We have completed our Exploration year. Following are the explorers and corresponding geography we studied. It worked out to be three explorers a month, except December because we have zero time to do "school." The explorers are in some kind of chronological order. My kids kept log books to sketch or colored an image of the key explorer, and labeled a map detailing the route the explorer took. Then they wrote a (sometimes) short biography about the explorer.
Also, for enrichment each month, we studied a poet, a composer, and an artist - or tired to, and all of our literature had to do with ocean adventures or the sea in general. For science we used Apologia's Swimming Creatures of the Sixth Day to study mostly sea animals.
Component One: "Rise and Shine!"
Crew Level: Swabbies
August
Introduction to Age of Discovery and Exploration
The Vikings: Erik the Red and Leif Ericson
Geography: Iceland, Greenland, North America
Literature: Gulliver's Stories - Edward Dolch
September
Marco Polo
Henry the Navigator
Bartholomew Diaz
Geography: Asia, Cape of Good Hope, Africa
Literature: Robinson Crusoe - Kathryn Lindskoog
Poetry: Robert Louis Stevenson
Music: Heinrich Shultz
Art: Pieter Breughel
Component Two: "All Hands on Deck!"
Crew Level: ABS (Able Bodied Sailors)
October
Christopher Columbus
Amerigo Vespucci
John and Sebastian Cabot
Geography: Caribbean, South America, Newfoundland
Literature: Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson
Poetry: (cont.)
Music: Antonio Vivaldi
Art: (cont.)
November
Vasco Núñez de Balboa
Juan Ponce de León
Ferdinand Magellan
Geography: Pacific Ocean, Florida, circumnavigate the globe
Literature: (cont.)
Poetry: Shakespeare
Music: Johann Sebastian Bach
Art: Diego Velasquez
Component Three: "Batten Down the Hatches!"
Crew Level: Sailing Master
December
"The Tempest" - Shakespeare
January
Vasco da Gama
Giovanni da Verrazano
Francisco Pizarro
Geography: India, East Coast of North America, Peru
Literature: Captains Courageous - Rudyard Kipling
Poetry: Rudyard Kipling
Music: George Frideric Handel
Art: Josep M. W. Turner
Component Four: "Hit the Deck!"
Crew Level: Quarter Master
February
Hernán Cortés
Jacques Cartier
Hernando de Soto
Geography: Mexico, St. Lawrence River, Mississippi River
Literature: Book of Pirates - Howard Pyle
Poetry: (cont.)
Music: Franz Joseph Haydn
Art: (cont.)
March
Sir Francis Drake
Henry Hudson
Sir Walter Raleigh
Geography: Hudson River, Virginia, "El Dorado"
Literature: (cont.)
Poetry: William Blake
Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Art: Winslow Homer
Component Five: "Ship Shape!"
Crew Level: Captain
April
Samuel de Champlain
Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet
Rene-Robert La Salle
Geography: Great Lakes, Mississippi River, Gulf of Mexico
Literature: The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway
Poetry: (cont.)
Music: Ludwig Van Beethoven
Art: (cont.)
May
Captain James Cook
Robert Edwin Peary
Roald Amundsen
Geography: New Zealand, Australia, Pacific Ocean, North Pole, South Pole
Regretfully, we did not accomplish many field trips throughout the year; however, now that summer is upon us, we plan to visit the Maritime Museum in San Diego, and maybe even attend one of their whale watching excursions, which would cover our study of sea creatures this year. I would also like us to revisit the Sea Lab in Redondo Beach, which is an excellent research lab with numerous touch tanks.
Overall, we were burnt out by the end of the year -- thanks to math and grammar. (If only we did not have to do math and grammar.) So I said, "I'M DONE!" We probably needed a few more days to finish math lessons or grammar lessons, but it will only be repeated next year. It is time for summer. Let's go!
3 comments:
Looks like a great year! I'm using this outline as a resource, if you don't mind. How was "The Old Man and the Sea?"
Hi, Amanda, Of course I don't mind using this outline, and I bet you can turn it into a fun and exciting year. You have that Maritime Museum right there in San Diego, too. I really want us to visit and take a trip on one of those ships.
The Old Man and the Sea was perfect for their age group, although they thought it was rather sad given the outcome. But hey, that's life. : )
When I was a teacher one of my favorite things was developing curriculum so I really enjoy looking at what you all did this year. Your children are blessed because instead of spending their time taking standardized tests to make sure they're on the same page as everyone else your kids get to learn to love learning and life in general.
Looks like a great year and a fun summer!
Post a Comment