Singing Patriotic Songs
(photo by zaphodsotherhead)
Now that July 4th is coming, I’ve gotten out my Wee Sing America CD
.
The youngest loves the CD (although she’s getting
a bit tired of it 
), but the oldest thinks she is too
old for it. Too bad. The collection is more than
just the typical patriotic songs that I want my
kids to learn; it also includes American folk
songs and short quotes from famous documents such
as the Declaration of Independence and from major
political figures such as JFK and MLK.
My youngest is one of those children that actually listens to the words and constantly asks what phrases mean. (This gets me in trouble when I listen to my music!) We’ve talked about tall tales (“Why did they say John Henry laid down his hammer and died?) and history (expansion of West, Civil War). I will admit to looking up goober peas for her.
Enjoy singing some patriotic music!
25 When Johnny Comes Marching Home
33 John Henry
36 The Old Chisholm Trail
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You Mean Water Isn't Free?
24/06/08 18:02 Filed in: Science
(photo courtesy of charity: water ©Scott Harrison)
My kids have been fascinated by water since American Idol (on AI Gives Back) demonstrated quite vividly the dirty water people throughout the world drink. “Ew, gross!!!! People drink that?”
The concept that clean drinking water isn’t really free even though it may feel that way in the United States is hard for them to wrap their heads around. “People pay for water? But water is free.”
They’ve read Magic School Bus At the Waterworks
and seen MSB Wet all Over. I’m planning on
doing a water filter experiment with them
to introduce filtration. We’ve also explained that
we pay water bills so someone else can clean our
water for us.
I tried to sneak in some theory about hidden costs, but I think that went over their heads. However, the next time it comes up (clean air perhaps?), I’ll be able to use the water as an example. Thanks American Idol for that teachable moment!
Teaching with Singapore Math
18/06/08 16:54 Filed in: Math
I really like this YouTube. It isn’t glitzy or packaged. It isn’t set to hip music. But it clearly shows a teacher using the Singapore method for solving multi-step word problems (gade 4).
Here’s another example of using Singapore for two-step word problems (grade 3). This one doesn’t show the interaction with the students but uses an interactive board.
I use Singapore for afterschooling (mostly in the summer) and can’t wait until my district decides to adopt it
Watching others teach it helps me as
I move into teaching those ---- word problems.
Jules Verne for My Reluctant Reader
17/06/08 16:17 Filed in: English
While some may say that a child shouldn’t read abridged versions of classics, I’m all about the Great Illustrated Classics series as my reluctant reader son loved GIC 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
by Jules Verne. We then proceeded to
GIC Journey to the Centre of the Earth.
Action, adventure, large type, frequent pics, science fiction, not babyish at all—what more could a boy want? Verne has been a hit. Next we’ll try H.G. Wells.
Cleopatra as a Role Model? At Least My Daughter Likes All Things Ancient Egypt Now
16/06/08 14:35 Filed in: History
A year and a half year ago my eldest daughter was looking through Target for cheap Halloween costume. I nudged her toward the Cleopatra one, and her love for all things ancient Egypt and especially Cleopatra began.
Later that year she chose Cleopatra for her person to research for her class’s wax museum—handy since she already had the costume. We read Royal Diaries: Cleopatra
and listened to the section on ancient Egypt on
Story of the World
(deserving of its own full post later).
This year in school she went to a friend’s birthday party. Theme? Cleopatra! I did not know a small school could have two girls interested (dare I say obsessed?) with Cleopatra.
Over the winter she joined the Museum Club in which members worked in pairs to design miniature museums. She and her partner, of course, chose an ancient Egypt theme.
I haven’t let her watch Elizabeth Burton’s version of Cleopatra yet as I prefer the intellectual and resourceful take of the Royal Diaries girl. She’s growing up fast enough as it is.
Next year, students study river civilizations including Alexandria and the culture of ancient Egypt. I think my daughter will be ecstatic.
Mom, Is the World Ending in 2012?
13/06/08 09:35 Filed in: History
I’m now paying for my educational TV only during the week policy, which I’ve attempted to maintain from the school year. I’m pretty liberal on the definition of educational; pretty much anything on Discovery Channel qualifies. (My goal is to limit Hannah Montanna and Suite Life of Zack and Cody. Mind candy! I will admit, however, Phineas and Ferb is quite clever.)
My daughter watched Cities of the Underworld: Maya Underground about the Maya and now tells everyone she meets how the world may end in 2012 and how the Maya sacrificed children when things were going really badly for them—droughts etc. They sacrificed adults if events were going not quite as badly. Killing children seems to have captivated her. Eek!
This makes for interesting dinner conversation, and now my family and friends are all wondering if Hannah would be better TV viewing for my young tween. Mmm....I’ll have to think about the Dracula’s lair episode focusing on Bucharest’s Vlad the Impaler.
(Sunday June 29 is Cities of the Underworld day. Set your Tivos! They are reairing Vietnam, Katrina, Jerusalem, Soviet bases, Maya and Bucharest)
We're Going on a Treasure Hunt
11/06/08 16:31 Filed in: History
loving daughter. I want to explore local landmarks
and learn a little history; she wants to hang out
with friends, preferably involving water. While
this doesn’t include her new
Super Soaker Aqua Shock Arctic Blast
,
it does involve mystery, clues and treasure. Since
I’ll include friends, my kids should be in
treasure hunt heaven.
Double Key Treasure Hunts is a local company (coming soon to a city near you!) which has organized historical treasure hunts taking kids all through St. Louis. They go to different places in the city ranging from the History Museum to the Old Cathedral to Ted Drewes. The kit includes original artifacts such as postcards and photographs from the turn of the century and is meant to be “found” by the kids in the attic, garage or basement to start the hunt.
Terreri had a lot of fun with her children, but the hunt took extensive work to set up. She decided that many families would be interested in these types of adventures if she put in all of the planning and work to make them easy on parents. With this idea in mind, Terreri set up her business in February. (stltoday.com)
What an entrepreneur. While I would love to spend the time to set up an elaborate treasure hunt like this—who am I kidding? It would never actually happen. I love this idea.
Here’s a link to an informative local media interview. There’s a commercial first.