We finished week 3, took a week off for zoo camp and then did week 4.
Language Arts:
Peter did his first spelling dictation sentences.
History:
We have covered a lot of ground. We learned about the first Sumerian dictator, Sargon, and great king Hammurabi of Babylon. Then we headed east and read about the first cities of ancient India and China. The boys painted Chinese vases.
Art:
Spanish:
The boys are starting to learn about verb conjugation. We are planning on covering this topic very thoroughly and taking all the time we need to be comfortable with regular -ar verbs.
History:
We read about King Narmer uniting upper and lower Egypt and learned about some ancient forms of writing. The boys tried their hands at writing in cuneiform and hieroglyphics.
Art:
Happy Birthday, Spencer!!
Language Arts:
I am reading Little House in the Big Woods to the boys. Peter is reading Two Times the Fun. Elliot is working on beginning phonics and handwriting. Peter is working on advanced phonics, solidifying his handwriting and starting spelling and writing. Together we are reading a story teaching about the parts of speech.
Math:
Peter is just about to finish his second grade math book. Elliot is finishing the first half of the kindergarten math program and will start on the second half.
The Rest:
In history we read about early man transitioning from a nomadic existence to farming in the fertile crescent. The boys made cave paintings:
The boys are doing art lessons with a video instructor and did relatively well following her instructions for the first project:
A fourth of July carnival...
A new rock play area in the front yard...
A hot air balloon festival...
Lots of playing outside...
Getting ready for Audrey; she'll be here in a few more months!! (All the boys have been dressing and diapering their babies and "trying out" the crib, swing, infant car seat, etc.)
Doug is out of town for a couple days, and while he is gone the boys and I are living it up!!
Tonight we had a "P" Dinner: Peas, Pears, Peanuts and Popcorn. We also watched a movie about searching for a Prehistoric fish (the Coelacanth).
A Pleasant Picnic was enjoyed by all.
We aren't quite done for the year, but we are getting close. Some subjects, like math and reading will continue lightly over the summer. Others will start back up toward the end of the summer or beginning of the fall.
Math:
For most of the year both the boys did Singapore Math.
Recently, however, I have switched Peter to Math Mammoth. The colorful graphics in Singapore were too distracting and it was going to be too teacher intensive come next year. So far I am pleased with Math Mammoth and I think Elliot will transition to it once he finished the Singapore K program in the fall.
Phonics:
Peter is almost done with The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading. Elliot will be starting it soon.
Both boys also reinforce their phonics skills with Explode the Code workbooks.
Handwriting:
Peter is using The Joy of Handwriting and Elliot is working on pre-writing skills.
Memorization:
The boys are memorizing poetry using picture cards I make to help them visualize the lines of the poem.
Science:
The boys are notebooking their way through the Usborne First Encyclopedia of Science. We read about a topic and then the boys each draw a picture in their notebooks of something interesting we read about. They narrate (in complete sentences) what they drew and I help them write the caption. Peter's notebook is shown...Elliot's is a bit scribblier and less on topic. ;-)
History:
The process is identical to science. We are studying prehistory this year.
Geography:
Art:
Music:
Spanish:
It is a brave new world. Peter and Spencer are sharing a room.
We did dye eggs - with dye, markers, rubber bands, candle wax and the whole nine yards.
We did hunt for eggs - with clever hiding spots, triumphs and tears.
But mostly I just got pictures of the boys eating candy and assembling legos. Oh, well.
