International Museum Day

Today is International Museum Day!

Museums are incredibly powerful in extending a child's learning. They are surrounded by objects that can help them connect knowledge they've gained in the classroom to their every day life.  Students can read about what they are seeing and spend time thinking about history, science, innovation, and more!

If you aren't able to GO to a museum today, here are some other options!

Visit the Museum of Modern Art in New York City via the Internet!

Your child guides an alien around the MoMA. Clicking on different pieces of art {paintings, sculptures, etc.} and learning about the artists and creating their own similar pieces. 

Tour the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History!

See whale bones, sarcophagi, and more up close!

Discover the Louvre!

This one may take more patience as you get around the museum {we'd suggest for 12+}.

Find Fashion at the Valentino Garavani Museum!

A different type of museum and still educational and fun.

View artifacts from the Slavery and the Making of America Museum!

Stories and artifacts that your children may not have seen before to teach them about this part of U.S. history.

Do you know of any other virtual museums? Comment with a link below!

{Natalie}

Rainbows

There is something magical about finding a rainbow after a storm.

We have some ideas of how to extend this excitement and add some learning as well!

Sidewalk Chalk

You know you have some in the garage somewhere! Make a game of it by either taking turns drawing things that are well known for being RED, ORANGE, YELLOW, GREEN, BLUE, and PURPLE. It's harder than you might think!

Or you can just have fun being artistic and creating lots of different rainbows!

Blow Bubbles
You've probably blown bubbles A LOT. But have you ever encouraged your child to look for how the bubbles catch the sunlight and show colors of the rainbow?? It's wonderful how paying attention to even small things encourages learning!

You can see the bubble rainbow colors on {E}'s white shirt! That could be fun to retry!

Paint
You can break out the watercolors, acrylics, or whatever type of paint you have! Just make sure you have at least 6 of the 7 colors of the rainbow.

Because my little one is quite messy, I didn't want to have to worry about her getting paint EVERYWHERE.  So I cut down a piece of card stock so it would fit inside a gallon size ziploc bag. I made the outline of the rainbow, slipped it inside the bag, and then let her "finger" paint!

It looked so cute in the bag when she was done! The hard part was getting it out. Once it totally dried it still looked sweet {and like it was done by a 1 year old...which it was!}.


Make a Rainbow
For this quick science experiment you need a glass of water, masking tape, a flashlight, a tall object to set the glass of water on, and a white piece of paper.

Cover most of the flashlight opening with masking tape.  Set the glass of water on top of a tall object {we used a can of gatorade..that is probably expired}. Place the piece of paper to one side of the can and shine the flashlight through the water from the opposite side.

It will probably take a minute or more of maneuvering the flashlight before your rainbow will appear! {HELPFUL HINT! The bigger the flashlight, the bigger the rainbow} It's also easier to see in a dark space {like my laundry room aka the dungeon}. So find your own dark space or wait until the sun has gone down and turn off all the lights!

If you want to explain what's going on, that will add to the science learning! You can find some helpful instruction here.

Sing or Dance to Rainbow Songs
There are quite a few popular songs that have the word RAINBOW in them.

Go on a Rainbow Hunt

Have your child make a rainbow flip book like the one below {or DIY}. 

Go over the colors and then walk around the house, the block, the store,  a museum, ANYWHERE. Your little ones will love to match the colors to things in real life! 

BONUS if you can find something that has ALL the rainbow colors!

{Natalie}

Extending Learning {Apples Pt. 3}

For our last part of extending learning through apples, we are exploring ways to include apples in art and play at home.

In case you missed the other 2 parts, here they are.
Extending Learning {Apples Pt. 1} - Ways to include apples in Language Arts and Recipes
Extending Learning {Apples Pt. 2} - Ways to include apples in Math and Science

Art

    -Draw an apple
Have your student observe an apple and then draw it as carefully as they can.

here are three ways to draw an apple.

     -Make a Contour Drawing
Have your student draw the apple as they follow its shape with their eyes, but instruct them not to look at what they are drawing--they must keep their eyes on the apple while they are drawing.  Explain that a contour drawing may not look much like the model; it is an exercise in seeing.

here is a video to illustrate how to make a contour drawing of an apple

     -Work with Apple Colors
Show examples of many different colored apples.  Include a green Granny Smith, a yellow Golden Delicious, a striped Jonathan, or a spotted Red Delicious.  Provide paints, water, brushes, paper towels, and sheets of paper.  Ask your student to fold his/her paper into fourths and duplicate the colors of each apple in each section of their paper by mixing paints.

here is an example of how they might experiment with mixing colors

     -Try to Produce a Still Life Picture
Tell your student that, in painting, a still life is a picture of inanimate objects, such as fruit, flowers, or food.  Show them a copy of Cezanne's Apples.  Set up an arrangement of apples and have your student use markers, crayons or paints to apply color to their drawing.

Cezanne's Apples

here is an example of works by children

and another example here

     -Playdoh Apples
Have your student sculpt an apple from playdoh.  Have them add details such as a leaf or a stem.

here is an example, along with a recipe for apple spice scented playdoh

     -Make an apple collage
Have your student collect strips of red, green, or yellow scrapbook paper.  Then have them collage those pieces together to make an apple.

here is an example with tutorial

     -Make an Apple Ad
Help your student to pick out a product made by Apple.  Then, help them brainstorm ways to promote that product.  Have them get creative and come up with a slogan and poster to promote that product.  Make sure they use the Apple logo in their ad.

photo credit here

     -Make Tissue Paper Apple Trees
Younger students will enjoy making an apple tree.  Have your student draw a tree trunk with a brown crayon on a sheet of paper.  Then let them tear several shades of green tissue paper into small 'leaves'.  After they glue the leaves above the trunk, give them red tissue paper to glue on for apples.

here is an example along with a tutorial

     -Make Apple Sun Catchers
Have your student use tissue paper and contact paper to make a sun catcher for their own window.

here is an example along with a tutorial

     -Make Apple Prints
Cut apples in half two ways, from the stem down and across the middle of the apple.  Cut one apple into quarters.  Provide red, yellow, and green paint along with sheets of colored construction paper, drawing paper, and tissue paper.  Have your student dip the cut side of the apple pieces in the paint and make prints on their papers.  By using an apple repeatedly until the paint is trasnferred to the paper, your student will get an interesting series of prints that gets lighter and lighter.  Or by overlapping colors with separate prints, your student will create interesting new colors and patterns.  Encourage your student to experiment.

here is an example

here is another example

and here are some tips to make apple printing more enjoyable

     -Make a Dried Apple Sculpture
This is a project for older students because it involves carving with a paring knife.  You will need an apple, a paring knife, a bowl of lemon juice, and a length of string.  HAve your student peel their apples, leavin ght estem and a circl eof peel around the sem.  Have them  carve a face in their apple.  Their carvings can include a mouth, nose, eyes, chin, cheeks, and ears.  Don't let them make any of the cuts too deep.  The carved areas will look deeper as the apples dry.  After your student is done carving, have them dip their apple in the lemon juice to prevent discoloration.  If you want to, you can let the apples soak in the lemon juice for an hour.  Next, have your student tie a length of string to their apple and hang it in a warm, dry place.  It will take about a month for the apple to dry and shrink.  (If your student cannot wait that long, you can speed the process up by drying their apple in a slow oven at 100 degrees for 5 hours, then hang them to dry for about a week.)

go here to see the progression of this man's apple sculptures

Play
*Disclaimer* - Older students will play 'too cool' for games and songs.  The only way to get them involved sometimes is to be goofy and play with them!  Younger students have no problems getting silly.  :)  Decide what your child will want to do, and go from there.  If all else fails, you can let them play the iPad...that's an apple right?  :)

Games

     -Musical Apples
This will need to be played as a group.  Everyone sits on the floor in a circle.  Give one person a red apple and another person a green or yellow apple.  Play a favorite recording.  As long as the music plays, everyone passes the apples clockwise around the circle.  When the music stops, the two people who are holding the two apples must stand.  The one holding the red apple must walk once around the outside of the circle.  The one holding the other apple must walk twice around the circle.  They then return to the circle to pass the apples around as soon as the music begins again.  Other variations include: eliminating the people left holding the apples, or asking whoever is holding the apple to state a fact about apples before continuing.

     -"Red Apple, Stop"
Play this game outside with a group of people.  You will need two apples - a red apple and a green apple.  Have everyone line up shoulder to shoulder as they would for a race.  Choose on person to be the leader, and position him or her a good distance away from the other people, but facing them.  Explain that when the leader holds up the green apple, that is a signal to run.  When the leader holds up a red apple, that is a signal to stop immediately, to 'put on the brakes.'  The leader should call out, "Green apple, go!" when he/she holds up the green apple.  He/she should call, "Red apple, stop!" when the red apple is held up.  There are no winners in this game, only the fun of participating.

     -"Grow, Apple Seed, Grow"
This is another group game.  Have students sit in a circle.  Choose one student to be 'it'.  They will close their eyes while an apple seed{a brown pom pom} is given to one person in the circle.  All students in the circle will then pretend to be holding the seed behind their back.  Then 'it' will look around and try to guess who is hiding the apple seed.  When they guess they will walk over to that student and pretend to 'water' them while saying 'grow, apple seed, grow.'  If that student has the seed they will grow like a tree...if they don't, they will sit still.  Give 'it' 3 guesses to find the apple seed.

     -"Who Took the Apple from the Apple Tree"   
This is played like 'who took the cookies from the cookie jar.'  All players close their eyes and the teacher/parent gives a small apple to one of the players.  Once they have hidden it away all players put their hands in their laps and open their eyes.  Start by singing, 'who took the apple from the apple tree?', then guess someone singing, 'johnny took the apple from the apple tree', if johnny doesn't have the apple, he holds up his hands and sings, 'who me?...couldn't be.'  Then everyone sings, 'then who?'  Keep guessing each other until you find the person who has the apple.  Then that person will sing, 'Who me?...Yes, me!' revealing the apple.

     -Hidden Apples
Cut out several different apples from construction paper, or use real apples, or manipulatives.  Hide the apples in 1 or 2 rooms in the house/classroom.  Have your student locate all of the apples.  You can use hot/cold clues if they need additional help.  For younger students, use large apples, for older students make the apples much smaller.
 
     -Apple Finger Puppets
Have your student color and cut out the finger puppets from the page below.  Glue or staple them so that they will make a loop around your student's fingers.  They can then act out songs, books, plays, or be creative in their own way with them.

click here for download

Songs

Apples and Bananas

Sippin' Cider

 

Ten Apples Up On Top

If I Were an Apple

 

Picking Apples

Hope you have had so much FUN with apples this month!

Valerie

Extending Learning {Apples Pt. 2}

I hope you have had a chance to use some of the ideas and suggestions for extending learning with apples from last week's post.

If you haven't read that one, check it out here.

This week I want to give you some ideas to extend the learning in the areas of math and science using apples.  Just a reminder, Johnny Appleseed Day is the 26th of this month. 

Math
    
     -Count Apples
Using either real apples or manipulatives(things that kids can manipulate for the purpose of learning a mathematical concept) to have your child count.  These can be erasers, apple post-it notes, hand drawn apples on pieces of paper, pom poms, beads, or apple manipulatives.  Practice counting by ones, fives, tens, and if you want to challenge your older student, by threes.  Have your student count the apples and write down the number or match it to a numbered flash card.

you can have your student fill out an apple ten frame after counting

     -Look at Symmetry
Cut an apple in half from top to bottom.  Have your student observe the halves to see if they are the same size and shape.  Have your student notice if there are areas of symmetry and asymmetry.

after checking their apple for symmetry, have them draw a symmetrical apple of their own

     -Do Apple Fractions
Give your student a whole apple.  Ask them what they would do if a friend wanted to share with them.  They would want to cut it in half.  Then ask them how they would divide the apple between 4 people, 8 people, 12 people.  Help your younger student to cut the apple into these fractions.  Older students could cut the apples themselves.

check out this book for more fun

     -Estimate and Count Apple Seeds
Have your student estimate how many seeds will be found within an apple.  After they have made their best guess, have them(or you) cut the apple in half and spoon out the seeds.  Count the seeds and see how close(far) their estimate was from the actual count.

here is an example

     -Sell Apples (or Apple Treats) at an Apple Stand
What better way to teach your student about money?  Help your student make apple treats to sell and set up a stand, much like a lemonade stand.  Have them price items and practice making change for many denominations of money.  If you do not want to have an actual stand with real product, you can play pretend with selling apples.  Have your student price their manipulatives and play with funny money.

photo credit here

     -Weigh an Apple
Using a food scale, weigh multiple apples.  Record the weights.  Determine which is the heaviest, lightest, and in between.  Ask your student to figure out the average weight of an apple.  Once they have figured out the average weight, ask your student to figure out how many apples it takes to make a pound of apples.

photo credit here

     -A Bushel and a Peck
This one is interesting for students that are not aware of this unit of measurement.  A peck of apples is about 11 apples.  There are 4 pecks in a bushel.  Have your student determine how many apples would be in a bushel.  How many in 3, 4, or 10 bushels.

photo credit here

   -Make an Apple Graph
Have your student take a poll of their friends and family members to discover which type of apple is their favorite(red delicious, granny smith, jonagold).  Once they have tallied all of their answers, instruct them to make a graph using their data.  They can make a bar graph, pie graph, or a pictograph.  Each tally can be represented in 1 to 1 correspondence in the graph or 2 to 1 correspondence.

here is an example of a bar graph

here is an example of a pie graph

here is an example of a pictograph

here is a downloadable form for your student to use

     -Apple Sticker Math
 Using apple stickers, have your student make up math problems for you to solve.  For example, they may put 3 stickers + 2 stickers = ?, and you would need to fill in the answer.  Your student may choose to do addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division.

here is an example

Games

PreK - 2

Apple Tree Math Game-Could be used for counting or one to one correspondence

Apple Tree Addition Game-Use this game with addition flash cards

Apple Fractions File Folder Game-This has a free download to practice fractions

Apple Addition File Folder Game-Another free download for simple addition

Simple Apple Addition-A fun hands-on approach to solving simple addition equations

Apple Patterns and Sorting-Use apple cutouts

Appleseed Clip Counting-Helpful for little ones practicing counting and number recognition

Pick an Apple-Using a tree and pony beads you can get your student counting to win

Cardboard Tube Apple Games-Your student will practice fine motor skill as they make the trees themselves

Apple Tree Playdoh Math-Teaches your student subitising(click link to learn more)

Candy Apple Tree Sorting and Counting-Using candy helps any student learn

Apple Tree Math-Great for use with multiple students with different levels of learning

3-6

Bushel of Apples and Fill Your Basket Games-All you need are dice to play these games

Apple Tree Math-Great for use with multiple students with different levels of learning

Be sure to check out 3 Dinosaur's Amazing {and FREE} apple packs.  They are loaded with printable activities and games to go along with everything apple related.  They are geared more toward the lower grades, though some students in upper grades would still enjoy them.  Please make sure to scroll all the way to the bottom of this page to access the downloads.  Don't click on the download button to the right...it is an ad.  {Sometimes these ads on download pages make me crazy!!} Really great stuff though!

Science
     -Make an Apples for Each Season Poster
Your student can look at the life cycle of an apple tree by illustrating how an apple tree appears in each season of the year, winter, spring, summer, and fall.    There is a variety of ways of showing the season poster.

here is an example

or you could complete this sheet here

     -Make an Apple Clock or Time Line
Another way to show the life cycle of an apple tree is to show the progression from seed to apple.  You and your student can illustrate and discuss how an apple tree grows.

here is an example

     -Make an Apple Science Dictionary
Let your student make a list of new science words as you study apples.  Words may include sepal, calyx, petal, pollen, pollinate, nectar, bud, fruit, glucose, and many more.  Then your student may make a dictionary using index cards with definitions for each word.

you can buy this dictionary here

     -Plant an Apple Seed
Your student may want to try and sprout an apple seed.  To give it a try, you will need to mimic a cold winter period for the seed.  Apple seeds won't sprout until they have rested through a cold winter period.  To simulate that period, you and your student will need to put the apple seeds in the fridge for 6 weeks.  To sprout the seeds, put them in a tray of moist sand inside a plastic bag or between layers of moist paper towels.  Keep them cool and moist until they sprout.  It may take six more weeks!  When tiny roots and tiny shoots emerge, plant the apple seeds in soil and watch the apple tree grow and produce leaves.  It will take 15 years to produce fruit from your apple seed.

follow along with this 'nutty' family as they grow their own apple trees

If you don't want to make the big time investment, and you have room in your yard, you could plant an apple tree from your local nursery.  We have an apple tree in our yard and if you have the room, it is a wonderful investment.  I love looking out the window and seeing my kids picking apples for a snack.  :)

here is information to get you started

     -Have a Taste Test
Let your student compare a number of different apples by tasting them.  Give them a small slice of each apple along with a glass of water.  Have your student taste each variety, rinsing their mouths with water between tastes.  Ask them to make notes about the tastes and textures by writing in a journal.  You could remind your student that the taste buds for sweetness are at the tops of the tounges, and the taste buds for tartness are at the sides of our tongues.  Together decide on adjectives to describe each variety of apple. 

here is an example of doing a taste test with your student

     -Test Your Senses
Once you have completed the taste test.  Have your student chart the apples, marking whether they were sweet, tart, crispy, or soft.  Once they have viewed the information, blindfold your student and have them taste each apple again.  Can they guess which apple just by taste?  Next, have them blindfolded and hold their noses.  How do they do now?  You can try and trick your student by giving them a slice of potato as well.  With their noses closed, they may have a hard time telling apart raw potato from raw apple.

here is an example

     -Observe an Apple
Give your student an apple and a copy of the activity sheet below.  Have your student answer the first five questions on the sheet.  Then cut their apple in half and have them answer the last two questions.  Next, your student can draw a realistic picture of the apple and print the variety name next to it.

download here

Apple Science and Math Center Booklet

Here is a free printable of a Science and Math Center that can be used at home or in the classroom.  Work through each section of the book and have your student mark the book with notes and observations as you move along.

download here

Come back next week for the final part of our Extending Learning Apples Edition, Art and Play!