School Summary - Ancient China and Japan

Tenor's Japanese Samurai notebooking page

A Summary of February 3 - 14

We are in the part of the school year that seems to start dragging along. We finished the 3rd quarter; we didn't have to take time off for snow days like the local school districts who have been slammed with closings and delays; we are getting work done with good attitudes... I think we could just use a little more sunshine and outside time. It's getting done though.

Here's what we did for the past two weeks:

Things that were scheduled:

Math

Language Arts (Grammar, Spelling, Penmanship, Reading, and Writing)

Electives:

Typing, Spanish, Geography, and PA History for both.

Tenor continued with Greek while Soprano had her Home Ec lessons - washing dishes and making a bed.

My Father's World Rome to the Reformation

These two weeks focused on the history of the far East. It was interesting to read how Asian cultures were developing in such a different way during the same time as the Middle Ages in Europe.

Bible: We are still reading through Luke and studying the life of Jesus. We continued learning our passage in Philippians. (Chapter 2:3-11). We read about Peter Waldo and the intense persecutions the Waldensians suffered in Trial and Triumph.

Science: We completed several lessons and a quiz from AIG's Our Universe. We talked about the earth's movements, telescopes, an overview of our galaxy, and stars, and we read about Galileo. I don't have any pictures but we did demonstrations to show how the earth's rotation creates day and night, reflection/refraction, and light pollution interfering with telescopes and experiments with a Foucault Pendulum.

History: 

We backed up chronologically to get more of an overview of the beginnings of Ancient China and then continued through Chinese history to the Middle Ages. Then we jumped over to Ancient Japan which was very intertwined with Chinese history. It was cool to read how the Samurai had a Code of Honor similar to the European knights' Code of Chivalry.

Soprano's Japanese Samurai notebooking page

The younglings also wrote some Haiku. Tenor's reads: 

Rock

Dull, gray, black silent

A mystery, yet not so

Thrown down a river

Soprano's says:

Apples are juicy

Straight from the green apple tree

Now they sit in bowl

This year, I'm also incorporating Story of the World Volume 1 as well as Mystery of History Volume 1 and 2. 

For week 22, we didn't have any substitutions.

For week 23, we only read the intro of Streams of Civilization on Day 2 and added MOH 2 p156-158 and p282-285. I also cut Streams on Day 4, using MOH 2 p356-358 instead.

Other MFW: 

Music: We listened to a few more Mozart pieces and kept up with listening at lunch some days. We've kind of been slacking on that again.

Art: They created a Triptych one week and painted a Diptych about Daniel the next.

Tenor's painting

Extras:

Web:
I have about 7-8 videos this week. You can see them all in my Youtube playlist for MFW weeks 19-34.

Videos:
Ancient Civilizations for Children: Ancient China by Schlessinger Media
All About Stars by Schlessinger Media
Galileo: On the Shoulders of Giants by Devine Entertainment
The Adventures of Robin Hood by Warner Brothers
The Magic School Bus: Super Star Power by Scholastic

The book "basket" is overflowing all over the school room. There are so many great books for this era of history.

Favorite Books: 

Adventures in Ancient China by Linda Bailey
Marguerite Makes a Book by Bruce Robertson
You Wouldn't Want to Live in a Medieval Castle! by Jacqueline Morley
The Sword in the Tree by Clyde Robert Bulla

Pinecones and Birds - Winter Mantel

This year's winter mantel is a variation on a theme. I have a couple of additions and things never seem to be quite the same as the year before. But I love the contrast of the dark pinecones with white birds and white snowflakes no matter how they end up being arranged.

 

While I'm loving the winter decor, I won't mind packing it up when spring finally arrives!
Do you still have winter and snowmen out or have you begun your spring decorating yet?

School Summary - Castles, Knights, the Crusades, and Robin Hood

Lunch at Loxley's

I respectfully ask that you not pin pictures of my children to Pinterest. Thank you!

A Summary of January 20-31

Back to the grind and getting school done. We were able to include Bass's mom in some of our schoolwork since she was down for a visit. She homeschooled 2 of Bass's siblings for a few years so she's been extremely supportive. It was fun to give her an idea of how our days go. The younglings liked having a new (somewhat captive) audience too.

Here's what we did for the past two weeks:

Things that were scheduled:

Math

Language Arts (Grammar, Spelling, Penmanship, Reading, and Writing)

Electives:

Typing, Spanish, Civics, and PA History for both.

Tenor learned another Greek letter and aced a quiz. Soprano had Home Ec which included two cleaning lessons - dusting and sweeping. And after a dustpan usage melt-down, her lesson also included a talk about why learning homemaking techniques is important.

My Father's World Rome to the Reformation-

Now this is the history that I've been waiting for! Castles, knights, Robin Hood... all very cool stuff. It also means that these two weeks of school were very full with readings and activities.

Bible: We continued reading through Luke and studying the life of Jesus. We finished memorizing 1 Corinthians 13:1-8. and then started a passage in Philippians. (Chapter 2:3-4). We read about Francis of Assissi, Bernard of Clairvaux, Elizabeth of Hungary, and John Bunyan in Trial and Triumph. The younglings LOVE this book.

Science: We finished the AIG Human Body book. They had a quiz, a final test, and then a final project (making a full size body model.) I found a great printable set at Confessions of a Homeschooler that we used.

It's hard to see but we traced out each youngling on paper. They then added the full-sized anatomy pieces and drew in bones, muscles, and nerves.

After we finished up The Human Body, we started right into another Answers in Genesis science curriculum book. Instead of using the recommended Apologia text, we'll use AIG's Our Universe for the spring semester. We did two introductory lessons along with a rotation/revolution experiment, and we read about Copernicus.

History: Castles! Knights! The Crusades! So many activities to enhance the learning about this time-period. We made stained glass windows

Tenor's rendition of Noah's Ark.

Soprano chose Creation: Day 4 as her window theme.

had a silent medieval monastery dinner (with split pea soup, brown bread, baked chicken, and ginger "ale") Granny was able to join in on this one. We did have a slight issue when one of the "monks" decided she didn't like ginger ale at all and started to cry silently. A brief exit to the monastery kitchen and breaking of the vow of silence was enough to figure out and fix the problem.

and made a medieval castle using Dorling Kindersley's Action Pack Castle (instead of the MFW option because I found this at a co-op curriculum yard sale for $2).

 

They also made castle formations using some 'castle blocks' I found on clearance at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

They also designed their own coat of arms on cardboard shields.

Soprano's coat of arms. Her green marker gave out so she switched colors. She explained that the color difference there is some blood from battle.

Tenor's coat of arms.

At a yard sale this summer, I found a kit that had plans and supplies for three medieval weapons. So far Bass has helped them build a string release catapult and a trebuchet.

We ended our week with a field trip. We have a Robin Hood themed restaurant in the area, so we enjoyed lunch at Loxley's on Saturday. The atmosphere was very cool. The younglings want to go back in the summer so we can eat in one of the outdoor spaces.

The 'drawbridge' entry

Placemat doodles

This year, I'm also incorporating Story of the World Volume 1 as well as Mystery of History Volume 1 and 2. 

For week 20, we didn't have any substitutions.

For week 21, I eliminated Streams of Civilization on Day 2 and added MOH 2 p323-325. I also cut Streams on Day 3, using MOH 2 p305-307 as well as skipping Streams on Day 4. Day 4, I read MOH 2 p383-385 instead.

Other MFW: 

Music: We listened to a few more Mozart pieces and kept up with listening at lunch most days.

Art: They drew drapery this week and did some reading as well.

Extras:

Web:

I have a ton of videos this week. You can see them all in my Youtube playlist for MFW weeks 19-34.

Videos:
Life in the Middle Ages: The Knight by Schlessinger Media

Favorite Books: 

Knights in Shining Armor by Gail Gibbons
Mystery of a Medieval Castle by Jim Pipe
Saint Francis of Assissi by Robert F. Kennedy
Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow by Robert San Souci
The Minstrel and the Dragon Pup by Rosemary Sutcliff
The Sleeping Rose by Angela Elwell Hunt
William Tell by Leonard Everett Fisher

Make a Card Monday - Relaxin'

As I mentioned last month, a friend gave me some new paper to work with. I spent a long time cutting out circles to make the background for my man birthday cards this year. It was worth it though... I think it turned out pretty well. The black/yellow/gray color combo is not something I've done a lot with before. I really searched for the perfect image for these cards. I liked the chair a lot but there was a vase of flowers sitting on the arm and a sentiment below it. I didn't think the flowers helped the manliness of the card so I did a little stamp surgery. I carefully cut of the vase and the sentiment and then used the chopped image.

Details:
cardstock: DCWV textured cardstock base, Georgia Pacific (white)
patterned paper: My Mind's Eye "Breeze" 6x6 pad

embellishments: tab (unknown), black polka dot washi tape (Darice), yellow Scrapper's Floss (Karen Foster Designs)
color: Palette Noir ink, Tombow markers
tools: Creative Memories circle cutters, Kai rubber cutting scissors
stamps: TAC Warm Wishes (sentiment) and TAC Everyday Blessings (chair)