Sunday, June 2, 2024

Stories of Household Items

Super excited about our June topic, Stories of Household Items! Our main text is It's Fun to Know Why: Experiments with Things Around Us by Julius Schwartz. This is an excellent vintage book that is well worth tracking down.


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


Thu - rubber


Week 2 - The Story of Trash

Mon - trash


Tue - paper


Wed - plastic


Thu - soap (part 1)


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

    teacher background information:
    This Is How the World’s Favorite Scent Disappears


Wed - milk
special guest from Prairie Farms Dairy


Thu - bread


Week 4 - The Story of Buildings

Mon - lumber & glass


Tue - houses


Wed - iron & cement


Thu - electricity


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!

Why I Only Want to Buy White Yarn


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!!!


This post contains affiliate links to materials I truly use for homeschooling. Qualifying purchases provide me with revenue. Thank you for your support!

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