Lesson 13: animals and people
Day 6 of Creation
The last day of creation, God made the animals and people.
We finished our book! Where Did the World Come From by Karyn E. Lukasek
We began class reviewing all the other days of creation and making a Creation Sphere. I was able to print for my class this fun printable from here
We finished our book! Where Did the World Come From by Karyn E. Lukasek
We began class reviewing all the other days of creation and making a Creation Sphere. I was able to print for my class this fun printable from here
As the students were coloring, I could review the days of creation.
Here is the final creation. Most students were not able to finish coloring but we glued them together and had them take them home to color as they wanted at home.
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While my friend helped me glue all of these wonderful sphere's together, I had the students sit down and learn about an animal that God created on the 6th day, dinosaurs.
I read Dinosaurs Stars of the Show by Amie Zordel
This book was wonderful. I particularly enjoyed that when confronted with a different idea about when dinosaurs lived and how they were made, the girl in the book sought the Word of God for clarity. This is what we should all do, not just children. Let us seek the Lord while He may be found.
Scripture clearly states that God created the heavens and the earth and that He made all animals on the 6th day. This includes dinosaurs.
I read Dinosaurs Stars of the Show by Amie Zordel
This book was wonderful. I particularly enjoyed that when confronted with a different idea about when dinosaurs lived and how they were made, the girl in the book sought the Word of God for clarity. This is what we should all do, not just children. Let us seek the Lord while He may be found.
Scripture clearly states that God created the heavens and the earth and that He made all animals on the 6th day. This includes dinosaurs.
Making Dinosaur fossils
After we finished the book, I handed each student a little baggie with a block of modeling clay and a laminated piece of cardstock as a mat to put the modeling clay on. As they were able, they were to form a little patty to place dinosaur foot prints or head prints in as their fossils.
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Dinosaur Eggs
To close out our dinosaur adventures, I made each of the students a dinosaur egg with a toy dinosaur inside. I placed a toy dinosaur in a larger balloon, filled it with water, tied it and placed them in my freezer. I brought them in their balloons to class and cut the balloon off and placed each ice egg into a ziplock bag to contain the melting ice. They could go home and smash it or just wait for the egg to melt.
I loved teaching this class! Creation science is always so much fun!!!
Lesson 12: Fish and birds
Day 5 of Creation
Genesis 1:20- "And God said, "Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens."
On Day 5 of Creation, God made the Fish and the Birds. In honor of our Creator God, we created a fish and bird using a paper plate. I found this idea from here and thought that it fit perfectly with today's science lesson.
On Day 5 of Creation, God made the Fish and the Birds. In honor of our Creator God, we created a fish and bird using a paper plate. I found this idea from here and thought that it fit perfectly with today's science lesson.
interactive read aloud
Continuing through Where Did the World Come From By Karyn E. Lukasek we discovered what God made on the 5th day and called them good.
We then looked at a picture in a book called Picturepedia from DK called Birds. This is not a creation based book, however, we can glean the observable facts about birds from books and not cater to evolution and old Earth theories.
We compared the bird we just made with the birds in the books. We discovered that our birds did not have feet. We also learned that birds do not have teeth and so when they swallow food, it is stored in their crop and then ground up in the gizzard. We drew these organs on the back of our paper plate bird. We made little bird feet out of pipecleaners.
We compared the bird we just made with the birds in the books. We discovered that our birds did not have feet. We also learned that birds do not have teeth and so when they swallow food, it is stored in their crop and then ground up in the gizzard. We drew these organs on the back of our paper plate bird. We made little bird feet out of pipecleaners.
The book I read to go with fish is called What's It Like To Be A Fish by Wendy Pfeffer
I liked how this book told about the different reasons for the different parts of the fish. For instance, the scales were for protection both from items scratching them in the water but the slime kept the germs from getting the fish sick. The diagram of the fish was really great as it labeled all the different types of fins that fish have. Consequently, we did not have nearly enough fins on our fish so we took some tissue paper and glued some more fins to our fish.
I liked how this book told about the different reasons for the different parts of the fish. For instance, the scales were for protection both from items scratching them in the water but the slime kept the germs from getting the fish sick. The diagram of the fish was really great as it labeled all the different types of fins that fish have. Consequently, we did not have nearly enough fins on our fish so we took some tissue paper and glued some more fins to our fish.
Observing a real fish
I bought a complete fish at the store and brought it class to show the students all the fins, eyes, gills in person. Some loved it but some did not.
Lesson 11: STARS
Day 4 of Creation
Scratch and Reveal
At the beginning of class, I handed out some scratch sheets where the students could draw out the three things that God made on the fourth day of creation.
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Interactive read aloud
We began our Read Aloud time with Where Did the World Come From By Karyn E. Lukasek making some hand motions and rhyming some words and numbering the days of Creation.
The Big Dipper by Franklin M. Branley was the next book that we read loud. This book was a really great introduction into the stars. We learned three stars names but all seven stars in the Big Dipper were named.
One of my favorite parts of this book was that it had starry-scapes where the students could try and find the Big Dipper as if they were outside.
One of my favorite parts of this book was that it had starry-scapes where the students could try and find the Big Dipper as if they were outside.
Making a model of the big dipper
After we finished reading The Big Dipper, I had made half sheets of black cardstock with white dots to show where the stars for the Big Dipper would be. We then took the information from our book and applied it to the model. The stars Merak and Dubhe were labeled. These were labeled to show that they pointed straight to the North Star which is also called Polaris. I underlined the first letter in these words as most of these students know their letters, they just can't read crazy names yet.
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A new way to sing twinkle twinkle little star
I have sung this version of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" to my kids for years now. My objective behind it is to teach them that a star is full of gases helium and hydrogen. I am not totally sure about the end part science-wise but here it is:
"Twinkle twinkle little star
You're a ball of gas that's far
32 light years in the sky
10 parsecs which is really high
Helium and Hydrogen
Fuse to make our starry friend
When it enters supernova stage
It explodes with bursts of rays,
And if the star's mass is big and bold
It will become a black hole!"
"Twinkle twinkle little star
You're a ball of gas that's far
32 light years in the sky
10 parsecs which is really high
Helium and Hydrogen
Fuse to make our starry friend
When it enters supernova stage
It explodes with bursts of rays,
And if the star's mass is big and bold
It will become a black hole!"
Why does a star twinkle?
We did a science demonstration during class that involved simply putting some aluminum foil pieces under a bowl of water to demonstrate how stars twinkle because of the earth's atmosphere.
All you need is:
In both instances, you will place the aluminum foil underneath the glass bowl that has water in it.
2. Have a person darken the room that you are in and turn on your flashlight.
3. Shine the light on the aluminum foil through the water in the glass bowl. The light will be reflected from the foil
4. Disturb the water in the bowl, it will look like the foil balls are twinkling.
This is representative of the gases in our atmosphere that make our stars twinkle at night.
All you need is:
- black card stock
- aluminum foil
- glass bowl
- water
- flashlight
In both instances, you will place the aluminum foil underneath the glass bowl that has water in it.
2. Have a person darken the room that you are in and turn on your flashlight.
3. Shine the light on the aluminum foil through the water in the glass bowl. The light will be reflected from the foil
4. Disturb the water in the bowl, it will look like the foil balls are twinkling.
This is representative of the gases in our atmosphere that make our stars twinkle at night.
This photo really doesn't show the twinkling effect however it does show the reflection of light which looks really neat. So thankful for Megan Meier who takes some pretty awesome pictures with my limited phone during class.
The Sun in my favorite star
Bringing it all home. We learned about how the Sun makes the seasons when we first learned about the sun. The students were surprised to find that the Sun is actually a star that is full of gas just like the stars that we have been learning about.
I read to them The Sun is My Favorite Star by Frank Asch
I read to them The Sun is My Favorite Star by Frank Asch
constellation tubes
For our final activity, the students made some constellation tubes.
These use
These use
- TP rolls,
- Constellation Pin Art printable (to your right)
- tape
- sewing pin.
- Take the sewing pin and poke holes in the dots that symbolize the constellation.
- Tape the piece of paper to the top of a TP roll.
- Hold the Constellation tube up to a source of light and you will see the constellation.
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God is big enough to know all the names of every star but He also knows all our names as well. Praise Him!
"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork." Psalm 19:1
"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork." Psalm 19:1
Lesson 10: the moon
Day 4 of creation
To introduce the moon to the students, I read them this poem by Betty Sanchez
"The Moon Phases Poem"
The moon is a sphere, big and white
It loves to reflect the sun's bright light.
It goes on a journey every 28th day
Around the Earth, a hide and seek game it will play
In the beginning, it is new
Out of sight from me and you.
Then it waxes in white
as it grows on its right
Waxing crescent and quarter, then gibbous too
When full, the phases are halfway through!
Now it flips to the left and starts to wane
As it fades away in its orbit lane.
Waning gibbous and quarter then crescent too
It's completed its orbit and back to new!
"The Moon Phases Poem"
The moon is a sphere, big and white
It loves to reflect the sun's bright light.
It goes on a journey every 28th day
Around the Earth, a hide and seek game it will play
In the beginning, it is new
Out of sight from me and you.
Then it waxes in white
as it grows on its right
Waxing crescent and quarter, then gibbous too
When full, the phases are halfway through!
Now it flips to the left and starts to wane
As it fades away in its orbit lane.
Waning gibbous and quarter then crescent too
It's completed its orbit and back to new!
Cucumbers!!!! Forget the Oreos. I cut up a cucumber and gave each student a slice to make a simple model of the last five phases of the moon. This was so much cleaner and healthier!
- The whole slice was a full moon.
- Nibble the outside slightly and in makes a waning gibbous.
- Nibble a bit more until it is a semi-circle and you have your third quarter or waning quarter
- Nibble a little bit more and you have your waning crescent
- Eat all of it and its a new moon!
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Since the cucumbers were a great and easy way to make a model of the phases as they waned, I had the students get up out of their seats and do the growing phases by scrunching down as small as they could for a New Moon and then getting up gradually for each waxing phase. We ended with our hands up over our heads at a Full Moon.
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Interactive Read Aloud Time!!!!
As always I read Where Did The World Come From By Karyn E. Lukasek
The students are always trying to sneak the book away from me so they can see what God made on Day 5 and Day 6 etc.
We will find out soon!!
As always I read Where Did The World Come From By Karyn E. Lukasek
The students are always trying to sneak the book away from me so they can see what God made on Day 5 and Day 6 etc.
We will find out soon!!
Our next book that we read is called Fool Moon Rising by Kristi and T. Lively Fluharty
I cannot say enough good things about this book! It not only rhymes but takes several science concepts about the moon and then weaves biblical lessons throughout. For instance, the lesson of how we should only boast in the Lord and not ever about ourselves because He made us. We boast in Him. We 'reflect' the Son.
After I read this book to the students, they wanted to look at it closer and for longer. They absolutely loved the illustrations.
I cannot say enough good things about this book! It not only rhymes but takes several science concepts about the moon and then weaves biblical lessons throughout. For instance, the lesson of how we should only boast in the Lord and not ever about ourselves because He made us. We boast in Him. We 'reflect' the Son.
After I read this book to the students, they wanted to look at it closer and for longer. They absolutely loved the illustrations.
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Before moving back to our seats for our Moon Craft. I had the students walk around the phases of the moon. I placed these really awesome printables down on the floor. I laminated them for durability. Then we grabbed hands as if to play Ring around the Rosie except that it was Ring around the phases of the moon.
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Finally, we made our moon craft.
I cut strips of large construction paper that would fit around these students' heads and had them cut out and paste in order the phases of the moon. These moon pictures are the same ones I used for Ring Around the Moon Phases above except smaller. They are pictures of real moons and the images are very life-like. Grab yours at our TpT store!
After placing them on their heads, they can go to a mirror and review the different phases of the moon.
I wasn't sure if I should have cut all the moons out for this group. I decided not to and most did wonderfully. I had a few extras in case one student got a little carried away with the scissors.
I cut strips of large construction paper that would fit around these students' heads and had them cut out and paste in order the phases of the moon. These moon pictures are the same ones I used for Ring Around the Moon Phases above except smaller. They are pictures of real moons and the images are very life-like. Grab yours at our TpT store!
After placing them on their heads, they can go to a mirror and review the different phases of the moon.
I wasn't sure if I should have cut all the moons out for this group. I decided not to and most did wonderfully. I had a few extras in case one student got a little carried away with the scissors.
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On the student's way out of class, I asked them each for a phase of the moon and then gave them an observation sheet where they can record the phases of the moon for this week. You can grab this printable here at our TpT store
Lesson 9: Seasons
Day 4 of Creation
I love how the students are learning the history of creation as well as some science that correlates with each day of creation.
Today we moved into Day 4 of Creation which is when God made the Sun, Moon and Stars.
I began with the Sun and the Seasons.
At the beginning of class I had the students name the four seasons and match activities that go with each season of the year using a printable. I grabbed the printable here. This is a LDS website of which I am not apart of but this was a useful introductory activity.
Today we moved into Day 4 of Creation which is when God made the Sun, Moon and Stars.
I began with the Sun and the Seasons.
At the beginning of class I had the students name the four seasons and match activities that go with each season of the year using a printable. I grabbed the printable here. This is a LDS website of which I am not apart of but this was a useful introductory activity.
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Interactive Read Aloud Time!!
We began with Where Did the World Come From By Karyn E. Lukasek
I start at the beginning every time I read this book and only go to the day that I am covering that week in class. We have actually not finished reading this book yet. We are only on Day 4 of Creation. However, the students have some of the rhyming story memorized which is a goal of mine. The story has such great rhyme and rhythm.
We began with Where Did the World Come From By Karyn E. Lukasek
I start at the beginning every time I read this book and only go to the day that I am covering that week in class. We have actually not finished reading this book yet. We are only on Day 4 of Creation. However, the students have some of the rhyming story memorized which is a goal of mine. The story has such great rhyme and rhythm.
We then read The Season's Of Arnold's Apple Tree by Gail Gibbons to tie in our time learning about flowers and fruit and parts of the apple as a way of explaining God in Three Persons but still One God and then bringing in the sun and the seasons.
I had the students make an 'earth' out of their hands and told them that because the earth is tilted just so, is the reason we have seasons. God in His goodness created the Sun on the 4th day and made sure that we could have four seasons by tilting the earth so that we can grow food to sustain ourselves.
I had the students make an 'earth' out of their hands and told them that because the earth is tilted just so, is the reason we have seasons. God in His goodness created the Sun on the 4th day and made sure that we could have four seasons by tilting the earth so that we can grow food to sustain ourselves.
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After we finished our Read Aloud, we got up and worked on our Four Seasons Craft decorating Arnold's tree during the four seasons of the year.
I printed this on blue card stock so that the white tissue paper for the winter trees would show up.
I passed out different colors of tissue paper and glue. It is so fun to work with these young learners. Some of them are just so fascinated by the adhesive!!!
Some of them placed their tissue paper on their pencil and glued it to their paper to puff out while others just glued the tissue paper squares flat. I let some of the boys pick which color flower blossoms they wanted on their spring tree if they didn't want pink. All fine things.
I printed this on blue card stock so that the white tissue paper for the winter trees would show up.
I passed out different colors of tissue paper and glue. It is so fun to work with these young learners. Some of them are just so fascinated by the adhesive!!!
Some of them placed their tissue paper on their pencil and glued it to their paper to puff out while others just glued the tissue paper squares flat. I let some of the boys pick which color flower blossoms they wanted on their spring tree if they didn't want pink. All fine things.
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While we were crafting and creating, I taught the students a song about the seasons.
It is to the tune of "This Old Man"
It goes like this:
Winter, Spring
Summer, Fall
There are seasons,
four in all!
Look outside and
you will see,
it is ____________, yes-siree!
It is to the tune of "This Old Man"
It goes like this:
Winter, Spring
Summer, Fall
There are seasons,
four in all!
Look outside and
you will see,
it is ____________, yes-siree!
Lesson 8: Pond Science
This week, I merged the Kindergarten/1st grade class with the 2nd/3rd grade class to study Pond Science.
We began at the beginning.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1
The Kindergartners and 1st graders rocked the review of the days of creation we have covered so far.
Day 1- God created the Light
Day 2- God created the sky, separating the waters top from bottom
Day 3- God made the land and made the vegetation
As an extension from last week, I handed them a scavenger hunt. They were to go around the pond and look for pollinators around that would be pollinating the flowers which would then produce seeds.
I grabbed this scavenger hunt from here.
We began at the beginning.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1
The Kindergartners and 1st graders rocked the review of the days of creation we have covered so far.
Day 1- God created the Light
Day 2- God created the sky, separating the waters top from bottom
Day 3- God made the land and made the vegetation
As an extension from last week, I handed them a scavenger hunt. They were to go around the pond and look for pollinators around that would be pollinating the flowers which would then produce seeds.
I grabbed this scavenger hunt from here.
I had a few questions that I wanted to answer while at the pond today.
1. How clear was the water?
2. How deep was the pond?
3. What can we find using our homemade pond scope?
I had a Pond Explorations handout for them to document all their information or for the parents to have and they could fill it in when they arrived at home. Either way, I find that having a handout gives us a focus in our explorations and allows for a space to document our findings as in-training scientists.
In order to see how clear the water was, my husband made me a homemade Secchi which is an instrument used to document how clear ponds and rivers are in order to determine pollution and sediment in the water.
The materials you would need to make one of these yourself is:
White plastic lid (I used a lid to an old Tupperware container)
Electric tape
Screwdriver or something else to puncture a hole in the middle of the lid
An inch long washer and bolt
String
First puncture a hole in the middle of the lid.
Place the electric tape so that the pattern on the lid is white, black, white, black
Use string and tie your washer and bolt underneath the plastic lid
Measure out your string into feet and every 6 inches. I had blue marks for every foot and red marks for every 6 inches after the foot mark.
To measure the clarity of the water, I would drop the secchi in the water and dabble it in the water until the water covers the lid and it starts sink, then using my marks, I would measure how far down I could still see the secchi.
1. How clear was the water?
2. How deep was the pond?
3. What can we find using our homemade pond scope?
I had a Pond Explorations handout for them to document all their information or for the parents to have and they could fill it in when they arrived at home. Either way, I find that having a handout gives us a focus in our explorations and allows for a space to document our findings as in-training scientists.
In order to see how clear the water was, my husband made me a homemade Secchi which is an instrument used to document how clear ponds and rivers are in order to determine pollution and sediment in the water.
The materials you would need to make one of these yourself is:
White plastic lid (I used a lid to an old Tupperware container)
Electric tape
Screwdriver or something else to puncture a hole in the middle of the lid
An inch long washer and bolt
String
First puncture a hole in the middle of the lid.
Place the electric tape so that the pattern on the lid is white, black, white, black
Use string and tie your washer and bolt underneath the plastic lid
Measure out your string into feet and every 6 inches. I had blue marks for every foot and red marks for every 6 inches after the foot mark.
To measure the clarity of the water, I would drop the secchi in the water and dabble it in the water until the water covers the lid and it starts sink, then using my marks, I would measure how far down I could still see the secchi.
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Our depth of clarity was a foot and a half.
Now, how deep is the water here?
Now, how deep is the water here?
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The depth that I measured around the dock was 5 feet in one spot and then further out it was 6 feet.
Next, I made some homemade pond scopes. These were plastic cups with their bottoms cut off covered in clear cellophane attached with a rubber band. They could either use the cellophane side as a sort of lens to see clearer under the water OR what most students did was use it to scoop up water and see what organisms they could find.
Next, I made some homemade pond scopes. These were plastic cups with their bottoms cut off covered in clear cellophane attached with a rubber band. They could either use the cellophane side as a sort of lens to see clearer under the water OR what most students did was use it to scoop up water and see what organisms they could find.
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I have always loved watching dragonflies. I marvel at how they fly. I am thankful that they love to eat mosquitoes but I didn't know that they were SO carnivorous as nymphs!!! These babies eat small fish and newts and probably anything else that moves. One parent told me that they placed one of these in their pond aquarium with their son's small fish and this nymph killed every one of them. It had to go! What a great learning experience. She is the one who found this nymph at the pond. So grateful to learn new things and for all the wonderful discoveries we made at the pond!! It is spring and it is teeming with life. God is good and it was a glorious day to be out.
Now it was time to feed the ducks! Or duck...There are always a handful of ducks out at this pond and they greeted us at the beginning of class but they were definitely scarce when it was actually time to feed them. They obviously did not coordinate times with me.
My older students were studying mixtures for their science class earlier today and so I had them make a mixture of duck feed for the younger students at the pond. For details on the older students class, you can go here
This was easy.
2 cups of Old Fashioned Oats
1 cup of brown rice
1 cup of frozen mixed veggies
This is good for us, its good for the ducks! They always eat it!
This was easy.
2 cups of Old Fashioned Oats
1 cup of brown rice
1 cup of frozen mixed veggies
This is good for us, its good for the ducks! They always eat it!
Lesson 7: Flowers and fruit
Day 3 of Creation
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We are finishing Day 3 of Creation with Flowers and Fruit today.
I went to a local grocery store and bought some fresh cut flowers for the students to observe in class. This Flower Observation guide was really helpful to break down all the different ways you can observe a flower and its plant. One particular great part of this handout is that it has a built in ruler at the bottom so the students were able to measure their flower and its petals with pure convenience. It was awesome! First, we counted the petals. We circled the numbers. We circled the kind of leaves that went with the flower. We matched the petal shape and circled the correct shape and then we measured the length of the whole flower as well as its petals. |
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Our Interactive Read Aloud was The Reason for a Flower by Ruth Heller
I love how the illustrations in this book are so bold and bright and the words are short to read which keeps the attention of these Kinder-First graders well.
I asked the students before we began reading why they thought God made flowers. Many of them said, "Because they are beautiful"
I love how the illustrations in this book are so bold and bright and the words are short to read which keeps the attention of these Kinder-First graders well.
I asked the students before we began reading why they thought God made flowers. Many of them said, "Because they are beautiful"
By the end of the book , the students were able to tell me of more than one reason we have flowers. The main answer they said was to make more seeds. I thought that was a clever deduction.
Even though on the third day, God had not created the pollinators, I went ahead and taught them about pollination as it is an important component of why we have fruit and vegetables.
I made up a non-food pollination game.
The students were to buzz to the different flowers around the room and gather and drop pom poms and cotton balls. The idea was that they would gather so many in their little hands that some would fall off and 'pollinate' the other flowers.
Even though on the third day, God had not created the pollinators, I went ahead and taught them about pollination as it is an important component of why we have fruit and vegetables.
I made up a non-food pollination game.
The students were to buzz to the different flowers around the room and gather and drop pom poms and cotton balls. The idea was that they would gather so many in their little hands that some would fall off and 'pollinate' the other flowers.
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Of course, after pollination comes the fruit!
I brought in a bunch of apples to cut up for a small snack for the kids while I read one of my favorite books called A Picture of God 3 in 1by Joanne Marxhausen
I made sure to cut the apple width-wise so that the students could see the apple blossom structure in the core.
I absolutely love this book as it teaches about who God is through His creation. Does He not plainly place His fingerprints all over His creation? Praises!
I brought in a bunch of apples to cut up for a small snack for the kids while I read one of my favorite books called A Picture of God 3 in 1by Joanne Marxhausen
I made sure to cut the apple width-wise so that the students could see the apple blossom structure in the core.
I absolutely love this book as it teaches about who God is through His creation. Does He not plainly place His fingerprints all over His creation? Praises!
LESSON 6: PARTS OF A PLANT
Day 3 of Creation
We ran out of time last week to actually make and try out our paper helicopters that would mimic how maple tree seeds are spread. So the beginning of our class today, we made our paper helicopters (template below in Lesson 5) and flew them. While they were spreading their seeds, I attempted to remind them of the Parable of the Sower but I did not get far.
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I divided the third day of Creation into three parts.
Part 1- Seeds (Lesson 5)
Part 2- Parts of the Plant (Lesson 6)
Part 3- Flowers and Fruit (Lesson 7)
Our interactive read aloud for today was Mortimer's First Garden by Karma Wilson. This is such a sweet book about how a little mouse has to trust that his last seed would indeed produce more seeds.
Part 1- Seeds (Lesson 5)
Part 2- Parts of the Plant (Lesson 6)
Part 3- Flowers and Fruit (Lesson 7)
Our interactive read aloud for today was Mortimer's First Garden by Karma Wilson. This is such a sweet book about how a little mouse has to trust that his last seed would indeed produce more seeds.
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After I finished reading, I introduced photosynthesis to the students using a
I held up the muffin tin and explained to the students that inside the leaves of plants is a kitchen that makes food for the plant. We had already discussed last week how a seed has enough food in it to grow a little bit but after that food is gone they would need the sunlight to help them make more food to continue to grow.
I told them that the reason the leaves are green was because of the cholorphyll inside the leaf. Within the chlorophyll are chloroplasts that make the food for the plant by using sunlight.
I placed the ingredients that plants need inside the muffin tin:
I placed the full muffin tin inside the toy oven. I told the students to turn around or close their eyes while the ingredients 'cooked'.
While they did this, I took out the above ingredients and placed
We went through this process two times with them helping me make food for the plants.
- toy oven
- 6 place muffin tin with green colored construction paper labeled 'chloroplast'
- old light bulb
- 4 balloons (2 one color and 2 another color)
- sugar packets
- little cards that said water that were colored blue
I held up the muffin tin and explained to the students that inside the leaves of plants is a kitchen that makes food for the plant. We had already discussed last week how a seed has enough food in it to grow a little bit but after that food is gone they would need the sunlight to help them make more food to continue to grow.
I told them that the reason the leaves are green was because of the cholorphyll inside the leaf. Within the chlorophyll are chloroplasts that make the food for the plant by using sunlight.
I placed the ingredients that plants need inside the muffin tin:
- light bulb to symbolize the sun
- blue water cards
- 2 balloons labeled 'carbon dioxide' (most students said, "air")
I placed the full muffin tin inside the toy oven. I told the students to turn around or close their eyes while the ingredients 'cooked'.
While they did this, I took out the above ingredients and placed
- oxygen in the form of another two balloons
- sugar packets symbolizing the sugar/food that the leaves make for the plant
We went through this process two times with them helping me make food for the plants.
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Back to the seats we went to learn about the parts of a plant. I used this handout for the students to do leaf and chlorophyll rubbings on. This was how I wanted them to 'color' their handout. The handout included all the parts of the plant as well.
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You can't learn about seeds and plants without planting one! So I brought in some potting soil, cups and lima and pinto beans for the students to plant. I demonstrated to the students that they should plant their seeds along the side so that they can see if their seed is growing and how it is growing. Praying that all their seeds grow for truly it is a miracle.
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Click here for this week's video playlist
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Lesson 5: Starting with Seeds
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We are experiencing uncharacteristic ice and snow in central Texas and so today is a snow day which constitutes this week of class to be done online.
Even with the uncertainty of the weather, God is still in control.
Let's Begin with Scripture
Genesis 1:9-13
"And God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
And God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth." And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day."
Even with the uncertainty of the weather, God is still in control.
Let's Begin with Scripture
Genesis 1:9-13
"And God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
And God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth." And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day."
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The first video that I made for this class has a review of the first two days of Creation and then goes into our Read Aloud books.
The first book I read from was Where Did the World Come From? By Karyn E. Lukasek I only read the first three days of Creation from here. As we study each day of Creation, we will add to what we read from this book |
The second book that I am reading aloud on the video is called What Kinds of Seeds are These? by Heidi Bee Roemer
The rhyme and illustrations of this book are delightful. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did reading it.
The rhyme and illustrations of this book are delightful. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did reading it.
From learning about the different types of seeds, we move to learning about the different parts of a seed. God is so good and intentional to equip each seed with the necessary components in order for life to come forth. Not every seed ends up growing but each seed is given the potential to grow.
My second video will go over how to dissect the lima bean and how to make a model of a seed.
God made sure to place an embryo or baby plant within each seed, a food supply for that seed to grow from and a seed coat to protect the seed from harm.
My second video will go over how to dissect the lima bean and how to make a model of a seed.
God made sure to place an embryo or baby plant within each seed, a food supply for that seed to grow from and a seed coat to protect the seed from harm.
- Grab some lima beans, begin soaking them and lets see for ourselves what is on the inside of these seeds.
- Make sure to grab the Dissection Guide. On here you will have a place to document what a dry seed looks like and measure it.
- Then, soak your lima beans for a few hours until they are soft enough to pull apart. Afterward you can draw how the lima bean changed as it was soaked in water. Measure this and see if there was a difference.
- Finally, carefully pull apart the seed to see what is inside using either a knife or a toothpick. Draw what you see on the diagram.
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After learning about what is inside the seed, you are now equipped to make a model of a seed.
You will need:
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One of the aspects of seeds that we learned about in our Read Aloud book was that seeds spread in many different ways.
Seeds whirl and twirl from trees, they hitchhike on animal fur or children's clothes, they are ingested and digested by animals and then plopped down with some good fertilizer to help it grow, or they are collected, hidden and forgotten by squirrels. My next video goes over how to make a paper helicopter that mimics how a maple seed is spread. Remember that in order for seeds to grow, they have to placed/planted in the right conditions. For a Biblical application of this, see the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13. |
Start collecting!
My fourth video for this class is how to start your seed collection.
A fun activity for the students to do this week is to make a seed collection. This can be as simple as getting an egg carton and any fruits and vegetables that you cut up, set apart the seeds, wash them and place them inside the egg carton. Label the seeds with a sharpie marker.
Or if you would like to take it a step further, you can save the seeds, draw them, measure them and count and graph how many seeds are in each fruit and vegetable in order to compare.
Here is a great resource to help you with documenting your data on your seeds.
My fourth video for this class is how to start your seed collection.
A fun activity for the students to do this week is to make a seed collection. This can be as simple as getting an egg carton and any fruits and vegetables that you cut up, set apart the seeds, wash them and place them inside the egg carton. Label the seeds with a sharpie marker.
Or if you would like to take it a step further, you can save the seeds, draw them, measure them and count and graph how many seeds are in each fruit and vegetable in order to compare.
Here is a great resource to help you with documenting your data on your seeds.
Lesson 4: clouds, clouds everywhere
Day 2 of Creation
I passed out some flash cards to each student to name the different phases of the water cycle. We sang the delightful "Water Cycle Song" to the tune of 'She'll Be Comin' Around the Mountain'
Water travels in a cycle yes it does clap clap clap Water travels in a cycle yes it does clap clap clap It goes up as evaporation Forms clouds as condensation Falls down as precipitation Yes it does clap clap clap For our interactive read aloud time, I read to them the 1st day and the 2nd day of Creation from Where Did the World Come From? By Karyn E. Lukasek On the second day of creation, God separated the water creating the sky. What do we find in the sky? Clouds! So then I read to them Clouds by Anne Rockwell. While this book had some good information about the different types of clouds, there was one page that made the assumption that if there were no clouds there would be no life. I'm not sure about that just because I am not sure there were clouds before Noah's flood. |
While they were still sitting on the floor, I had them all get into a circle to do a science demonstration of making a cloud in a jar. In the Clouds book, we learned that clouds were made up of water and dust so I brought some water and some matches to demonstrate that we can make a cloud in a jar.
They loved this and I did this for them about three times. Repeating demonstrations and science experiments is great. This is one of the characteristics of good science. It's repeatable.
- I heated water in my electric kettle.
- I poured some into a jar about half full.
- I lighted a match and stuck it in the water
- I placed the top onto the jar with some ice indicating that as you get higher up, the air is much colder. This created a nice cloud within the jar.
They loved this and I did this for them about three times. Repeating demonstrations and science experiments is great. This is one of the characteristics of good science. It's repeatable.
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Next, we moved onto making models.
Since these are Kindergarten and 1st graders, I focused on the three main types of clouds; cirrus, stratus and cumulus.
Cirrus I described as being wispy like feathers
Stratus I described as being a warm blanket and
Cumulus I described as being fluffy cotton candy.
With these descriptions in mind, they used cotton balls to show the different clouds we learned about.
Since these are Kindergarten and 1st graders, I focused on the three main types of clouds; cirrus, stratus and cumulus.
Cirrus I described as being wispy like feathers
Stratus I described as being a warm blanket and
Cumulus I described as being fluffy cotton candy.
With these descriptions in mind, they used cotton balls to show the different clouds we learned about.
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For a learning extension at home, I gave them a cloud viewer, and an observation sheet. I know that I have been asking my children what kinds of clouds they are seeing and if they think they will bring rain.
Lesson 3: God Created Light and color Day 1
Our warm up today was reviewing the five gifts that God has given us to explore His world. I had the students go on a scavenger hunt to find all five gifts around the room.
Then, I brought in some texture balloons, scent jars and water beads for the students to practice using their five gifts.
Then, I brought in some texture balloons, scent jars and water beads for the students to practice using their five gifts.
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Moving into our first day of Creation; Light. I did a demonstration at the light switch in our classroom. When I turned off the light, I asked them if they thought they would be able to see what I was holding up. I turned off the light and they guessed everything, mostly from what they had seen me carry over to the light switch. Very perceptive students.
Then, I asked them if they would be able to differentiate color if I turned off the light and just shined my phone flashlight. They did the same thing, they guessed every color they could think of but they were always wrong. We need light to see, and we need light to see color. And God made that light on the first day.
Then, I asked them if they would be able to differentiate color if I turned off the light and just shined my phone flashlight. They did the same thing, they guessed every color they could think of but they were always wrong. We need light to see, and we need light to see color. And God made that light on the first day.
To discover more about Who created the Light and how light works, we did an interactive read aloud.
The book that I chose for this time was:
Where Did the World Come From? by Karyn E. Lukasek
I absolutely love this book. It accurately describes the creation story in rhyme. We read the first two pages that addressed how God created the Light.
The book that I chose for this time was:
Where Did the World Come From? by Karyn E. Lukasek
I absolutely love this book. It accurately describes the creation story in rhyme. We read the first two pages that addressed how God created the Light.
Breaking down what light is a little bit more I read:
Optical Physics for Babies by Chris Ferrie
Note: Chris Ferrie has multiple books like this one where he takes a complex idea and simplifies it for young learners. For this I am appreciative, however, from reading his other books in this collection he does not have a biblical worldview on science and so colors (pun always intended) his interpretation of the science knowledge.
Optical Physics for Babies by Chris Ferrie
Note: Chris Ferrie has multiple books like this one where he takes a complex idea and simplifies it for young learners. For this I am appreciative, however, from reading his other books in this collection he does not have a biblical worldview on science and so colors (pun always intended) his interpretation of the science knowledge.
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Let's put what we have learned about light and color into practice. Outside to explore we go!!
First we discovered that we all have shadows and drew them with chalk. We determined that shadows are created by blocking of the light.
Then, I gave them some prisms to explore with and see if they could make some white light hit the prism thus making it disperse into all the colors of the rainbow. They had a great time observing the rainbows and discovering that white light has all the colors and that all the colors make white light.
First we discovered that we all have shadows and drew them with chalk. We determined that shadows are created by blocking of the light.
Then, I gave them some prisms to explore with and see if they could make some white light hit the prism thus making it disperse into all the colors of the rainbow. They had a great time observing the rainbows and discovering that white light has all the colors and that all the colors make white light.
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We had a few extra minutes and so I gave them this Light and Color handout for them to remember what we learned today.
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Creation Science
Lesson 2: the five senses
God has given us five gifts to help us explore the world He created. They are seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching. What wonderful gifts of which we use tremendously to figure out the things of this world.
After going through what the five gifts of the five senses were, I had the students match items on cards to the sense they would use to investigate it. This was a little tricky as you can often use multiple senses when experiencing something.
After going through what the five gifts of the five senses were, I had the students match items on cards to the sense they would use to investigate it. This was a little tricky as you can often use multiple senses when experiencing something.
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One of my sweet students gave me this rose and it worked perfectly with our lesson today.
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The book that I loved sharing with the students during our interactive read aloud time was The Magic School Bus Comes to its Senses. I particularly love reading this book out loud to the students because there are clues and rhymes that they can participate with along with presenting more information about our five gifts/senses from God.
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To experience all five of our senses, I put together a popcorn demonstration where they would have to 'hear' the sound of the popcorn popping, 'smell' the scent of the popcorn while it was popping, 'see' the shape of the popcorn before an after popping, 'feel' the popcorn after it was popped, and 'taste' the popcorn.
I brought in a hot plate, a skillet, some coconut oil and popcorn. As we were waiting on the oil and popcorn to get hot enough to pop, we were able to talk more about our experiences with our five gifts/senses. I passed out a mini book so they could write down their observations about each gift/sense. I received this idea from here. However, I didn't end up using this mini book because I wanted to have a picture of the gift/sense on each page since most of these students are non-readers. Consequently, my husband who helps me in so many ways made another mini-book for me to use. Check it out! 
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As they were enjoying their popcorn, we reviewed the five gifts/senses and they could write down our observations in their mini-book.
A great note is that upon exiting my classroom and being asked what the five gifts/senses are, most if not all would say the senses and not the organ that does the sensing. I was very proud of them!.
A great note is that upon exiting my classroom and being asked what the five gifts/senses are, most if not all would say the senses and not the organ that does the sensing. I was very proud of them!.
Creation Science
Lesson 1: Intentional versus random
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Today's class was our introduction into our Creation Science Class. During this class we will look at the different science concepts as they relate to the 6 days of Creation.
As the students came into class today, I gave them a variety of blocks to 'play' with. They immediately began making sense out of the chaos of the blocks being all over the place and in random order by beginning to build towers. The two words that we learned today are:
I put up some flashcards and quizzed the students on whether the pictures were Intentional or Random |
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During our interactive read-aloud time, we read Ken Ham and Buddy Davis' It's Designed to Do What It Does Do. This was a great book as it reviewed many of the animals that we had studied and learned about last semester during Growing Up Wild but it also pointed out that each animal was designed intentionally and on purpose to do and to act the way that it was intended from the beginning.
While we were reading about each animal, there was a guide to draw another 'mystery' animal. Each page gave us a different mark to add to our drawing. By the end of the book, we had drawn a lamb reminding us of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! This too was intentional, purposeful and designed by our Creator
While we were reading about each animal, there was a guide to draw another 'mystery' animal. Each page gave us a different mark to add to our drawing. By the end of the book, we had drawn a lamb reminding us of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! This too was intentional, purposeful and designed by our Creator
The last part of the class, I wanted the students to make something intentional and something that has purpose similar to our Creator God. We purposefully colored and made straw rockets.
You can get the free printable here
You can get the free printable here
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To keep their minds thinking this week about all the things that are intentionally made, I gave them this handout to complete and bring back to me next week in exchange for a treat.