US Geography and The Constitution

One of the benefits of homeschooling is the ability to change gears and focus on different topics at a moment's notice.  This spring I planned to focus on geography and map work with a sprinkling of historical events in our country.  One day I thought, "Why not teach the states in the order they were adopted along with the amendments in chronological order?"  This was in addition to my older son memorizing the preamble and an overview of the history of the Constitution and Bill of Rights .  I already had this great USA Sticker Book for the kids:
http://barkercreek.com/prod.php?p=BCPSTS-5520&k=325129 and decided to use it along with a box of flash cards with the states, the order they were adopted, interesting facts, etc. that I picked up at Lakeshore Learning.  I also used the website: http://archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution.html for the amendments and preamble.  This also allowed the kids to see photos of the original documents. 

So far we have covered 5 states and 5 amendments.  The kids and I have really enjoyed studying this important part of US History.

Solar Powered Fun

I love science kits.  It takes away the brain power of planning and shopping for expeiments.  I ordered this one through Home Science Tools, a great web resource for science supplies.

Our first experiment was conducting an experiment to test the "greenhouse" effect.

It was hot outside and perfect to begin a last minute study on solar energy.

Instead of using paper to record our results, we used chalk and the patio.

This next experiement was from the same kit showing how to use the sun to boil water.

Here it is here...After about 30 minutes in 80 degree weather, the water in the test tube boiled and overflowed.  Today's experiment, cooking eggs outside.