Happy St. Patrick's Day~
We took a little different angle with this holiday this year with Geography as our springboard...
I began our day reading Gail Gibbon's book St. Patrick's Day~
1. Conduct Research~
The first C of Geography is gathering all your research materials to Conduct Research learning as much as you can concerning a place (Ireland).
EK checked this Great NEW YouTube Kids App for related videos
and ALL were on board~
(Thanks Amy!)
With everything gathered in one place, we searched for information about Ireland.
It was so wonderful when my plans turned to their plans.
EK and SJ picked up the books and used indexes/tables of contents to find Ireland.
They took the younger ones to maps/globes to locate
and made up a game of spin the kids around three times then locate.
It is helpful to have the child find where they are and then locate new place
giving them a frame of reference.
We learned about natural resources, animals, landforms, people, and more about St. Patrick.
{Lots of New Information was Learned}
2. Connect to the Child~
The second C of Geography is making a Connection between the place and the Child.
In the course of our research we learned Ireland is known as the Emerald Isle
and we began to explore why they might be.
Ireland is a very lush and green place with grass and clover.
We also read that St. Patrick used a clover to explain the Trinity to the Irish.
EK spoke up to tell everyone we had tons of clover in our yard. {Connection}
We went out to find the patches then chose some for our journals~
Such a beautiful day in Georgia!
Reminds me of the beautiful green Isle of Ireland!
We taped the clover in our journals and painted a 3 leaf clover reciting Who God is...
God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
EK remembered this being said when she was baptized. {Another Connection}
{Each child was able to make Connections to themselves}
3. Contrast/Compare~
The third C is Contrasting and Comparing the new place to where the child lives.
The last part of our morning allowed the kids to compare/contrast.
Clover grows in both places.
Our flags are different in several ways.
We listened to both anthems and chose our favorite.
We traced the travel path from our home to Ireland.
We drew the flag and glued a map of Ireland in our journals.
We talked about which continent we are on compared to Ireland.
Just SO many ways to chase this skill and so little time. :)
{New terminology like Compare and Contrast being used}
As we wrapped up our short study,
I did a little secretive assessment of what was learned~
1. Holly home for 9 months was able to point out Ireland on the world map.
2. Facts learned recorded in journals.
3. The boys were introduced to the index and LOVE that it is alphabetical.
4. Maps give us great clues about a place.
5. Reviewed the Compass Rose.
6. Evie found our tiny Target globe and located Ireland by herself.
There you have The 3 Cs of Geography 'mapped' out for you.
Hoping we might enjoy this Beautiful Feet study maybe in the fall~
