Jan. 8-12
In Creation to Christ Emmett finished the last part of his unit on the Persian Empire, and began the first part of his unit on the geography and beginning of Greece. Emmett made the yummiest Hamantashen's - we will be making these again and again!!! This was part of our history project, where we read about Esther's story in the Bible and how the Jews celebrate Purim. Emmett made a gragger too, and he shook it loudly every time Haman's name was mentioned in the reading, to blot out the name of evil, as is the custom. And then of course, we ate our Hamantashen's (meaning Haman's pockets). MMMM! We all loved this history project!
Emmett also completed his Singapore Math 4A Review - whew! It was a tough one, but I'm so amazed at all he is learning! I stay nearby to help with these reviews, and I like how they parallel real life problems, as well as how they are similar to standardized testing problems, as they include many skills - not just one skill. He likes to circle the numbers of the problems as he finishes them, just so you know he didn't miss all those! He also learned about plural nouns in grammar, and he completed an assignment on the setting of his DITHOR book Iron Scouts of the Confederacy. AND, on top of all that he helped his daddy redo his room, hanging insulation and sheet rock with him! Whew, what a week!
In World Geography 9th grade high school, Riley completed his unit on Verrazzano and Cartier exploring North America's Atlantic coast. He read the primary source document of Verrazanno's letter to King Francis I in France. Isn't it amazing we can still read letters such as these - this was from July 8, 1524, and it was a letter in which he reported to the king on his voyage to the New World?!? I love that we can still read the actual words of people from history in primary source documents! What better way to learn about people and events than from reading their words precisely as they were written! Riley also wrote a written narration about Cartier's explorations, and i think he took some inspiration from Verrazzano's letter.
Riley is already in Lesson 92 in Getting Started with Spanish! He is doing such a good job of trying to stay on top of this. He reads his answers to me, and then he also reads the odds aloud in Spanish to practice properly saying the words. He listens to the audio for help too. This is working well! In grammar he worked on diagramming, and throughout the week he added special quotes, verses, etc. to his Common Place Book. This is a continuation of last year, and it's neat to see it 'grow'!
In U.S. History II Wyatt has been learning about the Battle of the Bulge, the Yalta Conference, the War in the Pacific, and FDR's Death. This time in history is filled with famous speeches, turbulent times, and critical decisions being made - it captivates his attention! It's somewhat emotional - so many hard things. However, Hitler's final days show how his mental health began to decline more and more, with a last minute wedding and his suicide shortly after. Mussolini's execution, FDR's death, and Truman's taking over - oh my. So much happening in such little time!
One of his favorite assignments comes from his resource Key Decisions in U.S. History. The question "Should the U.S. drop the atomic bomb on Japan to end the war?" is asked, and Wyatt responded with his opinion. Then, he gets to read what decision was made, by Truman in this case. Commentary on all that went into the decision further supports the reasons the decision was made, but one is always left understanding how the decision was NOT easy to make, whether it was the 'right' or the 'wrong' one in the student's opinion. What a powerful assignment that reminds us to pray for our leaders!!! So many decisions they must make each day!!!
One thing I thought I'd share is a fun meal we've been doing for one of our homeschool lunches - we do a kind of charcuterie board with whatever we have on hand. Usually, we have cold leftover rotisserie chicken, cut up fruit, different kinds of nuts/dried fruits, several kinds of crackers, bread or toast with butter, and cut up block cheese. They love it! Everyone chooses their favorites - though I do say they must have some chicken, and choose at lease some of the nuts/cheeses to try. I just cover a bar pan with tinfoil for easy clean-up. So easy, and such fun! Hope you had a great week homeschooling too!
No comments:
Post a Comment