Everyone Homeschools Blog - Design

Beans, beans and more beans

Thu, 05 Oct 2006 13:00:00 -0400

Kids love beans. Uncooked that is! Younger children love playing with them because of the sounds they make, their color and the way they feel. This is a great way for developing gross motor skills, manipulation and creativity. When our daughter was younger she was thrilled whenever I would give her a pot of uncooked beans, a spoon, plastic measuring cup, and a couple bowls or pots. She would spend a good half hour just scooping and pouring them between the pots. They have been included in her pretend restaurant. For less than a few dollars, beans are a great tool in learning, especially when they are purchased in bulk. They can of course be used for creativity as in imagining the child is cooking but take a moment and think of other uses for this protein? For younger children they can scoop beans from one pot to a bowl and develop their gross motor skills. As they get older and use a spoon they can develop their hand-eye coordination. If they are given a decent size funnel they can even practice using both of their hands to scoop and hold a funnel. Pictures can be created used different beans and colors for a collage. The beans can be used as an impetus for hearing the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. As the children get older they can be used as a math manipulative for counting, sorting, and doing math. Beans can easily be measured by weight. And different colored beans can be used to create a graph. Different beans can be incorporated into a lesson on different forms of protein. They can be used for home economics by the children when they learn how to cook beans, incorporate them in different recipes and so on. They could even create a bean cookbook with their own recipes, which would then incorporate writing, math and creativity. For older children, beans can be used as an aid in teaching about different food lifestyles such as vegetarians. They can also be used to learn about different cultures that utilize beans in their diet such as Mexico. There is, of course, the science experiment with growing beans and identifying their parts. Children can learn about the process of picking beans and the countries where different beans grow as part of social studies. As with the lowly cardboard box, don't discount the creative and learning opportunities that are presented by such a simple food, the bean. If you have other ideas of how beans can be incorporated into learning please comment below.

Toast, Tea, Coffee and Creativity

Wed, 04 Oct 2006 13:00:00 -0400

Our daughter regularly spends time in creative play. One of the things she enjoys doing is running a pretend restaurant. She created a menu to hand out to her patrons. I offered that we could create menus on the computer if she wanted and she quickly took me up on the offer. We worked together to design the menu, write the selections, prices and even included pictures. Afterwards, we laminated them using clear contact paper and cut them accordingly. She really enjoyed making them and still uses them in her pretend restaurant. Recently, she decided to create a family breakfast menu. This time she figured out all of our breakfast options. She designed the cover with our family's name and titled it "Breakfast Menu". Then she listed all our drink options, food selections and options for how we wanted our food prepared. Yes, it is quite detailed and she developed it all on her own. We can even decide what number we want our toast heated to for crunchiness. Even condiment selections and spreads, such as butter, jelly or Nutella, were included. Finally, she folded the menu in half so that there were several pages in a booklet form. She even bound the pages together with yarn. Now, every morning we can select from one of many options. Often times we can even place our orders with her. She runs a real breakfast restaurant in our kitchen and we get to be the lucky recipients of a delectable breakfast prepared just so. What began as creative play developed into an exciting project, which she initiated. She utilized her design and creativity skills, spelling, penmanship, and writing skills as she described all of our selections. In running her restaurant she learned about maintaining the food stock and often reminds me when we are running low on breakfast items. She also has learned about time management as she sets out to prepare several items at once and finally she has learned about presentation. Breakfast has been delicious and we have never had soggy cereal or burnt toast. Hmmm, maybe that's why my husband and I like our daughter's restaurant so much!

$1.00 or Less Learning

Sun, 01 Oct 2006 13:46:00 -0400

What did you do with the box that you recently received at home? Ever wonder what happens to all the boxes at the stores and grocery stores? When was the last time you used a box? Was it for moving or storage? If you are like most adults, you overlook the measly cardboard box. After all, once it serves its purpose what use is it? There are many uses for a box beyond moving, storage or shipping. A simple box can become an imaginary car, train, sled or ship. It can be used for a table or desk when flipped over. This can then be used for the purpose of an imaginary restaurant, dining room table, or grocery store counter. Larger boxes can be used for huts or tents. Most boxes just get crushed once they serve their purpose so why not ask for a box to bring home. If you are looking for a larger box, check appliance stores. While the main learning experience will be the use of your child's creativity and imagination, many other lessons can be incorporated. If your child is very young you could ask them to tell you a story using their box as a car, for example. You could record their story or transcribe it and help them create a book. Then you could read the story they wrote. If the child is older you could ask them to write a story with a beginning such as: "One day, I sat in a box which magically became ." Now, spelling, creativity, writing, and English can be incorporated. Another option might be to set up a grocery store using the box. Let the child practice selling items and making change with real money. This allows them to practice communication skills, math and entrepreneurship. For older children you could invite them to decorate the box and collect cans for the homeless shelter or treats for the troops overseas. In these situations, they get to use many skills while learning the following: - Communication and persuasion skills can be developed while doing the collecting. - Math can be used for weighing and measuring so that packing can be done properly. - Geography can be used to locate the place to which the box will be shipped. - Current events as to what is going on in that part of the world and why the box is needed there. - Good citizenship can be learned by helping their fellow man. - If they drop off the box to a homeless shelter or food pantry, they can learn about how one can be in poverty, organizations that help individuals who are in poverty, whether it is the government's responsibility to get people out of poverty, and other ways to help. So, the next time you see a measly box bring it home for your kids. You will be amazed at the fun and learning that can take place for less than a $1.00. If you have others ideas of how a box can be used be sure to click on comments and share your ideas!

"Dad, Can I Have My Blox Back?"

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 11:39:00 -0400

Fairs can be popular for the rides, the booths, the food, and entertainment. (Did I mention the fried dough?) Often the fairs have a theme such as the Garlic Festival, the Apple Blossom Festival, the Harvest Festival. Recently, we attended the Big E which is the agricultural fair for the northeast. As homeschoolers we were able to secure a free ticket through our homeschool group for our daughter. So we set out to visit the fair on a weekday when there were fewer people than the weekend. Of course we made this experience a learning adventure. We talked about what agriculture was, why there was a fair dedicated to agriculture, how they began and so on. The Big E is very large as six states are represented including Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont! We learned about cows, horses, sheep, chickens, rabbits, pigs and so on while looking at the animals and talking to the farmers. While the animals were educational, our daughter, like any real woman, enjoyed checking out the vendor booths as we ducked in and out of expo buildings. One vendor caught our attention. The vender was selling something known as Ideal Blox. Ideal Blox are plastic, non-magnetic geometric colored shapes that can be put together in many different designs. With the Blox younger children can learn colors, hand-eye coordination, and fine motor control. For the older kids they can increase their spatial development and 3-D reasoning while learning about geometric and algebraic applications. Supposedly, college students even create different sculptures out of several boxes at a time. Apparently, it was created by a mathematician. All of that was nice but frankly it intrigued me as a parent. When I looked at my daughter's reaction I knew it was a must to add to our homeschool resources. On our way home from the Big E, the first item opened in the car was the Ideal Blox. After more than 1 hours of playing with it, she shared it with my husband. Then it got interesting. He looked as intrigued by it as she was showing the Ideal Blox to him. Within a couple minutes, he asked if he could see them. As I cooked dinner they sat at the counter and experimented with different designs. The neat thing with these Blox is that with 15 pieces they can make over 5,000 different designs. Soon my daughter was asking for the Blox back. She continued to create different designs while on the floor, after dinner and even in the car. Clearly, these Ideal Blox are a hit. They have intrigued her for over five hours in just a couple days and there seems to be no end in sight. Maybe when she goes to bed I can experiment with them too! After all parents can homeschool also! Ideal Blox are sold at multiple online sites. To see a video and for the best price I found so far visit: http://www.hobbytron.com/Ideal-Blox.html To learn more about the Big E, which happens every September, visit: http://www.thebige.com/

House Geometry!

Tue, 12 Sep 2006 09:24:00 -0400

I remember struggling through geometry in 9th grade. Pulling my toe nails out would have been an easier experience for me. That entire year, I could not figure out why and where I would ever use geometry in my life. I had witnessed my parents over the years and had not once witnessed them use geometry. I struggled through the geometry proofs as I constantly tried to understand their purpose. After all, it was clear to me that a triangle was a triangle, why did I have to prove it? So, you can imagine my surprise when I got married and shortly thereafter, I witnessed my husband use geometry to figure out how many shingles we needed for our garage roof! My approach would have been to buy more than I thought I needed and return the extras. Instead in my 20s, I finally learned how geometry could be useful. Our daughter has wanted an outdoor playhouse for awhile. This was going to be a Dad and Daughter project! After trying to decide between a kit or building the playhouse from the ground up, my daughter and husband decided to purchase a playhouse kit. My daughter invited me to assist them in the building and I happily obliged. Of course, my approach was to follow the directions and just go! My husband took a different approach that involved a measuring tape and calculator. We carefully laid out the cinderblocks. Our daughter brought out the T-square and they measured each side down to the corners. Then they used a level to make sure the floor was even. As I stood waiting for the next assignment and our daughter to bring back another tool, my husband declared that he wanted to teach her some geometry. In what I could only describe as a flash from a horror flick, I was transported back to 9th grade. Could it be that our daughter at the age of 8 was going to be learning about geometry? Could it be that I would witness the use of geometry twice in my adult life, when I had never seen it used as a child? I quickly corrected my thinking realizing that if I approached this with a negative attitude, it would affect our daughter's willingness to learn. And, to be honest, if my husband could see a geometry learning opportunity in a playhouse she so desperately wanted, he was wise to seize the opportunity and her attention. So, I watched quietly as they re-measured the foundation sides. Then I watched as he explained, as they looked at the playhouse foundation, the explanation of the Pythagorean Theorem. While he did not officially tell her the theorem's name, she was introduced to the idea that in a right triangle the square root of the sum of the squares of the measures of the legs equals the hypotenuse. She was also introduced to the purpose of the square root button on the calculator. Once they figured out that the hypotenuse was supposed to be 8' 6", they measured the foundation and confirmed that it was laid correctly. Interestingly, not only did I learn something but I watched as my daughter began her introduction to geometry with a positive attitude, excitement and ability to understand the basics of this topic. I am sure that the playhouse foundation example will be used when that theorem is formally introduced, perhaps in her playhouse with her Dad scrunched up in there teaching more geometry!

Basement Math and Design

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 21:31:00 -0400

If you have a basement you know that this additional space can be a blessing or a gigantic black hole of clutter. After many years of having one section or another of our basement resemble the black hole, we began a serious cleaning process almost three years ago. That process was a huge step forward when we moved into another home. The basement moved down on our list of what needed to be organized in our home. Then last fall water infiltrated our basement, much to our dismay. Needless to say, our goal for this summer was to finally organize our basement and to make it functional. Thankfully, this presented a superb opportunity for homeschooling. As we planned how to layout the different areas for everything from amateur radio to art and workbenches to a washing machine, we began by measuring the basement. Our daughter assisted with the measurements and figuring out what size area rugs would work in the space. This worked well since she had recently been learning about measurements and had practiced measuring different parts of our dogs. When it came time to determining the layout of the basement, we each came up with a plan. Each had their benefits and challenges. While it would have been much easier to simply make a decision leaving out our daughter, we listened patiently as she presented several different detailed plans over the weeks. Again, this was a great homeschool opportunity. Not only did the layout include design skills, interpreting the family's needs, and measurements but it required serious skills to communicate why that design was the best. After all, each of us felt our plan was the solution. Well, we finished our basement this weekend (finally!) and the design we went with was our daughter's final plan with one minor flip-flop of two items. Quite an impressive result and homeschool opportunity!