It’s homeschool madness at the Freeman’s ya’ll!
One thing I really I want to do over the coming years is to introduce my children to all the natural world wonders. I have been having a lot of fun setting little “themes” for our homeschool preschool projects this month!
This week we have been learning about waterfalls and have focused on Niagara Falls…
Online Photos, Videos and a Virtual Tour of Niagara Falls
You can find spectacular photographs of Niagara Falls on the Internet. One website is appropriately called Niagara Falls. It is the official site of the city of Niagara Falls in Canada. The photo gallery has over 150 pictures of regional sights, highlighting (of course) the Falls.
The virtual tour (CLICK HERE to view) introduces you to the geography and majesty of the most powerful waterfall in North America from the perspective of a helicopter (or a bird.. or a drone.. or a flying superhero? Whatever…)
Get the family together, turn on the computer, and before anyone can ask “are we there yet?” you’ll be barreling towards Niagara Falls. SPEAKING OF “barreling”. So apparently people going over Niagara Falls in a barrel is a thing?
After impressing upon my children the inherent dangers of waterfalls, I turned to YouTube for some close up videos of the falls.. just to have a Niagara Falls suicide pop up… oops! THAT was fun brushing off so as not to alarm the kiddos. “Oh, that silly man! He went swimming by a waterfall. That probably hurt, he shouldn’t do that huh?” *nervous chuckle*
And then I had to launch into ANOTHER “waterfalls are dangerous” spiel. Hey, I read Death in Yosemite recently, and after reading countless real stories of grown men and MANY young kids swept over falls from wading in water within a football field distance from waterfalls, I am making sure my kids have a healthy respect for these dangerous natural beauties!
Waterfall Themed Crafts and Activities for Children
So after the safety spiel I then let my kiddos play a free online video game where they can play a character paddling a canoe down a waterfall. (Okay, so I need to work on my safety spiel consistency here…) But seriously though, this game was really cute, and really easy.. my 4 year old was able to maneuver through the first course and had a blast, and I even had fun helping her out! CLICK HERE to check it out!
After informational photos, videos and games, we also put together a waterfall paper craft, using blue tissue paper and white mini pom poms on kraft paper to make a waterfall. It was more of a sensory game for my 2 and 4 years old.. they had fun ripping the tissue with their hands, crinkling it up, and spread glue with their fingers to make the waterfall shape. Gluing the pom poms was also a great for developing fine motor skills.
Some Fun Facts About Niagara Falls
While I didn’t go into too many details on Niagara falls with the girls (they were pretty wowed by the whole “it’s a waterfall” concept, so fact just flew right over their heads..) but for the adults here are some fun facts! (One of the coolest things about homeschooling is re-learning all these things myself!)
Niagara Falls is located on the Niagara River, on the border of New York state and Ontario, Canada. It is divided into three separate waterfalls, known as The Horseshoe Falls, the American Falls, and the Bridal Veil Falls. Niagara Falls:
- Is 167 feet, at the Horseshoe Falls
- Attracts 12 million tourists each year
- Can produce over 4 million kilowatts of electricity
- The Niagara River flows at about 35 miles an hour
- 3,160 tons of water pour over the falls each second
- The water gushes over the falls at a rate of 32 feet per second
Such fun activity! Love your kids’ curl hair, dear! xoxo
They get compliments on their hair wherever we go! They are so proud of it too haha!
Your littles are so adorable. I was 7 years old when my family went on a vacation to Buffalo, NY to visit my uncle. (Our only bathroom was being remodeled so that’s why we went). Uncle Bob took us to Niagara Falls. My brother and I wanted to take a ride on the Maid of the Mist, the boat that goes under the falls, but Ma was afraid of water so we could only watch the boat from a bridge high above. We also saw the floral clock. Uncle worked for a steel company (later he bought into the business). He told us about the stainless steel hands of the clock and how the steel was from his company. I put my own story together so for years I thought he had made the clock hands! Have a great weekend!
That is such an adorable story!!! Thank you for sharing.. That is so sweet that you thought he made the clock hands! haha.. I bet you were (are are!) so proud! <3 <3
Wow, what a cool virtual tour!
Have a lovely weekend 🙂
Rosanna x
You too my dear! <3
I don’t live very fall from Niagara Falls.
Really?! Do you go often???
No. We tend to ignore the things around us, don’t we? But it is quite a sight to see in person.
Looks like a fun project! I love that you are introducing them to such fabulous places.
I have been two Niagara Falls twice- and I have been on both sides of the falls (Canada and US). They really are amazing. I haven’t done a boat ride, but maybe next time. At night when they light up it is very pretty too.
I haven’t read Death in Yosemite- but I did buy Death in the Canyon while I was visiting the Grand Canyon because I was shocked by how careless so many people were being near the edge. Reading it gave me an even healthier appreciation for following the rules! I gave it to my dad and brother to read before they went there. 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
I was planning on reading Death in Grand Canyon next, but I got so freaked out by all the stories in Death in Yosemite that I chickened out and didn’t want to read anymore!! haha!
Those pictures are so cute.
Thanks Mary! <3
Sounds like you had an adorably wonderful day! I’m lucky in that I live just over 2 hours away from the falls so we take a trip there a couple of times a year.
Oh wow, really?! LUCKY!!! I want to go someday!
You really put a lot of effort into your themed lessons.
Yeah, I was born to be a homeschool mom! 😉
These theme craft days sound like so much fun. Ohh I would love to visit Niagara Falls… it has been on my list of places to see for so long.
http://www.fashionradi.com
Yeah, it’s up there on my list too!
The waterfall crafts are cute, and a safety warning is always good idea 🙂
Right??!! I hope I am not an overprotective mom, but we travel into nature areas a lot, including areas with waterfalls, and I want my kiddos to have respect for them!
What a sweet idea to make waterfalls! They must have had a lot of fun!
-Kati
They sure did! My two year old especially loved playing with the glue!
What a great activity!!
Do you know my husband has never been to Niagara Falls?? And I was only there as a kid, so it’s on our bucket list!!
XOXO
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
If you go, you MUST take a ton of photos!!! <3 <3
I’ve never been, but I’d love to visit someday. What a fun lesson – love the craft project!
Yeah, the kiddos had a blast with it! <3
This is such a fun and cute post, love the adorable pics!
<3 <3 <3
Well, doesn’t a virtual field trip sound like fun?! I love this idea!
-Ashley
It’s a lot more fun than I thought it would be for sure!!!
Don’t just take a virtual trip to Niagara Falls, come visit us! We only live about 20 minutes the Falls. Love both the U.S. and Canadian sides, actually was just there last weekend for a flower show =)
omg, when we eventually come to visit, we HAVE TO link up to get coffee!! How fun would that be?!
Oh how cool! That looks like it was a lot of fun. Very creative too. 🙂
Kids had a lot of fun!