Math - Associative Law

During math we needed a hands on explanation for the associative law of addition and multiplication.

I used buttons to to explain addition,

but had to resort to mini marshmallows for multiplication as I didn't have enough buttons.

Needless to say they remembered the multiplication law (grouping doesn't matter) best because they got to eat it : )

Bouncy Learning Math Game

The girls have had great fun with a bouncy castle this week,

not only did they get to play but it was a great opportunity to chant their math facts whilst jumping - it even turned into a fun competition to see who could get furthest in their times tables before they fell over. Don't you just love summer learning : ) 

Weather Fronts Activity

The girls have been learning about weather fronts this week and they decided that rather than making a poster to record their work, they would put together some actions and record it for you.

I loved the little cold and warm fronts they painted onto their hands : )

May Wrap up - Well Dressing, Bradford Cathedral and more chicks :)

Sorry this one is late but that's because we went on a camping trip at the end of the month and I didn't hit the schedule button properly : )

We had a great History trip to Bradford Cathedral with our Home Ed group. The sent us on a hunt around the cathedral, (where they spotted the remains of a Celtic cross)

did a presentation on the history of the cathedral (including great information on Bradford during the Civil war I knew nothing about - in 1642 when they padded the tower with bales of sheep wool to protect from cannons)

made a time line

and hosted a workshop on stained glass windows and William Morris.

We also had an unexpected history activity whilst we were camping - there is a little village in Derbyshire called Tissington. Each year they have a well dressing ceremony (end of May to first week of June) to celebrate Tissingtons bountiful water supply - there are two stories as to why this started.
1) The first theory is that the custom began just after the Black Death in 1348-9 Although the population round about was ravaged by plague, all in Tissington escaped and immunity was ascribed to the purity of the water supply and it became custom to decorate the wells in thanksgiving.

2) after a severe drought in 1615 (no rain between May and August) thousands of livestock perished and crops were 'burnt up', the five wells in Tissington flowed freely and the surrounding district had cause to be thankful for the unending supply of water from the little village. Again the wells are decorated in thanksgiving each year.

There was even a lesson on how the dress the wells - they start by soaking wooden boards in a local pond before covering them in a local clay trod through (like grapes) with salt. The picture is traced onto the boards and marked out with cone from the alder tree. Then comes the delicate and laborious task of infilling with flower petals and other natural materials. each petal is placed separately and overlaps like roof tiles to protect it from the rain. This can take up to three days.

This year the theme was a remembrance of World War 1 (100 years) which provide yet another history lesson for them : )

Sewing has been going really well - the girls finished their greeting cards

and started on a needle case.

We also had two more chicks hatch.

Learning Palette - TOS Review

We've been reviewing Learningpalette.com from Learning Wrap Ups. 
Learningpalette.com is an online educational program, it provide a fun and engaging way to reinforce and review skills whilst providing a self checking approach to learning. 

When you log in you are taken to the main menu - here you can choose between Math and Reading, the Math program offers Basic through to Level 5 and Reading - Basic to Level 3. (level info ) Each level offers about 6 topics and there are around a dozen cards for each topic. Subjects include numbers, coins, geometry, algebra, probability, fractions, phonics, reading comprehension, grammar, vocab, prefixes and more. The main menu also shows which cards you have completed.

Each question is presented as a palette. There are a variety of questions at the centre of the circle with the solutions around the outside, you then have to drag a coloured circle to the correct solution. Some of the questions are quiet small but there is a magnifying glass that zooms in. They can then check their answers, correct errors and go on to the next card or opt to back to the main menu. There is also a parent log in where you can review progress and see things like average score, completed cards and time spent etc. Learningpalette.com have provided the standards and correlation for each level. for those who have to deal with common core correlations.

You can pick and choose which order you do the questions in but we have been doing the cards in order and have noticed that the problems become progressively harder. We were given a years access to their online program for five users and Rose used the basic level, Tulip alternated between level 1 and 2 while Sunflower used level 4 of reading and level 5 of math. The younger girls ended up using this on the tablet as the touch screen made it easier for them to use while Sunflower was happy with it on the PC.

I did have a couple of technical problems with this - the site was too large for my screen so I had to make it smaller to fit and it sometimes didn't register the circles in the right place but otherwise the girls have found it easy to use and manoeuvre around the site without my supervision. So far they seem to be enjoying this and are happy to use it as their screen time - they seem to be treating it more as a game than lessons so it all positive for me, sneaking in extra revision outside their lessons is always a plus.

LearningPallett.com is available for $59.99 for up to 5 users. They are currently offering a 20% discount using the coupon code HOMESCHOOL. There is even a free demo so you can try before you buy.

You can see what my crew mates thought of this and some of Learning Wrap Ups other products including the reading kits, math kits, vocabulary intro kit, 10 days to multiplication mastery wrap up and book combo, 10 days to addition mastery wrap up and book combo and the math intro kit over at the TOS Blog