NASA’s Museum in a Box

 NASA’s Museum in a Box lessons are for educators.  They combine activities and history.  Look at First Flyers.  The lesson begins with a list of materials for the Museum Box.  There is a bit of history and a series of activities—all related to flight.  Part of the lesson is scripted.  There is vocabulary, a series of images and templates, essentially an instant unit study.  Remember these lessons are from NASA and largely relate to aeronautics.  As instant lessons go these are fantastic!

Instant Unit Study!

 How do you create an instant unit study?  Start with a theme.  Pick up a pile of books at the library.  Do a huge number of related activities.  Plan a culminating project.  Document the process.  I like unit studies the whole family can do. The theme is Construction.  Why?  Your four-year old already has a complete collection of trucks.  The concrete blocks can serve a presents.  The topic is cement.  The youngest kiddo has his cement mixer truck ready.

 Here are 20 children’s books about construction.

IWhat about older kiddos?  One construction topic is cement.  Read The Case of the Flaking Floor, which is about cement.  Here, here, and here are fact sheets about cement.  

Are there activities? Try Flour Concrete and Composites (newspaper and ice).  NASA has this unit, Museum in a Box: Composites.  The pix and information is excellent.  But it’s based on a kit with carbon fibers, Nitinol, and density cubes.  Here are simple instructions for Nitinol or memory wire.  

Take pix!  What is your final project? Make Concrete Blocks or Engineered Concrete.  Make Stepping Stones as presents.  Think Engineering has Handcraft Cement Shape. Summarize your findings: slide deck, video, lapbook, or list.  Look at you creating your own unit study!

Egypt Camp

 In another life, my friend, Carla, the school’s librarian hosted a summer, Egypt Camp.  I had a young friend who couldn’t afford the camp.  I assisted and my young friend came free.  We did so many fun things all week! 

Start with a stack of books.  Many of the activities we did are included here; the activities are orange mummification, and learning about hieroglyphics.  We made paper plate Egyptian collars, copied hieroglyphics, created Jewelry, made and played Senet, and created canopic jars.  We even built sugar cube pyramids.  Here are more Craft ideas.  

Let’s organize a few resources.  This teacher’s guide has some history, social strata, day in the life, diet, etc. The guide has excellent images and can answer most questions which arise.  How can you organize the material into lessons?  

1.  Where is Egypt?  Locate Egypt in the globe.  Make a salt dough map.  

2.  Show kiddos this slide deck, which has a good introduction to Ancient Egypt.

3.  Use the National Geographic Egypt Collection (or any book about Egypt) to help shape your lessons.  Read a book.  Try an activity.  Read about the pyramids and build one with sugar cubes.  Read about Cleopatra and make jewelry.  The book on mummies pairs well with canopic jars and orange mummies.  

4.  Keep asking questions!  What do the hieroglyphics mean?  Learn about the Rosetta Stone and practice hieroglyphics.  What did children wear?  Make costumes and collars.  What did they eat?  Try this ancient recipe.  Make and play Senet.

5.  You may want to add more history and geography.  Here is Ancient Egypt Lapbook with more ideas.  Connect the project to the Bible.  Try more recipes. Learn about King Tut.  Watch the Prince of Egypt.  Keep reading fiction and nonfiction books about ancient Egyptians.  It’s your camp.  Have a blast!

Start with a Book!

 Are you familiar with Start with a Book?  The idea is to combine fiction and nonfiction books with lessons—something you probably do already.  The site has loads and loads of activity kits.  I love to add a book to any outreach program.  For example, I have an activity kit for this Handwashing Lesson.  Include Germs Make Me Sick.  Be sure to explain to Littles that the germs are fake so no one cries.  Ask me how I know.  One tip if you use Glo Germ lotion and the hand-washing lesson, check the nail beds; kiddos never wash their nail beds well.  What books can you combine with lessons?  I mean, you can do so much history with American Girl Doll books.  You might want to browse the library stacks for lesson inspirations.  Have a blast!

Simplify life with a theme for gifts!

 I like a theme!  Have you considered finding a theme for your gifts?  My kiddos receive books as presents.  None of us are adverse to a stack of books—even used books!  I keep a stack of paper, pop-up, flower cards.  They are perfect for someone in the hospital or a friend’s birthday.  It’s still a card; it doesn’t create  a sense of obligation—just a sweet message!  

My go-to high school graduation present is an electric kettle and as case of ramen noodles.  Really.  I pick up kettles whenever I can find them for less than $16.  I don’t want students to starve.  Teens think the gift is hysterical. 

Please stand by!

 Sorry!  June and July mean Science Camp, VBS, home-school portfolio reviews (ten) and two weeks of Faith Camp—kiddos who are behind in the sacraments.  While I have been inspired to adjust Faith Camp, I’m blanking on tips for home-school families.  I’ll post soon!  Please stand by!

Evan-Moor

  One resource I recommend all the time is Evan-Moor.  The workbooks are ideal for summer practice.  I like the Geography practice as enrichment in the elementary grades.  You can do an exercise each day or polish off a week’s worth of activities in under an hour.  Look at Grade 5 Geography, as an example.  Another suggestion is Summer Bridge activity books.  You can use these as supplement those days when you just need emergency lessons.  Consider used copies—many are like new.  These workbooks won’t replace a core curriculum; they do provide a good supplement.