We were camping this weekend, so I have a lot of posts to catch up on. The first post is Jedi’s week in review for last week.
Art–In art last week, we built upon the lesson on shapes & forms, and began sketching without looking at the paper (and instead, looking at the object you are sketching). This was a good exercise for Jedi…he is usually very perfectionist with his artwork, and this was a good exercise in letting go of that and just following what your eyes see.
Jedi trying to determine his sketching strategy
Life Science—in life science, we talked about genes. The first lesson of the week was on dominant & recessive traits, and which traits he got from each of his parents. Jedi learned that even though he looks like his daddy, he actually shares a lot of the individual traits with me! In the second lesson, he learned that everyone has different fingerprints. He played forensic detective and investigated fingerprints of family members to see who had the “mystery fingerprint” that was printed on his science paper.
Working on his genetics assignment--trying to figure out what genes he shares with each parent
Using the hand lens to classify each of his fingerprints
Chemistry—in Chemistry, we continued our work with atoms, this time determining whether temperature influences the speed an atom will move. We dropped food coloring in each of three dishes of water (1 boiling hot, 1 room temperature, and 1 ice cold). Jedi learned that food coloring atoms travel much faster through boiling hot water, dispersing evenly in under 2 minutes.
Watching the food coloring disperse throughout the water
Math–in math, we continued our work on multiples of 5, 10, and 15. This week, we used coins to see how many ways we could make 10 cents, 15 cents, and 20 cents. We finished the Rightstart transition book (that transitions between 1st grade and 2nd grade), and now we are beginning our actual year’s lessons.
Counting the coins, and trying to enter the same amount onto the abacus
Spelling/English/Handwriting–in Spelling, Jedi finished all of his short vowel sounds and CVC words, and began working in initial and final blends. This was where Jedi finally started having some pretty big difficulties, as he has trouble hearing blends in words. He did just fine with most of the CVC words, but beyond that, he is still having a lot of problems. So, at least now, we know where to start with him (we know he’s at least a year behind in spelling…now we know where the dividing line was between what he knew and what he had fallen behind in). Jedi also continued his journaling every day. In English, he worked a lot on reading comprehension. We’ve learned that he can read very very well, but he often loses the comprehension aspect. He does seem to comprehend fiction far more than non-fiction. Giving him the list of questions ahead of his reading the paragraph seemed to help a lot since it gave him something to focus on.
Typing–This is one of Jedi’s favorite activities. He has now learned all of the asdf row, and is working on the row of letters right above it. Almost all week, Jedi asked for extra typing time because he really enjoys the program he’s using!
Jedi, typing his writing assignment into the computer to edit
History–In Ancient History, we continued our work on Ancient Egypt. Jedi learned about pharaohs and mummies, and began learning about Egyptian Mythology. He really enjoyed the myth on why the Nile River floods yearly! He also mapped Ancient Egypt, including the Nile River, Nile River Delta, & Upper/Lower Egypt.
Completing his map of ancient Egypt
Ohio History–This week’s Ohio History lesson was more like “Ohio Geography”. Since the other neighboring midwest states play a big role in Ohio’s history, Jedi worked on mapping all of the midwest states.
Mapping the midwestern states
Geography –In Geography, we completed our unit on South Africa. Jedi learned to play mancala, a game played almost everywhere in Africa. He also learned about South African animals. At the end of the week, all of the kids helped to prepare a South African meal for dinner–bobotie, yellow rice, & mealiebrood!
Setting up the mancala game
Cutting the apples for the bobotie
Pouring the milk on the bread for the bobotie
All of the kids helping to make the meal
Bobotie, fresh from the oven
Yellow rice, bobotie, and mealiebrood
Doing a little extra work this week... He was practicing his woodworking skills to build a car.
