Make a Ship in a Bottle
|This idea comes from Noggins & Nonsense via Live, Learn and Love Together.|
Rinse your bottle well and remove wrapper. Using a cutting tool, cut around the empty soda bottle about 2 to 2 1/2 inches from the bottom. Then rinse out your bottle and remove the wrapper from the outside. Follow with a thorough drying.
Next, find a ship you would like to put in by printing them out or drawing them. (Here are some copies of Columbus' ships, if you would like to use them.)
Arrange your ships. Glue your ship to the bottom of your bottle. Hold until set. Once your ship(s) are set add your “water”. Your water can be made from blue confetti strips, shredded paper, wave shapes from sheet foam or construction paper.
Using tape, attach the part of the bottle that you previously cut off, and to the bottle cap. To complete the look add a band of ribbon to the areas where you have put the tape. To prevent your bottle from rolling around, you can glue strips of foam, thick paper, sheet foam or Popsicle sticks to the bottom.
|James loved shaking the bottle to simulate a ship in a storm.|
Assignment 1: Make a Map: You had your map of the Caribbean laid it out on a little table so that you could study it in the light of day. Later, you left the map on the table to attend to other duties. When you turned in for the night, you forgot to retrieve the map. During the night a light rain fell. This morning the map was soaked and barely readable. Worse yet, it is so stuck to the table so tightly that any effort to pick it up will ruin it altogether. The map is necessary to the success of the voyage. You must duplicate the map as best as you can. (younger students) Have the children draw an island on their construction paper. Write the name of the water that surrounds their island (ocean, bay, cove, lake) on the map. Draw a compass rose in the lower right hand corner of the treasure map. Things to include on the island: symbols for hills, mountains, pond, lakes, forest, palm trees, shark fins in the water, big X to mark where the treasure is.
When the treasure maps are finished age the maps by pressing a damp tea bag all over it or painting it with strongly brewed tea. Tear the jagged edges all round the treasure map to make it look aged. (20 dots)
Assignment 2: Mapping (older) Make a treasure hunt for your younger siblings. Decide on a place to hide the treat I will give you to hide. Decide where your treasure hunters will start. Make a map of all the things between where they start to where the treasure is. Make little drawings about what is noticeable along the way. Make an X to mark the spot where the treasure is located. (10 dots)
(younger) Using your brother's map, go on a treasure hunt. Can you find it? (10 dots)
Assignment 4: Explorers: Make a Ship in a bottle (younger) see above or add these explorers to your timeline (older): Sir Francis Drake, Coronado, Jacques Cartier, Hernando de Soto, Cortes.
Fates: For the past number of days the wind has been steadily decreasing, as so has the speed of your ship. Your crew's strength depends on how many provisions you have taken on board or how recently you have resupplied your ship. Men can become too weak to climb the rigging and trim the sails.
|Week 1: Ships|
Week 2: Life on Board
Week 3: Navigation