International Towne crafts and activities

Mexico

Calaveras Puppets
Materials:

* poster board
* skeleton pattern
* scissors
* glue
* wooden balloon sticks
* paper fasteners
* markers
* various materials for clothes, hats, and props (sequins, colored paper, felt, feathers, flowers, etc.)

Procedures:

1. Cut out pattern of skeleton and trace the pattern on poster board
2. Cut out traced pattern of skeleton on poster board
3. Attach arms and legs to body of skeleton with paper fasteners where circles appear on pattern
4. Decorate the calavera with clothes, hats, and props using various materials. Skeletons can take on characters of everyday life such as skate boarders, musicians, children, or a bride or groom.
5. Attach a wooden stick to the back of the puppet.
6. Enjoy the calaveras puppet!

Here is a mini-unit lesson plan on "El Dia de los Muertos" (Day of the Dead)

Here is a link to a 24 page pdf file Education Packet
Packet Contents:
# Bibliography
# 4 coloring pages
# Word search game
# Mix and match puzzle
# Papel picado lesson plan, including an easy-to-use template for younger children.
# Calavera mask project
# Skeleton puppet project

Here are flash cards to print and glue to index cards:

Examples of Teacher made masks



Ghana

To receive “cultural credits,” decorate your own Ceremonial Mask.



Egypt

To receive “cultural credits,” decipher the work of an ancient scribe, which is a Hieroglyphic printable.

Go here to send an Hieroglyphic ecard

Egyptian Name Translator

Egyptian Calculator

Here are some fun Egyptian games for the kids

2 more fun kids pages for Egyptian theme
Great Scott
Guardians


Ukraine

To receive “culture credits,” they had to taste samples of spreads. The boys did not like these, there was hummus on crackers and “some kind of weird jellies”


Finland

To receive “culture credits,” sketch an outline of how you think a structure might appear in a different climate.


China
To receive “culture credits,” Complete an Abacus Exercise.
How to use an Abacus

The China Museum Tour included a worksheet asking the young adult to correctly figure out the country from which each item was from, and then write the name of the country in the blank space provided.
The items:
~ Kath Putti Puppet
~ Wooden Chocolate Stirrer
~ Matroishkas
~ Calligraphy Set
~ Yanomamo Comb
~ Geisha Doll
~ Hanukka Candle Holder
~ Mueso Board
~ Boomerang

The Chinese Dragon Curriculum Unit




Australia

To receive your “culture credits,” select a kangaroo, koala, platypus, or lizard and create your own aboriginal dot art project using colored markers that represent earth tones.


India

To receive your “culture credits” you will practice meditation, by coloring a mandala. As you color the mandal there are a series of questions to ask yourself on a worksheet."A mandala is a source of meditation that the Tibetans use to show your soul and trying to get to the center or to show the universe and everything that is in it."

The Buddha's Art of Healing

I highly recommend you look at the pages of the children’s mandala’s and their stories to go with each one.

Mandala lesson plan
Himalayan Art story telling for kids


Japan

To receive your “cultural credits,” follow the directions for creating an Origami Wallet.
YouTube video showing how to make an origami wallet

Explain to your children what origami is:
Origami (from oru meaning "folding", and kami meaning "paper") is the ancient Japanese art of paper folding. The goal of this art is to create a representation of an object using geometric folds and crease patterns preferably without the use of gluing or cutting the paper medium. "Origami" nowadays refers to all types of paper folding, even those of non-Asian origin

My children wanted to know why this was a thing in Japan so I looked at and found the history with links to go with any questions.

The origin of the art began as Chinese Paper Folding. The Japanese origin began in the 6th century when Buddhist monks from China carried paper to Japan. The first Japanese origami is dated from this period. Origami had already become a significant aspect of Japanese ceremony by the Heian period of Japanese history. Samurai warriors would exchange gifts adorned with noshi, a sort of good luck token made of folded strips of paper. Origami butterflies were used during the celebration of Shinto weddings to represent the bride and groom.



Costa Rica

To receive your “cultural credits,” complete the tables to find out how much rainforest disappears each year. (You can use a calculator. These measurements are approximate and rounded.)
Based on your calculations, approximately how much rainforest vanishes each year? __________________________________________
I would be happy to take a picture of the tables if you want to use them as guides to make your own.

Student Worksheet on the Rainforest

Life in the Rainforest by scholastic

Pictures and information of Rainforest animals, climate and plants

Animals of the Rainforest

Lesson Plans of the Rainforest


Brazil

To receive your “cultural credits,” decorate your own Carnaval headdress using the materials provided. Use your imagination and have fun.

Rome Lessons

We watch the History channel and these were shared on one of my yahoo groups so I'm going to share them here and come back later to organize them. They would go well with the History Channels programs.

Ancient Rome
http://www.historylink102.com/Rome/index.htm
Ancient Rome for Kids
http://rome.mrdonn.org/index.html
Ancient Rome Timeline
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/rome_timeline.shtml
Classics Department: Daily Roman Life
http://www.uvm.edu/~classics/webresources/life/
Encyclopedia Mythica
http://www.pantheon.org/areas/
Leisure and Entertainment
http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/leisure.html
List of Roman Historical Figures
http://www.ga.k12.pa.us/academics/MS/8th/romanhis/romlist.htm
Marriage in Ancient Rome
http://victorian.fortunecity.com/lion/373/roman/romarriage.html
Slavery In Ancient Rome
http://www.richeast.org/htwm/Greeks/Romans/slavery/slavery2.html
The Roman Empire
http://www.roman-empire.net/

Lesson Plans
A Day at the Roman Forum: Public Life in Rome
http://www.eduplace.com/ss/hmss/6/unit/act6.2.html
Can you save the Roman Republic?
http://ancienthistory.mrdonn.org/RomanReforms.html
Dictator for a Day
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/programs/tlc-
ancientrome/index.html
Download and print ancient Rome lessons.
http://www.mrdowlingcom/702print.html
Let's Journey Back in Time to Ancient Rome!
http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/education/projects/webquests/ro
me/
Rome
http://www.educ.uvic.ca/faculty/mroth/438/ROME/rome.htm
Roman Numerals
http://www.eduref.org/cgi-
bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Mathematics/Number_Theory/NUM0001
.html

Crafts
Create a Fresco
http://www.easyfunschool.com/article1006.html
How To Create a Lady of Ancient Rome Costume
http://www.ehow.com/how_18768_create-lady-ancient.html
Mosaic Project
http://www.historyforkids.org/crafts/projects/mosaic.htm
Racing Roman Gladiators Craft
http://www.crayola.com/crafts/detail/racing-roman-gladiators-craft/
Roman Arch Project
http://www.historyforkids.org/crafts/rome/arch.htm
Roman Warrior Shield For Kids
http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf72550774.tip.html

Cooking
Ancient Roman Dishes
http://www.mit.edu/people/wchuang/cooking/recipes/Roman/
Eight ancient Roman recipes from Around the Roman Table
http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/233472.html
Real Roman Recipes
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lostempires/roman/recipes.html

Multimedia
NOVA | Lost Roman Treasure
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/zeugma/
Pictures of History: Ancient Rome
http://www.jhauser.us/pictures/history/Romans/Rome/index.html
Roman House
http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/house.html
Rome: Map of the Empire
http://intranetdalton.org/groups/Rome/RMap.html

Online Activities
Ancient Rome Quiz
http://www.triv.net/html/Users/user71.htm
D.I.Y. Speech Making
http://www.snaithprimary.eril.net/npoem.htm
Flashcards about Ancient Rome
http://www.studystack.com/flashcard-3291
Gladiator Dressed to Kill Game
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/launch_gms_gladiator.shtml
Quia - Ancient Rome Review
http://www.quia.com/jg/140056.html
Quia - Roman money
http://www.quia.com/ws/358333.html
Roman History Quizzes and Roman History Trivia
http://www.funtrivia.com/quizzes/history/ancient_history/roman_history
.html
Roman Mosaic
http://wwwwarrinerprimaries.com/Resources/mosaic.htm
Roman Numerals
http://www.novaroma.org/via_romana/numbers.html
Twelve Caesars Quiz - Do you know your Emperors?
http://wwwfalcophiles.co.uk/games/quiz_emperors.html
Walk Through Time
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/walk/games_index.shtml

Virtual Tours
A Day at the Baths
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lostempires/roman/day.html
BBC - History - Housesteads Fort
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/launch_vt_housesteads.shtm
l
Caistor Roman Town
http://www.sys.uea.ac.uk/Research/researchareas/JWMP/CaistorRomanTown/
caistormap.html
Roman Open Air Museum Hechingen-Stein - Tour
http://www.villa-rustica.de/tour/indexe.html
Tour a Roman Town
http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/nettsch/time/rtour.html

Printouts
Ancient Rome Coloring Pages
http://www.coloring.ws/romehtm
Ancient Rome Map Activity
http://www.teachnet-lab.org/miami/2004/linero/rome%201%20map%
20activity.htm
Ancient Rome word search puzzle
http://www.wordsearchfun.com/60500_Ancient_Rome_wordsearchhtml
Ancient Rome Worksheets
http://www.teach-nology.com/worksheets/soc_studies/rome/
BBC - Romans - Activities
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/romans/activities/index.shtml

1898 Gibson Mansion in Canon City, Colorado

When we moved to Pueblo West from Littleton, Colorado I made several trips to Canon City trying to decide where I want to set up permanent residence. There is a beautiful home called the Gibson Mansion in Canon City (not for sale) that I would drive by every time I was in Canon City as I just wanted to stare at it. I took family and friends sometimes telling them all that I would love to see the inside of this home. My birthday this past month was on a Friday, the weather in Pueblo West was supposed to be nasty so I had said, "I'll celebrate on Saturday by going somewhere and doing something." Well, on my birthday, Friday, the Pueblo Chieftain newspaper had an article showing this mansion and how a local organization was having a fund raiser to raise money for disabled children. The fund raiser would be a tour of this mansion! It was going to be on Saturday, the day after my birthday! My husband said this wasn't his thing so I invited my mom. My father-in-law let me borrow his beautiful BMW which is very old and kept in great shape. So, mom and I went to tour the mansion and had a wonderful time. The Gibson mansion is so beautiful. The wood was hand carved, there are a variety of hidden stairways taking you to different parts of the house, the ballroom was on the 3rd floor, they had people dancing and dressed from that era. Mom commented on how you couldn't feel the floor move while they were dancing. The whole house was wooden flooring. There was one bathroom that was an original with beautiful tile on the walls and floor; it was pointed out that this house had one of the first modern bathrooms. The windows were done in lead with beautiful glass paint. There was a fireplace in one parlor with the original tiles and the design was carried out in the room on the walls and hand carved in to a stairway. You'll see that in the pictures. I'm sure there is more for me to say but I'll go ahead and share the pictures for now. I have also included a link on the title so you can go to the website where the photos are stored and see them in a larger format. If you do this, please click on the slide show on that page as that does justice to these photos.

8ft Lego Yoda

We spent the past weekend in Denver
celebrating Brenden's 12th birthday.
We had a good time swimming, walking
the malls, making friends,
celebrating.......

The Lego Store at Colorado Mills Mall
had a designer putting together an 8ft
tall Yoda with the help of any and all
kids even the dads jumped in on building.
They had a very nice set up.  The mall is
really big so the aisles are big; the Lego
store set up tables out front of the store with tubs of legos
and drawings as guides for what the kids were to build.
They then took their creations to the designer who was adding
them to the Yoda which would end up being 8 ft tall. My
husband commented on how smart it was of them to enlist
the help of everyone in putting together blocks of pieces
to add to the larger model.  The last pic is of my 12 year
old holding the miniature model of what they were all building.
We took a break and played glow in the dark putt-putt, had
lunch and went back to build more. Here are more pics of the
Lego store:



slideshow of Lego Yoda

http://s89.photobucket.com/albums/k206/kathy80123/Brenden%20birthday/

Camping in Colorado

Grape KitchenAid

I want one of these! I have a white one; nothing wrong with it - love it - use it regularly - now I want this Grape one. I think it's a neat color - I love color. What color do you have? What color do you want?

Hurricane Katrina Lesson Plan

We did this in August of 07 - I'll try to get in here and add some of our lessons when time allows and once I have time to go through the boys folders and take pics, I'll share those as well

This was a 3 day unit. On the last day, I found a tall tale about Annie Christmas which was based out of New Orleans so I added that due to the Language Arts, Geography, Math, etc included in the lesson

We managed to work in some Hurricane Katrina lessons today:

https://www.rms.com/Publications/KatrinaReport_LessonsandImplications.pdf

http://www.teachervision.fen.com/hurricane/resource/34251.html

http://www.Newseum.org Features today's front pages of 46 newspapers from around the world, as well as archived pages from coverage of Katrina.


-Watched the History channel on Hurricane Katrina - we learned about the history of New Orleans – we learned about Tropical Cyclones – we viewed the weather on the internet in different areas – how the government helps in times of crisis – the importance of levees – the impact of Hurricanes – why our gas prices went up – we became familiar with different types of natural disasters -

Hurricane History: http://www.teachervision.fen.com/hurricane/history/34252.html

The White House – Lessons Learned:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/reports/katrina-lessons-learned/appendix-b.html

PBS Teacher’s Guide:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/storm/

We did the Gulf Coast Region Scavenger Hunt:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/teachers/lessonplans/socialstudies/katrina.html

Correlation to National Standards
ß Geography -History -Language Arts -Reading -Listening and Speaking -Working with Others
ß We did a lot with this website: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/teachers/lessonplans/socialstudies/katrina.html

We learned how the loss of New Orleans impacted the world in regards to what we receive from New Orleans; seafood, coffee, oil,

Go here to learn of the different Hurricane skills: Category 1 – 5
http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Generic&content_type_id=750&display_order=6&sub_display_orde r=4&mini_id=1401


https://www.rms.com/Publications/KatrinaReport_LessonsandImplications.pdf

http://www.teachervision.fen.com/hurricane/resource/34251.html

http://www.amlainfo.org/curriculum

Hurricane Katrina: The Practice of Journalism
http://www.amlainfo.org/curriculum

http://www.Newseum.org Features today's front pages of 46 newspapers from around the world, as well as archived pages from coverage of Katrina.

http://www.urban.org/afterkatrina/

http://www.classbrain.com/artstate/publish/facts_new_orleans_louisiana.shtml

Pink Light Bulbs

A friend visited a few days ago and commented on how comfortable and relaxing my bedroom was. She was trying to figure out what it was - I told her of the Pink Light Bulbs. Pink Light Bulbs are supposed to be soft in a bathroom and romantic in a bedroom. She said, "That's it!" She immediately went out and bought some. :) What little trick do you have that makes a room comfortable and relaxing?