Tuesday was a full day! We did a little of everything...listening, talking, presenting, eating, discussing, eating, visiting, watching, eating...Yes! We had two delicious snacks. Thank you to Seth's mom for those S'more brownies, and to Joe's mom for those sugar topped Chocolate Chip cookies, which were brought in as the snack from the US. I can hardly wait to see what comes in from Canada!
Math
We discussed and demonstrated adding, subtracting, and multiplying fractions; reciprocals; the 3 ways to write a division problem; writing division answers as mixed numbers; and improper fractions. Time ran out before we could get to an in-depth discussion about the topics in Lessons 11 and 12, but I was able to briefly describe the main ideas. This week...
**Complete Lessons 9 - 12 as directed in the guide
**Take Test 1 at home
**Bring your answers and problems to class
Literature
We spent the entire time adding items to our ANI chart and categorizing the affirmative. Once we had completed categorizing the affirmative items, we realized that we only had two categories; one about Edmund and one about the White Witch. In order to move from the Invention to the Arrangement of our writing, we needed a third category, which we made about promises/temptations.This week...
**Categorize the items on the negative column of the ANI chart. These items do not have to be categorized in the same groups as the affirmative items were. They are grouped according to what they have in common. (See pgs. 64 and 65 for sample grouping)
Here is the ANI chart we composed! Click on the photo for a better view!
Latin
We declined the vocabulary on page 7. All of the students were able to decline these first declension nouns with little difficulty! Choosing pieces of popcorn (wadded pieces of paper) they randomly paired up to translate and diagram the sentences in Exercise 5 on page 11. Before stopping for the day, we discussed gender # 32 and #33 in GRAMMAR, so Exercise 4 on page 9, should be a breeze. (HINT: There is only one masculine noun on the list!)
This week...
**Work on Exercises 3-5. We did a lot of these in class, so it should not be too difficult for them to do.
**Continue to write and study vocabulary cards. There is vocabulary on pg. 7 and pg. 11.
**Read grammar rules 14-33. That is a lot to memorize, so just read through them a couple of times each week.
Click on link to hear vocabulary from Lesson 1.
Click on link to hear the First Declension noun endings. Stop the video at 1.06 minutes!
Rhetoric
I know now why so many tutors enjoy this part of the day. We had a great discussion about the creation of the earth. I especially loved how well they seemed to grasp the idea of how "something cannot come from nothing." I purposely planned this class to come after lunch so we could be full and relaxed...and we sure were!
This week...
**Read Chapter 2 in both books
**Record finding from "ICJH" (It Couldn't Just Happen) in the front of the binder
**Record information in the study guide for "DCYB" (Don't Check Your Brains at the Door) in the back of the binder
**Study catechism questions in the center of the binder
Geography
We studied the US features in earnest. First, we located them on small US maps, then we took turns locating them on the bigger US map at the front of the room. We, also, located the rivers. Thank goodness for Google on my phone, because some of them were not even in the atlas. Please feel free to adapt the number of rivers to be located to what you, as the teacher, feel necessary. We did not get to the geography terms, but I will spend a little time quizzing aloud before giving the written quiz.
This week...
**Study Geo terms for Weeks 1 and 2 for quiz on them. It is a matching quiz, so the word and its definition are visible.
**Draw...Draw...Draw! I will give them a blank piece of paper for them to draw and label the US. Remember that I will collect them, but will only give a mark of 1, 2, or 3. One point each for artistry, neatness, and overall accuracy. Please let me know what changes you make to their map requirements.
Science
We only had time to listen to half of the class present their science writings. I am planning on hearing all of them in the weeks ahead.
This week...
**Research fungi
**Draw and write informational paragraph in sketchbook
(Click below for a brief lesson on Fungi)
The room that we are in is small! I would like to try sitting on the floor again on Tuesday. It worked fairly well. If your child would like to bring in a bean bag, that would be fine. Then, they would not have to be up against the wall, they could hang out in the middle of the room, freeing up some space against the walls.
Please encourage appropriate classroom behavior. Most of the children are settling in nicely to the new school year. Some are still a bit "out there" and need to be reminded to calm down a bit!
We are off to a fantastic start...I am worn out by Tuesday evening, but it is a "good" worn out...thank you for entrusting your children to my care and tutorials! I love all of them...
