It’s Tuesday, and time for Science and we would like to invite you to invite you to check out this new Homeschool Resource Universal Leonardo.
I believe this website will be perfect for Charlie to use in our classroom as there are games for him to play which will help keep Charlie’s attention better than the books and workbooks we have been using.
Recommended Website:
Age Range: 10-18 (Grades 5-12, with parental supervision)
This amazing website offers 10, playful, online activities that provide insight to the work and genius of Leonardo Da Vinci– who not only discovered how things in his universe worked, he created many futuristic inventions in addition to great works of art.
When you get to the site you’ll see the menu of games. (You’ll need Flash Plugin to play.) They include:
- Make a Monster – Combine parts of different mythical creatures (drawn by Leonardo) to invent your own amazing “monsters.”
- Make the Mona Lisa Smile – Have some fun altering the expressing of Da Vinci’s best known work of art by answering a series of questions about the painting.
- Mirror Image – Try your hand at writing backwards – just like Leonardo did (without the technology).
- Fly Like a Bird, Sink Like a Stone – Find out which of Da Vinci’s flying machines worked.
- Leonardo Sings the Blues – Learn about aerial perspective and how Leonardo used blue tones to create it.
- Pull the Other One – How many pulleys will you need to drag the diva up on to the stage?
- Talking Picture – Turn on your speakers and hear a narration describing Leonardo’s hurricane drawings. (Parents, please preview – some of the descriptions could frighten young children.)
- Getting the Point – Explore perspective through Leonardo’s “Adoration of the Magi.”
- Shaping Up – Learn about Leonardo’s exploration of Platonic solids and how 3-D objects are formed.
- Going with the Flow – Watch animations of water churning, wind blowing, and blood pumping through a heart to see the connections Leonardo made between their movement.
Click on any game and a new page opens with a brief explanation. Click “Play” and another screen opens with instructions on how to do the activity or play the game. Note: Right under the “Play” link on each individual game screen, is a link to more information about Leonardo’s explorations and discoveries with regard to this particular topic. Be sure to click on it to get the most educational content from these games.
When you are through playing the games, don’t miss the rest of this amazing site. The interactive ‘Timeline’ is located across the top of the screen and is a great resource for accessing Da Vinci’s work during various periods of time.
The ”Discover” section offers information on scientific techniques used to analyze his works.
The ”Browse” mechanism provides access to Da Vinci’s paintings, manuscripts, inventions, and drawings.
Words simply do not do this site justice. It is a vast archive, and therefore impossible to review in its entirety. Therefore, as always, parents should preview the site to determine suitability of content and provide supervision of its use.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
