This week we studied Johnson's idea of a Great Society. Once again, I was a bit unhappy about the resources that we were assigned to read in that there were several facts about the Civil Rights legislation of the 1950s and 1960s that were missing in the books we read. I spent some time looking for some alternate sources, but did not find many that were at the proper reading level. So I tried to just connect a few dots in our discussion time and decided that the next time we go through this year plan we can read more then.
Princess E - 6th Grade - Dialectic
Latin for Children Primer A: Finish lesson 27 and begin lesson 28
Math-U-See Epsilon: Finish lesson 2 and part of lesson 3
IEW: We continued lesson 10.
Foundations 1: Finish suffix -ED and begin suffix -ING
MCT Language Arts: The Music of the Hemispheres: Read pages 64-79 We were learning about alliteration and the importance of letter sounds and cluster sounds that evoke the sounds of the subject.
Practice Island: Sentence 52-55
McCrabbs: 56-60
Science: Lesson 12 & 13 - Fossils and Fossil Fuels
TOG Yr4 Wk26: Timeline; SAPs; AQ/TQs; Reading - The Lilies of the Field; A Dream of Freedom; Idiot's Guide; Brother Andrew: God's Secret Agent; 10,000 Days of Thunder. Read Aloud - The Story of the World, Volume 4.
Princess S - 4th Grade - UG
Growing With Grammar 4: Chapter 5.12 to 6.2
Math-U-See Delta: Finish lesson 1 and begin lesson 2.
IEW, MCT Language Arts, McCrabbs and Science: same as above
TOG Yr4 Wk26: Quizlet vocab; important people; SAPs; Reading - All the People, Martin Luther King Jr, The Cold War, Water Buffalo Days. Read Aloud - same as above.
Princess L - K - LG
MFW First Grade: Lessons 57-63.
Math-U-See Alpha: Lesson 3 - This lesson was for all review as she learned the blocks and their colors in Primer. We speed through and began lesson 4. Since we started flashcards earlier this year, she already knows her 0+ and +0 facts.
Explode the Code Book One: finish book
Explode the Code Book Two: Lesson one
Princess M - PreTOGger
Nothing much to report with this little one. She had her best friend over for a few hours this morning for a play day. Her sister's choir concert was today so her mom asked me if she could drop her off. They had great fun playing with our Fischer Price Little People sets. We have all the pieces from when I was a kid that my mom saved, as well as some of the more more modern sets. When they get them all out they fill up the family room.
2/25/11
2/19/11
Princess Poetry
With The Music of the Hemispheres, we talked about rhyme schemes. We talked about end rhyme, internal rhyme, and eye rhyme. So they had four minutes to make a list of rhyming words - as many as they could. Then they were instructed to use these to help them write a poem where they experimented with different rhyme schemes. I'll put Princess S's poem first.
I thought this was a great poem that showcases the different types of rhyme. And of course, her sense of humor has to show through.
Princess E has been waiting impatiently for us to get to this book. She believes it will help her with her song writing. As you can see she has a way with words. The ending is a little wonky, but other than that, she did great. She experimented mostly with end rhyme patterns, but there are a few spots with internal rhyme.
Pat And Mat
Pat has a hat. So does Mat.
Pat and Mat are cats.
Pat and Mat sat.
Deep in wonder, they wander away.
They see roses, oh so pretty.
They see a thistlebush, what a pitty.
They see a plate.
They see a rat.
SPLAT!
They ate.
I thought this was a great poem that showcases the different types of rhyme. And of course, her sense of humor has to show through.
Sleeping Maiden
She dances into moonlight
holding up her heavy head.
Twirling out of sight,
and tumbling into bed.
The maiden spots a starry line
as they twinkle, while she finds
that counting stars instead of
sheep will maybe help her find
some sleep.
One star, two star, three star, four,
five star, six! Hundreds more!
Her eyes they fall,
they flutter and twitch
A sleeping maiden,
beautiful to all, has fallen
into dreaming calls.
Princess E has been waiting impatiently for us to get to this book. She believes it will help her with her song writing. As you can see she has a way with words. The ending is a little wonky, but other than that, she did great. She experimented mostly with end rhyme patterns, but there are a few spots with internal rhyme.
TOG Year 4 Week 25
This week we looked at the last year of JFK's presidency. We learned about the March on Washington and why it was significant. Princess E looked at how the fight for civil rights in certain African countries was similar to the fight in the United States. Princess S has started a project for co-op on the Apollo missions. Princess L took an audiology screening this week to rule out a hearing loss. She passed with flying colors. Based on that, she will have one more week of speech therapy and then we will take a break to see if a little maturation will solve the remaining issues.
Princess E - 6th Grade - Dialectic
Latin for Children Primer A: Finish lesson 26 and begin lesson 27
Math-U-See Epsilon: Lesson 1 and part of lesson 2
IEW: We began lesson 10.
Foundations 1: Suffix -ED
MCT Language Arts: The Music of the Hemispheres: Read pages 49-63 (learning about rhyming schemes) and did the writing exercise. I'll do another post with the poems that they wrote.
Practice Island: Sentence 47-51
McCrabbs: 51-55
Science: Lesson 11 - Learning about Igneous Rocks
TOG Yr4 Wk23: Timeline; SAPs; AQ/TQs; Reading - Poetry for Young People: Langston Hughes, A Dream of Freedom, Idiot's Guide, Brother Andrew: God's Secret Agent, 10,000 Days of Thunder, The Making of Modern Africa. Read Aloud - The Story of the World, Volume 4.
Princess S - 4th Grade - UG
Growing With Grammar 4: Chapter 5.9 to 5.11
Math-U-See Delta: Lesson 1 - I made the same deal with her for that I made with Princess E. If she can get 100% on her choice of the A,B or C sheets, then she can move straight to the review sheets. She must do all of those. If she is getting the new information wrong, then she will be doing the other sheets.
IEW, MCT Language Arts, McCrabbs and Science: same as above
TOG Yr4 Wk25: Quizlet vocab; important people; SAPs; Reading - All the People, Martin Luther King Jr, The Cold War, The Phantom Tollbooth. Read Aloud - same as above.
Princess L - K - LG
MFW First Grade: Lessons 50-56.
Math-U-See Alpha: Lesson 2 - this lesson has her practicing writing her numbers through 20. It is frustrating that she still does numbers backwards. If it were the same one all the time, that would be understandable, but she does random numbers backwards throughout the page. Since Alpha stresses mastery, I'm waffling with whether or not to move on, but I probably will. I think she'll get frustrated by doing the same writing every day.
Explode the Code: pgs. 90-92
Princess M - PreTOGger
I've come out of denial about this little one being a southpaw. For a while she would switch back and forth, and sometimes will eat right handed. But give her a pencil or crayon, and it will be put in her left hand. I know the saying goes that lefties tend to be more creative - so I'm clinging to that. I'm on a mission to learn more about how to teach a leftie to write.
Princess E - 6th Grade - Dialectic
Latin for Children Primer A: Finish lesson 26 and begin lesson 27
Math-U-See Epsilon: Lesson 1 and part of lesson 2
IEW: We began lesson 10.
Foundations 1: Suffix -ED
MCT Language Arts: The Music of the Hemispheres: Read pages 49-63 (learning about rhyming schemes) and did the writing exercise. I'll do another post with the poems that they wrote.
Practice Island: Sentence 47-51
McCrabbs: 51-55
Science: Lesson 11 - Learning about Igneous Rocks
TOG Yr4 Wk23: Timeline; SAPs; AQ/TQs; Reading - Poetry for Young People: Langston Hughes, A Dream of Freedom, Idiot's Guide, Brother Andrew: God's Secret Agent, 10,000 Days of Thunder, The Making of Modern Africa. Read Aloud - The Story of the World, Volume 4.
Princess S - 4th Grade - UG
Growing With Grammar 4: Chapter 5.9 to 5.11
Math-U-See Delta: Lesson 1 - I made the same deal with her for that I made with Princess E. If she can get 100% on her choice of the A,B or C sheets, then she can move straight to the review sheets. She must do all of those. If she is getting the new information wrong, then she will be doing the other sheets.
IEW, MCT Language Arts, McCrabbs and Science: same as above
TOG Yr4 Wk25: Quizlet vocab; important people; SAPs; Reading - All the People, Martin Luther King Jr, The Cold War, The Phantom Tollbooth. Read Aloud - same as above.
Princess L - K - LG
MFW First Grade: Lessons 50-56.
Math-U-See Alpha: Lesson 2 - this lesson has her practicing writing her numbers through 20. It is frustrating that she still does numbers backwards. If it were the same one all the time, that would be understandable, but she does random numbers backwards throughout the page. Since Alpha stresses mastery, I'm waffling with whether or not to move on, but I probably will. I think she'll get frustrated by doing the same writing every day.
Explode the Code: pgs. 90-92
Princess M - PreTOGger
I've come out of denial about this little one being a southpaw. For a while she would switch back and forth, and sometimes will eat right handed. But give her a pencil or crayon, and it will be put in her left hand. I know the saying goes that lefties tend to be more creative - so I'm clinging to that. I'm on a mission to learn more about how to teach a leftie to write.
2/18/11
Awesome Giveaway at Keeper of the Home
There is an awesome giveaway right now over at Keeper of the Home. I've always wanted a better water filter. We use a Brita which is kept in our fridge. We use it for drinking water and when we make some kind of drink mix (Crystal Light or reconstituted 100% juice). I do not use it for cooking. But I'd love to win this. Go here to find out more.
2/17/11
Piano Festival
Last Saturday, Princess E performed in her fifth MFMC piano festival. She performed two songs - Pagoda Bells by Rejino was the required song and her chosen song was Scherzo by Haydn. For the fifth year in a row she received a Superior score. This is the top score (five points) that one can receive. She earned a trophy after 15 points, and is looking to earn the next trophy. Princess M did not prepare for the festival this year, but is working to take her first piano exam in May. She has the songs almost memorized and is working on rhythmics and dynamics. She also is still working hard on the theory that is required for her level. Princess E has learned about another program called Bridges which will allow her to perform some required songs in addition to some of the songs she has written herself. She has to have a written score, however, and is trying to get her music put into Noteflight so that she can print it out nicely. It is a little difficult to do on a netbook because the screen is so small. I'm happy about her dedication to it, however she has used some of her school time to do it. Now she is quite behind for this week.
2/15/11
Am I Too Old For This?
Today I did something I have not done in thirteen years. I used to do it quite a lot in my youth, and a few times as an adult. For my kids it was their first time, and they enjoyed it. For me, I enjoyed it, but it makes me ask myself if I'm too old for it.
The it in question would be downhill skiing. We had the opportunity to go skiing today, and thoroughly enjoyed it. The last time I went skiing, I has not yet a parent. And I was a bit lighter back then, too. Princess E and Princess S came along with us and were given a lesson. They caught on pretty quickly. Princess S was a bit more cautious and wanted to stick with the smallest hill most of the time. Princess E just enjoyed shooting down the hill without any poles and (sometimes) crashing at the bottom.
As for me, it was like riding a bike. Once I went down the first hill it all seemed to come back to me. I did have one wipe out. Of course, it was right in front of the girls. I was slowing way down, but not stopping, and trying to look behind me to see where the hubby was. Then I ran right over my own pole and found myself on my back in seconds. The girls thought it was pretty funny. While it didn't hurt, getting up was not nearly as easy as it used to be. I had to straighten out and then wait for the hubs to help me up.
However, I will admit that I am dreading having to get up out of bed tomorrow morning. I think my thighs will be in sorry shape, and my feet are quite sore already. So I ask again, am I too old for this?
The it in question would be downhill skiing. We had the opportunity to go skiing today, and thoroughly enjoyed it. The last time I went skiing, I has not yet a parent. And I was a bit lighter back then, too. Princess E and Princess S came along with us and were given a lesson. They caught on pretty quickly. Princess S was a bit more cautious and wanted to stick with the smallest hill most of the time. Princess E just enjoyed shooting down the hill without any poles and (sometimes) crashing at the bottom.
As for me, it was like riding a bike. Once I went down the first hill it all seemed to come back to me. I did have one wipe out. Of course, it was right in front of the girls. I was slowing way down, but not stopping, and trying to look behind me to see where the hubby was. Then I ran right over my own pole and found myself on my back in seconds. The girls thought it was pretty funny. While it didn't hurt, getting up was not nearly as easy as it used to be. I had to straighten out and then wait for the hubs to help me up.
However, I will admit that I am dreading having to get up out of bed tomorrow morning. I think my thighs will be in sorry shape, and my feet are quite sore already. So I ask again, am I too old for this?
2/14/11
Accountable Kids - Second Check In
I figured I should report on how this is continuing to work. One problem is that while I don't have to remind them of each and every chore, I do have to remind them that they are to be working on their cards. I have to say to them about every 15 minutes, "Do you have free time yet? Are you done with your yellow chores? Your red chores?" That hasn't gone away yet.
The other issue that I've come across is that they are forgetting to flip their cards over when a chore is completed and then I don't check it. If I don't check it then they cannot earn a ticket. It's difficult to check if the bathroom quick clean was done in the morning when it is 4:00 in the afternoon. I'm not sure yet how to combat this other than to remind them to flip over the chores when they are done.
The final issue is that they are not completing any of the chores that they can earn money for. So this fix is easy and will be rolled out sometime later this week. From now on I will be assigning one of these chores to the bigger three girls each day, and they will not be earning money for them. The opportunity to earn money will still be there as I'll only put one chore on for each day, but the other chores will continue to be hanging as an opportunity. My hope is that eventually they will come to see that it is much more desirable to earn money for doing the chore than to simply have it assigned.
The other issue that I've come across is that they are forgetting to flip their cards over when a chore is completed and then I don't check it. If I don't check it then they cannot earn a ticket. It's difficult to check if the bathroom quick clean was done in the morning when it is 4:00 in the afternoon. I'm not sure yet how to combat this other than to remind them to flip over the chores when they are done.
The final issue is that they are not completing any of the chores that they can earn money for. So this fix is easy and will be rolled out sometime later this week. From now on I will be assigning one of these chores to the bigger three girls each day, and they will not be earning money for them. The opportunity to earn money will still be there as I'll only put one chore on for each day, but the other chores will continue to be hanging as an opportunity. My hope is that eventually they will come to see that it is much more desirable to earn money for doing the chore than to simply have it assigned.
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