Week 13

Welcome back and Happy New Year!  I sure hope everyone had a wonderful break and is ready for the new 12 weeks of school.  I have to say I was really glad to see everyone last week trying out for the mock Memory Master testing.  Congratulations for a job well done!

Presentation was really fun.  We had an impromptu - gather your thoughts in 30 seconds and tell us something about the question you drew from the hat.  Everyone did wonderfully.  Thank you so much and I am really glad to have known you better.  Jayven shared about a Behemoth (dinosaur) in the Bible, if you want to read about it, read Job 40:15-18. Next week's presentation is "Tell us about a Biblical hero of faith or missionary." When did they live? What did they do? Why are they a hero? Enjoy preparing!

Science experiment with Mr. Herson was about sound and sound waves.  We had a wonderful time testing things and looking at the water moving. This is a wonderful video of music with stemmed wineglasses.  It is amazing!

New Grammar
English: Song - CCC NoGreaterJoy5
We finished the last of the indefinite pronouns which the kids already knew.  We had a little bit of time to review our previous lessons - the one they struggled with a lot (Possessive pronouns and PPAs).

Latin: Song - CC CD
We are back reviewing our conjugation endings.  Since the kids know them really well, and since they are all in Essentials, I challenge them to memorize the Latin Verb Synopsis Chart, Active Indicative.  We started with Present Active Indicative, and we will move on to parallel what we are learning in Latin conjugation endings.  They should be able to memorize everything by the end of the year. Hooray!

Science: Song - CCC NoGreaterJoy5
The kids know the states of matter really well, so to know what they already know, I asked them to discuss a little bit about the different states.  They did well.  I sort of have to tell them more about the plasma state. If you want to read more on the different states of matter, check out this site.

History: Song - CC CD
We discussed a little bit about the Industrial Revolution.  The good that it brought to the economy and the bad that it brought to the environment.  Check this and this site for more about the topic.  Have a wonderful time reading.

Math: Song - CCC NoGreaterJoy5
The kids' favorite - the  Gallonbot.  The kids had a wonderful time answering questions by looking at the Gallonbot.  Below is the photo.  Enjoy!


Timeline: Song - CC CD
We reviewed a little bit on what was done during the opening ceremony.

Geography: CCC NoGreaterJoy5
Northern European countries in three fingers and a hand.  Right middle finger - Norway, right pointer finger - Sweden, right thumb - Finland, left hand below the right hand - Denmark.  We had time to review the European waters and Eastern European waters.

Fine Arts
We started a new unit in Fine Arts - the Great Artists. We learned a little bit about Rembrandt and his work.  If you want to learn more about Rembrandt, check out this site.  We focused on his light and shadow art.  How the effect of light and shadow gives life to a painting.  I chose to teach the kids the concept of light and shadow in a pot, hoping they will be able to use the concept in their other drawings in the future.  I discussed a little bit about the part that is the brightest and the darkest in an object when light is shone.  Check this site out for more explanation on light and shadow.  This is where I got the idea for the project for class.  Enjoy shading. For next week's art, would the kids be able to bring one flower each? 

Review
I can summarize review in one word - AWESOME!  I really am so proud of the kids for their determination to finish well this year.  I can see that each and everyone of them is decided and dedicated to do "Memory Masters".  I have no doubt in their abilities and support them all the way. We were able to review Weeks 1 -13 of Science, English, History, and Latin with the 15 minutes that we have. They can easily answer the questions without even blinking.  They all know that they need to work on their multiplication table especially the 13's, 14's, and 15's. (I have a plan for this... any suggestion will be welcomed). I am just so proud of them.  Keep on encouraging them.  I did tell them that going for memory master is a wonderful goal, but I still encourage them to enjoy the learning behind the memory work. The kids are just awesome. Thank you for the opportunity of teaching them, it has been a wonderful blessing!

Have a wonderful week!

Zabrina