As we roll into our second semester of our Homeschool Sciences, we are doing a really fun Zoology Unit Study with lapbooks. The kids and I are equally excited about this one! We are planning to study one animal per week from winter through spring (approximately 17-24 weeks will mean we will learn about 17-24 different animals).
We started off by asking the kids for a list of animals they most want to learn about. This gave me a great start for planning with a list of 14 animals! We are starting our unit study with a very big craft project. We are making a large, 4 sided, 8 section display stand that features all the continents and oceans, for each kiddo. We will be making a figure out of clay for each animal we study and each of those animals will be displayed on our large display stands in or near their natural habitat locations. As a side project we will be making poker chips, cause we are fans of poker. For the display stands we took two pieces of cardboard (recycled from old boxes) that measure 15 inches wide by 30 inches long and 3 – 17 inch diameter circles. We cut slits halfway down the middle of each rectangle and inserted them together to make a X shape. We cut slits into one of the circles so that we could slide it into the middle of the X and then glued it into place. We then glued the other two circles onto the top and bottom of the X. Lastly we painted them white. Then I cut out poster board into 14 inch by 14 inch squares and the kids drew the continents on each piece (with any extra piece to either use to split Central America as its own section or to use for all the ocean creatures – all the kids choose to use it for oceans). We glued the poster board into each section and when the glue was dry we added color to each of the backgrounds. As we go through the unit study we plan to make miniature dioramas for each animal to illustrate its habitat and then add each animal in its habitat onto our display stands. You can check back on the blog posts for more updates as we go through our unit study – and you’ll find on the right hand side of the blog page a link to our Zoology posts to make them easier for you to find. We will also be using lapbooking with our unit study. One lapbook per animal will hold the information we are learning in a fun keepsake folder. I will also staple our educational video notebooking pages as well as our book list and video lists into each lapbook as we finish with them. It’s a great way to keep everything organized!
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PRACTICAL LIFE
The practical life curriculum engages your child in meaningful and appropriate activities that promotes independent learning and fosters self-discipline. These exercises invite the child to carry out real tasks with a practical goal to be attained. The real activities will meet the needs of the child in the respective stage of his growth, normalize him, and lead him to independence from the adult. It also educates your child in good work habits that are necessary for healthy living. Dr. Maria Montessori believed that this “procedure prepares a child to pursue a series of complex objectives and thus channel his random energies into orderly and well-executed actions. Thereby, allowing the gradual development of character and a sense of responsibility for their successful accomplishments.” The basic components of this curriculum area include: Care of the Self, Care of the Environment, Discipline and Deportment, Grace and Courtesy. LANGUAGE The Montessori method adopts a different process from the traditional process for the education of reading, writing, and literature. Dr. Maria Montessori discovered that “the path towards intelligence lies through the use of their hands”---the sense of touch instead of just learning through the verbal instructions of a teacher. Therefore, the Montessori class uses specific equipment designed for the children to hold and manipulate in their fingers while they learn the language. For example, the alphabet is thus memorized by sight and by touch. This method has been found to be the best for little ones to learn how to read and write. SENSORIAL EXERCISES The sensorial curriculum methodically exposes your child to stimuli that will develop his senses rationally and thus lay the foundation for his mental power. It also directs your child’s attention towards the world around him. By exploring the environment with the use of the senses, the child can identify and differentiate the various qualities of objects. The child’s perceptual awareness is enhanced by asking him to match, order, contrast and compare. The sensorial education opens up a new world for the child allowing him to look at things from a new perspective. MATH The Math curriculum is designed to adopt the perceptual skills acquired in the sensorial stage which now lays the foundation for counting and arithmetical operations. In the sensorial area, the child was introduced to pre-math concepts such as temporal relations, spatial relations, and one to one correspondence. The Montessori math materials enable a child to explore a concept in the concrete form. The sequence of presentations begins with simple then to more complex and from concrete to abstract. Children will progress through concepts at their own developmental rate. CULTURAL STUDIES: SCIENCE, BOTANY, ZOOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY, HISTORY, ART, MUSIC, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE. Dr. Maria Montessori called this area of study “cosmic education.” This aims to bring about in a Montessori classroom the various aspects of cultural studies with the respect for different cultures and people. Children will study global history, world cultures, science, etc. The children are provided with opportunities to become insightful, perceptive, sensitive and most important thoughtful. These characteristics are cultivated to prepare the child for the study of the cosmic world. The homeschooling trend is spreading across the nation and around the world. Many parents have decided, for a variety of reasons, that schooling their children at home is the best decision for their family. What are some of the reasons parents are motivated to teach their children at home? The reasons vary.
One top reason cited is that the parents disagree with the curriculum being used in their local school district. For example, some parents believe that a one-size-fits-all approach to education stifles the natural creativity of their children. Other parents are concerned with the inevitable peer pressure that exists in schools and the negative impact of being exposed to alcohol and drugs which exists in many schools. Other parents are angered by the English as a second language programs which they feel slows the progress of their children. Another reason some parents school their children at home is because they want to provide advanced, or remedial, classes for their child that is not offered at their local school. There are obviously many reasons why a parent would be motivated to school their children at home. However, many experts still disagree whether it is the best decision or not. Some experts admit that for some children it may be the best decision. The most commonly cited reason against homeschooling is the development of social skills -- those against homeschooling claim that children schooled at home don’t have the opportunity to develop important social skills. They claim that this will hurt the children when they try to enter the "real world" of college and employment. They say that a traditional school environment allows children the opportunity to make friends and socialize with others in a variety of projects. homeschooling parents disagree with this argument because they recognize that even without entering school their children are able to make friends in a variety of settings such as church, sports, clubs, and the neighborhood. They also make the argument that traditional schools are a contrived setting and not a replication of the "real world." They also claim that developing social skills, which are best nurtured in the family, are not necessarily an important part of a quality education. homeschooling advocates also cite the numerous studies which have discovered that children schooled at home are usually better prepared to excel at college than children who have attended traditional schools. Some advocates this is because children schooled at home are able to progress at their own level; whereas, children educated at traditional schools are either pulled down by slower learners or left behind by faster learners. Many advanced and remedial students are unable to progress properly in traditional classrooms. homeschooling parents are able to teach a curriculum they approve of without the distraction of peer pressure, behavioral problems and at a speed which works for their child. There are also a wide variety of educational philosophies which parents are able to consider when making the decision to homeschool their child. There are many pros and cons to both sides of the argument and parents need to consider all of them when choosing what is best for their child. |
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