Matter Crossword FREEBIE/ Physical Science

Enjoy today's FREEBIE matter crossword from our physical science unit. Print the definitions on the back for vocabulary review. Enjoy!

Download printer-friendly crossword & definitions

Download printer-friendly answer key

Math Curriculum Review/ Grade 3

With the end of the school year near, it's time to review curriculum! Expect reviews {by subject/unit} for the few weeks. Curriculum for next year will also be posted. It's been exciting to see all our new resources arriving!

MATH SCHEDULE

Math is one of our daily subjects. During the summer, we continue math lessons and drills. 

Spectrum Math

CORE CURRICULUM

This year, M finished Math Grade 3 and is about halfway through Math Grade 4. This is still my FAVORITE math series. We'll continue Math Grade 4 through the summer and into the fall. 

Spectrum is awesome at teaching math skills in the proper order, building each skill as you continue through the workbook! Chapter pretests at the start of each chapter identify skills students may already know. 

In addition to pre-tests, there are also chapter tests, a midterm exam, and a final exam. All lesson and test answers are in the back of the book. The answer key makes it easy to pinpoint exactly which skills were learned and which may need extra practice. 

Most times, my third grader can teach herself independently. If she has questions, I explain the concept. Then we'll do a few problems together until she understands the process. After that, she's usually back to completing lessons independently.

Sylvan Super Math Success

SUPPLEMENTAL CURRICULUM

Super Math Success adds FUN application practice to our daily math lessons. This workbook does not explain the concepts! But it works beautifully for supplemental practice. The activities are short and skill targeted. My daughter loves the activities and often does extra pages. 

We will most definitely continue with this series, too! 

One caveat, Sylvan's Super Success books are THICK. Removing the spine and adding spiral binding makes them much more functional. Any office supply store with a copy center can do it. Staples usually takes care of this for me ;)

Math-Drills {Free online}

SPEED DRILLS

When we need extra fact practice, I've been pulling sheets from Math-Drills. It's a very comprehensive site with many math grade levels! 

Cucumber Growth Progress/ Pickler's Choice vs. Lemon

Our cucumber experiment is in full swing. Pickler's Choice appears to be significantly outperforming the Lemon variety! Both were seeded on February 23rd and transplanted into the same barrel container. 

Pickler's Choice/ 4" Length/ 36 Days after Sowing

Pickler's Choice easily has 100 small cucumbers growing. It's the common, easy-to-grow variety. Two are already at least 4" long and the others are in various states of growth. 

At this point, the Lemon variety -- a fancy yellow, globe-shaped cucumber -- hasn't produced recognizable fruits. 

Maybe the Lemon cucumber starts as a typical, elongated shape and then forms a globe shape during maturation? That would be interesting. Perhaps the Lemon variety produces a smaller yield. Since we've never grown Lemon cucumbers before, this is truly an experiment!

Ladybug Hatching from Larva

Yesterday a ladybug hatched from larva! It was so exciting!!! The larvae had been perched on our peony leaf for a week or so, and then finally...

Ladybug hatching!

Empty larva casing

Newly hatched and hiding 

Why Free Building is an Essential Component of First Lego League Robotics

Free building is an integral part of our robotic practices. It's simple - students use spare parts {from our EV3 core and expansion sets} to build something new and experiment.  

Batmobile inspired? Either way, the blue pieces mimic engine flames...

Range of motion for the middle wheels increased through mechanics

In the beginning, students can view the robot as an entire entity. But really, it's just a motor and sensors held together with spare parts. Attachments are just spare parts. Learning how these spare parts work together can be intimidating, especially for those new to robotics. 

Free building is stress-free way to get creative, build confidence, and learn how parts work together.

During our first season, no one wanted to break the robot or make mechanical changes. They worried any mechanical modifications would cause a setback. What if changes don't help, but hurt? 

By experimenting off the robot, with spare parts only, all the stress of breaking the robot is gone. This season is a marked difference. My daughter built this Tankbot using Lego instructions. 

When other teammates tested it's capabilities, they WANTED to make modifications. And did! Can you spot the changes?

Seeing the thought process evolve is awesome! Now they can pinpoint areas to improve performance and aren't afraid to test and change. This is a huge leap forward.

Encourage free building. It's an invaluable part of the learning process.

Organization/ How to Contain the Explosion of Work

Is organizing the explosion of homeschool work a challenge for you, too? Finally, a real solution! This semester I bought this awesome Cynthia Rowley bin at Staples ($13). It looks gorgeous on our shelf. But it's completely functional, too!

Inside are hidden oversized clear envelopes/pouches, also from Staples. Love how they are so spacious that letter-sized and larger items easily fit inside. I've been trying to adapt traditional folders and pockets for some time -- but containing all our projects, worksheets, and application work has been impossible!

The clear plastic makes finding the right subject a snap, plus it's a breeze to keep work clean. Smaller and irregular-shaped objects are safe inside. No worries about losing anything because the zipper closure is super secure. And, the bottom gusset provides expansion capability. At $4 each, they are so worth it! 

Clutter, be gone ;)

As you can see, the bin is fairly tall so there is little chance of it reaching capacity anytime soon. M loves this system and never has any trouble putting her work away. I love not having papers and application work everywhere!

Our clear envelopes hold primarily Science, History, Cursive, Vocabulary, and unit work. Other subjects are mostly self contained in workbooks or composition books. This is my absolute favorite way of organizing work now. I hope it helps you, too!

EV3 Newbie Building Tips/ First Lego League

New to EV3 bot building? Follow these tips: 

Tip 1: Organize all your pieces! I know...it's not exciting. But organizing and sorting totally sets you up for success. When you receive your EV3 bins, everything will be packaged in separate little bags. Empty all those little pieces and sort by color and size. Or else it will be pretty impossible to find what you need!!!

Organizing for Tankbot building session

Tip 2: Save paper and use a laptop or tablet to scroll through the instructions online. Seriously, there are tons of pages of instructions! Bonus: you'll save all the color ink in your printer :)

Tip 3: Bookmark these building instructions: EV3 Core Set Bots and EV3 Expansion Set Bots.

Tip 4: Double check you have the right pieces before each step. Many pieces have VERY MINOR differences. It's easy to select the wrong part and not even realize it. Of course, kids will realize if they make a mistake further down the road when things don't connect correctly! 

Double checking parts every step - super important!

Tip 5: Take breaks and don't worry if you don't finish a bot the same day you start. Building is fun, but also tedious. Be happy about your progress! Keep it fun and encourage breaks.

Stopping point after an hour of building

Tip 6: Create a checklist for builders. At every session, I give M (or our team) a checklist. On the checklist is setup, putting away unused pieces in organized compartments, general work space cleanup, and charging responsibilities. 

Get kids in the habit of setting up, cleaning up, and charging. You won't lose important pieces or have a dead bot. Don't do these things for them - they need to learn to take proper care of their bots! 

The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates: Magic Marks the Spot/ FREEBIE Discussion Questions & Activities

STUDY GUIDE/DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

After searching (without luck) for The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates: Magic Marks the Spot study guide, I created my own. And lucky you, I'm sharing!

Download printer-friendly discussion questions, pages 1-4

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

This crossword covers people, places, and things from the story. Answer key included too! 

Download printer-friendly crossword puzzle

Download printer-friendly answer key

CHARACTER COMPARE & CONTRAST

Always interesting to see the students perception of the characters! For this activity, you'll need:  the instruction sheet below (2 instruction pages/sheet), a venn diagram per each student, and paper for illustrations. 

Download printer-friendly instruction sheet

Black and white construction paper make striking but simple frames for character illustrations. Staple the picture frames to each side of the venn diagram. Students label the character's name under the illustration. Simply flip back the frame and write the traits behind the appropriate character on the venn diagram.

MAKE A PIRATE MAP

Have students make a 'good' treasure map according to the principles outlined in Treasure Hunting for Beginners: The Official VNHLP Guide (Chapter 6, p.114-115/hardcover edition). Use this template or have them draw a map from scratch.

Hope your students have a wonderful time working through these activities! Enjoy :)

Book Review/ The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates: Magic Marks the Spot by Caroline Carlson

Witty dialogue, surprising twists, and exciting adventures!

SYNOPSIS 

Hilary Westfield desperately wants to be a pirate. Her father, James Westfield will hear no such nonsense. An admiral in the Royal Navy, he already has an apprentice. And to make matters worse, the admiral abhors pirates!

As a family of High Society, Hilary's parents prefer she attend finishing school. They've even sent her governess, Miss Greyson, to ensure Hilary arrives and stays at Miss Pimm's Finishing School for Delicate Ladies.

Another strike against her? The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates refuses to accept female members. To make her dreams come true, Hilary will have to go against her family's wishes and somehow learn piracy on the sly. 

But when rare magic ore starts disappearing from exclusive High Society homes, Hilary is drawn into the mystery. Are pirates responsible, or is there another explanation entirely? Can Hilary discover who is stealing the magic ore and fulfill her dream of becoming a pirate, too?

REVIEW

The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates: Magic Marks the Spot is one of the most witty and humorous chapter books I've read in a while. This book will rock you with belly laughs. Several times, tears were pouring down my cheeks. It's THAT funny.

The relationships among the characters are golden. The correspondences intermixed throughout the story are my most favorite parts! Such great examples for students on the beauty and purpose of handwritten letters!!!!

And when a pirate ship tries to disguise itself? Totally hysterical. Certainly a creative solution...and one you'll have to read the book to find out!

There are characters you love to root for and characters you love to despise. Some characters take a while to figure out. The ending was a total surprise, but very satisfying. A hoot of an adventure from start to finish.

All the children at book club LOVED this selection. Everyone is eager to continue with the series. It was equally enjoyed by boys and girls alike. Great job, Caroline Carlson!

RATING

5 of 5 Stars/ Highly recommend for chapter readers who love adventure, mystery, fantasy, and humor! So excited to read the next book in the series, The Terror of the Southlands.

My daughter's top adjectives for The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates: Magic Marks the Spot -- surprising, exciting, hilarious, fun, spectacular.

[Looking for the a study guide? Click here.]

Science Vocabulary Printable/ Work and Machines FREEBIE Crossword

Studying work and machines in your science unit? Enjoy this FREEBIE crossword puzzle to help reinforce vocabulary! It correlates perfectly with our Physical Science Unit on Forces and Motion.

Download printer-friendly crossword

Download printer-friendly answer key

Happy homeschooling!

Nature Investigation/ Caterpillar to Become a Beautiful Butterfly?

While the little one was exploring outside, we discovered this in the grass:

Not wanting to kill a potentially beautiful future butterfly, we left it alone. Do you know what is is? It's a hairy little thing!

Research reveals this is a tent caterpillar. In maturity, it turns into a nondescript moth - not a beautiful butterfly. And it attacks trees. 

Oh, well...I guess no good deed goes unpunished :)

Review/ Dallas Zoo Giants of the Jurassic

The dinosaur scales & spiked 'BIG' sign teases at the entrance. The girls couldn't resist striking a pose :)

Perched on top of the information booth, this nest is super impressive. Such a creative presentation!

Don't miss Erth's dinosaur show. Not only are the puppets spectacular, you can touch them after the show and meet the puppeteers backstage. Then visit their pop-up shops to buy cool dinosaur swag. 

So Jurassic Park! The girls and I got a real kick out of this car-crushing dinosaur.

All smiles! She really did love this one.

Meat eater for sure.

Giant claws and teeth. So ferocious!

This one spits just like in Jurassic Park. Thankfully, it only spews water instead of poison. Expect to get wet! 

Dinosaur baby and parent talking to each other. Adorable.

At Picnic Ridge, enjoy digs and interactive games. Pushing buttons at the console animates the dinosaur.

The absolute best? T-rex, of course!!!!

We loved this exhibit. It is not be missed! There is no additional charge to see the dinosaurs at the Dallas Zoo, it is included in your daily admission. For zoo members, it's free! We will definitely be back many times. 

The view from the train is fantastic! Well worth $2/ride. If you are a Passport Zoo member, you get free train rides until the monorail is fixed :)

Because many school groups pack the zoo in the mornings, we arrived about 1:30pm. If you can make it in the afternoon, your experience will be much more enjoyable. Expect mornings to incredibly packed with school field trips by the busload.

The Zoo also has a free dinosaur page with facts dinosaur facts by each species. Learn about the habitat, diet, size, and adaptations for that specific dinosaur. Awesome and educational! Next time, I'll bring a printed copy with us and do a scavenger hunt, asking the kids to identify each.

What an incredibly fabulous day!