Posts Tagged ‘apples’

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

ClickSchooling Resource: Celebrate “Not Back to School” With Johnny Appleseed

August 23rd, 2009

Hi!

How are you planning to kick-start the “Not Back To School” year?

Our family marked the beginning of each new “Not Back To School” year by taking a trip to the Gizdich Apple Ranch in Watsonville, California. We took a tour of the facility, learned all about the apple-agri business, and saw apples crushed to make cider. Then, we headed into the apple orchards to pick a 1/2 bushel of Red Delicious, Golden Delicious and Pippin apples. After picking apples, we’d go to the barn where they served delicious apple pie and apple dumplings – yum!

Our annual homeschool ritual tied in nicely with the birthday of John Chapman (aka Johnny Appleseed) on September 26th. We’d listen to his biography on CD, make apple recipes, and do craft activities with apples. My sons eventually outgrew the apple crafts – but they loudly objected when I suggested they may have outgrown our annual tradition. Even as teens they enjoyed the family trek to pick apples in September! :)

I thought some of you might want to adopt a similar tradition – or just learn more about American History through the engaging facts, legends, and lore of Johnny Appleseed!

As I mentioned, Johnny Appleseed’s birthday is September 26th – and you and your family can get a head start on the celebration with….

HOMEFIRES’ JOHNNY APPLESEED CURRICULUM!

This innovative and educational 48-page eBook by homeschool mom Fran Wisniewski (and edited by yours truly) is designed for kids in grades K-7 – and the whole family will enjoy the learning activities. This eBook includes:

  • An accurate account of the life and times of Johnny Appleseed
  • Folk legends and lore about Johnny Appleseed
  • Illustrations and pictures
  • The history of early pioneers and apple orchards in the U.S.
  • Fun and fascinating apple-themed projects
  • Lesson plans in language arts, math, and geography
  • Hands-on apple science experiments
  • Apple recipes and craft ideas!

Click on the array of embedded links in the resource pages to visit other Johnny-themed websites with apple coloring books, art projects, songs, books, games, links to you-pick apple orchards, and more.

Celebrate educational freedom and kick off the “Not Back To School” year with fun activities that will jump-start learning all year long!

Get more info on this Homefires’ exclusive here:

http://www.homefires.com/store/appleseed.asp

Happy Homeschooling!

Diane

Diane Flynn Keith
Editor, Homefires.com
ClickSchooling List Owner

———————————–

Are You The Parent of a Preschooler? You’ll Love Universal Preschool’s Learning Calendar! It’s chock-full of fun, easy activities & time-saving resources for learning with little ones all year long! Get your copy today.

No comments »

Posted in art, language arts, math, music, science, social sciences

Tags:

Explore & Learn Art at The Met Museum

January 24th, 2009

Recommended Website:
MetMuseum: Explore and Learn

Age Range: All (Designed for the young and young at heart.)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art sponsors this website that offers a variety of “Explore and Learn” online exhibits designed for kids – but fascinating and fun for people of all ages.

When you get to the site you’ll see a menu of the online exhibits with titles that include:

  • Learn About Color
  • The Dancers and Degas
  • Cezanne’s Astonishing Apples
  • How Van Gogh Made His Mark
  • Romare Bearden: Let’s Walk The Block
  • China: Dawn of a Golden Age 200-750 AD
  • The Tomb of Perneb
  • Childe Hassam, American Impressionist

Click on any one and the virtual exhibit opens to reveal information about the artists and their work through a multi-media extravaganza. Families can tour the online exhibit, play interactive games, and virtually experiment with designing, building, drawing, painting and much more. These activities really enhance awareness of various art genres and will inspire the artist within.

Bookmark this site because you simply cannot do and see it all in one visit.

No comments »

Posted in art

Tags:

Apple Science & Much More!

September 11th, 2007

Apple Science & Much More!

Johnny Appleseed’s birthday is September 26th. Why not get a head
start on the celebration with learning activities themed around
apples? Today’s websites include the biography of Johnny Appleseed,
just about everything you ever wanted to know about apples, and some
fun and fascinating apple-themed projects, lesson plans, and science
experiments!

Age Range: 2-18 and beyond (Note: Each site has something that will
appeal to members of the whole family. Grade levels are indicated at
the sites with curriculum or lesson plans.)

Recommended Websites:

UniversalPreschool: Fun with Apples!

I compiled the resources and wrote the article you’ll find at this
website. :) Not only are the activities here suitable for young
children, they are fun for the whole family. Get a link to a u-pick
farm directory and take the family on an apple-picking excursion.
Read the story of Johhy Appleseed. Click on the links to FREE Johnny
Appleseed coloring pages as well as a FREE apple activity book! Get a
suggestion for a Johnny Appleseed DVD. Discover the celestial gift
inside of every apple. Do some apple activities steeped in folk lore.
Find some apple art projects. Click on the links to get apple
recipes, songs, fingerplays, books, games and more. You will even
find a link to the Mr. Apple Head Game online (inspired by Mr. Potato
Head). It’s all here. Have fun!


Johnny Appleseed Biography

This site provides an accurate account of what is known about the
life of John Chapman aka Johnny Appleseed. Be certain to click on the
array of embedded links in the text to visit other Johnny-themed
websites containing more biographical info (along with pictures and
illustrations), as well as information on the Johnny Appleseed Trail
in Massachusetts, and discover where you can visit the last remaining
apple orchard in Johnny’s hometown of Leomister, Massachusetts (if
you happen to be in the area).


The Audio Story of Johnny Appleseed

Listen to the Story of Johnny Appleseed as told by Boris Karloff for FREE! This is brought to you by “Living Books for the Ears” a production of the homeschooling Erskine Family of http://www.homeschoolradioshows.com


Apples & More

Do you love Unit Studies? If so, you’re going to love this site. The
University of Illinois offers the granddaddy of apple websites with
more information about apples than anyone could possibly want to
know. :) It includes history and legends about apples, apple facts,
how to grow apples, the varieties of apples, recipes, where to find u-
pick apple orchards and apple festivals, and two sections
homeschoolers will especially enjoy called “Apple Education”
and “Apple Fun.”

When you get to the site click on “Apple Education” on the menu and a
new page opens with information about the life cycle of apples, as
well as apple-themed activities that cover social studies,
literature, math, science and writing for many grade levels! No
kidding! Then, click on “Apple Fun” for links to websites with apple
puzzles, word searches, coloring books, art projects, and much more.


Apple Science

Here’s a site, created by a classroom teacher, that offers 3 simple
and interesting science activities you can do at home with apples. It
includes complete instructions for a memory and art lesson with
apples, growing apple seed sprouts, and determining if slices of
apples will sink or swim.

Have fun!

P.S. If you like this ClickSchooling message, please pass it along
(in its entirety – including this part) and invite others to join
our free ClickSchooling list by visiting:
http://www.clickschooling.com/.

No comments »

Posted in art, language arts, math, science, social sciences

Tags:

Fun, Interactive Math Facts Games

February 12th, 2007

Recommended Website:
Math at Play Kids Games

At this website, you’ll find a variety of fun, interactive games designed to
help kids learn and practice their math skills.
When you get to the site you’ll see a menu of games that include:

  • Math Shuttle Launch — You choose whether to work on addition, subtraction,
    multiplication, division, or a random assortment of them all. You also get
    to choose your level: Easy, Medium, or Hard. Every time you answer a math
    question correctly, you get to watch your rocketship launch successfully and
    reach the moon. :)
  • Save the Math Apples: Answer the math questions correctly and the monkey
    can get the apples safely across the river. One misstep, though, and the
    hungry crocodile gets a snack!
  • Seahorse Counting: Count the seahorses and click on the correct
    corresponding number. Great for young children learning to recognize their
    numbers.
  • Robot Calculator: Type in the correct answers to the math questions that
    appear on the calculator screen to make your robot very happy.
  • Math Pinball: Shoot the ball and hit it with the paddles; watch it bounce
    all around inside the pinball machine. Each time the pinball successfully
    ricochets off of the components of a math question, you need to answer it
    correctly before you can continue the game. Complete with sound effects.
  • Math Tunnel Blaster: Shoot the correct answers to make your way through the
    walls and through the tunnel.
  • Calculator Quizzer: The questions appear vertically (in the Robot
    Calculator they appear horizontally).

But that’s not all! There are other subjects also available at this site.
Just click on the house icon at the top left corner of your screen to access
them! And in the “new” section, you can download a free math drills
adventure game to play on your home computer. (Note: This particular game
might be scary for some younger children; parents should preview the game to
determine suitability).

No comments »

Posted in math

Tags:

Fun, Foreign Language Games Online!

July 15th, 2006

Recommended Website:
Apples 4 The Teacher: Foreign Languages

This is really cool! Today’s site offers FREE interactive games to practice elementary foreign languages. When you get to the site look for the menu that includes:

  • American Sign Language — Learn to fingerspell and create your own printable sign flashcards.
  • Gaelic Games (Ireland) — Learn all about Ireland by turning the pages of an electronic book. You’ll even hear a story in Gaelic.
  • Polish Games — Follow the dot-to-dot game and learn to count backwards in Polish!
  • Spanish Games — There are 4 interactive Spanish games that teach the correct pronunciation of the letters of the Spanish alphabet, how to count to 20 forwards and backwards, and how to say the names of parts of the face.

What a fun way to introduce foreign languages and/or reinforce them!

No comments »

Posted in foreign language

Tags:

Online Autumn

October 20th, 2004

Recommended Website:
Online Autumn

This site is a collaborative effort by students in elementary classrooms throughout the United States to celebrate Autumn through language arts — especially poetry and online activities such as Fall-themed word searches, games, and puzzles.

When you get to the site you will see a menu of teachers’ names and their schools. Click on any one and a new page opens with their students’ contributions. Most of them are poems, but you will also see some artwork depicting Autumn scenes and information on Autumn-themed activities that were conducted in some classrooms as well. Your children may enjoy reading the poetry of other students, and it may inspire them to write their own poem.

When you are through sampling the students’ work at this site, scroll to the bottom of the menu on the homepage and you will see:

  • Online Activities — Click on this menu item and a new page opens with a menu of links to interactive Autumn-themed crossword puzzles, matching games, hangman, and quizzes.
  • Printable Worksheets — Click on this item and a new page opens with links to other sites with printable Autumn-themed worksheets, coloring pages, mazes, and more.
  • Autumn Links — Find a variety of links (most that work, some that don’t) to interesting, educational websites about Autumn including why leaves change color, and some great websites about apples and Johnny Appleseed.

This site was developed by classroom teachers, but some of the information, ideas and activities can easily be used in the homeschool as well. I’d recommend parents visit the site first, sift through the information to find the items that will most appeal to your kids, and then invite them to join you at the computer to read a few poems and play some online games. You can also print out some of the materials and use them off-line.

No comments »

Posted in language arts

Tags: