Week 24

Congratulations everyone! We all made it through the year with flying colors.  Hooray for a job well done.  Thank you so much to everyone for making this school year an amazing one.

We reviewed Igor Stravinsky for our Fine Arts and we even made the sound of the rain.  Thank you Mrs. Armentrout.

Presentation was interesting.  I told the kids that narrating a story from a picture book will help them learn to teach their younger brothers and sisters and will prepare them to teach Sunday school in the future.  The kids had a wonderful time listening to each others' stories.  We even have a special Science presentation. Congratulations for a great year of presentation.  My take away for the kids - As homeschoolers, we don't have a lot of opportunities to do a presentation.  When you have the chance, take it and prepare and learn to embrace the process.  It will definitely help you in the future.  

New Grammar
English: Song - CCC NoGreaterJoy5
The seven sentence patterns, which the kids know by heart.  Make sure kids know what the abbreviations stand for, e.g. IO - indirect object.

Science:  Song - CCC NoGreaterJoy5

I briefly discussed how Scientific experiments are done and replicated to test for accuracy.  Good science is our goal... the search for accurate, non-biased information.

Math:  Song - CCC NoGreaterJoy5

The identity law is easy and the kids know it well. When you add zero to any number, you get the same number.  When you multiply 1 to any number, it is the same number. 

Timeline: Song - CC CD

The Presidents... The kids know the President song and to make it challenging, I asked them who is the 25th President? Who was the President before...?

History: Song - CC CD
We learned the Bill of Rights. We discussed a little bit about each bill, and the discussion was indeed interesting.  To read more about each bill, check out this site.  Make sure the kids know the Rights and their corresponding numbers, e.g. 1 - Freedom.

Latin:  Song - Opening Ceremony Song
Hooray, we finished the whole passage in Latin and English! Make sure the words are pronounced correctly.

Geography:  Song - CCC NoGreaterJoy5

We learned five more prominent features and reviewed all ten prominent features.  The kids submitted most of their maps, but some of them forgot to bring their files.  I gave them Week 24, so they still have a chance to submit all their remaining drawings on the day we meet for Memory Masters.  Thank you everyone for making this project a reality.  If they are missing some more map tracing and still want to finish it, let me know and I will send the map to you.  

Review
Before our final review, we had the chance to answer the "two questions" - 1. What is your favorite memory of the class.  2. How can you be the best "you" you can be for God's glory?  Ask them what they said and you'll be so proud of them.  We were able to review the last six weeks' materials, too. For those who are doing MM, keep practicing... you have two more weeks.

Science Experiment
We learned about median, mode and mean.  If you want to learn more, check this out.  Thank you, Mr. Herson.

It has been a wonderful privilege to have the opportunity to tutor your kids.  I've learned so much from them, and I hope that they will continue to give their best for God's glory.  Congratulations, dear teachers!

Sincerely,
Zabrina

Week 23

Fine Arts is a review of Tchaikovsky and Debussy and the Romantic music transition to Modern music.

Next week's presentation is Narration: Narrate your favorite children's picture book while showing the pictures.  Have fun preparing.

New Grammar
English: Song - CCC NoGreaterJoy5
We learned about the four sentence structure.  The kids should know this by heart having been in Essentials for a number of years.

Science:  Song - CCC NoGreaterJoy5
We learned about Natural Selection.  If you want to learn more, I enjoy reading from this site because it makes me think and process how to explain things in class.

Math:  Song - CCC NoGreaterJoy5
We learned about the Distributive Law.  Make sure the kids are thinking about what they are saying.  This is usually the most confusing of all the laws, so be careful.

History: Song - CC CD
Check this site out for more details about the Preamble of the Constitution. Be sure to be careful with the pronunciation of the words.

Latin:  Song - Opening Ceremony Song
Continue on memorizing the John 1 passage in Latin and English.

Timeline: Song - CC CD
The end of the Timeline. Make sure you know the markers... it will help you with what comes next.  Keep practicing with what is before...? just for the fun of it.

Geography:  Song - CCC NoGreaterJoy5
Learn about the prominent features... we will continue to learn more next week. I hope the kids were able to gather all their tracings and are ready to hand them to me on Monday.

Thank you very much to Mrs. Johansen for subbing for me in class. I am sure you are in your best behavior. I hope to see you next week, Lord willing...

Have a wonderful week.

Sincerely,
Zabrina

Week 22

Fine Arts was super exciting. We met Mr. Igor Stravinsky. It was interesting to meet someone in a different time that has some similarities in our lives.  Thank you, Mrs. Herson.

Presentation was interesting and encouraging as well.  For those who memorized their poems, Congratulations! I am sure your teachers know that it will benefit you, that's why they asked you to memorize it.  Next week's presentation: Persuasion: Commercial.  Create a commercial that "persuades" your audience to buy your real or imaginary product.  Have fun preparing.

New Grammar
English: Song - CCC NoGreaterJoy5
We learned the "subordinate clause" which is also called dependent clause. We differentiated it with the independent clause.  Keep reviewing.

Science:  Song - CCC NoGreaterJoy5
We differentiated Catastrophism with Uniformitarianism.  They both begin with the same words and it is easy to get confused.  I reminded the kids to think before saying their memory work. If you want to learn more, check this out.

Math:  Song - CCC NoGreaterJoy5
The Commutative Law is an easy one, but the kids somehow kept confusing it with the Associative Law. Again, I told them to think about what they are memorizing.

History: Song - CC CD
We briefly discussed Sept. 11, 2001.  This is the most recent of the history sentences and I told them that we are still very affected with the consequence of the incident.  Take note also that if you are using the older Foundations Guide, you will find that certain words are not the same.  Let me know if you need the exact words, I will email it to you.  if you want to learn more, check this out.

Latin:  Song - Opening Ceremony Song
We continued with the verse and the kids are doing really well, translating the verse to Latin.  They are really using the words they know and did well in trying to translate the verse.  Keep up the good work.

Timeline: Song - CC CD
We reviewed what was done during the Opening Ceremony and did the reverse order.  The kids are doing really well in thinking backwards. Congratulations!

Geography:  Song - CCC NoGreaterJoy5
We learned the deserts and I had to use the Trivium map to show them the delineation between the Mohave Desert and Colorado Desert.  Please take note of that when reviewing. Next week, don't forget to bring pencils and color pencils for our maps.

Science experiment was about odds.  What are the odds in favor and against?  We used a coin to distinguish the odds... 50-50, they said.  Yes!  They worked as pairs and then alone.  Again, I told them that they will need a really big sample to get to the 50-50 odds.

Review darts... this time I was strict... no help from your group, and you have to answer quickly because it is really close to Memory Masters. The kids did really well. It is amazing how the kids are all ready to answer the questions even before I ask it.  Keep up the good work... I am sure you'll all do well.  I did remind them, I hope they are memorizing not just for Memory Masters but for life.

I will be away next week and I told the kids to behave and show the same respect they give me to Mrs. Johansen.  Thank you, Phoebe. 

Have a wonderful Easter!

Sincerely,
Zabrina