Rabboni!"...under the inspiration of this vision I wrote as quickly as the words could be formed the poem exactly as it has since appeared. That same evening I wrote the music". Some sources add additional information about seeing visions which I don't know what I think of. :) Miles, started his career as a pharmacist, but later abandoned that in order to work as editor and manager at Hall-Mack. he started writing gospel music in 1892. Hall-Mack published his first gospel song "List 'tis Jesus' Voice". He was very proud to be known as a gospel music writer. His desire was to be of good use to the Lord God. As he said in this "way I may be of the most use to my Master, whom I serve willingly
although not as efficiently as is my desire." (source)
Hymns: Whom shall I fear God of angel armies by Chris Tomlin Beautiful one by Tim Hughes Good Good father by Chris Tomlin In the garden by Charles Austin Miles Scripture: John 3:1-21
3 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?”5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’8 The wind blows where
it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes
from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the
Spirit.”
9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?”10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony.12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”
Sermon Notes:
Pastor started the sermon off playing this clip:
Johnny Cash lived a troubled life, fighting drug abuse. This song was important to him
In history Jesus being shown as a personal Saviour Shift now to seeing him as king of universe
He is our personal Saviour as well as king of the universe.
Nicodemus is invited to make Jesus his personal Saviour
A member of the Jewish ruling council, a faithful follower of God
Jesus tells him he must be born again. To experience the fullness of the kingdom of God you need to be born again.
Moses and the snake
Poisonous snakes, people need to look to the bronze Snake in order to be healed from the poisonous snakes.
So people need to look to Jesus to be saved from the poison of sin.
Nicodemus represents people that need to respond to the truth of Scripture. Nicodemus needed to know the personal Jesus.
We are just like Nicodemus, needing to know Jesus in our heart. People can know the scriptures well without really knowing God.
It's week five of the Virtual Curriculum Fair. This week.. it's all about art and beauty. See in artistic forms of music, art, dance and whatever form that takes in your household. The VCF is hosted by Susan.
Today my topic is: What to do with the reluctant artist?
I would never say that I am an artist, but I have birthed a lad who has creativity tied into his bones. I've worked to bring that creativity into our schooling...and this year and finding myself tying it in however I can. BUT in all his creativity he's a rather deliberate lad. He hates, absolutely HATES to waste his time. Despises it with a passion... which sometimes creates a reluctant artist.. What's a teacher to do?
Talk 1. Talk to your student. You are looking for what is causing the reluctance. a). The Style - realism vs abstract, 3-D vs 2-D etc. b). The Medium - painting vs drawing, colouring vs pastels, oils vs acrylics etc c). The Topic - A river vs. mountains, a building vs a landscape etc Discover 2. Discover what about the reluctance causes concern. a). Lack of confidence - has never used this medium/style/topic before and has no idea about how to use, approach or even if likes the idea. b). Medium not correct for the type of project - topic of discussion sometimes the student is correct! And then changes can be made. Or change the topic or style and suddenly the medium isn't so bad. c). Fear of wasting time - This one is hard to get past, but I have a method that is proving to at least raise more curiousity and help! d). Dislike of style and not seeing the point of it - often a matter of showing the student a wide variety in the style until something appeals. I saw this recently in my class on cubism... one student could not get a handle on it until he thought about doing shades of black! It worked and turned out well. e). Wants a different topic - Let them choose the topic if possible, it's their art. You can set the parameters and then let them choose what they can fit within that. f). Page size - could be too small, large, wide, narrow etc. This is so easy to change, some students do their best work in miniature and other need to express themselves in wide open spaces. It's relative.
Action 3. Take Action. a). Remember that beauty is in the eye of the beholder b). Learning new things is sometimes difficult. c). Sometimes helping someone with a new form of art takes away the pressure of wasting one's time if it doesn't work out.
Let me expand on the latter idea. My son and I were going to create an abstract mountain art work but okay... it was MY idea to do an abstract mountain art work and my son stopped dead in his tracks. All he could see was the potential of failure.
So after talking with him through all the different steps, it's still all he could see was "it's not going to turn out and I'll have wasted all my time.".
We decided that he could do his own thing (he wanted very much to do a pencil sketch with shading) and that I could do the abstract art. We work side by side so he can see me work and I can see him. It's a great time to chat, provide encouragement and ask questions.
So I sit beside him and I modge-podgy tissue paper to my page and I talk about how I am not sure if this colour goes there, or what do you think if I do this for the mountains, do you think making sticky-up flowers will work? He starts off very hesitant at first, so I show him how to make flowers that can stick up off the page and how if I crinkle the tissue paper I give it more texture, and he watches and thinks.. and the next time I come back and talk he tears off a piece and says, "I think this colour would work there mom". And after some time we get this:
It's not done yet, the lad and I are currently discussing if I should cut out a picture of a canoe for the lake or do abstract drops of colour. We've talked about the pros and cons off adding birds, or how to add texture to a tree trunk and how to make clouds seem more real. And through it all we look at pictures of the Canadian Rockies and see what they are like and the animals that live on them and what not. We learn, we talk and we complete "what might be a waste of time". Over time you see, tissue paper art, of an abstract nature is not as weird or unknown and just maybe someday a lad might take a chance on doing something different with his art that's a bit out of his way of thinking... and that's a good thing. For now.. he's helping, he's talking art and helping me see what works and what doesn't. The fluffy clouds.... I started...he finished. The tree trunk I did.. but he made the branches. We discussed how to give the tree trunk texture and depth...our first method didn't work, so we tried another. Is it great, out of this world art? I don't know, and it doesn't matter. What matters is this... it's fun, and we're both learning a ton! :)
If you need inspiration to do art with your students, check out my art series that you can find here and here.
Now I invite you to visit my fellow homeschool bloggers who are talking about seeking beauty in their homeschools:
Monday history, bible, math (multiplying decimals), astronomy copywork, game at gramma's, reading, A quiet day, shorter than planned, but good Tuesday For Grammar, we used the story that he is writing. It's good for him to see why and how his edits are necessary. Started Math Mammoth, pay attention a review is on the way! Science (made a bone) See this site. I can't say the lad was highly enthused with this activity, but he did learn a lot about the structure of the bone.
History, bible, astronomy (what do you remember about the asteroid belt) Watched video on bone structure and found a page where we could label the parts of the bone.
Wednesday: Foodbank, art, Canada learning about the MacKenzie river, being amazed at the caribou. My son and I watched a few different videos about the MacKenzie river which is Canada's largest river. He was stunned by how wide it is.
Thursday A good day filled with Art, Science, History, bible, math and all sorts of schooling stuff. :) While the lad worked on his schooling, I worked on laundry and cleaning the dining room/living room Moving furniture and organizing...man the old papers that got tossed! It was so good but also SO exhausting. I managed to get outside to take pictures of my bunnies so I could update my rabbitry website so that was great.
Friday Today we had three things in school we wanted to work on. 1. Art (didn't make it this far as the robotic hand took longer than anticipated) 2. Science: Icebergs, we were learning about icebergs and my lad asked this question "do icebergs melt faster in salt water or fresh water?" So we thought we'd test out the theory. Some elves came along for the joy of cold weather! :)
All in all it was a great week, with learning and growing together.
Over the course of the week I made progress with my art project. It's a bit wet here yet, but I have a tree in the foreground and white fluffy clouds!!!
My lad keeps telling me how much he likes what I am doing. He gives me helpful advice and helped with cutting out the limbs for the tree. I wanted to clip the overhanging tree branches but the lad forbade me saying "I like it mom, it makes the tree stick out more". He thinks I should add a few green leaves to the tree, but my original plan was to just have a stark tree overshading the foreground, but "mom, it will look dead if you do that. Dead trees don't have interesting bark!!!".
