Summer Camp wk 1 - North America

Here are my notes for our remaining three continents of World Geography Study this year. Welcome to "Foods of the World" week 1 - North America.

PDF outline maps of the Caribbean

PDF outline maps of North and Central America




Montessori Research & Development:

Flags of the Caribbean

Flags of North & Central America


Waseca Biomes:

North America Biome Puzzle

North America Stencil

North America Biome Cards
(complete list of The Peoples of the Biomes)
(complete list of The Plants & Animals of the Biomes)


Nienhuis Montessori:

Colored Globe of the Continents






A Giant Plume of Saharan Dust Is Headed to Florida
The New York Times - Jun 2, 2025

Mon - Virgin Islands, Costa Rica

introductory map activities - trace and label outline maps

understand map distortions - tape together two 14" x 17" sheets of tracing paper, wrap around the center of a globe, fold extra paper at poles up into points, cut off points, trace continent shapes, unwrap


AM - Turtle Knows Your Name retold by Ashley Bryan

recipe - Fungi
Virgin Islands

serve with baked whitefish

shell artwork project for younger children
Shell Names (PDF)




PM - The Forest in the Clouds by Sneed B. Collard III

recipe - Fresco de Mora (Blackberry Juice)
Costa Rica

Natalie's Quetzal backboard

hummingbird sewing project for older children
'Stitching a Fabric Scrap Hummingbird' workshop w/ Ann Smith
fun fact: hummingbirds are found ONLY in the Americas!

Easy Ways to Organize Needles and Thread in a Class
blog post from Sew a Softie

Hummingbirds of the World
images for sewing project

Tue - The Bahamas, Jamaica, Haiti

AM - Morning Girl by Michael Dorris
The Bahamas

from Wikipedia: Taíno:

The Taíno were the first New World peoples encountered by Christopher Columbus, in the Bahama Archipelago on October 12, 1492.

At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, [the Taíno] were the principal inhabitants of most of what is now The Bahamas, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and the northern Lesser Antilles.


recipe - Jamaican Curry Goat
Jamaica

play musical chairs with reggae music




PM - The Banza: A Haitian Story retold by Diane Wolkstein

recipe - Pen Patat (Sweet Potato Pudding)
Haiti

Wed - Mexico, United States (Amish)

AM - Mediopollito = Half-Chicken retold by Alma Flor Ada

as this book did not arrive in time from inter-library loan, we read two Mexican folktales from Favorite Folktales from Around the World edited by Jane Yolen

"The Hungry Peasant, God, and Death," p.469

"The Drovers Who Lost Their Feet," p.177


recipe - Albóndigas (Meatball Soup)
Mexico

recipe - Chia Fresca (Mexican Lemonade with Chia Seeds)
Mexico




PM - peoples of the biomes (cards) - Amish

Amish Home by Raymond Bial

pass out portions of Amish Friendship Bread Starter

Thu - United States (Cajun & Creole)

AM - The Journey by Sarah Stewart

special guest - Marvin Miller, who will talk about growing up Amish




PM - peoples of the biomes (cards) - Cajuns

recipe - Cajun Corn Maque Choux

The Talking Eggs retold by Robert D. San Souci

Of course, we have lots of play time as well! What a fun & interesting week!

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

Notes on "Minn of the Mississippi"

Some lunchtime read alouds spark a ton of connections in my mind, so I like to keep notes on science, history, geography, and literature ideas as we go.
I did this with the chapters of The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate and now I'm doing it with Holling Clancy Hollings' wonderful book Minn of the Mississippi.

Important note: Minn is a common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina), not an alligator snapping turtle.

chap 1 - Land of Ancient Waters

Nine Months
by Jason Chin

chap 2 - One Small Turtle, Two Big Boys

old turtle shell

chap 3 - A Turtle Starts Traveling

chap 4 - Waters Can Wander Away

chap 5 - The Mother Earth

chap 6 - The River Is a Museum

A River Ran Wild: An Environmental History
by Lynne Cherry

chap 7 - Below the Water-Wall

discarded shell from button factory

chap 8 - Minn Becomes a River-Monster

chap 9 - The Lake in the River

tall tale character Paul Bunyan

chap 10 - A Country of Builders

Becca's Mound Builders backboard


Between Earth & Sky: Legends of Native American Sacred Places
by Joseph Bruchac


Journey to Cahokia: A Boy's Visit to the Great Mound City
by Albert Lorenz

chap 11 - River Life Has Its Downs and Ups

Brave Wood Ducklings Take 30-Foot Leap of Faith
YouTube video - Smithsonian Channel

chap 12 - Ride the River in a Barrel

Eric and the Little Canal Boat
by Lillian Bason

chap 13 - Sentinels of the Crossroads

St. Louis

Ste. Genevieve

Kaskaskia

Big Muddy River

Grand Tower

Tower Rock

Cape Girardeau

Cairo

Lewis and Clark Adventure Game
board game - Educational Insights

chap 14 - When Water Runs Over Lawns and Things

topographical map of Illinois

chap 15 - Boats That Changed the River

tall tale character Mike Fink

Arabia Steamboat Museum - Kansas City MO

New Madrid Earthquake

chap 16 - Land of Cotton and Turtle Stew

chap 17 - Minn Goes Inland

Flood
by Mary Calhoun

chap 18 - River of Dreams

Show Boat soundtrack (1966)


Freedom in Congo Square
by Carole Boston Weatherford


Ninth Ward
by Jewell Parker Rhodes

chap 19 - Minn Comes to the End of the Line

chap 20 - Treasure Is Where You Find It

tall tale character Pirate La Fitte

Like our local farm field trip series, this book is a wonderful bridge into next year's Local Geography, History, and Industry theme. It also exposed the kids to a little bit about Central America, which we get more into next week!

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

Farm Visits 2024-2025

Instead of doing the classic Waldorf Third Grade Farming block, we visited a different local farm each month. It was a really fun project! Here is the list:

Sep - Bernard Family Farm, Belle Rive IL

Oct - All Seasons Farm, Cobden IL

Nov - The Log Cabin Ranch, Ina IL

Dec - Wiswell's Christmas Tree Farm, Johnston City IL
(postponed to 2025)

Jan - SIUC Plant Biology Greenhouse & Conservatory, Carbondale IL

Feb - tapping sugar maple trees with Ms. Megan, Alto Pass IL

Mar - Little Grassy Fish Hatchery, Makanda IL

Apr - Baetje Farms, Bloomsdale MO

May - Well House Farmstead, Carbondale IL

Jun - Cahokia Rice, McClure IL

THANK YOU to all of the parents who were willing to do so much driving so that the children could have these experiences!!!

And here are some photos Dan took of our April field trip to Baetje Farms! We had a tour of the creamery, followed by a wonderful goat cheese tasting.

In Fourth Grade, Waldorf students study how the History and traditional Industries of a place relate to its Geography. We will do this next year.

The farm visits are a really nice transition into this idea. Cahokia Rice is also an excellent tie-in with "Asia" week in our World Geography lessons for June. It's amazing that they grow rice in Southern IL, and I'm really excited to see how they flood the fields!

Early Bird Physics

The children are really enjoying the Early Bird Physics series (thank you to the parent who kindly donated it) and it has been an excellent tie-in to our "Tree Squirrel Playground" Project.

I like that the wording in each book is simple and clear, so it works well for a mixed-age classroom or homeschool environment. Plus, the experiment materials for each Simple Machine are very inexpensive. That makes it easy to set up multiple "kits" so the children can work in pairs or small groups.

I love that the text explains what is happening in each experiment and expects the child to be doing them as the story goes along.

I also appreciate that the books go in a particular order to develop the concepts. Many of the Simple Machines are related and it can be hard to figure out an ideal order of presentation! Here is a list of the books in order, as well as all of the materials needed for the suggested experiments:

Inclined Planes and Wedges

chap 1 - Work

chap 2 - Machines

chap 3 - Inclined Planes

chap 4 - Gravity and Friction

materials needed: 4 or 5 thick books, weight (such as a 5 lb bag of flour), the board from a family board game, hand towel

optional: spring scale

chap 5 - Wedges

materials needed: 2 thick books, nail, plastic lid from a tub of margarine

optional: 2 rubber door stoppers, shovel, fork, carrot

(we also hammered a nail partly into a block of wood, removed it, broke off the tip of the nail in a bench vise, and tried to hammer it into the wood)

Levers

chap 1 - Work

chap 2 - Machines

chap 3 - Parts of a Lever

chap 4 - Changing the Amount of Force

materials needed: 12 in wooden ruler, crayon, 15 oz soup can, rubber bands

chap 5 - Kinds of Levers

optional: hammer, wheelbarrow, broom, kickball, tweezers, beads, popsicles

(we also used a board as a lever, and had the lightest child lift the heaviest)

Pulleys

chap 1 - Work

chap 2 - Machines

chap 3 - Gravity

chap 4 - Friction

materials needed: heavy book, screwdriver, soda can, gravel, big paper clip, 4 ft piece of string, spool (to spin on the screwdriver), rubber band

chap 5 - Kinds of Pulleys

materials needed: straw, bobbin (to spin on the straw), 2 big paper clips, doorknob

optional: spring scale

(we also set up my lovely wooden Haba Terra Block & Tackle Pulley System)

Screws

chap 1 - Work

chap 2 - Machines

chap 3 - What Is a Screw?

chap 4 - How Screws Help Us

chap 5 - Kinds of Screws

materials needed: sheet of paper, ruler, two unsharpened pencils, crayon, tape, scissors, Styrofoam plate, nail, screw

optional: hammer, nail, screwdriver, screw, block of wood, gallon of milk

Wheels and Axles

chap 1 - Work

chap 2 - Machines

chap 3 - Friction

chap 4 - Parts of a Wheel and Axle

materials needed: book, round pencil, straw, sheet of paper, spool

chap 5 - Gears

materials needed: book, thick pencil, masking tape, straw, sheet of paper, spool, marker, chalk, screwdriver, kitchen cabinet, can opener

optional: bicycle

(we also love to do a Balloon-Powered Car challenge as the final activity!)

Work is the last book in the series. It describes a day in the life of some children, and all of the simple machines they encounter along the way!

chap 1 - Work

chap 2 - Simple Machines

chap 3 - In the Park

chap 4 - Safari

chap 5 - Snack Time

chap 6 - Making Work Easier

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

Which Way USA

Summer is coming and it's time to relax!!

Also, it's nice to still keep learning a thing or two. Zac has outgrown his Ranger Rick magazine subscription, so I'm switching him to Which Way USA (by Highlights). He's keeping the magazines, the state-by-state tracker, and the license plate tags. I'm keeping the maps!!!

I love the Which Way USA maps for each of the 50 states, and I have a partial set of vintage ones. Time for updated maps.

it's nice to have facts that are a little more up-to-date!

(I signed Zac up for PJ Library when he was in kindergarten, so that by the time I had to teach Old Testament Stories in 3rd grade I'd have plenty of Jewish picture books. I'm signing him up for Which Way USA now so that when I have to teach the U.S. States in 5th grade I will have all 50 maps!)

You can also change the shipment frequency (every 12, 24, 54, or 82 days).

Consider how quickly you want to build your collection. With two maps each shipment, you could have the whole country in a year if you chose 12 days!

I'm keeping all of the maps in a hanging file, but you could also tuck each one into the handy-dandy pocket in the back of its corresponding magazine.

Notes About Circuits

In Waldorf education, Physics starts in Middle School.

Grade 6 introduces Sound, Light, Heat, Magnetism, and Static Electricity.

In Grade 7, children go deeper into these topics, build Simple Machines, and begin to work with Electrical Circuits.* So, quite often parents will ask me for suggestions for curious kids who want to explore building Circuits earlier.

I usually suggest Snap Circuits (that's what I give to my own children), and Dav Glass always recommended Circuit Scribe (silver ink!), but I also had a parent share a fun Science book with me that has unique Circuit ideas: The Science Spell Book: 30 Enchanting Experiments for Kids by Cara Florance.

Draw with Electricity!
p.38

Draw the Conductors of a Circuit Using a Pencil!
p.57

Create a Magic Wand That Will Light Up When You Grasp the Stick in a Certain Way!
p.63

Create Bracelets That Light Up When You Cross Your Wrists!
p.80

* And it doesn't end there. Grade 8 Physics covers a lot of ground: Acoustics, Thermodynamics, Mechanics, Electricity and Magnetism, Hydraulics, Aerodynamics, and Meteorology!

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

ANTs At Your Picnic!

Many thanks to Ms. Megan for teaching me about ANTs (Automatic Negative Thoughts) while we were chatting at parent book group, and to Dr. Nanci Norelli Smith for the concept & artwork! Her class, Thinking Traps: Spotting and Dealing with Automatic Negative Thoughts, is available on Outschool.

the "Discounting the Positive" ANT

My class really responded when we talked about ANTs and, in particular, how they can keep you from that first step in Nonviolent Communication, the neutral statement. I'd like to put together a little "picnic kit" that I can get out at the start of each school year when I present this concept.

So I'm thinking about a picnic basket, a red checked tablecloth, and the 16 items that are shown on the ANTs cards. I already had some things in my collection of play kitchen foods, but I need to get a few more foods in order for the picnic setup to match the artwork shown on the cards.

already had

donut

watermelon

strawberry

ribbon candy

banana

and can make

chocolate chip cookie

from Etsy seller MorgansMercantile

cupcake & cherry

from Etsy seller MissysFeltMarket

popsicle

from eBay

Hershey style Kiss, hand blown and signed by the artist Hulet in 2006

Christmas tree ornaments from Amazon

grapes

pretzel

hard candy

s'more

ice cream cone

corn on the cob

When the ANTs show up and steal the sweet foods from your picnic (the sweet thoughts from your mind), they leave you feeling grumpy and upset!

UPDATE: Just discovered that I have the perfect basket for this!!! My grandfather bicycled to work each day, and I have his vintage bicycle basket. I've kept it for years, but never found the just-right thing to store in this special basket. This lesson is perfect; the flat back allows me to store the ANTs cards without them bending, and the space inside is just the right size.

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

"Tree Squirrel Playground" Project

7th grade Physics in Waldorf education includes a focus on Simple Machines. Usually I use Roberto Trostli's excellent book, Physics is Fun! A Sourcebook for Teachers.

But this year, we are going to have some fun with this topic by designing a Tree Squirrel Playground!

Our playground design will specifically be for the eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis). The squirrel familiy in Southern Illinois also includes fox squirrels, groundhogs, chipmunks, and southern flying squirrels.

For the younger children, this will be more Nature Study than Mechanics. Here are our questions, observations, investigations, and explorations:

Thu May 8
do squirrels come out in the rain?

A rainy Thursday threw a wet blanket over our hoped-for observations of squirrels. But we did learn that squirrels do not come out in the rain!

question: do squirrels come out in the rain?
observation: no

new questions: Would a squirrel run through a sprinkler to get to a nut? Would a squirrel dip its hands in water to get to a nut?

Mon May 12
what do squirrels like to eat?

Work in teams to measure out 50 grams of five different foods. Arrange plates on a table under the tree and see which foodstuff is the most popular!

question: what do squirrels like to eat?
in order of preference: black oil sunflower, shelled corn, whole peanuts

we also observed squirrels taking whole peanuts away and burying them

Tue May 13
oatmeal box challenge

Today's challenge is a peanut hanging suspended inside an oatmeal box.

Today we also read a portion of The Chisel-Tooth Tribe by Wilfrid Swancourt Bronson (pages 3-12 of chapter 1, "The Chisel-Tooth Tribe in General").

question: can a squirrel get to a hanging peanut suspended in a box?
observation: YES... we found peanuts missing beginning Sat May 17 but did not directly observe the squirrels taking them until Thu May 22

this was a difficult challenge for the squirrels and they mostly ignored it

Wed May 14
crumpled paper challenge

Today's challenge is a pile of corn covered with crinkly brown paper. Will the squirrels be able to overcome the unpleasant sound and get to the corn?

We updated yesterday's challenge by replacing the thread with aluminum wire, as one student was concerned a squirrel might get thread wrapped around them and get hurt; we also re-hung some of the oatmeal boxes so that a squirrel to get to the peanut from the underside (a low part of the branch, standing on the corncob holder, jumping up from the ground). And we also read the second half of chapter 1 from The Chisel-Tooth Tribe!

question: can a squirrel overcome its timidity and dig in loud crinkly paper?
observation: YES... we observed this Sun May 18

Thu May 15
PVC pipe challenge

Today's challenge is a piece of PVC pipe (84 inch length, 3 inch diameter) with sunflower seeds inside its full length. Will the squirrels go completely into the tube, or maintain their instinct to always have an escape route?

question: will a squirrel go into a tunnel?
observation: NO... the squirrels did NOT go completely into the tube, and we had to cancel this experiment early because they were chewing the PVC pipe and dropping bits of plastic all over the ground

Mon May 19

old dresser challenge - LL

Today students began to add their ideas to the Tree Squirrel Playground.

LL wanted to create a Climbing Wall, so we put an old dresser (minus the drawers) out in the grass with an ear of corn on the top. Can they climb the wooden rungs of the drawer supports?

question: can a squirrel climb the rungs of a dresser?
observation: YES... we observed this Tue May 20

brick tower challenge - KEL

KEL wondered, can squirrels climb rocks or only trees and wood? She built a brick tower and placed a cup of sunflower seeds on top.

question: can a squirrel climb bricks?
observation: the squirrel simply jumped to the top of the tower (28 inches)

box swing challenge - EF

EF wanted to create a Swing, so she placed whole peanuts inside a box and tied it to the tree in such a way that it would swing violently if a squirrel jumped in. Can they get over their fear of the swing, and stay inside the moving box and eat the peanuts?

Today we also read the first four chapters and did the experiments from Inclined Planes and Wedges.

question: will a squirrel jump into a swinging box
observation: the squirrels have completely avoided this challenge

Tue May 20

dresser + ramp challenge

After reading about Inclined Planes, we added a ramp to the old dresser challenge to see if the squirrels would use this path, which is easier than climbing straight up the rungs of the dresser.

question: will a squirrel use a ramp to save itself work?
observation: YES... we observed this Tue May 20 (the squirrels beat this challenge almost immediately)

floating peanut challenge - OH

OH wondered if a squirrel will reach its paws into water to get floating food. She put several handfuls of whole peanuts into a basin and filled it with 4 1/2 inches of water.

question: will a squirrel get wet in order to get food?
observation: YES... we observed this Tue May 20 (the squirrels beat this challenge almost immediately)

we also observed squirrels taking whole peanuts away and burying them

board branch challenge - CLH

CLH wanted to add an artificial branch to a tree to see if the squirrels would go on it. He laid out a line of peanuts along a very long thin board, and we placed it in a tree.

question: will a squirrel climb onto an artificial branch in order to get food?
observation: PERHAPS... the peanuts were missing the following morning but we did not directly observe the squirrels taking them

Wed May 21

In an effort to better see what was happening with the oatmeal box challenge, we removed all other challenges (but did not observe any new activity). We also read Levers and did the corresponding experiments.

Thu May 22

There are six Simple Machines which we hope to incorporate into our design. I will keep these notes up-to-date as we go along.

NOTE: This project was inspired by two things, the excellent Illinois Squirrels training I took with IDNR, and the classic Reggio Emilia project, "An Amusement Park for Birds," available in its entirety for free on YouTube!

It was not in any way inspired by Mark Rober, whom I learned about later!

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