Constellations

My kids had a blast in science today.  We started our unit on Space with a lesson on constellations.  There isn't a whole lot in the book about this subject, but I have a make-your-own constellation activity that I usually do.  This year, I used my document reader to show a constellation map (one that spins to show the stars in the sky at different times of the year).  Then I showed some of the better known constellations and told them the stories behind the shapes.  It was super interesting because the 7th graders had just given presentations on the Greek gods and goddesses, and many constellations have to do with these same beings.  My kids don't know a whole lot about Greek mythology, and they love stories, so they were very interested.  After showing pictures, I gave them a star map and had them connect dots to make a creature.  They got to write a myth to go along with it.  I couldn't believe how much fun they had! One boy even asked if he could stay in from recess to keep working on the story!  A bunch said they wished we could do stuff like this every day.  I have no clue what made it so fun for them.


The 7th graders and I had great discussions going during the presentations.  They presented information on one god/goddess and since Greek mythology is all intertwined, they made connections between their person and their classmates' people.  We found brothers and sisters and aunts and parents... lots of good stuff.


Our NaNo characters were created today.  I model building a character for the class (and let them help decide things about it) to use in my NaNo story.  We ended up with an 11,000 year old Korean rainbow who lives in North Korea in a dynamite forest.  Yeah.  How's that gonna work?  I have a plan though... The old rainbow is going to tell a story about when she was younger, so it will be a kind of 2nd person narrator.  The only thing is, I don't know what her story should be about.  We're creating villains tomorrow, so maybe that will jog my creativity.


The church year chain was finished today!  Now I just need to hang it up.  But I think that's a job for tomorrow.  I need to get gas and groceries, and maybe sneak in a trip to the library...