Oops! I am a little late this week in listing what we did. I guess you could say "Life happened" and that would be the short version of my week! Thank you for your patience! I have attachments I will be emailing to parents with the updated Timeline Motions as well as ALL of our Memory Work (songs/chants/motions, etc.) for English and Geography. I will send Science soon.
Thank you to all the parents each week for making this class so much fun. The way you guys all pitch in and help keep the children on task and learning is truly wonderful.
History: Tell me about the formation of the United Nations.
In 1945 (flash 4, then 5 fingers),
after the League of Nations (bring both fists together)
failed to prevent (two thumbs down)
WWII (flash W, W, then 2),
American president (hand over chest, stand at attention)
Roosevelt (ASL "R")
British Prime Minister (sip tea)
Churchill (make fingertips touch, like steeple)
and USSR President (hammer, like for the flag)
Stalin (draw moustache with fingers)
began the United Nations (ASL "u", then "n")
Math: One foot equals 12 inches
We held up one foot for "ONE FOOT" and then big step down for "12 INCHES." We repeated this several times.
Geography: Europe (We joked that this was "Leftover Europe" b/c the countries were so scattered)
We sang the following several times, then found the countries on the map:
Lu-Lu-Lu-Lu-Luxembourg,
Be-Be-Be-Be-Belgium,
I-I-I-I-Ireland,
USSR
English Grammar: 5 Kinds of Nouns
We snapped our fingers (or patted leg) and sang the following:
DIrect Object
INdirect Object
Subject - Possessive
OBject of PREPosition, 5 Kinds of Nouns
Science: What is Newton's 3rd Law of Motion?
For every action there is an equal and opposite REACTION (said higher pitch, as we bounced off a wall).
For Science Lab, we experimented with balls hitting, then bouncing back. The children also enjoyed turning spoons into a catapult and slinging split peas as far as they could - one child had his "Go to outerspace!" What fun :)
Latin: Future Tense
We sang the song to Hallelu, Hallelujah
amabo
ambis
amabit
amabimus
amabitis
amabunt
Future Tense
Fine Arts - we just finished our last week with the Great Artists. I have enjoyed observing each child's personality shine through - some take their time, some know what they want to do and get it done quickly. Some have pictures only they understand. But each is an artist. And remember: Turn your mistake into a masterpiece!
This LAST six weeks (can you believe it?!?!?) will be spent learning about the Orchestra. I am looking forward to this topic!
See you Tuesday!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Week 17 - a little extra
WOW! We were MOVING today! I don't think I've seen so many of the students get so tuckered so early! With all that running in place (science/acceleration), racing, motions, kicking balls, etc. they were ready for lunch - and then outdoor play :)
History - we changed "Mussolini" a little - we put our hands up by our heads as in "Moose"
Have a great week - happy memorizing!
History - we changed "Mussolini" a little - we put our hands up by our heads as in "Moose"
Have a great week - happy memorizing!
Monday, February 14, 2011
Week 17
I may not have a chance to post these until later this week, so I thought I'd go ahead and post tonight what I plan to do tomorrow - if something changes, just look under this post for "comments" and I'll post changes there. I'll see you bright and early in the morning!
History Sentence: Tell me about the leaders of WWII
Music: Pretend to blow a tuba
WWII: ASL "W - W - 2"
AXIS leaders were: cross arms in front of body, like an X
Hitler: finger under nose for straight moustache
of Germany: drive car (like Volvo)
Tojo of Japan: karate moves
and Mussolini: forcefully pretend to hold a staff (as in dictator)
of Italy: kick foot (our sign this year for Italy, as it looks like a boot on the map)
WWII: ASL "W - W- 2"
ALLY leaders were: clasp hands above head (as in victory)
Churchill: two hands fingertips touching (as in a rooftop of a church)
of England: pretend to sip tea (our sign this year for England)
Roosevelt: ASL "R"
Eisenhower: touch eye
and MacArthur: salute
of the U.S.: point to where we are standing (our sign this year for U.S.)
and Stalin: use fingers to draw a moustache
of the U.S.S.R.: pretend to pound hammer (their flag has a hammer)
English: So Rise and Shine
A noun, a noun, a noun names a person, place, thing...activity, or idea
Math: To the tune Wheels on the Bus
The circumference of a circle equals 2 pi r, 2 pi r, 2 pi r, the circumference of a circle equals 2 pi r...for all circles!
Geography: Jesus Loves Me
Germany (drive car)
Switzerland (hands look like mtn tops)
Austria (hands on hips)
Hungary (rub tummy)
Czechoslovakia (draw a check in the air)
Germany
Switzerland
Austria
Hungary
Czechoslovakia
Science:
Newton's 2nd Law of Motion states that
force (pretend to push)
equals mass (stretch arms out wide)
times acceleration (run in place)
Timeline: see email with attachment of hand motions
1. The Monroe Doctrine
2. Traveling the Erie Canal
3. Jacksonian Democracy
4. The Cotton Gin Establishes the South
5. Slavery in the South
6. The Cherokee Trail of Tears
7. Remember the Alamo
8. Westward Expansion
Latin: song (we'll take turns singing into the microphone - this seemed to work well last week)
Fine Arts: Degas
History Sentence: Tell me about the leaders of WWII
Music: Pretend to blow a tuba
WWII: ASL "W - W - 2"
AXIS leaders were: cross arms in front of body, like an X
Hitler: finger under nose for straight moustache
of Germany: drive car (like Volvo)
Tojo of Japan: karate moves
and Mussolini: forcefully pretend to hold a staff (as in dictator)
of Italy: kick foot (our sign this year for Italy, as it looks like a boot on the map)
WWII: ASL "W - W- 2"
ALLY leaders were: clasp hands above head (as in victory)
Churchill: two hands fingertips touching (as in a rooftop of a church)
of England: pretend to sip tea (our sign this year for England)
Roosevelt: ASL "R"
Eisenhower: touch eye
and MacArthur: salute
of the U.S.: point to where we are standing (our sign this year for U.S.)
and Stalin: use fingers to draw a moustache
of the U.S.S.R.: pretend to pound hammer (their flag has a hammer)
English: So Rise and Shine
A noun, a noun, a noun names a person, place, thing...activity, or idea
Math: To the tune Wheels on the Bus
The circumference of a circle equals 2 pi r, 2 pi r, 2 pi r, the circumference of a circle equals 2 pi r...for all circles!
Geography: Jesus Loves Me
Germany (drive car)
Switzerland (hands look like mtn tops)
Austria (hands on hips)
Hungary (rub tummy)
Czechoslovakia (draw a check in the air)
Germany
Switzerland
Austria
Hungary
Czechoslovakia
Science:
Newton's 2nd Law of Motion states that
force (pretend to push)
equals mass (stretch arms out wide)
times acceleration (run in place)
Timeline: see email with attachment of hand motions
1. The Monroe Doctrine
2. Traveling the Erie Canal
3. Jacksonian Democracy
4. The Cotton Gin Establishes the South
5. Slavery in the South
6. The Cherokee Trail of Tears
7. Remember the Alamo
8. Westward Expansion
Latin: song (we'll take turns singing into the microphone - this seemed to work well last week)
Fine Arts: Degas
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Week 16
Welcome to our new students: Jude and Benedict! Evie, it is good to have you back. Garret, we hope to see you back next week!
Here is a recap of our new material this week.
Math: To the tune of Wheels on the Bus
The area of a circle equals pi r squared, pi r squared, pi r squared, the area of a circle equals pi r squared... for all circles!
English Grammar: To the tune of B-I-N-G-O
In English Grammar there are adverbs - to what extent:
not so too very
rather quite somewhat
not so too very
rather quite somewhat!
(To make sure the children understand what these mean, you can give them a word such as hungry, tired, or funny...How tired are you? "Rather tired!" How funny are you? "Too funny!")
Latin - Imperfect Tense (same tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" as we learned in weeks prior.)
Geography: Balkans to the tune of Wheels on the Bus (I realize that it makes two times of using this tune this week - my apologies! The math tune was suggested to me just this morning, so it was a late addition!)
In the Balkans,
Greece is on the bottom,
up to Albania,
Yugoslavia;
Over to Romania,
Down to Bulgaria,
Those are the countries in the Balkan Peninsula!
We talked about finding Italy on the Apenine Peninsula and then looking to the right to find the Balkan Peninsula. If you start at the bottom with Greece and move in a clockwise rotation, you will find it easier to find the countries. Please note that if you have a map from the beginning of the year, Yugoslavia may be missing (due to the line not copying accurately).
History: Tell me about how WWII began
WWII began in 1939 when Hitler (finger under nose like a moustache)
invaded Poland (act like throwing a spear).
Two engagements (hold up two fingers)
that helped the US win the Pacific front (move arms like you are swimming)
were the Battle of Midway (boxing moves)
and dropping atomic bombs (move both arms straight up over head)
on Hiroshima (drop one arm to the side)
and Nagasaki (drop other arm to the other side)
in 1945 (flash "4", then "5")
Science: What is Newton's 1st Law of Motion?
An object at rest tends to remain at rest and an object in otion tends to continue moving in a straight line at constant speed, unless an outside force acts upon it.
While this is a mouthful for this age, we did review this a few times, though the focus was on understanding the concept. We demonstrated with matchbox cars and then practiced with our bodies how we could 1) be at rest, then 2) move in a straight line, and then 3) bumping into something so that we were no longer moving in a straight line.
For science lab, we had three experiments - and a lot of fun!
First, we tested the Law of Motion by placing a penny on top of an index card that was placed on a plastic cup - when the card was thumped, the card disappeared and the penny dropped into the cup. The children were so excited when it worked. It is one of the true joys of homeschooling to be witness to our children's unbridled enthusiasm for learning!
We also pretended to be planes dropping bombs - could they run and drop a ball onto a target on the floor? This was much more difficult than it first appeared, but it offered many opportunities to test if they needed to drop sooner or later.
Our last experiment had us racing two jars down ramps - which one would 1) get to the bottom faster and 2) which one would go further? Such fun to see the jar of sand roll so far across the gym floor!
I will get the Timeline hand motions to you soon via email. Have a good week - happy memorizing!
Here is a recap of our new material this week.
Math: To the tune of Wheels on the Bus
The area of a circle equals pi r squared, pi r squared, pi r squared, the area of a circle equals pi r squared... for all circles!
English Grammar: To the tune of B-I-N-G-O
In English Grammar there are adverbs - to what extent:
not so too very
rather quite somewhat
not so too very
rather quite somewhat!
(To make sure the children understand what these mean, you can give them a word such as hungry, tired, or funny...How tired are you? "Rather tired!" How funny are you? "Too funny!")
Latin - Imperfect Tense (same tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" as we learned in weeks prior.)
Geography: Balkans to the tune of Wheels on the Bus (I realize that it makes two times of using this tune this week - my apologies! The math tune was suggested to me just this morning, so it was a late addition!)
In the Balkans,
Greece is on the bottom,
up to Albania,
Yugoslavia;
Over to Romania,
Down to Bulgaria,
Those are the countries in the Balkan Peninsula!
We talked about finding Italy on the Apenine Peninsula and then looking to the right to find the Balkan Peninsula. If you start at the bottom with Greece and move in a clockwise rotation, you will find it easier to find the countries. Please note that if you have a map from the beginning of the year, Yugoslavia may be missing (due to the line not copying accurately).
History: Tell me about how WWII began
WWII began in 1939 when Hitler (finger under nose like a moustache)
invaded Poland (act like throwing a spear).
Two engagements (hold up two fingers)
that helped the US win the Pacific front (move arms like you are swimming)
were the Battle of Midway (boxing moves)
and dropping atomic bombs (move both arms straight up over head)
on Hiroshima (drop one arm to the side)
and Nagasaki (drop other arm to the other side)
in 1945 (flash "4", then "5")
Science: What is Newton's 1st Law of Motion?
An object at rest tends to remain at rest and an object in otion tends to continue moving in a straight line at constant speed, unless an outside force acts upon it.
While this is a mouthful for this age, we did review this a few times, though the focus was on understanding the concept. We demonstrated with matchbox cars and then practiced with our bodies how we could 1) be at rest, then 2) move in a straight line, and then 3) bumping into something so that we were no longer moving in a straight line.
For science lab, we had three experiments - and a lot of fun!
First, we tested the Law of Motion by placing a penny on top of an index card that was placed on a plastic cup - when the card was thumped, the card disappeared and the penny dropped into the cup. The children were so excited when it worked. It is one of the true joys of homeschooling to be witness to our children's unbridled enthusiasm for learning!
We also pretended to be planes dropping bombs - could they run and drop a ball onto a target on the floor? This was much more difficult than it first appeared, but it offered many opportunities to test if they needed to drop sooner or later.
Our last experiment had us racing two jars down ramps - which one would 1) get to the bottom faster and 2) which one would go further? Such fun to see the jar of sand roll so far across the gym floor!
I will get the Timeline hand motions to you soon via email. Have a good week - happy memorizing!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Week 15
What a perfect week to study the topic of energy! Our class was MOVING today! But we went with it and had some different activities to show for it :)
SCIENCE: Potential (stored energy) & KINETIC (energy of motion)
We walked around like robots and said the science sentence in a robotic voice. In science lab, we experimented with different objects to see how they could at times have potential energy and at times kenetic energy. Then the children played potential/kinetic tag - so funny! When tagged, they said, "POTENTIAL!" and when tagged again, they said, "KINETIC!" It must have worked, because at lunch, we saw two students eating - pausing - eating - pausing as they took turns with kinetic and potential.
ENGLISH GRAMMAR: Double negatives to the tune of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" (Oh you better watch out)
no, not, neither, never, none
nobody, nothing, scarcely, hardly. (use fingers to count with each one until "9" is reached)
These are the
Double (flash both hands twice)
Negatives (quickly move head from right to left like "no")
HISTORY:
Each student was a country. Three Allies stood on one side, with two Central Powers on the other.
The three allies held hands and raised them up in the air.
Fought against - both sides pretended to box
Central Powers - held arms up like showing off muscles
US entered the war - another person joined the Allies and held hands raised in the air
MATH:
Whispering "Shh, Shhh! Secret. Agent! Shh, shhh! Secret. Agent! The Area of a triangle equals one-half base times height." I color-coded the base and height of the triangle to match the B and H of the rule to make it easier for them to understand - but they are 4-6 year olds, so it was just an intro :)
GEOGRAPHY: Middle East
To the tune of Jingle Bells
Middle East, Middle East, Miiiiiiiidle East
Persia, Iraq, Syria, Cyprus, Tuuuuuuuurkey!
(And for presentation time, two students brought some things their dad brought back from his tour in Iraq - how neat!)
LATIN: We sang the Latin song (and for some reason they all seemed to want to practice Latin in review, so we went through most conjugations!).
FINE ARTS: I was so impressed with the creativity of the students! Their landscapes were beautiful! Remember to draw and cut out people and animals to paste to your landscape.
REVIEW: We played Make a Bucket, Roll the Dice, and Timeline Shuffle. This was the first time for this format of Timeline Shuffle - I think it was a hit!
Keep practicing - it shows! Thanks for another great class. I love them all so much!
SCIENCE: Potential (stored energy) & KINETIC (energy of motion)
We walked around like robots and said the science sentence in a robotic voice. In science lab, we experimented with different objects to see how they could at times have potential energy and at times kenetic energy. Then the children played potential/kinetic tag - so funny! When tagged, they said, "POTENTIAL!" and when tagged again, they said, "KINETIC!" It must have worked, because at lunch, we saw two students eating - pausing - eating - pausing as they took turns with kinetic and potential.
ENGLISH GRAMMAR: Double negatives to the tune of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" (Oh you better watch out)
no, not, neither, never, none
nobody, nothing, scarcely, hardly. (use fingers to count with each one until "9" is reached)
These are the
Double (flash both hands twice)
Negatives (quickly move head from right to left like "no")
HISTORY:
Each student was a country. Three Allies stood on one side, with two Central Powers on the other.
The three allies held hands and raised them up in the air.
Fought against - both sides pretended to box
Central Powers - held arms up like showing off muscles
US entered the war - another person joined the Allies and held hands raised in the air
MATH:
Whispering "Shh, Shhh! Secret. Agent! Shh, shhh! Secret. Agent! The Area of a triangle equals one-half base times height." I color-coded the base and height of the triangle to match the B and H of the rule to make it easier for them to understand - but they are 4-6 year olds, so it was just an intro :)
GEOGRAPHY: Middle East
To the tune of Jingle Bells
Middle East, Middle East, Miiiiiiiidle East
Persia, Iraq, Syria, Cyprus, Tuuuuuuuurkey!
(And for presentation time, two students brought some things their dad brought back from his tour in Iraq - how neat!)
LATIN: We sang the Latin song (and for some reason they all seemed to want to practice Latin in review, so we went through most conjugations!).
FINE ARTS: I was so impressed with the creativity of the students! Their landscapes were beautiful! Remember to draw and cut out people and animals to paste to your landscape.
REVIEW: We played Make a Bucket, Roll the Dice, and Timeline Shuffle. This was the first time for this format of Timeline Shuffle - I think it was a hit!
Keep practicing - it shows! Thanks for another great class. I love them all so much!
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