Welcome to the Spring 2006 edition of Maggie Hogan's "Bright Ideas Press E-Zine."

We hope you find the following information useful, as you spend time teaching and enjoying your children!

History Helps

Fruit Cake Dig

Archeological digs with food demonstrate, in a small way, how these scientists go about uncovering artifacts. The patience and time involved in archeological discoveries becomes more significant when a student spends time attempting to work in a precise way similar to that of the Archeologist. There is a similar assignment (“Chocolate Chip Geological Dig”) along with grid paper and recipe in *The Ultimate Geography & Timeline Guide.

Tip: Read a kid’s book about archeology before beginning this assignment.

Materials:

•  1 old fruitcake or a dense cookie with lots of “goodies” in it (i.e. raisins, nuts, coconut, cherries, chips, dried cranberries or other dried fruit, etc.)
•  Tube of icing
•  Probing tools – toothpicks, fork & knife, scalpel, (dissection tools are great for this – disinfect thoroughly before using)
•  Graph Paper & pen

Directions:

• Draw a grid across the fruitcake with the icing (think Battleship)
• Provide graph paper to each student
• Count squares and draw outline on graph paper to match cookie grid.
• Proceed to dissect the fruitcake a square at a time.
• Mark on the graph paper what is found in each section of the cake. For example, A1 might have two dark raisins, one cherry, and a walnut.
• Make a key on the graph paper:

•  *= raisin
•  ~~= coconut
•  @=cherry, etc.

 
Check out www.foodtimeline.org

“Ever wonder what foods the Vikings ate when they set off to explore the new world? How Thomas Jefferson made his ice cream? What the pioneers cooked along the Oregon Trail? Who invented the potato chip...and why? Welcome to the Food Timeline.” Great site for finding recipes related to the time period you are studying.

Organization Tip: History Tubs

Not a file kind of person? Looking for a way to organize materials you find but don’t need immediately? We keep tubs – mainly history and science tubs. These are inexpensive, clear plastic tubs in which we store all sorts of topic-related  paraphernalia.  For example: 

Announcing a new history project from Bright Ideas Press, (publishers of The Mystery of History series), All American History Volume 1 by Celeste W. Rakes is now available. Celeste is my dear friend and was my sons’ favorite history teacher in our nine-year co-op! Having taught American history a number of times, each time writing (and re-writing) her own materials, Celeste has shared her love of history with many students. Now we are blessed to share it with you.

Containing hundreds of images and dozens of maps, All American History is a complete year’s curriculum for students in grades 5 - 8 when combined with the Student Activity Book and Teacher’s Guide. It’s easily adaptable for younger and older students. Volume I covers Exploration through 1840.

There are 32 weekly lessons, and each lesson contains three sections examining:

• the atmosphere in which the event occurred
• the event itself
• the impact this event had on history

 What’s different about this curriculum?

1. The Student Activity Book has sections to be filled in WHILE the student is reading (or being read to) the Student Reader. This helps the student to pay attention and work on note-taking skills.
2. The Teacher’s Guide includes activities for younger students, family ideas, booklists, answers, and so much more.
3. The in-depth Student Reader is beautifully organized with hundreds of photos from the National Archives and the Library of Congress as well as the maps students need to complete their map work.
4. American History is taught from a conservative, providential perspective without being extreme.
5. Combines all the convenience of a traditional textbook while at the same time combining the hands-on and literature elements of a unit study or Charlotte Mason method as well as the review and portfolio aspects of the classical approach.

All American History Volume 1 Student Reader                    44.95   Hardback 464 pages

All American History Volume 1 Student Activity Book          16.95   Pbk. 224 pages

All American History Volume 1 Teacher Guide                     18.95   Pbk. 272 pages

Geography Corner

Great Internet Resources for Hands-On Geography Ideas

• My Yahoo discussion group for hands-on geo ideas: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Whole_HOG/
• www.letterboxing.org  this is so much fun!
• www.wheresgeorge.com track your dollar bills!
• www.flatstanleyproject.com send a flat traveler on a trip!
• http://groups.yahoo.com/group/flat_travelers_homeschool/  
• http://flatstanley.enoreo.on.ca/  - the official Flat Stanley site

Want to share favorite geography ideas, ask questions, and learn cool tips? Join us in our yahoo group: Whole HOG Geography (A play on ‘H.O.G.’ for ‘Hands-On Geography’) I’ve so enjoyed reading my daily digest of short emails from homeschooling parents wanting to do a better job with geography. Read the archives for super ideas on:

• GeoCaching
• Letterboxing
• Where’s George?
• Flat Travelers

Interested? You can sign-up now by sending a blank email to:
Whole_HOG-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Also, check out the book that inspired the yahoo group: Hands-On Geography by Maggie Hogan.
 

Science Fun

Recipe for Oobleck

 2 T Corn starch
Water - add slowly until . . . it feels like oobleck!
(You may add food coloring to the water before mixing.)

Oobleck! Is it liquid or is it a solid? Oobleck is actually a “non-newtonian” fluid. It doesn’t follow the rules of how liquids should behave. When a small amount of force is used it acts like a liquid, but when more force is applied, it acts like a solid. Test this by cutting it with a knife. Can you stir it with a spoon? What happens when you hold it tightly in your fist? Jello and quicksand are examples of non-newtonian fluids. For more information and recipes:

http://sciconn.mcb.arizona.edu/oobleck/oobleck.html

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Looking for easy-to-implement, interesting, hands-on yet classically based science curriculum? Consider our series: Christian Kids Explore:

*Christian Kids Explore Biology grades 1 – 6  $29.95

*Christian Kids Explore Chemistry grades 5 – 8  $29.95

Christian kids Explore Earth & Space grades 1 – 6 $29.95 (due out summer)

 
*Cathy Duffy Top 100 Picks


Check our schedule to see if we will be at a conference near you this season. We are heading soon to St. Paul MN, Orlando, FL, Houston, TX, Sandy Cove, MD and Phoenix, AZ.  See you there!

http://www.brightideaspress.com/calendar.htm

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We appreciate you, our customers.
Feel free to contact us:

Bright Ideas Press (Publishers of The Mystery of History series)
877.492.8081
contact@BrightIdeasPress.com
www.BrightIdeasPress.com

Come blog with me:
www.homeschoolblogger.com/maggiehogan

 
Happy Trails,

Maggie Hogan