Two weeks worth
Two weeks have flown by, and I have neglected to blog!
Anastasia and I are still working through the Frances Study Guide. We enjoyed Bread and Jam for Frances and A Birthday for Frances, by Russell Hoban. During the Bread and Jam week, we learned about healthy eating and our digestive system. For art we explored food art. Andy Warhol's Tomato Soup Can inspired our lunch menu, and we attempted to paint an apple using 3 shades of the same color for 3d shading effect. Anastasia made a book jacket for the story, and learned about the information we can obtain from the cover of a book.
Last week we read A Birthday for Frances and we learned about the calendar and birthdays. Anastasia is still learning how to count money. We counted out different amounts of money each day using nickels and pennies. She enjoyed filling in a few calendar pages and marking family birthdays for those months. She also decorated place cards for an upcoming get-together.
Second grade is a blast! We are settling into a nice routine for our school day. I rearranged the order of subjects after observing a loss of concentration as the day progressed. We are able to accomplish more in the day when we tackle least favorite/tedious subjects first.
Currently, Tristan's favorite thing to do is practice his handwriting. He is all about cursive! He is working through Classically Cursive by B.J. Jordan.
Two weeks ago we began learning about water in science. I've really enjoyed these science song books by Laura Purdie Salas, Home on the Earth and There Goes the Water. Gwendolyn has been walking around the house singing "Home, home on the Earth", it does my heart proud! We read a lot of books about the water cycle. I've been remembering to take narrations in science. Still haven't made Tristan copy any of them, but that will come. Overall take-away from this week: Earth is special because of the existence of fresh water necessary to sustain life, and all the oceans should be viewed as one big body of water. (Just like it says in Genesis!) We conducted some experiments to learn about water's superpowers: Dissolution, cohesion, expansion, surface tension, and heat retention. We also made the water cycle in a jar. (All experiments taken from The Earth Science Book, Dinah Zike)
Last week we learned about rocks. There are three types of rock found on Earth and we learned about fossils, generally found in Sedimentary rock. We used a pencil to demonstrate erosion and abrasion, and we made our own fossils by pressing shells and plastic dinosaur feet into clay.
Recipe for fossil clay (taken from: http://www.education.com/activity/article/fossils/)
1 cup coffee grounds
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup cold coffee
1 1/2 cup flour
mixing bowl
wooden spoon
measure ingredients into bowl to form dough.
roll a small amount of dough into circles and press shell into surface. allow to dry, bury and discover!
We are loving Adam and His Kin. Last Monday we took a day off to read a chapter about irrigation in the ancient world. We read chapter 2 in The Near Eastern World, by Amanda Podany. The chapter talks about the ancient Mesopotamian city of Eridu. Then we read about Eridu in Adam and His Kin. Fun when we are able to build on our topic with many different resources.
We ended last week with a road trip down to Charlottsville, VA to visit a family member at the University hospital. I counted that as a field trip and made sure to inform the children of the University's history.
I attempted to read a few books in the car ride. My favorite: My Nine Lives by Clio, by Marjorie Priceman. The story begins in Mesopotamia and walks the reader through history, ending in 1995, U.S.A. A delightful read! History for all ages.
Other resources we enjoyed:
Snappy Birthday, Mark Sperring
The Beautiful Oops, (Thank you to our dear friend for sharing this story with us, and providing a fun follow-up activity!)
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, William KamKwamba and Bryan Mealer
The Thank You Book, Mo Willems
Rocks and Minerals, Melvin and Gilda Berger
Rocks, Rebecca Stromstad Glaser
Hard, Soft, Smooth and Rough, Natalie M. Rosinsky
Antsy Ansel, Cindy Jenson-Elliot
Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek, Deborah Hobkinson
Anastasia and I are still working through the Frances Study Guide. We enjoyed Bread and Jam for Frances and A Birthday for Frances, by Russell Hoban. During the Bread and Jam week, we learned about healthy eating and our digestive system. For art we explored food art. Andy Warhol's Tomato Soup Can inspired our lunch menu, and we attempted to paint an apple using 3 shades of the same color for 3d shading effect. Anastasia made a book jacket for the story, and learned about the information we can obtain from the cover of a book.
Last week we read A Birthday for Frances and we learned about the calendar and birthdays. Anastasia is still learning how to count money. We counted out different amounts of money each day using nickels and pennies. She enjoyed filling in a few calendar pages and marking family birthdays for those months. She also decorated place cards for an upcoming get-together.
Second grade is a blast! We are settling into a nice routine for our school day. I rearranged the order of subjects after observing a loss of concentration as the day progressed. We are able to accomplish more in the day when we tackle least favorite/tedious subjects first.
Currently, Tristan's favorite thing to do is practice his handwriting. He is all about cursive! He is working through Classically Cursive by B.J. Jordan.
Two weeks ago we began learning about water in science. I've really enjoyed these science song books by Laura Purdie Salas, Home on the Earth and There Goes the Water. Gwendolyn has been walking around the house singing "Home, home on the Earth", it does my heart proud! We read a lot of books about the water cycle. I've been remembering to take narrations in science. Still haven't made Tristan copy any of them, but that will come. Overall take-away from this week: Earth is special because of the existence of fresh water necessary to sustain life, and all the oceans should be viewed as one big body of water. (Just like it says in Genesis!) We conducted some experiments to learn about water's superpowers: Dissolution, cohesion, expansion, surface tension, and heat retention. We also made the water cycle in a jar. (All experiments taken from The Earth Science Book, Dinah Zike)
Last week we learned about rocks. There are three types of rock found on Earth and we learned about fossils, generally found in Sedimentary rock. We used a pencil to demonstrate erosion and abrasion, and we made our own fossils by pressing shells and plastic dinosaur feet into clay.
Recipe for fossil clay (taken from: http://www.education.com/activity/article/fossils/)
1 cup coffee grounds
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup cold coffee
1 1/2 cup flour
mixing bowl
wooden spoon
measure ingredients into bowl to form dough.
roll a small amount of dough into circles and press shell into surface. allow to dry, bury and discover!
We are loving Adam and His Kin. Last Monday we took a day off to read a chapter about irrigation in the ancient world. We read chapter 2 in The Near Eastern World, by Amanda Podany. The chapter talks about the ancient Mesopotamian city of Eridu. Then we read about Eridu in Adam and His Kin. Fun when we are able to build on our topic with many different resources.
We ended last week with a road trip down to Charlottsville, VA to visit a family member at the University hospital. I counted that as a field trip and made sure to inform the children of the University's history.
I attempted to read a few books in the car ride. My favorite: My Nine Lives by Clio, by Marjorie Priceman. The story begins in Mesopotamia and walks the reader through history, ending in 1995, U.S.A. A delightful read! History for all ages.
Other resources we enjoyed:
Snappy Birthday, Mark Sperring
The Beautiful Oops, (Thank you to our dear friend for sharing this story with us, and providing a fun follow-up activity!)
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, William KamKwamba and Bryan Mealer
The Thank You Book, Mo Willems
Rocks and Minerals, Melvin and Gilda Berger
Rocks, Rebecca Stromstad Glaser
Hard, Soft, Smooth and Rough, Natalie M. Rosinsky
Antsy Ansel, Cindy Jenson-Elliot
Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek, Deborah Hobkinson
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