Cycle 1, Week 11

Thank you to the moms that served within the classroom on Friday.  I had to leave early to be home with my family so that my husband could make it to a doctor appointment.  My husband, Josh, has a brake in his left foot and is on crutches and both of my children are sick as well.  Prayers are always appreciated.  Thank you to Natalie Price and Mrs. Crawford for being troopers and huge help within the classroom!  Jennifer Crawford thank you for taking the review time with the girls, gathering all my materials together and bringing everything home for me.  Heather Hoffman was so awesome as to take on the science experiment for me.  Thank you to Renee Wimberly as well for taking on the presentation time.  I was sad to have to miss out on the time with the girls but I was grateful for the opportunity to be at home to support my family.

Following is what we covered in class this past Friday:

Geography

We started our time drawing our blob maps at whatever level the girls felt comfortable working within.  See previous post for a discussion on strategies for this area.

Next, we located our map points for the Byzantine Empire repeating names several times to aid in retention.  We completed this with a little quiz to see who was able to remember the new names we learned.

History

We colored our word pictures as we listened to the history song on the CD and as we practiced by singing along.

Timeline

We practiced the hand motions as seen in this video ;).

Latin

We looked at the new pictorial explanations for the Latin pronunciations and sang along with the CD.

Math

We played "Follow the Leader" as we sang the memory work.  We did several rounds.  Some of the actions that were chosen were, marching, hopping, crawling like a baby and singing in a baby voice and spinning in circles.

Science

We talked about the parts of a flower and completed a flower diagram similar to the ones from the previous week's experiment.  We also sang the memory work to the tune of Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.

English

We practiced the new motions for this week as seen in this video.  We also practiced all previous weeks.

Fine Arts

We reviewed all previous theory learned. Next, we learned about rests.  I introduced quarter, half and whole rests.  We learned the difference between the notation and the number of beats each receives.  Finally we practiced our hand positions on the whistle and practiced playing Mary Had a Little Lamb. I gave each girl the opportunity to play on her own or with me if she chose.

Experiment

We revisited an experiment that we had skipped earlier in the semester in order to take advantage of good weather for one of the Nature Hikes.  We discussed water pollution.  It is a simple experiment but does not actually work if you follow the intructions in the book.  This was a great opportunity to discuss how even a tiny drop of pollution can be extremely difficult to wash away and that it has a great affect on our waterways.  A great extension opportunity is to relate this lesson to sin and God's love.  The pollution from the experiment is like sin in our lives.  Like the pollution no matter how much we try to get rid of it we are not able to wash it away.  It is only with God's grace and love that our sin can be forgiven and erased.

I look forward too seeing each of the girls next week for our last class of the semester.  Stay healthy!

Week 10

This semester has flown by.  It seems crazy to think that Thanksgiving is soon upon us and that we will be finishing up our first semester in two weeks.  Here is a synopsis of what we covered in class on Friday.

Geography

We drew/traced our blob maps onto a sheet of paper.  The girls are doing this at their own individual levels.  Some are tracing, some color in the continents, some are looking at the map and drawing freehand, some are beginning to add in names of the continents. 

Next, we located our map points for Japan using skittles.  After that we stood up and went on a tour of Japan.  We did this similar to Going on a Bear Hunt but we weren't "hunting" for anything.  Instead, I mentioned something briefly about navigating the geography of each area and we circled around the table pretending to be or be in that type of transportation.  Pacific Ocean - rowed our boats, Tokyo- Rode on a train (largest train system in the world), Kyoto- Road a bike (widely used form of transportation in the area), Mt Fuji - climbed the mountain (I did not discuss it being a volcano), Sea of Japan- pretended to be fish (talked about fishing being an important trade).

History

We colored the word pictures as we listened to the history memory work from the CD several times.

Latin

We sang along with the CD as we looked at the picture pronunciation pages.

English

We learned all the motions for this weeks prepositions as seen in this video.  Then we practiced all previous weeks together.

Math

This activity did not go as well as previous times.  We practiced saying our squares up to 15 x 15 while looking at the numbers on the board.  Next, we lined up and each girls got to choose their method of travel as the went from one square to another down a path.  I had cut each number out a placed them on a square page to further the idea that these were all called squares.  I think we will go back to the dancing scarves or the parachute next.  They seemed to participate more and get more excited about the process with those.

Timeline

We practiced a simplified set of hand motions as seen in this video. 

Science

We sang the memory work to The Farmer in the Dell again.  I also added in hand motions.  I promise I will get a video for this week and last week up tonight.  Another one of our tutors had set the song to Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.  I liked her version and thought that the same hand motions could easily be used with that song as well. 

Fine Arts

We reviewed all previous theory.  We also introduced the idea of a scale.  I demonstrated how to play and scale and had the girls attempt it as well.  The big struggle for them is adding in the right hands.  It takes a lot of coordination to have both hands on the whistle.  We revisited playing with our left hands and practiced Mary Had a Little Lamb again.

Science Experiment

We talked about the parts of a flower using terminology from the upcoming science memory work from week 11.  We observed and dissected a flower while piecing together a picture diagram as we went along.  To further this activity you could have the girls label each part.  This would be a great way to practice science, art, spelling, and handwriting all into one activity.  This may be the last time that I pull out the glue bottles in class as well.  Lots of paper towels died in the process of this activity and it seems "Dot, Dot, not a lot" sounds more like "pour, pour we need some more" when it comes to glue and the girls!

That's our adventure from last week.  I would love to hear some of the activities that you incorporate at home in your classical adventures.

 

Cycle 1 Week 9

Wow it has been a rough week!  Not only were both of my kids sick but several of you guys have struggled with illnesses within your family as well.  We only had four girls in class this past Friday!  We still had a great time.  I pray that everyone is on the mend and that we will see each other again soon!  Below is what we went over in class.

Geography

We drew our blob maps on a separate sheet of paper that was folded in half along the equator.  Some of the girls drew by simply looking at the map and others chose to trace.  Whatever works for them is great.  The idea is repetition to the point that the girls will be able to recreate the blob maps from memory and then we will move on to a more detailed form of the map.

We found our five map points using skittles as I quizzed them on which location was which color as we went along.  They did quite well with this and each girl was able to locate all five locations without trouble by the end of the exercise.

History

We colored a paper combining words and pictures representing the memory work this week as we listened to the CD.

Another extension activity that I had planned to do with the class was to use instruments that accompany the memory work on the CD with the girls.  For instance, there is a combination of clapping and shakers being used in week 9's song.  I was going to split the class half with rhythm stick and half with shakers as we played our instruments to the song.  I do this at home with Jordan once she has mastered most of the words in a song.  This serves as motivation for her to get most of the wording correct knowing that she will have the reward of playing musical instruments once she has accomplished her goal.  She also enjoys the challenge of identifying the sounds of the instruments being used.  This is a great way to incorporate two different subjects into one.  Sometimes the instruments used have some significance to the history being learned as well so this can serve has an additional extension learning activity.

Latin

We learned the next noun endings using pictures as a phonetic reminder of pronunciation.

English

We learned the motions that go along with this video.

Math

We practiced the 15s a couple of times both spoken and to the song.  Then we danced with scarves as we sang the song a few more times.  Love active learning!

Science

I set the memory work to The Farmer in the Dell

"What are some parts of a Plant?" (x2)
 "Some parts of a plant are
leaves, stems, roots".

We repeated this a few times and then added in hand motions.  I will provide a video later.

We also had a wonderful puzzle (http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Resources-Sunflower-Floor-Puzzle/dp/B000EGAMSK) provided for us by Jennifer Crawford that we used throughout the day.  each time our topic master chose a new subject for us to review e added a piece to the puzzle until our plant was complete.  Great multisensory learning activity!

Timeline

We practiced the hand motions that correspond to week 9's cards as seem in this video.  I do simplify the number of motions that we use in class.  As the teacher, it is up to you how simple or intricate you want to get with your child while working on these.  Some kids really use those hand motions to help them remember and some lean more towards the spoken word, recognizing the pictures or the song to aid them.  I do love that with this new timeline we are able to incorporate more mnemonic devices to aid retention.

Fine Arts

We reviewed all previous weeks materials.  The girls are really starting to retain all the note names and values and the line and space names for the staff.  We learned about the dotted half note this week.  We also clapped out the rhythm to a couple of measures on the staff and then played the rhythm using rhythm sticks and shakers.

Next, we learned our right hand position for the tine whistle.  This was much more of a struggle for the girls that the left.  They not only had to maintain their left hand positioning but had to add in the right.  They started to show some promise but in the end we simply practiced playing Mary had a Little Lamb (uses left hand only). 

 Experiment

We had an awesome time with the experiment this week.  This is one of those activities that speaks to me as a teacher and a student.  I brought out their nature books that they worked on from their previous outing while studying plants.  We added in a new section for animals.  This time I provided pictures of several animals or animal related objects that we might find in the environment around the church.  We observed most of the things listed and even found extra that they girls added in with their own drawings.  We were also outside at the same time as the older boys and girls so this allowed further extension of the activity.  The boys were knee deep in the forest turning over large stones and bringing the lesson back to the little girls.  I love as the one-room schoolhouse model comes together.  We took extra time to not just find animals on a list but to talk about each one and use past lessons to pull into our discussions.  I love learning as an active process.  Below is the document that I created for the girls to add to their journals.  If your child was absent then I stuck the page into their nature journal and it will be waiting for them the next time they are in class.

There are a couple of references to using instruments, scarves, parachutes and puzzles in my last few posts.  I do have a couple of these things that I have collected when I find them extremely cheap but I get most of it from a materials lending library that I am a member of in Johnston County (I live in Wake County...residential location in not an issue).  It is a part of Partnership for Children of Johnston County.  The lending libraries are located in three different areas (on HWY 42, in Benson and in Selma).  There is an annual membership of $20 a year good from June to June.  I believe in January that you can get the membership for half price.  I use this a lot to check out materials for our activities at home and in the classroom.  They also provide the cheapest laminating service I have found.  This is the link to the Resource Centers http://pfcjc.org/index.php/for-families/resource-centers.  If you click on the online catalog there is a database of the materials that they have available. 

Cycle 1 Week 8

Geography
We used a paper folded in half (the equator) to draw our continent blobs on.  The girls looked at the blob maps while doing their drawings.  We ended up with several happy continents as the girls added their own smiley faces to each blob as embellishments.  Have I ever told you how much I love working with young girls?!?  Next, we located our map points in China using skittles.  We traced the two rivers with our skittles before enjoying them.  One the thing that I emphasized with the moms in attendance in the class on Friday, you do not have to worry about the precise pronunciation of the Chinese map points at this stage.  I did pronounce the location according to what it says on the CD, however, there is debate as to other pronunciations that differ from what is spoken on there.  When completing memory masters Julie has stated that her concern is that she can tell that the students know the difference between the three and that she can tell that they are close.  Precision is up to your own desire as their teacher.  I mostly focused on explaining the English interpretation (yellow and long) of the rivers after introducing the Chinese names first. 

History
I provided 8 different pictures that represented key points to our history sentence.  As we got to each girl's picture they raised it into the air so that each time we read or sang the history sentence the girls were moving in a wave pattern.  I did briefly tell about some of the pictures such as Gandhi (the girls were not excited to be the one holding to old man) Queen Victoria (everyone wanted to be a queen) I also explained why I had a picture of kites flying for India's Independence (one way that they celebrate this day annually).

Science
We sang the History Sentence to O Christmas Tree. 

What are some types of seed plants?
monocot, dicot, conifer. (x2)

After practicing this a couple of times we looked at an example of each.  Monocot (popcorn kernel), Dicot (pea pod), Conifer (pine cone).

Latin
Same as last week.  We studied the pictures to better understand the pronunciations and then sang the song along with the CD.  We did notice a discrepancy between the pictures pronunciation and the CD.  As I stated in the geography lesson the pronunciation in up to you as the teacher.  I choose to teach my daughter what the CD says.  As she gets older I will mostly focus on her spelling.  Again, Julie has stated that there are multiple thoughts on precise pronunciation and that it is up to the mom as the teacher to make that judgment call on what direction to take with the teaching of this.

English
We practiced the motions for this week to go along with the video as well as all previous weeks.

Math
We had a great time practicing skip counting the 14s while having fun with a parachute.  We sang the 14s as we walked in circles, raised and lowered and shook the parachute as a team.  This was a great way to get everyone moving, to practice teamwork and to practice this week's memory work several times.  Parachutes are great tools for gross motor activities when stuck inside or when enjoying school outside.  They can be inexpensive (I found mine on clearance at Target).  You can also borrow one for free from area lending libraries.  I am a member of Partnership for Children of Johnston County (I do live in Wake County) where you can check out several materials such as this for an annual fee of $20. 

Timeline
We practiced this weeks hand motions as seen in this video.

Tine Whistle
The Girls continue to do very well with this lesson.  We practiced patience and self control as we put our tin whistles to sleep in the "sleeping bags".  Next, we learned more about the staff, lines names, space names, and note names and values (eight note, quarter note, half note, whole note) while using a large staff made out of a shower curtain.  Notes and line/space labels were all made using small black paper plates.  We reviewed the parts of the tin whistle and then woke our tin whistles up.  The girls did well as we practiced our left hand positions and played the beginning of Mary Had a Little Lamb. 

Experiment
We had a blast dissecting two owl pellets.  We discovered 5 rodent skeletons and talked about some of the different bones.  The girls really enjoyed helping out with the process and discussing the bones and their purposes.  I loved being a part of their discovery as we sifted through fur and bones together.  They were exceptional scientist regardless of the role they took on in the process.  I explained how owl pellets were created and what animals owls often ate.  I emphasized God's amazing work in creating each animal on Earth and how special each creation was in their workings.  It truly is amazing to focus on an individual animal such as the Owl and learn more about the detail and thought that God put into each of His creations.  It would be an amazing extension project to focus on an animal each week and look at it from the perspective of God's provision in their life, bodies and environment. 

Cycle 1 Week 7

We survived crayfish "dissection" and beginning our unit on tin whistle!  Here is a rundown of what we covered in class on Friday.

History
We colored word pictures of the history sentence while listening to and singing the memory work.

Math
13's
We practiced our skip counting while connecting the dots on a picture of an American flag and then coloring them in.

English
We practiced the motions for the prepositions for this week as well as all previous weeks.

Latin
We used the pictures below to help us remember the correct pronunciations as we sang along with the CD.

Science
We sang the memory work to the tune of the Battle Hymn of the Republic with the chorus only.  Instead of "Glory, Glory Hallelujah" we sang "How do animals reproduce? (x3); live birth, eggs, fragmentation."


Timeline
We practiced this weeks hand motions as seen in this video.

Fine arts
We discussed the terms, staff, line and space names, quarter note, half note, whole note, and eighth note.  We also worked with these on a large staff that I made out of a shower curtain (Notes were made by using black paper plates and pipe cleaners).

 I gave each girl a "sleeping bag" for their whistle so that when we were not supposed to be playing them they we resting silently inside the sleeping bags.  These were just typing paper folded in half lengthwise and stapled close except for at the top.  This was a borrowed idea from another CC mom.  These did end up coming home with the girls.  It would be great if they could make their way back to CC on Friday.  Once we had talked about this, we discussed when it was ok to play our whistle we practiced discord (we were quite accomplished at this).  Next we we learned the parts of the whistle and proper finger placement.  Finally,  We practiced playing C, B, A by blowing gently into our whistles.  The girls did quite well!  I was impressed with their ability to play the three notes in harmony so quickly. 

Experiment
We had fun observing our friend Stinky" (their choice or name not mine).  We discussed crayfish, where they live, what they eat and how long they live. We also discussed several major parts of the crayfish and how they use the individual parts.  We did not cut our friend open but since he was cracked we were able to examine his gill system.  The girls also passed Stinky around as they observed him under a large magnifying glass.  

 A couple of the girls have requested the opportunity to dance to next weeks memory work or review.  This should be fun!  Have a great week!

Cycle 1 Week 6

We made it!  We just rounded out the first quarter of Classical this week.  The girls are doing so well!  I love spending time with them and getting to know their individual personalities.  They are truly a blessing to me.  Here is a rundown of what we went over last Friday.

Timeline

We learned the new hand motions for this week.  I was running behind so I did not get to review previous weeks.  Use these as you feel it benefits your child.  They are not required simply a learning aid.

History

We learned hand motions to go along with the song then practiced the song with the CD several times.  (Video will be added later.  My tech support is away from home)

English

We practiced the motions for this week's prepositions.  We also reviewed all previous weeks as well.  Next week we will set it all to music and have lots of giggles as we try to keep up and look silly all the same time.  We learn through our play! 

Latin

We practiced the sounds using the same visual cues as last week.  Once everyone was ready we practiced without music and then we repeated with the music. 

Math

11's
I wrote down the numbers from 11  to 132 on individual cards and mixed them up.  Each girl took a turn picking out which number would be  next in the sequence.  Once we got the numbers in order we practiced saying all the numbers then sang them along with CD twice.

12's
I brought in six egg cartons (one dozen size) and asked the girls if they could help me figure out how many eggs I purchased at the grocery store.  There is always a practical application for math :).  I explained that there had been twelve eggs in each carton so to count them quickly we would need to know how to count by twelves.  I provided a pictures chart of eggs in cartons with the twelves beneath each set.  We practiced the numbers then sang them to the song along with the CD.  After we practiced a few times, we lined up all the egg cartons from my grocery bag and skip counted twelve until we discovered I had "purchased" 72 eggs.  Fun extension activity would be to look at recipes and think about all the fun foods that you could make with that many eggs.  Bon Appetit!

Science

I brought in a toy representing each of the major group of invertebrates.  The girls had fun with this one...especially since the frog toy kept making a croaking sound every time I pick him up.  We sang the memory work to He's Got the Whole Word in His Hands.

Geography

We worked on our blob maps, located our map points using skittles then reviewed each one as we tasted our way through the Roman Empire. 

Fine Arts

We used printouts from the Draw Write Now series to give the girls visuals for creating their final projects for our drawing lessons.  Once the girls picked out the page they wanted to work from, I instructed them on how to follow the step-by-step guides on the sheets.  Once they completed their focal object I asked them to consider drawing a scene around it and then color everything in.  Most of our chosen pictures were from Book 1 of the series.

Experiment

We have been working on the Scientific Process with our Experiments.

Trick Your Tongue
We hypothesized about whether adding a new smell while eating would change how an apple tasted.  Half of the girls hypothesized that it would.  The others disagreed and one decided to was to shy to say :).  We tasted apple slices then held a cotton ball soaked in vanilla up our nose and tasted the apple again.  Some of the girls felt like this did change the taste and some disagreed.  So our conclusion was mixed.  This does have some great extensions possibilities at home.

Trick you Eyes
We hypothesized about whether two lines drawn one on top of the other were the same length.  One line had arrows facing out and the other had arrows facing in at the end. Again, the class was fairly evenly split on their hypothesis except this time no one was too shy to have an opinion! The science assistant measured the two lines within the arrows and discovered that the lines were indeed the same length. 

Reminder 

We will not meet this coming Friday (October 5th).  We will be starting tin whistle next week.  Each child will need access to a whistle.  If this will be an issue or hardship please let me know.  We will be dissecting a crayfish next week.  It will be smelly (dead fish smell) and a new experience for most if not all of the girls.  I will be doing the dissection as they observe and we discuss. 

Review Schedule

The ever fabulous Jenn Manning sent out this review schedule for Classical to use at home during the week.  This is a great guide for how to break up review times and to not be so bogged down with learning all the new memory work as well as reviewing the old work on a daily basis.  I just started using this guide at home with Jordan this week.  You can still take the time to have the weekly memory work playing in the background while you go throughout other daily activities to encourage long-term memory.  You will just focus on working one-on-one with your child/ren in the specific areas of the day.  LOVE it!

Monday -- History, Timeline
Tuesday --  Math, Latin
Wednesday -- Timeline, English Grammar
Thursday -- Geography, Science

Cycle 1 Week 4

Sorry I was late getting this out to you this week.  Sometimes busyness gets the better of me :).

Geography

We worked on our blob maps, sang our continents song, located our places on the map using skittles and enjoyed the "fruits" of our labor as we read this silly story:

In ASIA MINOR, there was a TURKEY named HATUSA/HATAI that wanted to take a trip to the ARABIAN DESERT, but settled for a vacation on the island of CYPRUS.

History

We went on a "Colossus Hunt".  This is the same format as "Going on a Bear Hunt" but we we searching for the Colossus (of Rhodes) while going through each of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World.  We rode camels up to the pyramids, bushwhacked our way through the hanging gardens, tiptoed through the Temple of Artemis, dodged lightening bolts past the Statue of Zeus, quietly walked and "ssh ssh sshed" through the mausoleum, rowed our boats (or swam) past the Pharos Lighthouse, and when we finally found the huge colossus and saw how truly big he was we ran back through all the wonders until we were safe at home.

Latin

This is the same as last week.  We used the same pitograms from last week and sang our Latin song again.

Math

7's
We layed out a path with our 7's on it and the girls went one-by-one down the path however they chose (skip, jump, hop, tip toe, etc.) as we all sang the 7's song for each of them.

8's
I numbered 12 spiders (because they have 8 legs) and we skip counted 8's.

English

We continued learning the hand motions that go along with this video.  Again, if you would like a written form of the motions for this video please contact me and I will send it to you.

Science

We sung the memory work to the Old Gray Mare (aka I'm in the Lord's Army) and then put together a felt model of the plant cell as we discussed each part.

The song
Some parts of a plant cell are Nucleus, Cytoplsm, Vacuole, Mitochondria, Cell Membrane, Cell Wall and Chloroplasts are some parts of a plant cell cause that's how God made plants.

The model

Experiment

We began working on our nature journals.  We did this experiment out of sequence due to the beautiful weather we were having.  The girls did really well collecting fun items outside.  Once back inside, the girls traced, made rubbings of, taped or colored the items into their journals.  The Nature Journals were very basic.  A cover page had pictures of things to look for while outside and the inside pages were all blank copy paper waiting to be filled with their discoveries.  There are more intricate versions but this worked well for our girls who weren't ready to read or record observations.  We did encourage the girls to label each item with a simple word such as rock, leaf, stick, berry, seed, etc.

Timeline

We learned the hand motions that go along with this week.  You can view these in this video.  I am not putting dates in with the girls.  We also reviewed all of the motions beginning with week 1.  Here is the video with the first 6 weeks signed to the song.  She does add in some extras motions during quiet times in the song.

Art

Abstract Art

 I gave the girls a half sheet of paper with a line drawing of an elephant on it.  I then provided several shapes that the girls could them trace over top of the elephant in any pattern that they chose.  The final step was for the girls to color in their tracings with the instructions to change colors every time they crossed over a new line.  Here are the materials that we used and a possible finished product. 

Hope this is a help as you go throughout your week with your students!

Animal Cell Cake!

This is a picture from Heather Hoffman of the cake model of an animal cell that I mentioned in my previous post.  She made this with her kids and brought it in on Friday for both of their classes.  Very yummy and fit perfectly into the lesson time.  I ended up making one with my kids this week as well thanks to a friend with leftover materials who was willing to share.  This is just as easy to do with the Plant Cell for our upcoming weeks lessons just remember to make it in a square or rectangular pan to account for the change in shape due to the cell wall.  Love the experience of learning!  

Cycle 1 Week 3

So grateful for the opportunity to spend time with your young ladies each week.  It is so great to watch their personalities be  revealed through each activity and to watch them as they meet each challenge. 

Geography

As always, we started our day with this topic.  The girls worked on their blob drawings.  They are getting fast at this.  Some of them did it twice.  We then sang a song Renee Wimberly taught us naming all the continents to the tune of He's got the World in His Hands.  I am going to list this one in a separate post later.  After that we worked on locating each place on the maps.  This was a challenge since this map has changed form all preous versions in our manuals.  If you have the new manual then we are learning based on what is in there.  Our classroom maps are from a previous cycle and this posed a challenge since they are very different.  The girls did not complain since they were simply having fun finding each place and marking it with a skittle which they were able to eat as I read the names in the following story.

The lion of JUDAH lumbered slowly up through ISRAEL with JORDAN the Jaguar.  Then they     got thirsty and went back to get a drink in the DEAD SEA.  "Too salty!" so they used the PHOEN-ICIA (phone) to call the SEA OF GALILEE to make sure it tasted better.

Timeline

We went over the CC timeline hand motions that go along with each card.  The girls are doing well with this.  I will be reviewing the previous weeks motions with them as we go along just to help with the retention of these.  Here is the link for the motions for this week.  You can search for rafikipaka and that will give you a list of all the videos that are up for the hand motions at the moment.  There are also some videos of the hand motions set to the timeline song.  Again, I am not currently teaching to the song.  This may be something I do over time but right now I am teaching the girls the titles on the timeline cards and the hand motions.  We do listen to the timeline song during review time.

History

I used a matching game printable that I found on CC connected and cut it into 12 necklaces or 6 pairs representing each of the Greek and Roman gods that were mentioned in our weekly song.  Each girl got one necklace and then found her match (ex. Zeus/Jupiter, Ares/Mars, Diana/Hera, etc.).  Once they were partnered up I played the history song from the CD and we danced with our partners while singing the song.  We only had 6 girls this past Friday so we were able to do this activity twice. Below are pictures of the matching game and then what they looked like as a necklace.  If you would like the MS Word document containing the game please email me and I will send the file to you.

English

We continued learning the motions that go along with the Classical Conversations Prepositions Song as found on the audio CD.  Here is a link to the video that has the motions we learned.  I also have a word document for the motions if it is helpful to see the motions in writing since the video is fast.  Again, send me an email request for this and I will send it your way.

Latin

We practiced singing the memory work along with the song on the CD.  We also looked at these pictorial phonetic spelling charts to help the girls with the pronunciation of the different endings.  I will stress that at this age-level we are going for exposure to the language and not mastery.  If they get in the ballpark with the pronunciations then we are on the winning team.

Math

With skip counting 5's we did a basic hand play with partners (like Ms. Mary Mac but simplified) as we sang the song.  The correlation was each has five finger so every clap was another count of 5.  The girls seem to love math and pick it up very quickly. 

Skip Counting 6's we borrowed a great activity created by Jen Manning, the Abecedarian Boy's Tutor.  I wish I had taken a picture.  She used egg cartons for illustrating the counting process.  They were divided up into 12 sets of 6.  Each egg cup counted as one and then she circled every sixth number.  There are lots of ways that you could take this same concept and run with it for all age groups.  I made a smaller version at home to use for my 2-year-old as a counting activity.  Please note, the one pictures is set up in a group of 12 not 6 and I left the lid intact so that I could close up the activity with materials inside if I chose. Feel free to post extensions ideas on that in the comments section below.

Science

 We learned the science memory work set to the song the Itsy Bitsy Spider.  One of the other tutors fit it nicely to The Wheels on the Bus but I couldn't get that tune  to work out well for me.  Funny how what works perfectly for one tutor is a struggle for another one. This is the wording that I used to make it fit. 

Parts of an animal cell are nucleus and cytoplasm, vacuole, mitochondria, cell membrane and golgi bodies.

We were truly blessed by Heather Hoffman, Caylee's mommy) and her creativity when she bought in a cake representation of an animal cell as both a model and a yummy treat. She used icing, a cupcake and different types of candy to represent all the parts of the cell.    I will post a picture if she is able to send one in.  It was yummy...I mean informative!

Experiment

We asked the questions:
"Why do some animals live underground in the dessert?"
and
"How does and animal's color protect them from predators?"

These were outside activities.

Fine Arts

Upside-down Images

I began by using basic shapes to draw an image on the board step-by-step while the girls copied me.  I named each basic shape as it was used.  The girls guessed what we were drawing about halfway through but they humored me anyway.

When finished, I flipped my board over to look at the image in it's upright form.  Next,  they added trees, clouds, birds and/or a sun to their picture and colored them in.  
  
Hope this blesses you during your week!

Jenny

Cycle 1 Week 2

We had another great day on Friday!  The girls are starting to slowly find their voices and not be so shy.  They did a great job when I reviewed the previous week's material!  I can tell you guys have worked hard with the girls.  Great job moms!  I know it is hard on a daily basis to teach on top of everything else life calls us to.  Your girls are already showing the rewards of your hard work.

Geography
We did our Blob drawings.  The girls are working hard to trace these perfectly.  Within the next few weeks I may transition more to having them trace them onto another sheet of paper.  We then located each destination on our laminated maps using skittles.  Next, I read the girls a story using all the names and they were able to eat the skittles as they located each one.  Below is the story:

     You are floating down the RED SEA on a PERSIAN carpet.  Suddenly Prince CASPIAN appears to help you fight the BLACK knights of BABYLON.


Timeline
We are standardizing our timeline hand motions across the co-op.  These are no different than what I have been teaching the girls already.  Some classes, however, had been using some slightly different ones.  Here is a link off of YouTube that shows what I am teaching the girls.  This is just the weekly posting but all 24 weeks are available from the same person.  She even explains why each hand motion was chosen.  She also does the hand motions to the song.  I am not teaching them the motions to song but I do play the song during review time.  The idea for this is to expose them to all the possible ways of learning the work even if I don't teach it to them during the new memory work section. 

Latin
Latin was the same as last week.

English
I changed my approach to the prepositions.  I found a video of the CC chant from the audio CD.  The girls practiced the first week's motions with me and had fun with it.  We shall see how it continues.  I did have to slow this down so I could capture everything.

Math
The girls have been doing well with singing the songs for all the skip counting.  I had planned to do follow the leader with them as we sang the songs for skip counting 3's and 4's.  The girls had other plans :).  Instead of "Follow the Leader" we played "Jump the Brook" just like last week. 

Science
I had pictures of examples from each Kingdom.  We sang the answer to "God Bless America".  The Five kingdoms of Living Things are: Animalia, Plantae and Fungi.  Protista. Monera. Are the five kingdoms of living things.  We also colored a worksheet I found on the 5 Kingdoms.

History
We did the continuation of last week with commandments 6-10.  The hand motions will be posted later.  We did put both weeks together so that the girls would here it as one continuous string and not as two separate parts.

Art
This week we studied Mirror Images.  I cut out several shapes of objects that could make up a princess drawing (castle, clouds, grass, trees, crown, etc.)  I then cut these in half and had the girls trace around the outside of a piece and then flip it over to the mirror image and then trace that as well...two halves then made a whole.  My idea behind this was to give the girls and activity on their skill level as artists that also incorporated their interests as well.  Here are some of the shapes we used (The top picture is what they looked like when I gave them to the girls and the bottom picture is before i cut them in half):

Science
We did two experiments this week.  One talking about how spiders judge the size of intruders and the other discussing why fish can float belly up.  The girls did great with forming a hypothesis and working through the process of each experiment.  I had lab sheets for us to work on together but unfortunately left them at home.  In future weeks I am going to be working more with them on understanding the scientific process and looking at simplified lab sheets to be filled out as a group.  This Friday's experiment will be outside and we will be paired up with an older group.

So blessed to have the opportunity to serve your girlies!

Classification of Living Things

This is an idea that Jennifer Crawford (Bethany's Mommy) had on teaching the The classification of living things.  Since these nest easily inside of each other it helps the children to visualize how each classification relates to the next. Phylum is a subset of Kingdom, Class is a subset of Phylum etc.  To take it further on the other cube faces you could could a species and then put pictures on each subsequent side all the way up to kingdom (IE. to classify humans--Kingdom:   Animalia, Phylum:   Chordata, Class:   Mammalia, Order:   Primates, Family:   Hominidae,Genus:   Homo, Species:   sapiens).  This would be a great way to further the use of the project for older kids or to teach across multiple age groups.  Thanks Jennie for the awesome idea.  Wish I had, had it last week for class!

 

Prepositions

Check out this idea for introducing prepositions.  I may bring this into the class as well!
http://storytimekatie.com/2012/02/10/flannel-friday-band-aids/.  There are also some great videos on CC connect and Pinterest that have the prepositions we will be learning choreographed out.  You may see these pop up in class on Friday as well.  I love active learning!  Remember that young children learn best through play!