Poppins Book Nook- Where in the World

The theme this month for Poppins Book Nook was “Where in the World?”

This was perfect timing for us because we are learning about different countries around the world. We are going to Disney World pretty soon and so I decided it would be fun to learn about each of the countries we will see while we are at Epcot.  So, we have been using the Expedition Earth curriculum to help us learn about these countries.

 We have been using this book- “Children Just Like Me” and it’s so interesting!!  Hailey loves this book and she loves learning about how children live their day to day lives in other countries.  She loves to take notes while I read, which is unusual for her because she hates to write!  But, she is just so fascinated learning about children the same age as her that she wants to write down what she learns.

We are also using these books- “A Trip Around the World” and “Another Trip Around the World.”  There is a lot of interesting information in these books- interesting facts about the countries, fun activities to do, yummy recipes to try and more.

So…. here are some of the activities we have done:

China:

We made these fancy fans.

We decorated Chinese lanterns.  (Hunter picks his own clothes, so you’ll have to ignore the clash in colors 🙂 )

Hailey built the Great Wall of China and we created this display for an Educational Fair she had at our homeschool co-op.

 We went out to eat at a Chinese restaurant.

See more activities from our China studies.

Japan:

Hailey made the Itsukushima Torii Shrine out of playdough and then she painted it.

Hailey and Hunter made some Japanese rock gardens.

Hailey made an origami cat.

We made some pretty colorful carp.

We also ate some delicious Japanese food.

See more activities from our Japan Studies.

 United Kingdom:

Hailey made Big Ben.

See more of our United Kingdom activities.

 Ireland:

Hailey tried lots of different foods from Ireland.

We learned that the harp is the national symbol of Ireland.  Hailey and Hunter liked trying to play a harp.

 France:

Hailey had a lot of fun making soap.

We built the Eiffel tower.

 Hailey made some super yummy chocolate truffles.

 I haven’t done a full post of all of our activities from France, so you’ll have to come back if you want to see everything we did 🙂

Italy:

We learned about volcanos and made one of our own.

Hailey used blocks to build the Roman Colosseum.

A definite favorite activity was painting like Michelangelo- I taped paper under Hunter’s table and they had a great time painting under there!

I haven’t done a full post of all of our activities from Italy, so you’ll have to come back if you want to see everything we did 🙂

We are having so much fun learning about these different countries!!  I hope you enjoyed a little glimpse into the fun we have been having.

 Poppins Book Nook Giveaway! Every month the Poppins Book Nook group will be offering readers a chance to win a brand new storybook that ties in with our theme for the month. This month one lucky entrant will win a copy of Where in the World!  The winner must reside within the United States. This giveaway is brought to you by the company Enchanted Homeschooling Mom, who is owner and founder of the Poppins Book Nook. By entering this giveaway you are also acknowledging that you have read and agree to all of the Rafflecopter terms & conditions as well as Enchanted Homeschooling Mom’s disclosures found here {http://enchantedhomeschoolingmom.org/disclosures/}.  Just enter the Rafflecopter below to win:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Do you have a fun activity to share?  Link up below:

Week in Review

Here is a little review of some of what we have been learning about:

History/Geography:

Hailey tried out a fun class where the kids learn about a different country each week.  She learned all about Ireland when she tried the class.

She started out trying several different foods from Ireland.

Hunter really enjoyed a chocolate chip scone.

They also got to try playing a harp.  We learned that the harp is the national symbol of Ireland.

Hailey tried the big harp too, but Hunter was afraid to go near it.

We’ve also been having  great time using the Expedition Earth curriculum!

Science:

We have been learning about landforms in science.  We started out by reviewing the continents and oceans.

We are also using Science 4Us, which Hailey really enjoys.  She has done several lessons about our current topic and she loves using it.

I am also using a landform unit from Around the Kampfire.  We used this printable from that unit to come up with a definition of a landform.

Hailey did a test with a variety of materials to see what kind of effect wind and water would have on different kinds of land (dirt, pebbles, rocks and sand).  She drew a picture of what the material looked like before any wind or water came in contact with it.

She tested each material to see what would happen, then drew pictures of the results.   The water definitely beat the pebbles.

We took a day to go to a nearby science museum.  We had a great time!!

A floating ball!

Hailey worked to build a dam to stop the water.

Hunter loved playing in the water table.

Hailey testing out some magnets.

Fun block building

Hailey said she was a spider

Hailey and Pa (my dad) tested to see who was more relaxed.

They also made buildings and then set off an earthquake to see if the buildings could stand the earthquakes.

Hailey and Hunter helping turtles

Bible:

 Hailey has been practicing memorizing the New Testament books of the Bible.  I wrote them out on cards.  Then she would say the books of the Bible,  turn over some cards and then said them again, until all the cards were turned over and she could say them without looking.

Be sure to like me on Facebook and follow me on Pinterest so you don’t miss any of our fun activities.

Expedition Earth- United Kingdom

I am behind in posting about our adventures with Expedition Earth, so I am posting twice this week about this amazing curriculum to try to get caught up.

The next stop we made was in the United Kingdom. (We are not doing all of the countries right now, we are just covering the ones we will see when we go to Epcot in a couple of months.)

We started out with the usual mapping activity.  Hailey found the UK on the map (we also reviewed China and Japan) and filled out this paper.

Hailey colored the flag and learned what the colors of the flag represent.

Hailey learned about Big Ben and we learned that Big Ben is actually the name for the big bell, not for the tower.  She made a mini Big Ben.

Here is a close up of her Big Ben.

 Hailey also designed a postcard for the UK- she drew Big Ben and made a flag on her postcard.

Hailey learned about Stonehenge and how it has changed throughout the years.  She used some blocks to make her own recreation of Stonehenge.

Up next will be France.

Be sure to like me on Facebook and follow me on Pinterest so you don’t miss any of our fun activities.

Expedition Earth- Japan

Our next stop on our Expedition Earth adventure was Japan.

 Hailey learned about the Itsukushima Torii Shrine.  She thought it was pretty neat because she has seen a replica of it in Epcot.  We made our own little Itsukushma Shrine with play-doh.

Hailey’s finished Itsukushima Shrine.

We read about Daisuke, a child from Japan and learned what it is like for children who live there.

 Hailey made an origami cat.

We learned about Japanese Rock Gardens- why they have them and how they are made.  Hailey and Hunter each made their own rock garden.

 Hunter’s finished rock garden.

 Hailey’s finished rock garden.

 Hailey also made some colorful carp.

The completed colorful carp.

We finished out our week by going out for some yummy Japanese food.

We had so much fun in Japan!!

Be sure to like me on Facebook and follow me on Pinterest so you don’t miss any of our fun activities.