Chocolate Unit Study {+ Even More Chocolately Resources}

We used a pre-made unit study by Amanda Bennett because homeschooling while taking care of a 4-month-old baby is HARD I was too lazy to make a unit study from scratch. Turns out, we had a blast!

Read on and look on to see what we did AND to find even more chocolately goodness (in the form of resources for learning about chocolate).

We started each day with a cup of hot chocolate with little floating marshmallows, how else?

Social Studies/History/Geography:

Because cacao trees grow in places within 20 degrees of the equator, we learned a lot about rainforests, especially the Brazilian rainforest and its Amazon River.

We watched videos and read about the layers of the rainforest, even sketching out our own rendition:

We learned all about cacao trees, cacao pods, and the process of turning those football-sized pods into what we now as chocolate. We read about the Mayas and Aztecs involvement with chocolate and charted its journey from the Americas to Europe.

In doing so, we read about Milton Hershey, Henri Nestle, and John Cadbury.

Reading:

Having already read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl and The Chocolate Touch by Patrick Skene Catling (both of which I recommend), we found another choco-centric book like:

Memory-making:

We learned about different kinds of chocolate: dark chocolate with high cacao precentages, milk chocolate, and white chocolate, which we learned can't be considered a chocolate at all.

And, of course, what kind of chocolate unit study would be complete without SAMPLING all the chocolately goodness. We ate more than a fair share of Cadbury Mini Eggs,

Hershey's Chocolate Bar,

Lindt Lindor Truffles,

and Nestle's Milk Chocolate Syrup for glasses of creamy chocolate milk.

We visited the local Ghirardelli Chocolate Outlet and Ice Cream Shop:

Games:

We laughed it up playing a Cadbury Machine Chocolate Game.

Aidyn and I enjoyed this chocolate unit study and wish we could've spent even more time delving into the rich history of chocolate. I highly recommend Amanda Bennett's Chocolate Challenge Unit Study, if you would rather not piece it together yourself. 

If you'd like to take you chocolate adventures further, check out these fun links to more chocolately goodness:

Free Chocolate Unit Study Lapbook Printables at Homeschool Share

Pinterest Ideas for a Chocolate Unit Study

Chocolate-Themed Learning from Mrs. Jackson's Class

Chocolate Unit Study from Adventures in Homeschooling

Chocolate- A Unit Study by Learning Treasures

Chocolate Recipes for Kids at Kidspot

Chocolate-Themed Books at Teaching Heart

Chocolate Factories to Explore around the World

Thank you for reading and following along with our adventures with chocolate!

Field Trip Friday: The State Theater in Modesto

On Valentine's Day, we went to the State Theater located in Modesto, Ca. The theater opened Christmas Day in 1934 and is the only original theater from that time to last through the years.

 

Picture from meyersound.com

We met up with our homeschool group, got free popcorn, and took our seats in the beautiful theater.

We watched a short documentary detailing the history of the State Theater and its youth education programs. Afterward they showed vintage cartoons including Betty Boop and her pup Pudgy. This little outing fit perfectly with our History of Animation and Film Unit Study.

Aidyn enjoying his popcorn.

Afterward, the kids put on a talent show. A high schooler played "The Star-Spangled Banner" on an electric guitar, another sang "Let It Go" from Frozen, another performed stand-up comedy, a young man demonstrated some red belt karate moves and broke some boards with his heel and fist, and a family performed a funny skit of "Little Red Riding Hood."

All the kids gathered on stage for a group photo and received Valentine's treats. After, the theater played upbeat music and allowed the kids to dance on stage. I wasn't sure if my shy guy would dance in front of all those people, but he did! I have several blurry photos of him dancing (or jumping?) on stage with a group of other enthusiastic dancers.

This was an adorable little field trip and we're planning another visit soon.

The History of Animation and Film Unit Study: Part Two

This unit study is inspired by Walt Disney World's park Disney's Hollywood Studio. We have never been to Disney World but are playing with the idea of a 2015 vacation there. Our unit studies are our fun and educational way to build excitement for that adventure.

We just recently returned from a whirlwind trip to San Marcos, Ca, for a wedding, a week at the Disneyland and California Adventure Park, and the Tinker Bell Half Marathon on Sunday. I am exhausted! Check back later for pictures of the trip and the race!

Before we left, Aidyn and I learned all about early film history from the 1820s to 1919. To see Part One where we watched early films and made a zoetrope, click here.

We watched some early silent films, including Mack Sennett's Keystone Kops and some very early Charlie Chaplin films while he worked with Mack Sennett.

Mack Sennett's An Interrupted Elopement (1912)

Mack Sennett's The Bangville Police (1914) First appearance of Keystone Kops

Mack Sennett's Making a Living (1914) First appearance by Charlie Chaplin

We read about Mack Sennett in his youth and how he dreamed of making movies with the book Mack Made Movies by Don Brown.

This is such a sweet book about his determination to realize his dream. It also echoed some terms we have been learning such as slapstick, Kinetoscope, nickelodeons, and other movie-related vocabulary.

Mack Made Movies inspired interest in Charlie Chaplin, so we watched snippets of the film Chaplin (1992 with Robert Downey Jr. as Chaplin). I would not recommend children watch this movie straight through as there are some scenes involving nudity that may be inappropriate to young viewers. I had seen the movie many times so I was careful which scene to choose.

Chaplin (1992) trailer

We watched scenes about his early childhood, vaudeville performances, unstable mother, and fascination with film. We also watched all scenes with Mack Sennett (played by Dan Aykroyd) and compared what we saw to the book.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Aidyn and I began reading The Invention of Hugo Cabret, a graphic-heavy dark novel about an orphaned clock keeper boy with secrets. Later in the book, we will meet Georges Melies, whom we have become familiar with in the last few weeks with his films The Vanishing Lady (1896), The Haunted Castle (1896) first horror film, our favorite A Trip to the Moon (1902), and Cinderella (1912).

While we were at Disneyland, we learned a bit more about animation and early film with a tour of the Disney Animation building inside Disney California Adventures.

Fun animator's desk at Off the Page

Inside the Animation building

We were fascinated by a Toy Story zoetrope inside and must have watched it for a solid ten minutes.

The zoetrope was a circular stand with Toy Story figurines in slightly different motions. As the zoetrope spins and the lights blink on and off, the figures appear to move.

Here is a video (not mine) of the Toy Story zoetrope:

After checking that out, we headed to the Animation Academy where we learned to draw Goofy from a real animator. At this point, we were so involved in the activity, I forgot to take pictures!

Here's a video (not mine) of the Animation Academy drawing Mickey Mouse.

Over on Main Street in Disneyland, completely by accident, we stumbled upon a few coin-operated mutoscopes.

Inside were flipbooks that turn as the viewer cranks the handle. We found one entitled "The Adventures of Charlie Chaplin." What luck!

"Forbidden Sweets" was aptly named for this mutoscope inside The Candy Palace.

We are still having a blast with this unit study, so check back soon for more. This week we're exploring cartoons and films from the 1920s including Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Felix the Cat, Charlie Chaplin, and early Mickey Mouse shorts. 

Ancient Egypt Unit Study

The breadth of this unit study lasted close to three weeks, so I will try to remember everything we did!

Geography:

We learned about the geography of Egypt and created a simple map. We learned that the Nile River flows northward and splits off into a delta.

Painting the Red Sea

Painting Egypt

Finished piece

Writing:

We learned about many different ancient Egyptian gods, and Aidyn created his own god: a half-tiger, half-man god.

We learned all about pyramids and what was stored in them.

Reading:

For fun, we read Who's Your Mummy? by R.L. Stine

And Bill and Pete Go Down the Nile by Tomie dePaola

And the hilarious Skippy Jon Jones in Mummy Trouble by Judy Schachner.

Aidyn also learned to read some Egyptian words.

Hands-on Learning/Art:

We made hieroglyph stamps using potatoes. 

We read about how the early Mesopotamians  made cuneiform tablets while the Egyptians made papyrus. We made both to see which was easier to make and which was most durable.

Mixing the batter for cuneiform tablets.

Rolling out the dough.

Carving messages.

Then we baked the tablets to harden them.

We read about ancient Egyptians who used reed to make papyrus. Without reed around, we substituted with strips of paper.

Dipping the paper strip in the flour-and-water mixture.

Laying the strips evenly.

He loved dunking his fingers in the goo.

Afterward we smashed blueberries to make blueberry ink.

I don't have pictures, but we waited for the papyrus to dry and wrote on it using the blueberry ink. The writing was very light at first, but once it dried it was a solid blue-red color. We noted that the papyrus seemed pretty fragile and the coloring could easily be washed away if it water got on it. Cuneiform tablets, though heavier and harder to make, were much more resistant to destruction.

We also constructed our own Nile River. We put dirt in a large pan and divided it down the middle for the river. We lay aluminum foil on the bottom and used rocks to keep it down.

We planted grass seeds along the banks, and Aidyn flooded the Nile.

Again, no pictures, but now our Nile has grass sprouted on either side of it!

World Religions/Mythologies

We read about Osiris and many other Egyptian gods. We also watched some Christian mythologies, The Prince of Egypt and Joseph, King of Dreams.

Prince of Egypt trailer

Joseph, King of Dreams trailer

He watched them both a few times and absolutely loved The Prince of Egypt.

(Gross) Science Experiment:

We peeled and carved seven apples to represent mummies and set them in different variations of preservatives to see which would last the longest. We got busy around this time, so the poor apple-heads were sitting pretty for two weeks.

Isn't he gorgeous?

Not so bad.

He's seen better days.

He was our most eligible apple--a 50/50 mix of epsom salt and table salt did wonders for his skin.

Speaks for itself.

Overall, this was a pretty gross but entertaining (and educational!) little experiment. (excuse the boxes in the background; we're in the process of moving.)

We had a blast learning about ancient Egypt!

We just started a Kindness Project unit study, so check back to see what we do!