Learning the Constellations (Part 2)

After the excitement of spotting the Southern Cross, I decided it would be nice to be more familiar with all the other constellations. It has always been my dream that we can know the skies like some "wise men of the east". And hey! There just happen to be three of us! Hahaha...

I have been thinking of how we can systematically learn the constellations. Here is my plan.

I have chosen to use Stars: A New Way to See Them by Rey as our text and reference constellation chart. The lines he drew makes up a picture that better depicts the object that the constellations were named after (Rey tells you in English what those constellation names are.). This makes more sense than many other versions I have come across. You can have a feel of connecting the constellations using Rey's scheme here (These are not as detailed as those found in the book).

Another good point about Rey's charts is that they show the magnitude of the stars. This helps a lot in identifying a constellation. The relative brightness of the stars can help with differentiating say the Southern Cross from the False Cross.

There are 17 detailed constellation charts in the book. I figured that if we can familiarize ourselves with one to three charts a month (that is about the range that is visible in Singapore, right overhead, in a month) we will be able to cover most of them in a year or so.

I thought of a 3- stepped method:


Step 1 - Copy

Using the idea of copywork, I have asked my boys to copy the constellation I have chosen (based on what is visible during this time of the year) on our whiteboard. Brighter stars were represented with magnets.


This is my boy's version of the Centaur and Southern Cross.


Step 2 - Identify

I made quiz cards by punching holes on black paper to see if my boys (and I) could spot the constellation they have just learnt. These are replicates of chart 11 (Virgin, The Scales, Crow), 12 (Serpent Holder, Scorpion) and 17 (Southern Cross, Centaur, Wolf) from Rey's Star. Each chart is about 15 cm wide.



They look like real stars when held up against the light! I wanted these quiz cards to be circular so that one would have to figure out where north is. This is to me a very necessary life skill! See if you can spot the Southern Cross and the Centaur on any of these.

How did I make these?
I made a photocopy of the constellation chart from the book, place the copy on top of a piece of black paper and push pins on where the stars are supposed to be (making sure that the pins go through the copy as well as the black paper). I use pins for faint stars, a bicycle spoke (satay stick would do too) for brighter stars and a whole series of hole punchers with varying diameters for the very bright stars.

If this sounds too complicated, here is another idea that I have been toying with. It uses film canisters. (canister constellation template found here)

Step 3 - Star gaze

Obviously, the best way to acquaint oneself with the night sky is to gaze at it more often. We have started with the constellation we have learnt. It is interesting to see how the two-dimensional sky charts translates out into the vast night sky. We are not good at the real thing at all but I am hoping that we will improve with practice. :-b

The light pollution and the often overcast skies have been our main problems. Living in the heart of a densely populated estate also means we don't have one single location where we get an unobstructed view of the whole night sky. We have a relatively good view of the southern sky from our balcony, a not so satisfactory view of the northern sky from the staircase on the top floor of a neighbouring block of flats (corridor lights are really hampering our efforts) and a reasonable view of the sky right overhead from in the middle of the field in front of our block.

We go star gazing with our star charts (Rey's and one from Astroviewer that shows where the planets are too!), red flashlight (so we can look at your star chart without spoiling our vision for the stars) and a mat (to prevent neck aches!). I would love to have a green laser pointer (more information here) except that I found out that one costs a whopping S$400!!!


Here are some other tidbits I have found:

1. I recently bought a book published by the Singapore Science Centre called A Sky Book for the Tropics by Heong Kam Khow and Kamaria bte Abdul Ghani. It has the monthly star maps for the evening and predawn sky in Singapore.
   
2. This interactive site can be useful. It allows you to "see less stars", meaning that they reveal only the brighter stars. This gives a more realistic picture of what you are likely to see in a light-polluted sky like Singapore's. Constellation lines and names can also be switched on and off according to your preference.
3. My boys enjoyed another interactive site that gives an introduction to Orion and the Big Dipper. You read, look at the picture, click "next", follow instructions to spot constellation and so on.
4. Notebooking pages on the 27 constellations.
   
5. Cute song about the constellations.
6. Ebook/etext The Stars and Their Stories by A. M. M. Griffith.
   

Learning the Constellations

We made it to the Singapore Science Centre Star gazing night on the night of Good Friday (10 April). The brief talk on constellations highlighted those that were visible this month and the next. Orion is in the middle of our field of view about 9ish at night. Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky(belonging to the constellation Big Dog) can also be seen. We were told of the rising of the Southern Cross later at about 10ish and subsequently shown on a simulator how it would look like (more like a kite than a cross).

We had to queue to see Saturn on the big telescope. The ring appeared just to be a line across the planet because this year, Earth and Saturn happened to be on the same plane. We were told that next year, a more distinct ring can be seen because we would be viewing Saturn somewhat "from above". I must admit, Saturn was disappointingly small.

The moon through the smaller free-standing telescopes that were set up looked more impressive in comparison. We were amazed at how fast the moon was moving across the sky; so fast that it kept going out of view on the telescope. Through the telescope, I could actually see the moon creeping!

The overcast sky that night did not allow us to see much more. Even Orion was hidden.

Volunteers at the centre were armed with a green laser pointer to show where the stars were. I made a mental note to try out my red laser pointer I have at home. (I later found out that red ones don't show up well in the sky - read more here) I have seen nature guides use this dandy tool to point at far off points of interest when I go for guided walks and have always wanted to bring it along with me when we go for our nature walks. (But there just seem to be so many things to bring I always forget.:-1

A few nights later as I was enjoying our aquarium in the balcony, I looked up at the sky and saw the distinct kite shape of the Southern Cross! I wasn't sure I identified it correctly so I pulled out our book Stars: A New Way to See Them by Rey (my favourite book on the constellations) to check. True enough, it really was the Southern Cross! I verified by checking the other stars around that constellation. Two other bright stars Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri , belonging to the constellation Centaur, could be seen a little south-east of the Cross. That led me to find more of the stars belonging to Centaur.

I could not contain my excitement any longer. So off I went to dig my boys up from their beds to show them my "discovery"!

Lessons From and On the Harvestman

One of our read aloud chapter this week was The Cheerful Harvestman from Among the Meadow People by Clara Dillingham. I really love how Dillingham weaves in moral issues in each of her chapters that also gives accurate information about the animal she is writing about. Her a"not-so-modern" phrases are a delight to my ears.

In this chapter on the harvestman, we learned the benefits of being good-natured even when teased by other, not to look down on others, how clever it is to "look dull" when others are gossiping, and be cheerful despite misfortune. The harvestman is really MY kind of guy!

For our "English lesson", this read aloud was followed by an oral narration and copywork.

And since we haven't any idea what a harvestman was, we went on the Internet to check it out. We learned that a harvestman is also known as a "Daddy-Long-Legs". Many people mistakenly consider them to be spiders. They are in fact not true spiders. Their head, thorax and abdomen are grown together; having no "waist". They are not venomous. They neither spin webs nor build nests. Instead, they lay their eggs in the soil or under rotting wood. Unlike spiders, they can feed on dead or living prey. Vegetable matter and even juices are also part of their natural diet.

I found a website that gave information that is simple enough for my boys to understand. (Many others had too many scientific jargon.) We read this webpage together and created a table that shows the differences between a harvestman and a spider.

Tabulating information from a given narrative is in my humble opinion a very important and necessary study skill to hone. As such, this little exercise, although quite unrelated to our other studies (We have not gone into zoology yet!), was nevertheless a valuable one.

At the very least, we SHOULD be able to tell a harvestman from a spider... IF we ever encounter one in the future.

Christmas Cookies

We baked more cookies this Christmas week. This time we tried out Auntie E's recipe (Thanks E!). Because of our relative inexperience, we took 3 whole afternoons to do it! One to make the dough (then chill it overnight), the next afternoon to shape them and bake them, and the last, to decorate them with icing.


I think they look quite pretty and temptingly delicious. I left them in two bowls with plastic wraps around them before we packed them on Christmas Day, to be given away...

B: Why do you have to wrap the bowls?
Me: Well, we don't want uninvited guests, like ants and other insects to nibble on them...
B: AND cookie monsters?
(All eyes turned to Daddy)
Me: Yes, AND cookie monsters :-)

This lot was given away to relatives and neighbours... ... ...Well, to be honest, we did have a few "nibbles" ourselves. Just couldn't resist it.

Watching Daddy Gouge

My boys got to see Daddy at work these few days. He has just started out making a new violin. This is him using his gouge to do a rough arching of the back plate. The boys can't help poking their noses in his workroom every now and then. How could anybody not be curious to find out what all that noise is?!


Lots of planning goes into the making. Sometimes Daddy has to design his own tools to work with. That is part of the fun for him. This picture shows a special violin plate rest that holds the plate down while he gouges. It is his very brand new invention! And he is extremely satisfied with it...


Boys cannot resist playing with the wood chips left on his workbench. Look. They make interesting rings ;-)

Baking Cookies

I had always wanted to bake cookies to give away. What better time than this Christmas season to do just that!

We tried out Auntie D's chocolate cookies recipe. (Thanks D!) These were packed with a souvenir bookmark and given as farewell gifts to our friends and teacher at the boys' Yamaha Music class.

My boys are happily rolling the dough and flattening them on the pan here. Super easy and very suitable for children...


Here are my boys, sitting right beside the oven, warmed by the heat, peering in and sniffing the aroma of baking cookies.... mmmmm... ... ... They can't wait to sink their teeth in one of those...

Blogging and Typing

I have grown to like blogging after almost three months at it.

My main reason for blogging was to have a digital record of our homeschool days. Previously, I was recording, with the help of a program called Homeschool Tracker, the material I used and the time we spent on each activity. The program was great and I felt good for a while. But on looking back at the records I have collected thus far, they just seem pretty meaningless to me.

In blogging, however, I get to record what we learn, read about, and what our experiences and thoughts were. In other words, at the end of the day, I get a personal journal of the highlights of my homeschool days. These things are what I want to remember my homeschool days by; not a list of numbers. What's more? Blogging also allows me to share my ideas and resources with other like-minded homeschoolers.

Looks like I will be at it for quite a while more :-)

It then occurred to me that perhaps my children would also enjoy blogging as much as I have. They have seen me blogged. And there were times when I will tell them my plans about what I intend to blog about. They must have caught some of my excitement because they subsequently asked me if they could have their own blogs too!

I was more than willing to help them start one. So far, it has all turned out very well.

My beginner writers now write because they WANT to, and not because mummy said they HAVE to. They even have their own ideas about what topics they want to post. I respect their views of course.

I must admit that I have used blogging as a carrot to motivate them to write. My boys have been used to giving oral narrations after our read aloud sessions. I am starting them out with written narrations. Resistance was great at first. Now, I tell them they can post their written narrations on their blogs and that had been received with great cheer.

The other advantage to blogging is that my boys are now motivated to learn to type the proper way. I have previously started them on a series of typing lessons. But at that time, there wasn't a real need for them to type fast. They were happy typing with their pointers. They weren't interested in completing the lessons. Now that they are blogging, they WANT to learn to type. In fact, they picked up typing (using an online program) in just ONE WEEK!

It is amazing what a difference intrinsic motivation makes to the ease of learning.

So, if you have wee ones at home struggling to write or type, start them blogging!


Visit Rumphius English Webpage to find out more about how we approach English in our homeschool.

Life Skill : Peeling Orange

It is heartwarming to know that my boys are old enough to make themselves useful at home. Of course, they have been helping out around the house quite a fair bit with packing, cleaning, folding of laundered clothes and such tasks.

Recently, D has decided he wanted to try to peel an orange himself. He was motivated by his love for the fruit, a mama that is too lazy to peel for him :-p and a brand new peeler. He worked very hard at it; sprayed juice in his eyes and poked his fingers during the attempt. I was surprised that even after all that hard work, he was willing to share the orange with his brother and I. There were 10 wedges in it. He gave me 4, his brother 3 and 3 for himself! Wow, that was certainly good sharing! I am so proud of him.

D had been designated the officially orange peeler of our family! :-)

Fun at Rumphius : Flag Day

We participated in the Flag Day for Focus on the Family, a Christian organization. We volunteered to sell flags at the Woodlands MRT stations. It was interesting to hypothesize who would or would not donate. We have come to our own conclusions about this but won't tell you because it is so much more fun to discover it yourself!

Well, we clocked two CIP hours... haha...