I still don't feel like we're in a good routine for school but somehow we're already at the end of the first quarter. If we don't get it together, it might make the rest of the year really long. haha Somehow despite the lack of motivation to do schoolwork, it's still getting done. Phew!
Here's what we did these two weeks:
Things that were scheduled:
Math
Language Arts (Grammar, Spelling, Penmanship, Reading, and Writing)
Tenor STILL needs to catch up on his writing assignment. So this might be my fault... I hate writing. Tenor has, ahem, inherited that same feeling from me even though I try to be very positive with him about why one needs to write well, why he needs to practice writing now, etc, etc, blah, blah, blah. But because I hate it, I haven't been as proactive in checking over his work. This assignment is one big fat mess and I feel like I'd rather ditch the whole thing and just start fresh where we are at now (5 assignments past it!). However, it has become a teachable moment about being diligent and completing a task, even if you don't like it or don't feel like doing it. So we will labor on with this sad little 3-paragraph research paper. I told him he had only earned 65 out of 100 points with his rough draft which technically would be a failing grade. His only response, "How many points do I need to just pass?" *sigh* We will overcome!! I am determined!
Electives:
Typing, Spanish, Civics, and PA History for both.
Tenor's PA History is Switched on Schoolhouse from Alpha Omega. It does the grading for me. He can do it independently... love! They both played a fun game on icivics.com called Cast Your Vote.
Tenor's PA History is Switched on Schoolhouse from Alpha Omega. It does the grading for me. He can do it independently... love! They both played a fun game on icivics.com called Cast Your Vote.
Tenor had Greek and learned two more Greek letters. Soprano had Home Ec where she learned to make a hot meal (we used the crock-pot) and make a rose garnish from a cucumber.
My Father's World Rome to the Reformation-
In our Ancient Rome studies, we're now at the time when Jesus was born. It's really fascinating to see how God completely orchestraed all of human history to allow His Son to be born at the perfect time to fulfill all of the Old Testament prophecies. No other time in history would have allowed for death by crucifixion. No other time in history had enough international peace to allow for the spread of the gospel. No time until that point had roads good enough on which to travel far distances.
The odds for one man to fulfill even 8 of the OT prophecies are astronomical and yet Jesus fulfilled them all. So incredibly amazing!
Bible: We read passages from the gospels telling about Jesus' childhood (flight into Egypt, getting 'lost' at Passover), His temptation, and His death and resurrection, as well as portions of Journey through the Bible that
correlated.
Science: These two weeks we did several lessons from the AIG Human Body book. We talked about reflexes and nerves and did a couple of demonstrations (like hitting the knee) to try out our reflexes. Tenor also drew a nerve cell diagram in his science notebook. We also introduced the 5 senses and delved into the eye and the ear. We did a temperature experiment,
some optical illusion experiments,
and a worksheet on hearing about decibel levels. Tenor also did an experiment to test his equilibrium and created his own braille message by poking holes through a piece of cardstock.
History: Yup still studying Ancient Rome. We read a lot about the Roman Army and the life of a Roman soldier as well as Roman law. We also read about the death of Herod, Tiberius' rise to power, the Julio-Claudian Dynasty, and the Germanic tribes.
I'm also incorporating Story of the World Volume 1 as well as
Mystery of History Volume 1.
For weeks 8 and 9 there were no additions or changes though.
Other MFW:
Music: We listened to various selections by Haydn. We actually used the iPod---woo-hoo! We listened to the last few selections from Haydn:
Piano Concerto in F and Trumpet Concerto in E-flat.
I moved all of the Haydn songs into our Haydn playlist (which includes pieces from other classical CDs we own). I'm hoping to get into a better habit of playing our completed composer's works during lunchtime. (Just have to take the iPod upstairs...)
Art: I thought having art scheduled twice a week would be cumbersome but the younglings have taken to reading the lesson independently and working on it on their own. I just look over their work when they're finished so it hasn't been any trouble to fit it in. For weeks 8-9, they read about art in Ancient Rome, did a lesson on penmanship, and started hand studies.
Extras:
Web:
Videos:
Ben Hur
Ben Hur
You Wouldn't Want to Be a Roman Gladiator by John Malam
G is for Gladiator by Debbie Shoulders
Open Your Eyes by Vicki Cobb
