Our February artist study is going to be the children's book author Tove Jansson, so I'm working on -- and shopping for -- a list of all things Moomin!
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I just found a wonderful book of poetry by Joyce Sidman called Eureka: Poems About Inventors. Here is everyone who is included:
"The Tapestry of the Past"
Prehistory - the discovery of clay
An Evening Among Peach Blossoms - invention of paper by Ts'ai Lun
Winged Words - Johann Gutenberg's printing press
Wizard - Leonardo da Vinci
"The Age of Invention"
Those Fabulous Frenchmen - French balloonists in the 1700s
Joseph Michel and Jacques-Etienne Montgolfier Jacques Charles
Sebastien Lenormand
Jean Baptiste Meusnier Jean-Pierre Blanchard
Francois Pilatre de Rozier
Food of the Gods - the first chocolate bar
François-Louis Cailler
Ode to Spode - invention of the dishwasher
Josephine Garis Cochrane
There Is a Craving - Dr. Sara J. Baker, champion of children's health
The Real McCoy - invention of the self-lubricated engine
Elijah McCoy
"A Light Interlude"
Do Ya Know 'Em? - inventors whose names have become synonymous with their inventions
James Watt
Alessandro Volta
Samuel Morse
Hans Wilhelm Geiger
Louis Braille
Louis Pasteur
Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin
Rudolf Diesel
Amelia Bloomer
Charles Macintosh
Jules Leotard
Joseph-Marie Jacquard
Levi Strauss
John McAdam
Alexandre Gustave Eiffel
Sylvester Graham
John Montagu, earl of Sandwich
Thomas Crapper
"Dawn of the Modern Age"
The Light -- Ah! The Light - Marie Curie
A Length of Pink Ribbon - invention of the bra
Mary Caresse Crosby
Cockleburs - invention of Velcro
George De Mestral
Walt Tells It Like It Is - invention of the Frisbee
Walter Morrison
This Is My Life - Nobel Prize-winning scientists Barbara McClintock
Enquire Within - invention of the World Wide Web
Tim Berners-Lee
I like to do a block on Famous Inventors in 2nd grade, so I'm happy to have this new resource!
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This is a follow up post to Morse Code, the topic of our Dec 12 Science Club lesson. I got the idea to make 24 collages, to help the children picture the images that we are using for each letter. I think it was the influence of our Richard Kehl-inspired 2025 calendars. We had so much fun doing these!!!
E
I, S, H
A, a-BOUT
dot dash
B, BOI-ster-ous-ly
dash dot dot dot
C, CARE-less CHIL-dren
dash dot dash dot
D, DAN-ger-ous
dash dot dot
F, fab-ri-CA-tion
dot dot dash dot
G, GO GADG-et
dash dash dot
J, en-JOY JILL'S JAM
dot dash dash dash
K, KAI-a CALLS
dash dot dash
L, li-NO-le-um
dot dash dot dot
M, MY MY
dash dash
N, NEP-tune
dash dot
O, OW! OW! OW!
dash dash dash
P, pre-TEND PRIN-cess
dot dash dash dot
Q, QUEENS QUICK-ly QUARREL
dash dash dot dash
R, ram-BUNC-tious
dot dash dot
T, TREE
dash
U, un-se-CURED
dot dot dash
V, va-va-va-VROOM
dot dot dot dash
W, a-WARD WINGS
dot dash dash
X, X-ray ma-CHINE
dash dot dot dash
Y, YEL-low YO YO
dash dot dash dash
Z, ZIP ZEST-ful-ly
dash dash dot dot
Now we can laminate them and use them as flashcards or to spell words!
One thing I didn't like about the set of Morse Code Flashcards that we repurposed here is that originally you couldn't tell when you were holding them upside down. The collages solve that problem. Plus, they're adorable!
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It is full-on WINTER here, with our second major storm coming right on the heels of the first, and everything outside is white with ice and snow.
At the start of Winter each year, I talk with my class about not walking out on the ice of a frozen pond, no matter how thick it looks. Where I grew up (Southern MD) and where I live now (Southern IL), it simply does not get thick enough to stand on. Ever. My father -- who was a firefighter and had lots of emergency training -- gave me a lecture about it every Winter, and now I say the same to my class.
When I talk with them, I always mention that I've read many stories where someone falls through the ice of a frozen pond. But I never can remember the actual books while we are having the chat! So I'd like to compile a list to have at the ready for those future conversations. If you think of one, please let me know the title & author (and chapter name, if it's a chapter book).
This list reminds of the one I did several years ago about the barometer!
Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
"Filling the Ice-House"
Skating Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
chap 3, "The Rink"
Little Women *
by Louisa May Alcott
chap 8, "Jo Meets Apollyon"
* FREE at Project Gutenberg
And this is the entire premise behind Frost Hollow Hall by Emma Carroll!
In looking for more books (although Google isn't helpful for things like this), I came across an article (The Story Behind the Story: In Robert Munsch Words) about an Inuit story which became a picture book. Because ice safety is crucial in the Far North, children there are told that there is a monster that lives under the ice, and if they get too close to a hole the monster will grab them. Many of the Amazon reviews are from people who are livid that this book is not at all what they expected from Robert Munsch, so it's good to know in advance that it is a legend from a part of the world that uses frightening stories to keep their little ones from getting hurt.
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We will do Multiplication in Jan/Feb/Mar and Division in Apr/May/Jun.
My students were okay with the idea of Addition and Subtraction, but they're worried about Multiplication and quite panicked over the idea of Division!
So this month we will start out by just focusing on what IS multiplication? Once students realize that multiplication is just a fast and easy way to do speed addition, I think their fears will melt away.
Montessori & Waldorf both believe in introducing all 4 operations right away when students begin to learn math. Waldorf does it with the Math Gnomes!
Addition
Addition is easy for children, as the plus symbol is basically the word "and".
10 is the same as 1 and 9
Subtraction
Subtraction can be easy when you call it "take away" but I don't introduce it to children that way! This over-simplification causes many problems later on. Then it is MUCH harder to recognize in word problems such as, "How much farther is Paris than Murphysboro?" "Ben had five goldfish and a tiger ate 3" is clearly subtraction. But... so is "How much younger is Zac than Grammy?"
So I talk to children a lot about how subtraction is about finding the difference between two numbers. In fact, the answer to a subtraction problem is literally called the "difference"! You can see this when you make both numbers out of gems, and one line is longer and it sticks out farther. The different part is the bit that sticks out. After a while, people realized they didn't need to make two lines of gems and see how much stuck out. They realized that they could just make the bigger number and remove the smaller number. Whatever is left over... is the difference!
a first grade problem all the dinosaurs have come to help!
Multiplication
Multiplication is the same amount many times. It's speed addition! The thing that confuses children if you wait too long to introduce Multiplication is that the second number tells you how many times you have the first number. If you do Addition and Subtraction for too long (as the Common Core does), they just expect the second number to be either put together with, or taken away from, the first number. The idea that the second number could have a radically different job is EXTREMELY challenging then for children.
I think it really helps to FIRST ask your child to create a word problem that would be an example of multiplication. Where is it found in everyday life? We know that it is whenever anything comes in sets, like cartons of eggs or packs of gum, but does your child know that? Keep asking them to create multiplication word problems (no need to solve them) until this is simple.
I plan to actually read Multiplicando as part of our Mad Minutes time, since he introduces each line of the multiplication table with its own short chapter. For each set of number facts we will also sing that skip counting song.
I really like Aurora Lipper's FREE lesson where you have a child highlight all the times tables that they do know, and realize how few they actually need to memorize! Once you know the patterns in the 9s and have learned a few skip counting songs (3s and 4s), it's usually just the square numbers plus two or three more.
It is pretty inspiring! I'd like to do it at the beginning of January and again at the end of March. To do this activity at home, you would need a printed out 10x10 multiplication table, a highlighter, a piece of paper, and a pencil.
Then watch Aurora's video!
I actually know a trick for 7 x 8, so that leaves only TWO that you have to straight-up memorize.
For 7 x 8, think of a dance teacher counting out the beat before the dance begins...
5, 6, 7, 8.
56 is 7 x 8!
I have a few more resources from TpT that I'd like to use as we work on memorizing multiplication facts. "Which multiple does not belong?" is such a fabulous idea for building number sense, and I'm really excited about it!
week of Jan 6 - x0, x1
week of Jan 13 - x10, x5
week of Jan 20 - x2, x3
week of Jan 27 - x4
week of Feb 3 - x6
week of Feb 10 - x7
week of Feb 17 - x8
week of Feb 24 - x9
When it comes time for the students to practice their multiplication tables, I really like this super-flexible Mad Minute option that allows children to just put in the multiple they are working on. I love that they get to set their own goals... and that I don't have to keep track of a million pieces of paper. I also like that she puts the blank in two different places in the problem!
In March, the children can then work on the table that they are personally stuck on. And I can just print out the same PDF for each child each day!
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