The theme of this week's activities is Native Americans/Indians. This week's activities also include a study of South America, as we did not go in depth on the subject last month.
Teaching the kiddos political correctness is sometimes more than I bargain for. So, in an effort not to offend, I will teach them all of the different names. If they are ever in the presence of one of these people, they can ask, which name the person prefers.
Here's what we're learning!
Thanksgiving Unit: Native Americans/Indians and South America
Group 3 Letter Salt Tray
Just like all the other letter cards before, these free cards can be found at Homeschool Creations.
South America Countries & Flags Match Up
South America Syllable Cards
The idea to create syllable cards for countries in South America came after Bulldozer did such a fabulous job with our last syllable activity. I thought it might be a fantastic way to help the kiddos learn to pronounce the names of the countries, as some of them are quite difficult.
Source: I created this printable. The South America Country Syllable Cards are a free printable. For your copy, click on the link at the bottom of this post.
Indian Irregular Plural Matching
I loved this activity when I saw it. Bulldozer has stopped receiving services through the school district. There were many reasons, but ultimately it came down to the fact that we felt he needed services that met his social engagement opportunities, not just his academic performance goals.
It is now my responsibility to provide him with therapy. This activity was specifically designed to be a speech oriented activity. Since Bulldozer requires one to one help with all of his activities during learning time, I'm excited to have the opportunity to test this one out with him.
I am super excited about all of the books I've ordered from our local library to read this week. Reading will be a very big part of learning about the Native Americans/Indians.
1. How the Stars Fell Into the Sky: A Navajo Legend by Jerrie Oughton
2. If You Lived with the Indians of the Northwest Coast by Anne Kamma
3. If You Lived with the Cherokees by Peter Roop
4. Raven: A Trickster Tale from the Pacific Northwest by Gerald McDermott
5. Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti by Gerald McDermott
6. Arrow to the Sun: A Pueblo Indian Tale by Gerald McDermott
7. If You Lived with the Sioux Indians by Ann McGovern
8. Grandmother's Dreamcatcher by Becky Ray McCain
9. If You Lived with the Iroquois by Ellen Levine
Odd & Even Rain Forest Frogs
Source: I created the printable for this activity. The Odd & Even Frog Printable is a free printable. For your copy, click on the link at the bottom of this post.
Native American Addition
My thought behind this was that Bulldozer struggles so much with the multi-step process of reading the problem, counting out objects for both numbers, then counting them all together...etc, that he never can finish the activity.
He knows his bead bars well. He doesn't hesitate in selecting the correct bar for the correct number, which then only leaves the step of counting all of the beads together to find his answer. I'm hoping for more success from him this way.
Native American Stick Game
South America Puzzle
Source: I found the free map at Geography for Kids. Then, I altered it just a little to work for what I needed, including the addition of county names on the map.
Coloring Countries of South America
Source: Once again, I used the map at Geography for Kids, with just a little altering.
Native American Homes
Source: These free cards are offered at Montessori for Everyone.
Famous Landmarks of South America
I remember the delicious food she would prepare for us when it was her turn, but that was about it. Most of my knowledge of that culture comes from Central America as my husband lived in Mexico for two years and my best friend lived in Guatamala for two years and then served in the Peace Corp in Central America.
When I researched the landmarks for this activity, I immediately fell in love with the land. If only the political stability of these countries wasn't so fragile and it was safer to be there. I would love to take my family there to visit, especially Dinomite, who lives for animals and wants to become an animal expert working in the rain forest. Perhaps someday...
Grain Matching Activity
In this activity the kiddos have six different grains (or grain relations) to identify: quinoa, rice, potato, corn, wheat, and oats.
The first step of the activity is to identify the grain with the word cards. The second step of the activity is to identify the plant it comes from. The last step of the activity is to identify foods that are made with each grain.
I did not include cold cereal, because it can be made with all grains. There are some exceptions, especially for those with dietary restrictions. An example of this includes bread in the wheat category.
For those that live gluten free or wheat free, this may be placed in another category. Bulldozer is allergic to oats. Thankfully it is not a contact allergy and only ingestion is a trigger, allowing us to have the grain available for him to identify.
Animals of South America
Dream Catcher Craft
String is not shown in picture. |
Bad dreams are quite a big deal in this house right now. I figured it would be fun to make our own dream catchers and learn the story behind them. Then, just maybe, I can have my bed back to myself. Lol.
I was worried that paper plates might not be strong enough to withstand the kiddos' hands when frustrated, so I opted to use heavy cardboard. I then poked holes in it.
The kiddos will first paint the cardboard. Second they will use string to create the dream catcher. Third they will attach strings to the bottom where they will string beads and tie feathers to finish.
Native American Instruments
Native American Sensory Bin
- corn kernels
- wheat grains
- quinoa
- rice
- black beans
- teal colored pony beads
- Native American Figures
- feathers.
Tweezing Indian Corn
Source: I know I saw this activity somewhere, but I neglected to pin it. My sincere apologies for not siting the source.
Native American Weaving
I had wanted to choose Native American designed ribbon, but ran out of time. I'm hoping the kiddos will gain the courage to try the activity as they appear completely intimidated by it.
South American Fruit Taste Testing
The kiddos are very intrigued by the fruits. I'm hoping this means they'll try them. I must say, the smells in our learning time room are quite different from normal. Lol.
And that's our week!
I love that salt tray for drawing the letters of the alphabet in. Do you have a post that goes into the details of how to use it?
ReplyDeleteThis is truely great. Thank you for sharing! Cheers from Brazil.
ReplyDeleteThanks for beatiful ideas and sharing materials. Greetings from Slovakia.
ReplyDelete