Here are my thoughts about pacing (this is a draft... don't hold me to it!) and some more books on my shelf that would be a good fit. This kind of listmaking always helps me when I organize my thoughts about a block.
Of course, I will go back and update my notes after teaching each day!
Week 1 - The Story of Clothing
Mon - wool
- Where Did My Clothes Come From? by Chris Butterworth
hands-on activity:
washing raw wool sheared from my brother's sheep (Shadow)
"Wool - Fleece for Man" chapter
in It's Fun to Know Why, pp.62-74
- Heat Preserver
hot water, 3 small covered jars, 1 wool sock, 1 cotton sock
A Blanket of Air
2 in square wool cloth, 2 in square cotton cloth, 2 glasses, pencil, water
Stretch and Spring / Pull and Twist
12 inch length worsted weight wool yarn
an extra story we did not read:
A New Coat for Anna by Harriet Ziefert
Tue - cotton
-
hands-on activity:
tyeing yarn in hanks, dyeing yarn in sun jars (with coffee)
plus... opportunities to try carding, knitting, weaving
Cotton by Millicent Selsam
finding the seeds in a cotton boll
A Beetle Is Shy by Dianna Hutts Aston (boll weevil illustration)
teacher background information:
Boll Weevil
The Boll Weevil Song
an extra story we did not read:
The Story Book of Science by Jean-Henri Fabre
FREE online at Project Gutenberg
chapter XVII "Cotton"
Wed - silk
-
Summer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria Merian by Margarita Engle
A Single Pebble: A Story of the Silk Road by Bonnie Christensen
Silkworms by Sylvia Johnson
looking at silkworm egg, whole cocoons, broken cocoons
observation: hatching a luna moth cocooon
experiment: testing unknown fibers (via flame)
display of moth books:
Luna: The Story of a Moth by Robert McClung
Sphinx: The Story of a Caterpillar by Robert McClung
The Secret Life of the Woolly Bear Caterpillar by Laurence Pringle
teacher background information:
How to Raise & Release Luna Moths!
an extra story we did not read:
The Story Book of Science by Jean-Henri Fabre
FREE online at Project Gutenberg
chapters XXIII "Silk" and XXIV "The Metamorphosis"
Thu - rubber
-
The Story Behind Rubber by Barbara Somervill
finding the latex in dandelion roots
"Rubber - Jack-of-all-trades" chapter
in It's Fun to Know Why, pp.54-61
- Plantation to Factory
finding the latex in milkweed stems
Dry It Out
rubber latex
Quicker with Vinegar
2 popsicle sticks, 2 small jars, water, vinegar, rubber latex
display of rubber books:
Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum by Meghan McCarthy
Inventing the Future: A Photobiography of Thomas Alva Edison by Marfé Ferguson Delano (goldenrod)
teacher background information:
Latex Rubber from Dandelions
Week 2 - The Story of Trash
Mon - trash
-
Here Comes the Garbage Barge! by Jonah Winter
read excerpts from Build Your Own Earth Oven by Kiko Denzer & Hannah Field and The Hand-Sculpted House: A Practical and Philosophical Guide to Building a Cob Cottage by Ianto Evans, et al.
hands-on activity:
begin to work on our cob bread oven, incorporating reused materials (55 gal fiber drum, glass bottles, sawdust, straw, newspaper, bricks)
Tue - paper
-
Sanitation Workers A to Z by Jean Johnson
Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop: The Sanitation Strike of 1968 by Alice Faye Duncan
hands-on activity:
we are very inspired by Zero Waste Home: The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying Your Life by Reducing Your Waste by Bea Johnson!
use a scale to weigh our group's snack / lunch / snack trash each day
-
Tue - 293 grams
Wed - 77 grams
Thu - 327 grams
hands-on activity:
paper making, feel papyrus / elephant poo poo paper / stone paper
display of paper books:
Paper by Kate Walker
The Gourmet Paper Maker by Ellaraine Lockie
The Magic Hat Shop by Sonja Wimmer (stone paper)
The Word Collector by Sonja Wimmer (stone paper)
an extra story we did not read:
"Paper - A Web for Words" chapter
in It's Fun to Know Why, pp.107-119
Wed - plastic
- Glitter Everywhere! Where It Came From, Where It's Found & Where It's Going by Chris Barton
hands-on activity:
Make Your Own Biodegradable Plastic
display of plastic books:
Washed Ashore: Making Art from Ocean Plastic by Kelly Crull
Plastic Sea: A Bird's-Eye View by Kirsti Blom and Geir Wing Gabrielson
teacher background information:
Plastics: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Amazon Says It Will Stop Using Puffy Plastic Shipping Pillows
The New York Times - Jun 20, 2024
Thu - soap (part 1)
- Alpha and the Dirty Baby by Brock Cole
hands-on activity:
soap carving
an extra story we did not read:
Jump at the Sun: The True Life Tale of Unstoppable Storycatcher Zora Neale Hurston by Alicia D. Williams (soap carving)
Week 3 - The Story of Food
Mon - soap (part 2)
- The Man Who Didn't Wash His Dishes by Phyllis Krasilovsky
"Soap - Dirt Chaser" chapter
in It's Fun to Know Why, pp.93-106
- Soap on the Job
grated bar soap, 2 glasses, cotton fabric, brown paper, scissors, small dish sesame oil
Break It Up
grated bar soap, small dish sesame oil, eyedropper, toothpick, glass jar, food coloring
Soapless Soap
grated bar soap, dish detergent, 2 glasses, 2 spoons, 1/2 tsp, Epsom salts
I would love to repeat this last experiment with Fels Naptha and laundry detergent!
an extra activity we did not do:
Ghost Mud Sensory Dough
an extra story we did not read:
Murgatroyd's Garden by Judy Zavos (shampoo)
Tue - seasonings (sugar, salt, spices)
-
"Salt - The Spice of Life" chapter
in It's Fun to Know Why, pp.75-82
- colored construction paper, hand lens, kosher salt, sea salt
Getting Salt Out of the Ocean
1/2 T, kosher salt, glass, large plate, copper saucepan, stove
Salt for Other Jobs
2 ice cubes, 2 small doshes, kosher salt
put cayenne pepper and fresh lavender sprigs (picked Sunday from Shawnee Hills Lavender) in Three Sisters Garden to deter groundhogs
All in Just One Cookie by Susan Goodman
smell vanilla bean pod
I Am the Mummy Heb-Nefert by Eve Bunting
(it's nice to have some juniper berries on hand)
Spices by Jane Wilsher
grind green peppercorns, grate whole nutmeg
make "Turmeric Marbled Eggs," p.17
display of seasonings:
sea salt, kosher salt, Himalayan pink salt,
mortar & pestle,
ground cinnamon, cinnamon sticks, ground turmeric, fresh turmeric root, anise seed, sesame seed, saffron threads, lavender buds, bay leaves, tarragon, rosemary, orange peel, lemon peel, whole cloves
display of spice books:
Lights for Gita by Rachna Gilmore (saffron)
Animals Marco Polo Saw: An Adventure on the Silk Road by Sandra Markle
Wed - milk
special guest from Prairie Farms Dairy
- immediately start Crockpot Yogurt, 9:15 am
Butter by Susan Wake, pp.6-13
hands-on activity:
make butter, enjoy our fresh homemade butter on crackers
The Wiggler by Lisl Weil
Cow by Jules Older
The Goat Lady by Jane Bregoli
taste goat milk
special guest visit:
Jamie White, Laboratory Manager at Prairie Farms Dairy
display of milk books:
Ice Cream by Jules Older
Ice! The Amazing History of the Ice Business by Laurence Pringle
Thu - bread
-
Stranded at Plimoth Plantation 1626 by Gary Bowen
read excerpt ("March 31, 1627")
Goody O'Grumpity by Carol Ryrie Brink
hands-on activity:
make Long and Slow Baked Apples in our cob oven
- cored Fuji apple
homemde butter
packet raw sugar
freshly ground nutmeg
aluminum foil
"Bread - The Staff of Life" chapter
in It's Fun to Know Why, pp.83-92
- White Flour and Brown Flour
wheat kernels, whole wheat flour, bleached enriched flour, mortar & pestle, hand lens
From Seeds to Plants
wheat kernels, wet paper towel, glass pie pan, dinner plate
an extra story we did not read:
From Wheat to Pasta: A Photo Essay by Robert Egan
Week 4 - The Story of Buildings
Mon - wood & glass
- Pogo's House: The Story of Lumber by Jo Norling
"Glass - A Window on the World" chapter
in It's Fun to Know Why, pp.38-53
The Glassblower (Colonial People) by Christine Petersen
World of Glass: The Art of Dale Chihuly by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan
Tue - iron
- "Iron - King of the Metals" chapter
in It's Fun to Know Why, pp.11-20
The Story of a Nail by Irving and Ruth Adler
Wed - cement
-
Cement - Rock of Ages" chapter
in It's Fun to Know Why, pp.31-37
Thu - electricity
- "Coal - Black Diamonds" chapter
in It's Fun to Know Why, pp.21-30
Buried Sunlight: The Story of Coal by Raymond Janssen
Energy Island: How One Community Harnessed the Wind and Changed their World by Allan Drummond
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Picture Book Edition by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer
teacher background information:
Coal: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
That will conclude our school year but we will start back up in September with a deeper dive into Fibers & Clothing. My plan is for us to dye all of the yarn colors we will use in our knitting projects next year!
We've also been invited by the IL Master Gardeners to help them plant a patch of flax at the Harrison-Bruce Historical Village and participate in all of the steps of the process, taking the flax from baby plant... to linen fabric.
All of the parents in our homeschool group are warmly invited to bring their children to “A Pollinator Party” on Sunday, June 30th to speak firsthand with the spinners and weavers guild and hear more about this exciting project!!!
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