Week 4: Turtle Migration, Colonial Times, The National Portrait Gallery, and The National Gallery of

We love turtles! This week City Kids learned all about how turtles migrate, including how they use the Earth's magnetic field to find their way. They also learned about what turtle shells are made of and how turtles make nests and lay eggs. After their lesson and some hands on experiments, the kids took a walk to the reptile house to take a look at some live turtles and other reptiles.

We started off our geography day with some Yogeo! followed by a discussion of why understanding geography is important. Then, as part of our unit on North America, one of our parents taught a lesson on what life was like in Colonial America for some people. The kids made apples wth cloves stuck in them, a traditional air freshener in Colonial America. As a surprise treat, this parent brought in homemade bread and apple butter made in the tradition of Colonial America. Sooooooo yummy!

This week, we were supposed to go to Claude Moore Colonial Farm, but we got rained out. Booooo! Instead of the farm, our kids got together and played games, including some traditional Colonial American games. One of our parents, a musician, also played some rhythm games with the kids. Fun!

For our field trip, one of our parents arranged a private lesson at The National Portrait Gallery. The kids learned the history of four incredible portraits of E.O. Wilson,Thomas Edison, Gertrude Stein, and

Marian Anderson. Some also stopped to admire the impressive portraits of Toni Morrison and L.L. Cool J. The kids sketched at every portrait, working on a specific task associated with the lesson. After such serious work, they went puddle jumping in the Kogard Courtyard--just as valuable work! Some kids also made their way around to view the Modern Art in the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

O.K., so there are no kids in this picture, but we just had to include this incredible portrait of one of the greatest American writers, Toni Morrison! One of our parents was really wowed by this portrait.

For a bonus field trip this week, one of our parents planned a joint field trip with another local homeschool group. We all went to the National Gallery of Art for a lesson on perspective. The kids also took pictures of things they thought were good examples of perspective. Two trips to art museums this week! Go City Kids!