Summer Homeschooling - Career Week

CAREER WEEK -

Vocabulary: 

Career - A job or profession someone does for a long period in their life.

Salary - A set amount of money someone gets paid for getting the work done. 

Monday: Money

• How does money work? Where does it come from? Money is a form of currency that is traded for a good or service. The trading of a good or service is what makes the paper or coin money valuable.
• If you make $20.00 an hour and work 40 hours per week, how much do you make every two weeks on your paycheck? You would make $1600 per paycheck and $3200 per month
• What if you made that $20 per hour because you didn't go to college, but made $40 per hour if you went to college?
• What if your rent is $1200 per month (utilities are included), your food is $300 per month, your phone bill is $50 per month, your car payment is $350 per month, your gas is $50 per month, your car insurance is $100 per month, your toiletries are $20 per month, and your pet's food is $50.00 per month? How much would you have left over from that $3200 to go to the Pokémon store? To buy a game from the Playstation Store?
• What if you want to go to a movie for $35? What if you want to go on a $2,000 vacation?

Tuesday: Budgets, Investments, Bills, and Taxes

• Finance Playlist 
• Set a goal, set a budget, and set up a savings account
• You also have the option to invest your money: For every $1 you put into investments, I (the stock market) will give you $2 to borrow it, so at the end of the month, you will have $3 for every $1 you invested
• Bills are your food, electronics
• Taxes are for federal taxes, state taxes, Social Security, and Medicaid. For every $22 you make, I take $2 for taxes
• This week, you will make $22 per hour for class, $2 of that will automatically be taken for taxes, $5 will be taken away for every hour of electronics, $1 for every sugary drink, $1 for every snack, breakfast/lunch/dinner are free and water is free
• What are you saving for?

Wednesday: Finding A Job

• Jobs I Can Have When I Grow Up
• Complete the "Whey I Grow Up" handout
• Get more info on their desired career fields
• What is great about your chosen job environment? How does your career match your personal interests? How will it fulfill you?
• Do you need to go to college for your career? Will you make more money if you go to college? How do you go to college for free?
• What is your career plan? How do you get a job? How does school now help you then?

Thursday: Their Interests

• How to become an Orca Trainer?
• How to become a Marine Mammal Trainer
• A day in the life of a Marine Mammal Trainer
• Some of the best things to do moving forward: practice swimming, join your school swim team, get large animal experience, complete the summer programs at Sea World, get scuba-certified, become a lifeguard, and work at Sea World over the summer when a teenager
• Need to go to college for an Animal Behavior major
• Dolphin Research Center's Training Program
• Unpaid internships
• Husbandry Assistant
• Sea World Swim Test: 10-min time limit, 5-min water tread, hands above water, 240ft freestyle (80secs), diving in or pushing off underwater hold breath for 80ft or longer, dive down 26ft, get 2 6lb weights where the weights broke the surface before you do, haul out to your feet from the water, script over a microphone
• How to become an Animal Rescuer?
• Animal Rescuer Careers
• What is the best way to become an Animal Rescue or Shelter Worker?
• Can definitely consider a bachelor's degree, especially to work with wildlife
• Need strong communication skills

Friday: Play the Game of Life

• Take the Career Test

Saturday: Field Trip 

Summer Homeschooling - Cooking Week

COOKING WEEK -

Monday: Kitchen Exploration

• Media: MasterChef Junior.
• Safety First: Go over all safety precautions. 
• Oven and stovetop safety. 
• Washing vegetables. Tearing and making a salad. 
• Learn what each kitchen utensil is used for. 
• Learn how to use measuring utensils. Wet versus dry ingredients. 
• Recipe: Blackened fish tacos with taco salad, guacamole, and queso dip.
• Learn how to properly set a table. 

Daily Meal

Dinner Party

Formal

Tuesday: Food Pyramid

• Media: MasterChef Junior.
• Learn the food pyramid.
• Learn how your plate should look. 
• Learn how to use recipes to build your plate. 
• Meal Planner Template.
• Different spices to season:
• Salt - salty
• Pepper - spicy
• Lemon - sour
• Honey - sweet
• Turmeric - bitter
• Recipe: Cajun pasta with green beans and cornbread.

Wednesday: Knives

• Media: Knife Safety.
• Media: Basic Knife Skills.
• What knives are used for what. 
• Spreading and peeling.
• Cutting whole fruit.
• Slicing and dicing vegetables. 
• Crushing and mincing garlic. 
• Sautéing vegetables. 
• Recipe: Chicken alfredo with spinach, asparagus, and garlic bread on the side. 

Thursday: Basic Cooking

• Media: 4 Cooking Skills Every Kid Should Know.
• Gordon Ramsey Part 1 & Part 2
• Make rice.
• Steaming vegetables.
• Recipe: Orange chicken with vegetables and fried rice. 

Friday: Baking

• Media: Watch "Kids Baking Championship" on Hulu. 
• Using a mixer. 
• Rolling dough.
• Make dessert. They want to make a Kraken cake. 
• Make a sauce.
• Browning meat.
• Recipe: Shrimp tacos with mango. Ground beef for Anna. 

Saturday: Field Trip 

• Make breakfast. 
• Cracking eggs. 
• Pancakes.
• Mystery Box Challenge. 

Summer Homeschooling - Alaska Week

ALASKA WEEK -

This week, we're going on vacation to Seward, AK, so why not make a homeschool lesson plan to learn all about Seward and Alaska!

Monday: Alaska's Animals

• In Seward, we will see sea lions, sea otters, harbor seals, humpback whales, bald eagles, seabirds, and more!
• Alaskan Animals
• Animal Yoga Poses
• Whale Communication

Call of the Wild Sled Team

Sled Dog Positions

Iditarod Race Map

Tuesday: Dog Sledding

• Sled Dogs: Life Before Zero
• Sled Dogs: More Than Meets the Eye
• The Iditarod Race is over 1,000 miles long (so basically New York City to Orlando), and the dogs have to make it in 8-15 days. The yearly race is used to commemorate Balto / Togo and his team's rescue mission to get life-saving medication to Nome to save the children in the town from a deadly disease.
• Balto Lap Book 
• Meet Iditarod-Winning Sled Dogs
• What would you pack on your sled to take your dogs on a 8-15 day sled ride?
• Why Don't Sled Dogs Ever Get Tired?
• Sled Dog Positions
• When people think of sled dogs, they think of Alaskan Malamutes and Siberian Huskies, but all sorts of dogs have made up sled teams. Make your own sled dog team. What breeds are they, what positions are they in, and what are their names? Why do you think those dog breeds would work well in your sled dog team? 
• Watch Balto, Togo, or Call of the Wild
• Snow Mountain Run

Wednesday: Fjords and Glaciers

• Fjords are different from standard lakes and rivers because they were built by massive glaciers moving across the land, so they are extremely deep. 
• Glaciers dominate the landscape of Kenai Fjords National Park. 51% of the park is covered by ice, and nearly 40 glaciers flow from the 700-square mile Harding Icefield. These glaciers have formed, shifted, and moved over the course of tens of thousands of years. You can hike along Exit Glacier (an alpine glacier that formed in a mountain basin) or feel the thunderous road of dramatic tidewater glaciers (glaciers that terminate the water's surface) calving into the ocean (when a large chunk of the glacier breaks away).
• Welcome to Kenai Fjords!
• Explore Kenai Fjords National Park
• How Do Glaciers Move?
• Glacier Ice Game
• The Land of the Midnight Sun - The sun usually sets around 8:30PM here in Texas, but when we go to Alaska, the sun won't set until 11:00PM and will come back up around 5:00AM. We won't see the Midnight Sun while we're there, but we will have some VERY long days!

Thursday: Travel Journal

• Write in your Travel Journal and play Road Trip Games

Friday: Field Trip to Alaska!

Summer Homeschooling - Harry Potter Week

HARRY POTTER WEEK -

P.E.: Harry Potter Chase - Harry Potter Workout

All About Magical Me Worksheet

Monday: Back to Hogwarts

• Set up the dining room with floating candles, a projector showing the stars or sky, the house flags, the books on the table, their wands, their uniforms, souvenirs, character stuffies (Hedwig, Buckbeak, Fawkes), a nice table cloth or runner, fancy dining ware, goblets, etc. 
• The kids get their acceptance letters from Hogwarts
• Go to Pottermore to sort them into their houses and to let their wands select them
• Learn about familiars and their familiars, Jack and Spike
• Familiars provide protection to young witches and wizards coming into their powers; they attend to witches and wizards by acting as companions, servants, messengers, or even spies
• Guinea Pigs 101 - Guinea Pig Breeds - Guinea Pig Noises - Guinea Pig Tricks
• If they have a hamster, a guinea pig, or a rabbit, they can make a Marauder's Map maze
• Make chocolate frogs, butterbeer, and pumpkin pasties
• Have a First Night Feast with roast beef, roast chicken (drumsticks), pork chops, lamb chops, steak, bacon, boiled and roasted potatoes, fries, meat (steak and kidney) pies, sandwiches, peas, carrots, corn on the cob, broccoli, salad, gravy, ketchup, rolls, charcuterie boards, apples, grapes, Yorkshire puddings, peppermint humbugs, assorted ice cream, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate eclairs, jams/jam doughnuts, strawberries, jelly, rice pudding, etc. 
• Play a Quidditch Table Pong Game
• Play Harry Potter CLUE

Tuesday: First Day of Classes

• Charms Class (with their wands)
• Wingardium Leviosa
• Impervius - repels water from a surface: put some water on a plate and sprinkle some pepper on top; have the kids stick their fingers in there to show the pepper sticks to your finger, and then hand them their wands with some dish liquid on the tips and have them say "Impervius;" the pepper will shoot away from the dish liquid
• Defense Against the Dark Arts Class
  • Art: Draw what your Boggart would be, and then draw what you would change it into
  • Find out your Patronus and draw your Patronus
  • Have a chocolate snack to regain your strength after all those bogarts and dementors
• Harry Potter "Would You Rather" Game

Wednesday: The Care of Magical Creatures Class

• Reading: Read through the Fantastic Beasts book
• What's your favorite magical creature from the Wizarding World?
• Craft: Make your own Pigmy Puff
• Questions of the Day:
• Fluffy's History? Hagrid originally purchased Fluffy from a "Greek chappie" at The Leaky Cauldron. Hagrid loaned Fluffy to Dumbledore to aid in guarding the Sorcerer's Stone during Harry's First Year.
• How does the Phoenix heal people with tears? The Phoenix's tears have immense healing powers capable of reviving a person from any injury, they could even save a person on the brink of death. Their tears also hold the only known antidote to Basilisk venom. Being cried on by a Phoenix is similar to drinking unicorn blood, but without leading a cursed life afterward. However, the Phoenix has to care for and trust you to be willing to offer up their tears to save you.
• Media: Watch the Fantastic Beasts movies

Thursday: Potions Class (Science)

• Make an overflowing potion
• Make a color-changing potion
• Make potion drinks (bonus points if you use dry ice!)

Friday: The Biwizard Tournament - J.K. Rowling loves adding challenges to her books, so why not make our own? This is essentially a Scavenger Hunt with a little Escape Room sprinkled throughout

1. Begin in the middle of the house. Hand the kids an envelope. When they open it, they see your house floorplan marked with the Hogwarts room names and a note that reads: "Welcome to the Biwizard Tournament! To win, you must work together to complete SIX challenges. Good luck! Here is your first clue: When Harry got detention, he had to help Hagrid as part of his punishment. Go to the place where Hagrid took Harry and help Harry find all the patronuses. Once you have all the patronuses, they will tell you where to go next."
   
2. The backyard is labeled "Forbidden Forest" on the floorplan, and all over it are pictures of different patronuses. On the back of each of the patronuses are the letters: G R E E N H O U S E. They have to unscramble the letters to find out that the Greenhouse is where they go next.
3. When they enter the Greenhouse, they see Hedwig with a rolled-up parchment attached to her leg. It reads, "Alohomora will not work on me. To unlock the door, you must find the key. Which key is not like the others?" 
4. There are multiple keys with wings hanging above the locked door to the house. When they pull down the key with the broken or missing wing, there is a note attached to the back of it that reads, "Find your next clue where Moaning Myrtle sleeps."
5. This leads them to the Prefect's Bathroom. Moaning Myrtle is under the toilet lid with a note that is written backward. The bathroom mirror is labeled "The Mirror of Erised." They have to put the letter against the mirror to read it. The note reads, "Where would you find a book about Magical Creatures?"
6. This leads them to the Library. There is a piece of parchment inside the Fantastic Beasts book. The top reads, "Take me to the Charms Classroom to reveal my secrets." The rest of the note is written in UV ink that only shows under black light. 
7. On the table in the Charms Class, there is a note and a black-light flashlight. The note says, "Have your partner turn off the light, and then use the spell that makes things appear to enchant this flashlight to "reveal" the secrets of the parchment." The part of the note revealed says, "Where in the castle does the creature with healing tears live? She is roosting on your next clue!"
8. In Dumbledore's Office, there is an Easter egg under Fawkes. Written in Sharpie on the egg, it says, "Open me in the Potions Class."
9. When you get to the Potions Class, you see seven potions in bottles of all different shapes, sizes, and colors. The Easter egg holds a riddle inside it:
• "Two among our number hold only nettle wine. Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line. Choose, unless you wish to stay here for evermore. To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:
1. First, however slyly the potion tries to hide, you will always find some on nettle wine's left side;
2. Second, different are those who stand at either end, but if you would like to move onwards, neither is your friend
3. Third, as you see clearly, all are a different size. Neither dwarf nor giant holds death inside;
4. Fourth, the second on the left and the second on the right are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight."
• ANSWER: Since the giant bottle is not poison, and it is a twin to the second from the left, we know these two are nettle wine. Therefore, two of the poisons are to the left of these. The ones on each end are different, and since we know the one on the left end is poison, both nettle wines have been found, and it will not help you move onwards, the rightmost bottle sends you back. This leaves 2 bottles, and we know the dwarf bottle is not poison, so it must be the one to move ahead. Finally, the remaining bottle must be the third poison.
• Once one of them drinks the correct potion, it says "Great Hall" at the bottom of the bottle.
10. In the Great Hall, they find an envelope on the table. Inside, it says, "You have made it to your final challenge. Translate the Ancient Ruins to decipher the code. Once you have it, race to where Harry saw a dragon egg hatch. Buried inside this location, you will find treasure!"
11. In Hagrid's Hut, buried under stuffed animals, they find a treasure chest that has a combination lock. They use the code to unlock it. You could have wind-up butterflies fly out of it. Inside, there is a note congratulating them and maybe some Wizarding World candy. You could even give them trinkets or trophies for participating!

Saturday: Field Trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Florida, the Warner Bros Studio Tour in California, the Harry Potter exhibit in Philadelphia, the Harry Potter treehouse in North Carolina, the Harry Potter coffee house in Texas, etc. Check out the Ultimate Harry Potter Bucket List for even more ideas!

Summer Homeschooling - Star Wars Week

STAR WARS WEEK - Welcome to your very own Jedi Temple Challenge!

Get your own Star Wars costumes, and start every morning with the Jedi Motto: "Strength, Knowledge, and Bravery!"

Links:

• Star Wars Activities
• Star Wars Kids
• Star Wars Recipes

Media:

• Star Wars Explained In 7 Mins
• Watch the Jedi Temple Challenge
• Watch the original movie trilogy and/or the Mandalorian on Disney+

The Planets of Star Wars

Monday: The Star Wars Galaxy

Art: Design your own planet! What color is it? What kind of creatures/animals live there? Do people live there? What is the weather like there? Can humans breathe there?

How can the characters in Star Wars travel from planet to planet, but we Earthly humans cannot? Hyperdrive allows starships to travel faster than the speed of light, crossing the galaxy through hyperspace.

You have heard people say, "May the Force be with you," but what does that mean? The Force is a mysterious energy field created by life that binds the galaxy together. Harnessing the power of the Force gives the Jedi (the light side), the Sith (the dark side), and others sensitive to this spiritual energy extraordinary abilities. 

• Who are some characters that are on the light side?
• Who are some characters that are on the dark side?
• Are you on the light side or the dark side of the Force?

P.E.: Star Wars Chase

Tuesday: The Jedi

• The Jedi Order - A noble order of protectors unified by their ability to tap into the power of the Force, the Jedi Order are the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy. 
• Who is the most powerful Jedi?
• Padawan - Those on the path to becoming a Jedi. They must first train one-on-one with Jedi Masters who help them understand the power of the Force and their place in the world. 
• Lightsaber - This is the weapon of the Jedi. With a kyber crystal at its heart, a lightsaber can be used to cut through blast doors or defend against enemies. Using the Force, a Jedi can sense blaster bolts and deflect them with this elegant sword. 
• Kyber Crystal - This is found at the heart of every Jedi lightsaber. This special gem channels the power of the Force and is connected to a Jedi Knight on a deeply personal level. In this way, a lightsaber is an extension of a Jedi's Force awareness. 

• Learn lightsaber moves. Watch a duel. Practice a duel.

Wednesday: Droids

• Astromech Droids - A series of short, utility robots generally used for the maintenance and repair of starships and related technology. R2-D2 is an astromech droid. 
• Protocol Droids - Droids programmed in etiquette that can communicate in millions of languages, which makes them perfect assistants for Jedi, diplomats, and politicians. C-3PO is a protocol droid.
• Build your own droid, or buy one that you can control with an app.  
• P.E.: Star Wars Chase II

Thursday: Star Wars Creatures

• The Top 9 Star Wars Creatures and Pets
• What is your favorite Star Wars creature?
• P.E.: Star Wars Jump Battle

Friday: Final Jedi Temple Challenge

• Test your Strength, Knowledge, and Bravery!
1. Strength - go to a trampoline park and complete the obstacle course without touching the ground, the rock climbing wall all the way to the top, and the zipline (get clues for the next challenge with each task completed: bunny stuffed animal, binoculars, the numbers 1-2-3, the color blue, a rock)

1. Knowledge - listen to a Star Wars story and help each other answer questions to complete a scavenger hunt
• The Story: On the rocky world of Enujut, peacekeeper Evor Haris welcomed all visitors, most recently a ship of one-legged, gray Zemerin, a skittish species that could fix anything from star ships to food replicators. Later in town, Haris broke up a fight between a long-eared smuggler and a merchant. Seconds later, he found another confrontation between a technician and her assistant over a stolen orange and white data unit. After that, two Ewoks started arguing over which one was taller. And then, the cantina erupted over which food capsules were tastiest. Haris boiled over with rage. His 12 fingers curled into a fist, ready to pop anyone who didn't agree. A metal hand tapped him on the shoulder. "Leave me alone, I'm keeping the peace!" Haris snapped at the blue protocol droid. "Sir, I've noticed that these petty arguments began as soon as the Zemerin arrived." The droid had discovered the Zemerin were telepaths that fed off negative energy. They didn't want to repair ships, they wanted to cause trouble. Haris lost his cool and chased the droid into a transport, calling him a bile mopper, a space dolt, a yak sniffer, every name under Enujut's three suns, with the selfish Zemerin hopping behind to feed on the negativity like scavengers. Suddenly, the transport door slammed shut, Haris jumped from an emergency hatch, and the blue droid took off. Haris smiled as he watched the transport disappear from view through his macro binoculars, blasted back to their home planet. The Zemerin were going to be hopping mad when they realized they had been tricked. 
• What kind of ears did the smuggler have? The bunny
• How many Ewoks were arguing? 2
• What did Haris use to watch the Zemerin? The binoculars
• What color was the protocol droid? Blue
• The Zemerin had a special power. What was it? Telepathy
• How many suns did Enujut have? 3
• What kind of landscape did Enujut have? Rocky
• How many legs did the Zemerin have? 1

1. Bravery - your teammate navigates you through the dark (blindfolded) to find your Kyber Crystal
• The Dark Side tempts them with the answers (I had an envelope with all the answers inside sitting in front of them on the table)

Saturday: Field Trip to the caves/caverns like we're on Dagobah, or within any of the other many caves in the Star Wars universe. 

"Reminds me of Dagobah. Dunno why the Force seems to love caves so much." -Luke Skywalker, in a cave on Serelia

Summer Homeschooling - Galapagos Islands Week

GALAPAGOS ISLANDS WEEK -

Monday: Welcome to the Galapagos Islands!

• Galapagos Islands Video
• What is there to do in the Galapagos Islands?
• Animals of the Galapagos Islands
• Galapagos Penguins - the only penguins who live along the Equator
• Marine Iguanas - the only iguanas who can swim and forage underwater
• Giant Tortoises - live longer than any other animal with a backbone, up to 152 years
• Sea Lions - super friendly and love to sunbathe
• Blue-Footed Boobies - blue feet come from the food they eat, kind of like flamingos
• What animal would you most want to see if you visited the Galapagos Islands? What activity would you most want to do while you were there?

Map of the Galapagos Islands with all the Animals!

Tuesday: Charles Darwin and Natural Selection

• Darwinism Video
• There weren't cameras or cell phones back in 1835, so to remember and document the plants and animals Darwin saw along his journey, he would sketch pictures. 
• Art: Sketch like Darwin - go outside and sketch a plant or a bug, or you can even sketch one of your pets. Make sure to pay special attention to their physical features. 
• Bonus Activity: Sketches are great, but paper is only two-dimensional. Darwin also needed samples of the species he encountered so that he could conduct further research on them, as well as explain his findings to other scientists when he got back home. You could preserve some flowers and/or plants on laminating paper. 
• Natural Selection says animals evolved because those with the traits best equipped for their survival survived, and they were able to breed with others. This extorted those traits and passed those traits onto their offspring, which changed the animal as a whole over time. 
• Brainstorm: How do you think your pets have changed over time?
• How are dog breeds different from each other? Even though they both came from wolves, what about their environment would have caused the traits they have evolved over time? Ears, feet, size, double coat, coat length, etc. 
• What is your favorite animal, and where would you live if you could live anywhere in the world? How would your animal adapt to live there? Sketch it out with its new traits.
• How do humans adapt to live in their environments? How would we adapt to live in Antarctica? 

Order your Marti book about a month in advance, so you can have it in hand when lessons begin!

Wednesday: Why are the Galapagos Islands so important?

• The Galapagos Islands are one the most unique and diverse ecosystems on Earth
• A Day In the Life of A Shark Scientist - Whale Shark Rescue
• Hammerhead Sharks - Marti the Hammerhead Shark
• Marti the Hammerhead Shark storybook (the PowerPoint version, in case you don't want to order the physical book)
• Tracking Sharks

Our own Marti board game!

Thursday: Protecting the Islands

• The conservation of flightless birds is extremely important: Galapagos Penguins and the Flightless Cormorant
• Why might a bird be flightless? 
• They didn't have large predators to flee, and they didn't have to leave to eat. They could just dive into the water, so evolution favored the traits of swimming as opposed to flying.
• Why might they need protection now?
• Now that humans have moved to the islands, they are easy targets for humans and other introduced animals, such as dogs. 
• Remember the Dodo bird - overharvesting of the birds by humans, combined with habitat loss and losing the competition with newly introduced animals, was just too much for the Dodo to survive. In 1681, they went extinct forever.
• Protect the islands against invasive species: What do we mean by invasive species? Well, when humans came to the islands, they brought goats with them, and goats eat the same food that tortoises do, so this took away the tortoises' food source. 
• Humans are invasive species too. We come in and cut down trees, clear land, build buildings and power lines (the monkeys), and bring pollution. Conventional farming and overfishing are huge issues for the Galapagos. 
• Work on living sustainably: Only take and grow what you need to survive; make eco-friendly energy, such as wind, solar, tidal, hydroelectrical dams, biofuel generators, and geothermal plants.

Our shark tagging comic strip after putting the actions in order!

Friday: Protecting the Ocean and its Ecosystems

• Sustainable Tourism - Leave No Trace
• How do we affect the environment through tourism? How can we leave no trace?
• The 5 R’s – Refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, and recycle!

1. How can you refuse? Don't use a straw, don't use a plastic bag at the grocery store when you can, etc.
2. How can you reduce? Only buy what you need, turn the lights and electronics off when you're not using them, and unplug things you are not using
3. How can you reuse? Don't buy single-use plastic, use a reusable water bottle, storage containers, and tubberware, fix items that are broken instead of buying a new one
4. How can you repurpose? Give the toys and clothes you don't use anymore to those less fortunate or even friends, and find new uses for objects that you don't use for their original purpose
5. How can you recycle? Many items that can be recycled will say on the packaging. Take the labels off before disposing of recyclables, rinse out items so that no food or liquid remains, and don't bag your recyclables

Saturday: Field Trip to the Beach or go camping in a National Park and Leave No Trace!