Right now we are studying KONOS "Attentiveness" (see sidebar homeschool links for more information about KONOS Unit Studies if you are interested). Earlier this year, we completed 'Ears/Sound/Music/Composers', 'Eyes/Seeing/Art/Painters', 'Other Senses', and now we are working on 'Frontiersmen/Indians/Gold Rush'. We have been learning about Lewis and Clark, Westward Expansion, Indian Relations, the Trail of Tears, and Pioneer Life. These are actually separate units (Frontiersmen/Tracking & Trapping, Predator & Prey and Indians). I have already done a few weeks on the subject, so we are somewhere in the middle of our adapted lesson plans on this topic and have already learned a bunch.
In these lesson plans are a few of the activities from KONOS, a few of my own activities, some added curriculum (Math, Geography, Penmanship, etc.) and Bible assignments that may or may not be related in any way with KONOS. I really am an eclectic homeschooler. So, if you want an idea of a pure KONOS lesson plan, please go get one from THEM and not from me!
The formal lesson plans on top are for this week. The additional things at the end are to be spread out until we leave for vacation. I'll add in the other curriculum and daily things we do when I plan at the beginning of each week. I usually plan a week at a time after I plan what I want to accomplish for the entire unit. This is because it sometimes takes longer or shorter than the recommended time, so I don't want to jump ahead of myself. I was planning on being finished with this unit already and starting 'Birds' this week, but we ended up spending extra long on 'Ears, Sound, Music' this semester due to us adding 'Composers' to it. I just couldn't leave off on a music unit without reading about Bach, Mozart, Handel, Vivaldi, and many others. We take a lot of rabbit trails when we get really interested in things. We like to add crafts from Family Fun and related foods if applicable (in geography/culture studies), also.
So here are the lessons for the next three days (and possibly a few extra assignments done over the weekend). Things we've done already today are crossed out (remember, we do school from 2pm-8 or 9pm due to Daddy's work schedule):
NON KONOS FOR TODAY:
2 Pages A Beka Math
Prayer Time
NON KONOS FOR TOMORROW:
Prayer Journals
2 Pages A Beka Math
Prayer Time
Devotional Reading: "Making Brothers & Sisters Best Friends"
Read Exodus 15
Read about current North Korean events and paste article in journal
1 Page A Beka Penmanship/Cursive Practice (Grades 3 & 4)
Draw-Write-Now (Book 3 - Native Americans), Draw Archer
KONOS:
Look up words and sing "Davey Crocket" (*link to song included)
Give kids animal picture and let them draw the camouflage behind it
Discuss how polar bears cover their noses when hunting seal, how different animals would not do well out of their own habitat and how God created them to fit their environment
Examine types of animal traps (online), discuss reasons for trapping animals, Read in encyclopedia the differences in enclosing/arresting/killing traps.
Narrate stories read to Mom (summarize)
Make timeline cards (index) for Sam Houston, Davey Crockett, Lewis & Clark, La Salle, The Alamo, Ishi and The Trail of Tears
Draw our camouflage artwork (rough draft before we paint)
Recite our memory verse that went with this week's studies
Quiz over Frontier vocabulary (30 words) - contest game
English report writing lesson from KONOS compass/Obedience book refresher
Write rough draft on Sam Houston from "Make Way for Sam Houston"
The rest of the assignments I need to TRY and complete before Christmas with the children are below. This stuff is mostly all KONOS or other on-topic ideas I have added to fit our unit studies (this doesn't include our dailies or additional curriculums):
Map westward expansion routes on physical outline map of US
Watercolor our leaves drawing
Paint our camouflage artwork
Grade and rewrite draft on Sam Houston
Final Draft on Sam Houston Draw Sam Houston and make report cover
examine a mouse trap
Predator & Prey vocabulary & crossword
Make an American West timeline in journal
Make a Texas History timeline in journal and map points of interest
Films (if I can borrow or find at library): Little Bear Wheeler, Orienteering in the Great Outdoors, North by Northwest, Bear Country, Disney's Melody Time (Johnny Appleseed & Pecos Bill)
Read Legend of Davey Crockett Map his travel from TN to the Alamo in Journal, discuss symbolism in language regarding this hero (Irwin Shapiro) p. 47w.
Read biography of Daniel Boone & add journeys to Crockett map in Journal
Journal drawings of animal tracks (p. 57 & 8)
Make Pemmican
Make "Possible Bag "
Let kids practice reading the road atlas to map our trip to Texas for vacation
Timeline card for Daniel Boone
Tell 'whopper' or 'tall tale' about your hunting around campfire
How did Lewis and Clark write (read about ink and quill & practice)
Grind acorns into flour, boil & mix for "cakes" (p.52mmm)
Read edible plants book?
Read about bears in America and favorite bear stories p. 49uu
Read about rocky mountains, trappers and traders (library books)
Read bios about Kit Carson, Jim Bridger, Jedediah Smith (library books)
Trace Kit's map to Sante Fe (study the desert and desert animals/plants briefly)
Report on favorite Northwestern US animal
Read about Gold Rush (library books)
Read about Oregon Trail (library books) and Pioneer families (library books)
Visit Texas history museum (research this before vacation)
Watch Little House on the Prairie
New Family Read Aloud when Minn is finished (haven't picked it out yet)
Visit zoo/fish store and identify predators and prey
Read about wolves and pack animals and how they hunt, what type of animals do they normally hunt? Old? Weak? Young? How does saying "survival of the fittest" apply here?
Discuss trapping animals and how devil traps us into doing evil. Think of "camouflage", "imitation", "bait", "tricks" that he might use. Research scripture to find examples of tactics. Draw in journal a fishing rod with a lure that would be our greatest temptation (abstract and writing is also fine). Discuss how bad people might "lure" or "bait" kids (candy, etc) and how to always ask before going anywhere with strangers.
Watch a spider weave a web (if we can find one at this time of year!) - practice being patient
name examples of carnivore, omnivore, and herbivore
see an illustration of a food chain
Indian vocabulary (overview to see how many words they already know first)
Look up and discuss words they don't (about 175 words)
Crossword with most important Indian words
Read Indian library books
Make a bead necklace
Map indian territories on outline map of united states
List tribes that have lived in Texas and map them
Look up Cherokee family history information on both sides of our family
Make a family tree with above information from research
Read books about Cherokee (library books)
Read "The Book of Indians" by Holling
Read "Hiawatha" by Longfellow
List foods Indians brought to us in journal (make some of them you have not tried)
Check out "Native American Cookbook" by Edna Henry and cook an Indian meal
Check out "Foods the Indians Gave Us" by Wilma & R. Vernon Hays
Stay in a Teepee at Petit Jean State Park in AR (this may happen next Spring because it is closed for camping in winter)
Do Draw Write Now Arctic Book with Arctic Indians during studies on Inuit
Make a coil or throw pot (look up Hopi/Zuni and SW Indian pottery) - make replica (and/or visit a pottery shop)
Outdoor Frontier & Indian Extravaganza Wrap-Up (at friend's house)
Wilderness hike (look for signs & tracks of animals)
Use compass, take along animal tracks drawings in journal as guides
Select an Indian name for the day (wear nametag)
Paint our faces or "grease our bodies" because of mosquitoes like Indians did
Let kids help plan and pack for the hike/"scouting expedition"
Let kids make list of camp safety & set up "to-dos"
Separate into teams and set up trails for each other to follow (p. 51 mountain men signs)
Observe and draw wildlife and plants in journals (use ink and quill)
Practice archery
Build a fire (teach fire safety p. 67)
Take along bottled "canteen" water and beef jerky (& pemmican)
Set up Fur Trading Post (take along fake furs & "possible bag")
Take a bag & baggies to collect plant specimens and label them
Make dandelion tea (p. 49pp) and eat venison for dinner
make Acorn cakes (p.52mmm)
Drink frothy "beer" (apple juice) at the "Rendezvous" (trading post) and have contests (arm wrestle, foot race, shooting match with BB gun, archery)
fish with a pole
Take lots of pictures and scrapbook them
That looks like enough to fill up my calendar from now until the end of January when I get it all typed out! Maybe I'm a little ambitious in thinking we can get most of it done before we leave for vacation on the 20-22nd? Oh, well... I can try. There may be a few things that get left undone (or put on the "Later" list).
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6 comments:
Hey fiddledeedee - HA! You make me laugh. I'm with you, sweetie... even if I have a master plan laid out. That doesn't mean most of it will get done... life tends to get in the way of our best plans sometimes. I just try to keep a plan laid out so I don't end up sitting in front of the computer all day. :)
Hello spirit bee here is my rss feed
http://craftygirls.blogspot.com/atom.xml
I also noticed on your TODO list painting camo! do you have adobe photoshop and a color printer? I can send you a page of camo I made digitally.....just a thought...
Tanya aka CraftyGirls
I think is beautiful that your are homeschooling your children :). I would have never been so disciplined home-schooling our son. Kudos to you.
Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment.
Coolio. I'll have to get over and add you to the template. Check my blogroll out later and maybe your blog will be on there! ;) I would love your camo digi-page. We never got around to doing this art project... we gave up on getting all that done before Christmas holidays (too much to do in just a 5 day period!). We will be tackling the rest of the list after we get back in January.
eph2810 - Thanks for the kudos. Discipline has nothing to do with homeschooling. Hahaha. At least not my homeschool. Hahaha. In fact, I think the fact that I am homeschooling is more a lesson to ME from GOD that I need to be disciplined. In fact, it is top on my prayer list, DAILY. I wonder sometimes who is really doing the homeschooling here? Certainly not me. God is in control - even in homeschooling. It is amazing to me that with all of my faults, my kids are turning out to be brilliant, sweet, giving, loving, well-rounded little people. It never ceases to amaze me when people comment on how great my kids are... but they all do something very WRONG when they relay this message to me. They assume that it is ME that is the great thing that is building and forming them into what they are. I can assure you - no credit needs to lie with me. My worst days and smallest efforts PLUS GOD - are what have made them into what they are today. In other words... it ain't me, baby. God deserves all the fireworks and parades for this one!
OK Tanya. I finally added you to the blogroll! ;)
I am just starting to homeschool 3 of our children this year and am amazed at how much of the Konos activities you do/try to do. How do you fit it into your day? How do you plan all the activities, get the materials (library?) and actually carry them out--plus you have other curriculum you are following? Just a curious motivated first year homeschooler that wants so badly to do more.
Thanks!
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