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STEM: Build a Da Vinci Parachute Activity

October 3, 2017 | 3 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I have a fun stem build a Da Vinci parachute activity. Also, look at my unit study and lapbook Renaissance 1300 to 1600.

This year I’ve developed a whole year of STEM activities to go along with our science standards.

We study a new inventor each month. This month it was Leonardo Da Vinci!

Studying about Leonardo da Vinci can combine two subjects kids usually don’t consider as similar: art and science.

When you can tie the arts, engineering, math, and science into a project; you’ll have kids who are going to be able to creatively solve problems their whole life.

Combining many different facets of learning keeps kids engaged and focused in their schoolwork.

Physical Science STEM: Build a Da Vinci Parachute Activity. Studying about Leonardo da Vinci can combine two subjects kids usually don’t consider as similar: art and science. Click here to add this fun hands-on science activity to your unit study!

When kids begin to understand there is a creative aspect to science, they become more interested and excited to dive into deeper science concepts.

These activities are perfect to use with a Leonardo da Vinci study. You can combine them with an art study, and have a whole Leonardo da Vinci unit!

I chose to build and test da Vinci’s parachute. After studying his sketches, we used math concepts such as perimeter and isosceles triangle constructions.

This also uses physical science such as gravity, mass, and air resistance.

Da Vinci Parachute STEM Activity

What You’ll Need:

1 piece of graph paper
Four ⅛ inch dowel rods; 12 inches long (Don’t pre cut these)
Four ⅛ inch dowel rods; 16 inches long (Don’t pre cut these)
4 pieces of string; 18 inches long
masking tape
thin paper for the covering
5 paper clips per parachute
ruler

We began this project by doing a bit of research on Da Vinci as an inventor. We researched his sketches and found out many of his sketches were ideas of inventions that we use today.

Then we began the project.

Making a Hands-On Da Vinci Parachute

The first step was to sketch out the blueprints. To get in a little math, I gave the kids the following problem to solve:

The square base of the pyramid will be 144 sq feet. Each square represents 2 inches. How many inches will each side of the base be? Draw it out on your graph paper.

After checking to see if the kids had drawn a 12 x 12 square, it was time to cut the dowel rods into 4 12” pieces.

You may need to use craft scissors to cut through the dowel rods.

Next, we used as little masking tape as possible to connect the 4 dowel rods into a square base.

Then it was on to the triangular sides.

By presenting another math problem, the kids were able to find out how long the isosceles triangle had to be. Here’s the math problem:

Renaissance Inventor Da Vinci Parachute

The total perimeter of the isosceles triangular sides is 44”. Since we already know the base is 12”, what will be the length of the other sides?

To solve the problem the kids had to subtract 44 from 12 to get 32.

Then they would divide 32 by 2 to get 16. The triangular sides will be 16” long.

The remaining dowel rods should be cut to provide 4 16” rods. These rods are then carefully taped onto the base of the parachute.

When the triangle pieces are all taped together and lying flat, it’s time to cover the sides of the parachute with very light paper.

To do this, we traced around the outside of the triangles and then used as little tape as possible to attach the paper.

Then it was time for the strings. This was the hardest part. You must cut four 18” strings.

To keep them from getting tangled, tie all 4 strings together at one end and then make a little loop and tape up each individual string at the other end.

You will then loop a paper clip through each loop. Use one more paper clip at the top of the strings, to connect all of the strings to the top of the parachute. The strings should be hanging down the middle of the parachute.

Model of Leonardo’s Parachute

To test out our design, we connected each individual string onto a washer.

We used the school playground castle to drop our parachute and to see how long it would hang in the air. We tested different weights to see how we could achieve the longest hang time.

Here’s a recap of the project:

Step 1: Cut and tape together 4 12” dowel rods to form a square.

Step 2: Cut and tape onto the square 4 16” dowel rods to form 2 isosceles triangles. Lay flat.

Step 3: Trace the triangles with light paper to cover the parachute. Use tape to attach the paper

Step 4: Cut 4 18” pieces of string and tie together at one end. Then make a small loop at the end of each string and use a little tape to keep the loop.

Step 5: Attach a paperclip to each loop and and one at the top where the strings are tied together. Use that paper clip to attach the strings to the middle of the parachute.

Step 6: Attach a washer to the 4 paper clips and then find a spot to test your parachute.

This was a highly engaging activity that my kids loved. They learned a lot about Leonardo Da Vinci, a lot about mass, gravity, and air resistance, balance, and a little about perimeter and shapes.

STEM: Build a Da Vinci Parachute Activity

I’m so glad that we took on the challenge of designing Da Vinci’s parachute!

Share more hands-on history learning below!

How to Go From a Boring Homeschool Teacher to Creative Thinker (Boring to BAM)

October 2, 2017 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Every day we coax, cajole, and con our kids into learning. After homeschooling for a few more years, we next try to switch out curriculum because we can’t switch out kids (okay, okay). One day it clicks and we turn the table to focus on our teaching style. But deep down we never really want to admit that we may be a boring homeschool teacher. It hurts, it’s personal, and it’s a blow to our ego.

It’s complicated too because somehow we seem to tie in our quality of mothering with our teaching.

What I learned from my miserable failure was that if I was going to continue homeschooling, I had to change how I was teaching.

I had to move from thinking like the masses that strict desk work with kids churning out worksheets which I could put a little red mark on was working.

The truth of it was that it wasn’t working and my teaching wasn’t creative, inspiring, or motivating. And my kids told me so. Ouch!

Quitting was one option. I almost did.

Out of my stress came strength because I wanted something different. What I was doing wasn’t working and nobody was happy.

6 SIMPLE STEPS TO A SUPERIOR HOMESCHOOL TEACHER

Look at these 6 simple steps I did to make my teaching not only come alive, but to teach with passion.

Step 1. It starts with wanting something different.

It’s scary to move away from what you think is a successful way of teaching. But the first step is wanting something different than what you have.

It’s humbling realizing that how you’re teaching is not working for your family. If everybody is miserable, you realize that you have nothing to lose when you try something different.

**Step 2. Then, find what is working for your kids, not you.**

The classical approach worked for me, but I was overboard with my intense language arts focus.

It was arrogant of me to think that other homeschool approaches meant that other homeschooled kids were less intelligent. I mean I never said, I just felt it.

It’s a wake up call when your ideal homeschool approach doesn’t work for your kids. I had to identify what worked for my sons so that I could relearn how to teach in a way they understood.

Look at these key points that I could put my finger on at the time:

Two of my sons learned well with hands-on activities. I had one son that didn’t mind the textbook approach.
All three of my sons excelled and retained information better when it wasn’t piecemeal.
A mastery approach worked well for my sons.
Information was better retained when the reading, writing, and activities had a common theme.

From there I realized that a unit study approach is a mastery based approach.

Step 3. Educate yourself about the new approach. Sifting through what will and what won’t work.

Then, don’t do like I did. Swing to the other side or to another approach and try to totally implement everything about that approach.

Take what is working and add tips for what is not working. For example, I knew with our language arts focused teaching that our tips about how to outline were solid.

However, our writing topics were boring because they were not taken from unit study topics that my sons chose.

Using our books on how to outline and do paragraphs, we added in our unit study topics on the American Civil War and the Amazon Rainforest.

FROM EXHAUSTING TO ENERGIZING

Now, our learning had a small spark to ignite.

Step 4. Now, push yourself. Yes, the hardest part.

Determined that I had the wherewithal to try something different, that I could identify what was and wasn’t working, and that I didn’t totally didn’t throw out everything, I focused next on my actual teaching.

This was the hardest part of the whole process because by nature I didn’t view myself as a very creative person.

I remember thinking that when it was time to prepare unit studies, my ideas were dry, uninspiring, and hard to do. They were.

Being creative for some people happens naturally. For me, it takes work and time.

Creativity is like any other teacher skill.

It needs to be nurtured, cultivated, and trained. Look at my article The Creative Process: 5 Ways to Cultivate Inspiration & Ideas as a Homeschool Teacher.

Instead of lingering on in our classical approach, key to my inspiration for another approach was to walk away right then from what wasn’t working.

Going cold turkey was the only way that worked for me. Instead of gradually cutting down on our classical approach, my motivation was high because I stopped the classical approach and implemented the unit study approach.

Why linger in a place where we were all miserable?

Step 5. Education is key – for the teacher. Is that the same thing as cultivating a growth mindset?

The next step was investing in books or reading material to help improve my teaching. Sure, my kids need study resources, but I do too.

Step 6. Practice what you teach.

The last step that propelled me forward was putting into practice what I was teaching.

Creating lapbooks was opposite of what I felt comfortable with as a teacher. Forming a co-op seemed time consuming at the time, but again I needed a place to hone my skill and a place for my sons to retain what they were learning.

Designing my website here where I could share the skills that I did have like organizing materials, creating printables, and making unit studies spring from my now creative juices. It gives me a place to both share and retain my ideas.

You certainly don’t have to blog or do a website, but what I am saying is that you want a place to organize and keep your now overflowing ideas. It’s true that creativity breeds innovation and then it’s hard to contain all of your creations.

Self-analyzing is not easy by any stretch, but worth it. There is nothing I miss about my old way of teaching.

Each child is unique and we accept those differences. As teachers, we are just as unique but certainly need to be challenged to be creative out of the box thinkers.

Do you need help starting now?

You’ll love these other articles.

Hugs and love ya,

Hands-On History: Make a Coat of Arms Activity (Middle Ages History)

October 1, 2017 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Written by Selena at Look! We’re Learning!

I’m extremely fascinated by the Middle Ages. I know that the reality of that time was far less romantic than novels and films make it seem, but the castles and the jousting tournaments and the costumes are just wonderful to think of.

In those years (and in the years since), royal and noble families have had a coat of arms to show what they’ve accomplished in their history. And, while the coat of arms is often associated with Medieval Europe, it’s actually been used all over the world – from China to Senegal.

To learn more about how these designs were used and passed down through families, we decided to make our own coat of arms! See how you can do the same for a hands-on history lesson!

Hands-On History: Make a Coat of Arms

A coat of arms is a special design made for a distinguished person or family. The design varies, depending on the family’s (or person’s) accomplishments, titles, and positions.

Each part of the coat of arms actually has a name. The top third is called the “field” and the bottom two-thirds is called the “escutcheon”, which is actually a small shield within the larger shield.

Everything on a coat of arms is significant and meaningful. The colors, symbols, choice of animals, patterns, and designs can all denote something different.

The design of a coat of arms can vary greatly, according to family or country. For example, this is the coat of arms of the country of Botswana.

Now compare that one to this one that belongs to the Duke of Westminster.

There’s a lot going on there, right?

For our coat of arms, we went with a much, much simpler design, but it incorporates some of the significant colors, symbols, and patterns we read about.

To do the activity yourself, you’ll need the following:

Printer paper
Cardstock
Scissors
Glue
Blank coat of arms printable
Coat of arms animal symbols printable
Mirror facing coat of arms animal symbols printable

Start by printing out the coat of arms and the animal symbols.

I didn’t have white cardstock, so I printed ours on a white piece of printer paper and then glued it on the grey cardstock we had. Then we cut it out.

If you have white cardstock, you can skip that step and just print the coat of arms directly on that.

Now, it’s time to choose your animal symbols! I only included four in this printable, but there are truly scores of different animals that have been used on coats of arms through the years. And they all have a different meaning.

The animals in the printable mean the following:

Griffin – means valor & bravery
Pegasus – means poetic genius (as an English major, I had to include that one)
Horse – means ready for battle
Bird – means peace & affection

Then it was time to choose our coat of arms colors! As we learned, blue means truth & loyalty, so we colored the “field” blue.

Then we added our animals.

And we surrounded them with orange, which means “worthy ambition & work”. Also because it looked cool.

Finally, we learned that furs denoted nobility, so you could add a fur-like pattern to your coat of arms to show that you were of the upper class of society. One of those fur patterns was white with black spots – like a Dalmatian. We went with that.

As I kept looking at it, though, it just didn’t look right. Then it hit me! The animals are supposed to be facing each other!

Ahhhh….that’s better! Be sure to print both pages of the animal symbols so that you can choose two animals that will face one another on the coat of arms.

This was so neat to do! We didn’t know that the coat of arms was so full of meaning, so this was a great hands-on lesson to learn about that.

Looking for an easy hands-on middles ages history activity? Your kids will love making their own coat of arms. Scoot by and download the activity at Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus!

Check out these other hands-on history projects kids can do!

7 Unique Ways to Supplement U.S. History for High School

September 30, 2017 | 1 Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

When I was taking paralegal courses after high school, I had an assignment to read Wills and Deeds from the 1800s at the local courthouse.

Losing track of time was easy as I was absorbed in reading not only legal language, but reading the household property that was bequeathed to family members.

Engaging US History

It was like stepping back in time as I read about the lives of past Americans. It was fascinating and stirred a love of not only the history of law, but of American history.

Remembering that time in my life, I was determined to supplement U.S. history for high school in a creative way.

I’ve rounded up 7 unique ways to supplement U.S. history for high school because engaging ways to learn history for high school can easily be overlooked.

One/ Read old documents.

Planning a trip to the courthouse to have your teen read old documents which are public record is a fun field trip for a teen.

Also, we used primary resources from Jackdaws when we read about Lewis and Clark.

Scanning, studying, and analyzing old documents are a wonderful way to allow a teen not only a chance to step back in time, but to develop critical thinking skills.

Two/ Historical reenactment.

Many areas in the states put on historical reenactments whether it’s the American Civil War or visiting the Plimoth Plantation.

Remembering the past by visiting and participating in historical reenactments is another way of bringing meaning to past events.

Instead of focusing on the terrible woes of war, we tried to focus on people that lived during that time and how they were were affected by the decisions made.

Three/ Watching documentaries or movies.

Using documentaries as a unit study opener is a great way to engage your high school kid.

I’m always looking at ways to connect what we’re learning about to a movie so that it’s more memorable.

Look at this quick list that hopefully will stir you or your teen’s creative juices:

Gone With the Wind
Lincoln
Amistad
The Searchers
Drums Along the Mohawk
The Alamo
Davy Crockett
Wyatt Earp
Far and Away
History of Henry Ford

Four/ Visit historical homes or towns.

Visiting a section of town like the French Quarter in New Orleans which is full of history widens your teens’ love of how other cultures influenced America, immigration issues, and architect.

Also, tour famous historical homes like the White House or Monticello.

Some homes are more famous than others, but many towns have a historical home or two preserved.

What better way to learn about Amelia Earhart than to visit her birthplace in Kansas?

Five/ Use American artifacts.

Whether it’s blue jeans or Fiestaware, this is a great site with a free teaching guide and writing activities using artifacts from American culture to teach history.

Six/ Field trips. And not to the Zoo.

Let’s just face it. Field trips at the high school level may seem harder to find. They are, but there are also many opportunities to extend a teen’s learning past a textbook on a field trip.

It may take a bit more creative wit, but the opportunities are there. Unless your teen is planning to be a zookeeper (which is great too) he probably has been to the zoo many times.

Look at these ideas for field trips for a teen that bring history alive:

Plan to attend a trial in the local courthouse or a court docket call. Check with the bailiff because he is the person that deals with the public. He may recommend an upcoming trial that would be permissible for your teen to sit in. We did this one time and my boys never forgot it.
I planned a trip to the federal money reserve for our teens to learn about the federal government and how money is made.
Our local ferry was a great way to learn about the history of the port and about early life on the coast.
Living near a major college, we watched showtimes for plays about history and got invited one time by local students.

SEVEN/ Supplement American history through reading about the life of an American.

We love the series of books by Genevieve Foster like George Washington’s World and Abraham Lincoln’s World.

Instead of thinking about the events in American history as isolated from the rest of the world, these books tie in other world events happening simultaneously as key American history events.

Studying U.S. history can be challenging when trying to make it engaging for a teen. Add one or two of these ideas and your teen won’t easily forget some of the key events of U.S. history.

I've rounded up 7 unique ways to supplement U.S. history for high school because engaging ways to learn history for high school can easily be overlooked. Click here to grab these AWESOME ideas!

Hands-On Geography Activity: Make a Pangaea Puzzle

September 29, 2017 | 1 Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today, I have a hands on geography activity which is a pangaea puzzle printable.Too, look at my page Homeschool Geography for hands-on and simple ideas and tips.

When you look at a map of the world, what do you see?

Probably the continents and the ocean, right? But historians think that a long, long time ago (millions of years ago, in fact), the continents didn’t exist. Instead, there was one super continent of land on Earth.

They’ve even given that supercontinent a name – Pangaea.

Hands-On Geography Activity: Make a Pangaea Puzzle

Looking at a world map, you can see why their theory makes sense. South America’s east coast does look like it could have fit up against the continent of Africa.

And Europe does look like it could have fit up against the eastern coast of North America at some time in the past.

To help the kids visualize this idea, we decided to make a simple Pangaea puzzle activity. That way, we could move the pieces of this supercontinent around to see how they would have fit together all those years ago.

See how to make this activity with your kids!

Hands-On Geography: Make a Pangaea Puzzle

To get a picture of how the continents we know today may have originally fit together, take a look at this illustration of Pangaea.

Of course, the actual borders of these continents are different in real life, but as the supercontinent broke up, historians think that some of the land in between formed the islands that dot the oceans in our day. Neat!

To make the Pangaea puzzle activity, you’ll need the following supplies:

Printer
Printer paper
Scissors
Glue stick
Printable Pangaea Puzzle (print two copies)

Glue one copy of the Pangaea map to a piece of construction paper.

This will serve as your puzzle template. From the second copy of the map, cut out the land as one whole piece. Then cut the pieces apart.

Homeschool Geography

I used the black lines as general guides, but you could really cut them into whatever shapes you choose. No one is really sure how they looked as they separated, anyway.Then, let the kids practice putting the pieces together to form the complete supercontinent!

This was such a cool lesson! You can laminate the puzzle pieces if you want them to last longer or you can print them on cardstock. Just store them in a plastic resealable bag when you’re not using them.

If you love hands-on geography, your kids will love some of my favorite hands-on geography programs:

North Star Geography is a love of mine for teaching geography at the middle and high school levels to keep learning hands-on. I prefer the digital format so that we can take it with us.

And if you love learning geography through literature, look at another one of my favorites from Beautiful Feet books which is Geography through Literature.

When you look at a map of the world, what do you see? Probably the continents and the ocean, right? But historians think that a long, long time ago (millions of years ago, in fact), the continents didn't exist. Instead, there was one supercontinent of land on Earth. They've even given that supercontinent a name - Pangaea.

As the kids become more familiar with the parts of Pangaea, you can challenge them to try to trace the modern continents as they appear today on the puzzle pieces.

Then see if they can cut those out to form a current world map, complete with all the continents and a few islands!

See more fun ways to teach geography with hands-on projects below!