Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Burgess Bird Book for Children

The Burgess Bird Book for Children (Dover Children's Classics)

We recently started reading The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton Burgess.  (You can get a free download of the book by clicking the title.  Or, find it at Amazon by clicking the above book photo.)  I was fortunate enough to find an original 1916 first edition copy with the color plates.  It is a beautiful book with a lovely story!  Only six chapters in and we've already read about wrens, sparrows, robins, bluebirds, juncos, phoebes, and flycatchers.

Here's the book description from Yesterday's Classics..."Through the eyes of Peter Rabbit we become acquainted with a variety of birds as they return to Peter’s neighborhood in the spring. In the context of the story about each bird, we hear about its nesting habits, its feeding preferences, and its interactions with other wildlife. We meet Jenny Wren, Scrapper the King-bird, Redwing the Blackbird, and dozens more. An engaging introduction to birds for young children.  Ages 6-9"

The kids have really become in tune to birds as they're returning for spring.  Ruben found this nest attached to the dump trailer last week.  We believe it's from last year as it still had the broken egg shells in it.




As you can see, the nest is made of moss, dried grass, and sheep hair.  It was attached to the trailer with mud.    It measures approx. 5 1/2 inches wide and 2 inches high.  We are still trying to identify what type of birds occupied the nest.  Let us know what you think.   

I highly recommend this book for your spring nature study!

"Then God said, ".....Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind."  Genesis 1:20

Monday, March 26, 2012

Galloping the Globe Plans

We are using Galloping the Globe and really enjoying it.  This is a geography unit study geared for K-4th grade.  I've stretched the lessons over a 2 year period.  There are 9 units including 38 countries and an introduction.

Here's how I've divided the plan over 2 years....

Month
2011-2012
2012-2013
September
Introduction to Geography
Europe
October
North America
Europe
November
North America
Europe
December
Christmas Around the World
Europe
January
South America
The Poles
February
South America
Africa
March
Asia
Africa
April
Asia
Africa, Oceana
May
Asia
Oceana


From there, I created a chart of possible Countries, People/History, Science, Geography, and Five in a Row books I could incorporate based on suggestions in the Galloping the Globe guide.  Here's that chart....

Galloping the Globe
9 units including 38 countries + Intro
Unit
Country
People/History
Science
Geography
FIAR
R&S Our Father’s  World
Introduction to Geography

(September)
Using a Map
Basic
Explorers
Mercator
Prince Henry the Navigator
Bartholomew Diaz
Christopher Columbus
Francis Drake
Leif Ericson
Cabeza de Vaca
Vasco da Gama
John Cabet
Hernando de Soto
Amerigo Vespucci
Juan Ponce de Leon
Vasco Nunez de Balboa
Ferdinand Magellan
CGC 2
Insects
CGC 13
Butterflies
Description of earth/globe
Continents  Oceans
How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World
Grandfather’s Journey
Miss Rumphius

Pg 31-48; 95-111


North America

 (October- November)
Canada
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Henry Hudson
Jacques Cartier
Moose
CGC 23 Animal Food Chain
St. Lawrence River
Hudson Bay
Bay
Very Last First Time
The Bee Tree

Pg 8-30

Mexico
Charro: The Mexican Cowboy
Benito Juarez
Hernando Cortez
Mexican Independence Day
Pancho Villa
Volcanoes
Gulf
Gulf of Mexico



United States
George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
Abraham Lincoln
Current President
Native American Indians
American Flag
Barrack Obama
Buffalo
CGC 26a
Rabbits
Beaver
Otters
Squirrels
Skunk
Raccoons
Porcupine
Cougars
Prairie Dogs
Manatees
General Animal Books
Rocky Mountains
Mountain Range
Cranberry Thanksgiving
When I Was Young and in the Mountains
They Were Strong and Good
Lentil
Owl Moon
Gramma’s Walk
Higgens Bend Song and Dance
Amber on the Mountain
Roxaboxen
Down, Down the Mountain
Warm as Wool
All Those Secrets of the World
The Rag Coat
Mailing May
Climbing Kansas Mountain
The Finest Horse in Town
Paul Revere’s Ride
Cowboy Charlie
Night of the Moon Jellies
Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening
The Finest Horse in Town
The Little Red Lighthouse
Follow the Drinking Gourd
Three Names
The Gullywasher
Daniel’s Duck
Snowflake Bentley
The Raft
Pg 50-53
Christmas Around the World

(December)
Japan
China
Russia
Great Britain
France
Italy
Germany
Spain
Mexico
Nigeria
St. Nicholas
Deer and Reindeer



South America

 (January- February)


Anteater
Chinchilla
Giant Armadillo
Jaguar
Sloth
Birds
CGC 18


Pg 54-61

Brazil

Rain Forest
Tamarin
Tapir
Capybara
Piranha
Amazon River
Jungle



Venezuela
Simon Bolivar
Anteater
Giant Armadillo
Jaguar
Highland



Peru
Francisco Pizarro
Sloth
Mountain Pass



Argentina

Squid
Rhea
Pampas


Asia

(March, April, May)
China
Hudson Taylor
Eric Liddell
Marco Polo
Lottie Moon
Qin Shi Huangdi
Ducks
Pandas
Sloth Bear
Orangutans
Snow Leopard
Yangtze River
Terra Cotta Army
Great Wall of China
The Story About Ping
Pg 62-70

South Korea
Bob Pierce
CGC 15 Animal Kingdom




Japan
Hokusai
Commodore Perry
Emperor Hirohito
CGC 19 Intro to Mammals
Japanese Macaque
Archipelago
A Pair of Red Clogs
Grass Sandals


India
Amy Carmichael
William Carey
Gandhi
Elephants
CGC 20
Tigers
Water Buffalo
Chevrotain
Sea



Israel
Jesus
Abraham
Isaac
Jacob
Children of Israel as God’s chosen people
David Ben-Gurion
Golda Meir
Donkey





Unit
Country
People/History
Science
Geography
FIAR
R&S Our Father’s  World
Europe

(September-December)
Russia
Catherine the Great
Peter Tchaikovsky
Peter the Great
Yuri Gagarin
CGC 22 Animal Structure
Bears
Wolves
Ural Mountains
Tundra
Another Celebrated Dancing Bear
Pg 76-80

Great Britain
William Shakespeare
Elizabeth I
Charles Dickens
Beatrix Potter
Florence Nightingale
Sheep
Channel
Mr. Gumpy’s Motor Car
The Tale of Peter Rabbit



France
Marie Curie
Louis Pasteur
Claude Monet
Joan of Arc
Trees
CGC 11
Palisade
Giraffe That Walked to Paris
Mirette on the High Wire
Madeline
Glorious Flight (English Channel)


Italy
Michelangelo
Leonardo Da Vinci
Galileo
Giotto
Astronomy
CGC 2 The Universe
CGC 3 Our Solar System

Papa Piccolo
Clown of God
Angelo


Germany
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Johannes Gutenberg
Albert Einstein
Johann Sebastian Bach
Brahms
Handel
Robert Schumann
Castles
CGC 10a Plants

The Duchess Bakes a Cake
A New Coat for Anna



Holland/
Netherlands
Rembrandt
Vincent Van Gogh
Johannes Vermeer
Flowers
CGC 10b Flowers
Polder


Spain
Queen Isabella
Bulls/Cattle/Cows
Cork
Peninsula
Story of Ferdinand
Spain
Queen Isabella
The Poles

(January)
Antarctica
Roald Amundsen
Ernest Shackleton
Sir James Ross
Robert Scott
Penguins
Iceberg
Floe
Ice Sheet

Pg 71-75








Africa

(February-April)



Giraffe
Apes & Monkeys
Chimpanzees
Gorillas
Hippopotamus
Lions
Ostrich
Rhinoceros
Zebras


Pg 85-94

South Africa
Nelson Mandela
Boer Goats
Meerkat
Cheetah
Cape



Kenya
Maasai
Verna Aardema
Giraffe
Hippopotamus
Lion
Ostrich
Zebra
Lake
Valley



Morocco


Strait



Nigeria
Mary Slessor
King Eyo Honesty VII
Warthog
Waterbuck




Egypt
Cleopatra
King Tutankhamen
Hatshepsut
Deserts
Nile River
Delta
The Giraffe that Walked to Paris

Oceana

(May)
Australia
James Cook
Robert Burke & William Wills
Matthew Flinders
Coral Reef
Kangaroo
Wombats
Koalas
Crocodile
Tasmanian Devil
Duck-billed platypus

Reef
Key
Pumpkin Runner
Pg 81-84;
Review & Test pg 112-117

New Zealand
Margaret Mahy
Fruits & Vegetables
Kiwi
Kune kune Pig
Island



Since we have a separate formal history and science course, we will not touch on all the subjects listed above.  This was just an idea guide in my initial planning stage.    

We are studying each country for 2 weeks.  Here's the daily break down for each of those 2 weeks....

Monday
         Locate continent/country on map
         Read -
         Color and label map
Monday
         Review country
         Vocabulary
         Literature -
Tuesday
         Children Just Like Me
         Color flag
         Missionary
Tuesday
         Animals
         Missionary
         Worksheet
Wednesday
         Read –
         Geographic features
         Map data box
Wednesday
         Literature -
         Activity
         Bible verse
Thursday
         Missionary
         Animals
         Worksheet
Thursday
         Animals
         Worksheet
         Literature -
Friday
         Read –
         Bible verse/copywork
Friday
         Animal report
         Make a meal

Again, there are not always enough suggestions to cover each idea for each day listed above.  For example, we may only cover 1-2 missionary stories over the 2 week period.  Or maybe there are fewer animals to study in some countries and more to study in others.  This is just an outline for each week.  It helps me stay on  task.  

We are currently studying South Korea in Asia.  The kids are really enjoying Galloping the Globe.  I feel it's a great over view of the world.  Obviously, we don't cover every country in the world, but it's enough for early elementary.  We also have a markable map on our school room wall.  This is were we keep track of each country we study.  

Each child has a binder with notebooking pages to complete with each country.  Some of them are printable worksheets from the Galloping the Globe book and some were downloaded from Homeschool Creations.  

Here's a list of recommended resources based on an old and new version of Galloping the Globe.  I've highlighted the ones we use regularly.  I feel they're more relevant to our study.  Of course, you would need to pick the areas you want to focus on and choose resources accordingly.  

Recommended Resources:
Considering God’s Creation (CGC)
Geography from A to Z
Our Father’s World (2nd grade Rod & Staff)
Missionary Stories with the Millers
Heaven’s Heroes – by David Shibley
Children Just Like Me – Kindersley
Profiles from History Volume 1 – Wiggers
Big Book of Books and Activities
Marvels of Creation series – by Buddy & Kay Davis
The Usborne Book of Famous Lives
Eat Your Way around the World
Zoo Guide
Aquarium Guide

Galloping the Globe is working well for our family.  I like that I can tweak it to make it our own.  Remember, let your curriculum be your slave, not your master.