Scavenger Hunts

  Rob and I just traipsed through several museums and gardens on vacation.  Many had scavenger hunts.  It helps young children navigate a museum if it’s more interactive.  So I looked for more scavenger hunts.  Since I live outside Washington D.C., it seems like the logical place to start.  The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum uses Goosechase; instructions for the Air and Space Museum’s Scavenger Hunt guide visitors through the process.  The NGA in Your Neighborhood is a scavenger hunt which ties the building and grounds to one’s own neighborhood.  Are you planning a visit to the African American Museum (NMAAHC)?  They have more of a study guide.  The Constitution Scavenger Hunt with Political Cartoons from the National Archives is more of a lesson, too.  Here’s the hunt from the Natural History Museum.  Here’s the American History Scavenger hunt.  Instead of a hunt, the National Building Museum has Patterns, a 38 page educator’s guide.  America’s Presidents is a classroom resource from the National Portrait Gallery, one of our family’s favorite museums.  The Smithsonian also has Adventure Lab.  (I haven’t tried the app, yet.). One more hunt, The National Zoo.  (We just visited the Corning Museum of Glass, which has several scavenger hunts, all available online and at the museum.)

Why use Google Classroom?

 ob and I teach several classes.  We keep records in Google Classroom.  (Rob keeps a separate spreadsheet for grades, too.  Several families use one email; the children are discouraged from using electronics.  Yes, it’s a pain.  However, the parents are serious about monitoring computer use.  Good job!). Why bother?  I like to post assignments to Classroom.  If a kid is out sick, the material is there.  I use Classroom as an organizational tool.  I can prep lessons in advance and save interesting ideas in Classroom.  

However, when I was home-schooling individual kids,  Classroom was even more useful.  I created a class for each subject and keep track of completed assignments.  You can take a photo and upload it to Classroom.  For example, snap a completed and graded quiz, open Classroom, select the class, and upload the photo under the graded assignment.  Better still, have your child upload the photo.  Everything is saved and organized.  It is so much easier to prepare digital portfolios for submission to online schools.  Google Classroom keeps a record of grades.  I take screenshots of these averages, too, for the portfolio or quarterly reports.  

Long term, Google Classroom is useful for transcripts, too.  I just received a request for a transcript from a Chemistry class held two years ago.  I archive each year’s classes.  It’s easy to reopen archived classes and retrieve the records.  Keeping records is more work up front and less aggravation in the long term.

English

 I’m teaching Composition this year and decided to buy English textbooks.  I bought used copies of an older, eighth grade textbook.  The content is good, about half basic grammar and half the writing process.  The class is small, which is great; all of the students need to work on basics.  Two of the first writing assignments are a personal narrative and a friendly letter.  The format dove-tails well with my plans.  I want the kids to write to active duty military members and describe their birthday celebrations.  Below is a sample from the table of contents.  It isn’t the entire course; however it is a good start!

Visit Off-beat Museums!

We just returned from Toronto and visited several museums, including a few off-beat ones: Corning Museum of Glass, the Bata Shoe Museum, the Textile Museum of Canada, the National Comedy Center, and the Luci Desi Museum.  Corning Museum of Glass is in Corning, NY; the Comedy Museum and Luci Desi Museum are in Jamestown, NY.  If you watch old ‘I Love Lucy’ TV shows, you’ll enjoy the Luci Desi museum.  

Our family makes it a habit to visit odd museums, such as The Électrium, the Health and Medicine Museum, or the National Building Museum.  (During one visit to the National Building Museum, my son said he would like to see the display of chairs and couches.). We’ll hear of a museum and say, ‘That sounds different.’ and plan a visit.  Off-beat museums tend to appeal to kids.  The Bata Show Museum has everything from historic foot ware to sneakers.  Bata has an amazing area for kids, including a shoe, dress-up area.  We just like to be surprised.  Many, many times, the off-beat museums are full of fun!

Visit a Garden!

 Rob and I just visited the Royal Botanical Garden (RBG) in Ontario.  Gardens provide many sources of inspiration.  Look at their Children’s programs.  During our visit, a docent was explaining how to repot plants.  RGB has a large natural playground.  Plan ahead to see what amenities and activities are available.  Plan a picnic or look for a nearby playground to visit after the garden tour.  Look for free tours.  When we lived in Winchester, the Glen Bernie Gardens were open for free tours at least once a year.  Blandy Experimental Farm, an Arboretum, nearby,  has free tours.  Colleges, such as Clemson’s SC Botanical Garden  often have free garden tours.  Try a few, small garden tours to see if your family likes these visits before you tackle a big garden, such as Longwood Gardens or The Washington State Arboretum.  

Go to the Zoo!

 ob and I went to the zoo in Toronto, Ontario.  It’s massive.  Have you considered a zoo project? Create your own! Use A Home for Everyone as inspiration.   The Toronto Zoo has free resources.   What about designing a scavenger hunt?  The Smithsonian Zoo has a list of Webinars, with activities.  Have you ever wanted to sketch at the zoo? Practice at home with these tutorials.    Add some math with Design Your Own Zoo.  Write a Zoo Animal Report. This version of a report is more challenging.  Here is a packet, African Animals, with a map to identify habitats in Africa.  Here is Where Animals Live, with more map activities.  Borrow an armload of Zoo books from the library.  A trip to the zoo is an expensive treat.  Make your visit the culmination of your project.  Don’t forget to document your project and visit as part of your school portfolio!

Visit a Museum!

 Rob and I are in Corning, NY, visiting the Corning Museum of Glass (CMOG) and the Rockwell Museum. (BTW, the Rockwell Museum is NOT Norman Rockwell. Instead a local couple shared their American collection.   The combination ticket was about $5 more.). CMOG has educational materials worth a look.  There were loads of families visiting CMOG.  Our family included many, many historic sites and museums during family trips.  I have a few tips.

1.  Find free museums.  If things are odd or vastly offensive, you just leave.  No money wasted.  There are 17 Free Smithsonian Museums in Washington, D.C.  Most of theses museums are located on the Mall, which is a safe place to visit.  Visit the monuments or the White House (a pain!).  We park at Union Station and walk to the Mall.  It’s three miles between Union Station and the Lincoln Monument.  There are subway stations; they aren’t free.   Here are all the free museums in Virginia.  The Chrysler Museum in Norfolk is a jewel.  Even NYC has free museums or free days.

2.  Start small and limit the visit.  Try a short visit, 30–45 minutes, the first time you visit a museum.  Leave before everyone is cranky.  I’m serious!  When my kids were tiny, we ran through art museums.  See if the museum has a scavenger hunt for kids.  

3. Try museums based on a child’s interest.  We took Paul to the Science Museum of Richmond, which has Rat Basketball and Speed!  The National Building Museum is featuring Brick City!  (My son, Josh, always wants to visit the exhibit of chairs and couches.) Many botanical gardens have Sean Kennedy’s Nature Pops, with LEGOs.  

4.  Combine the museum with a trip to the Zoo.  Our family has visited many zoos.   The Metro Richmond Zoo has a dog who is a cheetah’s companion, Kumbali and Kago.   We’re on our way to Toronto and plan to visit the zoo there, too.  

5.  If the Zoo is too expensive plan a treat after the museum visit.  Our family visits the gift shop after our museum tour.  However, on family trips, the kids may have one souvenir.  The price has to be reasonable.  Below are pix from the Corning Glass Mueum.