Fibonacci Spirals in the Woods

A few weeks ago I ran across the wonderful videos by Vi Hart combining mathematics with doodles and plants and flowers.  These start by beautifully demonstrating how many plants and flowers grow in spiral forms that follow the Fibonacci series of numbers (you remember, in which each number in the series is the sum of the two previous-- 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, etc.)  Part 1 is below. 

This captured my imagination. So during one of the sunbreaks, the kids and I watched this again, then headed out to the trails in the woods out the back, to see if we could find any spirals.  Being mid-winter, it's not the best time to go looking, but we did find cones from a Douglas Fir and some kind of lonely pine tree (we forgot the identification books in our haste to get outside). 

Then, we brought the cones inside and got to counting. 

Like Vi Hart, we used different colors to help keep track of the rows of spirals.  Glitter glue was involved. 

And it worked!  For both types of cones, Fibonacci numbers represent!

If/when we try this again in the spring or summer, I'm going to make sure we have *fresh* tubes of glitter glue on hand, and find larger cones or flowers to count.  These little guys were still tight and tiny.  Definitely a fun diversion, though!

Miss L just saw the video screen again over my shoulder as I type this and asked to watch it again.  So, until next time...

Sensory Experiences

Someday, I'll need to do a post about our curriculum choices, but one of the cornerstones of what we use now is Moving Beyond the Page (MBTP). After trying different levels and permutations of how to make it work for our family, what seems to be working now is using the level appropriate for my younger child (right now, the 5-7) with both kids, but and enriching and supplementing as we go to make it more difficult for the older as well.  He's the trickier one anyway, I haven't found any curriculum that will work for him without modification, so I might as well stick with what *I* like for now and just find the way to use it with him. 

Anyway, we're just wrapping up a MBTP unit on the senses (Level 5-7, Concept 2, Unit 2).  This has been great fun, with lots of little projects and experiments using sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste.    Often, several at once. 

Or taking some away.

The kids were blindfolded so often in these lessons, to try tasting things they couldn't see, or walk down the hallway using only touch, or to identify their location in the house using only sound, that I think those bandannas have new permanent creases.

One of Big K's favorite experiments was one in which I (unbeknownst to him) poured a small amount of clear soda into several glasses, then added a drop of food color to each glass, making the soda in each glass a different color.  The kids then tasted each one, we wrote down their impressions of the flavor in each glass, then blindfolded them and had them taste each glass again.  Of course, the answers were very different this time.  The objective--teaching the kids that sometimes your senses can trick other senses, came through loud and clear and was definitely a "lightbulb moment".

Another thing I liked about this unit was the frequent suggestions to go outside and practice using your senses outdoors.  Being mid-winter, we're often reluctant to go outside in the cold and the damp, but the recent snowfall made for some very interesting sensory observations!  For Miss L, yes, all of the 5 senses were represented.

Then, the snow melted.  Mud, everywhere.  We're having a bit of a run of sun this week, a very different but welcome sensory experience! 

The next unit, which we will start in a day or two, is "We're the Same, We're Different" and explores what makes people similar and different, both nearby and different cultures.  Looking forward to it!

Washington State Geology - Resources for Homeschoolers

It's true for any location, in addition to selections from the below list, you and yours need a rock hammer and a hand lens to really get into geology.  And most importantly, get outside!  Indoor learning is great too, but it is nothing without the context. 

Jessica's list of Washington State Geology resources for homeschoolers:

Books

General geology  for the youngers:

·    Magic School Bus Inside the Earth by Joanna Cole

·    Any rock/mineral guidebooks with nice pictures (like Eyewitness books, Smithsonian Handbooks, DK Pockets). Rocks and minerals resource recommendations will be the subject of a future book list.

Regional geology, field trip ideas, and out and about information, appropriate for all ages:

·    Geology of the Pacific Northwest by Cynthia Brown (great for late elementary!)

·    Hiking Washington’s Geology by Babcock and Carson

·    Roadside Geology of Washington by David Alt

·    Gem Trails of Washington by Garrett Romaine

Further regional geology overviews for high school/adult:

·    Northwest Exposures: A Geologic Story of the Northwest by Alt and Hyndman

·    Restless Northwest: A Geological Story by Hill Williams

·    Geology of National Parks by Harris and Tuttle.  Fairly technical and pricey, it includes sections on North Cascades, Olympic, and Rainier National Parks as well as many, many others across the USA. This one I always consult before planning a trip.

Specific topics for the intrigued:

· Channeled Scablands and Ice Age Flooding

On the Trail of Ice Age Floods by Bruce Bjornstad

Cataclysms on the Columbia by Allen, Burns, and Sargent

· North Cascades

Geology of the North Cascades by Tabor and Haugerud

· Mt. Rainier

Roadside Geology of Mount Rainier National Park and Vicinity by Patrick Pringle

· Mt. St. Helens

Several great books listed in my Eruptions book list

Web links

• Washington State Department of Natural Resources. Links to the discussion on different regions of the state as well as field trip lists, guidelines for collecting, research science, and information on landslides, earthquakes, good stuff! http://www.dnr.wa.gov/ResearchScience/Topics/GeologyofWashington/Pages/geolofwa.aspx
• Burke Museum! Great to visit in person, solid online exhibits, and even fun educational materials to rent: http://www.burkemuseum.org/geology  
• Pacific Northwest Seismograph Network. Keep track of our recent earthquakes: http://www.ess.washington.edu/recenteqs/latest.htm  
• Science with Mrs. A. An elementary teacher’s website with a some great Washington fossil sites: http://www.sciencewithmrsa.com/
• Washington Interactive Geologic Map: https://fortress.wa.gov/dnr/geology/?Site=wigm
• YouTube video of a completed geology puzzle project: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdulAw_foXY
• "Garret’s World of Geology" YouTube channel. This is the author of Gem Trails of Washington and he has several short videos that include rockhounding hunts in Washington, including jade near Darrington (episode 7) and quartz near Snoqualmie Pass (episode 2): http://www.youtube.com/user/DustyFingers5
• Stonerose Interpretive Center: http://www.stonerosefossil.org/index.html  (this site will make you want to go find fossils in Republic!)

TV Shows/DVDs, most available through Netflix or Library

·    Cash and Treasures with Kirsten Gum A Travel Channel series on hunting for gems , now off the air.  A few episodes took place in Washington.

·    How the Earth Was Made  Great documentary series from History Channel.  Season 2 Ep 10 is Mt. St. Helens.

·    Mystery of the Megaflood: Nova  Describes the Channeled Scablands of Eastern Washington and the fascinating story of J. Harlan Bretz.

A month of Vikings

Yesterday, we wrapped up our informal history study of the Vikings.  I think the kids learned a lot over the last month, from mythology to longships to trade routes. 

We started by putting Viking times in context by browsing through A Street Through Time once more, but our main "spines" were read-alouds of a few pages at a time from Eyewitness Viking and Usborne Viking World.
 

Big K also read Time Warp Trio: Viking It and Liking It and Horrible Histories' Vicious Vikings while the Beena really enjoyed browsing the Viking section of Usborne Time Traveler.  Early on we read a simple version of Beowulf and many tales of Norse Mythology from the wonderful D'Aulaire Book.  The kids, they do love their monsters.  We finished up by reading Harald the Ruthless.  

I like to tie subjects together whenever possible, so along the way, not long after our visit to the aquarium, we folded in some science by reading The Cod's Tale (fabulous book, like all of Mark Kurlansky's books) which has several pages about the Viking use of dried cod, which in part allowed them to sail long distances and settle briefly in North America.  A few informal and impromptu art projects were generated from The Story of the Vikings (Dover Coloring Book) and Viking Designs (Dover Clip Art). 


And because I like to engage in what the kids are studying too, I read A Viking Voyage: In Which an Unlikely Crew of Adventurers Attempts an Epic Journey to the New World and The Far Traveler: Voyages of a Viking Woman. 

Next week we'll segue into expanded medieval study, which I think will take a couple months.  I'm drowning in options planning this one, rather than the relatively sparse pickings for kids' books on Vikings.  Thinking to start next week by reading about the Silk Road, linking the Vikings with Constantinople and on to other parts of the then-known world, then circling back to a few pages in the Usborne World History Encyclopedia to set the scene before diving into the era of castles and knights with both feet.  Here we go!

Lego Man in Space

Just showed this to the K-man. I think his minifigures should probably beware.

Dinosaur (and paleontology) books!

If you have met my daughter, it is no secret that dinosaurs are a big hit around here.  Not too long ago I was asked for a few good places to start for a study of dinos and paleontology.  My picks below range from adult, for the parent that wants some background in these topics, down to the early elementary child in love with dinosaurs.  Most skew late elementary and higher since I don't like to 'dumb down' material for my kids, especially when they show a strong interest and thrive on depth...but that's a topic for another post.


Dinosaurs books for overview and what/where/how:

• Dinosaur Lives by John Horner is a great nonfiction book for adults that gives good insight into both the fieldwork of paleontology and how paleontologists recreate how dinosaurs lived and highly recommended.  It is written for the lay reader but doesn't shy away from some of the more technical ideas.  John Horner is one of the most respected paleontologists currently working and if you are ever in Bozeman, do not miss his Museum of the Rockies.
• Eyewitness Books Dinosaur by David Lambert.   I love all the Eyewitness titles and we have a million of them, but the dinosaur one is a standout.  It is marketed to late elementary/middle school but with the beautiful pictures younger kids like them and there is plenty of information for adults.
• Dinosaur by Stephanie Stansbie is another "kid's" book, but it disguises itself as a paleontologist's notebook and the science is pretty sophisticated.  Tons of little manipulatives and envalopes and flippy bits that could get lost, but my daughter likes it so much she keeps everything where it is supossed to go. 
• There's lots of early elementary-age books on dinosaurs.  Tons.  Too many to list. Many are fine, some are crap.  The books on fossils and paleontology by Aliki are good, and Magic School Bus in the Time of Dinosaurs is probably one of  the best IMO.

Paleontology, paleontologists, and the history of fossil hunting:

• Jack Horner's book Digging Up Dinosaurs is a fun and accurate book about how fossils are really found and studied today. Appropriate for elementary through middle school.
• A good book on paleontology for the middle schooler or the student ready for a step up to more meaty information is Bones Rock!  Everything You Need to Know To Be a Paleontologist.  Lots of examples of real science and great stories.
• Look up books on Mary Anning.  There are several biographies on her life on Amazon for different age groups.  A particularly good one for elementary is Rare Treasure: Mary Anning and her Remarkable Discoveries by Don Brown.  Mary Anning was an english girl in the 1800s who discovered several species of dinosaurs.  There are lots of books for kids about her,  but this is my favorite--I love all the Don Brown biographies.  Mary Anning was fascinating--for grown-up and high school reading of a novelization of her life, Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier is wonderful.
• Lena loves learning about the T-Rex named Sue, which is the largest, most complete t-rex ever found, now displayed in a museum in Chicago.  There are tons of books about the fossil and those who found her, because it was a very contentious and litigious fossil.  Our favorites are this music cd and Sue Hendrickson's autobiography for kids, My Life as an Explorer.  (bonus, Sue Hendrickson dropped out of highschool and homeschooled herself)  A very good (but long) story of the find for adults is Tyrannosaurus Sue: The Exraordinary Saga of the Largest, Most Fought Over T. Rex Ever Found by Steve Fiffer.
• A wonderful picture book about an early paleontologist and dinosaur reconstructor is The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins.  My daughter loves the pictures in this book and comparing how our ideas of how dinosaurs look has changed over the years.

Fun books that stretch the imagination:

• Dinotopia: A Land Apart in Time by James Gurney and its sequels like Journey to Chandara (but not the novelizations that came out later, those are not good)  we read these at story time for many evenings, they are long but my kids absolutely loved a chapter each night.  It is about some 19th-century explorers who stumble upon a lost continent inhabited by intelligent dinosaurs and humans.  Gorgeous paintings on every page. 
• Uneversaurus by Professor Potts is not fiction, but it works here because it is all about how we imagine the colors of dinosaurs skin.  Fantastic fun because it shows both wild&crazy coloring and more sober information about camoflage.  Good inspiration for art lessons, too. 
• If You Are A Lover of Fossils by Byrd Baylor.  Simply beautiful, a prose-poem about fossils and the connection with the earth and our short lives.

Random stuff:

• Usborne's Dinosaur Jigsaw Atlas  is pretty cool.  Shows where different dinosaurs have been found across the world.  Dinosaurs AND geography AND puzzles!  Score!
• Not a dinosaur, but look up information on the Coelacanth.  This is a fish that was thought to have gone extinct with the dinosaurs until a few of them were found off the coast of Madagascar in the 1930s.  A great book for adults is A Fish Caught in Time by Samantha Weinberg.
• The Walking with Dinosaurs and Chased by Dinosaurs/Prehistoric Park BBC series shows are great.  My kids have watched them over and Over and OVER.  Chased by Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Park are especially fun because a modern zoologist goes back in time to capture some of those CGI dinosaurs, which are pretty well done. 

A conversation about Rockfish

One of our traditions for New Years Day is a trip to a local zoo or museum--yesterday we went to the Seattle Aquarium.  It happened to be Rockfish Day!  So the kids learned all about Rockfish and they are happy to tell you all about them.   We had a nice conversation over fish & chips at the aquarium cafeteria.