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Geography - US States

Free hand drawing of the states this week by two of my daughters.

We can take these pages and add them to our States notebook.

Other ideas for studying geography - take flashcards with states on one side and capitals on the other or make a set of cards to use as a match game (write on only side of the cardstock).

Check out Seterra geography games, available online or as an app.

Latin Cards

To study Latin this week, we simply made flashcards!

What:

• Fold cardstock into 8 equal pieces and cut them out. You will need 2 pieces of cardstock to get through the first three weeks of Latin.
• Write one Latin word per card. 
• Flip over the cards and write the English word on the back.  
• (Write in pencil or colored pencils.  We found that markers showed through the cardstock)
• For more fun, add color: colored paper, colored pens, or a colored background or frame.  You could laminate cards if you wanted but certainly not necessary. 

Why:

front

back

• Writing practice (handwriting)
• Spelling practice for both Latin and English
• Forces students to slow down and look at each of the words separately
• Can be used later for drilling words
• Can mix up the cards so that each word is learned individually and not just as a list (This will be particularly important 

Other Ways to Study Latin

Younger than second grade, I do not suggest anything requiring writing.  Simply drill the words orally.

Older students: 

• Write words into a spiral notebook, week by week (with or without looking).
• Write words on a marker board.
• Play a match game. Write words on only one side of cardstock. Make sure the writing does not show through.  

I have a daughter who is project oriented.  She enjoys projects and making flashcards was a much more pleasant experience for her than simply copying the words onto paper.  And with this daughter one project almost always leads to another project where her creativity shines.  She asked me, "What else can I make?" which evolved into her and her sister drawing, coloring and labeling these state pictures.

Ideas for Connecting Timeline with Bible

The first few weeks of our Timeline covers a number of important Biblical events.  Maybe your children already know all the stories of the Old Testament, but I'll be in honest in saying that mine don't, at least not my younger children.  They know bits and pieces, but as we memorize a timeline of the history of the world, I want this to be an opportunity to help my children make those connections.

How do I help my child learn about the pieces of the Timeline?  Not just memorized as a part of the song, but in a way that they can explain some of the terms.

1. First I must familiarize myself with the historical Biblical events.  This may mean reading Genesis and Exodus along with my children or I study ahead of time and summarize it to my younger ones, maybe with the aid of coloring pages or a picture story Bible or some other visuals.

Here are some quick references to help you get started:

(There is additional info on the back of the Timeline cards.)

Creation and the Fall - Genesis 1-3

Flood - Genesis 6-9

Tower of Babel - Genesis 11

Patriarchs of Israel

• Abraham (also known as Abram)
• Isaac
• Jacob (known also as Israel)

Israelite Exodus - Exodus 3-15

Israelite Desert Wandering - latter part of Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy (a little history is also in Leviticus, but this book is primarily laws)

Israelite Conquest - Joshua

Israelite Judges - Judges

Israel's United Kingdom - Kingdom under Saul, David, and Solomon, found in 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings 1-11

2. Define some terms for your child.  For example, "Patriarchs of Israel" means Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  You may already know this and it may seem obvious to you, but your child might not.  When I defined that to my third grader, a light went off for her.  She has heard of Abraham, but didn't know what is a patriarch is.  So, now part of our reviewing memory work is to add in questions such as "who are the partriachs?"  It's sort of a catechism approach to learning: reciting with questions mixed in.  

A funny story: I recently taught my toddlers Ephesians 6:1 "Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right."  My two year old didn't know what "parents" meant.  So, now, I say "children" as a prompt and he says the verse; then I say, "and who are your parents?"  He answers "Mommy and Daddy."  

So what terms may need defining or what questions should I add to our review time?  Here are a few that are possibilities:

• Where in the Bible is Creation? Genesis
• Who is the Creator? God
• What does "the Fall" mean?  when Adam and Eve sinned, all sin afterward
• What was the Flood?  Who was spared?  God sent a flood as judgment over sin; God spared 8 people: Noah, his wife, his three sons, and their wives and also 2 (or 7) of every kind of animal.
• What happened at the tower of Babel? God confused the languages to stop the people from building the tower.
• Who are the patriarchs?  Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
• What does exodus mean?  Leaving (it's when the Israelites left Egypt and were no longer slaves)
• Who led the Israelites during the exodus and desert wandering? Moses
• What does Israelite conquest mean?  The Israelites fight against the pagans living in the Promised Land of Canaan and take the land as their own.
• Who were the kings during Israel's United Kingdom? Samuel, David and Solomon

Note: asking these questions and answering them with your child is only a short conversation, but makes huge connections for your child.  You don't need a fancy Bible curriculum or a workbook or craft supplies or songs or anything.   (This assumes that you and your child do take time to study the Bible in some form, through church, devotions, etc. These questions build on the Bible knowledge already present to make connections.)

3. Go into more depth on one (or more) of these Bible topics. 

You want to learn all the judges names?  Try this song from "What's in the Bible with Buck Denver?"

For another resource, check out my blog post from when my kids were preschoolers on using a coloring book that walks through the Old Testimony.

Diagramming Scripture

I am in process of creating a student workbook that walks you through the process of diagramming Scripture.

I chose the book of Titus in the ESV translation, partly because it is short, and therefore doable for a school year.  

The goal is diagram three verses a week throughout the 24 week CC school year.

There are times that I am not quite sure how to diagram a particular phrase.  In these instances, I will give it my best guess and break down the parts as I can.  Sometimes I will use other translations for clarity and rephrase something to help us understand the meaning and how it fits into the text. Occasionally, I will add a word, such as "is" or "that" for clarity.  These words are implied in the text.

Don't let the first page overwhelm you!! Use it as a reference and move on to page 2 to start breaking down the Scripture.

Click on the Scripture below to download the workbook pages.

Titus 1:1-3

Titus 1:4-6

Titus 1:7-9

“Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”

Day 20 - NATURE CONVERSATION

INSECTS - CICADAS

23 Be glad, O children of Zion,

   and rejoice in the Lord your God,

… 25 I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you.

26 You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God who has dealt wondrously with you. Joel 2:23a, 25-26

NATURE CONVERSATION

Cicadas are not specifically listed in the Bible, but the Bible mentions locusts, grasshoppers and crickets.   Often locusts are mentioned as a plague, as something that will destroy the crops, a result of judgement.  I choose the verse above because God promises to restore what had been destroyed by these insects.

The cicadas in my yard are not particularly destructive, but they can be when they arrive in huge numbers.  I am reminded of Laura Ingalls Wilder's book On the Banks of Plum Creek when the grasshopper took over their crops and she related it to how those in Egypt must have felt (Exodus 10).

24 Four things on earth are small,
    but they are exceedingly wise:
25 the ants are a people not strong,
    yet they provide their food in the summer;
26 the rock badgers are a people not mighty,
    yet they make their homes in the cliffs;
27 the locusts have no king,
    yet all of them march in rank;
28 the lizard you can take in your hands,
    yet it is in kings' palaces.
Proverbs 30:24-28

NATURE JOURNALING/OBSERVATION

I thought about titling this one "The Sounds of Summer."  One of our first observations when going outside is the sounds.  We hear the cicadas singing their songs all day long.  Here's a youTube video of a cicada.

Studying Insects through Questions

NATURE STUDY

Planet Earth video series, Episode 10 "Seasonal Forests", at approx. minute 25-30.  Available on Netflix.

Suggested Reading, Cycle 3

Here are books that we actually read my first time through cycle 3, when my children were in third, second, and kindergarten.  We did not make it through all of the Childhood of Famous American series that I listed, but we actually read (mostly as read alouds) all the others during that year.  This list is not meant to be exhaustive.  I may add to it as we go this year.  We will be reading the books suggested by the Essentials curriculum.  Those are not listed here because I wanted to include books meant for younger elementary.

 

Printable Cycle 3 Reading List

Making Connections

How do we make connections with our memory work?  How do we review and build vocabulary?
This section will be ideas for making those connections from straight rote memory to using the information we are memorizing.

History Crossword Puzzle
This crossword puzzle reviews vocabulary used in Cycle 3 history sentences.

Day 19 - NATURE CONVERSATION

SUN

4 In them he has set a tent for the sun,

5 which comes out like a bridegroom

leaving his chamber,

and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.

6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens,

and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.  

Psalm 19:4c-6

NATURE CONVERSATION

I can sure relate to the "nothing is hidden from its heat" part. I'm outside for only a few minutes and feel like I'm getting a sunburn.

Some things to consider about the sun. First, is that God is creator of the sun. Ancient people often worshiped the sun. Our first day of the week is even called "Sun"day. But we as Christians worship the Creator and not created things. We marvel at God's majesty by observing creation and giving Him glory.

We can dive into discussions about the purpose of the sun. One purpose of the sun stated in Genesis 1 is to measure time. For more on that discussion, see my Nature Day about the moon.

Other purposes of the sun, for discussion and study, are heat energy for plants to grow and a source of light.

NATURE JOURNAL

• Record the temperature at various times of day or in different places (shade, nonshade). We purchased thermometers for use in our experiments from Steve Spangler Science. I don't believe they sell them anymore, but they can be purchased inexpensively on Amazon.
• Track the movement of the sun by watching the shadows.

NATURE STUDY

• Learn the parts of the sun. We did this as part of our CC cycle 2 science.
• Observe and learn about eclipses. There will be a full solar eclipse over North America in August, depending on where you live.
• Study of how sunlight affects our bodies - Vitamin D, sunburns, skin cancer, etc. - as well as how to protect our skin from the sun.
• Observations of how the sun and lack of sun affects plants. If you are into gardening, this is a natural discussion. We plant certain plants where there is full sun (that is, little shade) and other plants in shady areas.

Putting my Kid's Creativity to Work

Summer boredom.  That's where we are right now.  Too hot outside, plus our little ones have been sick, so we can't have friends over or go places.  Here's one activity I found for the kids that was not just busy work.  Creative but useful.

Envelopes for our Money

Our church is going through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University, which encourages you to use cash for budgeting.  We made some cute, durable envelopes and even added Scripture to them. 

These are made with cardstock (some plain and some scrapbooking paper) and tape - colorful duct tape on some and clear packing tape on others.   

My daughters came up with most of the designs and Scriptures themselves.

Day 18 - NATURE CONVERSATION

ANTS

6 Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.

7 Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, 8 she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.

Proverbs 6:6-8

Nature Conversation

Our yard is covered in ant beds. So, this has been a main topic when we are outside. (In fact, these ants seem to be making their way into our house. ....) So, today, we read portions of Proverbs 6 and Proverbs 30 and discussed how the ants are busy in the summertime. They are self-motivated, not needing a ruler to direct them. Are we self-motivated like that? Or are we like the sluggard described in the following verses?

We struggle during the summer - with it too hot to be outside. We easily sunburn and the heat seems to drain our energy and make us cranky. However, God does not want us to be lazy and waste our summer. We need to be as diligent as ants in making the use of our time, doing whatever the Lord calls us to do.

Nature Journaling

• Proverbs 30 is filled with imagery, word pictures. My girls were inspired to draw based on some of these word pictures. It mentions ants, but also includes roosters, snakes, eagles, lizards, etc.
• Make record of size and locations of anthills. 
• Take time to watch ants. Not just the "watch out for ants" as you spend time outside, but watch ants to observe where are they going? Are they following other ants or out alone? Are they carrying food on their backs? How far do they venture from their homes? A lot can be learned by simple observation.

Nature Study

• Identify types of ants.
• If the Bible identifies ants as wise, why do they bite us? This is a paraphrased question from one of my kids. Dive into the protective instincts and abilities of different creatures. Also, see the discussion about Animal/Human Interactions.
• Explore/research what works for pest control.

Nature Connections

Aesop's Fable: "The Grasshopper and the Ant"

We sang this song this morning: it has a part that says, "Learn a lesson from the bugs."

Cycle 3, Week 2

Science

Them Not So Dry Bones by School House Rocks

History

Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

Liberty Bell Activities

• Watch National Treasure (not suitable for all ages, rated PG)
• Dot-to-Dot Liberty Bell to put in your notebook
• Watch Dick Van Dyke season 5 episode 8 "Odd but True," available on Netflix.  Not super educational, but I love this show and so do my kids. I like when TV shows connect to what we are learning - pegs in their brains are forming through repetition of concepts.

Books to Read, relating to the Geography

• Adventures of Taxi Dog, by Debra and Sal Barracca
• The Mystery at Snowflake Inn, Boxcar Children Series, by Gertrude Chandler Warner, set in Vermont
• Raising Yoder's Barn by Jane Yolen (set in Pennsylvania)
• Homespun Sarah, by Verla Kay (set in 1700s)
• Stories about Milton Hershey (Pennsylvania) - we have the audio version of the YWAM publishing: Heroes of History

These are set in New York, but might be studied later on, with discussions of immigration

• A Picnic in October, by Eve Bunting
• The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco
• Draw the statue of liberty
• Draw (or build with legos!) things from the New York skyline

Thomas A. Edison, Young Inventor, by Sue Guthridge of the  Childhood of Famous Americans (New Jersey)  You might save this one for later in the year, when we get to the early 1900s and we learn about builders of industry.

Day 17 - NATURE CONVERSATION

STONES/NATURE IN GENERAL

38“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”  Luke 19:38-40

NATURE CONVERSATION

This morning my kids and I sang together "Ain't No Rock," a song inspired by the above Scripture.

"Ain't no rock gonna cry in my placeAs long as I'm alive I'll glorify His Holy name."

There are a few other verses that speak of creation responding in worship to God or in anticipation of Him setting things right.

NATURE JOURNAL

Make a list of things God created, as you see them. This may seem elementary, but the activity makes you slow down for a moment and ponder all the different aspects of creation. It may inspire a poem or drawing or it may inspire a moment of awe and worship. It might also inspire questions in need of further study.


One of the main purposes of the nature journaling is to slow down because in slowing down we have time to observe. The process of observation leads to internalizing. It also leads to curiousity and wonder.

NATURE STUDY

Take time to study something in depth, inspired by your time out in nature.

STATES NOTEBOOKING

Our states notebook is filled with all kinds of activities, information, maps, and memories.  It is not in the least bit fancy - it was done by pre-schoolers through 3rd graders.  

So, lay off the idea that it needs to be perfect or you need to have it all planned out from the beginning - just get started!

My regional dividers were just construction paper, like the one posted here.  We occasionally added maps of various regions, that I printed from online.

I like using these pages that have a place for drawing and a place for writing.  The kids can write the name of the state and anything else that stands out to them.  They can draw a picture of anything that relates to that state.  For younger students, the parent can do the writing.

Our family started on this states' notebook more than 5 years ago and added to it for a few years.  I only recently pulled it off the shelf, since we are going to focus on US history and geography this year.  I love to look back at what we learned and see the work that my kids did a few years ago.  I don't keep most of their drawings or schoolwork, but just a few of these notebooks - based on year or on subject.

Begin your USA states notebook.  

• Trace the states on tracing paper.
• Insert your sheets from your states coloring book.
• Add a drawing related to books on the states or history events on the states or whatever theme you choose.
• Have your child write the name, capital, and abbreviation on one of the pages in the notebook (coloring sheet or drawing or traced page).
• Copy a USA map and have students color just the states you are working on for the week.

Activities Related to the States

• If you know someone in these states or you have been there previously or you are traveling there, add extra to your notebook.  For example, save brochures from a place you visited or call your uncle who live in that state and let him tell you something extra about the state.  (For us, that would be pictures of alligators from the Everglades in FL or drawing a picture of a train after talking to an uncle who has worked at the railroad in NE for 40 years. 

 Other samples of what we included in our notebook

Artwork, book reports or summaries with illustrations, flags, Draw Write Now inspired drawings, etc

Ohio, spelled with appleseeds and gun for Annie Oakley

picture for Alabama, Draw Write Now provided instructions for drawing bus

covered wagon drawing and summary of a Little House book

Cycle 3 Week 1

Get off to a great start, but keep it simple.  Pace yourself.  If your oldest child is second grade or younger, don't do much book work at all.  

History

• Connecting History, Geography, and Timeline
• Draw Write Now, book 2
• Read a book or two about Columbus from the library
• Geography, History, and Timeline Connection - this activity goes with week 1, but is better if combined with the knowledge of the next few weeks.
• Animated Hero Classics: Christopher Columbus

Geography

These are just suggestions to get you started.  Don't feel like you need to cover every state in detail.  You can begin the notebook with just one page per state and build it over lots of time, years even.

Begin your USA states notebook.  

• Trace the states on tracing paper.
• Insert your sheets from your states coloring book.
• Add a drawing related to books on the states or history events on the states or whatever theme you choose.
• Have your child write the name, capital, and abbreviation on one of the pages in the notebook (coloring sheet or drawing or traced page).
• Copy a USA map and have students color just the states you are working on for the week.

Activities Related to the States

• Read books related to the states or geographical area.
• Cook recipes related to those states.
• Practice states songs, capitals, abbreviations.  Maybe even learn the nicknames.
• States puzzles.
• If you know someone in these states or you have been there previously or you are traveling there, add extra to your notebook.  For example, save brochures from a place you visited or call your uncle who live in that state and let him tell you something extra about the state.  (For us, that would be pictures of alligators from the Everglades in FL or drawing a picture of a train after talking to an uncle who has worked at the railroad in NE for 40 years. 

Week 1 Specific Ideas

• Blueberries for Sal, by Robert McCloskey
  
• Cocoa Ice, by Diana Applewood
• Snowflake Bentley, by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
• Learn about snow - cold weather for these states
  
  
• Abbie Against the Storm, by Marcia Vaughan
• Draw a lighthouse
  
• The Boxcar Children, by Gertrude Chandler Warner (set in CT)
  
• Finding Providence - The Story of Roger Williams by Avi
• Start watching Liberty Kids - it goes along with the first few history sentences and includes some of these states. 
• Draw Write Now, book 5 - begin learning the original colonies

Cycle 3 Lesson Planning

What should CC look like at home?  Do I need to supplement?

Keep it simple!! Practice the memory work and get it into your brains.

Here are some ways to enhance that learning and to make connections with the memory work.

LATIN

The Latin memory work will make for good copywork and/or spelling.  It is also an opportunity to review previous cycles of CC English Grammar topics.  

Week 1 - Students write four English words and four Latin words.  Review what is a preposition from Cycle 1, if you have already done CC before.  Even young students can copy words and learn to spell prepositions.  (If your students are pre-K or K, writing is not necessary.  Auditory learning is fine!)  

Most Latin weeks of this cycle lend well to just auditory repetition and copywork or writing from memory for older students.

GEOGRAPHY

• Sing states and state capital songs.
• Trace the states.
• Do USA puzzles.
• Create a USA notebook
• Find books related to various areas of geography - Week by Week, I will recommend any that we have liked.

The pace for the states is super fast - 5 a week for 10 weeks.  This makes studying each one in depth challenging.  My recommendation is to memorize the geography through pointing, tracing, coloring and puzzles.  Then, throughout the year, do activities and read books about different parts of the country.  These things can be added to your USA notebook throughout the year.

MATH

Younger students - have fun with numbers, learning to skip count.  Pre-K and K students need to learn to write and recognize number and practice counting.  Older students, this is probably easy, and frees up time to work on their grade level math curriculum.

ENGLISH 

Weeks 5-17 make for good spelling practice, especially for younger students or struggling spellers. 

All the other weeks of English Grammar memory work will greatly help in Essentials program when  your students are in 4th-6th grades.  This information is the exact same as the charts they will be memorizing then.  Just practice the memory work.  If you want to add more, keep it simple - not a lot of grammar worksheets.  Instead, just point out these pieces of grammar in whatever story books you are reading with your kids.  They can recognizing "ing" words or the subject or an infinitive.  

If I come across any different or fun ways to incorporate the memory work,  I will list them out on the Week by Week page.

SCIENCE & HISTORY

Read books and make observations and watch videos and have discussions.  When appropriate, present what you are learning at presentation time, in an essay (either written or just dictated to an adult by the student), or through creative outlets - such as making up songs or chants or hand motions, drawing, making posters, doing experiments or other art.

I will list out specific book and project ideas in the Week by Week section.  Don't feel like you need to do tons of activities - but a few are definitely helpful to enhance learning.

TIMELINE

See the separate Timeline section, where I list out books that go well with Timeline or with other activity ideas.

Memorize the timeline through song and motions.  Read or listen to the audio of Story of the World.

Have conversations with your children about Timeline events to help them piece it together with events in the Bible or with your History sentences or with whatever shows you watch or books you read.

Day 16 - NATURE CONVERSATION

  CLOUDS

34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds

   and cover yourself with a flood of water?

35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?

   Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?

36 Who gives the ibis wisdom

   or gives the rooster understanding?

37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?

   Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens

38 when the dust becomes hard

   and the clods of earth stick together?  Job 38:34-38

NATURE CONVERSATION

One day I had the Cloud Book and went outside with the kids. "Let's study the clouds today," I said. But we looked up and not a single cloud in the sky.

Weather can be unpredictable. But actually clouds help to predict the weather. God alone controls the weather, but we can make predictions. Where do lightening bolts come from? They occur in cumulonimbus clouds - in the tall clouds. The taller the clouds, the more the electric charge. Even though we can explain weather with science, it is God who controls the weather and sends rain or withholds.

In the passage above, God is speaking to Job, reminding him, through questions, that man does not command the weather, but He does.

NATURE JOURNAL

Observe the clouds. Sketch the sky.

Take pictures of the sky.

Record the types of clouds in the sky. What type of weather is indicated?

NATURE STUDY

Learn the types of clouds.

Make weather predictions based on the clouds.

Observe and record weather patterns.
Do activities related to the water cycle.

Geography, History, and Timeline Connection

We made this poster years ago.  We have referred to it many times.  The process in making a visual to connect pieces of information is valuable, whether you keep the visual for years or not.

Here's what we did and how it connects with our curriculum.

You will need

• poster board
• printed out blank map pages of Europe, South America, North America (and Africa if you choose).
• pictures of Spanish conquistadores, Columbus, sailing ships, etc.
• colored pencils, crayons, or markers
• you could also draw your own pictures- if students are older

Color and cut out pictures and maps.  I originally did this project with young elementary students so I kept it simple.  Just coloring and rough cut outs.  Then, we glued on the pieces of the map and the various pictures we found.  I just colored in a rough version of Africa, rather than finding one to print.  Africa wasn't really in the lesson anyway.  Then, with a marker we added the lines for the routes of various explorers.    We focused on Columbus, the conquistadors, a few English voyages (Pilgrims and Roanoke and Jamestown).  

• You could do this type of activity for the various explorers, not just to the Americas.
• You could also print maps and pictures with any history/geography topic.  The visual helps students make connections to times and places and events.

Atoms and Elements - Activities

Learning Chemistry is tough.  Teaching Chemisty is tough.  How do we explain chemistry concepts to elementary students?  It's difficult to explain that which is to small to see.  We found a few craft ideas to help us to understand the make up of atoms.  Let's get started!

We printed out these element worksheets from Half a Hundred Acre Wood.   You don't necessarily need a worksheet like this - you can just write on blank paper.  Write the name of each element: the full name and the letter abbreviation.  The numbers found on the periodic table tell you: the atomic number and the atomic mass.  Atomic number = number of protonsNumber of protons = number of electrons Atomic Mass = protons + neutrons Have your students figure these numbers out on paper before getting to the craft part.

Example: Boron, B, atomic number is 5.  So there are 5 protons and 5 electrons.  The atomic mass is 11.  So there are 6 neutrons (11- 5 = 6).

Now, with a basic understanding of these terms and numbers, here comes the creative part!

You will need

• coffee filters
• markers or colored pencils
• decorations (stickers, jewels, anything fairly small)

1. Glue coffee filter to colored paper.
2. Color a circle in the middle for the nucleus.
3. Label the name of the element - full name and abbreviation.
4. Use three different types of decorations to make the protons, neutrons, and electrons.  For example, three types of stickers or three different color jewels. 
5. Add correct number of electrons on the outer, white area of the coffee filter
6. Add the correct number of neutrons and protons inside the nucleus.
7. Add a hand-drawn picture of something you know about that element.  (optional)
8. Make a booklet or place in notebook of all the different elements you have learned.

Another option: Follow the directions on the Half a Hundred Acre Wood page on making atomic cookies.

 Other activities for learning about elements, atoms and the periodic table:

• Find coloring sheets to go along with different elements.  Add them to your notebook.
• Play Periodic Table Battleship
• Print out a blank periodic table and label them.  We printed a filled-in version and a blank version.  We cut up the filled-in version and used it as a sort of matching game.
• Learn more about the Periodic Table
• We picked up a resource book at the bookstore.  
• Get or make flashcards.  Check out Half a Hundred Acre Woods for more ideas!
• Disappearing Spoon.  I read this book and found it very interesting.  It explains a lot about Chemistry and different stories relating to the periodic table.  It's not really something I would read aloud to children, but interesting and informative to any adult or teenager wanting to know more about the periodic table.