Well, prepared. I've been struggling all summer with this Man and Animals lesson, one of the important ones of the fourth grade , and I've finally finished up my planning, got my head wrapped around the ideas, at least to apoint that I'm happy enough with. Here it is! Hooray!
And now, on with the rest of it- Vikings, poetry, zoology, here I come!
Showing posts with label 4th grade. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 4th grade. Show all posts
Monday, August 10, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Nature Study 1B Wasps
Following up on our first Handbook of Nature Study lesson, we learned a little bit about wasps this week. Wasps are related to bees, but are not hairy like bees are. Wasps are solitary or social- those are the ones that build those paper pulp nests, like the one we saw on the slide the other day. Only the females have stingers. Some live on nectar, but others are omnivores, and eat carrion along with their sweets. Some wasps are parasitic, and they lay their eggs inside caterpillars, then when the eggs hatch, they eat the caterpillar from the inside out. Totally awesome, apparently. We did all agree that using parasitic wasps for pest control was way cooler than using toxic pesticides. Though I guess we don't want close encounters with either form of insect control!Monday, July 6, 2009
Nature Study 1
We started our new Nature Study program today. We're using Anna Botsford Comstock's The Handbook of Nature Study, and the guidance and some of the ideas from The One Hour Challenges at this website, plus our regular nature science stories, like these, and these, as well as made up ones and Native American stories.
Avery's drawing of a Clover flower. It doesn't show up well in the picture, but in his book it is sweet. Diminutive, but isn't clover, really?
We had a picnic under this tree. What a great way to start a nature study outing!
One of the original old apple trees still growing and producing on the Mission grounds.
I think this is the seedpod of an American Sycamore tree. There are several at the Mission, providing beauty and shade to the park grounds.
Wasp nest under the slide ramp. The boys watched closely for some time.
Miles' nature book drawing. He finished pretty quickly then spent some time moving piles of dirt around and poking them with his apple wood stick.
My page. We were sitting directly under one of those ancient apple trees, so it seemed natural to draw that. Ummm... not that I'm a fabulous artist or anything, but it's fun to all sit and draw together. And we were using these cool Lyra Aquacolor crayons, which draw nicely like rich, soft crayons, then magically turn into a watercolor painting when you brush with water!
Avery's drawing of a Clover flower. It doesn't show up well in the picture, but in his book it is sweet. Diminutive, but isn't clover, really?
We had a picnic under this tree. What a great way to start a nature study outing!
One of the original old apple trees still growing and producing on the Mission grounds. 
I think this is the seedpod of an American Sycamore tree. There are several at the Mission, providing beauty and shade to the park grounds.
Wasp nest under the slide ramp. The boys watched closely for some time.
Miles' nature book drawing. He finished pretty quickly then spent some time moving piles of dirt around and poking them with his apple wood stick.
My page. We were sitting directly under one of those ancient apple trees, so it seemed natural to draw that. Ummm... not that I'm a fabulous artist or anything, but it's fun to all sit and draw together. And we were using these cool Lyra Aquacolor crayons, which draw nicely like rich, soft crayons, then magically turn into a watercolor painting when you brush with water!
Our two topics for further study are wasps and cottonwoods. We'll spend a bit of time this week finding out about those things.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Waldorf 4th Grade: Man and Animals
I am in the midst of preparing for the upcoming school year- we'll have a Fourth Grader and a Preschooler, plus the baby, so I want to be as organized and prepared as possible. This summer I'm reading the Norse Myths, researching curriculum choices for the workbook type things we'll use, and trying to get my head around the 4th grade lesson blocks usually called "Man and Animals" or something similar. Sometimes it's called zoology, which is what I've been calling it.
Teaching science has always been my biggest worry point- Avery LOVES doing experiments and lab work, I don't, so much. I love going outside and watching bugs and flowers, but don't really care what they're called or why, he can barely watch for a moment without the desire to KNOW burning him up and into a book. And here we are. Fourth grade. The start of real science, not just nature stories, for Waldorf kids. The unfolding of the child's sense of inner and outer selves, of objectivity, and the BIGNESS of the world. I don't want to mess that up! And I am completely at a loss. What to do?
The Waldorf curriculum tells us that animals are specialized, one-sided. Really perfectly adapted to their task, but only made for that one thing. Animals fall into one of three categories, or embody one of the threefold human traits- they are either thinking, feeling, or willing. Humans, in contrast, are imperfect, but embody all of these traits, plus one other: we are created upright, with hands and arms that are not needed to move us, like animals, but free to turn to service for God and humanity. It doesn't sound too bad (or maybe it does, depending on your perspective) but I am having a problem taking it all in. I just don't really GET it, I guess, and I'm worried that in my attempt to teach something I don't deeply understand and believe that I will not do justice to the task, or my child. I can see a glimmer of how it might be beautiful and true taught by a real Waldorf teacher, someone trained in and understanding of this material. Unfortunately I keep getting stuck with it all feeling forced, like poor science, mixing of holy and earthly things I have no business messing with.
I feel comfortable teaching the animals in tidy groups: you know, mammals, reptiles, mollusks, birds.... I feel comfortable with the idea that humans are upright and special, able to think and feel and do, and that we have a responsibility to care for the world we've been given (or given to, maybe?). I feel comfortable saying animals embody the willing aspect of humans, but the feeling and thinking? I guess dolphins are thinkers, but aren't they still more will-full? Does the octopus, with that huge head, really think more that follow instinct? Surely the jellyfish is more instinctual, yet it is sometimes taught with the "thinkers".... I don't know, and I'm having a hard time getting comfortable with this lesson, I guess because of exactly what I don't know.
The Octopus: a classic Waldorf embodiment of the "thinking" characteristic of the human.
The Eagle: who soars like our thoughts, who attacks prey as we "attack" an idea.
The Lion: embodies "feeling" with strong use of all the senses and that powerful heart.
The Snake: no limbs, all digestive and torso- another "feeling" animal.
The Sea Star: looks like our hand, a clear manifestation of "will".
A Steer: like oxen or a bull, strong and made for work, exercising one's will.
Teaching science has always been my biggest worry point- Avery LOVES doing experiments and lab work, I don't, so much. I love going outside and watching bugs and flowers, but don't really care what they're called or why, he can barely watch for a moment without the desire to KNOW burning him up and into a book. And here we are. Fourth grade. The start of real science, not just nature stories, for Waldorf kids. The unfolding of the child's sense of inner and outer selves, of objectivity, and the BIGNESS of the world. I don't want to mess that up! And I am completely at a loss. What to do?
The Waldorf curriculum tells us that animals are specialized, one-sided. Really perfectly adapted to their task, but only made for that one thing. Animals fall into one of three categories, or embody one of the threefold human traits- they are either thinking, feeling, or willing. Humans, in contrast, are imperfect, but embody all of these traits, plus one other: we are created upright, with hands and arms that are not needed to move us, like animals, but free to turn to service for God and humanity. It doesn't sound too bad (or maybe it does, depending on your perspective) but I am having a problem taking it all in. I just don't really GET it, I guess, and I'm worried that in my attempt to teach something I don't deeply understand and believe that I will not do justice to the task, or my child. I can see a glimmer of how it might be beautiful and true taught by a real Waldorf teacher, someone trained in and understanding of this material. Unfortunately I keep getting stuck with it all feeling forced, like poor science, mixing of holy and earthly things I have no business messing with.
I feel comfortable teaching the animals in tidy groups: you know, mammals, reptiles, mollusks, birds.... I feel comfortable with the idea that humans are upright and special, able to think and feel and do, and that we have a responsibility to care for the world we've been given (or given to, maybe?). I feel comfortable saying animals embody the willing aspect of humans, but the feeling and thinking? I guess dolphins are thinkers, but aren't they still more will-full? Does the octopus, with that huge head, really think more that follow instinct? Surely the jellyfish is more instinctual, yet it is sometimes taught with the "thinkers".... I don't know, and I'm having a hard time getting comfortable with this lesson, I guess because of exactly what I don't know.
The Octopus: a classic Waldorf embodiment of the "thinking" characteristic of the human.
The Eagle: who soars like our thoughts, who attacks prey as we "attack" an idea.
The Lion: embodies "feeling" with strong use of all the senses and that powerful heart.
The Snake: no limbs, all digestive and torso- another "feeling" animal.
The Sea Star: looks like our hand, a clear manifestation of "will".
A Steer: like oxen or a bull, strong and made for work, exercising one's will. Saturday, April 18, 2009
4th Grade Planning
Wow! Suddenly it's spring! It snowed last week after a teaser spring peek, and now the weather has turned and winter is finally over. I had a flu bug to celebrate, and sent Avery off for a sleepover for a couple nights with his best friend. Which gave me time to cuddle and read stories and stay in my nightgown with the little ones, as well as lots of time to do my favorite school activity- plan for the coming year. Yay! It's such a perfect spring thing to do- review what's worked and not during the current school year, plan out the schedule and supplies for the next year, think about special projects, start making all of those lists. I usually end up with an order list of thousands of dollars that gets whittled down to some puny fraction of the original, but it's all fun, and if I've done a good job USING those supplies next school year will be fun for Avery and for me.
So... in case you're dying to know, this is what I've got so far:
Language Arts ($133.00)
Handwriting http://www.writingwizard.longcountdown.com/handwriting_practice_worksheet_maker.html
Reading McGuffey Eclectic Readers set $47.95
Grammar Word Play $11.75; Didax Editing Skills grades 5-6 $9.50
Writing Writing Strands 3 $16.75; Evaluating Writing (WS) $17.99; Penpal; Journal
Spelling McGuffey Progressive Speller $10.50
Poetry (taught as a main lesson block) Poetry All around Me $16.95
Mathematics ($208.00)
Lab work Mathematics Made Meaningful wooden $35.95; Cuisenaire rod track $3.25; Puzzlers
Skill development Key to… complete series with keys $138.50; Calculus by and for Young People CD-ROM with worksheets $29.75; MEP math curriculum
Science ($228.00)
Nature Nature journal; stories; newspaper; Tom Brown’s Field Guide to Nature and Survival for Children $14.00
Spectrum Complete Book of Science g3-4 $10.50; Complete Book of Science g5-6 $ 10.50; Math Science Nucleus
Lab work Thames and Kosmos “Milestones in Science” lab kit $58.36; Home Science Adventures Kits (microscopics/light/birds/insects/astronomy/magnetism) $134.00
Zoology (taught in 4 main lesson blocks) ($83.00)
The Human Being and the Animal World $6.95
Mammals: We are NOT getting a dog or a cat, a horse or a rabbit- don't even ask!
Reptiles: Minn of the Mississippi (HCH); maybe a chameleon? Do they have the same e-coli risks as turtles?
Amphibians: Planet Frog habitat $21.95
Birds: Home Science Adventures-birds; Seabird (HCH)
Fish: perhaps we'll attempt goldfish or a beta
Insects: Butterfly Pavilion $29.99; Home Science Adventures-insects
Arachnids: Savage Spiders kit $12.00; maybe a hermit crab habitat
Mollusks: Slimy Slugs kit $12.00
Health/Anatomy ($63.00)
331/2" human skeleton model $62.99; How We Work; The Human Body
Vikings (taught in two block lessons)($52.00)
The Norse Stories and Their Significance $13.95; D’Aulaire’s Book of Norse Myths $19.95; Children of Odin: Northern Myths $7.75; Eric the Red and Leif the Lucky $5.25; Sword Song $4.99
United States History ($156.00)
Spectrum Geography grade 5 USA $6.95; The American Story $34.95; Landmark History of the American People $31.55; Making of America: History of the United States (National Geographic) $23.25; Minn of the Mississippi (HCH); The Tree in the Trail (HCH); Paddle-to-the-Sea (HCH); Thomas Jefferson’s America CD (Jim Weiss) $12.99; Yo, Millard Fillmore $7.95;
Cut and Assemble the Mayflower $7.95; Made for Trade game $22.99; Arrow Over the Door; Between Earth and Sky: Native American Legends of Sacred Places $7.00
Geography ($71.00)
World Geography and You hardcover text $38.30; WGY teacher’s guide $13.28; Earthsearch: A Kids’ Geography Museum in a Book $19.99; Tom Brown’s Nature and Survival for Children
Foreign Language ($445.00)
Lively Latin Big Book 1; Rosetta Stone Homeschool Edition Spanish 1,2,3 $445.00
Form drawing (taught in two blocks) ($30.00)
Creative Form /drawing Workbook 1 $30.00
PE ($18.00; $250.00)
Homeschool gym class 2 sessions @ $60 per session =$120; Homeschool gymnastics 20 weeks @ $6.50 per week = $130; Physical Education for Homeschoolers vol 1 $12.50; Beyond the Gym grade 4 $4.95; Yakima Youth Soccer Dues $65.00; Cones; Double jump rope; Whiffle ball set
Music ($960.00)
Guitar lessons 12 months @ $80 per month = $960
Art
Artistic Pursuits Modern Art; Watercolor (weekly); modeling beeswax; plastalina
General ($32.00)
A Journey Through Waldorf Homeschooling grade 4 $32.00; http://www.internet4classrooms.com/
Total $1519 curriculum; $1210 lessons
I'm still over budget, and once I add in the things I haven't priced out yet- shipping costs, and the general supplies that need buying,what I'll get for Miles-I'll have to whittle it down quite a bit, I expect.
So... in case you're dying to know, this is what I've got so far:
Language Arts ($133.00)
Handwriting http://www.writingwizard.longcountdown.com/handwriting_practice_worksheet_maker.html
Reading McGuffey Eclectic Readers set $47.95
Grammar Word Play $11.75; Didax Editing Skills grades 5-6 $9.50
Writing Writing Strands 3 $16.75; Evaluating Writing (WS) $17.99; Penpal; Journal
Spelling McGuffey Progressive Speller $10.50
Poetry (taught as a main lesson block) Poetry All around Me $16.95
Mathematics ($208.00)
Lab work Mathematics Made Meaningful wooden $35.95; Cuisenaire rod track $3.25; Puzzlers
Skill development Key to… complete series with keys $138.50; Calculus by and for Young People CD-ROM with worksheets $29.75; MEP math curriculum
Science ($228.00)
Nature Nature journal; stories; newspaper; Tom Brown’s Field Guide to Nature and Survival for Children $14.00
Spectrum Complete Book of Science g3-4 $10.50; Complete Book of Science g5-6 $ 10.50; Math Science Nucleus
Lab work Thames and Kosmos “Milestones in Science” lab kit $58.36; Home Science Adventures Kits (microscopics/light/birds/insects/astronomy/magnetism) $134.00
Zoology (taught in 4 main lesson blocks) ($83.00)
The Human Being and the Animal World $6.95
Mammals: We are NOT getting a dog or a cat, a horse or a rabbit- don't even ask!
Reptiles: Minn of the Mississippi (HCH); maybe a chameleon? Do they have the same e-coli risks as turtles?
Amphibians: Planet Frog habitat $21.95
Birds: Home Science Adventures-birds; Seabird (HCH)
Fish: perhaps we'll attempt goldfish or a beta
Insects: Butterfly Pavilion $29.99; Home Science Adventures-insects
Arachnids: Savage Spiders kit $12.00; maybe a hermit crab habitat
Mollusks: Slimy Slugs kit $12.00
Health/Anatomy ($63.00)
331/2" human skeleton model $62.99; How We Work; The Human Body
Vikings (taught in two block lessons)($52.00)
The Norse Stories and Their Significance $13.95; D’Aulaire’s Book of Norse Myths $19.95; Children of Odin: Northern Myths $7.75; Eric the Red and Leif the Lucky $5.25; Sword Song $4.99
United States History ($156.00)
Spectrum Geography grade 5 USA $6.95; The American Story $34.95; Landmark History of the American People $31.55; Making of America: History of the United States (National Geographic) $23.25; Minn of the Mississippi (HCH); The Tree in the Trail (HCH); Paddle-to-the-Sea (HCH); Thomas Jefferson’s America CD (Jim Weiss) $12.99; Yo, Millard Fillmore $7.95;
Cut and Assemble the Mayflower $7.95; Made for Trade game $22.99; Arrow Over the Door; Between Earth and Sky: Native American Legends of Sacred Places $7.00
Geography ($71.00)
World Geography and You hardcover text $38.30; WGY teacher’s guide $13.28; Earthsearch: A Kids’ Geography Museum in a Book $19.99; Tom Brown’s Nature and Survival for Children
Foreign Language ($445.00)
Lively Latin Big Book 1; Rosetta Stone Homeschool Edition Spanish 1,2,3 $445.00
Form drawing (taught in two blocks) ($30.00)
Creative Form /drawing Workbook 1 $30.00
PE ($18.00; $250.00)
Homeschool gym class 2 sessions @ $60 per session =$120; Homeschool gymnastics 20 weeks @ $6.50 per week = $130; Physical Education for Homeschoolers vol 1 $12.50; Beyond the Gym grade 4 $4.95; Yakima Youth Soccer Dues $65.00; Cones; Double jump rope; Whiffle ball set
Music ($960.00)
Guitar lessons 12 months @ $80 per month = $960
Art
Artistic Pursuits Modern Art; Watercolor (weekly); modeling beeswax; plastalina
General ($32.00)
A Journey Through Waldorf Homeschooling grade 4 $32.00; http://www.internet4classrooms.com/
Total $1519 curriculum; $1210 lessons
I'm still over budget, and once I add in the things I haven't priced out yet- shipping costs, and the general supplies that need buying,what I'll get for Miles-I'll have to whittle it down quite a bit, I expect.
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