Summer Learning Inspired by Pinterest: Math Coordinates

I'm a "pinhead". 

Yeah, I love Pinterest and pinning and do it QUITE often. There ARE some really GREAT ideas out there just waiting to be pinned and used. Right? LOL

But I haven't been able to get to many during our school year. We're focused so much on our regular schoolwork and activities (and all those other gazillion "little things" that need doing each day) that EXTRAS get passed right on by. This summer I hope to change that. There are just too many AWESOME ideas and websites to be explored!

Math Coordinates!

Aren't you excited? LOL Actually I found LOTS of wonderful, interesting, hands-on, multi-sensory, and   delight-directed learning activities to help kids understand and use coordinates. 

The kids LOVED this video from Math Crush! Not only does it explain the history of coordinates and how to do them, but it also shows how it's used in EVERY DAY LIFE! And then we completed the review worksheet provided together. (Unfortunately the rest of the activities are by paid membership only. Boo hoo! I'm a frugal-minded homeschool Mama!)

 We practiced finding coordinates by playing Dice Tic-Tac-Toe from Education.com. Using a single quadrant grid, the Saplings rolled different colored dice to find a number for the x-axis (red di) and the y-axis (white di), and then marked their spots with a specific shape (i.e. circle and square). And when someone got 3 points in a row, they won. This was perfect for learning which line IS the x-axis and which is the y-axis and for plotting those points!

And then we were ready for something a bit harder! The Saplings completed coordinate puzzles from Math Aids. What's great about this site is that you can make puzzles with varying levels of difficulty! White Pine skipped right through to the Angry Bird character since he's more a pro at this stuff, but Sugar Maple and Balsam Fir completed medium and hard level puzzles.

Oh, and since parabolas were mentioned in the video and how video game designers use coordinates to create games, I let the kids PLAY Angry Birds. This got me MAJOR COOL MOM POINTS! We didn't get into the plotting of parabolas though. I think that was BEYOND the scope of our study! LOL

Math coordinates are also helpful when looking at maps and globes. So, I pulled out the Delorme and we used the key and coordinates to locate various places in Maine, and then we spun the globe around and learned about latitude and longitude. We made a simple manipulative to remember latitude and longitude and (x-axis and y-axis) inspired by Nauticus and practiced latitude and longitude on a world map from Eduplace.

Photo by Nauticus - Visit Website Link Above
For Activity

Coordinates are also very important for the Global Positioning System or GPS.

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a space-based satellite navigation system that provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth, where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites. It is maintained by the United States government and is freely accessible to anyone with a GPS receiver.

The GPS program provides critical capabilities to military, civil and commercial users around the world. In addition, GPS is the backbone for modernizing the global air traffic system. - Wikipedia

And for Geocaching! Ever been? Geocaching is a treasure search game using the GPS system and a handheld GPS receiver using COORDINATES posted by "cachers" at Geocaching websites. (Head over to this website to find out more.) Oftentimes these caches or small plastic or metal boxes are hidden in public parks or wooded areas and are nice hikes. It's ALWAYS exciting to find one, but sometimes disappointing when we simply CAN NOT locate it. We "unearthed" 3 new ones in our area for our coordinates study!

Cache #1 - Founders Cementary

Cache #2 - A Babbling Brook Along the
Path to the Cache by Lumberyard

Cache #2 - Hidden Here!

Cache #3 - Hidden here at the Fish Hatchery! We Fed Fish
Afterward

And we played Battleship! What better classical COORDINATES board game then this one, huh?

So, what fun Pinterest-inspired learning should we do next?!

As the Lazy Days of Summer Begin: May 12-18

Lazy days of summer? Nah, I was just joshin'! LOL 

What DID we do this week? It was SUCH a whirlwind! (Or maybe it just FELT that way! LOL)

Well, Mother's Day! The kids made me sweet cards. Nothing like a homemade, heartfelt (and maybe hurriedly-made-to-keep-it-a-secret-from-Mom) cards, right? Blue Spruce gave me CHOCOLATE and a beautiful Clematis to plant somewhere in the yard. Where to plant it?  Hmmmm...Otherwise it was the DRIEST day of the week until Thursday.

Because it rained and rained. On the BRIGHT SIDE, we didn't have to water the gardens! ((thumbs up)) But we had SOGGY, DROOPY hens and muddy FOOTprints in the entryway. Thankfully there WERE some hours with bright sunshine here and there!

But the rain didn't stop some of our goings-on! White Pine hung out with B__ and D__ on different days and left for a camping trip with the Boy Scouts this weekend. Sugar Maple had softball practice and a couple of games and band and clarinet. And Balsam Fir went to a Portland Sea Dogs baseball game with Dad.

And SUNNY 70s on Thursday meant time for a hike! With the van up and working again, we've been anxious to GO SOMEWHERE, so we headed to one of the state parks with a hike up to a mountain summit. And then we explored the gardens at the farm on the way back.

We ARE continuing to work on some "weak subject areas".  Summer is "SHORING UP" time for struggling skills! And although we don't have a set time for THIS school work, it's something I try to get in most days. It's becoming apparent though that the kids need more of a strict schedule and continued learning expectations. Our first week of summer vacation hasn't gone "swimmingly". ((sigh))

White Pine is using Dance Mat Typing to become more proficient with his keyboarding skills. And yes, he does think Dance Mat Typing is "babyish", but it IS effective...at least until I dig up the missing Jumpstart: Typing CD. (Where did I put that for SAFE-KEEPING?) And, after this week, I think he should continue on with his Saxon Algebra 1/2 and completely finish it up.

 I did make Sugar Maple a Spelling game inspired by The Superlative Six called "Bam!". Using a recycled plastic ice cream container, I made flashcards from scrap paper with the words she's missed on the Spelling lists we've gone through, a few SWIPE cards and one BAM! card. A player chooses a word card without looking and hands it to the other player who reads the card. The player who drew the card tries to spell the word. If it's spelled correctly the card is kept, but if it's incorrect, the player will look at the card, say the word and spell it then return it back to the container. The players then switch. Swipe cards can be used to randomly chose a word from another players hand. If it's spelled correctly the player who drew the SWIPE gets to, well, take the word card. And if you draw the BAM! card all the word cards you've spelled correctly return to the container. Once a SWIPE or BAM! card is used they are set aside and not used again. Whoever has the most word cards at the end of the game (when all the cards have been spelled correctly) wins. Believe it or not, she's been asking to play this game OUTSIDE OF OUR HOUR OF SUMMER STUDIES! (And it's a quick way for ME to see if she can spell the words without paper-and-pencil tests!)

Our Bam! Bucket - Recycle Ice Cream
Container with Flashcards

Spelling Word Flashcards Made with Scrap Paper - Save
Scraps! Never Know What You Can Use Them For!

And Balsam Fir will continue to work on his phonetics and reading. He's enjoying the Henry and Mudge series, but I'm aiming for Nate the Great by summer's end. He's SO close! But building his self-confidence is going to be a BIG hurdle! And he'll continue sharpening those addition and subtraction facts.

We've been enjoying our growing gardens. We've found the pumpkin seedlings interesting to observe since everything is BIG...big seeds, big roots, big leaves. (Did you know those little beginning leaves inside some seeds are called cotyledon and help our little plants by providing stored food?) We've been comparing the corn, pumpkin and bean plants. Checking out those roots are a good way to find out if a plant is a vine or not! I've pulled out our favorite Apologia Botany for the Saplings to read up on plants as they wish. Delight-directed learning! (I LOVE this phrase and found it at Ben and Me and Journey to Excellence!)

See Those Cotyledon Starting to Pop Out of the Seed Coat?

A Thriving Pumpkin Plant with LOTS of Roots

Comparing a Corn Plant to Pumpkin - Look at How Long the
Root Is!

Well, it's a wonderful sunny Friday. All "my boys" are off and busy, so Sugar Maple and I are heading into town for an afternoon of GIRL TIME! I think it'll involve some sneaker and shirt shopping and take-out dinner at the lake. Oh, and click over to see my post on the chickens and ducks new home here. Our coop's roof is STILL not done, but I decided to post pictures anyway! Have a wonderful weekend!