Read-at-Home Mom: Homeschool Update: Week of 4/26/21

Thursday, May 6, 2021

Homeschool Update: Week of 4/26/21

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) we read:

"Mare" by Judith Thurman
"Swaybacks in the Springtime" by Kit Wright
"Weather" by Yetta Schmier
"Catch a Rainbow" by Brian Whittingham
"The Rainbow" by Christina Rossetti

Read-Alouds

We read all the articles from Vol. 8 No. 7 of National Geographic Explorer (Pathfinder Edition):

"Return to the Moon" by Dottie Raymer (This article is from 2009 and talks about a now-canceled plan to return to the moon. After reading the article, we read about its cancellation online and about what the space program is working on now.)
"A Glimpse of Gorillas" by Gary Miller
"Pedal Power" by Susan Blackaby
"Dinosaurs in Motion" by Gary Miller

Music

We are starting to go back and review the pieces we have been listening to for music appreciation this year. This week we listened to Andante from Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin, Symphony No. 94, "Surprise": Second Movement by Franz Josef Haydn, "Jupiter: Bringer of Jollity" from The Planets by Gustav Holst, Orpheus in the Underworld: Can-Can by Jacques Offenbach, and the finale from the William Tell Overture by Gioachino Rossini.

We continued to practice singing "Down in the Valley."

Art Appreciation

We studied Baseball Players by Elaine de Kooning from Come Look with Me: World of Play by Gladys S. Blizzard.

Memory Work

C. reviewed the planets, four directions, 50 states, continents, oceans, months of the year, days of the week, and marks of the church and worked on "The Tiger" by William Blake, the countries of Europe, and addition and subtraction flashcards.

M: reviewed the countries of Europe and 13 colonies, and worked on "Sea Fever" by John Masefield, the books of the Bible, the 7 sacraments, the monarchs of England, thirteen of the countries of Asia, and multiplication and division flashcards.

Science

We started BFSU Lesson B-4: Life Cycles. I showed the girls a variety of videos about animal and plant life cycles:

Preschool

E. practiced the alphabet with magnet letters and learned the second part of the Vowel Rhyme from The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading ("E is the next vowel, don't you see...").

History

M. read "The Conquest of Mexico" section in A Picturesque Tale of Progress, which included these subheadings: "Aztec Conquerors," "The Empire of the Aztecs," "The Spanish in America," "Hernando Cortez Leads the Spaniards to Tenochtitlan", and "The Conquest of Mexico." She also read One Day in Aztec Mexico by G.B. Kirtland, illustrated by Jerome Snyder.

C. read about Theseus in D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths.

Math

C. and M. both did math facts flashcards. C. did timed two-digit addition with regrouping on the soroban, and she worked on 3rd grade math in Khan Academy. M. did some more exercises about time in Singapore math and worked on 4th grade math in Khan Academy.

Reading and Writing

We started a new read-aloud, Away Goes Sally by Elizabeth Coatsworth, and M. started reading and listening to Mattimeo by Brian Jacques. C is still reading Ramona the Pest. She also read Elisa Michaels, Bigger and Better by Johanna Hurwitz. After dinner each night, my husband read from Little Pear by Eleanor Frances Lattimore.

On the weekend, the three big girls wrote Mother's Day messages for both grandmothers.

Physical Education

We had one outdoor playdate at the playground in our neighborhood, during which E. and C. enjoyed using their friend's stomp rocket. C. is also working on learning to cross the monkey bars.