By contributing writer Marci

This month at The Happy Housewife, homeschoolers have been talking about pirates. Arrr!!! (Couldn’t resist!)  See all of our Talk Like a Pirate Day Activities here.

When I asked my kids what they wanted to learn about pirates, I was looking for boats, sailing, navigation, swords, gold or the ocean. Instead, they told me parrots. How could I forget the pirate’s parrot?

Why did pirates have parrots?

The pirates that we, in the United States, are most familiar with roamed the Caribbean Sea and nearby shores. They would often capture exotic animals like monkeys and parrots because of the great price they would fetch elsewhere in the world.

It is highly unlikely that a pirate captain would stroll around with a parrot on his shoulder as a pet. Although, in the book “Treasure Island”, Long John Silver did just that, forever joining the pirate and the parrot in our minds.

Where do parrots live?

Parrots are a group of approximately 372 species of birds (including macaws, Amazon parrots, cockatiels, parakeets, and cockatoos) that live in the warm tropical and subtropical regions of the world. The greatest diversity of parrots can be found in South America and the region stretching across Australia, New Zealand and New Guinea.

What do parrots eat?

Parrots eat fruit, nuts, seeds and some insects. Their large, strong bills allow them to crack into even the hardest of nuts. The long claws of the parrot, along with their amazing dexterity, allow them to use their feet to assist in eating, re-positioning the food for a better grip and bite.

Are parrots smart?

We have all probably heard a parrot using human words. Most parrots species are just mimicking what they hear, not really conversing. However, there have been studies done that have shown the African Gray Parrot can actually learn what words mean and put them into simple sentences on their own.

Parrots can also use tools, problem solve and solve puzzles.

Parrot Information and Activities

ParrotsInternational.org – Tons of Parrot information, videos and images

Parrot Crafts

• Squaking Parrot – simple parrot craft using colored construction paper cut into basic shapes
• Sock Parrot – super cute parrot made with a pair of red socks

Parrot Mimic Game – The leader says a sentence and the other participants (the parrots) try to mimic the sentence. Start with short sentences and get progressively harder. Try one or two sentences. See how far you can go.

Parrot Map Activity – Get out your world map and find where parrots are located. Start general and then look up a few of your favorite parrot species and locate where they live on the world map.

Parrot Species Search – www.parrotspecies.org

Parrot Coloring Pages

• Bird Channel
• Animal Place

More Homeschool Science from Marci

My kids are fascinated by a compass. I love to capitalize on my children’s interests in school so I decided to teach them how to make a compass.

If your kid’s have never seen a compass, have them read a few pirate books and they’ll become familiar with this navigational device very quickly.

In fact, every September my kids start asking for books and activities about pirates in anticipation of Talk Like a Pirate Day. In fact, we end up having month-long pirate fun because the kids start planning treasure hunts and other activities for each other.

A few years ago I planned an entire unit study based on the Magic Treehouse Research Guide about Pirates by Mary Pope Osborne. One of my kids’ favorite activities was learning how to make a compass that actually worked.

(If you haven’t read the Magic Treehouse series with your kids I highly recommend it. Even my super fidgety boys loved these books!)

The best part about this homeschool science project is that you already have these items in your house. No last minute trips to the store to pick up the supplies and end up with six boxes of BOGO pop tarts in your cart. (Oh, is this just my kids???)

How to Make a Compass

Whether you’re studying pirates, magnets, magnetic fields, or directions, this is an easy science activity to include in your homeschool week.

Supplies Needed

• Paper plate
• Ball of clay
• Sharpened pencil
• Horseshoe magnet
• Science notebook or piece of paper

I realize not everyone has a horseshoe magnet in their house- however if you are a homeschool family you probably do. Because homeschool families have all the science things. ALL OF THEM. 

Instructions

When you’re ready to try it out, have your kids:

1. put their clay in the center of the paper plates.
2. place the pencil into the clay {eraser side down} so it stands up straight .
3. balance the horseshoe magnet on the tip of the pencil and watch what happens.
4. record their observations by drawing and/or writing in their notebooks.

What’s Happening

The magnet, if balanced well, will spin until it comes to a rest in a north-south direction. If you have a real compass in the house, pull it out to check the accuracy of your handmade one.

Just like the needle of a compass, the horseshoe magnet is affected by the magnetic field of the earth. And, as opposites attract, the south pole of the magnet points toward earth’s magnetic north pole.

More hands-on science fun!

One benefit of homeschooling is that you can teach your children practical life skills. While I believe “sense of direction” is something people are born with (for example my sister and I can go someplace once and it is forever ingrained in our memory- my brother had a hard time finding his way home from high school his senior year). I think kids should be taught how to read a map.

Understanding North, East, South, and West is an important part of learning directions.

Once your children have finished  making their own compass, reinforce the cardinal directions with this worksheet.

Your children will use the compass on the worksheet to become more familiar with the directions.

After they have completed the worksheet you can continue the exercise with a globe or map.

Another fun activity is to figure out which way your house faces and then give directions using only North, South, East, West. It’s a great practical activity for your kids.

By contributing writer Marci

Let’s say your little pirate wants to take a trip out to sea, the pool or just the bathtub. He or she will probably need to take supplies. It would be helpful to know which of the supplies sink and which ones float.

Sometimes, kids can just guess and be right. Other times, they are surprised at the result. You can explain to them it’s all about density, but that probably won’t mean much. Try this simple sink or float experiment with your buccaneer to help them learn about and understand density.

Sink or Float Science Experiment

1. Collect random objects of different weights and shapes from around the house, such as marbles, stick matches, Hot Wheel cars, spoons (plastic and metal), grapes, or anything that can get wet.
2. Use a dishpan, large bowl, plastic container, sink, or bathtub  and fill your container with water.
3. You are going to place each of your objects into the water, but before you do, make predictions about whether each one will sink or float.
4. Carefully, place each object into the water.  Dropping them hard or throwing them will impact what they do without being scientific.
5. Record if the object floats or sinks and discuss why.

Why Did It Sink or Float?

A determining factor in why objects sink or float  in water is density. If an object sinks in water, then it has greater density than the water. Density is a measure of an object’s mass relative to its volume.

The more dense an object is, the more mass it contains in one unit of volume. For instance, if you had two blocks and each one was 1 cubic inch in volume, but one weighed 6 ounces and the other weighed 12 ounces, the block with the mass of 12 ounces would be more dense. It would have a greater density and might cause it to sink.

My 8 year old son explains it this way…

“Some things have more air in them, while others things are more solid. Nerf bullets have air in them, so they float. Keys are harder and more solid, so they sink.”

This is a simplified way to say that objects with a lower density have more space between their molecules, like the Nerf bullets. Keys, on the other hand, are made of dense metal. The molecules in metals are tightly packed. This is what makes them more dense.

Examining Your Results

Knowing what you now know about density. Why do you think you obtained the results you did in your sink or float experiment? What do you know about the density of the objects?

More Homeschool Science Experiments

• Testing for Starch
• Clicking Quarters
• How Clouds Make Rain
• Baking Soda Science
• How to Make a Science Experiment Box

More Homeschool Science from Marci