Boredom Busters!

Let’s do some Art!  First up is the Baking Show Drawing Challenge from Frugal fun.  Here is the link with the instructions and challenge cards.  Here  are the Art archives at Frugal Fun.  Draw some treats.  Art educators rely on Dick Blick for supplies and lesson ideas.  Here are art lessons from Dick Blick.  Dick Blick has lessons for elementary aged students, too.  Get busy!

Good Will Education Resources

 Good Will online offers educational resources for sale, such as Scholastic Declaration of Independence kits.  Look under Categories for Science and Education.  Use the search bar to browse Scholastic or Education kits.  These types of class kits are especially useful for Co-op groups.

Knitting and Math

 We use math in recipes all the time.  Math multiples apply to knitting as well.  You have to use a bit of math to adjust 3 x 3 or 4 x 4 ribbing patterns or blocks of knit and purl stitches.  Here, here,  and here are articles about math and knitting.  Here is STEM and Knitting, the article I found the most helpful in terms of setting STEM challenges.

Ice Art

 Today, we made Ice Art.  Here is the blog post from my science blog with more photos and a link describing the activity.

Art

 Paul, ten, does some Art; it’s not his favorite.  He does likes photography.  Paul made homemade watercolor paints and took photos with an instant camera.  I had him make watercolor backgrounds for the instant photos he took of the pond in the back.  Most of Paul’s art is used as gifts, which gives them more purpose. Below are a few pix.  I’m trying to insert more Art into our curriculum.  At least there are more presents for Christmas and birthdays.

More Great Courses at Good Will online

 Good Will online just listed 14 pounds of the Great Courses.  Check shipping costs before bidding.  Good Will is a great site for bargains in Great Courses DVDs.

Still Learning the States

 Paul, ten, is learning the names of the states by region.  Today we began to learn the Midwest States.  He begins by noting the abbreviations for each state.  Next he marks dry erase labels and places them on the correct state.  After, he does the same for the Southeast and Northeast Regions to keep those names fresh.  When I am certain, Paul knows the correct names, I quiz, take a photo, and upload it to the slideshow I made as part of his portfolio.  Take a look.