Local History & Geography--Waldorf Grade 4

Fourth grade focuses on the LAND--the physical features rather than the human-made creations--which shape our history.  Thus, this outline is specific to Enumclaw, Washington, but I hope you can extrapolate to your own area.
From the title, you might think this is a social studies unit.  However, I included lots of science too.  (This was more than a one-month block as a result.) Unlike the usual "whole to parts," which goes from the big picture to the small detail, I started from local and went to state-wide.
I did these activities with my fourth grader and my ninth grader (who was earning a Washington state history credit).  We had no problems adapting our activities for both ages.

Week One:

• Climb Mount Peak, a local "big hill" from which you can see our town. Note where there are rivers (even if we can't quite see them), high places, low places, etc.
• Paint a very general map of our area, just with the basic physical features but still no roads or buildings.  D included Mount Rainier, the Cascade range, the White River, the Green River, and the location of the city of Enumclaw.
• Visit Mount Rainier National Park.
• Spend a day or two learning about glaciers and how they made the canyons and rivers of our area.  We read a book one day (mostly a lot of vocabulary).  On day two, we labeled a map with the names of the major glaciers on Mount Rainier (and what rivers flow from them) and had a test on the glacier vocabulary.
• Learn how glaciers formed the rest of our state (the coulees, Dry Falls, etc.).  Memorize the major geologic regions of Washington, and make a map of them.

Week Two:

• Discuss Mount Rainier--past eruptions, the lahar (ancient mudflow) on which Enumclaw is built, what it looks like in the crater.  (I used Discovering Mount Rainier by Dog-Eared Publications.)
• Watch a video about the eruption of Mount Saint Helens (2 hours away from us).
• Study the line of volcanoes--part of the Ring of Fire--stretching from northern California to southern British Columbia.  What makes a volcano?  Memorize the volcanoes of the Cascade range and identify them on a map.  (I used Cascade Volcanoes: a Discovery Book by David Purcell.)
• Define and learn about watersheds and the water cycle.  (I used Beginning in the Watershed--Grade 4 from the For Sea Curriculum. I highly recommend this curriculum!)  We discussed our "ecological address" in the watershed, and determined we are part of the White River watershed, coming (mostly) off the Emmons Glacier on Mount Rainier.  Our house is almost on the dividing line between two major watersheds, so this was a tricky question :)
• Go to the White River (we chose Federation Forest State Park) to sample aquatic insect larvae and determine the health of our watershed.  (This activity was also from Beginning in the Watershed.)  There were an amazing number of insect larvae!  This also turned out to be a perfect segue into future parts of our unit.  We found hundreds of dead salmon--those which had already spawned--along the river banks.  (We smelled them before we saw them!)  And we were able to hike part of the Naches trail which many early settlers followed on their way to our region.

Weeks Three and Four:

• Learn the seven species of salmon and trout that live in the waters of the Pacific Northwest.  (This activity was called "Name That Salmon" from Our Home: the Estuaries--a high school curriculum from For Sea. This whole salmon study was a combination of activities from the 4th grade and high school For Sea books.)  We cut out and colored pictures of the various species, and identified which we had seen at Federation Forest.
• Tell the story of the life cycle of a Chinook salmon who was born in Red Fish Lake in Idaho.  (Our family had a personal experience with this, having visited the lake one year when only one salmon had returned!  Thankfully, the numbers are now increasing.)
• Visit two different salmon hatcheries--one in Issaquah and one in Orting.  We were able to tell the differences between the different species we saw :) and to see live salmon, dead salmon, and salmon eggs.
• Discuss possible causes for the decline of salmon populations in the Northwest.
• Read about research exploring how salmon find their way back to their spawning stream.
• Learn about aquaculture and the three methods for raising salmon.
• Explore how natural selection changes genetic diversity and how hatcheries alter the salmon gene pool. We actually made models of fish with certain genes, then used scenarios from Our Home: the Estuaries. Interesting stuff!
• Tell Native American stories about the salmon.  We enjoyed reading stories about Raven and Eagle as well.
• Make a diorama of Native American salmon fishing.
• Role-play the meeting of different cultures with different values.
• Analyze how the Boldt Decision (allocating fish in Pacific Northwest waters) has affected native and non-native fishermen.  We watched a video about this, then discussed it.

Weeks Five and Six:

• Draw a map of our neighborhood.  (Here we finally got to buildings!)  N drew a map that extended to downtown as well.
• Read selections from In the Shadow of the Mountain and Settlers of Enumclaw--local histories of our town.
• Read aloud the book Sweetbriar Autumn.  N had been reading the prequel Sweetbriar, which introduces the first settlers of Seattle.  Sweetbriar Autumn is the fourth book in the series and talks about the Indian Wars which began in our White River valley.  The names and locations were very familiar!

D and N at Fort Nisqually (in Point Defiance Park)

More:  From here, we went on to study our state history--explorers, fur trappers, missionaries, Oregon trail, current events....  We learned a little about state government (N studied it in more detail), and memorized our state symbols--bird, tree, flower, etc.  We visited several other historic sites and museums.

We also expanded our study of the land--out to the estuaries and to the Pacific Ocean.  (Here we used the For Sea curriculum Life in the Estuary--Grade 3 as well as the previously mentioned high school-level Our Home: the Estuaries.)  We ended with a field trip to the Nisqually Delta estuary and wildlife refuge.  

Textiles and Fibers--Waldorf grade 3

According to Waldorf philosophy, the third grade child is emerging from his little world of family and imagination and is finding his place in the bigger, outside world.  That is why we study Old Testament stories:  people on a journey, learning how to relate to authority.  But we also study the ways we get along in this bigger world--namely food, clothing, and shelter.  Here's an outline of what we learned about textiles:
*Introduction
What was it like to be a baby?  We told D's birth story.  Was he born with any clothes?  What kind of things did he need?  In main lesson book (MLB), he drew a baby with his "layette."

*Leather
The first peoples' clothes were animal skins--leather.  D made a handwork project with leather. (The Tandy company has lots of kits.)  What are the advantages and disadvantages of clothing made from skins?

*Cotton
D played with some actual cotton plants.  (I bought mine on Ebay for just a few dollars.)  I let him pull apart the bolls to find the seeds inside.  Wasn't the cotton gin a great invention so we didn't have to do this by hand?
We read Cotton by Millicent E. Selsam which talks about the history of cotton, the plant, and how it is processed.  In what kinds of weather would you like to wear cotton?

*Silk
I told the legend of the Chinese princess who discovered silk when a silkworm cocoon fell in her cup of tea.  (I found this story several places, but my favorite was "The Secrets of Silk" by Elizabeth Seward in Living Crafts magazine, Spring 2011.)  We also read Material World--Silk by Claire Llewellyn and got some new colors of play silks. :)  D drew the life cycle of the silk worm in his MLB.

*Flax 
We watched several You-Tube videos about how flax is grown and processed.  D illustrated the process in his MLB.

*Wool

We read Pelle's New Suit by Elsa Beskow. (Pelle's suit is too small for him.  He shears his sheep, then he has to help the people who card, spin, dye, weave, and sew his wool into a new suit.).  We made a drop spindle and did our best to make yarn.  (It wasn't very even!)

 With every fabric, we tried burning a piece to see how flammable it was and how it smelled.

This was a really fun (and informative!) unit.  I think older children would enjoy it too.

Edible and Healing Plants

That's what I called our latest unit this spring. It included basic botany concepts, hands-on learning in the garden, plant- or gardening-related copywork, and instruction about healing herbs.

I followed the basic outline of the Apologia book Exploring Creation With Botany. (It is elementary level, but the concepts are easily expanded.) Each week we covered one chapter in the book, spent a few hours in the garden, and "met" two healing herbs. The kids each made a notebook of what they learned.

Week 1

*Plants are classified by whether they have tubes and by how they make seeds.

*How do non-vascular plants work?

*Make dandelion root tea.

Week 2

*Dissect a bean seed.

*Make a flip book about germination of a seed.

*Find out the difference between monocots and dicots.

*Learn about fennel and garlic. Make fennel candy (for digestion).

Week 3

*Dissect a flower

*Learn about flower families

*Discover yarrow and elder

Week 4

*Discuss various types of pollination

*Get to know comfrey and clove

Week 5

*What is the real definition of fruit?

*Classify types of fruit.

*Learn about cayenne and peppermint.

Other books I used were 10 Essential Herbs by Lalitha Thomas (a real gem, but currently out of print) and A Kid's Herb Book by Lesley Tierra. I highly recommend both. We found some good pictures of herbs in Medicinal Plants Coloring Book by Ilil Arbel.

Astronomy Unit, 2009

I’ve been asked to get more specific about my unit studies :o) While I do feel that you need to individualize your lessons for your family, I’m happy to share the details about our units.

Our astronomy unit this fall was really just an introduction—a prelude to this year’s study of ancient cultures, including their knowledge of the skies. I wanted to take some time, however, before the winter rains set in so we could see the night skies.

I tried to figure out how to approach astronomy in a “whole to parts” format and finally decided that I should start with what we can see, beginning with the sun and moon and their cycles. From there, we went to the stars. (We didn’t discuss the planets in this block; we’ll be doing that as part of our study of ancient cultures.) In my studying, I found numerous examples of connections between astronomy and religion. As stated in Genesis, there are lights in the heavens “to divide the day from the night, and … for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years”. I felt inspired that this was the approach I should take for my children, and it has been fascinating to learn what God has put into the skies!

There are many good resources available, but the most comprehensive (and free!) were numerous articles by astronomist John Pratt. He has a whole astronomy course on his website. We also found some wonderful lesson books (from a Little Garden Flower) which had alternating white and dark blue pages—just perfect for making pictures of the heavens!

As usual, I tried to identify about two key points each week, and plan activities around them.
Week 1

*The Sun’s path through our sky changes with the seasons.
--We pounded a post into the lawn next to our driveway, and marked the shadow of the post every hour.
--We drew pictures of the sun’s paths across the sky—low in the winter, high in the summer.
--We learned what the ecliptic is.

*The points of the earth’s orbit are the solstices and equinoxes.
--We looked at Earth's orbit around the sun, with the seasonal "cusps." Click here for some excellent graphics.
--We celebrated the fall equinox.

Week 2

*The Moon goes through phases in a 29.5-day cycle.
--We drew the phases of the moon and learned their names.
--We learned how the moon’s appearance and path changes with the sun.
--We observed the wonderful Harvest Moon!
--We discussed solar calendars and lunar calendars. The sun and moon are heavenly timepieces: 12 months like the hours, and 60 half days like 60 minutes on a clock.

*The first men landed on the moon on July 20, 1969 (40 years ago).
--We read a book about the early days of the space program and preparations for the moon landing.
--We listened to an actual recording of Walter Cronkite’s broadcast of that day.
--We watched the movie Apollo 13 (about a subsequent voyage to the moon).

Week 3
*Michaelmas was this week! (See more about it here.)
--We learned about the constellation Draco, the dragon.

*The constellations of the Zodiac tell of Jesus Christ.

--We learned that the Zodiac was shown to the prophet Enoch and this knowledge passed down through th

e ages. Every culture “saw” the same pictures on the ecliptic.
--We drew pictures of each constellation and its brightest stars.
--We read the stories of how each sign of the Zodiac is a symbol of Christ.

One last note: it’s helpful to have an astronomy reference book to show the arrangements of the constellations and identify the brightest stars. We used the book Astronomy by Ian Ridpath (a DK “Companion” book). I also like Find the Constellations by H.A. Rey, but I discovered that some of his drawings of the constellations are not the traditional pictures (which was important to our study!). For instance, Sagittarius is traditionally a centaur, but Rey makes him a Native American with a feather in his hair. So I couldn’t use Rey’s book as much as I would have liked.

Three weeks isn’t really enough time to get familiar with the night sky and how it changes, so we’ll continue to revisit astronomy topics as we study ancient cultures. I'm hooked!

Nature Journal Inspirations

A Nature Journal—a written and pictorial record of things one observes in nature—is a foundation of Charlotte Mason’s science study. Though I loved the idea when I heard it, my perfectionist tendencies made me put off actually getting started. What kind of supplies do we need? What should we actually draw or write in our journals?

Two books helped me get going and continue to inspire me. The first is Wild Days by Karen Skidmore Rackliffe, available from Amazon or from here. Karen’s descriptions of her outdoor adventures with her children are illustrated with drawings, watercolors, and descriptions of plants and animals. It is a fantastic how-to book.

My second inspiration is The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden. Edith’s diary is what I want my Nature Journal to look like when it “grows up”! Beginning in January, she has poetry, weather observations, quotes, and beautiful watercolor illustrations for each month of the year.

Though not necessarily inspirational, field books are definitely helpful. I like the Peterson’s First Book of ----- series because they are simple enough for a child to use. Anita Comstock’s Handbook of Nature Study must be mentioned here as well. Although it is mostly text, with small black and white pictures, it is full of delightful stories to introduce a child to new things.

With these tools, we have compiled our notebooks—though often in fits and starts. We like to put the correct name (if we can find it) of the specimen, including its Latin name. Then we add notes about when and where we saw each plant or animal, and information about its characteristics. Here are two pages from my nature journal. Although it's not much compared to Edith Holden's, it's been a delight to make.

How to "Build" a Unit Study

When I’m preparing for a new unit, I start by gathering all of my resources. Some of them I own, some I get from the library, some I glean from the internet. If I haven’t read or watched them, I do so (at least skimming through). I make a list of everything I want to use. (If I own something that I decide is not worth using, I get rid of it!)

The challenging part comes next. I spend some time thinking about what are the important ideas of this unit. [I know that’s easier said than done; I always have to find this quiet time in the early morning or late at night.] For instance, here are my ideas for our U.S. history unit about the 1950’s and 60’s:

--Americans are afraid of Communism. (Truman Doctrine, McCarthy, NATO)

--The US and USSR “fight,” but not with guns. (space race, arms race)

--The “Domino Theory” drives the Vietnam War,

--Vietnam is a different kind of war than we have fought before.

--There is conflict on the home front too.

--After Vietnam, America needs to heal.

--Blacks still don’t have equal rights.

--Non-violent protests bring needed changes.

I don’t articulate these ideas to my kids, but the ideas are the focus of our activities. I plan about one read-aloud book each week, along with movies and other short readings. Sometimes we do research, like the project we did with the above unit on learning about PresidentsTruman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and the part each played in the Vietnam War.

Usually, I have my kids make a Flap Book, Main Lesson Book, or some other project as a way for them to gather and remember what they have learned. I often keep those projects (especially anything 3-D) in an “interest box” which the kids can get out to look at or play with later. For instance, our astronomy interest box has star charts, a model of the sun-earth-moon, our tin-can constellations, and our Flap Books. Our middle ages box has castle models, wind-up knights, costumes, illuminated alphabets, and coloring books. Then the kids can re-visit that unit whenever they want.

I should mention that I don't usually worry about incorporating ALL of the subject areas into my unit study. We usually do some writing as part of our unit and there may be charts or graphs to work with, but we continue to do our separate language arts and math work as well.

What is Science Education?

My cousin Tim noted recently that my blog doesn’t say much about science.Is this is a weak area in our homeschool, he wondered? (It is true that many homeschooling parents are nervous about science, at least in the upper grades.) Anyway, it got me thinking about what really constitutes science education. If I know what my goals are, it’s much easier to decide if I am achieving them!

My goals in science education are to give my kids the tools to learn about their world. I want them to be familiar with the scientific method—both as a way to make their own discoveries and as a way to evaluate others’ work. I want to give my children at least an overview of many areas of science so that they know enough to choose what they enjoy most. But mainly, I want to leave my children with a sense of wonder and reverence for all of God’s creation—so that they want to keep learning.

I don’t think that textbooks do that very well. I had a K-8 series of science texts when I first started homeschooling. Each grade level skimmed over the same set of units without ever really digging deep enough to “get into it.” That wasn’t very appealing.

Instead, my kids and I spend many hours outside—in the yard, in the vegetable garden, in the forest, by the river. We explore, we paint or draw, we collect. We have a small “nature shelf” at our house where we put our seasonal discoveries of rocks or acorns or flowers. (N has taken charge of this shelf and reorganizes it at least monthly.) My children know, from experience, about different kinds of rocks and where they’re found. They can identify most of the flowers and trees of the Pacific Northwest and all of the plants in our yard and garden. They’ve visited dozens of National and State Parks.

My children have pets—a dog, Guinea pigs, rabbits, and turtles at last count. The kids provide (and pay for) all of the care for these animals, and the kids also read and research just what constitutes the best care so they can make wise decisions. They become experts!

Each child in our family has a nature journal. Nothing is assigned in this notebook, but it is a place where we can draw pictures of an interesting caterpillar, take notes on the habits of a bird, write poetry about flowers, or philosophize about the seasons.

When we do have formal science classes, I like to read LIVING BOOKS, or books that are interesting in their own rights and not just “educational.” For instance, we liked The Microbe Hunters when we studied bacteria and Phineas Gage—A Gruesome but True Story… when we were learning about the brain. When we do use textbooks, it’s after hands-on experience (whole to parts). There are lots of places to get science “stuff,” but one of my favorites is Tobin’s Lab.

Of course any family—homeschooled or not—could do “real life” science this way, but I have the advantage of TIME. We can learn about science WHEN the science learning is relevant. Our science fits right in with our gnomes and fairies, because our science learning aims to instill wonder.

No, Tim, I don’t think we are weak in science. Over time, we do cover all the state learning objectives. But we definitely don’t do it the way they do in public school.

We like Apologia Science

I’ve never done a great job of teaching science. My kids were interested in nature, and it seemed they figured out what they needed to know. They could identify most of the local plants and animals. They understood volcanoes and glaciers because we had visited some relevant national parks. Occasionally I did a science unit like “the human body” or “space.” But I never saw any textbooks that I liked.

Until now. I currently own four science texts published by Apologia: General Science (about 7^th grade), Physical Science (8th grade), Biology (9^th grade), and Physics (11th grade).

The text is okay. Concepts are explained well, but the constant repetition drives my kids crazy. (I read aloud and edit as I go.)

What we like are the labs. There are a LOT of labs in these books, and they teach significant principles. (You can only go so far with kitchen chemistry, even if it is fun.) In the interest of teaching “whole to part,” I like to start the day with a lab and then read about the principles involved.

This picture of a lab--from the physical science book--shows how liquid was sucked up into a bottle to replace the air used by the burning candle. That was from our study of air pressure. Probably our favorite lab (so far) was from the biology book. We made cultures of pond water (very stinky!) then looked at them under the microscope. Watching a paramecium suddenly swim across your drop of water is definitely an “ah ha” moment!

I have science textbooks and I have books of science experiments. But this is the best I have seen for do-able labs along with text. The companion CD’s are helpful too. I should add that our family does the labs together, then older kids participate in the reading and the oldest kids will do the study guides and tests.