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.