Learning Anatomy with Clay

California is fascinated with "what's inside the body".  He has made several clay creations to depict the various bodily systems over the past three years.  Yes, he has been doing this since he was three.  Below is his latest work of art.

Curriculum for a Gifted & Sensitive Six Year Old

Raising California Curriculum

Language Arts (Daily)

Reading/Spelling/Phonics

Explode the Code Book 2 and Book 3

Reading Pathways

English from the Roots Up flashcards (Greek/Latin)

First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind

Readers

Frog and Toad

Little Bear

Mouse Tales

Uncle Elephant

Owl at Home

Read Aloud

Stuart Little

Raggedy Ann & Andy Read Aloud Treasury

Reading Aids

Bananagrams (game)

Sentence Builder Dominoes

Rory’s Story Cubes

Tell Me a Story:  Mystery in the Forest Educational Creative Story Cards

Math (Daily)

Stanford University Education Program for Gifted Youth (EPGY) 3^rd/4^th Grade Math

Math aids

Wooden Abacus

Inchimals

Menu Math Ice Cream Parlor

Multiplication & Division Wrap ups

Money Bags (a coin value game)

Natural Manipulatives:  sea shells, river stones, sea glass, glass pebbles

Science

Astronomy (Fridays)

Real Science 4 Kids Astronomy (Level 1)

Real Science 4 Kids Astronomy laboratory workbook

Born with a Bang:  The Universe Tells Our Cosmic Story

One Small Square, the Night Sky

The Moon Book

Biology (Mon – Thurs)

Noeo Homeschool Science Kit with supplemental books and experiments:  Biology 1

Botany

A Kid’s Herb Book:  For Children of All Ages

Herbal Medicine Making Kit by LearningHerbs.com

Green Thumbs:  A Kid’s Activity Guide to Indoor and Outdoor Gardening

Hands on Gardening activities year round; growing fruits, vegetables and herbs.

Botany aids

Wildcraft:  An Herbal Adventure Game

Social Studies

A Child’s Introduction to the World:  Geography, Cultures and People from The Grand Canyon to the Great Wall of China

Global Art:  Activities, Projects & Inventions from Around the World

Foreign Language

Rossetta Stone

Spanish (Mondays & Wednesdays)

Chinese (Tuesdays & Thursdays)

French (Fridays)

Physical Education

Ballet (Tuesdays)

Swimming (Saturdays)

Back yard Baseball (Daily)

Fine Arts

Ballet

Piano Lessons

Art

Ceramics

Nature Studies (Fridays)

Nature Walks, Nature Journals, Birds, Nature Table

Spiritual Studies (Fridays)

Yoga, Meditation, Intuitive Arts, Reiki

The Curious Journal of a 3 - 6 year old Astronomer: Planetary Exploration Across Various Artforms & Media

 Different ways of learning and exploring the solar system by California, from the ages of three to six (2008 - 2011).                                               

                                              Books


                                              iTouch



                                      Chalk



                                  Watercolor



                                 Model



                                Scented Markers



                               Crayons (on placemat at restaurant)



                                 
                                MagnaDoodle



                                  Clay



                                           Puzzles



                                        Marbles



                               
    Nectarines (used to represent the Sun)

 

Fruits and Vegetables

The beach (with balls of sand as planets).

The beach (with beach rocks as planets).

Eat Your Fractions

We cut the cheese into 12  slices.  California chose to eat 3 of the 12 slices.  3/12 = 1/4 

We cut the avocado in half.  California at one half.  1/2

 We cut the nectarine into 10 slices.  California ate 2 of the 10 slices.  2/10 = 1/5

We cut the orange into 4 wedges.  California ate one wedge.  1/4

We cut the lemon into 8 wedges.  California chose 3 wedges.  3/8

 Then he made lemon mint water from the mint in our garden.

And here is his mid morning snack made entirely from fractions.

We kept track of our fractions and practiced how to write fractions and reduce fractions on our whiteboard as shown below.

Oceanography: Estuaries

LA BALLONA WETLANDS

by Tennessee

                 A picture from our visit to the La Ballona Wetlands in July 2011.

These wetlands empty into the Pacific Ocean, and are located in Playa Del Rey (a subdivision of Los Angeles). They were formed many years ago, when California was still a part of the Territories. Since then, they have steadily been crowded with population. Howard Hughes had a small garage built for his airplane in the wetlands, which polluted to surrounding area. But in 1960, the subdivision Marina Del Rey was built over the wetlands, destroying 900 acres of it. Now the wetlands are protected from construction, but back then there were no such protections.

The wetlands are mostly foliage with a river running through it. Many animals (especially birds) live in the wetlands. I’ve seen herons, rattlesnakes, bullfrogs, ducks, ants, bees and geckos. Other animals (such as geese, snowy egret, killifish, California least tern, and the savannah sparrow) also inhabit the area.

The water of the wetlands comes from the Ballona Creek, the ocean, rain, and runoff from land. Recently, Los Angeles has taken more notice of the wetlands, and fenced it off to protect it from pollution. There are water filters in place, and rangers check on the wetlands often. The wetlands seem to be rebuilding well, and will continue to with our help.  The wetlands are an example of how nature can coexist with civilization. They have stood for a long time, and will continue to stand in the future.

                             My illustration of what is underwater in the wetlands. 

Fresh From Our Garden

        (Nestled in a basket near our baby watermelon plants)

Our tomatoes taste better than anything that we have bought at the store!

Volcanoes

by California