Good morning, How are you? How is your weekend going so far? Do you have anything fun planned? I am going to a Craft Fair with my best friend and Charlie. Then to, lunch with her before returning home to work this afternoon.
As we move into a new week I wanted to bring you new Homeschooling Resources you can use this week. Being Saturday its time for a Virtual Field Trip:
Recommended Website: How It’s Made
Age Range: 8 and up (Grades 3 and up; children with parental supervision) This “How It’s Made” video explains how glass Christmas ornaments are made.
This video demonstrates how glass blowers create Christmas tree ornament bulbs and figurines, and then shows how they are colored and decorated. You’ll also discover how the stems are made and capped before the ornament is boxed and shipped to stores.
And here are other Christmas-related “How’s It’s Made” videos:
How Artificial Christmas Trees Are Made
This video shows how artificial Christmas trees are made, including building the steel framework. You’ll find out how sheets of green PVC plastic are shredded to make simulated pine needles. Watch, as workers crimp the artificial foliage together, assemble branches, and attach them to the framework to build a holiday tree.
Watch how the dough is mixed, shaped, colored, cut, wrapped, and shaped again to make candy canes!
Recommended Website: Electric Scotland
Age Range: All (All grades; children with parental supervision) At this ad-supported site, a native Scotsman shares his love of his homeland through photos and captions. Don’t let a first glimpse of this website deceive you – there is lots and lots of fun and fascinating content here.
When you get to the site you’ll see a photograph of Pitlochry, Scotland. Below it is a menu of links to photo archives of various scenic tours and historic landmarks throughout the country. Click on any one and the pictorial adventure begins. But that’s not all!
Use the menu at the top to explore all about Scotland:
- history
- culture
- famous Scots
- family trees and geneologies
- travel
- sports
- wildlife
- and more!
It’s all in a very accessible format, in readable chunks, with rapid download. A Scotland aficionado could easily spend a few years here. Anyone planning scholarly research on Scotland would definitely want to bookmark this site.
But there’s even more! This website is loaded with books, poetry, recipes, and even videos! There are children’s stories, games and Scottish music. You can interact with the online Scottish community [parental supervision required] or plan a trip to Scotland.
There is a lot of content here. Because of that, we were unable to review the entire site that also contains links to other resources we haven’t reviewed as well. So, AS ALWAYS, PARENTS MUST PREVIEW THE SITE TO DETERMINE SUITABILITY OF CONTENT.
Recommended Website: The National WWI Museum and Memorial
Age Range: 10-18 (Grades 5-12, with parental supervision) Remember Veterans Day with this virtual tour of the National WWI Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri.
The online exhibitions include:
- The Rise of Giving
- The Volunteers
- War Fare
- The Christmas Truce, Winter 1914
- Trenches of WWI
- Make Way for Democracy
- Home Before the Leaves Fall
- And more.
After deciding on the topic you would like to see, select the “Explore Exhibition” option to open the tour. Each exhibition provides an explanation of the theme and a slide show of artifacts, historical photos, and more. Some exhibitions provide in depth information and others are brief presentations.
You can also view Current Exhibitions and Past Exhibitions. Bookmark this site to visit again as you work through your studies of World War I.
Recommended Website: Virtual Cheesemaking Tour
Age Range: 7-18 (Grades 2-12, with parental supervision) At this website you can take a virtual tour of the Vella Cheese Factory to see how a wheel of cheese is made.
The tour is conducted with pictures and informative text and starts with:
- The Milk Arrives
- Holding the Milk
- Pasteurizing the Milk
- Culturing the Milk
- Choosing a Curd Cutter
- Stirring the Curds
- Curds and Whey
- And more!
Continue scrolling all the way down to Packaged Cheeses – Ready to Ship and learn the process of making cheese!
Recommended Website: The White House Museum
Age Range: 6-18 (Grades 1-12, with parental supervision)
Did you know that on the ground floor of the White House there’s a bowling alley? There’s also a chocolate shop, a flower shop, and even a doctor’s office.
The Trumps might not get an opportunity to extend an invitation to your family for a while yet (they’re kind of busy), but while you’re waiting, you can visit this website for a nice view of the White House.
When you get to the site, Start the Tour! First there is an Overview with an Introduction, Quick Facts, Structure and Brief History. You can scroll to the bottom and continue your tour or you can use the top menu bar to view:
- Residence
- East Wing
- West Wing
You can see photos of all the rooms as they looked most recently, and past photos as well. (Notice how the curtains and furnishings change from one presidential era to another.) See up-close detail photos of some of the furniture, photos of renovation in progress, and learn how the rooms are/were used. For example, Alice Roosevelt’s wedding took place in the same room where sumo wrestlers performed, and one president’s child rode a chair pulled by two goats! Read about the roller skate marks left on the floor by a president’s child and not removed for 30 years… fun stuff!
And under the “Home” link, don’t miss Air Force One, Lesson Plans and more.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
