Isaac chose Kansas to study because we have relatives there, and he got to visit once. We really enjoyed studying Kansas, and I found a lot of neat ideas from other blogs, which I’ll mention as I come to them.
Week 1
First, Isaac located and colored Kansas on his map, located the capital (Topeka) and some larger cities, such as Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City.
Put together a notebook page (page designed by Jolanthe at Homeschool Creations) about Kansas. Isaac loves to make decorative letters for the state names, using things about that state. I need to look again at his paper…it looks to me as if he misspelled Kansas!
Watched Kansas travel video clips on YouTube:
Colored the flag of Kansas (Apples 4 the Teacher):
Learned the state song “Home on the Range.” We sang the entire song once, but the other days we practiced only the main verse and chorus. You can find the lyrics at Kididdles. I also found Gene Autry’s version, thanks to Children Grow, Children Explore, Children Learn:
Read about plains/prairie, hills, forests, and rivers from the book Geography from A to Z.
Labeled a map of Kansas (from Enchanted Learning):
Discussed wheat production (YouTube clip):
Discussed bison (look HERE too) and did Draw-Write-Now, Book 3, p. 20-21:
Did “buffalo hide” art (used DWN, Book 3, p. 22-23 for reference). I got this idea from Superheroes and Princesses and Giggles and Crayons. Here’s Isaac’s:
Week 2
Began our Famous People chart. Here’s the completed chart (we only found 3 worth mentioning):
Discussed Amelia Earhart:
Discussed President Dwight D. Eisenhower:
Discussed sunflowers and snacked on sunflower seed kernels (which came from China, actually):
Drew sunflowers from Draw-Write-Now, Book 3, pp. 38-39. I didn’t have him write—he just did the picture:
Read about Mt. Sunflower and Giant Vincent van Gogh Painting (click links to read).
Discussed artist John Steuart Curry and 2 of his paintings (click on links to see): Tornado Over Kansas and Baptism in Kansas.
Discussed tornadoes (see websites FEMA for Kids and Weather Wiz Kids); watched Wizard of Oz.
Here are a few Kansas tornado videos I found on YouTube. I’ll warn you right now to preview them for any language you might now approve of. People accustomed to cussing tend to do it even more so when they’re being freaked out by the tornado they’re crazy enough to film. Also a good opportunity to talk about tornado safety…as you watch the crazy people. : )
Read book Wagon Wheels; discussed Native Americans and pioneers.
Packing Your Covered Wagon activity (Laura’s Prairie House)—This is a great activity for studying pioneers! I really wish I had my Little House on the Prairie book here! I don’t know why I didn’t think to pack it the last time we were home—I knew we were going to study Kansas. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find it at our local library, and I don’t have extra money right now to order it online. Anyway, I ran across this website which has activity ideas for some of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books. In this particular activity, you have to decide what you would pack in your wagon for the 5-month journey out west! You have a list of recommended food per person and a long list of items you could possibly take, and how much each item weighs. You can’t take more than 2,000 pounds in your wagon, so you have to decide which items have priority! We had a great discussion while we worked out what we would pack.
Here are some of the other blogs I read that have geography posts on Kansas:
Adventures in Mommydom (several posts)
Children Grow, Children Explore, Children Learn
Giggles and Crayons (several posts)
Here are some other sites we looked at:
Kansas Underground Salt Museum
That was a very thorough study! I especially love his drawings.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of a famous people page.
ReplyDeleteA wonderful study! Fabulous sunflower drawing, too!
ReplyDeleteI am always so impressed with all the materials you come up with for your studies! Thank you for the link to my post on Kansas.
ReplyDelete