Living Without School: Boomerangs and the Crusades

Friday, March 30, 2007

Boomerangs and the Crusades

These two items do not usually go together ~ but, they have, this week, in our homeschooling.

Wednesday at Group Learning we continued with our topic of Medieval Times. The kids made mini catapults

(or trebuchets) for craft. I worked with the Seniors ( teens) on the topic of The Crusades.

We watched some of the movie The Kingdom of Heaven and discussed the historical accuracies and inaccuracies of the film. And I enjoyed looking at Liam Neeson and Orlando Bloom ( they are kinda cute. :-) ).

We read and talked about the Crusades - a definition, the different crusades, the Albigensian heresy.

I then had the teens break into two groups - Muslims and Crusaders.We formed a Muslim-Crusader Dating Service. Each group had to think of positive attributes of their group and of ways to put a positive spin on any negative attributes. I provided books for research...

Then, they made posters - trying to get the other group to date them!

There was a lot of fun and chatter and I hope the kids had a good time, while learning about the Crusades.

And the boomerangs? They were yesterday's activity.

Alexander is reading through a Physics textbook and I like to add in hands on stuff for everyone to do. I found the boomerang activity in the book Teaching Physics With Toys.

Students explore why a boomerang "sticks around."

The boys made the boomerangs and added in modifications after testing their flight path.They became familiar with the lift force resulting from the flow of air over a wing and with the ability of a force to cause the rotation of an object.

The spinning boomerang behaves very much like a spinning gyroscope, and the rotation is known as gyroscopic precession. The stability of the spinning boomerang against unwanted motions caused by small forces is known as gyroscopic stability.

You learn something new every day.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...: You are so clever! What a fun study.; 2:27 pm
Leonie said...: Mary, we've had fun! Next week, we are working on Easter Vigil notebooks, for Holy Week...; 4:11 pm
Anonymous said...: Hey Leonie - I have that book!! I haven't looked at it in years, thanks for the reminder! Have fun with the notebooks, we're planning the same thing. I'm also preparing for the Liturgy of Light presentation at the atrium, so some of that will be incorporated at home...our Christmas candle will become our paschal candle with changes of the wax cut-outs ;-) and we've got to finish turning our Christmas tree trunk into a cross...; 11:45 pm
Leonie said...: Nice ideas for home and for the atrium, Beate..; 7:42 am

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Prayer of Consecration of St. Maximilian Kolbe

O Immaculata, Queen of Heaven and earth, refuge of sinners and our most loving Mother, God has willed to entrust the entire order of mercy to thee. I, N___, a repentant sinner, cast myself at thy feet humbly imploring thee to take me with all that I am and have, wholly to thyself as thy possession and property. Please make of me, of all my powers of soul and body, of my whole life, death and eternity, whatever most pleases thee. If it pleases thee, use all that I am and have without reserve, wholly to accomplish what was said of thee: "She will crush your head," and, "Thou alone have destroyed all heresies in the whole world."

Let me be a fit instrument in thine Immaculate and merciful hands for introducing and increasing the maximum in all the many strayed and indifferent souls, and thus help extend as far as possible the blessed Kingdom of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus. For wherever thou enters, one obtains the grace of conversion and growth in holiness, since it is through thy hands that all graces come to us from the most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

V. Allow me to praise thee O Sacred Virgin.
R. Give me strength against thy enemies.

Prayer of St Bonaventure

Pierce, O most Sweet Lord Jesus, my inmost soul with the most joyous and healthful wound of Thy love, with true, serene, and most holy apostolic charity, that my soul may ever languish and melt with love and longing for Thee, that it may yearn for Thee and faint for Thy courts, and long to be dissolved and to be with Thee.Grant that my soul may hunger after Thee, the bread of angels, the refreshment of holy souls, our daily and supersubstantial bread, having all sweetness and savor and every delight of taste; let my heart ever hunger after and feed upon Thee, upon whom the angels desire to look, and may my inmost soul be filled with the sweetness of Thy savor; may it ever thirst after Thee, the fountain of life, the fountain of wisdom and knowledge, the fountain of eternal light, the torrent of pleasure, the richness of the house of God.May it ever compass Thee, seek Thee, find Thee, run to Thee, attain Thee, meditate upon Thee, speak of Thee, and do all things to the praise and glory of Thy name, with humility and discretion, with love and delight, with ease and affection, and with perseverance unto the end.May Thou alone be ever my hope, my entire assurance, my riches, my delight, my pleasure, my joy, my rest and tranquility, my peace, my sweetness, my fragrance, my sweet savor, my food, my refreshment, my refuge, my help, my wisdom, my portion, my possession and my treasure, in whom may my mind and my heart be fixed and firmly rooted immovably henceforth and for ever. Amen.