Week 32 Day 1

Book choices for today:

The Dandelion Seed   Joseph Anthony
Dandelion Adventure   Patricia Kite
Dandelions   Kathleen Kudlinski
Australian Aborigines   Richard Nile
Look What Came from Australia   Kevin Davis

Botany: (first circle)

Need for lesson – Some dandelion flowers on a tray with a magnifying glass. Depending on where you live, this lesson will change to a later time.

Botany 31
On my tray we have some flowers. What are these flowers called? Dandelions. A dandelion has green leaves and flowers that turn from yellow to fluffy white. Looking at the leaves we can see and feel soft jagged edges. All of the plants leaves grow from one fat, black stem, which then grows to a taller pale green stem. The stems reach up towards the sun. At the top of each stem is a tuft of golden yellow petals. Each dandelion flower is a cluster of tiny flowers called florets. At the end of each floret a seed forms. Within several weeks the dried-up flower parts on the dandelion stalk fall off, but the seeds remain. Then what is left is a white fluffy seed head. When we look into a yard or field there seems to many dandelions everywhere. How did they all get there? When the wind blows on the white puffy seed head those seeds get scattered all over. Do you like to blow on the seeds sometimes? These seeds will fall to grounds waiting to grow wherever there is soil, sun, and water.
We can put this tray on the Botany shelf for you to have a closer look at the dandelion flower using the magnifying glass.

Art:

Dandelions – Using porcupine ring painters, or dot paint dotters from discountschoolsupply.com children can paint a dandelions using yellow, white,and green paint.

Songs/Poems:

Dandelion Seeds
Dandelions pop up all over the lawn (hop).
Showing their sunny faces (hands by face).
Then they turn white, and the seeds take flight (spin around),
Blowing to faraway places (sit down).

Dandelions (Poems to Grow On)
Mother says that dandelions
Are only common weeds.
She doesn’t like their yellow blooms
Or like their flying seeds.

I think they’re pretty flowers;
Their golden heads
Look like drops of sunshine
On lawns and flower beds.

And when they’re white and fuzzy,
I give a little puff
And soon the air is bouncing
With dandelion fluff.

They look like little parachutes
Floating in the breeze.
I’m glad that there are plenty
Of flowers such as these.

Geography: (second circle)

Need for lesson – Aborigine art pictures.

Geography 49
We are visiting the continent of Australia this month. We have talked about some unique animals to Australia, can you think of any? Animals are important symbols of the aborigines, the original people of Australia. Many aborigines live together in family groups of about thirty people. These groups belong to clans that each identify themselves with a certain animal, the clan’s totem. A picture of that animal is painted on their shields and weapons. Aborigines also paint beautiful pictures of plants and animals on sheets of paper taken from the paper-bark tree. They just peel off as much paper as they need.
The men hunt for food with their dogs called dingoes. They are also very skilled at finding people that are lost in the desert. A boomerang is a flying tool with a curved shape used for a weapon or sport. If you throw it up in the air it will come back to you!
Dancing is a very important part of the aboriginal life and customs. Dancing is done with a set arm, body and foot movements with a lot of foot stamping. Music is another important part of aboriginal life. Their ceremonies have many functions and take many forms with dancing and music. They often paint their faces and bodies. Different tribes used various instruments including sticks, hollow logs, drums, seed rattles, and the didgeridoo. A didgeridoo is a long wooden flute.
Aboriginal art is world famous. Their art includes paintings, bead-work, woodwork, bark paintings, baskets, and the making of boomerangs. Painting with dots is seen in paintings of animals, designs, and symbols.

Art:

Dot Painting – Children can make a shapes on paper, such as a circle or square and then paint it with dots. Q-tips, dowels, or other tool can be used for the dot prints. An animal shape can also be used to paint with dots.