The History Of Halloween and Pilgrim Virtual Field Trip

I have a lot to share in one little post. I don't want anyone to miss anything they might want to use in their educational adventures. If you go to Scholastic, you can sign up for a free Thanksgiving virtual tour with educational resources. The first tour is Wed Nov 2nd, so I am sharing the link so you can sign up in time. We did it last year too, but the link didn't work great and they have added more stuff and updated the tour. They will send you email reminders so you don't miss any episodes.

Monday is of course Halloween. While I do not consider Halloween a holiday many people refer to it as such. Have you ever wondered why Halloween is even celebrated? The History Channel has put together an awesome show so you can find out. You can view it below or Tivo it Oct 31st at 10 PM on the History Channel.

One more Tivo alert, Nov 7th at 6 AM the History Channel will be having a documentary to cover Veteran's Day, called The True Story of Veterans Day. There is a teacher's guide that goes along with the documentary, but it is a pdf file that I am not sure I am supposed to share. But, you could go to the History Channel website and get the teacher guide there. We will be doing this one as well.

We have been learning about pumpkins lately. Those of you who are used the themed units then you know that there are a ton of different ways to cover a topic. We have painted on pumpkins, learned how pumpkins grow, looked at some pumpkin recipes, made pumpkin crafts and coloring pages. I want to make homemade pumpkin pie but I am not optimistic that this is something I can achieve. If anyone knows of a super easy homemade pumpkin pie recipe for a novice please share it with me.

Happy Saturday, everyone.

History Of St Patricks Day

Tomorrow we have only a half day of school. We will be watching the 1 hour video about St Patricks Day, that I recorded on Monday, from the History Channel. If you did not get to record it, they may show it again, or you can use this 10 minute video in your lessons. The History Channel website, also has short videos, with curriculum ideas, and resources to meet the curriculum. We also have a reading assignment, with post questions on St Patricks Day. We then will be going to our playdate at the park, and if it rains, it will be held at one of the members homes. We will catch up on math, language arts, and all other lessons on Thursday.

I get to be a big grouch yet again, and write a letter to the Postmaster General, of the US. There has to be someone who overlooks them all. If anyone knows, I would gladly like to know too. If not, I will have to search for it. What am I going to complain about? My local post office is useless, that is what I am going to complain about. I use the online website to print shipping labels, and pay for shipping, etc. I wanted to ship something to the Philippines, and the website warned me I may not be able to. I called my local post office to ask them about shipping international rules, and the rude woman who answered the phone did not even let me finish my statement before she said they were not trained in the website one click something or other. I again tried to explain that was not what I wanted to know, and again she cut me off. So I hung up on her, and called the post office in the next town over. That nice woman let me state my question, and gave me the proper answer, and guidance. Now I am going to complain about my post office. They always prove to be incompetent, and they have cut their hours so I can never get there when they are open anyways. And they are closed at the dumbest times. The post office wonders why they lose billions a year, and have to cut services how about because you don't properly train all post offices to do what they need to do. No, this is not the first time this has happened, that they are not properly trained, it has happened a lot in the three years we have been in this town. I am fed up, and someone will hear about it, as soon as I figure out who that somebody is LOL. Stay tuned, I am a determined woman.

Presidents: Thomas Jefferson

Last year we covered George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln a bit. Tomorrow for history class, we are doing Presidents again. There are two cute president videos in the archives, that your kids will love. Today I am adding Thomas Jefferson, which is just a short video about the former president. But it covers the highlights of his life, which for younger learners is plenty to know. I Tivo'd three episodes of The Presidents, off of the History channel last week. We will be watching them tomorrow. They only cover the presidents up to 1845, which is strange, but it will work for us. I have purchased the curriculum The Story of the World part one Ancient Times, for next year. It is a full year curriculum, that Ms Laura from my playgroup introduced me too. I like it because I can use it for both children, as it can be for grades 1-6, and it did not cost me a small fortune. There are four parts all together, covering 4 full years of History curriculum. DJ is excited, and has already started browsing through the reading book. Thanks Ms Laura, for the tip.


Lesson Plans For 02/24/10:

DJ:
Social Studies: Presidents
Language Arts: Root words, question busters
Math: Fractions, multiplication, subtraction
Vocabulary
Cursive Writing
Sign Language: Numbers 1-20

Caitlin:
Chronological Order
Reading: HOP Sam and the Mitt week two
Site Words
Flash Cards
Math: Adding to five
Printing Practice
Animal Book: Pet animals- goldfish
Phonics: Ending sounds
Sign Language: Numbers 1-20

Easy Thanksgiving Treats, 100 Books Every High School Child Should Read

Since we only have two days of school this week, we will be doing all review, of information already learned. We also have the History of Thanksgiving, from the History channel set to record tonight at 7. Be sure to Tivo it, if you want to use it for school. This link was sent to me by Amber. It is 100 books every high schooled child should read, and you can view it here. Thank you, Amber for the list. Below is three recipes for cute, yet simple Thanksgiving treats. Click the image to enlarge, and print the directions. I have been saving these to share, since last year. Let me know if you try any of them, and how simple they are. The little hats look simple enough, for even me. I can not do complicated baking so well.

The History of Fathers Day

Did you know Fathers Day was thought of, at a Mothers Day event? You can learn all about the history of Fathers Day at the History Channel. I would like to wish all dads everywhere, a Happy Fathers Day. Relax, and have a great day.