Homeschool Update: Weeks of 12/21/20 and 12/28/20

Advent and Christmas Activities

In the days leading up to Christmas Day, we added the last four ornaments to the Jesse Tree: Joseph, Mary, Baby Jesus, and the Holy Bible. We also watched the last few Days of Advent from Brother Francis and C. and E. also watched the Brother Francis Christmas episode. On Christmas Eve, we did a short Lessons and Carols service at home. M. played Joseph and a king, C. played Mary and the angel, and E. played a shepherd and a king. M. and C. took turns reading from the Bible and singing carols. On Christmas Day, I sent the performance to some long-distance family and friends. On Christmas Day, we watched Mass online. 

Morning Time 

• Poems from Sing a Song of Seasons: A Nature Poem for Each Day of the Year selected by Fiona Waters, illustrated by Frann Preston-Gannon (Nosy Crow, 2018): "Winter" by Judith Nicholls, "Winter Trees" by William Carlos Williams, "Be Like the Bird" by Victor Hugo, "At Nine of the Night I Opened My Door" by Charles Causley, "Amulet" by Ted Hughes, "The Four Corners of the Universe" (Mescalero Apache song) translated by Claire R. Farrer, "I Heard a Bird Sing" by Oliver Herford, "Keep a Poem in Your Pocket" by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers, "The Garden Year" by Sara Coleridge  
• Art Appreciation: The Repast of the Lion by Henri-Julien-Felix Rousseau and Summer House, Bayshore by William J. Glackens from Come Look with Me: Exploring Landscape Art with Children by Gladys S. Blizzard (Charlesbridge, 2006). 
• Questions from The Big Book of Tell Me Why by Arkady Leokum, illustrated by Howard Bender:  "How is sugar made?"; Where does starch come from?"; "How does yeast make bread rise?"; "What is caffeine?"; "Why is milk pasteurized?"; "What is aluminum?"
• Music Appreciation: Handel's Messiah and  Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid, BWV 58 by Johann Sebastian Bach
• Memory work: C.: continents, directions, planets, months, days of the week, excerpt from the Gospel of Luke; M: marks of the church, 7 sacraments, oceans, Great Lakes, 50 states, 13 colonies, first five books of the Bible, "A Christmas Carol" by Kenneth Grahame; E: numbers 1-10

History 

C. continued working in her Sticker Histories book about the ice age. She watched The Story of Saberteeth and When Camels Roamed North America.

My husband and M. read about Medieval Spain in A Picturesque Tale of Progress. Independently, she started reading El Cid by Geraldine McCaughrean, Victor G. Ambrus.   

Math 

C. worked on counting dimes, nickels and pennies in The Complete Book of Time and Money from American Education Publishing, and she completed Life of Fred: Butterflies Chapter 12. She also worked in third grade math on Khan Academy. 

M. worked on fractions in Singapore 3B, completed Life of Fred: Honey Chapter 7, and worked in fourth grade math on Khan Academy.  

Science

We took the week leading up to Christmas off from science. The lesson for the week of the 28th in BFSU and EESE was Lesson B-3 Plant and Animal Kingdoms - Distinguishing Between Plants and Animals. We used a printable from the BFSU Facebook group to sort photos of living things into groups of plants and animals. We discussed that the key difference between plants and animals is how they obtain energy, and that all energy ultimately comes from the sun. We also watched Feed Me and  Gotta Eat! from Crash Course Kids. 

Reading and Writing

My husband read aloud The Long Christmas by Ruth Sawyer. I read aloud The Twenty-Four Days Before Christmas by Madeleine L'Engle, Amahl and the Night Visitors adapted by Frances Frost and Roger Duvoisin, and the beginning of Nancy and Plum by Betty MacDonald. Independently, C. read more of Twig. For diction practice, she read sections from the first McGuffey Reader aloud to me. M. worked on Christmas thank you notes and started reading Little House By Boston Bay by Melissa Wiley. 

Music

C. and E. practiced piano and recorder and watched a performance of The Nutcracker. 

Physical Education

We went to the playground once, and the girls ran on the deck when it was warm enough.