It’s a good day to have school. It’s too cold outside to be distracted by nice weather, and the boredom of winter makes them anxious to do anything other than sit around. Attitudes are good, for the most part; N had a bit of attitude during mental math, and S was resistant to reading her vocabulary words in preparation for reading her next short story. We’ve started a weekly “library day” addition to “Fun Friday.” The girls learned how to use the digital “card catalogs” to find books. I’ve added library book reading to their normal reading load.
N (age 12):
Math: N reluctantly did mental math. When she’s not particularly motivated, she’ll just stare blankly at the problem for ten to fifteen minutes before she actually comes up with an answer. I use that time to catch up on my blogging, check out the latest current events, or update “independent work” lists for the kids to do after educational time is done for the day. Her lesson was on averages. She figured out how to find various missing numbers in averages, how to find a number that will raise or lower an average, etc. She didn’t pay a whole lot of attention, so I gave her some extra problems during her review at the end of the lesson to be sure that she understood the concept. I’ll toss her a couple review lessons tomorrow as well.
Bible: N and C reviewed their memory verses (2 Timothy 3:16-17, Exodus 20:1-17, Psalm 1:1-6, Psalm 23:1-5, and Isaiah 53:1-5) and the books of the Bible. They listened to more of Ezekiel’s prophecy against Israel, and we talked about the metaphors used by Ezekiel. We discussed how the language he used evoked emotions and aided in understanding of the message.
Spelling: N practiced her words with contractions and possessives.
Geography: N and C filled in their maps of the Middle East and Southeast Asia for review.
History: N and C learned about the effects of the bubonic plague on medieval Europe environmental, social, and political landscape.
Spanish: N and C watched more of their Spanish lesson on video and completed a vocabulary and comprehension worksheet.
Writing: N and C learned about writing in different “voices.” They were presented with a dilemma and were given three different perspectives from which to write about that dilemma. N especially enjoyed this exercise.
Science: N and C looked up and copied definitions relating to melting points, boiling points, and atmospheric pressure.
Music: C continued practicing her scales. She continued her new lesson.
C (age 10):
Math: C warmed up with mental math. Her lesson was on finding only the necessary information needed to solve a story problem, excluding unnecessary information. She also did a few division problems whose quotients ended in zero by way of review.
Spelling: C practiced her spelling words containing “ch” and “wh.”
Bible: Combined class with N.
Geography: Combined class with N.
Writing: Combined class with N.
History: Combined class with N.
Science: Combined class with N.
Spanish: Combined class with N.
Music: C continued working on her chord transitions, playing individual notes, and reading music. She continued her drumming lessons.
S (age 7):
Math: S counted to 100 by 1s, 5s, and 10s using her hundred number chart. She counted backwards from 30. She recited the days of the week and the months of the year.She learned how to write the number 31. She reviewed the lessons she learned in the last week of school before her break.
Reading: S continued her unit of All About Reading. She warmed up by reading some flashcards (including the sight words “the” and “a”). S practiced reading words and phrases that will appear in the next story she reads. She then read the short story. N read S a chapter of Bunnicula last night.
Grammar: S continued memorizing “The Months.” She reviewed the growing list of pronouns she’s learning. She also reviewed all the poems she has memorized so far.
Writing: S copied her name and the days of the week using a custom worksheet from HandwritingPractice.Net.