My learning Adventures!

Click on the pages above to check out my on-the-land learning adventures or scroll down to see some of my Grade 3 at home learning.

Risk: A Review

Risk is a board game invented in 1957. It is a game for 2 to 6 players. The whole purpose of the game is to dominate the world by defeating the other players. You claim territories from the other players. How you eliminate a player is when there are no more of their colour.

For the game of Risk you need to use math skills, problem solving, strategic thinking, and you also need luck! 

You also learn a bit of Geography, except some territories have old names for them.  

I would recommend this game for anyone who likes very competitive strategy games and world geography. But a warning - make sure you have lots of time. Our game took 6 hours! 

Making a Toolbox

It was my Cousin's birthday this past week and I decided to make a toolbox for him with the help of my Dad. It took two days to make the toolbox. The toolbox was made out of solid Oak wood and I was able to use many tools and woodworking skills. The handle was made out of something special! Below I have written out the steps and included some pictures and some videos that explain how we made it! 

We designed our tool box to hold real tools, but could also be used for other things like toys. Our first step was to make a plan:

Using our plan, my Dad cut out all the pieces using the Table Saw and Miter Saw. I was able to help him, but I am not allowed to use these power tools. So I took a picture instead. 

I then marked out all the pieces. All I needed for this was a ruler and pencil. 

Next was to cut angles on the end pieces. For this, you can use a Hand Saw or a Jigsaw. I tried both and prefer using the Jigsaw because it is easier to push through the wood. 

Then, I sanded the edges smooth. 

The bottom piece was not flat so my Dad used a Hand Plane to flatten it. I took a slow motion video:

Then, I sanded all the pieces smooth. 

After sanding we used a Router to round all the edges of each piece. 

Now it is time to explain how we made the special handle. We made it out of our old Christmas Tree! 

We used a Draw Knife to get all the outer bark off. Once all the outside wood was off, we did the same thing for the inside bark. Our hands were really sappy. Here is a video of me using the Draw Knife:

After getting all the bark off, my Dad showed me how to use a Tenon Cutter. A Tenon Cutter makes the Diameter of both ends equal (Diameter means the size of the circle). This is an important step because the handle sits in the end pieces.  

We then drilled the holes in the end pieces to match the diameter of the handle. To show how the handle fits and how the toolbox goes together here is a video:

We made some final sanding touch-ups and then glued and drilled it together!

 Last step was to add some natural oil to protect the wood. 

And drop it off at my Cousin's house for his Birthday Present!

Word Problems

Today I did some math word problems.
I found the questions with division really tough, but with help, I did them anyways.

The Bad Guys by Aaron Blabey

This week I read one of the "Bad Guys" books. There are a lot of books in The Bad Guys series. For me these books are not challenging to read (some words are), but I still really enjoy reading them because they are really funny! There are some really good jokes in these books. Even though this book is called "The Bad Guys" the story is really about the main characters trying to become good guys. But they don't really succeed. When they want to try doing something good, they usually just cause more trouble.

It is a book that is kind of like a comic. Apparently this is called a graphic novel. I would recommend reading these books to anyone who likes silly jokes.

Making a Desk in the Shop

Today my Dad and I worked together to make a desk. We also made a time lapse video of the process. I definitely do not do any of the cuts, but I helped guide the wood through the table saw, did a lot of the sanding, measuring and helped with the marking. One new thing that I learned was that you also have to wear a mask when spraying a finish on the wood.