Expedition Australia and Keeping it Real

We spent this week doing the Download N Go unit Expedition Australia.  I have to be honest and say that my heart just was not in it.  I still wanted to do it, but I just could not get out of my own way this week.  Do you ever have a week like that?  I guess that is the beauty of Download N Go.  We could have made a salt dough map of Australia or made didgeridoos or boomerangs or a hundred other wonderful projects that would make for a fabulous blog post and wonderful memories BUT for this week, we "only" covered the lessons and made a few of the lapbooking minit books provided in the unit study.  And, do you know what?  It was enough!  It was plenty.  In my perfectionism, I still wish that we had been able to do some projects but I am OK with the fact that we didn't.

Have you ever done a Download N Go Unit?  I'd love for you to comment on this post.  I'm not giving anything away this time but I would love to hear from you! :)

Download N Go units are designed for grades K-4 but Ryan (grade 5) also did Expedition Australia.  In each Download N Go unit study you get 5 days of lessons.  The work is really all done for you.  There is an extensive list of library books you can choose from if you wish but they are totally unnecessary!  The links provided in the unit study give you all the information you need!  There are videos, informational links, links to maps and the flag and the national anthem and so much more. I think I might say this with every unit, but I really love how much geography there is in these units.  Before I decided to use Download N Go this year, I had already decided I wanted to focus on geography a lot this year and these units sure fit the bill for that.

Our library books

In Expedition Australia the 5 days of lessons are:

Day 1: Where on Earth Is Australia?
Day 2: Some of the Special Places in Australia
Day 3: A Bit of Australian History
Day 4: Cool Things to Know About Australia
Day 5: Fun and Games in Australia


Here are a few sample pages:

The way I used this unit was to review the next day's lesson the night before and choose pages to print.The next day, we gathered around the laptop to watch the videos and complete the worksheets.  I print them on "fast draft" to save ink.  For Expedition Australia, Emma (2nd grade) and Ryan (5th grade) used this unit.  Some of the other kids also participated by coloring flags and watching videos.  This is another feature of Download N Go that I love...it is versatile and easy to use for children older and younger than the K-4 it is recommended for.

Some of the fun things we learned about this week are marsupials, boomerangs, didgeridoos, climate, hemispheres, constellations and oceans.  (lots to learn about!)  We watched this video (warning: comment section is inappropriate) about tasmanian devils that I found.  One of the wonderful features of Download N Go is that all videos are embedded into a page so you never see youtube comments that are often offensive. (This was a video that I found myself..it was not part of the study.)

Since we didn't do any projects I don't have many pictures of this unit but here are a few that I did take on Friday.

Emma coloring her flag of Australia

Ellie's flag (not quite right but she had fun)

Our finished lap folders.  Every unit has a certificate of completion that I
 glue to the back of the folder. (If you use a pocket folder like I do be sure to use
tacky glue or something strong...a glue stick will not work.)

Currently there is a special running on Expedition Australia.  It is normally $7.95 but until Monday, November 8 it is only $5.95!  In addition, there is a fantastic National Geographic Australia map giveaway going on on the DNG blog.  Be sure to check it out!

Now go here and read what others on the DNG team are saying about Expedition Australia. Seriously, go see what others did with this unit.  It makes me want to do it again..... :)

**disclaimer:  I was given a free copy of Expedition Australia in exchange for my honest review.

Molly's Money Saving Digest

Occasionally I am asked to review a product besides the Download N Go units.  This week I was sent a copy of Molly’s Money Saving Digest which is a monthly e-book “magazine”.  This is my first time reading an issue and it looks like a lot of fun.  I was given a small sample of a recent issue and a text only version of the November 2010 issue in exchange for my honest review.  The theme of the November issue is Preparing our Hearts and Homes for the Holidays.  Anyone who knows me knows that I love Christmas and the whole holiday season.   I really enjoyed reading through this issue and cannot wait to see the completed version because from the sample I have seen I know it is going to be beautiful.

Inside there are some articles, but one my favorite parts is the recipes.  There is a one week meal plan that includes meals you can make for the freezer.  I love freezer cooking and cannot wait to try the recipes. It even has a complete shopping list. There are lots of recipes for desserts too. (For my friends with Celiac Disease there is a gluten free cookie recipe as well!) Additionally, there are directions for how to make a breadbasket using plastic bags and recycled plastic lids.  I can’t wait to try making one (or letting my teens try making it.)

Molly’s Money Saving Digest is not just for recipes and crafts though.  There is a valuable article on organizing your holidays with multiple internet links to help plan everything out.  Others things you will find include a list of important dates, November bargains to look for, an article on beautiful table settings on a budget, another on dinner party manners and one writer shares her journey out of debt. Last but not least, an article on preparing our hearts and homes for the holiday season.

All in all, Molly’s Money Saving Digest is a very enjoyable read and my family will benefit from it this holiday season.

**** I saw the final version of this today and it's so nice with the pictures and that bread basket is the coolest thing.  I can't wait to try one when I have the time. 

Terrific Tigers!

This week we finished Terrific Tigers, another Download N Go unit study by Amanda Bennett and The Old Schoolhouse.  I have never really been much of an animal lover, but I found Terrific Tigers to be very interesting and I am saddened to find out how endangered they are.

We saw lots of videos of tigers; some large tigers and some very cute baby tigers. I didn't know that tigers are swimmers or that one kind of tiger even has webbed feet. Keep reading to find out how you can win a copy!

In this 5 day unit for grades K-4 (though my 5th grade son enjoyed the videos and library books) you will find:

Day 1: What Is a Tiger?
Day 2: Getting to Know Tigers
Day 3: Where Are the Tigers?
Day 4: The Science of Tigers
Day 5: Cool Things About Tigers

sample pages

For the first time since we started using Download N Go, I did not do much planning ahead. I usually print out the worksheets and organize them by day and child and place them in folders.  This time, I went through the the lessons the night before and just printed a few sheets.  We went through all of the lessons but we didn't write everything down.  It ended up being the perfect amount for the week.

This unit covers tigers, veterinarians, habitats, endangered animals and what it means to be extinct.  It also covers geography (one of my favorite things about all of the Download N Go units is the amount of time we spend using maps....just the right amount!), Bible, math activities and so much more.

We got a National Geographic DVD Tigers of the Snow from the library.  One of the video clips from the week came from this special.  The kids seemed to get a kick out of the fact that they had already seen that part.

We ended the week by making this tiger cake and cupcakes. (It's always fun to spice up a unit study with a recipe!) I didn't have all of the candy I needed so I just used peppermint patties and frosting.  I was going to make these cupcakes too but I didn't have the candy to decorate them so I just made striped cupcakes instead.

Connor and Ellie happily watching me decorate.

The finished tiger cake and some striped cupcakes to go along.

And now for the giveaway!  The Old Schoolhouse has generously offered a free copy to one of my blog readers.  Please read carefully for details on how to enter. Also, remember to leave me an e-mail address so Download N Go can e-mail Terrific Tigers to you. (Another winner will be selected if I do not have an e-mail address to contact you.)

To enter to win: (each comment counts as 1 entry)

** read the disclaimer below for eligibility

1) Comment on this blog post 

2) Post a link to this post on Facebook and leave me a comment saying that you did. 

3) Follow my blog and leave a comment that you follow it. (if you're already a follower that counts too)

4) Blog about this with a link back to my blog and come post the link to your blog in the comments.

I will choose a random winner on October 29. Now that you have read my review and entered to win your free copy of Terrific Tigers, go on the blog tour to see what others are saying and enter to win their giveaway!

Go here to read my other Download N Go reviews.

**disclaimer- TOS affiliates including members of the TOS crew are ineligible to win.  In addition, if you have won a DNG study from one of MY giveaways before you are ineligible for this one.  You are free to enter on another blog though!   I was given a free copy of Terrific Tigers in exchange for my honest review.

Outdoor Hour-Challenge #2

This weekend we took advantage of the beautiful weather and went to a local hiking area.  It was our first time there and a nice change from our usual "backyard" forest adventures.  One of the nice things was a regular path.  In our backwoods we are mainly just trekking through the woods without a path.

In this challenge, I read from the Handbook of Nature Study (just to myself not the kids).  We collected a ton of leaves along with a few mushrooms, some acorns and a couple of pine cones.  We were on the trail for 2 hours so that was a little long with the young ones but we all had a good time.  There are 3 trails so we will have to go back and hike the other 2 trails soon.



By the time we got home we were all tired so we left our bag of "treasures" until later.  After supper, we had fun making leaf rubbings and even used a rainbow stamp pad to do a few leaf stamps.  I don't care how old I am, I love making leaf rubbings.  (maybe more than the kids)

The main point of this challenge is to use your words to describe what you heard, saw and felt.  This was pretty difficult for the kids so I think it was a good challenge because it gets them thinking.  The next time we go out I think they will be more observant.  Here are their responses:

Jenna (5)
One word to describe something you heard.  water
Two words for something you saw.  brown mushroom (with a white stem)..yeah I know more than 2 words
Three words for something you felt.  soft, fuzzy leaf

Emma (7)
One word to describe something you heard. crinkling (leaves)
Two words for something you saw. wobbly bridge
Three words for something you felt. soft, bumpy mushroom

Ryan (10)
One word to describe something you heard. cricket
Two words for something you saw. animal den
Three words for something you felt. smooth stick (he couldn't come up with 3 words)

As always, I took pictures:

starting out on the trail...my nephew came along too

Emma wanted me to take this picture to show how tall the fern was.

Can you find Connor?

This was so cool....sprouting acorns

princess pine (we took some time to learn a little about spore cones)

Ellie wanted me to take her picture with this leaf.

the boys throwing rocks in the river

Favorite picture of the day.

waiting for everyone to catch up

I came up on Jenna kneeling over these tiny flowers she found.

everything is going to seed

Ellie and Connor walking the end of the hike hand in hand.

Emma

Emma was so happy about these giant leaves.

lots of leaves

about a foot long!

you can see we found quite a variety

Emma making a leaf rubbing

Expedition China

This week we did Download N Go's Expedition China.  This was really a crazy week...an unexpected morning of helping my grandmother with Alzheimer's, doctor appointments, several days of rain....just not a great week but we were still able to complete all of the lessons.  Honestly, I tried to do too much!  I don't know if I have mentioned this before but I have a problem with perfectionism AND I hate to waste stuff.  I purchased this unit in the summer after having only completed one Download N Go unit.  I printed EVERY page and because I did this I felt that we had to DO every page.  I would not recommend doing this.  There is so much in this unit, it's really too much to try to do in one week.  I think it would have been better if we had chosen a few things to focus on. With all that being said, we still enjoyed China.

Panda bears are so cute!

Emma was the only one that really completed the work in this unit.  Some of the kids watched the videos and did some coloring but Emma went through all of it.  (I did make her do too much.  I'll try not to do that anymore...LOL)

The week before we started Expedition China, I started reading, These are My People by Mildred Howard.  It is a biography of Gladys Aylward, a missionary to China.  We are enjoying reading it and I hope to finish it in the next few days.  I also got a stack of books from the library list but we haven't really read any.  I think I will read some before we return them to the library though.

I originally planned to cook some kind of Chinese food but we ended up going to a local Chinese restaurant with a few of the kids tonight.  It was fun and we got to try chopsticks.  They also have a fish tank with goldfish (one of the animals we studied this week) and it had a pagoda in it.

Emma trying to use chopsticks. (I'm not sure what Connor is doing.  LOL)

checking out the goldfish in the tank

So, my recommendation for this unit would be to buy it but, do one of two things:

1) Complete it in a week but pick and choose what you want to cover.

OR

2) Do all the lessons but take a much longer time to do it.

There is PLENTY here to fill several weeks especially if you add library books.  I am finding that I like to spend a week on a Download N Go unit (or 6 days if we add a field trip).  I just need to learn to scale back when I do this! :)

Rocking Robots

Our most recent Download N Go unit is Rocking Robots.  We spent an enjoyable week learning about robots from the first toy robot to how robots are used today and how they might be used in the future. As with all of the Download N Go unit studies there are 5 days of lessons.  We spent 5 days working on the unit and then on the 6th day we took a field trip and made a special robot treat!

In Rocking Robots you will find:

Day 1: What Is a Robot? 
Day 2: The History of Robots
Day 3: People and Places of Robots
Day 4: Science Secrets of Robots 
Day 5: Goodies and Gadgets of Robots

Although I did get a stack of books about robots out of the library.  We didn't really use them or need them.  (My husband and older son did enjoy reading some of them.)  I really didn't have much interest in robots and the kids weren't that thrilled with it either but any time I've been hesitant about a Download N Go unit we end up having a good time so we went for it.  I think we all learned a lot and it was fun to watch the robot videos.

I didn't take any pictures while we were working on the unit but we visited the Mystic Aquarium where they have a large exhibit that features underwater robots and videos with Dr. Robert Ballard.  It was a great way to end our study.  Well that, and the robot cake! (You'll find links to the directions in the study.)

Dr. Ballard (a sign as you walk in to the exhibit)

a life size replica of Jason

I can't remember the name of this ROV (you'll learn what that is)
but the kids can climb down inside.

Inside the ROV. The port holes have "movies" going by so it seems as if you are underwater.

A Titanic exhibit where the floor is a movie screen that is like the sea bottom

I think I'll pass on that ticket even at the original price!

one of the movies

decorating our robot cake

Emma, Ryan and Jenna with our robot

We really enjoyed Rocking Robots and I was amazed at some of the videos and the things robots can do. You can read more reviews on the Download N Go blog tour.


* I received a free copy of Rocking Robots in exchange for my honest review.

Becca's senior pictures

If you read my blog you'll notice that I don't post very often about the older children.  It isn't really intentional it's just easier to blog about the things I am doing with the younger kids.  Anyway, Becca is a senior this year.  It really doesn't seem possible that we have homeschooled her since day 1 and she is in her last year.  Wow does time fly!!  We got her senior pictures taken a few weeks ago (she hasn't had professional photos done in 9 years...sad but true.)  Here are a few shots: