Grade 3 - Weeks 17 and 18

Country: Germany
Science: Rivers and Lakes

Bible Verse:

Matthew 11:29-30


Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Matthew 6:19


Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.


We have left France and traveled to Germany. We have been reading many of the German Fairy tales by the Grimm brothers. When the girls were little, I thought some of these were too scary but they are old enough now to understand them.

I also found some information on cuckoo clocks on the Internet and presented this to the girls and as a surprise, I brought out my cuckoo clock. We have the “hunter” version which a bird on top versus the “chateau” version. See I even learned something. I didn’t have the clock up when the girls were little because I thought they would pull on the chains. I had forgotten that you had to pull the chains up every day….

We have also been reading about Martin Luther and Luther Wesley as part of our Religion.

Since Germany is well known for it’s castles, we had to make a castle. The first one we made from cardboard. The second ones were little kits similar to our Eiffel towers. Anna did very good on hers again until the end where some parental assistance was needed. I ended up gluing the last few pieces to keep them in place.

We are studying more birds, frogs, and snakes in our animal book. We also did an experiment to see which would freeze first, salt water or fresh water. We were lucky to have subzero temperatures and just put the containers on the deck – and we didn’t have to wait too long. We also enjoyed the experiment of what happens to a cup of boiling water thrown up into the air in subzero temperatures. The girls always enjoy watching this from the house while mom gets to go outside and actually “do” the experiment.

We did an Newt/Salamander Experiment about how they hear even though they don’t have external ears. They feel the vibrations on the surfaced where they are standing. Closer sounds cause stronger vibrations. We put a cookie sheet on the table and sprinkled salt on it. We than hit it with a wooden spoon. The salt moves because the pan molecules vibrate. We also talked about how deaf people can feel the vibrations of sound.

They also suggested we build a model of a river outside with hills and valleys. Now how do you do this in MN in the winter???? Especially with one kid on crutches.