I haven't posted for a while but...

We have been in the midst of moving to a new area for a while now. We are beginning to get back into the swing of things and settling in here in our new place. I hope to get this blog started up again soon.

BBC- Vikings info and game

BBC Vikings for kids

This website has a lot of depth. Not only is there a charming little game in which the kids can dig up and assemble artifacts, along with several enjoyable activities, but there is also a lot of accessible, simply presented information. There are good photos included in each section, but you may not be able to watch the videos. They appear to be unavailable in the U.S.

This is a fun one to look through together, and reading aloud can help kids focus on one part at a time.
You could use the game as either a reward for paying attention or as an introduction to the site, the rest of which you can explore together once they have the game-playing out of their system. It depends on what works best with your kids, of course.

There are also many good suggestions included for other quality sites to visit.

Icelandic folk music

Iceland is such a dramatic, yet peaceful, land. When we looked at Scandinavia for a couple of weeks this year I think I began to hear the Viking voices and smell the bracing air, smacking of salt on the rocky coasts. I felt a little pagan and very Northern.

Music (meaning primarily, of course, folk music) is such a connected, human way to taste the history and the land of a place. We listened to these mostly very brief selections while watching slideshows and looking at maps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJqZ2O9S2OI (about 2 minutes. peaceful, with strings and winds.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AlXbWjYKr4 (2 minutes. high energy, with male vocal leads. wanna go on a viking adventure? come along! :) )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=pf8Drp9JntM&NR=1 (3 1/2 minutes. manly, call and response, maybe they are sitting around the long hall with their frothy mugs, being led in song and stamping their feet in time.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=mSCOQour_fg (about 2 minutes. slow and dramatic. low winds with high chimes. a warrior returning from his travels?)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-_lQ1UQoyU (about 3 minutes. energetic, like travelling the high hills on a bright day, with some background chorals)

Spelling and vocabulary expansion

Spelling/vocabulary isn't something I have had to emphasize very much. With regular book reading and discussion, occasional dictation assignments, and regular writing, all four kids have developed above-average vocabulary and spelling through a kind of purposeful natural exposure. But I like to throw out a little spelling about once a week. It seems to accelerate their absorption of word formation, like a dictation now and then causes them to notice punctuation and sentence structure more consciously.

We've found that the program "Sequential Spelling" (http://avko.org/sequentialspelling.html) is great for struggling spellers and for building confidence in the earlier grades, but it can get tedious for kids who are fairly comfortable with the basic patterns. It's fun to mix it up sometimes and try some new or tricky words.

I like the lists below best of the ones I've found*. I like the variety they have. We don't stick to grade level, but use a list that seems intriguing to the kids, since they get a lot of word exposure and would rather be challenged with new language than get everything right on a list of things they already know.

For a word nut like me (any more of you out there?), the 12th grade list is fun to read through.




12th grade list:
http://www.learnthat.org/word_lists/view/4206

6th grade list:
http://www.learnthat.org/word_lists/view/9932

3rd grade list:
http://www.learnthat.org/word_lists/view/3069

*I haven't been able to find these lists directly through their home page. I accessed them first through a Google search. I type in: "learn that" _th grade word list (Fill in the blank with the grade number.)

Explore Budapest

http://www.hulu.com/watch/91849

   We're looking a lot at Eastern Europe. This is the episode of Rick Steves' Europe in which he shows us Budapest, Hungary. His half-hour program is such a Great way to bring geography alive!

   My kids' first reaction to Rick was to say his voice was funny and squeaky (kids are so critical...), but they are liking him now that he is more familiar, and he really draws them into the places he is sharing. His pacing is fast enough that it never drags, but steady enough that he never leaves even the eight-year-old behind (though, of course, the youngest kids don't always pick up on the subtle details). He brings out interesting historical tidbits and connects us to the language and culture in little ways that really leave us with the flavor of a place.

   This episode (and the ones in Poland and the Czech Republic) can raise difficult topics, because his trips to this part of the world necessarily and appropriately include visits to Holocaust memorials and museums dedicated to the memory of people lost and human rights abused under the Nazi and then Communist regimes.  I am going to go ahead and have the kids watch these all the way through.  The issues are addressed as delicately as honesty will allow and are a respectful and natural way to bring up these hard topics.  I did warn the kids after we watched the Hungary video that we will see these things brought up again in the other shows. Poland, naturally, is the most difficult.

A Game about London

   We looked at Great Britain at the beginning of the year. The kids enjoyed this game along with their geography. 

   It is for elementary age kids, takes some time, and you do have to create an account with a username and password, so with multiple kids you will want to create multiple accounts or have them play as a group. Things go more smoothly if you create the accounts before you sit down with the kids to play, but it can be nice to do it with them if you want to help them gain some internet savvy (but, then again, maybe you don't want that!).

http://www.portcities.org.uk/london/server.php?show=ConPackage.20

Russian folk dance- the Kalinka

   We're looking at Eastern Europe and Russia these last few weeks.  This is a three-minute video we watched while the kids colored a map of Russia and the countries that used to be part of the U.S.S.R.