homsechool

Nature Photography Contest for Kids – NOW OPEN!

October 18, 2014 by Amy 11 Comments

Voting is OPEN! Please scroll to the thumbnails below and click on the word ‘vote’ under your favorites. You get 10 votes!

Here’s how it works:

Any child aged 7 to 12 may enter.
The photographs must be taken by the child, but adults may assist in the uploading or digitization process.
Each photograph must fit the nature theme.
A child may submit multiple pictures – but each entrant is eligible to win only one prize.
Photographs may be edited, but all editing work must be done solely by the child.
Photographic entries must be taken between September 1, 2014, and October 31, 2014.
Winners will be chosen based on the number of ‘likes’ and clicks received on each thumbnail.
The top five vote-getting photographs will be displayed in a later blog post at A Nest in the Rocks AND displayed in a CafePress shop of children’s art. This art will be available for sale with proceeds going towards children’s ministries at Warren’s Grove UMC.
The grand prize winner will receive: a copy of Callie’s Contest of Courage and the accompanying Liturature Study Guide by Jan May and a copy of The Stolen Necklace by Andi Bradsher. The second-place winner will receive a copy of The Stolen Necklace by Andi Bradsher and a journal with his winning photo on it.
Entrants may campaign for votes by advertising their entries and this contest.
By entering this contest, you agree for your photographs to be shared on A Nest in the Rocks at the end of the contest, with CafePress at the end of the contest, and in the advertisement of this contest. No names will be attached to any work, and while you agree to share it with us for this short time, it remains yours.

This contest will run through October 31 with voting set to begin on Saturday, November 1st. So, break out your camera and start taking pictures!

Let your kids be creative. Think nature. Maybe fall is very evident where you live right now. Go for leaf collages, buckets of nuts, busy squirrels, or whatever thing outside strikes your kid’s fancy. Let loose and have fun with it.

Good luck!

To make sure you’re up to date on the latest and greatest contest news, subscribe in the sidebar.

* Prizes for this contest are being donated by Jan May and A Nest in the Rocks.

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Field Work Friday – Exploring Shackleford Island

October 3, 2014 by Amy 1 Comment

While we were on the North Carolina shore a few weeks ago, we took the ferry to Shackleford Island to do some exploring. Shackleford is home to more than 100 wild horses, and it’s also known as one of the East Coast’s best shelling beaches. I still don’t know why that is, but we had fun confirming it.

Exploring Shackleford Island

I bought a simple North Carolina shelling guide at a book store on Emerald Isle. It’s a really big waterproof pamphlet, perfect for taking out onto the beach to identify shells and wildlife. We used it a lot after our expedition to Shackleford because we had lots of shells to identify, some of which we’d never seen before.

We dressed in swimsuits with clothes over top, and that was perfect for our trip. The ferry drops you off on the sound side of the island, and while we decided that the ponies would be fun to see, our goal was to find fun seashells. The captain directed us to the ocean side of the island, and after walking across we hadn’t gone far before we found huge pieces of shells. Walking in the surf as the tide was coming in, huge WHOLE shells started rolling in right at my feet. I’ve never seen anything like it! While my husband and My Little Man eventually took off to explore more of the island, My Big Helper and I found a good spot where the waves were crossing paths and started shelling. We found whole conchs, Sallie’s Augers, big pieces of sand dollars, and whelks, too. We’re still trying to identify exactly which within those categories some of the shells are, but it was an amazing experience.

While our intention wasn’t to ‘do school’ – we were just joining some family members on the trip – it was the perfect way to do it. We sat on a beach towel, eating apples and crackers, soaking up the sun and identifying shells and wildlife. We compared shell edges and measured the with our fingers as my husband explained about the tides and the geography of the Outer Banks. It was science and math and research and nature all rolled into one.

I love homeschooling.

As an added bonus, the ponies were hanging out near the ferry pick-up when it was time for our trip back to the mainland, and we got to see five. Score!

I’ve also discovered that we love seashells, so we’re going to be working to make official collections with our shells over the next few weeks. Fun!

Do you like seashells? What’s your favorite field trip ever?

Book Club, Girls’ Edition: “Mystery on Skull Island”

September 5, 2014 by Amy 1 Comment

Our family is studying pirates right now, so for book club the girls read “Mystery on Skull Island,” an American Girl History Mystery book. It takes place in Charles Town, South Carolina, in the 1720s, just after pirates went from being popular to scary. We learned a lot about colonial life from this story and decided to interact with that in our book club party.

We started, of course, by summarizing the book and discussing it. We all decided that pirates were really not fun people and that the girls in the story didn’t always make the best choices, though they did have good intentions.

Then we made mob caps. Mob caps were ruffled hats that covered a girl’s head and were very common during colonial times. Ours were not true to history, as we made them out of white t-shirts, but since that knit fabric doesn’t fray, this simplified the process greatly. We cut large circles out of old white shirts and then used a large running stitch to sew about an inch in from the edge. Each girl then gathered the cap and we tied off the thread. They were excited to wear their new caps and each chose to do so a bit differently.

The girls love to bake, too, so we made Grandma’s Biscuits. They worked together well, as always, and ate the finished product with honey and jellies.

After developing their own pirate names and designing their own necklaces out of string and plastic beads, it was time for the girls to head home. We had a great time in the colonial era!

What are your kids reading right now? How can you connect with it?

* This post was shared at: Home to 4 Kiddos

Field Work Friday – Dental Hygiene

July 18, 2014 by Amy

This week we were visited by Pat, a dental hygienist for a local pediatric dentist. That might not sound too exciting, but Pat brought along Ally the Alligator and shared lots of good tips for caring for your teeth.

Pat talked to us about how important it was to brush our teeth each morning and before bedtime, and that taking care of our gums is crucial. She told us that dentists recommend that children spend 6 minutes each evening on dental hygiene, both brushing and flossing, and that parents should be involved until age 10. Pat also showed us how to brush in small circles, not scrubbing, on each tooth, and then brushing downwards three times while singing, “Wiggle, jiggle, wiggle, jiggle, 1, 2, 3” and then moving on to the next one. She let each child practice on Ally – though Luke was a big shy of her big smile.

After Pat left we concluded a science project to demonstrate just how important it is to brush.

Start with a jar (I’d recommend a wide-mouth one), an egg, a tube of toothpaste, and some vinegar. I’ve used both cider and white for this – both work fine.

Squeeze out the tube of toothpaste into the jar. Try not to get any on the sides. I realize that this seems like a lot, but it takes a lot for this to work – and it’s a very visual demo of why brushing and toothpaste is important.

Next, nestle the egg into the toothpaste nest at the bottom. Bury half of the egg in the toothpaste and let the other half sticking out, hopefully toothpaste-free (this is why a wide-mouth jar is important – my hand didn’t fit in there well!).

Using the egg as a target so that none of the toothpaste washes away, slowly pour vinegar into the jar on top of the egg. Fill the jar to about an inch past the top of the egg.

Let the jar sit for 2-5 days. I wouldn’t wait much longer than that, but it will take a few days for the magic to happen. When the egg is ready, you should see that lovely cloud of bubbles at the top of the egg. Again, be sure to wait a few days! Just set it on a shelf somewhere and watch what happens while the vinegar works.

When it’s time, pour out the vinegar and rescue the egg. Holding it carefully, wipe away or wash under a gentle spray of water to remove excess toothpaste.

Your egg will now look like this! The vinegar, an acid, has eaten away at the shell of the egg, which is made of protein.

If you consider the eggshell to be like the enamel on your teeth, you can see what plague will do to the finish of your teeth. Be sure to carefully tap your fingernail on the white shell – see how hard and firm it still is? Didn’t the toothpaste do a great job of protecting it from the tough plague germs?

Then try to tap the soft brown top. The shell is gone, leaving only the outer membrane. Pushing gently, you can actually push into the egg – it’s that soft. Who wants a tooth that looks like this?!! I think I’ll brush!

Disclaimer: As this entire project is done with a raw egg, dispose of egg carefully when finished. I’ve never broken one in nearly 10 years of doing this project, so the eggs are tougher than they look – but I’m sure it’s still possible, and I know they won’t smell pretty if they break. 🙂