ABOUT THIS WEEK:
This was a great week. We managed to get a lot done, despite numerous doctor's appointments (physicals, immunizations, etc.) Whenever we were in a waiting room, instead of watching television, the girls would whip out Julie of the Wolves and read voraciously! It made me so happy (and a little surprised) that they neglected the blaring television, especially since we have no TV at home.
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CURRENT INDEPENDENT READING:
The kids finished Julie of the Wolves this week. They talk about her and her adventures as if she were one of their friends. I love that sense of familiarity we have with fictional characters. It shows me that they are immersed in the story, that it is very real to them.
EDUCATIONAL MOVIE:
We watched a bit more of A Midsummer Night's Dream. It's so exciting being able to understand what is being said, and to understand the story line, the humor, the historical context (like the prospect of Hermia being forced to be a nun, the idea that a woman is a possession of her father, that she is like wax, made from him and can just as easily be destroyed by him). Things have changed!
Whenever we can, we speak along with the characters. It's great. There are so many beautiful passages. Unfortunately many of the stage plays are so serious, with such serious, old actors. Boring! Thankfully there are many modern movies that rekindle the Shakespeare wit and magic, setting the story line in modern times. Anything that makes Shakespeare interesting to kids is worthwhile.
FIELD TRIP:
We had a simple, lovely picnic in our meadow in the woods. It was one of the last sunny days, and the frogs made a big hoopla in the pond whenever our dog Kuma splashed nearby. We examined the flowers, wondered about why they were made their own unique way, made hypotheses, collected flowers and seeds and interesting things (including a deceased tadpole) and just had a lovely, easy time.
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Monday
BREAKFAST GAMES:
We played a game of "Who Am I?" We were Shakespeare, Julie from Julie of the Wolves, and Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. We asked each other questions like, "If my character met her character, what do you think they would talk about?" One girl was Julie, and the other was Dorothy, so I said that they would talk about being homesick.
Thinking up answers to these questions requires us to focus on the characters - whether fictional or real - thinking what they might think, and feeling what they might feel. Speculation and empathy cements these people's personalities and lives in our minds.
SAXON MATH:
Akychame - Review of lessons 41-43 - multiplying fractions and percentages
Lvov - Review of lesson 48
SCIENCE READING:
We read an article in the Republic's "World of Wonder" section all about amphibians, with an emphasis on frogs and toads. We learned that they breathe and drink through their skin, and that sometimes tadpoles eat other tadpoles. A mother frog or toad can lay up to 20,000 eggs, and one toad can eat 9,000 harmful insects each year (good for farmers!) We also learned the differences between frogs and toads.
HANDS-ON SCIENCE:
We collected a large tadpole carcass and viewed it under a magnifying scope.
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Tuesday
POETRY FLASH CARDS:
We reviewed possible meanings of Frost's Stopping By Woods and recited it from memory again
SAXON MATH:
Akychame: review of pi, square roots, squares
Lvov: circumference, diameter, multiplication with carrying
GERMAN TEXTBOOK:
Unfortunately, the kids are no longer allowed to accompany me to my German Level 4 class at Adult Continuing Education because the director was worried about the fire code and minors. So, since the girls already have the Living Language Ultimate German textbooks, I decided to start at lesson one and work our way through the book together at home. In some respects they are way past chapter one (they did great at level 4, which was chapter 15 or so) but I don't want to overwhelm them.
So I'm starting slow and easy with chapter one. Today we started by reading the German dialogue aloud, taking turns being the different characters. We also translated a German proverb into English: "Being hopeful doesn't mean wishing that everything will always be good, but knowing that no matter what happens, it will somehow make sense."
Also... I've downloaded many "My Daily Phrase German" podcasts from Radio Lingua onto my iPod. We play these in the car. Each lesson lasts about 5 minutes and covers something different, such as checking into a hotel, or ordering at a restaurant. Even though some of these topics are review, we always learn something new. It's fun and catchy, and we end up learning phrases without realizing it. Zum beispiel: Kann ich mein Gepack hier lassen?
GERMAN - ROSETTA STONE ONLINE:
I signed us up for Rosetta Stone Language Learning (online) again (free through the library!) and I was thrilled - jumping up and down thrilled - that we now have access to the new and improved version 3. The girls and I were getting so sick of the same old drills, the unpredictable speech tool, the same boring pictures...
Version 3 is engaging, challenging, visually stimulating, and has great speech recognition and grammar exercises. The three of us are at level 2 (intermediate conversational) out of 3 levels of German offered by Rosetta Stone. It is so much fun, and complements our German textbook so beautifully. Highly recommended (we actually fight over it)! So, today the kids both finished lesson 1 of level 2, unit 1. Akychame scored 88%, Lvov 86%. We keep repeating the lessons until we're in the 90's and then it's OK for them to move on.
LANGUAGE ARTS:
We went over their, there, and they're and formed sentences using the correct word. We also had a discussion (including examples) of when to capitalize (not just proper names - more advanced examples, such as which words to capitalize in a title). I reinforced this throughout the week in their written work in their Language Arts notebooks. That's how I follow-up with grammar discussions - by using their own work as examples and having them rewrite the incorrect passages.
I take great pains to do this gently, but in the real world editing one's own work, and being able to withstand (and benefit from) others' critiques of one's work is expected and beneficial. Being able to communicate clearly is important enough for me to be firm about. Usually the kids "get" a grammatical concept pretty quickly, and are very proud of the clarity and fluidity of their work.
FURTHER LEARNING TODAY:
Akychame practiced Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven for hours, and listened to a recording of it all night, over and over, absolutely loving it. Her piano teacher has done a great job instilling a love of classical music in Akychame, as well as explaining the historical framework within which these pieces were created, and describing the composer's lives.
I love listening to her teach as I'm waiting on her couch snuggled up to Lvov. Akychame's teacher said that most of her students tread water and have a lot of difficulty moving along, but that Akychame is a speed demon and really "gets" it.
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Wednesday
MULTIPLICATION BINGO:
Today we played FOUR games of multiplication bingo. The kids just wouldn't let me move on -they begged to play again and again. I love their enthusiasm. Even though they know their multiplication tables, it's a good brush-up after a long multiplication-less summer.
SAXON MATH:
This week I gave both girls a mock quiz up to lesson 47 in Saxon math to see how they're doing. They did great, and I see now which concepts we need t review a bit more before we move on. I think I will move Lvov ahead a year in math. It is just way too easy for her.
I think I'll scootch her along month by month so that the change isn't too radical, and if we hit a saturation point, then great. We'll hold steady as soon as I feel that she is challenged but still completely comfortable. Akychame is doing great too, but she is in an "I hate math" phase, so the last thing she would want right now is to accelerate.
ART STUDY:
We had a sweeping review of all of the artists we learned about last year, such as Toulouse-Lautrec, Van-Gogh, Matisse, Chagall, etc. The kiddos tend to get Matisse and Chagall mixed up, which is totally understandable, and lead to a great discussion about why they get them confused. We identified many similarities in their work, as well as a few characteristics that can help us tell them apart.
The kids then decided to swap their poetry study today for a fun art activity. They each chose one picture by one of the artists we studied last year and wrote their own personal reaction to it. Their impressions were very poetic, so we inadvertently covered both subjects. Both girls chose drawings by Kahlil Gibran from his book The Prophet. We really love his drawings. Akychame chose the drawing that accompanies his thought on "Marriage," while Lvov interpreted the picture on page 9 of people diving into the ocean.
Akychame felt that this picture depicts the spirit of a deceased wife watching her husband fall in love again from her grave. She tries to split the two apart, but she can't.
Lvov saw this as mankind's fall back to primordial, pre-amphibian life forms as punishment for ruining the earth.
GEOGRAPHY:
We spent our time today comparing country sizes, figuring out how many of one country would fit into another. This really helps when trying to draw Western Europe to scale from memory - talk about continental drift! There's also country drift, capital city drift, etc. At least with my memory.
But we're really coming along. For instance, knowing that Norway is almost 2x longer than Germany is actually very helpful. Or knowing that Denmark is roughly the size of the netherlands which is roughly the size of Belgium. This is beginning to sound like a math equation.
LATIN:
We identified Latin roots whenever we came across them - in our reading, on signs in German downtown (surprisingly I'm seeing many Latin roots in German words)
ADDITIONAL LEARNING TODAY:
HOMEWORK:
- Play one game of chess on computer
- Write a one-page story using vocab words: this was cute and inventive. Trying to weave words from Shakespeare reading into a story about hanging out with your friends is a challenge!
Akychame - piano lesson (1 hour)
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Thursday
GEOGRAPHY:
We drew Western Europe and Northern Europe to scale as accurately as we could from memory. We did great, but we could benefit from studying the relative proportions of the countries a bit more.
SAXON MATH:
Akychame - review of lowest common multiples, multiplication of fractions, and improper fractions to mixed #'s
Lvov - just a quick review - 5th grade math is seeming too easy for her
GERMAN (ROSETTA STONE):
The girls both did Level 2, Unit 1, Lesson 2 - several times. That's how R.S. operates - repetition is key! So probably by next week we'll score in the 90's and move on. Today Akychame surprised me by saying, "I have to return books to the library today" in German!
SHAKESPEARE:
We read up to Hermia and Lysander's escape, which led to a discussion about what we would each do in that position. We also keep repeating Lysander's comforting words to Hermia after she received Theseus' counsel - how he asked how the roses on her cheeks doth fade so fast.
There are so many lovely passages - and funny, obscene ones that we don't understand today - such as Bottom saying that if he cuts his finger he'll "make bold" with Cobweb (people used cobwebs to wrap cuts before bandages were widely available). Ha, ha. : )
NATURE STUDY:
See our "field trip" entry above
ADDITIONAL LEARNING TODAY:
We recited Frost's Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening to the beat of various rock-n-roll songs. It was crazy and fun.
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Friday
ART CARDS:
We discussed Impressionists and Post-Impressionists
SAXON MATH:
We had a review up to lesson 48
ART STUDY:
The girls both recreated Matisse paintings using objects from around the house. They "became" the paintings. Then the other girl guessed which painting was being recreated.
I had to get in on the fun, so I surprised the girls by coming downstairs with thickened eyebrows (eyeliner), a braid of flowers in my hair, and Lvov's monkey stuffed animal fastened to my shoulder. I was Frida Kahlo!
Lvov became Matisse's Reading Woman, Daydreaming. She wore a white dress, and used a shiny, white, circular stool-seat as a mirror on top of the table (to make it look like an old-fashioned vanity table). She sat in the same pose:
Akychame was Matisse's Little Pianist. She set up her pose at the keyboard, with all the exact same props, sitting the same way. Super!
This exercise was interesting to me, not only because it was improvisational and creative, but also because both girls chose pictures with ladies they could relate to - Lvov chose the reader, Akychame chose the piano player. They are finding themselves in the artwork even as they are impersonating another in the artwork. They are discovering connections - other sisters, other selves in art.
MYTHOLOGY:
The girls wrote modern-day adaptations of the Theseus/Minotaur/Ariadne myth.
Lvov's retelling: The Minotaur is the creator of addictive video games, and the video games themselves are the Labyrinth, a gigantic video grid of games rife with violence and trickery. Each time a new level is reached, there is yet another level to aspire to (like the Labyrinth's many twists and turns). Adolescents become trapped in the maze, sucked into their computer screens.
Akychame's retelling: The Minotaur is the bad guy in a modern comic book, and Theseus is the hero. The Minotaur talks on his cell phone, navigates the doomed city by GPS, and Minos ends up enlisting Daedalus (a master computer geek) to design a computerized energy shield (the kind that shocks dogs when they overstep their yards or bark too much) in order to trap the Minotaur. This energy shield creates an invisible labyrinth. Minos is happy to have the Minotaur hidden, but Theseus hacks into the labyrinth to kill the Minotaur and Ariadne talks him back to the opening on her cell phone.
I just love what my kiddos come up with. Daedalus ain't got nothin' on 'em.
