Planets

Song/Poem

"The Family of the Sun"
Added 9/22/98 Original Author Unknown
Sung to: "Farmer in the Dell"

The family of the Sun,
The family of the Sun,
Here are nine planets in
the family of the Sun.

Mercury is hot,
And Mercury is small.
Mercury has no atmosphere;
It's just a rocky ball.

Venus has thick clouds
That hide what is below.
The air is foul; the ground is hot.
It rotates very slow.

We love the Earth our home,
Its oceans and its trees.
We eat its food; we breathe its air,
So no pollution, please.

Mars is very red.
It's also dry and cold.
Some day you might visit Mars
If you are really bold.

Great Jupiter is big.
We've studied it a lot.
We found that it has lots of moons,
And a big, red spot.

Saturn has great rings.
We wondered what they were.
Now we know they're icy rocks
Which we saw as a blur.

Uranus is far.
It's cold and greenish-blue.
We found it rotates sideways,
And it has a lot of moons.

Neptune has a spot;
A stormy patch of blue.
The planet has a lot of clouds
And rings around it, too.

Pluto's last in line
It's farthest from the Sun.
It's small and cold and icy, too;
To land there won't be fun.
http://www.preschooleducation.com/sspace.shtml

What we did

-Read a space book and put together a space mobile.

Playdough Planets



After memorizing the song we divided the planets up and the kids made playdough planets according to the descriptions from the song.

Planetarium

Mars


Man on the Moon



Saturn




We took a visit to the Planetarium. We watched a movie about kids in a cardboard rocket who traveled through space. They visited the sun and all nine planets. It was fun to have the kids already know a little about the planets before going.

We Learned

Livi- I went to see the Planetarium. I had so much fun. I saw a movie. I learned so much about space. I learned that Jupiter is a big storm. The red spot is the biggest storm on the planet. Jupiter is made out of gas. Mercury is the closest to the sun. Mercury is really small. It has no atmosphere, it's just a rocky ball. Saturn and Neptune both have rings made out of icy rocks. Neptune you can't see that well when you're in space. Saturn you can see really well. When you go inside the rings you have to careful because they're made of icy rocks. Pluto is now not a planet, it's just a big rock. Neptune also has some beautiful blue. Mars is red, they call it the red planet. Earth is the only safe planet to go on without a space suit.

Ezra- The planetarium is fun and we saw Pluto and we got to look through telescopes and saw Saturn. We saw the rings and the whole little planet. That telescope was so cool. And the planetarium had a space man, Mars that you can go in, and the moon which you can go in. In the planetarium was so cool that we wanted to see more, but there was no more. We saw lots of fun things. There were rings and space mans. We had to park our car really far away from and we had to walk and walk and walk so so so much that Livi keeped saying can we go through that door? can we go through that door? and Mom keeped saying "no" until we got to the right door. Then we saw the Planetarium. This guy had to sign our paper to go watch the movie. We learned about the imaginations that we can imagine being in space. We can imagination the planets, Pluto, the two ringy ones, Mercury, Venus, and Earth which we live on and love the Earth. We like our Earth. The planetarium was so much fun that we took pictures. We couldn't take pictures during the movie, but we could after.

Tools

We want to know
-if one tool and some wood could build a house
-if one pin can sew up a toy
-if one nail and lots of wood can build a whole cage
-how tools are made
-what tools are
-who was the first one to build tools

What we did

Poem
next part of "Twas the Night Before Christmas"
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.

His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!

Learning about tools
Website with pictures of tool, their names, and a short description, click on some the pictures for worksheet and activities

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/dictionarysubjects/tools.shtml
Using scissors as a tool- http://www.enchantedlearning.com/tracing/

how tools are made- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJQ6Cw1ROi0

awl- can make holes, sharper than a needle, used with leather
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDcCRU_PgOY
ax- chops through trees
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xa14Xi7zjY
saw- are used to chop stuff
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IwO5oNY1_c
chisel- they are to scrape and chop through stuff with a hammer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBYT3Es6d6s
screw and screwdriver- the screwdriver is a powerful thing, if you use for a long time it makes a loud click, you use screws to drill stuff together

A tool is something that helps us
I asked Ezra what in this room is a tool. He said- the marker helps us write, a computer helps us spell, the internet helps us learn stuff, the lightswitch see light, the projector lets us see movies, the elliptical helps us exercise, the teeter-totter helps us have fun, the fan pulls the hot air out of the cabinet, the remote controls help us watch movies, books help us read
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1ENwnjHZ3I

Elves

We want to know
-how elves are made
-how can Frenchy (our elf on the shelf) live
-how is Frenchy so smart

What we did

Song
"We Are Santa's Elves" Johnny Marks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGB8BfdFWSM
Ho ho ho
Ho ho ho
We are Santa's elves.
We are Santa's elves
Filling Santa's shelves
With a toy
For each girl and boy.
Oh, we are Santa's elves
We work hard all day
But our work is play
Dolls we try out
See if they cry out.
We are Santa's elves
We've a special job each year
We don't like to brag
Christmas Eve we always
Fill Santa's bag.
Santa knows who's good
Do the things you should
And we bet you
He won't forget you.
We are Santa's elves
Ho ho ho. Ho ho ho
We are Santa's elves
Ho Ho!

Poem
next part of Twas the Night Before Christmas
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tinny reindeer.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

"Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid! on, on Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

Story
The Elves and the Shoemaker
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002706Y88/ref=dm_ty_trk
-the man was a poor shoemaker and didn't have enough money to buy materials to make more shoes, his wife said, "tomorow is a new day and things will work out"
-they went to bed, the man heard little voices, he thought he was dreaming
-when he woke up he found a new pair of shoes, he sold them for more than his usual price
-the next night the wife heard the voices, she thought she was dreaming
-in the morning there was a new pair of shoes
-the third night she tied a string on the husband to see if he went anywhere
-there were another new pair of shoes
-he sold all of his shoes and made lots of money
-they gave the elves new clothes to wear to thank them
-the elves saw the presents and put their new clothes on, they danced around the room and never came back again

Puppet Show
Ezra and Noah are elves
First Night
Ezra- "There's one shoe for me and one shoe for you, and there's one shoe tomorrow for both of us."
Noah- "Yeah! Let's make shoes!"
Second Night
Ezra- I'm glad we can make shoes for the people
Noah- me too
Third Night
Ezra- "They're really nice, but I think we're done working here."
Noah- "OK, let's go"

Elf Puppet Pattern



http://www.sisters4.com/images/stories/downloads/elffingerpuppetc.pdf

Stories
If I was a magic elf...
Noah- I would have a hat. I'll put on my hat, then I'll create magical pancakes. I would go on a magical horse to... will you come with me?.....I'll go visit my grandmas. I'll play at their houses. I'd give them magical presents like a dolphin. I would help people with my magic by writing my name.

Ezra- I would use the magic to stay alive. I would use the magic to help other people. I would help them by making stuff for them. I would make toys for the little ones and do the grown ups math for them. I'd do some jobs. If I was a real elf I'd be even smarter than right now.

Our Elf Factory





The kids made coloring books for their friends.

Christmas

We want to know
-why do people celebrate it?
-why do you get presents?
-why does
-how does Santa's sleigh fly

What we did

Poem
First part of "Twas the Night Before Christmas" by: Clement Moore
Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.

Math
-make a Christmas countdown chain. The boys wrote numbers on each link.
-I made a calendar. Ezra wrote the numbers in. I had him circle Christmas, Christmas Eve and a few random numbers.
-patterns with Christmas pictures

Watched
LDS Nativity video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQs0H7dvwy0

Coloring
Christmas pictures

Read
Christmas books

What we learned
-learned about Christmas symbols and what they mean http://www.santaclausvillage.info/videos-4/santa-claus-sledging/
-that we celebrate Christ's birth and remember all He did for us

We Made a Christmas Gingerbread Village



Livi's Reindeer Stable


template:
http://www.ultimategingerbread.com/free%20patterns/Barn-Pattern.pdf

Mr. & Mrs. Claus's House - Ashley


template:
http://www.ultimategingerbread.com/free%20patterns/Elf-House-Pattern.pdf

North Pole Outfitters - Mike


template:
http://www.slice-heaven.com/system/0000/3585/pb1977_19.19a.pdf

Sammy's Hot Chocolate Shop


template:
http://images.allrecipes.com/site/allrecipes/gingerbread_house_diagram.pdf

Toy Factory - Ezra


template:
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/stuff/contentmgr/files/7512947c75dd4ce76f3a611041c1fe40/miscdocs/gingerbread.pdf

Noah's Tree Shop



template:
http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/web/pdfs/pdf2/gingerbreadinstructionskit.pdf

This was a TON of work, but really fun. I spent almost every evening for a week getting things ready.

Schedule
Day 1 - find, print, and cut gingerbread templates
Day 2 - make, cut, and bake gingerbread (used 8 times recipe for 6 houses)
Day 3 - make windows, assemble houses
Day 4 - make frosting, buy candy
Day 5 - kids decorate, lighting
Day 6 - edging, icicles, signs, display

Gingerbread Recipe (I used 8 times the recipe for 6 houses) from foodnetwork.com
1/2 c (4 oz)butter, margarine, or shortening at room temperature
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 c (2 oz) light molasses
1 T cinnamon
1 T ground ginger
1 1/2 t ground cloves
1 t baking soda
2 c (10 oz) all-purpose flour
2 T (1 oz) water

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and baking soda together until the mixture is smooth. Blend in the flour and water to make a stiff dough. Roll out, place on a parchment lined pan. Bake at 375 10-12 minutes.

Candy Windows (I used 3 times the recipe for 6 houses)
1 cup granulated cane sugar
1/3 cup hot water
1/3 cup light com syrup

Place cooked gingerbread on parchment paper on a flat surface. Combine sugar, hot water and corn syrup in a heavy saucepan. Place on high heat and stir with a wooden spoon until all sugar crystals are dissolved. Cook until 290 F, without stirring, then remove from heat. Add food coloring if you wish. While hot, pour the candy into window cut-out's. It can be reheated if it cools too much while pouring. Let completely cool before peeling off parchment.

Royal Icing with powdered egg whites
3 tablespoons meringue powder
4 c (16 oz) powdered sugar
5-6 tablespoons lukewarm water

Place sugar and Meringue powder in a bowl and stir at low speed. Add water and mix on low to medium for 7-10 minutes, until icing loses its sheen. To prevent drying out, keep the bowl and icing tips covered with a damp towel. Will keep for two weeks stored in the fridge.

Royal Icing with real egg whites (I used 8 times the recipe for 6 houses)
2 large egg whites
2 t fresh lemon juice
3 c (12 oz) powdered sugar
Read more: http://www.joyofbaking.com/RoyalIcing.html#ixzz177Gtik4o

Tips
-don't try to do this in one day, by the end you won't care how they look
-make more gingerbread dough and frosting than you think you'll need, it takes a lot of extra time to go back and make more for one house I would double the gingerbread recipe and 2-3 times the icing
-make a candy plan of things that look good together, so it ends up looking nice
-cereal, cookies, and crackers are really cute decorations as well
-edge all sides for a finished look
-do the icing for the kids and let them place the candy
-use battery powered led lights, we drilled a hole in the back after decorating them

Factories

We want to know
-a factory song
-how they make stuff like whips, crayons, books, whiteboards, and toys
-how much can they make in a day? hour? two minutes?

What we did
-song- "Button Factory"
Hi, my name is Jo
I have a wife and three kids
and I work in a button factory
one day my boss came to me
and said, "Jo, are you busy?"
I said, "no"
he said turn the button with your right hand (wave hand in a circle)
(repeat song with left hand, right foot, left foot, and head.)
last two lines of last verse:
and said, "Jo, are you busy?"
I said, "YES"

Letter Factory


The kids and I made a letter factory. We stamped and addressed our Christmas cards. We got it done very quickly.

We watched:
crayons- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSrzZwPGZ7s&feature=related
hot dogs- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhwXPsTaRgc&feature=related
cereal- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJ6ek9UOvxA&feature=related
tires- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onrEXGlCkKI
cheese- http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=how+to+make+cheese+factory&aq=f

Thanksgiving

We want to know
-want to know why Thanksgiving is so special
-why does everyone race races?
-why does everyone visit their families

What we did
-song - "A Song of Thanks" LDS Children's Songbook http://lds.org/churchmusic/detailmusicPlayer/index.html?searchlanguage=1&searchcollection=2&searchseqstart=20&searchsubseqstart=a&searchseqend=20&searchsubseqend=a
-poem - "The Turkey Shot Out of the Oven" Jack Prelutsky (repeat from oven week)

Turkeys


We made turkeys. The feathers, body, and parts are below. We used a pine-cone for the back and hot glued the body on. The feathers stayed by just putting sliding them between the pine-cone sections.

Turkey Body and Parts (makes 2)



Turkey Feathers (for 2)



Math and Writing
Ezra wrote up surveys asking people to write 10 things they were thankful for. He wrote: Please write 10 things, then numbered each paper 1-10. Everyone in the family (except Sam) filled one out. We gathered our data and wrote down the top five things. Ezra made a bar graph to chart it.
Top Five: family, gospel, home, friends, and food

-made a pumpkin pie

What we learned
Story for Family Home Evening
http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/thanksgiving/short-stories/the-first-thanksgiving.html
1. people who lived in England were unhappy because their king was mean. He didn't let them to pray to God. They decided to move to Holland, but they were very poor and their kids didn't want to pray anymore, so they built two ships. One was not strong enough, so they left it and only sailed on the Mayflower.
2. They had to go all the way across the ocean and they got really sick. After two months they landed at Plymouth Rock. They started building their first house on Christmas day. It was cold and they didn't have much. The Indians came and helped them. In the spring the Indians helped them plant their crops.
3. They had a great harvest that fall with plenty of food to last through the winter. They decided to thank God for all of these things. Their party lasted three days. They ate wild turkey, pig, fish, corn, bread, cakes. They had races and played with the kids. Every year they celebrated Thanksgiving.
video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFDSobNnfQs

Ice

What we want to know
-if ice can melt in the winter
-if ice can melt in the spring, summer, and fall
-how ice is made

What we did
-Poem
Icicle
http://www.everypoet.net/poetry/blogs/just_me/icicle
drip
drip
drip
from my
tip
tip
tip
like a
tooth
tooth
tooth
from the
roof
roof
roof
in freezing weather
i grow
long
long
long
when the sun gets hot
i'll be
gone
gone
gone

-watched a video of an icicle forming:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgRLQ9jomgQ&NR=1"


-song "Scoops of Ice Cream" by Very Derryberry, it was $.99 on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Very-Derryberry-Debi/dp/B0019J4AKM/ref=sr_1_1_digr?ie=UTF8&qid=1289243816&sr=8-1

Ice Cream Poster


The boys colored ice cream scoops and the cone, to use when we sing the song. Noah discovered he could color in the lines and cover up all of the white. He did a great
job!




-Math - We did story problems with the ice cream scoops. Ezra had to write the equations down during the story. Noah had to put on and take off specified amounts and count the remainder.


Ice Skating at 7 Peaks!



The pictures are blurry, but those skating aids in the first picture were awesome! Livi and Ezra loved it! Noah didn't like how the skates made his ankles turn. He tried it though. In another year he'll probably like it better. Sam and Noah loved watching the zamboni smooth the ice. 7 Peaks has public skating from 7-9 on Mondays. It was only $20 for 4 skaters and 5 skate rentals (3 and under skate free). We went to Dairy Queen for ice cream after skating.

Spider Ice Cubes


-made spider ice cubes and tricked dad
-grape and marshmallow experiment - when they were frozen the marsyhmellow was squishy because it didn't have much water, the grape was hard because it had a lot of water
-video on how ice rinks are made: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hT3yfuLPIU
to make an ice skating rink - 1. get water and spray 2. they paint 3. they spray water all over to make ice 4. then you can skate

Distilled Water

-made ice spikes with distilled water

Ice Paint Brushes

-painted with ice cubes as the paint brushes, it made the paint really smooth because each time it gave it a little bit of water

Ice Chiseling


-we put toys and water in a container and froze them, then the boys chiseled them out

-looked up ice sculptures - http://www.amazingice.com/gallery.html

-video on how ice sculptures are made: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itvuudjb9hk&feature=related

We learned
-distilled water makes ice spikes
-ice is made from water and you shape it different shapes, and freeze it in the freezer
-outside ice forms when snow melts and drips and turns into ice
-the sun can melt the snow even in the winter