A Unit on Butterfly

Butterfly

Books:

Butterfly Meadow #1:Dazzle's First Day (Olivia Moss ISBN: 0545054567)
Butterfly Meadow #2: Twinkle Dives In (Olivia Moss ISBN: 0545054575)
Butterfly Meadow #3: Three Cheers for Mallow (Olivia Moss ISBN: 0545054583)
Butterfly Meadow #4
Butterfly Meadow #5: Dazzle's New Friend (Olivia Moss ISBN:
Butterfly Meadow #6: Twinkle and the Busy Bee (Olivia Moss ISBN: 0545054613)
Butterfly Meadow #7: Joy's Close Call (Olivia Moss ISBN: 054510713x)
Butterfly Meadow #8: Zippy's tall Tale (Olivia Moss ISBN: 0545112427)
Butterfly Meadow #9: Skipper Gets Spooked (Olivia Moss ISBN: 0545112435)
Little Einsteins Butterfly Suits (Disney ISBN: 1423108337)
The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast (William Plomer ISBN: 07636444226)
Butterfly House (Eve Bunting ISBN: 0590848844)
From Catterpillar to Butterfly (Heiligman ISBN: 0064451291)
Monarch Butterfly (Gail Gibbons ISBN: 0823409090)
Butterflies in the Garden (Carol Lerner ISBN: 0688174787)
Wings of Light: The Migration of the Yellow Butterfly (Stephen R. Swinburne ISBN: 1590780825)
Magic School Bus: The Butterfly and the Bog Beast (Joanna Cole ISBN: 0590508342)
Illustrated World Encyclopedia of Butterflies and Moths (Morgan ISBN: 0754818845)

DVDS:

Nova: The Incredible Journey of the Butterflies
The Story of the Butterfly
Barbie: Mariposa

Facts:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly

The butterfly is an insect.
Four-stage lifecycle: egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis), adult butterfly.
Butterfly feeds primerly on nectar from flowers.
Vision is well developped in butterflies.
Many butterflies migrate over long distances.
There are between 15 000 to 20 000 speciies of butterflies worldwide.

Activities:

http://www.childcareland.com/butterflies.html
Butterfly coloring pages: http://www.coloring.ws/butterfly1.htm
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/coloringbook/sketch_butterflies.html
Fingerprint Butterfly: http://www.dltk-kids.com/CRAFTS/miscellaneous/fingerprint_butterflies.htm
Put a book together.
Make a page about the lifecycle of a butterfly.
Print an image of a butterfly and identify its parts.
Find links on butterflies.


Recipes:

Butterfly cupcakes: http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/butterfly-cupcakes-87208.aspx
Butterfly cake: http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/beautiful-butterfly-cake-86978.aspx
Butterfly ice cream sandwiches: http://www.wilton.com/recipe/Butterfly-Ice-Cream-Sandwiches
Butterfly cookies:

Unit on Russia

Done... almost. I will need to put the activites together and such but now until we are close to doing the unit.

Russia

Look What Came From Russia (Miles Harvey ISBN 0531159671)
First Thousand Words in Russian (Usborne ISBN 0794510019)
Little Sister and the Month Brothers (Beatrice Schenk de Reigniers ISBN 0761455469)
Songs of Old Russia (cd music)

Week 1

People:

Rurik
Vladamir I
Attila the Hun

Related Subjects:

Russia
Time Zones
Rissian Litterature
Vikings

Additional Books and DVD Titles:

Russia (Kathleen Murrell ISBN 0751361240)
Baba Yaga, A Russian Folk Tale (Margaret Yatsevitch Phinney ISBN 157255004x)
Baba Yaga Vasilisa the Brave (Marianna Mayer ISBN 0688085001)
Russian Portraits (Dorothy & Thomas Hoobler ISBN 081146380x)
The Kingfisher Book of Tales From Russia (James Meyhew ISBN 0753452936)
When It's Six O'clock in San Francisco: A Trip Through Time Zones (Cynthia Jaynes Omololu ISBN 0618768270)
Who Were the Vikings (Usborne ISBN )


Week 2

People:

Genshis Khan
Alexander Nevsky
Ivan the Great
Ivan the Terrible

Related Subjects:

Russia
Csar/tzar/czarina
Serf
Peasant


Additional Books and DVD Titles:

Russia (Kathleen Murrell ISBN 0751361240)
Russian Portraits (Dorothy & Thomas Hoobler ISBN 081146380x)
Endless Steppe (Ester Hautzig ISBN 006440577X)
Fiddler on the Roof (dvd)

Find a book on czars


WEEK 3

People

Peter the Great
Catherine the Great
Alexander I
Nicholas I
Napoleon Bonaparte
Florence Nightingale
Alexander II
Karl Marx
Alexander Pushkin
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Leo Tolstoy

Related Subjects:

Russia
Communism
Biographies

Additional Books and DVD Titles:

Peter the Great (Diane Stanley ISBN 068816708X) *
Russian Portraits (Dorothy & Thomas Hoobler ISBN 081146380x)
Russia (Kathleen Murrell ISBN 0751361240)
The Royal Diaries: Catherine: The Great Journey, Russia, 1743 (Kristiana Gregory ISBN 0439253853)
Fiddler on the Roof (dvd)
War and Peace (dvd) ?
Crime and Punishment (dvd) ?
Swan Lake (dvd)
Eugene Onegin (dvd)
National Geographic: Icons of Power - Empress of Ambition, Catherine the Great (dvd)
1812 Overture (cd music)
Russia: Land of the Czars (dvd)

WEEK 4

People:

Nicholas & Alexandra
Rasputin
Carl Fabergé
Anastasia
Leon Trotsky
Alexander Kerensky
Vladimir Lenin
Joseph Stalin

Related Subjects:

Russia
Hemophilia
Biographies
Fabergé Eggs
Communism
KGB

Additional Books and DVD Titles:

First Impressions: Carl Fabergé (Geza Von Habsburg ISBN 0810933248)
Fabergé's Eggs: The Extraordinary Story of the Masterpieces That Outlived an Empire (Toby Faber ISBN 140503887)
The Royal Diaries: Anastisia: The Last Grand Duchess, Russia, 1914 ISBN 0439129087)
Anastasia (dvd, 1956 & Disney)
Nicholas & Alexandra (dvd)


WEEK 5

People:

None

Related Subjects:

Snow and Glaciers
Animals/mammals
Forests/wood
Mining/metals
Aurora Borealis

Additional Books and DVD Titles:

Arctic Tundra (Donald Silver ISBN: 007057927x)
Northern Lights (George Bryson ISBN: 1570612900)
The Snowflake (Kenneth Libbretch IABN: 0896586308)
Snowflakes for all Seasons; Cindy Higham ISBN: 158685528x
Planet Earth (dvd)


Music:

Peter and the Wolf


Week 6

People:

Peter Tchaikovsky
Vaslov Nijinsky
Anna Pavlova
Rudolf Nurevyev
Mikhai; Baryshnikov

Related Subjects:

Ballet/ballerina

Additional Books and DVD Titles:

Tales from the Ballet (Barber & Wallis ISBN: 0753452626)
My Ballet Book (Kate Castle ISBN: 0751358436)
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers: Tchaikovsky (Mik Venezia ISBN: 0516445375)
The Nutcracker (DVD)


WEEK 7

People:

Adolf Hitler
Winston Churchill
F.D. Rosevelt
Joseph Stalin
Harry Truman
Douglas MacArthur
Alger Hiss
Joseph McCarthy
Andrei Sakharov
Gary Powers
Nikita Khrushchev
Isaac Newton
Robert Goddard
Ethel & Julius Rosenberg

Related Subjects:

World War II
Cold War
Espionnage
Rocketry
Satellite Country

Additional Books and DVD Titles:

Operation Overflight: A Memoir of the U-2 Incident (Francis Gary Powers ISBN: 1574884220)
Cold War: The American Crusade Against World Communism (James A. Warren ISBN: 0688105963)



WEEK 8

People:

Yuri Gagarin
Neil Armstrong
John F. Kennedy
Nikita Khrushchev
Fidel Castro
Leonid Brezhev
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Related Subject:

Space Exploration
Space Race
Cuban Missile Crisis
Gymnastics
Olympics
Biographies

Additional Books and DVDS Titles:

One Giant Leap: The Story of Neil Armstrong (Don Brown ISBN: 0618152393)
Cold War (see week 7)
The Cuban Missile Crisis (Nathaniel Harris ISBN: 0750241829)
The Right Stuff (dvd, Mary Apick)
Apollo 13 (dvd)
The Flight of the Bumblebee (music)
La Conquête de l'Espace: L'Espace Russe (Imavision)


WEEK 9

People:

Sergei Rachmaninov
Igor Stravinsky
Marc Chagall
Wassily Kandinsky
Boris Pasternak
Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Mikhail Gorbachev
Boris Yeltsin

Related Subjects:

Biographies

Additional Book and DVD Titles:

The Breakup of the Soviet Union (Bernard Harbor ISBN: 0027426254)
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (Alexander Solzhenitsyn ISBN: 0451531043)
Behind the Border (Nina Kossman ISBN: 0688147429)
Shoemaker Martin (Leo Tolstoy ISBN: 1558587721)
Dr Zhivago (dvd)
Prelude in C Sharp Major (music, Rachmaninov)
Firebird (music, Stravinsky)
Petruska (music, Stravinky)

A Unit on Ice Cream

Nope, not doing that one until March, I think (lol) but since my friend Erin was kind enough to share it with me, I am sharing it here. I did add a few ideas to hers.

BOOKS
* Ice Cream (Elisha Cooper)
* Ice Cream: Including Great Moments in Ice Cream History (Jules Older)
* Ice Cream Cones for Sale (Elaine Greenstein)
* Ice Cream: The Full Scoop (Gail Gibbons)
* From Cow to Ice Cream (Bertram T Knight)
* I like Ice Cream (Robin Pickering)

RECIPE BOOKS:
Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Creama nd Dessert Book (Ben Cohen ISBN: 0894803123)
The Vegan Scoop: 150 Recipes for Dairy- Free Ice Cream That Tastes Better Than the *Real* Thing ( Wheller del Torro ISBN: 1592333923)

DVDS:
Strawberry Shortcake Adventures on Ice Cream Island


EDUCATIONAL FACTS TO LEARN:
* Make a timeline of how ice cream was invented
* July 9, 1984 President Ronald Reagan declared the month of JULY national ice cream month
* Name Ice Cream Ingredients that are used to make different types of ice cream
* Vocabulary Words to learn
* Discuss how ice cream is made
* Why is air important when making ice cream
* Label top 5 ice cream consuming countries on a map

FUN
* Eat freeze-dried astronaut ice cream
* Make Ice Cream (ice cream maker)
* Make Ice Cream (in a bag)
* Try 5 most popular ice cream flavors
* Make "soda" (root beer, orange) floats
* Have grandpa and grandma over for an ice cream sundae party (include all toppings, syrups and 4 or 5 different kinds of ice cream)

* Make an ice cream shop; sell ice cream (pretend); count money, give change

* Ice Cream Games & Printables for each kid (phonics, math, writing)

* Make ice cream CRAFTS (pom pom ice cream cones; ice cream cone tower)

* Make an ice cream cake

* Make mini- Alaskas

An incomplete unit on the seasons/calendar

I have decide, last minute, to get this one put together. I feel like I am missing a lot still. But, I need to get the other units put together so I am giving this one a rest, for now.

CALENDAR/SEASONS

Related Subjects:

Seasons
Month
Week
Day
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter
Calendar


Books:

Around the Year (Tasha Tudor ISBN: 0689828470)
The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree (Gail Gibbons ISBN: 0152712453)
The Bear Almanac, 2nd: A Comprehensive Guide to the Bears of the World (Gary Brown ISBN: 1599213311)
The Time Book: A Brief History from Lunar Calendars to Atomic Clocks (Martin Jenkins ISBN: 076364112x)
The Reasons for Seasons (Gail Gibbons ISBN: 0590907352)
The Four Seasons
Stopping By the Woods on Snowy Evening (Robert Frost ISBN:
Paper Snowflakes
Casey Back at the Bat (Dan Gutman ISBN: 0060560274)
An Orange in January (Dianna Aston ISBN: 0803731469)
Tuesday (David Wiesner ISBN: 0395870828)
January Rides the Wind: A Book of Months (Charlotte Otten ISBN: 0688125565)
July is a Mad Mosquito (J. Patrick Lewis ISBN: 0689318138)
On the Same Day in March (Singer ISBN: 0064435288)
April Foolishness (Teresa Bateman ISBN: 0807504041)
April Without Spring (Violet E. Rawlings ISBN: 1425101143)


DVDS:

Yosemite: Seasons


How were the days of the week named (in English)?

Sunday Sun's day
Monday Mon's day
Tuesday Tiw's day (god of law)
Wednesday Wodin's day (king of gods)
Thursday Thor's day (god of war)
Friday Fria's day (goddess of love)
Saturday Saturn's day (god of farming)

Make a yearly calender. Write in the months, days, seasons, holidays and family birthdays. Draw appropriate pictures for each month.

Memorize the days of the week: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday

Memorize the months of the year: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December.

Use your knuckle to know how many days in a month: January: knuckle, February, March: knuckle, ...Remember to start July with a knuckle and that February is an exception.

Make a tree for all seasons, which you will decorate differently each month to reflect that month.

Take a picture of the same tree, once a month, for a year. See the difference.

Read books about the seasons, the months, about time.

Activities:

January:

Make pea soup
Go ice skating
Draw snowflakes on another tree for all seasons
Make paper snowflakes
Make popcorn ball snowmen
make a snowman from peanut butter balls. Combine equal parts peanut butter, dry milk, honey. Form balls. Roll in coconut
Make snow cones
Pour hot maple syrup over clean, packed snow. Roll around a stick and enjoy
Read the book *An Orange in January*

February:

Make cherry pie
Draw small hearts on a tree for all seasons
Bake a heart shape cake
Bake sugar cookies cut in heart shape. Decorate them with red glitter and icing

March:

Learn About Ireland and St-Patrick's Day
Draw kites on a tree of all seasons
Bake shamrock shape cookies
Read the book *On the Same Day in March*

April:

Practice track skills (board jump, high jump, sprints, ...)
Make a Rainy Day Can of Activities. Write and or illustrate on separate cards some activities that would be entertaining on a rainy day.
Draw small umbrellas on a tree of all seasons.
Help with spring cleaning
Read the books *April Foolishness* and *April Without Spring*

May:

Make a Spring centerpiece with silk flowers
Draw small flowers on a tree of all seasons
Make a Mother's Day card with pressed flowers
Use watercolors to paint a field of flowers
Study animal babies born in the Spring

June:

Make a Summer flower centerpiece with silk flowers
Plant sunflower seeds
Make limonade
Make assorted icies. Mixed juices with ice in the blender.
Play baseball
Read *Casey Back at the Bat*
Draw small fans for a tree of all seasons
Prepare and go ot for a picnic

July:

Draw small flags on the tree of all seasons
Put up a tent and camp out in the backyard
Go fishing
Have a cook-out
Roast corn on the cob by soaking them in water, wrapping in foil and burying in hot coals.
Have a camp fire and sing songs
Make strawberry shortcake

August:

Go swimming or scuba diving
Make sand castles
Make a shell mobile
Draw small shells on the tree of all seasons
Eat watermelon
Make yogourt popsicles (plain yogourt with unsweetened juice)

September:

Bake ABC cookies, decorate with frosting.
Draw small leaves on the tree of all seasons
Make a leaf collage
Make peanut butter

October:

Carve pumpkins
Roast pumpkin seeds
Bake a pumpkin pie
Bake pumpkin bread and/or scones/muffins
Visit an apple orchard, pick apples
Make apple cider
Make apple sauce
Draw apples on the tree for all seasons
Make a autumn theme wreath

November:

Make an autumn centerpiece

December:

Make a pine cone bird feeder. Stuff lard into pine cone. Press on millet. Hang.

Make a gingerbread house

Decorate gingerbread men

Draw small presents on the tree for all seasons

Make eggnog

Learn about the different kind of evergreen trees

Make a centerpiece of red candles, pine cones and holly


The Seasons:

For Spring, read about:

- animals awaking from hibernation
- frogs and toads laying their eggs at the ponds
- birds building nests
- deciduous trees sprouting leaves
- insects eating leaves
- lambs being born
- farmers sowing spring crops
- orchards in blossom
- bulbs blossoming

For Summer:

- flowers filling gardens
- orchards riping with fruit
- farmers gathering crops
- birds and snakes hatching
- tadpoles growing into frogs
- caterpillars hiding in coccooms

For Autumn:

- farmers harvesting wheat, squash, pumpkins
- orchards bearing apples
- squirrels gathering nuts
- leaves on trees turning brown, red and gold

For Winter:

- deciduous trees shedding leaves
- animals hiding underground
- some birds migrating
- deer gnawing the barks of trees

Read books about each season:

January Rides the Wind: A Book of Months
July is a Mad Mosquito
...

A Unit on Airplanes

I am not planning on getting this one done this year. I put it together for a dear friend of mine. Now, I am sharing it here. Oh, it is obviously not all done. I still want to get a few more activities added.

AIRPLANES

People:

Amelia Earhart
Wilbur & Orville Wright
Charles Lindbergh
Chuck Yeager (pilot)
Baron von Richthofen (pilot)
Daniel Bernoulli

Books:

Twenty One Balloons (William Pene ISBN: 0140320970)
Around the World in Eighty Days (Jules Verne ISBN: 1402736894)
Angela's Airplane (Michael Martchenko ISBN: 155037026x)
The magic Airplane (Peter Walker ISBN: 1595264167)
Grandpa's Airplane: An Alaska Grandpa Bush Pilot Story (Kirk Thomas ISBN: 1594330794)
Richard's Scarry: A Day at the Airport (Huck Scarry ISBN: 0375812024)
Moon Plane (Peter McCarty ISBN: 0805079432)
Amelia Earhart: Young Aviator (Beatrice Gormley ISBN: 0689831889)
Charles Linberg (Anne Schraff ISBN: 1599052504)
Daedalus and Icarus (Menalaos Stephanides ISBN: 9604250256)
Planes (Usborne)

Educational:
First to Fly: How Wilbur & Orville Wright Invented the Airplane (Peter Busby ISBN: 1897330529)
How We Invented the Airplanes (Orville Wright ISBN: 0486256626)
The Color Encyclopedia of Incredible Airplanes (Dk Pub ISBN: 0756626129)
The Wright Brothers: (...) 21 Activities Exploring the Science and History of Flight (Mary Kay Carson ISBN: 1556524773)
The Story of Flight: The Development of Aviation Through the Ages (Stephen Woolford ISBN: 1847323561)
Wings and Rockets: The Story of Women in Air and Space (Jeannine Atkins ISBN: 0374384509)


DVDS:

Fly Past: History of Aviation (History Channel)
Aviation Week: Superior Airpower
War Planes of WWII (History Channel)
The Technology of Kitty Hawk
Amelia Earhart Aviator
Naval Aviation (History Channel)
The Spirit of St Louis
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang






Activities:

Draw an airplane and label the parts.

Draw 50 Airplanes, Aircraft and Spacecraft (Lee J.. Ames ISBN: 0385236298)

Visit an aviation museum

Make paper airplanes

Have a paper airplane contest. Award prizes for originality, farthest distance, fastest speeds, longest glide time.

Discuss man's various uses for airplanes. What kind of planes best suit these various uses? What planes are best for: crop dusting, passenger carrying, cargo carrying, bombing, etc.? What distinctives do each of these planes need to carry out their fonctions?

Build a model airplane

Visit one or more airports

Go on an airplane tour

Buy a remote control airplane

A Unit on Pandas

A small unit that will go with the one on China:

PANDA

Books:

Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What do you See? (Eric Carle ISBN: 0805080783)
The Legend of the Panda (Linda Granfield ISBN: 0887764215)
Panda Story (Keren Su ISBN: 0966708814)
Giant Pandas (Gail Gibbons ISBN: 0823418286)
Endangered Pandas (John Crossingham ISBN: 0778719049)
Pi-Chu, the Little Panda (John Butler ISBN:

DVDS:

A Panda is Born
Ultimate Panda
The Amazing Panda Adventure
Nature: Pandas
China: Panda Adventure
Kung Fu Panda
Secrets of the Furious Five

Activities:

Put together book (coloring pages, activities pages, fact pages and blank pages)
Discuss what panda bears look like (coloring, eyes, teeth, paws, fur, size)
Label where panda bears are found (China) on a map
Find out about cub facts and write them down in book
Discuss why pand bears are endangered (only about 1000 large pandas left in the world)
Coloring pages:
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/GiantPandas/PandasForKids/color_panda.htm
http://www.billybear4kids.com/animal/whose-toes/color/color-panda.html
http://www.billybear4kids.com/animal/whose-toes/color/color-panda2.html
http://www.pandasinternational.org/pdfs/kp_one.pdf
Panda collage: http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/panda_collage.htm
Panda maze:
http://www.billybear4kids.com/worksheets/mazes/panda-easy.html
http://www.billybear4kids.com/worksheets/mazes/panda.html


Facts:

Habitat: Damp & Misty
Chinese people call pandas Large Bear Cats
Pandas eat for up to 12 hours a day
They eat bamboo, 50-60 pounds a day, they will eat meat, berries, flowers, grass and buts if necessary
Names: father=boar, mother= sow, baby= cub
Noises: bleating sounds, honk, huff, bark, growl; young cubs croak and squel
Female pandas will give birth to 1 or 2 babies but will only look after one of them. She will be a very attentive mother to that one cub but the other will die. After about a year, the young panda will be ready to live on its own.
Pandas are fast on foot and kind of lumber, or trot, along. Really good climbers and can swim to escape danger.
Pandas are shy.
Fact sheet: http://www.defenders.org/wildlife_and_habitat/wildlife/panda.php

Halloween Unit

I am sure I will have added a few things to this one by the time we get to it. But, for now, here is what I am planning for Halloween:

HALLOWEEN

Books:

Rainbow Magic: Trixis the Halloween Fairy (Daisy Meadows ISBN: 0545106133)
Mouse's First Halloween (Lauren Thompson ISBN: 0689831765)
Disney's Little Einsteins: Halloween Surprise (Marcy Kelman ISBN: 1423102088)
Disney's Little Einsteins: Pumpkin Patch Puzzle (Marcy Kelman ISBN: 1423109937)
Ten Timid Ghosts (Jennifer O'Connell ISBN: 0439158044)
Who Will Haunt My House on Halloween (Jerry Pallotta ISBN: 0439025214)
Strawberry Shortcake Halloween Play (Eva Mason ISBN: 0448439107)
La Galette de la Sorcière (Nicolas de Hirsching ISBN: 2218735016)
Bérengère la Petite Sorcière (Isabelle Misso ISBN: 8877473789)
Haunted House (ISBN: 031250506x)
Au Royaume de la Peur (Disney ISBN: 2744175005
Le Grand Livre Merveilleux des Sorcières et des Farfadets (ISBN: 2744192430)
Les Calinours: Fêtons l'Halloween (ISBN: 2895434360)
Fantômes et Chair de Poule (Dominique Chauveau ISBN: 2762571766

Educational &Crafts:

Holidays Around the World: Celebrate Halloween (National Geographic ISBN: 1426304773)
Fantasies d'Halloween Huguette Kirby ISBN: 0439989876)

DVDS:

Pooh's Heffalump Movie
Thomas's Halloween Adventures
Diego's Halloween
Dora the Exporer: Dora's Halloween
Casper Meets Wendy
Casper: A Spirited Beginning
The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

Activities:

Get book put together (coloring pages, ...)
Decorate the house for Halloween
Carve pumpkins
Paint pumpkins in white then draw scary faces on them... easy ghosts!
Make a Halloween wreath

Bake and decorate sugar cookies in shape of pumpkins...
Bake pumpkin shape cake and cupcakes, decorate
Bake a cake, decorate into a witch, using candy for eyes and black or green licorice for hair

More baking ideas:
http://www.wilton.com/idea/Bag-of-Tricks
http://www.wilton.com/idea/A-Chummy-Mummy
http://www.wilton.com/idea/Bewitching-Hat
http://www.wilton.com/idea/Chocolate-Sweet-Swirl-Cupcakes
http://www.nickjr.com/party/cake_finder/halloween_cupcakes.jhtml
http://www.nickjr.com/recipes/peanut-butter-spiders.jhtml?path=/recipes/all-shows/seasonal_halloween/all-ages/index.jhtml

Cooking ideas:
http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/halloween-sparkle-punch-82992.aspx
http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/bakers-one-bowl-halloween-107094.aspx
http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/eerie-jell-o-jigglers-85110.aspx
http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/ghoulish-pumpkin-cupcakes-82720.aspx
http://www.nickjr.com/recipes/sweet-salty-pumpkin-seeds.jhtml?path=/recipes/all-shows/seasonal_halloween/beginner/index.jhtml
http://www.nickjr.com/parenting/parenting_features/halloween/party/recipes/caramel_apples.jhtml
(What I love doing is finding and printing new Halloween recipes every year. I have gotten together a really nice Halloween recipe book together that is getting ticker with each passing year).

Halloween coloring pages:
http://www.coloring.ws/halloween.html
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/halloween_pumpkin_decorations.htm

Halloween Mazes & Word Seach: http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/halloween%20puzzles.htm

Halloween *Draw the details* coloring pages:http://www.dltk-holidays.com/halloween/m-draw-details.htm

Footprint ghost craft: http://www.dltk-holidays.com/halloween/mfootprintghost.htm

Updating the unit on China

I could not get only a few books for my beloved daughter's birthday. I decided to get a *few* more.

CHINA


Map work:

- locate China on the map or on the globe.
- China is the 4th largest country in the world.
- The capital is Beijing.
- Population of 1 330 044 600.

China flag:

Make your own flag/ Printa page and color it: http://www.crayola.com/free-coloring-pages/print/china-coloring-page/

Books on China:

The Story About Ping (Marjorie Flack ISBN: 0140502416)
Pi-Shu, the Little Panda (John Butler ISBN: 1408303612)
A Grain of Rice (Helena Clare Pittman ISBN: 044041301X)
Chinese Children's Favorite Stories (Mingmei Yip ISBN: 0804835896)
First Thousand Words in Chinese (Usborne ISBN: 0794515509)
The Great Wall of China (Leonard Everett Fisher ISBN: 0689801785)
Good Morning China (Hu Yong Yi ISBN: 1596432403)
Behond the Great Mountains (Ed Young USBN: 0811843432)
China's ABC (Norman Pearl ISBN: 1404803580)
Good Morning China (Check-Hung Yee ISBN: 1596432403)
The Five Chinese Brothers (Claire Huchet Bishop ISBN: 0698113578)
The Seven Chinese Sisters (Kathy Tucker ISBN: 0807573094)
Celebrating Chinese New Year (Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith ISBN: 0823415201)
Lady of Ch'Lao Kuo- Royal Diaries (Laurence yep ISBN: 0439164834)
China Tells How the World Began (Miwa Kurita ISBN: 0893469440)
The China Doll (Elza Pilgrim ISBN: 1402722230)
The Emperor's New Clothes (Demi ISBN: 0689830688)

Learn to speak Chinese Mandarin (we offered Rosetta Stone, homeschool 1 to Catherine for her birhtday)


Learn chinese writing:

Learning brush painting:

Chinese Brush Painting Step by Step (Kwan Jung ISBN:1581802072)



Natural Study: Silk Worms

Legend has it that Lady Xi Ling Shi, the 14 year old bride of the Emperor Huang Ti, the so-called 'Yellow Emperor' first discovered silk in 2640 BC.

According to Confucius, as she sat drinking tea under a mulberry tree, a silk cocoon fell from above. She noticed the delicate fibres start to unravel in the tea and so has been credited as the first person to 'reel' or unravel a silk cocoon and use the filament to create a yarn for weaving.

The mulberry silk moth is indigenous to China and the Chinese, realizing the value of the beautiful material they were able to produce by weaving silk thread, kept its secret safe from the rest of the world for more than 30 centuries.

- Make a drawing of the silk worm and its life cycle.

Chinese Food:

In the chinese kitchen, you will find:

in the pantry: baby corn, bamboo shoots, noodles (made with wheat, rice, beans, tapioca, soybeans or seaweeds), rice, sesame seeds, water chestnuts

in the fridge: chicken, pork, shrimp, tofu, won ton wrappers

fresh produce: bell peppers, broccoli, chilies, cilantro, garlic, ginger

Prepare a chinese meal; rice, steamed vegetables, sweet and sour pork, ... Do not forget to eat with chopsticks!

A great book on Chinese recipes: Jean Paré's Company's Coming - Chinese Cooking

A few recipes:

Asian Peanut Beef & Noodles: http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/asian-peanut-beef-noodles-88888.aspx

Chinese-Style Fried Rice: http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/chinese-style-fried-rice-86901.aspx

Pork Lo Mein: http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/pork-lo-mein-107769.aspx

Sweet & Sour Pork: http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/slow-cooker-sweet-sour-pork-87605.aspx

Egg rolls, won ton soup, beef with peppers, steamed rice, sticky rice, chinese good fortune cookies... so many recipes to chose from.

Make a chinese lantern:

http://www.crayola.com/free-coloring-pages/print/chinese-lantern-coloring-page/

Have fun with origami!

Listen to chinese music:

Master of Chinese Traditonal Music
Chinese Bamboo Flute Music

Dvds on China:

Families of the World: China
Secrets of China's First Emperor
Modern Marvels- The Great Wall of China

A Unit on Fall

FALL

Books:

Mouse's First Fall (Lauren Thompson ISBN: 068985837x)
When Autumn Falls (Kelli Nidey ISBN: 0807504904)
Count Down to Fall (Fran Hawl ISBN: 1934359947)
Why Do Leaves Change Colors? (Betsy Maestro ISBN:
Hello, Harvest Moon (Ralph Fletcher ISBN: 0618164510)
By The Light of the Harvest Moon (Harriet Ziefert ISBN: 1934706698)
Flower Fairies of the Autumn (Cecily Barker ISBN: 0723263175)

Activities:

Crafts to Make in the Fall (Kathy Ross ISBN: 0761303359)
A Kid's Fall Ecojournal (Toni Albert ISBN: 0964074257)

Four Seasons Tree Collage: http://www.shirleys-preschool-activities.com/tree-collage.html
Leaf Mobile: http://www.shirleys-preschool-activities.com/leaf-craft.html
Bird Feeder: http://www.shirleys-preschool-activities.com/bird-feeder-craft.html
Autumn Wreath Craft: http://www.dltk-holidays.com/fall/mfallwreath.html
Autumn Tree Craft: http://www.dltk-holidays.com/fall/mfalltree.html

Printables:

http://www.childcareland.com/autumn.html (look in the section of free printables)
http://www.printactivities.com/ConnectTheDots/Leaves.html
http://www.printactivities.com/ConnectTheDots/Fall-Tree-Dot2Dot.html
http://www.printactivities.com/Mazes/Shape_Mazes/Acorn-Maze.html
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/autum%20maze%202.pdf

Stationnary pages:

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/oak%20leaf%20-%20black.pdf
http://www.primarygames.com/print_zone/stationery/leaves.htm
http://www.primarygames.com/print_zone/stationery/older/leaves.htm
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/autumn%20writing%20paper%201.pdf
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/autumn%20writing%20paper%202.pdf

Coloring pages:

http://www.dltk-holidays.com/fall/coloring.htm

Recipes:

Fall Ratatouille: http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/fall-ratatouille-84235.aspx
Fall Apple Bavarian Cheesecake: http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/fall-apple-bavarian-cheesecake-83378.aspx
Easy Autumn Pear Cake: http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/easy-autumn-pear-cake-94550.aspx
Fall Harvest Cobbler: http://www.wilton.com/idea/Fall-Harvest-Cobbler



Bake cookies in the shape of leaves and decorate them
Harvest Lollipop: http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?id=52A43CB6-802D-F658-0E8CF75A37163F71&killnav=1

A unit about dolls

I am already planning my youngest daughter's birthday. She only wants one thing; more dolls! I thought it would be fun to put together a unit about dolls, just like I did with China for my oldest daughter. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I am sure we will.

DOLLS

Books:

The Magic Nesting Doll (Jacqueline K. Ogburn ISBN: 0803724144)
The Doll Shop Downstairs (Yona Zeldis McDonough ISBN: 067001091x)
William's Doll (Charlotte Zolotow ISBN: 0060270470)
The Doll's House (Rumer Godden ISBN: 014030942x)
The Best-Loved Doll (Rebecca Caudill ISBN: 0805054677)
The Doll Lady (H. Elizabeth Collins-Varnie ISBN: 0935699244)
The Runaway Dolls (Ann M. Martin ISBN: 0786855843)
The Doll People (Ann M. Martine ISBN: 0786083614)
The Meanest Doll in the World (Ann M. Martin ISBN:
Little Kim's Doll (Kim Yaroshevskaya ISBN: 0888993536)
Babuska,s Doll (Patricia Polacco ISBN: 0689802552)
The All-I'll-Ever-Want Christmas Doll (Patricia McKissack ISBN: 0375837590)
The Gingerbread Doll (Susan Tews ISBN:0618130594)
The China Doll (Elsa Pilgrim ISBN:
Betty Doll (Patricia Polacco ISBN: 014240196x)
The Fairy Doll (Rumer Godden ISBN: 0330442260)
Doll Hospital #1: Tatiana Comes to America (Joan Holub ISBN:
Doll Hospital #2: Goldie's Fortune (Joan Holub ISBN:
Doll Hospital #3: Glory's Freedom (Joan Holub ISBN:
Doll Hospital #4: Saving Marissa (Joan Holub ISBN: 043940181x)
Doll Hospital #5: Danielle's Dollhouse Wish (Joan Holub ISBN:0439401828)
Doll Hospital #6: Charlotte's Choice (Joan Holub ISBN:
The Doll in the Garden: A Ghost Story (Mary Downing Hahn ISBN: 0618873155)
Mud Pies and Other Recipes: A Cookbook for Dolls (Marjorie Winslow ISBN: 0802774873)
Daisy and the Doll (Michael Medearis ISBN: 0916718239)
The Birthday Doll (Jane Cutler ISBN:
Emma's Doll (Brian Patten ISBN:
Puffin Modern Classics The Little Girl and the Tiny Doll (Edward Ardizzone ISBN: 0141325364)
The Richest Doll in the World (Polly M. Robertus ISBN: 082342121x)
Trouble Doll (Jim Buffet ISBN: 0152015019)
The Blacksmith's Gift (Dan T. Davis ISBN: 0972597743)
The Christmas Doll (Elvira Woodruff ISBN: 0590318799)

Activities

Sewing:

My First Doll Book: Hand Sewing (Winky Cherry ISBN: 0935278362)

Learning more about dolls:

Cornhusk, Silk, and Wishbones: A book of Dolls From Around the World (Michelle Markell ISBN:


Paper dolls:

Let each child chose a paper doll set

Baking:

Bake cookies in shapes of dolls and doll's houses and let the children decorate them
Bake a: (...) for each child to decorate...

barbie doll's cake : http://www.wilton.com/idea/Classic-Wonder-Mold-Doll-Cake

purse: http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?id=4030BDC3-423B-522D-F5CD6CA108C405FD&fid=4030BDD2-423B-522D-F3E85D26F9F4F7AF

*doll house*: http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?id=3E3191DF-475A-BAC0-53BA3BD42B6F8C98&fid=3E32B957-475A-BAC0-52A033E22009FA95

doll carriage: http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?id=5C8205A1-802D-F658-0A1D050BCA881D44&fid=66AA0FBC-802D-F658-00E54ACD4AB59BB3

A Unit on Cheese

I suddently got the idea of putting this unit together. I hope everyone will enjoy it. I wish I could have found a few more dvds on how to make cheese. ANY and ALL suggestions will be appreciated.

Cheese

Link for the English speakers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese

Pour les Français: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fromage

Books:

Hamish H and the Cheese Pirates (Sean Cullen ISBN: 0143053116)
Who Moved My Cheese for Kids? (Spencer Johnson ISBN: 0399240160)
Toot & Puddle: The Great Cheese Chase (National Gepgraphic Society ISBN: 1426302231)
The Curse of the Cheese Pyramid (Geronimo Stilton ISBN: 061372223X)
The Old Man Who Loved Cheese (Garrison Keillor ISBN: 0316486159)
Big Cheese for the White House (Candice Fleming ISBN: 0789425734)
Twaddleton's Cheese (Ryan T Higgins ISBN: 0981500706)
Extra Cheese Please: Mozzarella's Journey From Cow to Pizza (Cris Petterson ISBN: 1590782461)
The Adventures of Alphie Mouse: In Search of the Perfect Cheese (Douglas R. E. Insall ISBN: 1412080274)

From Milk to Cheese (Roberta Basel ISBN: 0736842853)
The Home Creamery (Kathy Farrell-Kingsley ISBN: 1603420312)
Cheese: The Making of Wisconsin Tradition (Jerry Apps ISBN: 0942495802)
Macaroni and Cheese, 52 Recipes From Simple to Sublime (Joan Schwartz ISBN: 0375757007)
Grilled Cheese: 50 Recipes to Make You Melt (Marlena Spieler ISBN: 0811841294)
200 Easy Homemade Cheese Recipes (Debra Amrein-Boyes ISBN: 0778802183)
Vegetarian Cookbook: For Cheese Lovers (Tonya Buell ISBN: 1581823460)
The Cheese Book (Jean Paré ISBN: 1895455898)
Philadelphia Cheese Cookbook

DVDS:

The Cheese Nun (PBS)

Activities:

Visit a cheese factory (or two)
Put together a poster board of different cheeses... hard cheese, old cheese, goat cheese, ...
Put together different platters of cheeses (and bread) and enjoy tasting them all
Get out your raclette and enjoy a nice family meal... with cheese
Have fun while eating a cheese fondue
Get cooking and baking... muffins, breads, soup, cakes, cookies, sauces, ...

Bread and cheese

For some time now, we have given up on getting fast food after grocery shopping. I was getting sick more often so I suggested we get bread and cheese. It has been a wonderful and quite tasty idea. Every week, we chose a bread (there are so many to chose from) then go over to the cheese counter and look around, trying to decide which ones to get. I am amazed at how passionnate my kids are about cheese. They have always loved eating it. It is their number one snack of choice.

I was talking to friends earlier and I had a great idea. Why not put together a unit on cheese? My kids would love it. I asked them and they answered me with a very loud YES! So, I will work on that one tonight. Just imagine, a few platters of different cheeses (and bread), a cheese fondue, different kind of cheesecake, cheese bread, cheese soup, cheese sauce, cheese muffins, ... So many dishes to prepare, so many desserts to eat, lol. We will also visit a cheese factory. And read books on cheese. I am hoping to find a dvd on how to make cheese. Oh, that reminds me, we could also make our own. That will be so much fun.

A small gym area for the kids

This is something I have wanted for a long time, a gym area for the kids. if Patrick and I have ours then the kids also need theirs.

Last year, I got all of these, as Christmas gifts for the kids:





























And this morning, I got this one at a garage sale:



I am only missing the threadmill, exercise bench, jumping rops, hop ball, more weights, obstable course set and a mat for each of the kids. I also want to install mirrors on one wall along with a ?? so the girls can practice their ballet :)

This is going to be a great addition for the kids. I also want to get the exercise dvd for kids from BeachBody. I will put the tv in between the adult gym and the kids' gym so we can all use it.

A great find!

Look at what I found today:



It has 20 dvds: Space Station, Nascar, Mountain Gorilla, Deep Sea, Mark Twain's America, The Secret of Life on Earth, The Hidden Dimension, Survival Island, Galapagos, Into the Deep, Hail Columbi!, The Dream is Alive, L5 First City in Space, Cosmic Voyage, Destiny in Space, Blue Planet, T-Rex, Fires of Kowait and China: the Panda Adventure.

The price? 46.99$, which is less than 2.50 per dvd. The boys are watching T-Rex and the girls are watching China right now. Mathieu is going from one room to the next, watching a little of both.