I found this in a desert book we were reading. Looks like fun.
You can make your own sand painting
You will need:
paper, a flat piece of sandpaper, a pencil, spray varnissh, colored sand.
How to do it:
1. Sketch a design on paper. Then draw the design with a pencil on sandpaper.
2. Use your fingers , or a spoon, or a small funnel to sprinkle the sand along the lines of your design.
3. Use spray varnish to save the drawing.
Friday, June 1, 2007
Sugar Cube Pyramid
We made one and used almost two boxes of cubes...We used a syrofoam meat tray as a base and made the bottom layer 9 squares completely filled in (not just outlined) for a total of 81 cubes. Decrease each layer by one cube until you finish with just one cube on the top...So the second layer would be 8X8 and the next 7X7 etc. Sometimes we had to "chisel" to get the cubes to fit and used a good amount of white glue. The cubes will "melt" a little but it was not a problem. After it dried my daughter painted it with acrylic paint and it looked great! She used a light terra cotta color on hers but I would think that any sand color would look super!
Chicken Mummification
First get a chicken and take out any innards. Fill the cavity with salt (regular table salt). Next put a bit of salt in a strong baggie (we double bagged it, as it gets very heavy.) and put the chicken in the bag. Fill up the baggie with salt until the entire chicken is covered. It MUST be completely covered. Seal the baggie and put it away for a time to dry. Depending on the size of the chicken, it may take from 4-6 weeks. After the 2nd week, take the chicken out and change the salt, which will be all moist now. Keep checking the salt after this and change it whenever it is very moist.
Once the chicken is dry, remove it and brush off the salt. Next you can smother it with oil (baby oil) and sprinkle it with spices (we used cinnamon and nutmeg). Next cut long strips of white fabric, dip them in glue, and wrap them around your mummified chicken. Completely cover it and let it dry. We then painted it Egyptian fashion. Have fun!
Once the chicken is dry, remove it and brush off the salt. Next you can smother it with oil (baby oil) and sprinkle it with spices (we used cinnamon and nutmeg). Next cut long strips of white fabric, dip them in glue, and wrap them around your mummified chicken. Completely cover it and let it dry. We then painted it Egyptian fashion. Have fun!
Egypt - Recipes
1 cup barley flour
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon oil
Mix and pour into a small oiled pan. Bake for 20-30 mins at 375F. It will be flat and dark when it is finished because barley doesn't rise and it darkens when it bakes. For a variation, try adding some raisins, as the Egyptians might have done. (Hart and Mantell - Pyramids!, pg 85)
Barley Cakes
1� cups barley flour (buy this at a health food store, or grind barley in mill or blender)
1 Tablespoon baking powder
� teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons honey
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
Stir together barley flour, baking powder, and salt. Add egg, milk, honey, and oil and beat until mixed. Pour onto hot, greased frying pan and fry like pancakes until bubbles appear. Then turn and brown on the other side. Serve hot with butter and honey. You may add a few chopped dates or raisins as a variation.
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon oil
Mix and pour into a small oiled pan. Bake for 20-30 mins at 375F. It will be flat and dark when it is finished because barley doesn't rise and it darkens when it bakes. For a variation, try adding some raisins, as the Egyptians might have done. (Hart and Mantell - Pyramids!, pg 85)
Barley Cakes
1� cups barley flour (buy this at a health food store, or grind barley in mill or blender)
1 Tablespoon baking powder
� teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons honey
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
Stir together barley flour, baking powder, and salt. Add egg, milk, honey, and oil and beat until mixed. Pour onto hot, greased frying pan and fry like pancakes until bubbles appear. Then turn and brown on the other side. Serve hot with butter and honey. You may add a few chopped dates or raisins as a variation.
Egypt -More Activities
If you would like to add even more activities to your Egypt unit, I found a great book published by Edupress, called 'Ancient Egypt Activity Book'. The ISBN # is 1-56472-025-X. It's available from several home school suppliers, and regular book stores.
August 6, 2000 - Daily Schedule / Next Books...
Dear, Sweet, Adventurers,
Thank you so much for sharing your gracious words with us! You have encouraged and uplifted more than you will ever know! This past year was filled with so many lessons for us. We are amazed when we look back on our lives to see where God has brought us! Every educational, professional, and spiritual experience of our lives has come to a beautiful sort of fruition this year. Have you ever wondered what you were doing in a certain place and in a certain time - why God put you there? Amid the pressure, headaches, tears, discouragement, and exhaustion of this year was a wonderful peace that we were doing the right thing. Our pastor shared the example of sometimes feeling like you are driving on a dark road - you cannot see beyond your headlights - and that is not very far!! We have moved along as God has provided the light, but this year it was just as if God turned on the High Beams! We knew so clearly what He had called us to do and how He had planned it all along. What a Mighty God we Serve!!
John has kept me up to date on some of your messages and with each note shared, I want to remind you that one person's experience may not be another's. Just as we have to be careful not to compare our children to others, we need to remember that each of our experiences with homeschooling will be very unique. Do not be discouraged if your children did not "latch on" to something that came easily to others. For example, the time involved in your school day will be different each day and for each person. One of THE MOST frequently asked questions is "How much time will this take each day?" That is SOOOOO hard to answer because I do not know all of your children personally. One thing that I ALWAYS tell parents is that if it is your goal to be finished with school by noon every day - forget homeschooling! That can NEVER be our goal! We want our children to have a WONDERFUL, FULL, and COMPLETELY RICH education and we cannot accomplish that by reading for 10 minutes in each subject every day. You and your child will get from this school year exactly what you put into it. A World of Adventure starts out very simply - just like any teacher begins class for the year. It will get more challenging as you move throughout your year. The reason it is so easy to use, is because the planning is done for the parent, but that does not mean the time spent with your children will be minimal. Remember, some parents really want to read and participate in every subject with their children, and for them, this is a realistic goal. For other moms, this is more like IMPOSSIBLE - and their children will be working more independently. So when you see a note from another mom that indicated how short a particular day was, keep in mind that you and your children are not those people! I hope you all see how important it is to keep a proper perspective and not compare the experiences of others with your school experience. I have been impressed with your comments to one another. I really like that you all seem to learn from, and encourage one another without self-condemnation. What a GREAT attitude! Keep it up ladies!
Now for the second most frequently asked question: What's in the next book??????
The following book (A New World of Adventure) will pick up where A World of Adventure ends. It will cover early American History: Jamestown, The Pilgrims of Plymouth, Early Colonization of New England, the French & Indian War, the American Revolution, and the Constitution. The books are meant to be used sequentially. It has long been my opinion that we all learn better when we study history chronologically, instead of hopping all around. It gives us a feeling of completeness and satisfaction when we understand how the events of history truly were connected. As for science and the other subjects . . . I will have to surprise you all later with those (when I figure them out myself!!) The final three books in the Adventure Series will continue on through American History, but as we go, we will examine events around the world as well, to see how everything "fits together."
My thoughts and prayers are with all of you as you each embark on your wonderful journey this year! May each moment spent learning and sharing with your precious children be valuable and memorable.
Dorian
Thank you so much for sharing your gracious words with us! You have encouraged and uplifted more than you will ever know! This past year was filled with so many lessons for us. We are amazed when we look back on our lives to see where God has brought us! Every educational, professional, and spiritual experience of our lives has come to a beautiful sort of fruition this year. Have you ever wondered what you were doing in a certain place and in a certain time - why God put you there? Amid the pressure, headaches, tears, discouragement, and exhaustion of this year was a wonderful peace that we were doing the right thing. Our pastor shared the example of sometimes feeling like you are driving on a dark road - you cannot see beyond your headlights - and that is not very far!! We have moved along as God has provided the light, but this year it was just as if God turned on the High Beams! We knew so clearly what He had called us to do and how He had planned it all along. What a Mighty God we Serve!!
John has kept me up to date on some of your messages and with each note shared, I want to remind you that one person's experience may not be another's. Just as we have to be careful not to compare our children to others, we need to remember that each of our experiences with homeschooling will be very unique. Do not be discouraged if your children did not "latch on" to something that came easily to others. For example, the time involved in your school day will be different each day and for each person. One of THE MOST frequently asked questions is "How much time will this take each day?" That is SOOOOO hard to answer because I do not know all of your children personally. One thing that I ALWAYS tell parents is that if it is your goal to be finished with school by noon every day - forget homeschooling! That can NEVER be our goal! We want our children to have a WONDERFUL, FULL, and COMPLETELY RICH education and we cannot accomplish that by reading for 10 minutes in each subject every day. You and your child will get from this school year exactly what you put into it. A World of Adventure starts out very simply - just like any teacher begins class for the year. It will get more challenging as you move throughout your year. The reason it is so easy to use, is because the planning is done for the parent, but that does not mean the time spent with your children will be minimal. Remember, some parents really want to read and participate in every subject with their children, and for them, this is a realistic goal. For other moms, this is more like IMPOSSIBLE - and their children will be working more independently. So when you see a note from another mom that indicated how short a particular day was, keep in mind that you and your children are not those people! I hope you all see how important it is to keep a proper perspective and not compare the experiences of others with your school experience. I have been impressed with your comments to one another. I really like that you all seem to learn from, and encourage one another without self-condemnation. What a GREAT attitude! Keep it up ladies!
Now for the second most frequently asked question: What's in the next book??????
The following book (A New World of Adventure) will pick up where A World of Adventure ends. It will cover early American History: Jamestown, The Pilgrims of Plymouth, Early Colonization of New England, the French & Indian War, the American Revolution, and the Constitution. The books are meant to be used sequentially. It has long been my opinion that we all learn better when we study history chronologically, instead of hopping all around. It gives us a feeling of completeness and satisfaction when we understand how the events of history truly were connected. As for science and the other subjects . . . I will have to surprise you all later with those (when I figure them out myself!!) The final three books in the Adventure Series will continue on through American History, but as we go, we will examine events around the world as well, to see how everything "fits together."
My thoughts and prayers are with all of you as you each embark on your wonderful journey this year! May each moment spent learning and sharing with your precious children be valuable and memorable.
Dorian
August 13, 2000 - Next Book / High Schoolers
Hi girls,
This message is especially for Lori and Debra regarding questions on what the next book will cover and how you might incorporate a high schooler into the study. I sent a message to the whole group that covers part of this, but I know there are many new people in this e-group that may not have seen it. I would encourage you all to go into the archives and look for it.
Briefly, the next book will begin at Jamestown with the early colonization of the United States. We will move through the Pilgrims' story, and early colonial life in New England - then we will look at the events leading up to the American Revolution - meet many of the wonderful characters and the founding fathers - those to whom we owe so much. We will cover the Revolutionary War and the United States Constitution - and probably close out the year with that. I cannot tell all of the topics we will cover in science and other subjects, but I do know that we will begin the year with a science unit on insects, due to the overwhelming problem the Jamestown settlers had with them. I want to cover electricity at the same time we meet Benjamin Franklin, and also plan on doing a language arts unit on newspapers - newswriting, etc. to coincide with the publication of the first newspapers in America. Other than that . . . I'll have to keep you (and myself) in suspense!
Our goal for the Adventure series is to have a total of five books for grades 4-8. A World of Adventure is the first, A New World of Adventure is the second, which will primarily cover the events in the New World - early American History. The following three will continue on through history chronologically. Each book will stand alone as a "separate and independent study." The first will not be a prerequisite for the second - HOWEVER, you will get a great deal more out of the second if you have covered the first one prior to the second. The language arts skills and concepts will all be presented from the "beginning," so that not only will it serve as a good review for veteran Adventure users, but it will be easily understandable for new users as well. The Latin and Greek roots will once again be presented as part of the theme, so there may be some overlapping. If you and your children have covered that root in the first book, just review it. Brand new users will be creating that card for the first time instead.
Regarding high school - I do not have a plan for a separate high school unit study. There are several good unit studies already available for high school, and in preparing for college, many high school students choose a more traditional approach to subjects that are required for college admission. So . . . what's a mom to do? Well, I can tell you what we do right now with Ryan - he is a sophomore this year. We still do unit study for language arts and history, using the library and reading literature as it applies to the historical period we are studying. Ryan is planning on attending college, so we use a math text and a science text. We also are in our second year of a foreign language. We follow the plan detailed in Homeschool, High School, and Beyond, by Beverly Adams-Gordon. It has been an outstanding informational resource regarding planning, transcripts, and overall guidance in terms of what is expected of the high school student (college-bound or not). If you know absolutely that your child will not be attending college and be needing Biology, Chemistry, etc. on his or her transcript, you could use the science in the Adventure series and just dig very deeply into the subject matter.
In my opinion, if you have a large family, and your older ones are entering high school, there is no reason you could not use one of the books in the Adventure series with them as well, as long as you are supplementing with formal programs that you feel will be necessary for your child's future. This will keep your family bonded in one course of study at least part of the time. If you ONLY have high schoolers, you should really consider looking into some of the other unit studies that are meant for high schoolers, so that you won't have to supplement so much - or you could do what we are doing and do half text books, half unit study. One of my goals in writing A World of Adventure was to give parents the confidence needed to do a unit study of their own, if they so choose. After using it for one or more years, you will know better how to answer those questions that so many parents ask - "What kinds of things do I do?" "How much do I do in one day?" "How would I integrage the subjects so that everything goes together?" Perhaps someday, one of you will want to do a unit study of your own! If not, there are a variety of many good high school materials available in the homeschool market.
I will keep you posted on any new developments on the book. These past weeks have been filled with cleaning windows, freezing corn, wrapping up Ryan's freshman year records, organizing and preparing for a school-year ministry at our church that I direct, finalizing plans for Ryan's sophomore year, peeling, chopping, and freezing apples . . . and these last two days we have spent feeding (no small task) and entertaining five teen-age boys for Ryan's birthday party . . . I am tired!
Dorian
This message is especially for Lori and Debra regarding questions on what the next book will cover and how you might incorporate a high schooler into the study. I sent a message to the whole group that covers part of this, but I know there are many new people in this e-group that may not have seen it. I would encourage you all to go into the archives and look for it.
Briefly, the next book will begin at Jamestown with the early colonization of the United States. We will move through the Pilgrims' story, and early colonial life in New England - then we will look at the events leading up to the American Revolution - meet many of the wonderful characters and the founding fathers - those to whom we owe so much. We will cover the Revolutionary War and the United States Constitution - and probably close out the year with that. I cannot tell all of the topics we will cover in science and other subjects, but I do know that we will begin the year with a science unit on insects, due to the overwhelming problem the Jamestown settlers had with them. I want to cover electricity at the same time we meet Benjamin Franklin, and also plan on doing a language arts unit on newspapers - newswriting, etc. to coincide with the publication of the first newspapers in America. Other than that . . . I'll have to keep you (and myself) in suspense!
Our goal for the Adventure series is to have a total of five books for grades 4-8. A World of Adventure is the first, A New World of Adventure is the second, which will primarily cover the events in the New World - early American History. The following three will continue on through history chronologically. Each book will stand alone as a "separate and independent study." The first will not be a prerequisite for the second - HOWEVER, you will get a great deal more out of the second if you have covered the first one prior to the second. The language arts skills and concepts will all be presented from the "beginning," so that not only will it serve as a good review for veteran Adventure users, but it will be easily understandable for new users as well. The Latin and Greek roots will once again be presented as part of the theme, so there may be some overlapping. If you and your children have covered that root in the first book, just review it. Brand new users will be creating that card for the first time instead.
Regarding high school - I do not have a plan for a separate high school unit study. There are several good unit studies already available for high school, and in preparing for college, many high school students choose a more traditional approach to subjects that are required for college admission. So . . . what's a mom to do? Well, I can tell you what we do right now with Ryan - he is a sophomore this year. We still do unit study for language arts and history, using the library and reading literature as it applies to the historical period we are studying. Ryan is planning on attending college, so we use a math text and a science text. We also are in our second year of a foreign language. We follow the plan detailed in Homeschool, High School, and Beyond, by Beverly Adams-Gordon. It has been an outstanding informational resource regarding planning, transcripts, and overall guidance in terms of what is expected of the high school student (college-bound or not). If you know absolutely that your child will not be attending college and be needing Biology, Chemistry, etc. on his or her transcript, you could use the science in the Adventure series and just dig very deeply into the subject matter.
In my opinion, if you have a large family, and your older ones are entering high school, there is no reason you could not use one of the books in the Adventure series with them as well, as long as you are supplementing with formal programs that you feel will be necessary for your child's future. This will keep your family bonded in one course of study at least part of the time. If you ONLY have high schoolers, you should really consider looking into some of the other unit studies that are meant for high schoolers, so that you won't have to supplement so much - or you could do what we are doing and do half text books, half unit study. One of my goals in writing A World of Adventure was to give parents the confidence needed to do a unit study of their own, if they so choose. After using it for one or more years, you will know better how to answer those questions that so many parents ask - "What kinds of things do I do?" "How much do I do in one day?" "How would I integrage the subjects so that everything goes together?" Perhaps someday, one of you will want to do a unit study of your own! If not, there are a variety of many good high school materials available in the homeschool market.
I will keep you posted on any new developments on the book. These past weeks have been filled with cleaning windows, freezing corn, wrapping up Ryan's freshman year records, organizing and preparing for a school-year ministry at our church that I direct, finalizing plans for Ryan's sophomore year, peeling, chopping, and freezing apples . . . and these last two days we have spent feeding (no small task) and entertaining five teen-age boys for Ryan's birthday party . . . I am tired!
Dorian
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