Horn Homeschool: Week 8

Still behind with these homeschool posts; the weeks are flying by at warp speed!

Four weeks ago we embarked on a "C" themed unit study just in time for Columbus Day. During our Columbus week we learned about the man himself, the story of Columbus' discovery, boats, explorers, Native Americans, maps, buoyancy, altases, America, and floating/sinking.

Truthfully, I wasn't too looking forward to studying Columbus. I mean, the guy didn't really discover America. And even Chloe in her 5-year old knowledge of maps and globes was puzzled when I showed him where exactly Columbus landed. More like he discovered the Caribbean islands, NOT America proper. Still, there is much to admire about Columbus in his leadership, kindness to the Native Americans (it was his followers that treated him unfairly later), and his perseverance.

And even though I know next to nothing about boats we still had boat-loads of fun! And I learned many things in the process. I love that bonus side effect of homeschooling!

Here's a look at our fave activities from the Columbus week:

• Will it sink or will it float? (please excuse me while I sing David Letterman's song now) This was a simple, engaging and really educational activity on several levels. Even Clive got into it! Of course, he gets excited anytime he's allowed to play with water. :) I constructed a quick chart while the kids each explored the house and brought back 5 items each to test in our big bowl of water. Matt and I also strategically picked items to try. The process of testing each item wasn't complicated but here's the kicker -- make everyone GUESS what will happen before tossing the item in the water. That's an important step in the scientific method and in this activity an easy step to incorporate. There are so many off-shoot lessons that you could do with an older student. In seeing which objects float or sink you could go on to explore density, shape/design, materials, elements . . .
• Boat-making. We made lots of vessels this week out of a wide variety of items. The neatest part for me was watching Chloe experiment in boat-making. After making a simple egg carton type boat, Chloe took it upon herself to add many toothpicks to her boat in an effort to stabilize it. Not such a good idea when the toothpick holes began to let in water! The milk carton boat was by far the favorite though as it actually resembled like a galleon type ship that Columbus sailed. And most kiddie crafts come nothing close to looking like anything actual so this was a true treat!
  
• Maps. We have a humongous world map on our wall and a globe that we use often so maps were not a new concept for Chloe. We reviewed the directions on a compass rose, sketched and painted a world map, and then mapped out Columbus' basic route.
• Buoyancy. Reading books sure helps make you smarter. I learned, along with Chloe, that in order for a boat to float, it must hold enough air in it to make it lighter than the surrounding water. I know, DUH! Boat design sure helps too. We snagged some killer kid-level books from the library that explained the concept of buoyancy simply and included some easy experiments too.
• Pretend to be an explorer. We fashioned a crude (VERY crude) boat in the living room by moving around our furniture. The couch served as the main deck and we added a step ladder at the back for Captain Chloe who proudly sported her homemade newspaper-folded sailor hat. Clive was the first mate and used a paper towel tube telescope to scope for land. This pretend play quickly turned into playing pirates. Which was still super fun! I'm sure Columbus had to beware of pirates in his day . . .