Week 9
Hello again everyone. I am always so thrilled to see everybody doing their best and having fun along the way. Learning should always be fun and I am glad everyone is helping to make it fun. Thank you very much. Seth, we hope you are collecting stories to tell us for when you come back. Our sincerest Congratulations to the Rendell family, Welcome Ben Emmanuel!
Presentation was so much fun... I can't stop laughing. Please remind them of all the skills we've learn so far (see purple sheet). Next week's presentation is Recitation: Poetry. recite a poem by memory and enhance it by adding gestures and appropriate expressions. Have fun!
Science experiment is more coloring and a lot of cutting which made it a bit challenging. Again, a quick reminder... take time (not too much though) coloring and cutting and enjoy along the way. Thank you very much for all the parents who has been helping trace the kids week after week. Next week, please continue to bring all your coloring materials and scissors.
New Grammar
Timeline: Song - CC CD
We sang through the timeline and did the hand motions taught during the opening ceremony.
History: Song - CC CD
I briefly discussed about the Compromise of 1850 (I didn't even realize that Dred Scott was a person until I started preparing for the lesson... we do learn something new everyday, isn't that great?). We sang the song (be sure to be careful when singing this song because it is similar to the one we have in the timeline and if the are not thinking enough, they can just sing the timeline instead of the history song) and did the following hand motion:
Compromise - right index finger points to right forehead, then both index fingers point away from the body meeting at the midline
Fugitive - left "5" hand and right "4" hand crossed in front of face and the right index finger moves away from the body as the left "5" hand goes palms down
Dred Scott - both "S' hand palms down crossed at wrists (slave)
secession - both palms down hand draws close to the body and closes into a fist (withdraw)
Southern states - right "S" hand moves from shoulder height down to the waist
Science: Song - CCC NoGreaterJoy
I discussed a little bit about the lymph system and how it protects our body. We did the following hand motions for the memory work:
lymph vessels - right "V" hand moves like it is on a roller coaster
lymph nodes - feel both sides of neck under the jaw
spleen - both "four" hands are held up in front of the chest, then move both hands away from each other twice (filter)
thymus - right "T" hand
Math: Song - CC CD
We skip counted through the 15's and the kids did really well! I reminded them that the numbers end either in 5 or 0.
English: Song - CCC NoGreaterJoy
This is a challenging one for me personally. Lay will be differentiated with next week's lie. Lay (put something down) is a transitive verb, while lie (to rest or recline) is an intransitive verb. Kinda similar to raise and rise. Here is a site that might be helpful in differentiating the two. And this is one for raise and rise. Have fun.
Latin: Song - CCC NoGreaterJoy
We start our series on rules and we will be doing this for the next three sessions. We reviewed a little bit the Cycle 2 Latin conjugations. I am impressed how the kids still remember their memory work from Cycle 2. Hooray for everyone!
Geography: Song - CC CD
Trace, Draw and Point the five states. We are getting close to the end of the 50 States and everyone is doing a really great job. For more practice, see previous post for games and activities. I also saw a real puzzle of the USA with the piece the shapes of the states themselves. This is the site to print them and might be helpful for the children when drawing the different states. Have fun.
Fine Arts
Continuing with music theory, we learned rhythm, time signature, measure and bar lines. Worksheets I gave you has some exercises on that. I gave them easy music we were working on (Hot Cross Buns 1 & 2, Mary had a little lamb and London Bridge). I'd rather have them start on easy pieces slowly to get the right notes and tone. Let them work on the whole D-scale at home. Don't forget the posture(straight), position(45 degrees angle) and placement(finger pads not tips). They are really doing very well. Maybe if they are done with the easier music, they can work on Twinkle, Twinkle. Here is a good site for tin whistle music. Please remember to bring your tin whistle next week.
Here are the sites that I found interesting for music theory:
Making Music Fun is a fun one
Opus Music If you want more in depth music theory, this is good because you can go lesson by lesson on music theory self-study. If you have younger kids, there are theory sheets for younger children as well.
Color in my Piano is more for piano students but still is a good site
Susan Paradis is where I found most of the worksheets I printed for you.
Review game was fun... they
Book Recommendation:
Here are some books I found at the local library which might be helpful. Sorry this week's recommendation is not a lot. The worksheets might help.
Causes of the Civil War by James Epperson
The Circulatory and Lymphatic System by John Gold
The Immune System by Edward Edelston
Usborne Internet-Linked Music Theory for Beginners by Emma Danes
I hope the worksheets I'm giving out every week is helpful as you go through the lessons with them during the week (Let me know if you don't want it so we can save some trees... hahaha). I've also included worksheets for next week because we will be away.
Quick reminder for everyone, Mrs. Liesl Fawthorp will be subbing for me next week and I want everyone to be on their best behavior. just remember our three rules... (1) Respect the person speaking in front. (2) Be considerate with one another; and (3) Have fun learning. I won't be seeing you until December so have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Take care and be safe.
Miss Zabrina
Week 8
Thank you very much for a very good Monday morning. I felt like everyone was tired (maybe because of the time change), but I appreciate everyone's cooperation. We miss you Seth, but we know you are having a wonderful time... make sure to take lots of pictures.
Presentation was fun - we drew, danced, ate and made sculpture (by the way, your children might have brought home their little pig sculpture, it needs to be baked at 275 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes)... what more can you ask for. I was so impressed when I saw everyone paying really close attention to the people who were presenting. That is respect and I would say, I am very proud of each and everyone of you. Thank you very much. Next week's presentation is "Make us laugh" or Humorous interpretation, this will be another fun one. Please make sure they have their joke, story or poem memorized and props are always welcomed.
Science Experiment was short and quick. We've discuss a little bit about the pancreas and the gallbladder when we were in the digestive system. We will discuss a little bit about the spleen next week when we are in the lymph system. Just remind them coloring is not a race. We do want our body and body organs to look pretty at the end of the year. Next week, please bring coloring materials and scissors.
New Grammar
Timeline: Song - CC CD
We sang through the timeline and did the hand motions taught during the opening ceremony. the kids are getting better every week. Keep on practicing.
History: Song - CC CD
I discussed a little bit about the background of the Missouri Compromise and we went over the memory work a lot of times and did the following hand motions:
Henry Clay - right "C" hand
Missouri Compromise - right index finger points to right forehead, then both index fingers point away from the body meeting at the midline.
slave - both "S' hand palms down crossed at wrists
free - both "S" hand palms up crossed at wrists then pull apart (as if breaking free)
In the worksheets I gave you, there are questions regarding 36 30. I did not want to overwhelm them in class so I did not went over that with them. Feel free to do it at home.
Math: Song - CC CD
I am very happy that the kids are doing really well with skip counting... keep on!
Latin: Song - CC Connected NoGreaterJoy
We finish the Latin nouns with the same song (we were even able to review all of the nouns) and the following hand motions:
testimonium - right palm facing face above the head and wave twice
luminae - (same as lux) move right hand downward as it opens up
Iohannes - right "J" hand
tenebris/tenebrae - both hands palms in comes together in front of the face down to the chest
Science: Song - CC Connected NoGreaterJoy
I discussed a little bit about each part of the circulatory system and went over the circulation of blood beginning from the vena cava and ending in the aorta to the different organs. I stressed that the circulation of blood is one direction. We went over the memory work a lot and did the following hand motions:
heart - draw a heart over your heart
arteries - left "A" hand moves away from the heart
veins - right "V" hand moves toward the heart
capillaries - open hands with fingertips touching
red and white blood cells - "O" on both hands one at a time
platelets - right palm over the left hand
There is a worksheet (Circulatory system matching - really small print) that I gave you that did not have an answer key, can I give it to you next week?
English: Song - CC Connected NoGreaterJoy
I mentioned that raise is a regular verb, it is there to get the confusion out of the verb "rise." I believe the confusion is there... they keep wanting to say risen for past participle instead of raised. I did not erased anything on the board so that they can read it to get the confusion out. Work on it at home.
Geography: Song - CC Connected NoGreaterJoy
Trace, say and point the five states we learned. So far they are doing really well, even if i ask about other states, they can still tell me the capital. For games and activities, see previous (week 6) post.
Fine Arts
We learned the notes and note values, the treble and the bass clef. I gave them a sheet for their reference of what they learned in class. They are doing really well. We continued with the left hand "Hot Cross Buns" starting at "B" (one hole covered), using only all the notes on the left hand. We also played "Mary had a Little Lamb", which is also a left hand focus. And then I introduced the same song, "Hot Cross Buns" now starting at "F" sharp (four holes covered), using only the right hand. I will try to give everyone copies of the music next week. Just a quick reminder, let them play tin whistle at least 10 mins everyday. Remind them of proper posture (sit or stand up straight), positioning (45 degrees) and make sure the holes are covered properly. Thank you. Congratulations everyone! I also gave you some worksheets on music theory.
Review
Every review game helps reinforce what they learn every week and I am very very happy to see that they really are learning their memory work very well. Reminder for those who are doing the memory masters, you should have mastered your first seven weeks already. Keep on, challenge everyone. I will challenge myself, too.
Book Recommendation
Here are some of the books I found at the local library.
To Preserve the Union Causes and Effects of the Missouri Compromise by Kaavonia Hinton
(in connection to this book, there is one that Dawn and I read last week on the War of 1812) Mr. Madison's War Causes and Effects of the War of 1812 by Kassandra Radomski
The Circulatory System by Conrad Storad
Heart, Blood, and Lungs by Steve Parker
Thank you so much for all your prayers, Dave's surgery went really well. It has just been a very challenging recovery for me not him, because I have to do most of everything. I am back to work and have a lot of deadlines to meet. Continue to keep us in your prayers.
Have a wonderful week... see you all on Monday!
Miss Zabrina
