Rocking Robots Unit Study

I am going to start this post by saying that I learned a lot doing this unit study!! It was really interesting and with our schedule it took us about 2 weeks to do it all instead of the 5 days. Here is what we started with:

Robot School
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We downloaded this unit study from the Amanda Bennett site. This is the same place that we bought the “Sunny Seashells” unit. To see that post, go here. This unit had so many awesome videos that Nadia loved. She would crack up laughing at some of the stuff the robots could do. The cow milking robot grossed her out becuase “those udders look messy.” She was fascinated by the underwater robot Jason who has a 6 mile tether. It suggested that you drive 6 miles to give the kids an idea of how long that was. So the next morning when we drove to the gym I told her to pay attention because that is how long Jason’s tether is. She has talked about Jason a lot since then. There were quite a few areas we didn’t delve into because she can’t read yet and I think older kids would get more out of it. That is the great thing about these unit studies, you can do a lot or a little based on your child.

Here is the breakdown of the days:

Day 1: What Is a Robot?
Day 2: The History of Robots
Day 3: People and Places of Robots
Day 4: Science Secrets of Robots
Day 5: Goodies and Gadgets of Robots

Robot School

Silly Nadia and her robot dot-to-dot.

Robot School

How is a robot like a person? (notice Sparks from Toy Story 3 is watching her do school)

Robot School

We learned about CiD – an ice cream serving robot. Can I get one for our house?

Robot School

Nadia with her completed lapbook and her robot craft. If you look in the bottom left of the lapbook you will see her “water clock.” This was the first robot ever invented and it was revolutionary because you didn’t need the sun to tell the time. She has brought up the water clock a lot since we talked about how thousands of years ago people didn’t have electricity or batteries and all the technology we enjoy now.

Robot School

Nadia and Wall-E. After taking this photo we celebrated the end of Robot School by watching Wall-E.

Tot School – September 2011

Amelie Tot School - Sept 2011
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So the big question about school I get lately is some variation of, “What do you do with Amelie? How does Amelie do while you do school with Nadia?”

The first real issue I ran into is that Amelie does not know how to play alone. Not even for a few minutes and in fact she reacts like it’s a punishment to play alone while Nadia is doing school at the table. Even if she is playing with toys at my feet she still gets upset. I attribute that to her various issues that come from being in an orphanage for the first 20 months of her life. She would have been constantly surrounded by other children and ultimately she loves to be the center of attention at all times. Which just isn’t possible or good for her.

When it’s feasible I have her on my lap and she will listen, but for a lot of Nadia’s more advanced stuff I need to have my hands free. So we have purchased and been given a variety of toys for her to use with her hands that will also help her learn. I found early on that she is a lot more cooperative in her chair and I am sure that is because she is on the same level as us. So here is a little peek at what Amelie has been up to.

Amelie tot school - 01

These links are hard for her to get apart since her hands are still pretty weak, but she does like to dump the container out and refill it. She also likes if Nadia or I will hook them together like one big necklace.

Amelie tot school - 01

Playdough is always fun.

Amelie tot school - 01

Animal magnets on a dry erase board. She can identify 18 of the 20 animals now.

Star Wars School

Jolanthe at Homeschool Creations did a Star Wars Preschool pack and I was so excited because I knew Nadia would be SO EXCITED! I prepped everything in secret and we kicked off our school year with a whole bunch of joy filled screaming! Here is what we started with:

Star Wars School
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When Nadia realized what was going on she HAD to get her Jedi robe before we could start. Thanks again Jenn R.

Star Wars School

She wanted to be a bunny one day.

Star Wars School

Star Wars School

This read, build, write page is great!

Star Wars School

Making a book practicing location words.

Star Wars School

Star Wars Popsicle stick puppets.

Star Wars School

Her lapbook is done. Thanks for the stickers Kathy E and Rieley.

Star Wars School

Look at the fun puzzle I found at the Target Dollar spot.

Star Wars School

And my friend Lynnea would say this is my “over-achiever part”.

Star Wars School

STAR WARS PANCAKES BABY! I gave Nadia one of Darth Vaders ships and she had to sing “bum bum bum ba ba bum ba ba bum” before she could eat.

Here is a list of the books we read over the course of the week (all from the library).

  • Death Star Battles – Simon Beecroft
  • Blast off – DK easy reader
  • What is a Wookie? –  Laura Butler
  • The Adventures of Han Solo – Lindsay Kent
  • Yoda in Action – Heather Scott
  • Forces of Darkness – Heather Scott
  • Pirates… and worse! – Simon Beecroft
  • Jedi Heroes – Clare Hibbert
  • Clone Troopers in Action – Clare Hibbert
  • Feel the Force – Benjamin Harper
  • Tatooine Adventures – Clare Hibbert
  • Don’t Wake the Zillo Beast – DK easy reader
  • Boba Fett: Jedi Hunter – Clare Hibbert
  • Jedi in Training – Heather Scott
  • Join the Rebels – Catherine Saunders
  • Jedi Adventures – Heather Scott

Nadia had a really fun time with Star Wars school. We also started her Math and Art curriculum this week and she is doing well.

P.S. One morning while I was making breakfast I turned around to see this.

Star Wars School

New School Year Photos

School 2011-2012

School 2011-2012

Nadia thought this was fun and said, “I like your BIG LETTERS mommy.” Amelie didn’t have a clue, but she wanted to be in the middle of everything so I made her a sign too. FYI: tot school  = fun times!