Metal Detecting - Coins - Pfennig

Metal detecting is teaching my son a little about history as well as developing his reading and research skills.

He recently found this 50 pfenning coin from 1921 in a farm field near our house in Germany.

After some research he found that the coin is made of aluminum and was constructed during the hyperinflation period between World War I and World War II. This was a period of time when money was more valuable as fuel for fires than as currency.

This coin is relatively easy to find through dealers and worth around $1-$5 today depending on the condition.



This post is linked to:
Saturday Show and Tell

Speed! - Offer for Facebook Users

Facebook Users

I have a New Year's offer for you! From now until the end of the year I am offering a coupon for $5 off my multiplication game Speed! It's a great way to use those Amazon gift certificates. If you have been thinking about trying out Speed! now's the time. If you already have it why not buy a few more and give them as birthday gifts this year? All you have to do is let your Facebook friends know about Speed! and you can save $5.


Here's how it works
- Offer open to US and APO addresses only

Ancient Greece History Co-op - Week 10 - Temple Models

Week 10: We built scale models of Greek Temples.

This lesson combined history and math for a unique learning experience. The kids had to select an Ancient Greek temple to model to scale.

My son chose the Temple of Hephaestus located in Athens, Greece.  He found it was 104 feet long by 45 feet wide and estimated the height at about 30 feet. The temple has columns on all four sides. There are six Doric columns on the front and back, and thirteen along each long edge.

We decided that one long block would equal 10 feet.

Then he counted by 10's and rounded to determine he needed 10 long blocks and 1 short block down the long wall and 4 long blocks and 1 short block across the front and back.

Scale model of the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens, Greece
Scale model of the Temple of Poseidon in Sounion, Greece

My daughter chose to model the Temple of Poseidon which is very similar to the Temple of Hephaestus. They were both constructed from marble and likely designed by the same person. Instead of 34 columns, her's had 42. The Temple of Poseidon today stands in a ruined state in Sounion, Greece. Sounion is located about 1.5 hours from Athens on the legendary spot where Theseus's father Aegeus saw Theseus returning from Crete with the black sail hoisted on his ship.

Understanding scale is a very important skill. It has applicability in mapping, model making and in engineering drawings. This was a fun way for the kids to gain a better understanding of this concept while connecting it with their history studies.

To see more of our History activities please visit our history page.


Little Wonders' Days We Made That The Weekly Kids Co-Op Hip Homeschool Hop Button

Kitchen on a Cruise Ship

Cruise ships are huge, floating, paradises that have quite a challenge in the kitchen. Large ships may have four or five seperate huge gallies.

Ships maintain a 4-6 week supply of food which is restocked weekly. The head chef must carefully plan the meals so that food is used before it spoils.

These huge containers which look like utility room sinks are actually for pasta. They fill the entire cavity with pasta sauce.

Since fire is the biggest potential threat on board a cruise ship, cooking with open flame is not allowed. The chef must therefore find alternate ways to produce desired flavors.
Deserts, deserts, and more deserts. Did you know people tend to eat a lot on cruise ships?




Shapes and Money Designs

Learning about shapes can be a fun part of math. We created designs while learning about shapes and symmetry. The Map is Not the Territory blog inspired me to do this activity. She frequently posts creative, artsy, hands-on math ideas.




I got out the coins and created some simple designs.

It didn't take long for Jemma to join in.


She created a diamond, circle, hexagon and square. When she first started creating shapes it was difficult to see her corners. The shapes weren't quite even. It didn't take her long to learn to count the number of coins on each side to create a symmetric design.

The top right photo shows a circle. She wanted to create it and it was quite difficult for me. I had a strong urge to help her create straight lines, but was able to resist giving my unrequested advice.
Soon the floor was covered with shapes and designs.

The older kids couldn't resist the activity and joined in.

A dancer. Can you guess who created this design?




This post is linked to:
Sola Gratia
True Aim Education
Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas
Multiples Mom
Tuesday Tots
Family Fun Friday

Ancient Greece History Co-op - Week 9 - Columns

Week 9: We made columns - Doric, Ionic, Corinthian and Caryatid.

It's incredible that these ancient structures were not constructed using cement. Instead the pieces were perfectly carved to fit together much like legos.

When the Greeks first began building temples the columns were plain, but as time progressed they became more and more fancy. Understanding the different types of columns is one way archaeologists place a structure in a particular time period. Doric columns are the simplest. Ionic have swirls at the tops and Corinthian have swirls, leafs, grapes and other decorative features. Caryatid columns were sculpted in the shape of a person, usually a woman. Examples of all four types of these columns can still be seen today on temples throughout the ancient Greek and Roman worlds.

We constructed our columns from toilet paper rolls.

 First the kids added beads of glue on some of the toilet paper rolls to create a column like texture. Then the individual features of each column were added. To create Corinthian columns, paper was cut into plain strips or strips to look like leaves, and coiled around a pencil before being glued to the column.

My daughter made a caryatid column. She surrounded her column with fleece fabric to give it texture.

She glued on a patch of white fleece for the face. Then added hair so the column would look like a woman.

Ionic, Corinthian and Caryatid columns are shown above. (Here's a memory hint. The more syllables in the column name, the fancier it is; Doric -2 syllables, Ionic - 3 syllables, Corinthian - 4 syllables.)

To see our other Greek Unit Study activities please visit our History Page.





This post is linked to: 
Trivium Tuesdays
Tuesday Tots
Hip Homeschool Hop

Speed! - Offer for Bloggers

Speed! is a fun game for learning multiplication, and playing Speed! helps children develop a strong number sense. I created this game to help my daughter learn multiplication and had it developed into a game for other families to enjoy. I'm so excited to announce our latest promotion.


Calling All Bloggers Are you a blogger? Would you like to try my card game Speed!? If you have a blog with 30 or more followers and agree to write an honest review of Speed! I would love to send you a box.

Here's how it works.
Like Highhill Homeschool on facebook
Leave me a comment that includes your blog address and let me know you would like to participate.

I will send you the card game. You can try it out for a few weeks, and then when January rolls around and we have all slowed down a bit you can write a review on your blog.


Offer open to the first ten qualifying bloggers until Dec 31.
Blog must be interesting to people with children.
Highhill Educational Supplies reserves the right to determine qualifications. 
 
The Chicken Chick Hip Homeschool Hop Button

Needle Felted Christmas Figures

Last year, I made these holiday figures while needle felting with the kids. My five year old likes to create animals, and my eleven year old is getting good at creating figures. Each of these figures took about 1-2 hours to complete.

Elf, Santa and Mrs. Claus

Fox

Santa Pencil Holder

Rudolph

To make them I needle felted balls for heads, ovals for bodies, cylinders for arms and legs. Then I needle felted all the pieces together. When that was complete I added the clothes, facial features, hair and other details. For example, to make Santa's hat I needle felted red felt in a flat triangular shaped. Then rolled in into the hat shape and attached it to the head. 

The pencil holder is an old yogurt container covered with fabric. I attached Santa with a bit of glue.

Needle felting is fun for both me and the kids. My daughter started at four years old. If you are interested in needle felting, here is an earlier post I did which may help you get started.


* I did not receive any compensation for this recommendation. I'm just a homeschooling mom who has found many products that I like. If you're interested in the products I recommend on this blog I want to make it easy for you to find them. 
** I am an Amazon associate and receive a small portion of the sales on orders made after clicking in from this site, which I promptly spend on homeschooling books and supplies for my children.
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