Homeschool Update: Week of 3/1/21

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): "I am the Song" by Charles Causley, "Paper Dragons" by Susan Alton Schmeltz, "Seasons" by Steve Turner, "Seasons" by Anonymous, "Think of It" by Zaro Weil
• Articles from Vol. 18 No. 5 of National Geographic Explorer (Trailblazer edition): "Lions on the Loose" by Joe Levit (about lion fish), "Round and Round with Wheels and Axles" by Glen Phelan, "Saving History" by Brenna Maloney
• Art appreciation: Children's Games by Peter Bruegel the Elder from Come Look with Me: World of Play with Children by Gladys S. Blizzard 
• Singing: "Tom Dooley" (recording by the Kingston Trio)
• Music Appreciation: Symphony No. 8: Movement 2 by Ludwig von Beethoven 
• Catechism: Lesson 19, "The Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Commandments of God " from The New Saint Joseph Baltimore Catechism
• Memory Work: 
• M.: Monarchs of England, books of the Bible, seven sacraments, countries of Europe, Great Lakes, "Sea Fever" by John Masefield, addition and subtraction flashcards
• C.: days of the week, months of the year, marks of the church, cardinal directions, "The Tiger" by William Blake, multiplication and division flashcards 
• E.: "Icicles" by Anonymous, letters and numbers flashcards 

Science

We continued talking about mixtures and chemical reactions in BFSU and EESE and watched some videos about how the  body uses energy:  Fuelling the Body and Gotta Eat. Then we learned about the carbon cycle and watched Real World: The Carbon Cycle. 

On Wednesday, E. did the Bugs Koala Crate, which involved making a bug costume. She wore it pretty much every day after that. 

History

M. read about Genghis Khan and drew an illustration of Robin Hood for her book of centuries. 

C. finished History Can Be Fun and watched several episodes of Liberty's Kids. 

Math 

M. worked in Singapore 3B and finished Life of Fred: Honey. C. continued doing two-digit addition problems on the soroban.  

Reading and Writing

M. did some more pages about sentence structure in Comprehensive Curriculum of Basic Skills Grade 3. She finished Dr. Dolittle's Return and started Boxcar Children #13: Snowbound Mystery. C continued reading Betsy-Tacy and Tib and she also picked up Jasmine Green Rescues: A Duckling Called Button.

E. finally moved on from Mercy Watson and is branching out to other books. Favorites from this week included Five Minutes Peace by Jill Murphy and Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible No Good Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst, as well as all the Frances books by Russell Hoban. 

Instrumental Music 

C. practiced piano and recorder most days of the week. M. still couldn't practice because of her cast.

Other Activities

M. and C. received from Grandma little Dover "Make a Masterpiece" booklets featuring different works of art that they had to reconstruct using stickers. M. did Starry Night and C. did A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. E. had a Dover sticker book as well, Puppy & Pal Dress Up. We also had our usual weekly playdate with the neighbors' grandkids.