Geology ~ Resources

Books, books and more books!  Just as long as they are not dry and boring we will get along just fine.  These are the books that we have read or are reading.   I have a few more in my pile, not sure yet if they are any good or not so if they are I will update this post later in our study.  We have also watched a few DVD's but have not been impressed with any of them.  Unfortunately, most are geared to older kids not elementary school age.  I now know of a market that needs help in the homeschool world if someone out there LOVES rocks - please make something fun and entertaining for these young kids!

  

            

  

Electronic Snap Circuits

 The boys love these, I mean LOVE these things.  I bought the snap circuits just because I thought they looked easy to use and fun.  It was going to be a bonus that they would obtain a hands-on learning experience in how electrical circuits run.

The kit includes snap wires and other fun stuff that you snap onto the plastic grid.   No tools needed.  It comes with 'map' type directions to follow. If you do not follow the directions correctly, it does not work.  The boys have made a light switch, door bell and the most favorite is the radio, so far.

Once they have 'mastered' this we can order an upgrade to the kit so they can move to the next level in their learning process. Create their own circuits!

Geology ~ Rock On!!!

Rocks, rocks and more rocks – UGH!  I did not have a good teacher in school with this subject.  I went from a kid who LOVED rocks to totally hating them and thinking – why do I need to know this?  I need to find my inner detective and love for rocks on this subject!

Our first examination is the earth’s crust.  Let’s get some experiments going on here.  Or just some sort of visual because this earth is huge!

For starters – let’s boil and egg.  I had the boys peel the shell off.  This is our earth’s crust.  How exciting!  Look at how thin it is from the rest of the egg.  We will come back to the egg later when we learn about the next layer.  I bet you are just on the edge of your seat about this, right?

Back to the crust {shell} is only 3 miles thick under the ocean and 45 miles thick under the mountain ranges.  Not too thick – right?

What is this crust made of?  Dirt/Soil

What is dirt /soil made of? Decaying leaves, rotting plants, grounded rock and sticks.

Next, let’s put some dirt/soil into a glass jar and cover with water.  Tightly screw on the lid and shake for a few minutes.  Leave this overnight to see what happens to your soil.  It would be neat to compare different soils from different areas but we are not going to do that.  The next morning you will find all organic matter floating at the top and the heavy mineral particles at the bottom and it may even form layers –if you’re lucky.

State Capitols Song