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!