Human prehistory (resource list)

Human evolution and migration to the beginning of civilization, 160 m.y.a. to 10 k.y.a. (November 2011-February 2012)

Topics of focus:
Civilzation—its appeal, opportunities, and problems
Early human art
Evolution
Human evolution from apes
Human migration out of Africa
Reasons for migration

Book/reading resources:
11,000 Years Lost (Peni R. Griffin)
Dawn of Art: The Chauvet Cave (Jean-Marie Chauvet)
A Day With Homo Habilis (Fiorenzo Faccini)
A Day With Homo Erectus (Fiorenzo Faccini)
A Day With Neanderthal Man (Fiorenzo Faccini)
A Day With Homo Sapiens (Fiorenzo Faccini)
Archaeologists Dig for Clues (Let's-Read-And-Find-Out Science, by Kate Duke)
Evolution: The Human Story (Dr. Alice Roberts)
Evolution: The Story of Life (Douglas Palmer)
The First Dog (Jan Brett)
First Painter (Dawn Sirett and Kathryn Lasky)
Fossils Tell of Long Ago (Aliki)
Hominids: A Look Back at Our Ancestors (Helen Roney Sattler)
How People First Lived (William Jaspersohn)
Life on Earth: The Story of Evolution (Steve Jenkins)
Lucy Long Ago: Uncovering the Mystery of Where We Came From (Catherine Thimmesh)
Mik's Mammoth (Roy Gerrard)
One Small Blue Bead (Byrd Baylor)

Websites
Beringia land bridge graphic (PALE via Wikipedia)
The Cave of Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc (Republique Francaise)
Human Evolution phylogeny (umich.edu class notes)
Human Evolution by the Smithsonian Institution's Human Origins Program (humanorigins.si.edu)
The Journey of Mankind from Stephen Oppenheimer(bradshawfoundation.com)
Lascaux, a Visit to the Cave (Republique Francaise)

Videos online
Human Prehistory 101: Prologue (23andMe via YouTube)
Human Prehistory 101 Part 1: Out of (Eastern) Africa (23andMe via YouTube)
Human Prehistory 101 Part 2: Weathering the Storm (23andMe via YouTube)
Solutreans: The First Americans (from one of the big documentary makers, but I only found it via YouTube)

Videos (via disc or streaming)
Ape to Man (The History Channel via Netflix Streaming)
Becoming Human (Nova via Netflix streaming)
The Human Family Tree (National Geographic via Netflix streaming)
The Incredible Human Journey (Alice Roberts with BBC, on DVD)
Walking With Cavemen (BBC via Netflix streaming)

Activities/crafts
Exploring the use of prehistoric tools
Making a family tree
Making cave paintings
Mapping human migration
Making a timeline of human evolution
Reading, creating, listening, and watching

Learning tools: TV and Video (age 5)

I don't have much to offer in this field. As a general rule we don't watch TV, not because it's forbidden, but because we don't care for it. I find it over-stimulating and we enjoy getting our information from books. But that doesn't mean we don't use video at all. Nowhere else can you get a good look at animals that live in faraway lands (without leaving your house), or actually see how people lived long ago.

We use the TV mostly for documentaries, usually through Netflix because we don't have cable. We also use a number of internet video sources. I stumble on a lot of fantastic short videos by visiting The Kid Should See This every day. When I find videos I think Calvin will enjoy I pin them to a board on Pinterest so he can explore as he wishes (to avoid YouTube's annoying list of possibly related videos).

We watch a lot of demonstrations, or short animations of concepts.

Right now we use a lot of documentaries (BBC, History Channel, Nova) to get a feel for ancient civilizations.

We enjoy looking up orchestra concerts or operas on YouTube broadcasting them to our TV.

We also enjoy old movies from time to time, like the silents (Charlie Chaplin is a favorite), or old musicals.

Internet video sources (current favorites):
BBC
The Big Bang (Stephen Hawking) 
Decorah Eagle Cam
The Epic of Gilgamesh
Eureka! Physics 
Formation of the Solar System (Stephen Hawking)
Kahn Academy
Minute Physics (on YouTube)
National Geographic
Ancient Mesopotamia (a timeline)
Prehistory 101: Prologue (from 23andMe)
Prehistory 101 Part 1: Out of Africa (from 23andMe)
Prehistory 101 Part 2: Weathering the Storm (from 23andMe)
Schoolhouse Rock (on YouTube)

TV video (current favorites):
BBC
The History Channel
The Incredible Human Journey (BBC, Alice Roberts)
National Geographic
Nova
Planet Earth (BBC, Attenborough)
The Walking With Series—Monsters, Dinosaurs, Prehistoric Beasts, Cavemen (BBC)

So it's a pretty weak list—kind of a stretch—but it's all I have at this moment. You can find more lists via OLM.

Prehistoric mammals (and birds) and the Cenozoic era (resource list)

The rise of prehistoric mammals in the Cenozoic era (November-December 2011)

Topics of focus:
Prehistoric animals
Environmental changes
Habitat changes
Extinction and evolution of mammals over time
Intro to evolution of humans

Books:
A Day With Homo Habilis (Fiorenzo Faccini)
A Day With Homo Erectus (Fiorenzo Faccini)
A Day With Neanderthal Man (Fiorenzo Faccini)
A Day With Homo Sapiens (Fiorenzo Faccini)
The Coming of Mammals: A New World (Melvin Berger)
Encyclopedia Prehistorica: Mega-Beasts (Robert Sabuda)
Encyclopedia Prehistorica: Sharks (Robert Sabuda)
Extinct! Creatures of the Past (Mary Batten)
Evolution: The Story of Life (Douglas Palmer)
Fossils Tell of Long Ago (Aliki)
From Lava to Life (Jennifer Morgan)
Life on Earth: The Story of Evolution (Steve Jenkins)
Lucy Long Ago: Uncovering the Mystery of Where We Came From (Catherine Thimmesh)

Videos:
Becoming Human (Nova)
Walking With Cavemen (BBC)
Walking With Prehistoric Beasts (BBC)

Websites/computer resources:
La Brea Tar Pits site (Page Museum)

Other fun things:
Prehistoric Mammals coloring book (Dover)

Activity list:
Reading, reading, reading
Drawing, coloring, writing, creating
Making a new timeline—zooming in on the Cenozoic
Researching specific animals and creating them in felt
Playing with the felt timeline, of course
Making up our own prehistoric creatures

Weekly book shelf 3/9/12

Weekly topic reading:

Gilgamesh the King, The Revenge of Ishtar, and The Last Quest of Gilgamesh make up this trilogy that tells the Epic of Gilgamesh in picture book format. It's a fun way to approach the epic; the illustrations really add to the feel of the era. That being said, Calvin says he enjoyed the chapter book format (listed below) even better. (History)

This one is really dense with fantastic informaton. It covers exactly what it says in its subtitle: from foraging to farming. The information is great, but we did a lot of skimming because it was pretty text heavy for a young child. (History)

Reading to himself:

Geraldine McCaughrean is known for her ability to bring archaic texts to kids without completely washing out their original appeal. If you are looking purely for authenticity, then no, this is not the book for you. And I haven't ever studied any of the texts that are considered relatively authentic so I cannot really draw comparison, but this book maintains some of the integrity of the epic while making it accessible for middle elementary readers. Beware, though—keeping its integrity means there is a bit of violence and gore. Calvin loved it. (History)

Reading out loud:

Here is another classic that probably needs no introduction. Norton Juster's award winning story of a boy who travels through a magical world full of whimsy. It is probably best known for its hilarious word play, and that is the reason it so well loved around here.

Learning tools: Math (age 5)

Math in our house looks like a little bit of everything. Calvin does a few sheets from a curriculum a few of times a week, but most of our math now comes in the form of games or real life usage. I am finding that the real opportunities for learning math come when a question presents itself and, instead of simply answering it, we work with Calvin to reach the goal, doing all the steps together along the way.

In fact, the more comfortable I become with the unstructure of the unschooling life I always wanted but was afraid I could never do, the more I find that I am able to leave the curriculum behind and seek learning in life itself. Calvin has never been the problem—it's me who keeps getting in the way. (and I have many unschooling bloggers to thank for my increasing courage, especially Stephanie at OLM—thank you for sharing what you do).

So here is a list of math learning tools from a mom that desperately wants to be unschooling, and is getting closer every day.

Math in everyday life:
Cooking
Keeping a calendar for library books
Measuring and building, or measuring and making crafts
Recording the savings and spending of allowance
Telling and measuring time

Workbooks/Traditional:
Lollipop Logic (books 1-3)
Math-U-See (blocks and books—now on Beta)

Board games:
Any game that requires adding up a score
Blokus Junior (Mattel)
Math War (School Zone)
Monopoly (Hasbro)
Qwirkle (Mindware)
Shut the Box (ours is by Melissa and Doug)
Totally Tut (Learning Resources)

Other games and activities:
Art
Legos
Making games, graphs, mazes
Pattern Play (by Mindware)
Piano (now on Piano Adventures, level 2A)
Puzzles
Tangrams (Puzzles by Chris Crawford, and Grandfather Tang's, by Ann Tompert)

Internet games:
Feed Fribit (addition and subtraction, coolmath-games.com)
Math Lines (addition, coolmath-games.com)
Count the Cubes (coolmath-games.com)
Turtle Pond (graph manipulation)

Shut the box

Puzzles (Dec 2011)

Cooking (February 2011)

Math-U-See (Sept 2011)

Monopoly

Qwirkle, and keeping score (Aug 2011)

Legos (July 2011)

Piano (sept 2011)

See other great lists of math tools over on OLM.