|
Unit Studies Newsletter, October 2005
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thank you for signing up for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine's
"Topical Unit Study e-Newsletter". The October
2005 edition is our debut and we've got great things
in store! Please take a moment to get to know your editor,
Julie Nott, and then settle in to enjoy this month's
unit study, courtesy of the fine folks at Barker Creek.
As
you'll see, Julie is a homeschool mom herself who
is accustomed to making it all work for children of various
ages. Many families find the unit study method helpful
in their homeschools, and we hope you will too!
Now,
read on to "meet" your editor and glean wisdom
from this month's offerings. If you have requests
for future subjects or are a business owner who can provide
content for your fellow homeschoolers, be sure to let
us know! We'd be happy to hear from you.
Best wishes!
Melonie K. Murray
Director of Marketing and Public Relations
The Old Schoolhouse Magazine
|
|
|
|
Welcome to the first issue of The Old Schoolhouse's
Topical Unit Study e-Newsletter! Our plan is to offer your
family a topical unit study packed full of fun, family activities
along with resources from the Internet and articles from various
'experts' in the homeschool arena. We'll
also be offering a great contest each month, so stay tuned!
Allow
me to introduce myself: I am Julie Nott, wife to Daniel,
and mother to my four darling children. Six years ago we
withdrew our daughter from the local Christian school after
3rd grade and were determined to try homeschooling for at
least one year. We decided to send our son to Kindergarten
so he could learn to read. I had two pre-schoolers at home
too. I feared our daughter's transition from school
to homeschool would be difficult but we had a great time
learning together. We decided after that first year that
we'd keep all of the children home to learn and grow
together.
After researching the many curriculum options out there, I kept
coming back to unit studies. I purchased an entire package
from a very popular unit study curriculum because this approach
appealed to me in so many ways. We all learn together by
doing hands-on activities, reading books, surfing the web,
field trips, talking to experts--the list goes on and on.
I found that the preparation was tedious at best, and a
lot of the texts were not available at my library so I had
to do a lot of planning. After the first week I was discouraged
and worn-out but then I realized that I don't have
to do everything in a unit study in order for learning to
take place. There are many good things to choose when journeying
through a unit, so now I do not feel as though we have to
do all of the activities in order to learn. Six years later
and all four kids schooling, I have found that the things
that have "sunk in" the most are topics we have
delved into through unit studies!
So…without further delay…let's learn about owls! Barker
Creek http://www.barkercreek.com/
has put together a wonderful unit study on the subject.
They are also giving a free book to the first 5 people who
email me their best FREE resources from the internet. Send
your entries to: Julie@thehomeschoolmagazine.com
by October 31st, and title your email "Free Internet
Resources".
Wondering about next month's topic? Narnia! What better land to visit
with the movie release on December 9th ? The Fall 2005 issue
of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine will also feature Narnia,
so tell all your friends about this free resource! Encourage
them to sign up for all of the outstanding e-Newsletters
on our website:
http://www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com/devotional_door/subscribe.php.
Until we meet again….keep those unit studies going!
Also debuting next month is my Homeschooling for FREE e-Newsletter.
There are so many resources out there for homeschooling families
and I'm going to be sharing the best of the best! You can
sign up for that too!
Julie Nott
Topical e-Newsletter Editor
The Old Schoolhouse Magazine
|
|
As the publisher of the award-winning Draw-Write-Now® series
of books, Carolyn Hurst has spent the last decade researching
how children learn to draw and the benefits of teaching directed
drawing. Carolyn, her husband Steve, and their two children,
Natalie and Evan, share their Poulsbo, Washington farm with
two dogs, a cat, two pygmy goats, and five horses.
|
By Carolyn Hurst
Fall is a wonderful time to enjoy nature. As an artist, it
is also a great time to observe many of the finer details that can be
included in your drawings to make them look more realistic. One important
art concept that is beautifully exhibited in many of the plants,
animals and insects found outdoors is symmetry.
Artists learn about two types of symmetry: line symmetry
and rotational symmetry. A picture or object has line symmetry if, when you
draw a line down the middle of the object, the right side is identical
to the left side. The owl in this lesson has line symmetry. Line
symmetry is sometimes referred to as mirror symmetry because the shapes
viewed on each side of the center line are like mirror images of each
other. An object has rotational symmetry if it looks the same no matter
how you turn it. Images viewed through a kaleidoscope have rotational
symmetry. Often, drawings of flowers have mirror symmetry if their petals
are all the same size. Objects that don't look the same from one side to the
other are said to be asymmetrical. The background drawing of the tree and moon
shown below are an example of an asymmetrical drawing – different
lines and shapes are drawn on each side of the center guideline, and
yet they balance visually.
©2005 Barker Creek Publishing, Inc.
Owl Lesson reprinted by permission from Draw•Write•Now®
Book Two
|
Barker Creek is giving away 5 books!
Be one of the first 5 people to email me your best FREE resources
from the internet. Send your entries to: Julie@thehomeschoolmagazine.com
by October 31st, and title your email "Free Internet Resources".
|
|
