Week 17

Hello everyone! A full and busy morning for everyone. Jacob, we missed you.  Hope you are feeling better.

I was so impressed with the kids presentation. They were very convincing... we are now making homemade cookies, eating healthy breakfast, raising chickens, growing our own vegetables, riding horses, visiting the aviary at the zoo and buying a flying horse (?).  Thank you so much for helping them prepare for this "Persuasion" presentation.  They really gave very good reasons and arguments.  Next week's presentation: Tell us about your favorite artist.  Where were they from?  When did they live? What type of art did they make? (Bring in a sample/picture of their work). So far, we have discussed Rembrandt, Linnaeus, Gainsborough, Monet, and Degas and we have Morisot left to discuss. If they have another artist in mind, that is fine, too.  Have fun researching and maybe making an art project.

In Science, our experiments were based on two forms of energy and Newton's First Law of Motion. It was a very good review for everyone.  The kids enjoyed the experiments.  Thank you, Mr. Herson.  The kids had the opportunity to help the younger kids in Mrs. Reeser's class.  I am really proud of how the kids took care of the young ones.  Thank you!

New Grammar and Review
History:  Song - CC CD
We continued our discussion on World War II, and went over the leaders of the different countries during the Second World War. Eisenhower & MacArthur are both generals during WWII, one in Europe and the other in the Pacific (Asia). We reviewed the leaders of both World Wars.  For more about the WWII leaders, you can check this site.

English: Song - CCC NoGreaterJoy5
I asked the kids to give examples of a nouns.  They seem to know their nouns, but are struggling a little bit with examples for "activity" and "idea". Review that with them at home.

Science: Song - CCC NoGreaterJoy5
Newton's second law of motion was a short sentence to remember.  I explained a little bit about the formula... you will need more force to move a fridge than an ice cooler.  The harder you throw a ball, the faster it goes.  You can check this video for the explanation. This video is a funny one to enjoy.

Latin:  Song - CC CD
We reviewed first conjugation future tense.  We learned "to be" future active indicative (which is the same as first conjugation future perfect tense).  So far, the kids are doing great.

Timeline: Song - CC CD
We went back to "Age of Exploration"... this is the part where it gets confusing.  The different "Age of..."  I encouraged them to remember the dates, so they will remember where they are in history.  Again, I mentioned that we should not be memorizing for Memory Master (dates not needed).  We are doing this for ourselves. So that when they did not get the title "MM", they will still feel proud and accomplished of what they learn throughout the year.  I reminded them that we are doing everything for God.  Ultimately, our boss is God!

Math: Song - CCC NoGreaterJoy5
The area of a square.  Again, we focused more on applications than memorization although we had to review our squares.  My questions were something like...if the area is 144, what is the side? if the side is 12, what is the area?  it is good for the kids to know how to apply what they are memorizing.  Keep practicing!

Geography: Song - CCC NoGreaterJoy5
Central Europe... some of the countries are difficult to find in the map we are using because it is covered with mountains - do take note of that. We will continue with more Central Europe next time.

We were able to review memory work from the last six weeks (except Geography), do take time to continue on reviewing them. We are nearing the end of our school year, encourage the kids to keep up with their memory work even if they miss a class or two, especially if they will go for Memory Masters. Keep up the good work! 

Fine Arts
We learned about Degas and since his art focused on movement, we made sculptures.  The kids were amazing, and they showed their creativity and individuality in their project, which they enjoyed a lot.  Thank you so much for the parents who were there to help with the very involved art project.  I am sure you've seen you kids work of art, and it must be dry by now. I told them they can paint the sculpture if they want.  Hope you can send me a photo of their finished project.  I am actually thinking of displaying their art project at the end of the school year program.  Just a side note, if the sculpture keeps falling off the base, try using hot glue gun after the paint is dry.  If you want to replicate this project at home, check out this site for instruction on the skeleton of the sculpture, then wrap the skeleton with plaster gauze (available at your local craft store or medical supplies store).  Enjoy!

We finished the whole armor of God this past week.  We were not able to review the verse in class, but were able to listen to the verses a couple of times while they were doing their art project. Please review Ephesians 6:1-9 and 10-17 at home with the extra week we have. Thank you very much for helping us reach our goal.

Have a wonderful week and enjoy the extra week off.  See you in two weeks at 9:00 am (if you missed the announcement, the Delaware Symphony principal flutist is coming to our campus and lead us in our first Orchestra unit, we will finish our Great Artist unit the following week).

Sincerely,
Zabrina

Week 16

The kids felt the room was really empty, because someone was not there.  It was really cute and sweet for them to be looking for Mrs. Rittenhouse. They missed her for a little bit. The kids are becoming more observant, which is good.  Nolan, we missed you, too.  Hope you are having a wonderful time with your family.

Presentation, as usual, was exciting.  We had a lot of energy and I believe I found my substitute in case I am unable to teach. Thank you so much for helping your kids prepare their Presentation every week. It has been a good year of presentation and the kids are getting more comfortable in public speaking.  Next Week's Presentation is Persuasion: Tell us why we should buy something (or convince us why we should believe something). Allow your kids to give you good reasons, not just because it is good/fun (banned words).😉😉😉

Thank you, Mr. Reeser for an exhilarating science experiment.  The kids had a wonderful time dropping paper on the floor and thinking. Hooray for Dialectic Stage!  We will learn more about this next week in Newton's 2nd Law of Motion.

New Grammar
History: Song - CC CD
We discussed at little bit about World War II's beginnings and how it is the deadliest war of all times.  I told the kids that a lot of our following memory work will be on different wars and it is sad because history keeps repeating itself.  We ended with an encouraging thought that no matter what is happening now or what is going to happen in the future, our God is sovereign. He is in control, we need not worry!  To learn more about World War II, check out this and this site.

English: Song - CCC NoGreaterJoy5
What is a verb?  4 things they need to remember and they will know the definition.  We reviewed our Linking Verbs and Helping Verbs, too. The kids had the opportunity to construct sentences using verbs in different ways. Keep on memorizing Chart C in Essentials.

Science: Song - CCC NoGreaterJoy5
Newton's First Law of Motion is very wordy, but if the kids understands what it is saying, it should not be a problem memorizing it.  I explained a little bit about it and the kids seem to understand it well. Check out this site for Newton's Laws. You can watch this fun video for more explanation.  This is a very funny video you can enjoy.

Latin: Song - CC CD
We reviewed First Conjugation Imperfect Tense and all the other conjugations, which they know really well. We also reviewed "to be" Imperfect Active Indicative. We still need to work on the "to be" Active Indicative.

Timeline: Song - CC CD
We reviewed the Timeline from Age of Exploration.  This is where most of the confusion comes in, so I told them to remember it well, think of how the Timeline is organized, (BC by thousands) 3000 BC... 2000 BC... 1000 BC... Year 1 AD... (AD by five hundreds) 500 AD... 1000 AD... 1500 AD...etc. and then think about what event is after the dates.  It is a good way to remember the Timeline.  Again, I am encouraging the kids to remember the dates... very helpful!

Math: Song - CCC NoGreaterJoy5
We started our unit in Geometry.  The kids know their formulas so well, so we did an application.  What is the area of a rectangle, if the length is 6 and width is 3... I also reminded them of the perimeter... it is just around the rectangle not the whole area of the rectangle.  Application of what they are memorizing is what we've focused on. Keep on practicing at home.  I would recommend the Sir Cumference books, which is fun and engaging. The Isle of Immeter is a good one for differentiating area and perimeter. Enjoy!

  

Geography: Song - CCC NoGreaterJoy5
The Balkans... former Yugoslavia has six countries until June 1991. I gave out a map of what it is right now.  You can see this site for what countries they are.  Have fun learning.

Fine Arts
Our art project was very involved, but I am sure you saw the results.  Congratulations to the kids, each and every one of them made a wonderful Monet inspired painting. If you want to learn more about Monet, check out this site.  To learn more about the impressionists, check this one out.

Please review the Ephesians verse at home.  I will try my best to do it in class as much as I can, but sometimes time just slip by without me noticing. Ha!Ha!


Thank you very much for all your hard work. Have a wonderful week!

Sincerely,
Zabrina