St. Ita School

Summer plans

2008-06-05T14:17:00.001-07:00

Math
Swimming
Basketball
Handwriting
Piano
History (by special request)
Literature
Art

Should be plenty to do!

3rd Grade Activities: Weeks 34-37

2008-06-05T14:15:00.000-07:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; attend Mass; Bible readings; read life of St. Ita.

MATH: Singapore Math: addition and subtraction to 3-digits, simple multiplication and division with pictures of objects; count, add and subtract money; oral math; review place value to 4 digits; greater than and less than signs: assign correct sign to pairs of 2-digit numbers; add, identify, and write numbers to hundreds; review money: bills to $1000; demonstrate large numbers with Montessori place value cards and write them; real-life math: calculate passage of time in minutes; time4learning online activities.

PHONICS: Explode the Code 6 activities; time4learning online activities.

HANDWRITING: practice upper and lowercase letters; spelling and writing for books, cards, posters, lists; write greater and less than signs and 3-digit number answers for Singapore math.

SPELLING: spell number words (2-digits); work on plurals: baby/babies, fairy/fairies, candy/candies, sky/skies, fly/flies; spelling for notes, lists, books, posters and cards.

WRITING/GRAMMAR: practice writing lower case letters and words; write sentences and discuss proper punctuation: capitalization, commas, periods, colons, semi-colons, exclamation points.

READING: Where Does This Come From? Ice Cream, H. I. Peeples;
Safe, Warm, and Snug, Stephen R. Swinburne;
Magic School Bus and the Electric Field Trip, Joanna Cole;
I'd Rather Have an Iguana, Heidi Mario;
Moo Who?, Margie Palatin;
Eric Carle's Dragons and Other Creatures That Never Were;
Nellie and the Bandit, Eileen Ross;
I'm Dirty!, Kate McMullan;
Silly Mummy, Silly Daddy, Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick;
While You Are Sleeping, Alexis Deacon;
Substitute Groundhog, Pat Miller;
If I had a Dragon, Tom Ellery;
Freckleface Strawberry, Julianne Moore;
A House for Hermit Crab, Carle, Eric;
Green Wilma, Arnold, Tedd;
Rover, Rosen, Michael;
Have You Seen My Duckling?, Tafuri, Nancy;
A Cake for Herbie, Mathers, Petra;
Baby Bird, Dunbar, Joyce;
Strange Stories for Strange Kids;
Beautiful blackbird, Bryan, Ashley;
Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon, Patty Lovell;
The Family Book, Todd Parr;
Martha Walks the Dog, Susan Meddaugh;
Seven for a Secret, Laurence Anholt;
Mama's Wild Child/Papa's Wild Child, Dianna Hutts Aston;
Jamaica and Brianna, Juanita Havill;
Stop, Thief!, Robert Kalan;
Mom Pie, Lynne Jonell;
Mommy Go Away!, Lynne Jonell;
Big Time Olie, William Joyce;
Tiny's Big Adventure, Martin Wadell;
When Mommy Was Mad, Lynne Jonell;
Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot-Air Baloon Ride, Marjorie Priceman;
Time Flies, Eric Rohmann;
Do Not Disturb, Nancy Tafuri;
What Kind of Baby-sitter Is This?, Dolores Johnson;
The Best Class Picture Ever!, Denis Roche;
A True Book(s): Stegosaurus, Apatosaurus, Pterodactyls, Elaine Landau;
A True Book(s): Chickens, Pigs, Sara Swan Miller;
You're Too Big!, Simon Puttock;
Snow Day!, Barbara M. Joosse.

Read Zoo Books, Ranger Rick's, Click, and Sesame Street magazines,
Sunday funnies and Garfield comic books.

HISTORY: Learn about, play, and sing African American Spirituals; attend a pioneer day at historical country store: learn to make a rag doll, rope, and operate a 2-man saw.

SCIENCE/NATURE: attend Basic Engineering and Construction classes: build a bridge, motorcycle and bulldozer from oral directions and demonstrations; knock down lego wall with bulldozer; drive motorized cars across the bridge.

Do and narrate baking soda experiment; measure and calculate using a measuring tape; read Magic School Bus, and the Electric Field Trip, Moving Heavy Things (Jan Adkins), How Do They Grow?: From Piglet to Pig (Jillian Powell) and From Tadpole to Frog (David Stewart); work in Electricity workbook (The Energenius Safety Program, PG&E); time4learning.com online activities.

Read Ranger Rick's and Zoo Books magazine articles; care of pet fish.

Watch Billy Nye the Science Guy: marine Mammals, and Jeff Corwin: Bats, Marsupials, and Elephants (DVDs).

MUSIC: listen to classical and contemporary music; listen to choir rehearsals and performances; read and play piano lessons from Progressive Keyboard Book 1, Andrew Scott; begin piano classes; piano practice; song writing; theory: learn note names/values; draw a piano keyboard; practice scales.

Listen to songs on There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly ... and more Stories That Sing, Scholastic DVD.

ART: attend art classes: Drawing and Painting Animals, and Mosaic Treasure Box; make clay creations, including fairies and mermaids; illustrate a song; make a chart showing ages and stages of children; illustrate and write Thank You note.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: attend bilingual Mandarin/English story time at the library: vocabulary: farm animals,

READ ALOUD: Swan Lake, Mark Helprin;
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, J. K. Rowling;
The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkien;
LaRue for Mayor, Mark Teague;
The Sheep Fairy, Ruth Symes.

P.E.: participate in volleyball practices and games; play at the dog park; jump on trampoline; park time with friends.

FIELD TRIPS: tea in a Japanese tea garden, walk across the Bridge, visit a mission, explore some tidepools, visit historic lighthouse and fort.

3rd Grade Activities: Weeks 31-33

2008-04-29T17:48:00.000-07:00

3rd Grade Activities: Weeks 31-33

RELIGION: daily prayer; attend Mass; Bible readings; read about St. Ita from a biography.

MATH: Singapore Math: 2-digit addition and subtraction, simple multiplication and division with pictures of objects, count, add and subtract money; oral math: 2-digit addition, and addition of millions; complete dot-to-dot puzzle to 50; review borrowing for subtraction; take standardized tests; work mazes in Amazing Mazes, Kumon; Developmental Math: addition and subtraction review; count using tally system; ask and calculate lots of math questions; time4learning.com online activities; write large numbers.

PHONICS: Explode the Code 6 activities; time4learning online activities.

HANDWRITING: practice upper and lowercase letters; draw lowercase letters a-z in the air; spelling and writing for books, cards, posters, lists.

SPELLING: oral spelling: words with 4 or more letters and compound words; online spelling game on Tumblebooks; and time4learning.com online activities.

READING: Hurty Feelings, Helen Lester;
Giant Steps, Elizabeth Loredo;
Olvina Flies, Grace Lin;
The Alphabet Tree, Leo Lionni;
Matthew's Dream, Leo Lionni;
Triceratops, A True Book, Elaine Landau;
Dogs, Gail Gibbons;
StarWars: I Want to Be a Jedi, Simon Beecroft;
StarWars: Star Pilot, Laura Buller;
StarWars: What Is a Wookiee?, Laura Buller;
My Pal Al, Marcia Leonard;
Mr. Mc Mouse, Leo Lionni;
If I had a Dragon, Tom Ellery;
Freckleface Strawberry, Julianne Moore;

Read along with several online books at Tumblebooks; read Zoo Books, Ranger Rick's, Click, and Sesame Street magazines, Sunday funnies and Garfield comic books.

LANGUAGE ARTS: present artwork and creative writing to teacher; take standardized tests.

HISTORY: Read again from The Story of Money; read about the Renaissance: Da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Gutenberg, Luther, Protestants, and the Council of Trent from All Ye Lands: World Cultures and Geography.

SCIENCE/NATURE: attend Basic Engineering and Construction classes: build a motorized car from parts using tools; race the cars, disassemble car; build an Erector Set glider according to oral directions; build and test a catapult; design and assemble a forklift.

Listen to animal sounds: Sounds of the Fascinating Animal World recording;
human body drawing: draw the brain, heart, lungs, stomach and related systems; time4learning.com online activities; read Ranger Rick's and Zoo Books magazine articles about nature and animals; read about magnetism from the Klutz Book of Magnetic Magic, Paul Doherty, and do magnetic experiments and tricks shown in the book.

Read Pumpkin Circle: The Story of A Garden, George Levenson;
The Human Body at Your Fingertips, Judy Nayer;
A True Book: Triceratops, Elaine Landau; and
I Am Your Pet: Dog, Matthew Rayner.

Watch The Jeff Corwin Experience: Turtles; Bears; Amphibians; and Popular Mechanics Kids: Slither and Slime (DVDs).

MUSIC: listen to classical and contemporary music; listen to choir rehearsals and performances; read and play piano lessons from Progressive Keyboard Book 1, Andrew Scott; begin piano classes; piano practice; compose simple pieces; sing and dance; identify and draw instruments while listening to various pieces of music.

ART: attend art classes: Drawing and Painting Animals: study haunches, legs, neck, skeletons and muscles of animals and how they move and proportion; make sketches of dogs; paint a cat and background.

Create modeling clay figures: people, animals, cartoon characters, centaurs; sketch the motorized car, glider and catapult built in Engineering class; design and build model forklift with Erector set; drawing of piano keys on a keyboard with an animal representing each note for two octaves; add additional illustrations to the Peter and Wendy book.

Using the computer: modify a photo in Photoshop and draw a dragon, hat, knight's armor and dog; make an alphabet book of large letters and illustrate the printed copy.

Read fine art books: Art for Children: Animals Observed, and Looking at Nature.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: Mandarin class: translate, review vocabulary and pronunciation; attend bilingual Mandarin/English story time at the library: more vocabulary.

READ ALOUD: When Elephant Goes to a Party, Sonia Levitin;
Dinosaurs! Strange and Wonderful, Laurence Pringle;
Bruh Rabbit and the Tar Baby Girl, Virginia Hamilton;
To Dinner, for Dinner, Tololwa M. Mollel;
Fable: The Monkey and the Crocodile;
Substitute Groundhog, Pat Miller;
and Wizard of Oz series.

P.E.: participate in volleyball clinic, practices and games; play at the dog park; jump on trampoline; park time with friends.

3rd Grade Activities: Weeks 27-30

2008-04-03T13:02:00.000-07:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; attend Mass and Easter and Holy Week services; Bible readings; read about Saints Dominic, Francis of Assisi, Thomas Aquinas, and Joseph; discuss the feast of the Annunciation.

MATH: Singapore Math: addition and subtraction review with sums over ten; 2-digit addition and subtraction with regrouping; base ten concepts; multiplication, division, complete patterns, tell time to the half hour; calculate a sum with abacus; identify and write numbers larger than 1,000,000; review addition facts to 12 with flash cards; Time4Learning online activities.

PHONICS: Explode the Code 6 activities, including reading and answering questions about complex sentences, filling in missing words; Time4Learning online activities.

HANDWRITING: practice upper and lowercase letters, words and sentences; spelling and writing in comic books, greeting cards, posters.

SPELLING: spell four-letter and multi-syllable words, compound words and words ending in -ing orally and with tactile letters and vowel and consonant blend blocks; review number words; practice spelling in Building Spelling Skills, Grade 3 (oral practice) and exercises unscrambling words and correcting misspelled words; spell words in dictated sentences.

GRAMMAR: review nouns, subjects, verbs, articles, capitalization rules and use of comma.

WRITING: write a summary of an article about Komodo dragons;
write about Garfield and friends.

READING: Pablo the Pig, Bruno Hachler;
The Rat, the Ox and the Zodiac, Dorothy Van Woerkom;
What the Class Pet Saw, Bruce McMillan;
Library Mouse, Daniel Kirk;
Zoo Animals board book;
Baa Baa Black Sheep, Iza Trapani;
My Pal Al, Marcia Leonard;
To Dinner, For Dinner, Tolowa M. Mollel;
Clifford's Opposites/Clifford y los Opuestos, Norman Bridwell;
Zoo Books, Ranger Rick's, Click, and Sesame Street magazines,
Sunday funnies and Garfield comic books: Garfield Thinks Big, Garfield Hogs the Spotlight, Garfield in the Rough, Garfield World-Wide, Garfield by the Pound, Garfield: Tons of Fun, Garfield Hangs Out, Garfield Throws His Weight Around, by Jim Davis.

HISTORY:
Read from All Ye Lands: World Cultures and Geography, including the historical figures: St. Dominic, St. Francis of Assisi, and St. Thomas Aquinas; education in the Middle Ages: the trivium, quadrivium, and universities; the bubonic plague; and the rise of nations.

Read from Story of the World, vol. 2: The Middle Ages: The City of Baghdad, Sinbad the Sailor; China: The Sui Dynasty, and the Grand Canal.

Watch and discuss Greek tales: The Odyssey, and Daedalus and Icarus (DVDs); sketch Athena and the Trojan horse from the Odyssey.

GEOGRAPHY: locate the Yellow and Yangtze rivers and the Grand Canal in China; draw a map to show where the car is parked.

SCIENCE/NATURE: read Ranger Rick's and Zoo Books magazine articles about bats, bears, rhinos; Click magazine: backyard olympics, kite flying, desert life; Time4Learning activities; read the thermometer.

Read from ASPCA Complete Guide to Dogs and identify individual dogs at the Dog Park from the book, finding breeds by alphabetical order, index or chapters divided by type of dogs.

Watch Popular Mechanics for kids: Rip-Roaring Roller Coasters, Gators and Dragons and Other Wild Beasts, X-treme Sports & Other Action Adventures, and Super Sea Creatures and Awesome Ocean Adventures; The Jeff Corwin Experience: Amphibians; and Popular Mechanics Kids: Super Sea Creatures (DVDs); write about Komodo dragons.

MUSIC: listen to classical and contemporary music; listen to choir rehearsals and performances, including Lasso, Missa Osculetur me for double choir.

ART: modeling clay figures: people, animals, cartoon characters, scooba diver, red-eyed tree frog (draw habitats for them); draw cartoon and comic book characters, angels, animals, objects, and scenes, dancing hippo from Fantasia; Make a paper guitar prop.

Using the computer: make a font book displaying all the characters in a funny font, Illustrate the book; recipe layout/design, illustrate the recipe: draw and label the cartons and packages of ingredients.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: Mandarin class: translate, review words for school subjects and numbers; attend bilingual Mandarin/English story time at the library and Spanish story time.

Latin: Getting Started with Latin: review Ego nauta sum (I am a sailor); learn agricola (farmer) and et (and) and use in sentences.

READ ALOUD: Just Like Me, Miriam Schlein;
Little Humpty, Margaret Wild;
Kite Flying, Grace Lin;
Moose Tracks, Karma Wilson;
Whatever Wands Wanted, Jude Wisdom;
Bear Wants More, Karma Wilson;
My Father's Dragon, Ruth Stiles Gannett
Wizard of Oz series.

P.E.: basketball practices and games; received Most Improved Player trophy for diligence, putting in extra practice time, attending practices regularly and showing up on time or early for games and practices; play at the dog park; j

3rd Grade Activities: Weeks 23-26

2008-04-03T12:59:00.000-07:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; attend Mass; Bible readings; read about Saints Genevieve, Joan of Arc, and Catherine of Siena.

MATH: Singapore Math: multiplication, mental addition, addition of up to 3-digit numbers, regrouping, borrowing and carrying, graphing, and fact families; Time4Learning online activities: shapes, fractions, time and money. Read The Great Graph Contest and create graphs of butterflies, flowers, and other creatures.

PHONICS: Explode the Code 6 activities, including vowel blends and multi-syllable words; Time4Learning online activities including verb tense agreement, rhyming, word endings ing and ed.

HANDWRITING: practice upper and lowercase letters and words; spelling and writing in comic books, greeting cards, posters.

SPELLING: spell four-letter and multi-syllable words orally and with tactile letters.

WRITING: write about Garfield and friends; write silly songs; watch a video on the Wright Brothers and write a summary.

READING: Cornelius, Leo Lionni;
Frederick, Leo Lionni;
Library Mouse, Daniel Kirk;
Mouse Views: What the Class Pet Saw, Bruce McMillan;
Cranberry Valentine, Wende and Harry Devlin;
The Great Graph Contest, Loreen Leedy;
Silly Tilly's Valentine, Lillian Hoban;
The Hunt for Rabbit's Galosh, Ann Schweninger;
Freckles and Willie, Margery Cuyler;
Valentine Foxes, Clyde Watson;
time4learning online books;
Zoo Books magazines, Sunday funnies and Garfield comic books.

HISTORY: read about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln for Presidents' Day from The Complete Book of U.S. History, Grades 3-5, and also chapters about the Revolutionary War, heroines of the Revolutionary War, the three branches of government, and the election and duties of a president.

Read about Joan of Arc and Catherine of Siena; attend a live performance on the life of Catherine of Siena; Time4learning activities: Native Americans.

Read from All Ye Lands: World Cultures and Geography, including The Middle Ages: the Crusades, the rise of towns, guilds, merchants, cathedrals; England in the Middle Ages: kings beginning with William the Conqueror, the Magna Carta, and the Legend of Robin Hood.

SCIENCE/NATURE: read Zoo Books and other nature magazine articles on predators and prey, pandas, sharks, prairie dogs, insects, and snakes.

Read about and draw a skeleton from The Skeletal System, Alvin Silverstein, including bone structure, composition, strength, and joints.

Time4Learning activity about the Arctic; identify constellations in the sky.

Watch Really Wild Animals: Totally Tropical Rain Forests, and Fantastic Families DVDs; also shows about a swamp ecosystem and evolution of animals in the Galapagos Islands.

MUSIC: listen to classical and contemporary music; attend choir rehearsals.

ART: plan and execute a mosaic design with ceramic tiles; modeling clay creations: people, animals and cartoon characters; draw cartoon and comic book characters, animals, objects, and scenes; make a wizard costume and a bat model.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: attend Mandarin class: identify, write, and pronounce subjects of study, days of the week, numbers, time; make and illustrate a book about the family; make a Chinese valentine and flashcards; translate passages; practice writing Chinese characters. Participate in Mandarin story time at the library and answer questions about dates, animals, counting, and the Lunar New Year.

READ ALOUD: Dinosaur, Dinosaur, Kevin Lewis;
The Mouse Bride: A Chinese Folktale, Monica Chang;
Pleasant Fieldmouse's Valentine Trick, Jan Wahl;
One Zillion Valentines, Frank Modell;
read from Fundamental Basketball, Jim Klinzing,
and books in the Wizard of Oz series.

P.E.: basketball practices and games; read about the history and rules of basketball; watch and discuss basketball games on television; run and play with dogs at the dog park.

3rd Grade Activities: Week 22

2008-02-14T13:07:00.000-08:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; attend Mass; Bible readings.

MATH: Singapore Math 2-digit addition including regrouping of tens, and subtraction; Developmental Math addition and subtraction review; solve real life math problems involving addition, subtraction, and multiplication; divide 3 hours of the day into minutes and budget the minutes for various tasks, then add them up to see how much free time is left.

PHONICS: Explode the Code 5 and 6 activities.

SPELLING/HANDWRITING: practice upper and lowercase letters; spelling and writing in comic books.

WRITING: write about Garfield and friends; write a prayer.

READING: reading in Klutz art project book;
read about Betta fish from A True Book: Siamese Fighting Fish, Elaine Landau;
Tell Me Something Happy Before I Go to Sleep, Joyce Dunbar;
The Journey of Oliver K. Woodman, Darcy Pattison;
The Cookie-Store Cat, Cynthia Rylant;
Sunday funnies and Garfield comic books, including Garfield Weighs In, Jim Davis.

HISTORY: read about the meanings of ancient Egyptian symbols; watch Lost Treasures of the Ancient World: Hadrian's Wall, Edge of the Empire (DVD).

SCIENCE/NATURE: care of fish; observation of animals and plants; plant some seeds.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: attend Mandarin class: review counting and vocabulary; learn: Ego nauta sum (I am a sailor) from Getting Started with Latin, William Linney.

READ ALOUD: read 2 stories from A Treasury of Dragon Stories, Margaret Clark; read from Wizard of Oz series.

ART: draw Egyptian symbols on "mummy case"; do various art projects in Klutz: A Book of Artrageous Projects; illustrate books; draw and color characters; make creations from modeling clay; Acrylic painting class: finish painting a landscape on canvas.

MUSIC: listen to classical, and contemporary music; make up songs; sing.

P.E.: basketball practices and game.

3rd Grade Activities: Week 21

2008-02-14T13:06:00.000-08:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; attend Mass; Bible readings.

MATH: Developmental Math subtraction review; solve real life math problems involving addition, subtraction; Singapore Math: addition, subtraction, bar graphs, compare quantities, fill in missing numbers, group tens and calculate number of items, base ten concepts; multiplication, division demonstrations with counters; dot-to-dot-puzzle.

PHONICS: Explode the Code 5 activities; read 3-syllable words -- breaking words into syllables.

SPELLING/HANDWRITING: practice upper and lowercase letters; spelling and writing in comic books.

WRITING: Silly's Family; The Wright Brothers.

READING: Drat That Fat Cat, Pat Thomson;
Cat Skidoo, Bethany Roberts;
Ten, Nine, Eight, Molly Bang;
Contrary Mary, Anita Jeram;
Oh No, Toto!, Katrin Tchana;
If You Give a Pig a Party, Laura Numeroff;
Sunday funnies and Garfield comic books, including Garfield Bigger and Better,
Garfield Takes His Licks, Garfield Dishes It Out, Jim Davis.

HISTORY: read about Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Dust Bowl from The Complete Book of United States History, McGraw-Hill.

SCIENCE/NATURE: care of fish; observation of nature; read, measure, and prepare simple recipe (hot cereal).

READ ALOUD: Wizard of Oz books, Frank Baum.

ART: draw Sily's family (the O'Funnies); draw bunny family, butterflies; make a valentine; illustrate math pages; attend Acrylic painting class; draw and color bugs from Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Kids cartoon.

MUSIC: listen to classical and contemporary music; sing.

P.E.: basketball practices and game.

3rd Grade Activities: Week 20

2008-02-14T13:05:00.001-08:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; attend Mass; Bible readings.

MATH: Developmental Math addition and subtraction review; Singapore Math: perform calculations using picture graphs; solve real life math problems involving addition, subtraction; lots of subtraction, 2-digit addition, multiplication (various sources).

Time4Learning online activities: telling time to the minute; calculating elapsed time.

PHONICS: Explode the Code 5 activities.

SPELLING/HANDWRITING: practice upper and lowercase letters; spelling and writing in comic books.

READING: Snow White story online book; Sunday funnies and Garfield comic books, including The 9th Garfield Fat Cat 3 Pack, Jim Davis.

GEOGRAPHY: study U.S. states.

SCIENCE/NATURE: care of fish; weigh toys using gram weights, 1-gram blocks, scale; dog walking.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: Chinese: review colors, look at characters in a story online.

READ ALOUD: Ozma of Oz, Frank Baum;

ART: build a house with 1-centimeter cubes; clay creations, drawings, comic books.

MUSIC: listen to classical, and contemporary music; sing.

P.E.: basketball.

3rd Grade Activities: Week 19

2008-02-14T13:03:00.000-08:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; attend Mass; Bible readings.

MATH: Developmental Math subtraction review; solve real life math problems involving addition, subtraction, and multiplication; Singapore math: subtraction.

PHONICS: Explode the Code 5 activities, including words with 3-letter consonant blends.

SPELLING/HANDWRITING: practice upper and lowercase letters; spelling and writing in comic books.

WRITING: write La Fashion book and comic books.

READING: read from ASPCA Complete Guide to Dogs, Sheldon Gerstenfeld;
and Tales from the Arabian Nights, Smithmark;
Green Eggs and Ham, Dr. Seuss;
Sunday funnies and Garfield comic books;
read covers and organize CDs by composer.

HISTORY: listen to readings from All Ye Lands: Vikings /Norsemen to Feudalism; and Story of the World, vol. 2, The Roman Empire, early days of Britain; Augustine of Canterbury to Nicholas, Asia Minor; the Golden Age of India and Muhhamed.

CURRENT EVENTS: watch videos from presidential election debates and discuss them some of the candidates and issues.

SCIENCE/NATURE: care of fish; observation of squirrels, dogs, birds, insects.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: listen to Latin at Sunday liturgies; attend Spanish story time.

READ ALOUD: Saint George and the Dragon, Margaret Hodges;
Ozma of Oz, Frank Baum.

ART: illustrate a book about fashions; make paper dolls: dragon, lamb, king, queen, princess, knight; make modeling clay characters.

MUSIC: listen to classical, and contemporary music; sing.

P.E.: basketball practice; dog walking; play with dogs at dog park.

3rd Grade Activities: Week 18

2008-02-14T13:01:00.000-08:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; attend Mass; Bible readings.

MATH: Developmental Math addition review; solve real life math problems involving addition and subtraction.

PHONICS: Explode the Code 5 activities.

SPELLING/HANDWRITING: practice upper and lowercase letters; spelling and writing in comic books.

WRITING: summary writing exercise.

READING/LANGUAGE ARTS: read fairy tales;
Slide and Slurp, Scratch and Burp: More about Verbs, Brian P. Cleary;
A Lime, a Mime, a Pool of Slime: More about Nouns, Brian P. Cleary;
Quirky, Jerky, Extra Perky: More about Adjectives, Brian P. Cleary;
Sunday funnies and Garfield comic books.
Watch Akeelah and the Bee about a spelling bee on DVD.

SCIENCE/NATURE: care of fish; observation of dogs, squirrels, birds and insects.

HISTORY: listen to readings from All Ye Lands: World Cultures and Geography: from Islam to Charlemagne.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: attend Mandarin class: listen to CD for pronunciation; practice reading and speaking Chinese words and phrases; attend Spanish story time at the library.

ART: finish collage from discovery in art class; attend drawing class; make clay creations: teddy bear band, Pluto and friend; draw cartoon and comic book characters.

MUSIC: listen to classical, and contemporary, and Christmas music; listen to choir rehearsals and performances; sing Christmas carols.

P.E.: play with dogs at dog park; walk neighbor's dog.

3rd Grade Activities: Week 17

2008-01-04T13:32:00.000-08:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; attend Mass; Bible readings; read about St. Victoria from 60 Saints for Girls.

MATH: Developmental Math addition review; solve real life math problems involving addition, subtraction, and multiplication. Read Fraction Action, Loreen Leedy. Time4Learning online activities.

PHONICS: Explode the Code 5 activities; time4learning phonics activities.

SPELLING/HANDWRITING: practice upper and lowercase letters; spelling and writing in comic books; copy summary writing exercise.

LANGUAGE ARTS: read Eats, Shoots and Leaves: Why, Commas Really Do Make a Difference!, Lynne Truss and Hairy, Scary, Ordinary: What Is an Adjective, Brian P. Cleary.

WRITING: comic book series.

READING: Chester's Way, Kevin Henkes;
nursery rhymes from The Arnold Lobel Book of Mother Goose;
There Is a Bull on My Balcony, and Other Useful Phrases in Spanish and English, Sesyle Joslin;
The Eye Book, Theo. LeSieg;
The Tooth Book, Theo. LeSieg;
What's It Like to Be a Fish?, Wendy Pfeffer;
Sunday funnies and Garfield comic books.

HISTORY: listen to readings from All Ye Lands: World Cultures and Geography: from Jesus to Constantine, and Roman Emperor Constantine to Byzantine Emperor Justinian.

SCIENCE/NATURE: care of fish; observation of squirrels, birds, cats, dogs.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: attend Mandarin class: listen to CD for pronunciation; practice reading and speaking Chinese words and phrases.

READ ALOUD: tales from The Oryx Multicultural Folktale Series: Cinderella, Judy Sierra.

ART: attend drawing class; make modeling clay animals and robots: draw cartoon characters for comic books; make Anniversary cards.

MUSIC: listen to classical, and contemporary music; sing; listen to choir rehearsals for Christmas; listen to live harp music and Christmas carols.

P.E.: park time; play with dogs at dog park.

3rd Grade Activities: Week 16

2007-12-10T14:24:00.001-08:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; attend Mass; Bible readings.

MATH: Developmental Math addition review; solve real life math problems involving addition, subtraction, and multiplication; read: Me and the Measure of Things, explaining various units of measurement.

Time4Learning online activities: make and predict patterns, add 3 numbers; add and subtract 2-digit numbers; balance equations; measurement in inches and 1/2 inches; calculate fractions and learn about probability.

PHONICS: Explode the Code 5 activities; time4learning phonics activities.

SPELLING/HANDWRITING: practice upper and lowercase letters; spelling and writing in comic books, dog park diary, write out jokes from cartoon videos; write about nature shows.

WRITING: summary writing of article: Betta Fish.

READING: Me and the Measure of Things, Joan Sweeney;
Sunday funnies and Garfield comic books.

SCIENCE/NATURE: care of fish; collect leaves; observation of squirrels, birds, cats, dogs; watch Ocean Habitats: Shoreline and Reef, School Media DVD.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: attend Mandarin class: listen to CD for pronunciation; practice reading and speaking Chinese words and phrases.

READ ALOUD: Slugs in Love, Susan Pearson.
The Boxcar Children: The Mystery at the Dog Show, Gertrude Chandler Warner.

ART: attend discovery in art class; concept: bright colors vs. dark colors: make a painting; make clay creations: cartoon characters.

MUSIC: listen to classical, and contemporary music; sing; listen to choir rehearsals and performance of Mass for Three Voices, William Byrd.

P.E.: swim; play with dogs at dog park.

St. Ita School: Our Recent Favorites

3rd Grade Activities: Week 15

2007-12-05T05:43:00.000-08:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; attend Mass; Bible readings; read brief bios of saints in 60 Saints for Girls.

MATH: Developmental Math addition review; solve real life math problems involving addition, subtraction, and multiplication.

PHONICS: Explode the Code 5 activities.

SPELLING/HANDWRITING: practice lowercase letters; spelling and writing in comic books, dog park diary, write out jokes from cartoon videos; write about nature shows.

WRITING: complete summary writing assignment: Elements.

READING: read board books to a baby;
What Was I Scared of?, Dr. Seuss;
Once Upon a Banana, Jennifer Armstrong;
Move Over, Rover!, Karen Beaumont (nice illustrations);
Sunday funnies and Garfield comic books.

SCIENCE/NATURE: care of fish; collect leaves; observation of squirrels, birds, ants; watch Nature: Echo of the Elephants DVD.

Read about elements, atoms, protons, neutrons, electrons, quarks and gluons at the website of Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility - Office of Science Education: http://education.jlab.org/atomtour/listofparticles.html
Read about the elements iron, aluminum, hydrogen: http://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele026.html

More resources on Elements:
Periodic Table with student models of elements: http://www.pittsford.monroe.edu/pittsfordmiddle/rountree/periodic.htm
Clickable Periodic Table with info. about each element:
http://education.jlab.org/itselemental/index.html
Coloring book: http://education.jlab.org/coloringbook/index.html

HISTORY: do word search about Christopher Columbus.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: attend Mandarin class: listen to CD for pronunciation; practice reading, writing, and speaking words and phrases.

READ ALOUD: Toot and Puddle: I'll Be Home for Christmas, Holly Hobbie;
Little Lost Bat, Sandra Markle;
Hero Cat, Eileen Spinelli;
Fairy tales from: A Child's Book of Stories: Best-Known and Best-Loved Tales from Around the World.

ART: drawing class: 3-D drawing and shading; make a stamp and stamp wrapping paper; make and paint a ceramic Christmas ornament; draw and make clay creations.

MUSIC: listen to classical, and contemporary music; sing.

P.E.: soccer with friends; park time; play with dogs at dog park.

3rd Grade Activities: Week 14

2007-11-30T11:54:00.000-08:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; attend Mass; Bible readings; read a brief bio. of St. Cecelia, St. Valerie, St. Gwen, St. Jennifer, St. Agatha, and others from 60 Saints for Girls.

MATH: Developmental Math addition review; real life money problems.

PHONICS: Explode the Code 5 activities.

SPELLING/HANDWRITING: practice lowercase letters; spelling and writing in comic books, Dog Park Diary, and Thanksgiving greetings.

WRITING: practice summary writing on the article "Turkeys".

READING: Shrek 2: The Movie Storybook, Tom Mason and Dan Dako;
Duck & Goose, Tad Hills;
We're in Big Trouble, Blackboard Bear, Martha Alexander;
The Mole Sisters and the Piece of Moss, Roslyn Schwartz.

(and a little of each of these): The case of the buried treasure; The case of the perfect prank; The case of the kidnapped candy; The case of the groaning ghost; The case of the marshmallow monster; and The case of the runaway dog; all by James Preller;

Sunday funnies; and Garfield comic books.

SCIENCE/NATURE: care of fish; observe animals on a country trip.

READ ALOUD: 60 Saints for Girls.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: review some Mandarin phrases; compare Mandarin and Spanish greetings.

ART: illustrate the summary writing with turkeys; draw and color Thanksgiving greetings; color wooden Christmas ornaments; create characters from modeling clay.

MUSIC: listen to classical, and contemporary music; sing.

P.E.: soccer, basketball, park time; play with dogs at dog park.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

3rd Grade Activities: Week 13

2007-11-30T11:36:00.001-08:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; attend Mass; Bible readings; read a brief bio. of St. Ida, St. Alice, St. Sylvia, and St. Gladys from 60 Saints for Girls.

MATH: Developmental Math addition review;
math games at BBC Number Time;
read about how to use an abacus
and its history.

PHONICS: Explode the Code 5 activities.

SPELLING/HANDWRITING: practice lowercase letters; spelling and writing in comic books; spell and write sentences in Dog Park Diary.

WRITING: write a one-page story (dream).

LANGUAGE ARTS: BBC Bitesize Literacy Punctuation games.

READING: Zella, Zack, and Zodiac, Bill Peet;
Fried feathers for Thanksgiving, James Stevenson;
Terrific, Jon Agee;
That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown, Cressida Cowell;
Fishes; a Guide to Fresh and Salt-Water Species, Herbert S. Zim and Hurst H. Shoemaker (Betta Fish article only);
Kittens, Kelly Doudna;
This Little Chick, John Lawrence;
Wag a Tail, Lois Ehlert;
Sunday funnies; and Garfield comic books.

SCIENCE/NATURE: care of fish. Watch Eyewitness: Bird, and Eyewitness Skeleton DVDs: study skeleton diagram, make small skeleton from modeling clay. Observe various dog breeds; visit dog training school: talk with instructors and meet the dogs.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: attend Mandarin class: listen to CD for pronunciation; practice reading, writing, and speaking words and phrases; make flash cards; attend Spanish story time.

READ ALOUD: Minnie & Moo and the Seven Wonders of the World, Denys Cazet; Sixty Saints for Girls, Joan Windham.

ART: illustrations of dogs in Dog Park Diary; illustrations of park and fish dreams; create modeling clay characters; fall collage; discovery in art class: story painting.

MUSIC: listen to classical, and contemporary music; sing; listen to choir rehearsals and performance.

P.E.: soccer; park time; play with dogs at dog park.

3rd Grade Activities: Week 12

2007-11-09T11:24:00.000-08:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; attend Mass; Bible readings; read a brief bio. of St. Frances of Rome, Jane Frances de Chantal, St. Isabel, and St. Julia from Sixty Saints for Girls, Joan Windham.

MATH: Developmental Math addition review; Flip Over Math story problems.

PHONICS: Explode the Code 5 activities; watch Between the Lions: The Popcorn Popper DVD.

SPELLING/HANDWRITING: practice lowercase letters; spelling and writing in comic books.

READING: The Super Camper Caper, John Himmelman;
Mouse's First Halloween, Lauren Thompson;
Addie Meets Max, Joan Robins;
Boswell Wide Awake, Alexandra Day;
Word Wizard, Cathryn Falwell;
How Many Snails? Paul Giganti, Jr.;
comics.

SCIENCE/NATURE: care of fish; watch Nature:Tall Blondes, The Wondrous World of Giraffes and Leopards and Lions DVDs; read about and observe different dog breeds.

HISTORY: read about Amerigo Vespucci and the naming of America, and Christopher Columbus' voyages in Forgotten voyager: the story of Amerigo Vespucci, Ann Fitzpatrick Alper, and The Voyage of Christopher Columbus, Rupert Matthews.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: attend Mandarin class: listen to CD for pronunciation; practice reading, writing, and speaking words and phrases; make flash cards; attend Spanish story time.

READ ALOUD: Magic Tree House: Season of the Sandstorms, Mary Pope Osborne;
Minnie and Moo and the Seven Wonders of the World, Denys Cazet.

ART: make birthday cards; present artwork to adults; illustrations in workbooks and comic books; modeling clay figures including miniature snow leopards; drawing basics class: 3-D objects.

MUSIC: listen to classical, and contemporary music; sing.

P.E.: soccer; park time; play with dogs at dog park.

3rd Grade Activities: Week 11

2007-11-09T10:35:00.000-08:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; attend Mass; Bible readings; read brief bios of saints.

MATH: Developmental Math addition review; solve story problems with addition, multiplication and division; Flip Over Math story problems.

PHONICS: Explode the Code 5 activities; watch Between the Lions: The Popcorn Popper.

HANDWRITING: practice lowercase letters and words in Handwriting for Print.

SPELLING: spell and write sentences; write text in comic books.

READING: One Halloween Night, Mark Teague;
Luther's Halloween, Cari Meister;
Ginger and Pickles, Beatrix Potter;
The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit, Beatrix Potter;
The Roly-Poly Pudding, Beatrix Potter;
My Love for You, Susan L. Roth;
from Highlights: Fun with a Purpose magazine;
Don't Tell the Whole World, Joanna Cole;
comics.

SCIENCE/NATURE: care of fish; watch Radical Rockets and Other Cool Cruising Machines, Popular Mechanics for Kids and Really Wild Animals: Swinging Safari DVDs; explain why zebras have stripes; ocean/beach trip.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: attend Mandarin class: listen to CD for pronunciation; practice reading, writing, and speaking words and phrases; attend Spanish story time.

READ ALOUD: A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L'Engle;
Pirate Girl, Cornelia Funke;
Just So Stories, Rudyard Kipling.

ART: make and put up Halloween decorations; modeling clay figures: boy, Indian girl, Indian hut; attend discovery in art class: learn about balance and focus in artistic compositions; plan and execute a painting using these concepts; illustrate comic books.

MUSIC: listen to classical, and contemporary music; sing; attend choir rehearsals; listen to live Middle Eastern music: guitar and voice.

P.E.: soccer; park time; play with dogs at dog park.

3rd Grade Activities: Week 10

2007-11-09T10:34:00.001-08:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; attend Mass; Bible readings; read brief lives of the saints, including Rose of Lima; attend Girls' Group.

MATH: Developmental Math addition review.

PHONICS: Explode the Code 5 activities; watch Between the Lions DVDs.

HANDWRITING: practice lowercase letters.

WRITING/SPELLING: writing for comic books.

READING: Rafi and Rosi, Lulu Delacre;
Scarecrow, Cynthia Rylant;
Garfield Goes to Waist, Jim Davis;
Garfield Makes It Big, Jim Davis;
The Problem with Pumpkins: a Hip and Hop Story, Barney Saltzberg;
Monster Musical Chairs, Stuart J. Murphy;
Sheep Trick or Treat, Nancy Shaw;
The Frog Principal, Stephanie Calmenson.

SCIENCE/NATURE: care of fish; observation of nature: squirrels, fall leaves; study of dog breeds.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: attend Mandarin class: listen to CD for pronunciation; practice reading, writing, and speaking words and phrases.

READ ALOUD: A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L'Engle;
Hickory, Palmer Brown;
Duck and Goose, Tad Hills;
from Dog Breeds, An Illustrated Guide.

ART: modeling clay figures; attend drawing basics class: 3-D objects; illustration of comic books.

MUSIC: listen to early, classical, and contemporary music; sing; attend choir rehearsals.

P.E.: soccer; park time; play with dogs at dog park.

3rd Grade Activities: Week 9

2007-10-24T10:01:00.000-07:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; attend Mass; Bible readings; read a brief bio. of St. Teresa of Avila, and St. Isaac Jogues, St. John de Brebeuf and Companions -- the North American Martyrs.

MATH: Developmental Math addition review; time4learning online activities; word problems: multiplication and pattern blocks.

PHONICS: Explode the Code 5 activities and watch Between the Lions DVDs: Pecos Bill Cleans Up the West, Shooting Stars, To the Ship! To the Ship!

HANDWRITING: practice lowercase letters.

LANGUAGE ARTS: time4learning online activities.

READING: Crickwing, Janell Cannon;
Darby, The Special-Order Pup, Alexandra Day and Cooper Edens;
How Kind!, Mary Murphy;
Three Stories You Can Read to Your Dog, Sara Swan Miller;
Three More Stories You Can Read to Your Dog, Sara Swan Miller;
comics.

SCIENCE/NATURE: care of fish and grasshopper; watch Big Dogs, Little Dogs, A&E: breeds, training, work, history; Nature: Waddlers & Paddlers: the World of Penguins and A Sea Otter Story (DVDs).

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: attend Spanish story time; Mandarin class: review flash cards; listen to CD for pronunciation; practice reading, writing, and speaking words and phrases.

READ ALOUD: A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L'Engle;
Hickory, Palmer Brown.

ART: modeling clay figures; drawing: paper and computer art; make a cardboard ghost; learn about different kinds of sculpture and create a bead and wire sculpture in Discovery in Art class.

MUSIC: listen to early, classical, and contemporary music; sing; attend choir rehearsals.

P.E.: soccer; park time; play with dogs at dog park.

3rd Grade Activities: Week 8

2007-10-20T15:22:00.001-07:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; attend Mass; Bible readings; read a brief bio. of St. Simeon, the Eleven Martyrs of Almeria, Spain, St. Felix, St. Cyprian, and St. Edward.

MATH: Developmental Math addition review; time4learning online activities.

PHONICS: Explode the Code 5 activities.

SPELLING: spell Victory Drill book CVC words; spell and write sentences.

HANDWRITING: practice lowercase letters in Handwriting Program for Print.

READING: The Tailor of Gloucester, Beatrix Potter;
The Story of A Fierce Bad Rabbit, Beatrix Potter;
The Roly-Poly Pudding, Beatrix Potter;
Amerlia Bedelia's Masterpiece;
comics.

SCIENCE/NATURE: care of pet fish, grasshopper, watch JeffCorwin: Marsupials, and Insects and Arachnids DVDs; watch The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, Judy Irving DVD;

HISTORY: Christopher Columbus: read brief history, poem, song, coat of arms.

GEOGRAPHY: draw a map of an imaginary island with a legend defining the symbols used on the map.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: Mandarin class; listen to CD: phrases and pronunciation; read, write and pronounce words and phrases.

READ ALOUD: When I Was Young in the Mountains, Cynthia Rylant;
The Dreamer, Cynthia Rylant;
Wild Birds, Joanne Ryder;
Star in the Storm.

ART: modeling clay figures, including cartoon characters; make necklaces; practice drawing 3-D objects in drawing basics class.

MUSIC: listen to classical and contemporary music; sing; attend choir rehearsals and Vespers service.

P.E.: soccer; park time; play with dogs at dog park.

3rd Grade Activities: Week 7

2007-10-20T15:20:00.000-07:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; attend Mass; Bible readings; read a brief bio. of St. Gerard of Brogne, St. Francis of Assisi, and other saints.

MATH: Developmental Math addition review; time4learning online activities: measurement: nonstandard and standard units and metric system; time: am/pm, tell time to 5 min. increments.

PHONICS: breadk 2-3 syllable words into syllables; Explode the Code 5 activities; time4learning online activities.

SPELLING: circle and sound out consonant blends; spell cvc words.

READING: The Ghost's Dinner, Jacques Duquennoy;
A True Book: Elephants, Melissa Stewart;
The Best of Friends, Pirkko Vainio;
What Time Is It, Mr. Crocodile?, Judy Sierra;
Amazing Bats, Simon Seymour;
Whales and People, Jason Cooper;
Raymond's Two Crowns, David Previtali;
Cat and Mouse: The Hole Story, Christyan and Diane Fox;
Yes, It's Bedtime for Bobo!, Jez Alborough;
comics.

SCIENCE/NATURE: read and do some activities in The Energenius Safety Program about safety around gas and electricity for children; care for pet fish; observe, house, feed a grasshopper.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: Mandarin class; listen to CD for pronunciation; read, write, and pronounce Chinese words and phrases; make flash cards.

READ ALOUD: When I Was Young in the Mountains, Cynthia Rylant;
The Dreamer, Cynthia Rylant;
Wild Birds, Joanne Ryder.

ART: modeling clay figures; paint ceramic animals; create textured sculpture in Discovery in Art class.

MUSIC AND ARTS: listen to classical and contemporary music; sing; watch short ballet and Hawaiian dance performances.

P.E.: soccer; park time; play with dogs at dog park.

3rd Grade Activities: Week 6

2007-09-29T11:35:00.001-07:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; attend Mass; Bible readings; read a brief bio. of St. Vincent de Paul and other saints.

MATH: Developmental Math addition review; time4learning online activities: moving shapes, line of symmetry, mirror images.

PHONICS: Explode the Code 5 activities.

SPELLING: consonant blends: identify, sound out, read and write; spell short words.

LANGUAGE ARTS: time4learning online activities.

READING: (picture books):
Oops-a-Daisy! And Other Tales for Toddlers, Joyce Dunbar;
Amelia Bedelia's Masterpiece, Herman Parish;
See How They Grow: Rabbit, Angela Royston;
Wag a Tail, Lois Ehlert;
Wild Birds, Joanne Ryder;
Lucille, Arnold Lobel;
One Halloween Night, Mark Teague;
Could Be Worse, James Stevenson;
My Best Friend Bear, Tony Johnston;
The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon, Mini Grey;
comics.

SCIENCE/NATURE: trip to the zoo; observe and describe unique characteristics of several animals; time4learning online activities; watch Eyewitness: Planets DVD.

GEOGRAPHY: time4learning activities; booklet in Chinese class; study U.S. states: capitals, flowers, and birds.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: Mandarin class; listen to CD for pronunciation; make geography booklet with 6 countries, major cities and maps (names in Chinese).

READ ALOUD: Peter and Wendy.

ART: clay figures; drawing class: practice drawing 3-d shapes.

MUSIC: listen to classical and contemporary music; sing.

P.E.: soccer; park time; play with dogs at dog park.

3rd Grade Activities: Week 5

2007-09-29T10:38:00.000-07:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; attend Mass; Bible readings; read brief bio. of St. Joseph of Cupertino and other saints.

MATH: Developmental Math addition review; time4learning online activities; names of numbers, place value, ordinal numbers; familiarity with abacus.

PHONICS/HANDWRITING: Explode the Code 5 exercises.

SPELLING: read and spell 3-syllable words.

LANGUAGE ARTS: time4learning online activities.

READING: (mostly picture books):
Appley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes, Beatrix Potter;
Animagicals Music, Carol Diggory Shields;
The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon, Mini Grey;
A Child Is a Child, Brigitte Weninger (very sweet -- a mother mouse with 5 little ones takes in 2 orphaned frogs);
Bird Talk, Ann Jonas;
Harley, Star Livingstone;
Hazel Saves the Day, SuAnn Kiser;
Cat and Dog, Else Holmelund Minarik;
Harvey and Rosie ... and Ralph, Margaret Park;
Emma's Yucky Brother, Jean Little;
The Clubhouse, Anastasia Suen;
Moonlight the Halloween Cat, Cynthia Rylant;
Leaf Man, Lois Ehlert.

READ ALOUD: Peter and Wendy.

HISTORY: Constitution Day activities: online: place states on U.S. Map, color United States Seal; read from The Complete Book of United States History, Grades 3-5 (McGraw Hill).

SCIENCE/NATURE: nature hike, beach trip, collect rocks and shells; care of pet fish.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: Mandarin class; Spanish story time.

ART: modeling clay frog and other figures, miniature bread, layer cake, pastries; make paper chicken puppet; crayon rubbings; Discovery in Art class: texture -- make a beach scene collage of items with different textures; finish illustrations for Peter and Wendy book, add spine and title page and place in view binder; present artwork to neighbor.

MUSIC: listen to classical and contemporary music; sing.

P.E.: soccer; park time; play with dogs at dog park.

3rd Grade Activities: Week 4

2007-09-21T08:24:00.000-07:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; attend Mass; read brief lives of the saints.

MATH: addition review in Developmental Math; time4learning online activities.

LANGUAGE ARTS: study Spell Well words; Explode the Code 5: -ild, -ind; time4learning consonant blends, rhyming; use of Table of Contents.

READING: Apples, Apples, Apples, by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace (includes apple varieties, parts of an apple, parts and growth of the tree, recipes and a song);
Curious George and the Puppies;
Monkey Soup, Louis Sachar;
El Cumpleanos del Oso, Agustina Oliden;
Bebe Caiman, Robert Munsch;
Big Dog ... Little Dog, P.D.Eastman;
Go, Dog. Go!, P.D. Eastman;
A Dog Named Sam, Janice Boland;
The Ear Book, Al Perkins.

SCIENCE/NATURE: read Zoobooks magazine all about Koalas, Scholastic bilingual magazines about animals in Summer and Autumn and the migration of Monarch butterflies; watch Really Wild Animals: Deep Sea Dive and Going Wild! Rain Forest: Thailand videos; identify characteristics of various dog breeds; watch police dog training demonstration.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: attend Spanish story time; Mandarin class: character recognition, writing, pronunciation, vocabulary, phrases.

READ ALOUD: Babar's ittle Circus Star, Laurent de Brunhoff;
Frederick's Fables, Leo Lionni;
Peter and Wendy.

ART: modeling clay figures: 4 animals from Rainforest video, Chicken Run and Veggie Tales characters, a scene with fruit trees and bushes, water, plants, animals and loaves of bread in an oven; paper cat stick puppet. Drawing class: draw 3-D table, TV, reeds in water.

MUSIC: listen to classical and contemporary music; sing; watch Ballet Folklorico performance.

P.E.: soccer practice and game; park time; play with dogs at dog park.

3rd Grade Activities: Week 3

2007-09-11T08:57:00.000-07:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; attend Mass; readings from the Bible; read about Gregory the Great, and Blessed Bertrand.

MATH: count to 100; count backwards from 20; addition review in Developmental Math; use cubes to measure lines and perimeters; 2-digit addition problems; word problems.

SPELLING: learn 11 words: bug, cut, frog, hop, job, nuts, run spot, snake, whale; spell words from list with single letter and blend blocks.

LANGUAGE ARTS: homeschool meeting: read a book and present work to teacher.

READING: A Flea Story, Leo Lionni;
Baby Bird, Joyce Dunbar;
Pezzettino, Leo Lionni;
Wag a Tail, Lois Ehlert;
Six Crows, Leo Lionni;
An Extraordinary Egg, Leo Lionni;
Mr. McMouse, Leo Lionni;
It's Mine!, Leo Lionni;
Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse, Leo Lionni;
The Greentail Mouse, Leo Lionni;
Rosa Moves to Town, Barbro Lindgren.
Read from Zoobooks magazines

HANDWRITING: some work in Handwriting Program for Print.

SCIENCE/NATURE: compare weights of items with scale; time4learning online activities.

HISTORY: watch A Bear Named Winnie, the true story of the bear Winnie the Pooh was named after (video).

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: Chinese class: learn words and phrases, and some cultural study of China.

ART: Discovery in Art class: study the concept of a pattern, then make a stuffed paper fish with stamped patterns; clay figures: dog, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, three fish, a sea otter, Stuart Little, a family of dress-up terriers, picture of a dog with a spot, picture of a spot, pizza; "Ballet with Animals" collage; illustrate chapters 9-13 of Peter and Wendy; build animals and objects with snap-together cubes.

MUSIC: listen to classical and contemporary music; sing.

P.E.: soccer practice; park time; swim; play at the park with dogs.

3rd Grade Activities: Week 2

2007-09-07T11:31:00.000-07:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; attend Mass; read about St. Monica, St. Augustine, St. John the Baptist, St. Pammachius, and St. Aidan.

MATH: addition review in Developmental Math, various time4learning activities.

SPELLING: Spell Well learn 11 words.

LANGUAGE ARTS: various time4learning on-line activities.

READING: Partial book: passages from Peter and Wendy, J.M. Barrie.
Whole books (picture books, emergent- and early-reader books): Grandmas at Bat, Emily Arnold McCully;
Old Turtle's Soccer Team, Leonard Kessler;
Fox Be Nimble, James Marshall;
The Show-and-Tell Frog, Joanne Oppenheim;
Super Cluck, Jane and Robert O'Connor;
Catch Me If You Can!, Bernard Most;
Stan the Hot Dog Man, Ethel and Leonard Kessler.

READ ALOUD: Peter and Wendy, J.M. Barrie;
Animal Ark: Puppies in the Pantry, Ben M. Baglio.

SCIENCE/NATURE: care of fish and small pets, observe and help identify a small black bug, "Clumsy", who is the size of a flea, but doesn't look like a flea. It appears to be a black carpet beetle.

Find, observe and house and care for another beetle which looks most like this one (except the shape of its body): a Hermit flower beetle. The body shape looks more like a false bombardier beetle (about 1/2 way down this page).

Observe spider in a web, and a full solar eclipse; various time4learning on-line activities.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: attend Spanish story time; practice greetings in Mandarin with a native speaker.

ART: coloring pages; illustrate 8 chapters of Peter and Wendy, by J.M. Barrie; clay creations; attend drawing basics class -- draw 3-D objects: cylinder, cube, cone, etc.

MUSIC: listen to classical and contemporary music; make up a song to remember the names of some shops; attend performances including Chinese lion dancers, Taiko drummers, Chinese folk dancers, hula hoop performer and a local teenage band.

P.E.: swimming; soccer practice; park time; play with dogs at dog park.

3rd Grade Activities: Week 1

2007-09-07T11:20:00.000-07:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; attend Mass; read about St. Bernard of Clairvaux, St. Rose of Lima, and other saints; draw Rose of Lima with associated symbols.

MATH: solve 2-digit addition and subtraction word problems; fractions, perimeter, measurement, use of grid; time4learning online activities.

LANGUAGE ARTS: time4learning online activities.

READING: picture books, emergent- and early-reader books:
Sidekicks, Carol Nicklaus;
The Golly Sisters Ride Again, Betsy Byars;
Fox Outfoxed, James Marshall;
Dear Tooth Fairy, Jane O'Connor;
Captain Zap and the Evil Baron von Fishhead, Jon Buller and Susan Schade;
Follow That Fish, Joanne Oppenheim;
Come Dance With Me, Carol Nicklaus;
The Go Club, Carol Nicklaus.

HANDWRITING: practice some letters in Handwriting Program for Print.

SCIENCE/NATURE: magnetism: experiment with different metallic objects. Notice pull and resistance betweeen magnets; time4learning online activities.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: attend Spanish story time.

ART: coloring pages; clay figures, including monkeys, a girl holding a cat and a basket full of school supplies, Danger Mouse and a girl mouse, an Irish girl in green and orange.

MUSIC: listen to classical and contemporary music; sing several rounds, clapping songs, and made-up songs.

P.E.: soccer practice; park time; play with dogs at dog park.

Learning Plan: 3rd Grade

2007-09-03T10:59:00.000-07:00

LANGUAGE ARTS: Independent reading: all subjects. Read alouds: history, science, fiction and other subjects of interest. Study phonics, grammar, spelling, Greek and Latin roots. Handwriting practice: lowercase letters, numbers, sentences and short essays, stories. Creative writing: stories, poems, booklets, songs, dramas, website.

MATH: Cover areas and skills recommended by the State standards. Use oral, manipulative, written, and computer-based approaches. Addition and Subtraction, Multiplication and Division, Fractions, Geometry. Weights and measures. Telling time. Calendar. Money. Estimation.

SCIENCE: Observation of nature: living and non-living things. Experiment and record/analyze results. Seasons and weather. Earth: oceans, mountains, rivers, ecosystems, North and South Poles. Solar System and space exploration. Human and animal anatomy. Micro organisms and cells. Botany, gardening. Build simple gadgets and machines. Study electricity, energy, magnetism, gravity, molecules. Use local environment, library and reference books, on-line learning activities, field trips, internet research, nature videos, microscope, science experiment kits.

SOCIAL STUDIES: Family and community. Our town, state, country, continent, world. Cultural diversity and history. Government, including age-appropriate news, political discussions, reading, and research.

HISTORY: Local and state history. U.S. and world history. History as it comes up in music, art, science, and other subjects. Library books, text books, museums, internet research, history for children including some historical fiction. Use of a time line, history binder, or computer file for review, adding to it as various people and events come up in the study of other subjects.

GEOGRAPHY: Map work, globe and atlas. Incorporate with other subjects. Use library books, internet sites, and videos about various places of interest. Local geography. Learn while traveling.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: Exposure to Spanish and Latin. Spanish story time at the library. Use simple bilingual Spanish/English books and magazines, and Spanish and Latin books and A/V materials for further study. Some sign language and Braille. Mandarin class.

ART: Crafts, drawing, painting, sewing, sculpting, computer art, fine art study. Books, prints, museums, internet, hands-on classes.

MUSIC: Listen to music of various styles, periods, and cultures. Listen to children's songs, sing. Make up songs. Introduction to musical instruments: rhythm instruments, Melody harp, keyboard, recorder. Beginning music theory.

RELIGION: Prayer, Bible study, lives of the saints, catechism, liturgy, music, Church attendance. Exposure to other religions: holidays, beliefs, customs, cultures, and stories.

P.E.: Soccer, swimming, hiking, dance, park time, softball, tennis.

Tentative Daily Schedule

2007-08-20T09:35:00.000-07:00

Religion: pray, Bible reading, lives of the Saints, Catechism.
Math: Developmental Math and other independent options.
Phonics/Spelling: Spell Well, Explode the Code, and other independent options.
History or Science: reading together.
Handwriting: Handwriting Program for Print and other independent options.
Literature: reading together.
Chores, lunch, etc.

Elective and hands-on activities, including art, science, free reading time, learning and playing on the computer, educational videos.

Out-of-house activities, including classes, sports, physical and social activities.

New resources: Time4Learning, microscope, science kits and children's magazine subscriptions: Zoobooks, and bilingual Scholastic magazine.

[Hint: we don't do all of the above on any given day.]

What Is Your Learning Style?

2007-06-07T11:21:00.000-07:00

"You are a Visual Learner. You like to see things for yourself, read the directions, and study the diagrams. You learn best through reading and seeing pictures, models, and visual demonstrations. You notice minute details and are fascinated by the intricacies of the world around you."

Take Guilt-Free Homeschooling's quiz for kids.

Summer Studies

2007-05-30T09:42:00.000-07:00

All Ye Lands: World Cultures and Geography,
Catholic Schools Textbook Project [sample pages]
Developmental Math, Mathematics Programs Associates
Swimming, local parks and recreation department
Spanish story time, local library
Summer reading program, local library

Have fun!

What Homeschooler Are You?

2007-05-28T11:49:00.001-07:00

"You are the relaxed homeschooler. You like to experiment with different homeschool methods. You work hard but also know how to have fun. You have many types of curriculum and a casual schedule you sometimes follow."

Try this quiz.

2nd Grade Activities: Week 37

2007-05-24T16:59:00.000-07:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; attend Mass; read about some saints in Saints of the Americas Coloring Book, Anne Joan Flanagan, FSP.

MATH: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division with orange sections, 1/2s, 1/4s, 1/8s; imagine 16ths and 32nds; telling time; oral math including skip counting; solve online word problems:
http://www.getsmarter.org/flash/math34/index.cfm
http://www.getsmarter.org/games/images/jumpin.htm

PHONICS: Explode the Code 5: read and solve exercises with qu words.

READING/LANGUAGE ARTS: reading in Phonics and Language Arts study; read signs, comics, websites; IM with relatives; workbook exercises: alphabetical order and story order.

READING: Partial book: The Sesame Street Treasury: Starring the Number 2 and the Letter B; On My Way with Sesame Street: My ABC's;
The Sesame Street Library: Featuring the Number 15;
Science Works: A Drop in the Ocean: The Story of Water, Jacqui Bailey.

Whole book: The Sesame Street Pet Show, Emily Perl Kingsley;
Mulan II: Lesson Number One, and A Hero's Journey;
Numbears: A Counting Book, Kathleen Hague;
Learn Shapes and Colors with the Munch Bunch, Giles Reed;
The Berenstain Bears and the Bully, Stan & Jan Berenstain;
Curious George Makes Pancakes, Margret & H.A. Rey;
Chester's Way, Kevin Henkes;
Lovable Lyle, Bernard Waber

HANDWRITING: writing in language arts, Chinese, and phonics exercises; make lists.

SCIENCE/NATURE: Observation and care of fish, ants, snail, banana slug; watch Eyewitness: Ape video; study books about dinosaurs:
DK Eye Wonder: Dinosaur;
Read-and-Find-Out Science: Dinosaur Babies;
Dinosaur World: Long-necked Dinosaurs, Robin Birch;
Dinosaurs Big and Small, Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld;

Answer questions in online science quiz:
http://www.getsmarter.org/flash/science34/index.cfm

Ask questions to research:
"What color are a blue jay's eggs?"
http://www.hope.edu/academic/biology/naturepreserve/Birds/Cyacri.htm

"What happens when a kangaroo has 2 babies? Is she able to carry and take care of both of them?"
Pictures of Kangaroo mom with twin joeys:
http://english.people.com.cn/200704/26/eng20070426_369990.html

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: Chinese class: review Pinyin tones and pronunciation; practice speaking and writing Chinese characters; answer questions orally; Spanish: read Colors/Los colores, Clare Beaton; attend Spanish story time.

READ ALOUD:
The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster;
In a People House, Theo. LeSieg;
All About Animals: Lions, Sarah Albee;

ART: make family of indian children (2 baby girls and 2 baby boys, a boy, girl, and big big sister) and their things (4 pacifiers, 4 rattles, 1 blanket, some dough, a paper, and a pen, and some tobacco, tobacco pipe, gun, bird, sword, and boxes of stuff) out of modeling clay; make mama kangaroo and babies from modeling clay; make 2 small blue jays in a nest; color and assemble two small "sun windsocks" (paper, cardboard and crepe paper).

MUSIC: listen to classical and contemporary music; sing made-up songs.

P.E.: park time; play with dogs at dog park.

2nd Grade Activities: Week 36

2007-05-21T09:45:00.000-07:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; attend Mass; attend girls' group, a class taught by teenage girls for younger children: includes prayer, presentations, activities, crafts; make a devotional book about thanking Jesus for all aspects of our lives, about the sacraments, family life, and Heaven.

MATH: discuss large odd and even numbers; work in Kumon book of telling time; more time-telling activities.

PHONICS: construct cvc words using alphabet cards; discuss variety of spellings for similar-sounding words (example: otter, water).

READING/LANGUAGE ARTS: reading in Phonics, Language Arts, and Math study; read signs, comics, websites; IM and email with relatives.

READING: approximately a chapter each from:
Now We Are Six, and The House at Pooh Corner, A.A. Milne;
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis;
Little House in the Big Wood, Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Also: Scardey Cats, Audrey Wood;
Tiny Tots Picture Books: Tim Tadpole and Other Stories.

HANDWRITING: writing in math, language arts, and phonics exercises; trace words in workbook to practice letter forms.

SCIENCE/NATURE: Observation and care of fish, ants, snail, banana slug; write about the slug; read Who Eats What? Food Chains and Food Webs, patricia Lauber; draw parts of food chains and webs; watch The Way Things Work: Pulleys, David Macaulay (video).

Care for a virtual fish tank .

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: Chinese class: review Pinyin tones and pronunciation; practice speaking and writing Chinese characters; answer questions orally and in front of the class; watch cartoons in Spanish.

READ ALOUD: All About Animals: Bears, Catherine Lukas;
All About Penguins, Jane Arlington and Sharon Langdon;
The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster.

ART: make characters and food out of modeling clay; make tissue paper flowers and a Mother's Day card; attend discovery in art class: study and discuss African art; make African masks; draw animals based on drawing lessons here:
http://www.howtodrawit.com/

MUSIC: listen to classical and contemporary music; sing and perform made-up songs.

P.E.: park time; play with dogs at dog park.

2nd Grade Activities: Week 35

2007-05-18T11:51:00.000-07:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; attend Mass; receive 1st Holy Communion.

MATH: review minutes in an hour for telling time; show times on the Judy Clock; draw a clock showing what time someone might get out of school; oral math, including counting to 100 by 5s and simple addition and subtraction.

PHONICS: Explode the Code 4: read and identify 2- and 3-syllable words; learn where to break 2-syllable words; begin Explode the Code 5.

READING/LANGUAGE ARTS: reading in Phonics, Language Arts, and Math study; read signs, comics, websites; IM and email with relatives; make up a story about how the turtle got his shell; do reading and grammar exercises, including punctuation, forming plurals, and correct form of the verb to be, in Second Grade Language workbook; use "invisible ink" to write a note.

HANDWRITING: writing in math, language arts, and phonics exercises; write items on grocery lists; writing practice in Kumon lowercase letters workbook.

SCIENCE/NATURE: Observation and care of fish, ants, snail, banana slug; answer questions in banana slug quiz:
http://www.crd.bc.ca/parks/kids.htm#
Water experiments: centrifugal force, etc.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: Chinese class: review Pinyin tones and pronunciation; practice speaking and writing Chinese characters; recite poem and song, and answer questions in front of the class; attend Spanish story time; watch videos in Spanish.

ART: make banana slugs and other characters out of modeling clay; attend great artists class: learn about Paul Gauguin's use of bright, non-standard colors in his landscapes; create a landscape using blue, red, yellow, green, orange, purple, pink, peach; draw people and animals.

MUSIC: listen to classical and contemporary music; make up songs and poems.

P.E.: park time; softball game; play with dogs at the dog park.

HISTORY: read an article about Queen Elizabeth II visiting the White House

2nd Grade Activities: Week 34

2007-05-05T12:54:00.000-07:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; attend Mass.

MATH: do sample math lessons (angles, parallel lines, number patterns, probability, measurement) on time4learning.com :
http://www.time4learning.com/start/freelessons.htm

Word problems with 2-digit numbers including regrouping/carrying tens; calculate what items can be bought with a budget (2-digit numbers under under $1.00); write a very long number (24 digits).

PHONICS/LANGUAGE ARTS: Explode the Code 4: read and identify 2-syllable words; learn where to break 2-syllable words; answer reading and grammar questions in Learning Horizons: 2nd Grade Language workbook.

READING: reading in Phonics, Language Arts, and Math study; read signs, comics, websites; IM and email with relatives;
Swimmy, Leo Lionni;
Puppy Love, Dick King-Smith;
Maybe, My Baby, Marilyn Janovitz;
Inch by Inch, Leo Lionni;
Mr. Putter & Tabby Write the Book, Cynthia Rylant;
Tico and the Golden Wings, Leo Lionni;
Green Eggs and Ham, Dr. Seuss;
Benjy's Boat Trip, Margaret Bloy Graham (not easy reading, but read very fluently).

HANDWRITING: writing in math, language arts, and phonics exercises; write items on grocery lists; handwriting practice (trace words and sentences) in Italic Handwriting Series B, Getty & Dubay..

SCIENCE/NATURE: Observation and care of fish, ants, snail, banana slug; ask questions: "What is that hole in the slug's side?", "What sounds does a slug make?"; do internet research about banana slugs at:
http://www.naturepark.com/bslug.htm
http://www.scsc.k12.ar.us/2001Outwest/PacificNaturalHistory/Projects/GannK/Default.htm
http://oregonstate.edu/Dept/nurspest/slugs.htm
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Ariolimax_columbianus.html
http://www.proaxis.com/~mccune/slughome.htm
http://www.proaxis.com/~mccune/experimentpage.htm
http://www.proaxis.com/~mccune/whatwehavelearned.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_slug
Slug anatomy:
http://oregonstate.edu/Dept/nurspest/slug_anatomy.htm
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/invertebrates/mollusk/gastropod/Slugprintout.shtml

Read a newspaper article about collapsed bee colonies and researchers trying to find out why, because "It's not just bad news for beekeepers and honey lovers. Growers of fruits, nuts and many vegetables rely on honeybees to pollinate their crops, which contribute $15 billion to the nation's agricultural output, according to a Cornell University study."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/26/MNGK7PFOMS1.DTL&hw=bees&sn=009&sc=345

Read a little more about beekeeping (starting a colony) on the web:
http://echoesofcreation.blogspot.com/2007/04/bees-are-buzzing-on-vita-bella-ranch.html

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: Chinese class: review Pinyin tones and pronunciation; recite phrases and songs in front of the class, individually and as a group; practice speaking and writing Chinese characters; attend Spanish story time; watch videos in Spanish.

ART: make tiny toy food and tiny fishes out of modeling clay; make cartoon characters with modeling clay; learn about positive and negative space in discoveries in art class; create a project using the concepts of positive and negative space.

MUSIC: listen to classical and contemporary music; make up songs and poems.

P.E.: park time; play with dogs at the dog park.

HISTORY: online activities and quizzes about ancient Egypt and Rome:
http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/games/walk/walk_egypt.html
http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/games/penaltyshootout/romans_ks2.htm

2nd Grade Activities: Week 33

2007-04-30T11:50:00.000-07:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; attend Mass.

MATH: solve 14 simple addition problems online:
http://www.kidsnumbers.com/addition_regular.php
Solve 2- to 4-digit addition and subtraction problems; simple multiplication; solve and illustrate word problems; a few mental math problems, such as 6+7, 13+13; work on regrouping 10s. Watch Reading Rainbow: How Much is a Million video.

PHONICS: Explode the Code 4: read and identify 2-syllable words; learn where to break 2-syllable words ending in -le, and where to break those with vc/cv. Watch Between the Lions videos: Out in Outer Space, Too Cool, Hay Day. Spell some words orally; make word families with online spelling/phonics tool:
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Games/mag/spelling.html

READING: reading in Phonics and Math study; read signs, comics, websites, books; IM and email with relatives; retell a fable about the sun and the wind; look up items in tables of contents and dictionaries.

HANDWRITING: writing in math and phonics exercises; write items on a grocery list; write titles and number pages of homemade book; write titles on art compositions; compose a cardboard headstone for some little pets that died;

SCIENCE/NATURE: Observation and care of fish, ants; draw a lot of animals; ; look for familiar animals in the picture guide: The Nature of California: An Introduction to Common Plants and Animals and Natural Attractions, James Kavanagh.

Watch nature videos: Eyewitness: Butterfly and Moth, Fish; Mother Nature Tales of Discovery: Castaways of Galapagos; Animal Safari: A Learning Journey, vol. 1: Wild World Habitats; Reading Rainbow: Bugs; Kids Explore America's National Parks.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: Chinese class: review Pinyin tones and pronunciation; practice speaking and writing Chinese characters; make a book with drawings of various fruits with the accompanying Chinese characters and Pinyin pronunciations; make another book with parts of the head; attend Spanish story time: learn about opposites; learn about GSL (gorilla sign language) in the video: A Conversation with Koko.

ART: attend great artists class: study Auguste Renoir's paintings and make an impressionistic painting of a floral boquet in a vase; coloring and pasting; butterfly coloring projects; make scenes with flower and animal stickers; draw a dolphin, a cat with kittens, elephant, mice and other animals from the video Eyewitness: Mammal.

MUSIC: listen to classical and contemporary music; sing made-up songs.

P.E.: park time; softball; play with dogs at the dog park.

READ ALOUD: folk tales, fairy tales, and fables from A Child's Book of Stories: Best-Known and Best-Loved Tales from Around the World, Children's Classics, Random House;
The Brass Ring, Nancy Tafuri;
If I Were a Lion, Sarah Weeks;
Smiley Shark, Ruth Galloway;
Rabbit Pirates: A Tale of the Spinach Main, Judy Cox;
Chicago and the Cat, Robin Michal Koontz;
Baa Baa Black Sheep, Iza Trapani;

GEOGRAPHY: look at an Atlas to follow the ocean-to-river route salmon travel to get to Salmon, Idaho.

2nd Grade Activities: Week 32

2007-04-23T12:33:00.000-07:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; review questions, prayers, 10 Commandments, and attend class in preparation for 1st Communion; attend Mass.

MATH: 1- and 2-digit addition and subtraction, word problems; purchase items with a gift card: do simple addition to keep within budget; take standardized test; do exercises in Kumon: My Book of Telling Time: Lerning about Minutes.

PHONICS: Explode the Code 4: read and answer questions containing two and three-syllable words; learn rules about breaking 2-syllable words.

READING/SPELLING: reading in Phonics and Math study; read signs, comics, websites, books; IM and email with Dad.

READING/COMPREHENSION: take standardized test; online reading: A Apple Pie, Kate Greenaway.

HANDWRITING: write items on a grocery list; write titles and number pages of homemade books.

CREATIVE WRITING: make another book about Super Squirrel.

SCIENCE/NATURE: Observation and care of fish, ants, caterpillars; study a gopher snake; collect leaves, rocks, flowers, petals; watch Eyewitness: Mammal video.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: Chinese class: review Pinyin tones and pronunciation; practice speaking and writing Chinese characters and phrases; sing Chinese songs. Attend Spanish story time.

ART: learn about 3-dimensional shapes and sculpture, create clay sculptures: cat; dog; and birds, eggs, baby birds in a nest -- in discovery in art class; make miniature food out of modeling clay -- carrots, tomatoes, brussel sprouts, pumpkins -- for a miniature garden for little Easter bunnies.

MUSIC: listen to classical and contemporary music; sing made-up songs.

P.E.: park time; softball; play with dogs at the dog park.

READ ALOUD: folk tales, fairy tales, and fables from A Child's Book of Stories: Best-Known and Best-Loved Tales from Around the World, Children's Classics, Random House; finish The Cobble Street Cousins: In Aunt Lucy's Kitchen, Cynthia Rylant.

2nd Grade Activities: Week 31

2007-04-16T13:26:00.000-07:00

(Some of these activities took place during vacation.)

RELIGION: daily prayer; review questions and prayers in preparation for 1st Communion; attend Mass.

MATH: mental math, simple addition, word problems; read and solve problems with tally chart; number pages in books.

PHONICS: Explode the Code 4: read and answer questions containing two and three-syllable words and vowel diagraphs; learn rules about breaking syllables.

READING/SPELLING: reading in Phonics, and Math study; read signs, comics, websites, books; IM and email with Dad.

READING: read Indian fables (Jataka tales) from the Baldwin Project:

HANDWRITING: write grocery lists, forms, number pages in books, write answers in math book.

CREATIVE WRITING: plan to write a book about ancient Greek characters going on a long boat journey; make a list of characters; work on development of the story line.

SCIENCE/NATURE: Observation and care of fish, ants; collect leaves and flowers; watch nature videos; illustrate folk tale books with animals.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: Chinese class: review Pinyin tones and pronunciation; practice speaking and writing Chinese characters; learn about and look at photos of the Great Wall of China; attend Spanish story time, watch cartoons in Spanish.

ART: attend discoveries in art class, cut assorted paper in various shapes and make a collage; attend egg decorating class; draw and color; color small wooden birds with markers; make and illustrate 4 books, each containing a short Indian fable printed from the Baldwin Project; make a marshmallow bunny; illustrate the book: Super Squirrel (no words); draw favorite animals and mythological characters from Fantasia.

MUSIC: listen to classical and contemporary music; attend choral services for Holy Week and Easter; follow and sing some chant; sing made-up songs; play on the keyboard.

P.E.: park and back yard time; play with dogs at the dog park.

READ ALOUD: Fantastic Mr. Fox, Roald Dahl; The Cobble Street Cousins: In Aunt Lucy's Kitchen, Cynthia Rylant.

HISTORY: Read from The Story of the World I: Ancient India: the good emperor Asoka and Jakata tales; Chinese calligraphy; the first Chinese emperor and the Great Wall: look up pictures of the Clay warriors of China found in the tomb of Shi Huangdi:
http://www.anniebees.com/China/China_42.htm
http://library.thinkquest.org/05aug/01780/chinese-carving/terracotta.htm
http://www.romartraveler.com/RomarPages/XIAN.html

Read about: Confucius; Julius Caesar; Augustus Caesar; Jesus and Christianity; Destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem; Nero; Christians in the Roman empire; Constantine; Barbarians and the fall of Rome; the significance of the Roman empire.

GEOGRAPHY: locate the various places we read about in The Story of the World and nature videos on map/globe; look through the Eyewitness Book: Ancient China.

Happy Easter!

2007-04-16T13:14:00.000-07:00

Art from Byzantine Images

During vacation there was plenty of drawing, crafts, reading, writing, and nature study.

2nd Grade Activities: Week 30

2007-04-02T17:35:00.000-07:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; prayers in preparation for 1st Communion; attend Mass.

MATH: one and 2-digit addition and subtraction; compare 2 numbers, choose >, <, or = for each; more addition with 1 and 2-digit numbers.

PHONICS: Explode the Code 4: read and answer questions containing two and three-syllable words; learn about open (cv) and closed (cvc) syllables; learn some rules for breaking syllables.

READING/SPELLING: reading in Phonics, and Math study; read signs, comics, websites, early readers, picture books, and chapter books; IM with Dad.

READING: some chapters from Betsy - Tacy and Tib;
My Brother, Ant, Betsy Byars;
National Geographic: Little Kids magazine: Panda Grows Up;
Young Cam Jansen and the Baseball Mystery, David A. Adler;
A Tiger Cub Grows Up, Joan Hewett.

HANDWRITING: practice a page of upper case and lower case H's and also a page of A's in Modern Manuscript:
http://www.janbrett.com/coloring_alphabet/alphabet_coloring_tracers_main.htm

SCIENCE/NATURE: Observation and care of fish, ants, and worms;
explore Eyewitness Books: Whale: Discover the world of marine mammals -- from whales and dolphins to seals and walruses.

Watch National Geographic: SuperCroc, a 40-foot ancient crocodile, whose fossil remains were found in the Sahara; and Really Wild Animals: Wonders Down Under: animals of Australia, and Monkey Business and Other Family Fun; Eyewitness videos: Seashore, Sight, Trees, Insect.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: Chinese class: review Pinyin tones and pronunciation; practice speaking and writing Chinese characters; attend Spanish story time; watch cartoons in Spanish.

ART: attend great artists class; look at pictures of Auguste Rodin's sculptures; make clay sculptures: horse and porcupine; mix clay of primary colors to make new colors; make tiny toy food for twist-tie dolls out of modeling clay; draw, color, make twist-tie and clay creations; make a paper wolf mask.

MUSIC: listen to classical and contemporary music; sing made-up songs; follow some music at Mass.

P.E.: softball game; park time; play at the dog park.

READ ALOUD: The Tale of Thomas Mead, Pat Hutchins;
Teeny Tiny, Jill Bennett;
Mrs. Brice's Mice, Syd Hoff;
Lionel at School, Stephen Krensky;
Rub-a-Dub-Dub, What's in the Tub, mary Blocksma.

HISTORY: Read from The Story of the World I: Early people of the Americas: Nazca, Olmecs, Ancient tribes of North America; Rome: conquerors, builders, government, gods, gladiators, wars; India: people of the Indus and Ganges Rivers, the castes, Siddhartha and Buddhism.

GEOGRAPHY: locate the various places we read about in The Story of the World and nature videos on map/globe; explore our neighborhood and other places with Google Earth.

2nd Grade Activities: Week 29

2007-03-26T12:35:00.000-07:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; prayers in preparation for 1st Communion; attend Mass.

MATH: solve 17 addition and subtraction problems (homemade worksheet -- requested by student); 1 and 2-digit addition and subtraction problems in a workbook, and several word problems.

PHONICS: Explode the Code 4: read and answer questions containing two and three-syllable words; learn some of the rules for breaking multi-syllable words.

READING/SPELLING: reading in Phonics, and Math study; read signs, comics, websites, early readers, and picture books; IM with Dad; read 3 chapters of Betsy - Tacy and Tib, Maud Hart Lovelace.

READING: Audrey and Barbara, Janet Lawson (cute picture book of girl and cat planning a trip to the Taj Mahal -- then of course we had to look up some pictures):
http://www.tajhub.com/taj-mahal.html

HANDWRITING: practice printing lowercase letters a-z; trace sandpaper letters and numbers with fingers.

SCIENCE/NATURE: Observation and care of fish and ants; observation of birds on the porch.
"Do betta fish have teeth?"
http://www.bettatalk.com/betta_anatomy.htm
"What color are your fishes' eyes?"
"Yellow eyes and blue eyes."
Peruse the book: Inside the Whale and Other Animals, Ted Dewan (animal anatomy).

Watch Eyewitness videos: Tree, Seashore; National Geographic: Those Wonderful Dogs: learn about working dogs and their training.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: Chinese: review Pinyin tones and pronunciation; Practice speaking and writing Chinese characters; attend Spanish story time; watch cartoons in Spanish.

ART: attend discoveries in art class and make a painting using the techniques taught in class; draw, color, create little animals and things with modeling clay.

MUSIC: listen to classical and contemporary music; sing children's songs and made-up songs.

P.E.: softball game; park time.

READ ALOUD:
Prairie Girl: The Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder, William Anderson;
Daisy Comes Home, Jan Brett;
Audry and Barbara, Janet Lawson;
Betsy - Tacy and Tib,

HISTORY: Read from The Story of the World I:
Assyria, the first library (Nineveh); Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar and the hanging gardens of Babylon; Early Crete, King Minos and the Minotaur, end of the Minoans; Early Greeks, the Greek dark ages, the Greek alphabet, Homer, the First Olympic games; the Persians and Cyrus the Great; Sparta and Athens; the Greek gods; Alexander the Great and his empire.

Read about the Pharos at Alexandria in the book: Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, Lynn Curlee. Read more about the hanging gardens of Babylon in the same book.

Read about woman explorer: Helen Thayer:
http://clairitys-place.blogspot.com/2007/03/helen-thayer-explorer.html
http://www.helenthayer.com/
Dictate info. about her life:
http://stitahistory.blogspot.com/2007/03/helen-thayer-1938.html

GEOGRAPHY: locate the various places we read about in The Story of the World on map/globe.

2nd Grade Activities: Week 28

2007-03-20T12:17:00.000-07:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; review questions, answers, and prayers in preparation for 1st Confession; attend class and 1st Confession; attend Mass.

PHONICS: Explode the Code 4: read and answer questions containing two and three-syllable words.

READING/SPELLING: reading in Phonics, Math, and Catechism study; read some signs, comics, websites, early readers, and picture books; IM with Dad.

READING: Busy Dinah Dinosaur, B.G. Hennessy;
Silly Ruby, Catherine Friend;
Carl's Birthday, Alexandra Day.

SCIENCE/NATURE: Observation and care of fish and ants.
Watch Nature videos:
Do Pigs Scratch Their Backs? And Other Questions on the Farm, Farm Discovery Center video;
Eyewitness videos: Insect, Desert, Cat, Shell.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE/CULTURE: Chinese: review Pinyin tones and pronunciation; Attend Chinese class; practice speaking and writing Chinese characters; attend Spanish story time.

Watch video: Stories from the Asian Tradition: Tikki Tikki Tembo, The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks.

ART: attend great artists class; study Da Vinci and some of his methods of analysis and drawing; draw and color; arrange and paste paper owl.

MUSIC: listen to classical and contemporary music; sing children's songs; sing made-up song and dance; follow some musical notes while the choir sings.

P.E.: softball game; park time.

READ ALOUD: Betsy - Tacy, Maud Hart Lovelace;
Days of the Blackbird: A Tale of Northern Italy, Tomie dePaola;
Jamie O'Rourke and the Pooka, Tomie dePaola;
First Day, Joan Rankin.

HISTORY: Read from The Story of the World I: about Ancient Africa, including some African stories; the Middle Kingdom of Egypt, and some of the Pharaohs, including Amenhotep IV (a monotheist), and King Tut; the story of Moses and the Israelites leaving Egypt; Phoenician Traders, the cities of Tyre and Carthage, Phoenician glass-blowing.

Read a little about the history and famous voyage of Ferdinand Magellan, the first circumnavigation of the world:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Magellan
and some of the related incidents and places.

Read Prairie Girl: The Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder, William Anderson.

GEOGRAPHY: locate Egypt, Africa, and the Sahara Desert on the globe; find the approximate location of Nubia, Canaan, and the Red Sea; locate places on Magellan's route on the globe; note locations of Carthage, Tyre, Mediterranean Sea on a map; sing a made-up geography song about places she could name.

2nd Grade Activities: Week 27

2007-03-14T11:21:00.000-07:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; review questions, answers, and prayers in preparation for 1st Confession and 1st Communion; attend Mass; play kids' online activities at EWTN Catholic television network:
http://www.ewtn.com/ewtnkids/home.asp

MATH: raisin (and Joe's O's) math: come up with and solve 32 subtraction problems; look at the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World in a book by this name, by Lynn Curlee, which compares the sizes of the various monuments with modern ones (pp. 34-35) and estimate how many children (at 4ft.), moms (at 5.5ft), dads (at 6ft.) it would take to reach the height of the Great Pyramid (500 ft.).

PHONICS: Explode the Code 4: read and answer questions containing two and three-syllable words, and words ending in -ful, -ing, -est, -ed, or -ness; watch Between the Lions: Quest, Quest, Quest (video).

READING/SPELLING: reading in Phonics, Math, and Catechism study; read some signs, comics, websites, early readers, and picture books; IM with Dad.

READING: Legs, Miriam Frost;
The ABC Doghouse, Peter Lippman.

CREATIVE WRITING: begin a comic book with Dudley Do Right, Nell, and Dahlila Do Right of the Mounties.

SCIENCE/NATURE: Observation and care of fish and ants; Start Up Science workbook exercises: living vs. non-living things; creatures and their habitats; the stages of growth of some animals and plants; how seeds are spread; classify some animals into cats, dogs, rodents; learn specific names for various male and female animals and their young.
Watch lots of Nature videos [flu week]: See How They Grow: Forest Animals; Mother Nature Tales of Discovery: Penguins In Paradise; Amazing Animals: Animal Pets, Animal Survivors, Endangered Animals; Bug City: Ants; Eyewitness videos: Pond & River, Bear.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE/CULTURE: Chinese: review Pinyin tones and pronunciation; attend Chinese New Year Parade; Spanish: watch a Spanish Scooby-Doo video.

ART: Draw dragons, lions, firecrackers, drummer and acrobat from the Chinese New Year parade.
Read about several great artists: Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), Albrecht Durer (1471-1528), Paul Cezanne (1839-1906), Marc Chagall (1889-1985), Paul Klee (1879-1940), in The Story Behind the Painting: Unforgettable Stories about the World's Greatest Painters and Their Masterpieces, Leo Rosten.
Make a short movie about a fish on a Philippine reef from the site:
http://www.sheddaquarium.org/sea/amazingreef/

MUSIC: listen to classical and contemporary music; sing children's songs; watch This Land Is Your Land, The Animated Kids' Songs of Woody Guthrie (folk music, video).

P.E.: softball game; park time.

READ ALOUD: Betsy - Tacy, Maud Hart Lovelace;
Baby Baboon, Mwenye Hadithi and Adrienne Kennaway;
Creatures of the Night, Stephen Brooks;
Whales Passing, Eve Bunting;
Lucille, Arnold Lobel;
Old Turtle's Soccer Team, Leonard Kessler.

HISTORY: Read from The Story of the World I: Ancient India and Ancient China; learn about Chinese pictograms, silk, bronze, rice farming, early trade, and the importance of civilizations developing around a river.
Look at the Greek alphabet and Egyptian hieroglyphics in The Mystery of the Hieroglyphs: The Story of the Rosetta Stone and the Race to Decipher Egyptian Hieroglyphs, Carol Donoughue.
Watch Eyewitness: Flight [Nature's and Man's]; do some online activities exploring some of Leonardo Da Vinci's creative ideas:
http://www.universalleonardo.org/activities.php

GEOGRAPHY: locate the Nile, Tigris, Euphrates Rivers on map and globe; locate India and China, the Indus, Yellow, and Yangtze Rivers.

2nd Grade Activities: Week 26

2007-03-02T14:42:00.000-08:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; review prayers in preparation for 1st Communion; attend Mass.

MATH: experiment with geoboard, making triangles, rectangles, squares, octogon, pentagon, and other shapes; find out how many smaller squares fit in a bigger one; do some simple multiplication (1x1, 2x2, 3x3, 4x4, 1x2, 1x3, 1x4, 1x5, 2x3, 2x5); solve word problems from Techniques of Problem Solving A involving addition, subtraction, multiplication, comparison of quantities, time, money, and measurement (cm.), counting by 10s; online math practice: addition and money problems:
http://www.thatquiz.com

PHONICS: Explode the Code 4: learn about open (CV) and closed (CVC) syllables; read and answer questions containing two and three-syllable words; watch Between the Lions: Quest, Quest, Quest video covering the consonant q, word family -est, and vowel short e.

READING/SPELLING: reading in Phonics, Math, and Catechism study; read some comics, websites, early readers, and picture books; IM with relatives; play online spelling and proofreading games:
http://www.eduplace.com/kids/sv/books/content/smg/
http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hme/k_5/proofread/

READING: Don't Tell the Whole World!, Joanna Cole;
Piggy and Dad Play, David Martin; Monkey Business, David Martin;
Monkey Trouble, David Martin.

HANDWRITING: work in Italic handwriting Series B, Getty & Dubay.

SCIENCE/NATURE: observation and care of fish and ants; watch Eyewitness videos: Flight, Bear; Big Science Comics DVD: virtual science experiments involving non-standard weights and measures; read from Why Does It Fall Over? Projects About Balance, Jim Pipe;
Build-A-Fish online activity: find out which characteristics of a fish are beneficial in a particular habitat:
http://www.sheddaquarium.org/sea/interactive_module.cfm?id=7#

FOREIGN LANGUAGE/CULTURE: attend Spanish story time and Mandarin Chinese classes. Practice speaking and writing Chinese characters; learn more about the traditions of Chinese New Year.

ART: make Curious George from twist ties and craft sticks, balance him on wires across the room, make food for George from modeling clay; draw Enkidu from the legend of Gilgamesh; attend Great Artists class: study the work of Pablo Picasso, paint a portrait using a similar style; make crafts for Chinese New Year; coloring with colored pencils.

MUSIC: listen to classical and contemporary music; read along and sing some music during Mass; sing children's songs; play African-style music on virtual thumb piano:
http://www.pbskids.org/africa/piano/piano.html

P.E.: softball; dancing.

READ ALOUD: Two Mice in Three Fables, Lynn Reiser; Round Robin, Jack Kent; Puss in Boots, Charles Perrault (retold and illustrated by Hans Fischer).

HISTORY: read from The Story of the World I: Joseph and his brothers, Hammurabi and the Babylonians, Shamshi-Adad and the Assyrians, the story of Gilgamesh. Historical fiction early readers: The Josefina Story Quilt, Eleanor Coerr (mid 1800s: a family of pioneers travels west to California in a wagon train), The Drinking Gourd, F.N. Monjo (a boy and his father helps a runaway slave family travel the "underground railroad" to freedom: 1850s).

2nd Grade Activities: Week 25

2007-02-26T14:51:00.000-08:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; study basic prayers and First Communion and Confession questions in preparation for 1st Communion; attend Mass, receive ashes and discuss Lent and Ash Wednesday.

MATH: solve word problems from Techniques of Problem Solving A involving simple addition and subtraction.

PHONICS: Explode the Code 4: read and spell 2-syllable words ending in -ful, -ing, -est, -ed, -ness.

READING/SPELLING: reading in Catechism, Phonics, and Math books; read some comics, websites, book and video titles, signs; IM with relatives.

READING: read some text Science magazine mentioned below; science workbook; picture book: So Many Bunnies, a Bedtime abc and Counting Book, Rick Walton.
Early readers: Pokémon Junior: Night in the haunted tower; Pokémon Junior: Meowth, the Big Mouth. A Pony for a Princess, Andrea Posner-Sanchez. Comic book: The Amazing Spider-Man #1, Marvel Comics reprint of 1962 edition.

HANDWRITING: one page of handwriting patterns from Italic handwriting Series B, Getty & Dubay.

SCIENCE/NATURE: observation and care of fish and ants; watch Eyewitness videos: Bird; Pond & River; Volcano. Peruse Feb 2007 issue of Scholastic: Super Science kids' magazine. Do Big Science Comics virtual science experiments involving non-standard weights and measures; collect rocks and leaves; finish ant tunnel drawings; workbook pages about care of pets; peruse New Enclyclopedia of the Cat.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE/CULTURE: attend Spanish story time and Mandarin Chinese classes. Practice speaking and writing Chinese characters; learn more about the traditions of Chinese New Year. Meet Chinese author Ying Chang Compestine: some of her books are: The Story of Noodles, D is for Dragon Dance, The Story of Paper, The Real Story of Stone Soup, The Story of Kites, The Runaway Rice Cake, The Story of Chopsticks, Secrets of Fat-Free Chinese Cooking.

ART: Discoveries in Art class: study of lines (observation) and finding the edges (contours) of objects; trace edges of objects in black marker and fill in with bright colors.

MUSIC: listen to classical and contemporary music; read along and sing some music during Mass;

COMPUTER SKILLS: learn about and run some UNIX commands; set up and fill in a calendar on the computer; set up an iTunes playlist of favorite songs and stations.

P.E.: softball practice; park time.

READ ALOUD: Our Old House, Susan Vizurraga;
D is for Dragon Dance, Ying Chang Compestine;
Owl at Home, Arnold Lobel.

2nd Grade Activities: Week 24

2007-02-20T10:26:00.000-08:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; attend Mass; read about several saints in Catholic Cardlinks: Patron Saints.

MATH: 2-digit subtraction and compare numbers on workbook pages; count and write total, draw correct number of items: Miquon Orange book; Solve 15 word problems from Techniques of Problem Solving A involving 2-digit subtraction, counting by 2s and 3s, comparing quantities, time and money, calculating distance (addition), measuring, adding more than 2 quantities, subtracting more than 2 quantities, simple multiplication, addition to 3 digits.

PHONICS: work in Explode the Code 4: add endings such as -ful, -ing, -est, -ed, -ness to words to make new words; read and answer questions with compound words and other 2-syllable words.

READING/SPELLING: reading in Catechism, Phonics, and Math books; read some comics, websites, book and video titles, signs; IM with relatives. Review some punctuation: comma and apostrophe from Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, Lynn Truss; play online spelling games.

READING: read word problems for math; read and questions in phnoics workbook. Emergent readers: Our Earth, Lisa Trumbauer;
Our Heroes, Brenda Parkes; Play Ball!, David Martin; Where We Live, Brenda Parkes; read text on websites, IM, and all around her.

HANDWRITING: write greetings on valentines; label diagrams and artwork.

SCIENCE/NATURE: observation and care of fish and ants; watch Eyewitness videos: Prehistoric Life, Planets, Jungle, Cat, Survival; read Leaf Man, Lois Ehlert; watch video again about Koko and other gorillas learning sign language; do some virtual science activities on Big Science Comics CD-Rom, Theatrix Interactive.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE/CULTURE: attend Spanish story time and Mandarin Chinese classes. Practice speaking and writing Chinese characters; learn about the traditions of Chinese New Year; look at native costumes and taste Chinese treats.

ART: make valentines; draw and color; sketch and color fruit; computer art: draw and label parts of a dog.

MUSIC: listen to classical and contemporary music; read along and sing some music (Gregorian chant) during Mass; sing made-up songs.

P.E.: softball practice; park time.

READ ALOUD: The Adventures of Tintin: The Castafiore Emerald.

HISTORY: read from The Story of the World I: Sumeria: King Sargon (2334 B.C.), The Jewish People: God Speaks to Abraham. Also read the story of the call of Abraham in the Bible.

2nd Grade Activities: Week 23

2007-02-15T08:54:00.000-08:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; study Good Shepherd Catholic Catechism in preparation for 1st Communion; attend Mass; watch Francis Xavier and the Samurai's Lost Treasure video; research and find a brief history of Xavier with accompanying art:
http://www.artsales.com/ARTistory/Xavier/Xavier_1.html

MATH: solve 5 word problems from Techniques of Problem Solving: Problem Deck A: two-digit addition (carrying tens), counting by twos, fives, tens, 6 divided by 2, and 60 divided by 6; solve 11 word more word problems: division, money problems, two-digit addition of more than 2 numbers (carrying tens), subtraction with 2 and 3 digits (borrowing tens), solve a word problem that gives too much information, counting by 2s, 5s and 10s, 100s to solve problems; solve 5 more word problems: 24 divided by 2, 2-digit subtraction in a money problem (add 8 coins [count by 5s, 10s, 25s], then subtract the total from 99), 50 cents x 3, calendar problem, calculate 7 x 8.

PHONICS: work in Explode the Code 4: compound words.

READING/SPELLING: reading in Catechism, Phonics, and Math books; read some comics, pages from children's dictionary, websites, book and video titles, signs; IM with relatives; spell chicken.

HANDWRITING: review shapes of sandpaper lowercase letters a-e; make large ones and decorate, trace letters in a paste.

SCIENCE/NATURE: observation and care of fish and ants; observe and play with various breeds of dogs at a dog park; watch a video about Koko the gorilla and friends, their behavior, and their ability to communicate with humans using a form of sign language [A Conversation with Koko, Nature Video Library]. Nature videos: Eyewitness Videos: Life, Monster, Pond and River, Reptile.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: attend Spanish story time; attend Mandarin Chinese class. Practice pronouncing and writing Chinese characters.

ART: color in Catechism workbook; select favorite art for a museum website; attend and paint a night sky in Discoveries in Art class.

MUSIC: listen to classical and contemporary music; read along and sing some music during Mass; sing made-up songs.

P.E.: softball practice; park time; watch Michael Jordan: Above and Beyond, NBA Superstars video.

READ ALOUD: Hattie, Tom and the Chicken Witch, Dick Gackenbach :(
Uncle Elephant, Arnold Lobel; Silly Fred, Karen Wagner.

HISTORY: read from The Story of the World I: The Old Kingdom of Egypt: read from a book about the Rosetta Stone: its discovery and significance to deciphering hieroglyphics; peruse books about the Valley of the Kings, the Great Pyramid, Tutankahmen, and Technology in the Time of Ancient Egypt.

2nd Grade Activities: Week 22

2007-02-05T13:22:00.000-08:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; study Good Shepherd Catholic Catechism in preparation for 1st Communion; attend Mass.

MATH: do problems in the book: Can You Count in Greek: Exploring Ancient Number Systems (Judy and Kathy Leimbach): tally, Egyptian: read and write numbers in each; solve 13 word problems from Techniques of Problem Solving: Problem Deck A: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and money problems; use Montessori place value cards to make large numbers (up to the hundred millions).

PHONICS: work in Explode the Code 3: review the sounds of long e, a, and o in vowel diagraphs: ee, ea, ai, ay, oa, ow; watch Between the Lions: Bug Beard and Pigs Aplenty.

READING/SPELLING: reading in Catechism, Phonics, and Math books; read some comics, pages from children's dictionary, websites, book and video titles, signs; IM with relatives.

HANDWRITING: write one-word answers in Explode the Code workbook and Catechism book; do two handwriting worksheets.

SCIENCE/NATURE: distinguish between several different types of birds; rescue ants from the spiders and start an ant farm; write a one-page report about the ant farm; visit academy of sciences: observe penguins, tidepool creatures, fish. Nature videos: Eyewitness Videos: Elephant, Arctic and Antarctic, Amphibian. Care of pet fish, composting worms, garden snails.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: counting in Spanish.

ART: color in Catechism workbook; draw mascot and make a poster for the Fighting Irish (Notre Dame); draw ants in tunnels in an ant hill.

MUSIC: listen to classical and contemporary music; read along and sing some music during Mass; sing Angels We Have Heard on High and Found a Peanut.

P.E.: attend softball practices; park time.

READ ALOUD: Zack's Alligator, Shirley Mozelle;
Buzby, Julia Hoban;
The Lighthouse Children, Syd Hoff;
No Fighting, No Biting!, Else Homelund Minarik;
Come Down Now, Flying Cow!, Timothy Roland;
Bessie's Bed, Terry Webb Harshman.

HISTORY: read from The Story of the World I: The Old Kingdom of Egypt: Making Mummies and Egyptian Pyramids.
Explore the Pyramid and the Sphinx online:
NOVA Online/Pyramids—The Inside Story
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pyramid/explore/
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pyramid/explore/khufuunflo.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/egypt/explore/sphinx.html
Read The Boston Coffee Party, Doreen Rappaport (historical fiction).

CULTURAL STUDIES: watch the video: Children's Stories from Africa 2: music, dance, and African fables, Nandi Nyembe.

2nd Grade Activities: Week 21

2007-01-29T13:02:00.000-08:00

MATH: Flip Over Math: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division: read word problems and solve using various math manipulatives; write the problems worked out; online math games: count by 2s, 3s 5s, solve dot-to-dot puzzle to 70; addition drill with FlashMaster.

PHONICS: work in Explode the Code 3: oa and ow.

RELIGION: daily prayer; study Good Shepherd Catholic Catechism in preparation for 1st Communion; attend Mass.

READING: read signs, book and video covers, text on blogs and websites; read homemade book to ES; read some picture books.

READING/SPELLING: IM with relatives; reading in Catechism, Phonics, and Math books,

HANDWRITING: write one-word answers in Explode the Code workbook and Catechism book.

SCIENCE/NATURE: Zoo trip: observe koala, flamingos, monkeys, birds, kangaroos; squirrels; observe ants with magnifying glass; look at ants and penguins on Academy of Sciences website; watch Wild about Animals: Animals of the Jungle, Steve Rotfeld Productions video.

HISTORY: read from Story of the World I: Ancient Egypt and the first writing; draw an American indian family; attend Art and history Museum field trip.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: count in Spanish.

ART: color in Catechism workbook; draw American indians, monkey; add to chalk drawing museum mural; present and explain projects to teacher; pose and photograph twist-tie family; coloring: dogs, cats, squirrels, ponies.

MUSIC: listen to classical (Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms, Liszt, Chopin) and contemporary music; follow text and musical notes to sing at Mass; field trip: Asian music, dance, and storytelling performance.

P.E.: attend softball practices; park time.

READ ALOUD: read from The Swiss Family Robinson, Johann Wyss.

2nd Grade Activities: Week 20

2007-01-22T10:14:00.000-08:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; study Good Shepherd Catholic Catechism in preparation for 1st Communion; attend Mass.

MATH: Flip Over Math: multiplication, addition, and subtraction with plastic coins (word problems); addition and subtraction drill with Flashmaster for learning math tables; Flip Over Math: multiplication and division with connecting rods and connecting people.

PHONICS: work in Explode the Code 3 with vowel diagraphs ee, ea, ai, and ay.

READING: read signs, book and video covers, text on blogs and websites, comic books and comic strips.

READING/SPELLING: read titles and comments on family photo blogs; IM with Grandma; reading in Catechism, Phonics, and Math books.

HANDWRITING: write one-word answers in Explode the Code workbook and Catechism book; write labels, lists, and notes.

SCIENCE/NATURE: watch National Geographic Kids: Cain the Coyote, and Cara the Sea Turtle videos. Draw a family of ducks. Observe habits and characteristics of betta fish; point out some differences between the male and female betta fish: different shaped fins and tails. Watch Discovery: Mother Nature Tales of Discovery: Babes In The Woods video. Sort and play with a large collection of sea shells.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: Spanish: apply stickers to the First Thousand Words in Spanish Sticker Book (Usborne). Braille coding with slate and stylus.

ART: make a hedgehog out of air-dry clay; color in Catechism workbook; artwork in Photoshop; drawings of animals on paper and computer.

MUSIC: attend choir rehearsals, and Masses in Latin and English; listen to classical and contemporary music; read along and sing some music during Mass.

P.E.: attend softball practices and clinic; park time.

READ ALOUD: The Adventures of Tintin: Explorers on the Moon, Herge; read from The Swiss Family Robinson, Johann Wyss.

2nd Grade Activities: Week 19

2007-01-22T10:11:00.000-08:00

RELIGION: daily prayer; study Good Shepherd Catholic Catechism in preparation for 1st Communion; attend Mass.

MATH: budgeting with a $20 gift card, deciding and calculating what craft supplies to purchase with it; Flip Over Math: addition, subtraction, and multiplication exercises including addition with nickels and dimes; online games: addition, subtraction, sequential numbers. Look at Montessori bead material for multiplication, and make large numbers with the thousand, hundred, tens, and unit cards.

PHONICS: work in Explode the Code 3 with the consonant blends th, wh, ch, tch, ng, ck, and long vowel words with silent e; watch Fran Allison's Easy Phonics video:

WRITING: write a book: Book 1 of Sentences for Kids.

READING: read Book 1 of Sentences for Kids. Read signs, book and video covers, text on blogs and websites, comic books and comic strips.

READING/SPELLING: IM with Dad; send him Chinese characters cut and pasted from an internet translation site:
http://www.chinese-tools.com/tools/ime.html
Choose and add words to a Rolodex spelling list. Reading in Catechism, Phonics, and Math books.

HANDWRITING: write one-word answers in Explode the Code workbook and Catechism book; make a list of relatives to send notes to.

SCIENCE/NATURE: look for kids' news sites; find an article about a fish trained to play soccer :)
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/kids/2006/02/trainfish.html
Observe two betta fish; make fish from modeling clay; watch Popular Mechanics for Kids: Gators & Dragons and Other Wild Beasts.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: Japanese: copy Japanese characters from a video. Chinese: Listen to the CD Sing 'n Learn Chinese while following along in the book; copy the Chinese characters for mango, starfruits, pear, biscuits, ice cream, and fish from flash cards. Spanish: attend Spanish story time; watch cartoons in Spanish; look up words from Spanish newspaper [which came as packing material in a purse] to find the newspaper's website and look for items of interest to kids.

ART: color an unfinished birdhouse with Sharpie pens; draw cartoon characters; make cartoon characters and a bird from modeling clay; make a sports banner and posters for bedroom wall.

MUSIC: attend choir rehearsals and Chant Masses; listen to classical and contemporary music; read some music during Mass.

P.E.: attend softball team meeting and softball practices; park time.

READ ALOUD: The Adventures of Tintin: Desitnation Moon, and Explorers on the Moon, Herge; read from The Swiss Family Robinson, Johann Wyss.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2007-01-04T13:36:00.001-08:00

Duccio di Buoninsegna
The Nativity with the Prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel , 1308/1311. Detail.

Christmas Vacation
During vacation there has been plenty of drawing, crafts, singing, reading, and nature study.

For lots of Christmas ideas, see:
O Night Divine

Adoration of the Magi

2007-01-04T13:36:00.000-08:00

Adoration of the Magi
Antonio Allegri Correggio (1489–1534)

2nd Grade Activities: Week 18

2007-01-04T12:42:00.000-08:00

Monday
1. Religion: daily prayer.
2. Math: solve story problems in Flip Over Math; watch video about money and saving.
3. Art: draw animals from the video: Animals in the Bible.
4. Read Aloud: The Adventures of Tintin: The Shooting Star, Herge.
5. Reading: a story from McGuffey reader 2.

Tuesday
1. Religion: daily prayer.
2. Language Arts: read and write a little Morse code.
3. Art: art and California history class: build a model of Mission Santa Barbara.
4. P.E.: outside play.
5. Music: listen to acappella Christmas music:
http://www.live365.com/stations/loran2005
6. Math: do 31 mazes (Kumon: Amazing Mazes).

Wednesday
1. Religion: daily prayer.
2. Math: connect and color dot-to-dot Christmas tree, (numbers to 50).
3. Spanish: story time at the library.
4. Science/Nature: read some of The Home Planet, ed. Kevin W. Kelley, and look at the photographs of various parts of the earth from space.
The Association of Space Explorers
Reviews
5. Art: color the scene after solving a maze puzzle.
6. Language Arts: work on Morse code:
Morse code translator
7. P.E.: park time

Thursday
1. Religion: daily prayer.
2. Science/Nature: care of fish; bury fish; observe baby tooth under a magnifying glass.
3. Reading: Back Pack Books: This Little Cow; This Little Pig; This Little Lamb; This Little Hen.
4. Math: listen to explanation for use of odd/even numbers in book pagination.
5. Music: listen to acappella Christmas music.
6. Handwriting: write letters (words) and both arabic and roman numerals.
7. Art: draw betta fish; color unfinished wooden nutcrackers with Sharpie markers.

Friday
1. Religion: daily prayer; Mass attendance.
2. Music: listen to Christmas choral music.
3. Reading: read Christmas song lyrics to sing carols.
4. Art: drawing and coloring: make a book; make and wrap Christmas presents.
5. Math: money story problems, addition, subtraction, and multiplication with nickels, dimes, and pennies (Flip Over Math).

2nd Grade Activities: Week 17

2006-12-16T12:41:00.000-08:00

Monday
1. Religion: daily prayer.
2. Reading: signs; posters at the library; Dog's Colorful Day: A Messy Story about Colors and Counting, Emma Dodd;
3. Read Aloud: Leo Cockroach . . . Toy Tester, Kevin O'Malley;
Mrs. Greenberg's Messy Hanukkah, Linda Glaser.
4. Art: make a pop-up greeting card (inspired by a craft book); make drawings of phoenix, cat, dog, peacock; practice writing some Chinese characters.
5. Computer: arrange decorations in Christmas scenes; save to files:
http://www.growley.com/cmas/index.html
6. Math: Little Animals website: simple addition; write numbers in sequence counting by 2s; solve a word problem.
7. Language Arts: Little Animals website: rhyming words; answer questions about words and sentences containing sh, br and cr consonant blends (Explode the Code 3).
8. Music: listen to Mediterranean folk music radio station:
http://www.live365.com/stations/mediterranean_folk

Tuesday
1. Religion: daily prayer.
2. Language Arts: read signs; read text on a Christmas website; reading on Little Animals website.
3. Homeschool meeting: present art and other projects.
4. Library time.
5. Music/Dance: watch The Tales of Beatrix Potter, by England's Royal Ballet Company, Anchor Bay DVD; listen to Mediterranean folk music.

Wednesday
1. Religion: daily prayer.
2. Math: do word problems from Flip Over Math: Addition and Subtraction (Learning Resources) with connecting people (counted by 2s to count 26 children in one of the problems).
Flip Over Math.
3. Reading/Phonics: do exercises with ai and ay in Explode the Code 3.
4. History: read from Sacagawea: Guide for the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Hal Marcovitz; draw a paper doll, food, and other items to go with it.
5. Science/Nature: read about and draw prairie animals: the pronghorn, prairie dog, jackrabbit, meadowlark, bison, rattlesnake, coyote, and prairie chicken; look at locations of animals on a North American map; from the book Prairie Animals, Encyclopaedia Britannica.
6. Handwriting: make a list of prairie animals.
7. Spanish: story time at the library.
8. P.E.: park time.

Thursday
1. Religion: daily prayer.
2. Math: more Flip Over Math word problems: addition and subtraction with connecting people; number of the day: how many ways can you make 14?; "10 tens are 100."; count the rows and columns of a wall of tiles in order to calculate the total.
3. Phonics: do exercises with words beginning with sh and wh (Explode the Code 3).
4. Handwriting: explore Montessori sandpaper letters and numbers.
5. Music: attend choir rehearsal -- listen to music of Tomas Luis de Victoria, Missa O magnum mysterium and
William Byrd, Mass for Four Voices.

Friday
1. Religion: daily prayer; attend Mass.
2. Math: word problems using quarters and dimes (Flip over Math); how many ways can you make the number 15: 10+5, 14+1, 16-1.
3. Phonics: do exercises with words beginning with sh and wh (Explode the Code 3).
4. P.E.: park time.
5. Art: draw a dove representing the Holy Spirit.
6. Read Aloud: The Adventures of Tintin: Land of Black Gold, Herge.

2nd Grade Activities: Week 16

2006-12-11T11:03:00.000-08:00

Monday
1. Religion: daily prayer; read Gospel and Psalm of the day.
2. Math: connect the dots activity 1 to 80; solve addition problems:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/laac/numbers/ch1.shtml
3. Art: color Jesse tree ornaments for Advent; color and paste Christmas tree ornaments on a paper tree; color St. Nicholas ornaments.
4. Science/Nature: observe ants, spider, birds, fish.
5. Technology: computer text and photo manipulation; select and add text and photos to blog.
6. Phonics/Spelling: activities in Explode the Code 3: reading and spelling words with sh and long vowel sounds; some reading activities at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/laac

Tuesday
1. Religion: daily prayer; read about the saint of the day; read "Preparing for Our Savior" (Faith and Life 2).
2. Math: solve addition problems; write answers to word problems about ordering things sequentially from right or left .
3. Phonics/Spelling: exercises with sh, ck, ing (Explode the Code 3).
4. Art: attend art and California history class; present drawing to the class; learn about landscape painting; paint a landscape with acrylics; paint the coil pot, clay doll, and ornaments created in the last class; draw pet fish in his fish bowl.
5. Handwriting: write 1-word answers to math problems.

Wednesday
1. Religion: daily prayer; read about St. Nicholas.
2. Reading/Spelling: IM with Dad; read three paragraphs about baby Koko:
http://www.koko.org/kidsclub/babykoko/index.html
read some online books and do some rhyming exercises on:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/laac/menu.shtml
3. Science/Nature: watch Popular Mechanics: Super Sea Creatures and Awesome Ocean Adventures DVD.
4. Spanish: story time at the library.
5. P.E.: play at the park.

Thursday
1. Religion: daily prayer.
2. Math: solve word problems about sequential order and adding tens and ones to compare amounts (Primary Mathematics: Intensive Practice 1A).
3. Reading/Writing/Spelling: write answers to exercises with sh consonant blend (Explode the Code).
4. Music: attend choir rehearsal.

Friday
1. Religion: daily prayer; Mass attendance.
2. Math: play Math Blaster (simple addition and subtraction problems).
3. Language Arts: read and spell for instant messaging; read captions on family photos (flickr.com) and add comments (reading and spelling, keyboarding).
4. Art: color Christmas coloring pages and hang them up at home.
5. P.E.: flamenco dance class.
6. Music: attend choir rehearsal and performance.

2nd Grade Activities: Week 15

2006-12-05T12:14:00.000-08:00

Monday
1. Religion: daily prayer; read and discuss "Obeying God Our Father", "God Gives Us His Laws": Faith and Life 2; read the story of Noah from the Bible.
2. Math: simple addition and subtraction; add and subtract multiples of 10.
3. Phonics/Spelling/Reading: practice reading and spelling words with long vowels ending with silent e, consonant blends, short vowels; computer IM chat; read Sunday comics, signs, video and book covers, directions in workbooks.
4. Art: make several paper crafts from: The Jumbo Book of Paper Crafts, Amanda Lewis.
5. Science/Nature: observe snails and ants; read about the pronghorn and the prairie dog from Treasury of American Wildlife: Prairie Animals, Encyclopaedia Britannica; read in the news about the Russian cosmonaut hitting a golf ball into orbit from the International Space Station.
6. History: read Abraham Lincoln's 1863 proclamation that a national day of thanksgiving to God be observed:
http://www.classicallibrary.org/lincoln/thanksgiving.htm
and one paragraph bio.: http://www.classicallibrary.org/lincoln/index.htm .
Reference: the Project Gutenberg files:
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14721/14721-h/14721-h.htm#68
The Project Gutenberg eBook, Speeches and Letters of Abraham Lincoln, 1832-1865, by Abraham Lincoln, Edited by Merwin Roe.
7. Read Aloud:

Tuesday
1. Religion: daily prayer.
2. Creative Writing: write and illustrate a story for children, called Little Duck.
3. Reading/Spelling/Typing: IM with Dad and cousins; read her own book: Little Duck.
4. Science/Nature: observe ants.
5. Math: solve word problems about sequential order and relative measurement.
6. P.E.: park time.
7. Art: coloring pages.

Wednesday
1. Religion: daily prayer.
2. Reading/Spelling/Typing: IM with Dad and relatives.
3. Math: solve simple addition word problems; measure items in non-standard units; compare sizes of items.
4. Phonics/Spelling: practice reading and spelling words with long vowels ending with silent e, consonant blends (Explode the Code 3).
5. Spanish: story time at the library.
6. P.E.: park time.
7. Read Aloud: from The Adventures of Tintin: The Seven Crystal Balls, Herge.

Thursday
1. Religion: daily prayer.
2. Reading/Spelling/Typing: IM with Dad.
3. Math: play addition games on Math Blaster DVD; Math questions: "Mom, what do five fives make?" "What do 3 fives make?"; "How much is 5 times 100?" "How about 5 times 90", etc. all the way down to 20; play Concentration-type memory games with Chinese numbers, and with Roman numerals:
http://www.numbernut.com/basic/activities/index.shtml
4. Music: attend choir rehearsal.
5. Art: draw animals.
6. Handwriting: practice writing numbers.

Friday
1. Religion: daily prayer; read "I Choose to Love God" (Faith and Life 2); attend Mass.
2. Music: read children's picture book bio. of Johann Sebastian Bach: Sebastian: A Book About Bach, Jeanette Winter; review various note values, the notes middle C, D, E, and basic musical notation; write a piece of music using three notes; listen to music of Bach on internet radio:
http://www.platforma.pl/bach/eng/index.phtml
3. P.E.: attend Flamenco class.
4. Science/Nature: observe ants and fish.
5. Art: draw animals.
6. Handwriting: practice writing some upper and lowercase letters and some numbers.
7. Read Aloud: from Tintin: The Prisoners of the Sun.

2nd Grade Activities: Week 14

2006-11-22T13:29:00.000-08:00

Monday
1. Religion: daily prayer; read about the saint of the day.
2. Reading/Spelling: IM with Dad and cousins.
3. Math: matching and addition games; "What is 24 + 24? What is 24 + 24 + 24? What is 24 + 24 + 24 + 24? What is 24 + 24 + 24 + 24 + 24?" "5 days (120 hrs). That's how long adults take to make up their minds about something." :)
4. Phonics: long vowel words with silent e, Explode the Code 3.
5. Read Aloud: The Adventures of Tintin: The Broken Ear, Herge; The Journey That Saved Curious George, Borden.
6. Reading: words in read-alouds, signs, book titles, environment; one page from Black Beauty.
7. Art: make a weaving; make a paper plate lion mask.

Tuesday
1. Religion: daily prayer.
2. Reading/Spelling: online games of homophones and word families; IM with Dad; read some dialogue in Tintin.
3. Math: put non-consecutive numbers in order from highest to lowest and lowest to highest; figure out which object (out of 3 objects) being weighed on scales in a diagram is the largest and which is the smallest; ask what 3 + 3 + 3 is because the Tintin series contains 3 stories per volume and we have ordered 3 volumes (how many stories will that be?)
4. Phonics: read, spell, and write words with a long vowel and silent e (Explode the Code); make sentences from magnetic words.
5. Art: art and California history class: present artwork to the class; discuss tattoos of the Mojave indians; study a clay doll of a mother and child made by the Mojave people in the early 20th century; make a clay coil pot and a clay doll; make and play a native American stick game.
6. Handwriting: copy information about the Mojave doll artwork into art notebook; write answers to Explode the Code worksheet.
7. Read Aloud: The Adventures of Tintin: The Black Island, Herge.
8. P.E.: park time.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2nd Grade Activities: Week 13

2006-11-17T14:40:00.000-08:00

Monday
1. Religion: daily prayer; read about the saint of the day; read and discuss "Becoming a Child of God", Faith and Life 2.
2. Math: simple addition and money problems.
3. Reading: read Monopoly board and cards.
4. Handwriting: practice letter formation of some uppercase and lowercase letters by repetition, filling a blank page.
5. Art: make small paper dolls in primary colors for math manipulatives; sort by color.
6. Music: listen to Beethoven, Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 12 "Choral", Vienna Symphony Orchestra.
7. Read Aloud: from The Journey That Saved Curious George: The True Wartime Escape of Margret and H.A. Rey, Louise Borden.

Tuesday
1. Religion: daily prayer.
2. Language Arts: learn two Greek root words and two Latin root words from English from the Roots Up, Joegil K. Lundquist.
3. Art: draw five favorite animals; make Pokemon cards; color green and red borders for Greek and Latin root cards.
4. Science/Technology: use chat tool to converse with Dad.
5. Writing: make sign for a play store; write notes to Dad.

Wednesday
1. Religion: daily prayer; Girls' group.
2. Art: make a weaving on simple loom; paper panther at Spanish story time.
3. Library time.
3. P.E.: park time.
4. Read Aloud: from The Journey That Saved Curious George, Louise Borden.

Thursday
1. Religion: daily prayer; read about Saint Catherine Laboure, and the virtue of obedience (handout from Girls' group).
2. Math: math facts flash cards (addition and subtraction to 12); some workbook pages -- color by number, dot-to-dot, fill in missing numbers in sequence, write the previous number, write the next number.
3. History: read and discuss Introduction, the first nomads and farmers, and the story of Romulus and Remus from The Story of the World 1, Susan Wise Bauer.
4. Art: make another weaving (hot pad).
5. Library: meet a children's author, Susan Elya: listen to stories and participate in a puppet show.
6. Science/Technology: IM with Daddy and cousins.
7. Cooking: grate cheese and help make bean burritos.

Friday
1. Religion: daily prayer.
2. Math: simple addition and subtraction problems; write numbers that are one more, one less, and in between numbers shown.
3. Language Arts: correct sentences with errors; fill in missing letters at the beginning, middle, or end of short words; identify words to go with pictures (Scholastic Success With Tests reading workbook).
4. Reading: Silly Mummy, Silly Daddy, Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick; Monopoly board and cards.
5. Music: theory review: recognizes whole notes, half notes, quarter notes. the number of lines and spaces on a staff, middle C, colored the bunnies :) (Rabbit Man's Music Books 1-2).
6. Read Aloud: from The Journey That Saved Curious George, Louise Borden, and The Adventures of Buffalo Bill, Col. William F. Cody.
7. Science/Technology: IM with Dad.
8. P.E.: soccer.

2nd Grade Activities: Week 12

2006-11-17T10:10:00.000-08:00

Monday
1. Religion: daily prayer; read about the saint of the day; read and discuss the chapters, "God Made Us" and "God Is Offended", Faith and Life 2.
2. Math: build models of numbers with base ten blocks: 222, 777, 110, 121, 255; look at Montessori bead frame that represents numbers up to 100,000,000; arrange the Montessori number cards of 1-9 (units), 10-90 (tens), 100-900 (100s), 1000-9000 (1000s) to show the numbers 1111, 2222, 3333, 4444, 5555, 6666, 7777, 8888, 9999.
3. Language Arts: study sandpaper lowercase letters of the alphabet; write a few letters.
4. Geography: draw a rough map of the United States in the sand.
5. Science/Technology/Nature: compose and send an email to a friend; observe seagulls and squirrels.
6. Art: create computer art in Photoshop to go with an email; finish acrylic painting in art class; make a stuffed manatee toy from a blue sock.
7. Reading: read a Sunday comic strip.
8. Read Aloud: from The Adventures of Tintin: Cigars of the Pharaoh, Herge; and Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain.

Tuesday
1. Religion: daily prayer; read about the saint of the day.
2. Math: simple addition and money problems.
3. Language Arts: read and spell words with long vowels, some with silent e (Explode the Code 3); spell words with long vowel sounds using tactile letters.
4. Read Aloud: from The Adventures of Tintin: Cigars of the Pharaoh, Herge; and Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain.
5. Reading: read some words in The Adventures of Tintin; read property, Chance and Community Chest cards in Monopoly.
6. Art: art and California history class: study a painting by William Hahn: Sacramento Railroad Station (1874); talk about the gold rush; do some sand painting.

Wednesday
1. Religion: daily prayer.
2. Math: "Mom, what is 1/4 of an hour plus 1 minute?", "3/4 of an hour plus 1 minute?".
3. P.E.: watch Play Like a Soccer Legend video; park time.
4. Read Aloud: Ruby's Wish, Shirin Rim Bridges about a child's life in China in the late 19th century.
5. Science/Nature: care of snails and fish.
6. Music: sing made up song about snails.
7. Spanish: story time at the library.

Thursday
1. Religion: daily prayers.
2. Math: simple addition and money problems; assessment test.
3. Reading: assessment test, read instructions and questions; Monopoly board and cards.
4. Art: present artwork and projects to teacher; do pencil and pen drawings.
5. P.E.: park time.
6. Music: attend choir rehearsal.
7. Read Aloud: from The Adventures of Tintin: The Blue Lotus, Herge.

Friday
(Veterans Day holiday)

2nd Grade Activities: Week 11

2006-11-06T13:57:00.000-08:00

Monday
1. Religion: daily prayer; read about the saint of the day.
2. Math: solve story problems involving shapes, skip counting, counting equal groups, place value, two-digit addition, measuring in non-standard units, and telling time to the hour (Houghton Mifflin Mathematics, grade 2); count to 100 following a 100 chart; review the fractions 1/2, 1/3, 1/4 with fraction circles and squares.
3. Language Arts: reading, phonics, spelling: words with final lf, lp, nd, nk, and initial and final consonant blend review (Explode the Code 2).
4. Music: learn the notes C, D, E, F, and G on the keyboard; learn the note values of quarter and half notes, and play some simple songs in 4/4 time with mom (Progressive Keyboard, book 1).
5. Art: acrylic painting class; make a rabbit from modeling clay; illustrate a story book about squirrels.
6. Handwriting: write the numbers 1-20 to number the pages of a book.
7. Read Aloud: from Cowboy Sam and the Indians, Chandler.

Tuesday
1. Religion: daily prayer; read about the saint of the day.
2. Language Arts: reading, phonics, spelling: short vowels and consonant blends in Explode the Code 2.
3. Math: subtraction with the help of a number line; write numbers in reverse order according to a pattern (skip counting) (Miquon); dot-to-dot pictures up to 100 (Kumon: My Book of Number Games 1-150).
4. Science/Nature: watch Eyewitness Weather video.
5. Handwriting: practice some of lowercase letters: a, c, h, m, y, etc. (Kumon books).
6. Read Aloud: finish Cowboy Sam and the Indians, Chandler.
7. Art: decorate a Halloween bag with ghost, bat, cat, etc. drawings.

Wednesday
1. Religion: daily prayer; read about saints of the day, Mass attendance.
2. Language Arts: read action (verb) cards and perform the actions (jump, skip, etc.); also review spelling of the past tense and -ing form of each verb (discussing doubling of some consonants, and removing silent e before adding ing, where applicable).
3. Math: solve addition and money problems; and "How many seconds are there in a day, Mom?" (watch demonstration of how to solve the problem).
4. Art: create a shipwreck scene; make a paper duck puppet.
5. Spanish: story time at the library.
6. P.E.: park time; run and splash in puddles.
7. Music: listen to Tomás Luis de Victoria: Missa O quam gloriosum.

Thursday
1. Religion: daily prayer; read about the saint of the day.
2. Language Arts: review the vowel sounds in Latin, and the short and long vowel sounds in English, looking at a sample word for each sound.
3. Read Aloud: from The Adventures of Tintin: Tintin in America, Herge; and Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain.
4. Math: make a colored stair of Cuisenaire rods from 1 to 35; count the stairs; count backwards from 35 to 1; do single digit subtraction equations (Learn on the Go workbook); watch demonstration of subtraction on a number line.
5. Art: drawings in a book.

Friday
1. Religion: daily prayer.
2. Read Aloud: finish The Adventures of Tintin: Tintin in America, Herge.
3. Music: theory: review 4/4 time signature and note values of whole, half, quarter, eighth notes in 4/4 time. Draw staves and measure bars. Write two songs in the key of C with notes from middle C to high G, using whole, half, dotted half, quarter, eighth notes, and a quarter rest. Mom played the songs on the keyboard. Review where middle C is and where the other Cs are located on the keyboard. Play a song with one note (middle C). Play one with Mom with 2 notes (C and D) (Keyboard Method for Young Beginners 1). Noodle around on the keyboard.
4. Spanish: do activities on Help Me 2 Learn Spanish 1a DVD: weather, colors, numbers, days of the week.
5. Science/Nature: watch Really Wild Animals: Deep Sea Dive, National Geographic DVD.
6. Art: draw panda, monkeys, bananas, penguins; make Thanksgiving decorations.
7. P.E.: soccer.

[Since music can help reinforce math concepts, and studying foreign languages can help with English vocabulary, spelling and grammar, one day a week we will try replacing Math with music theory and practice, and Language Arts with foreign language study.]

2nd Grade Activities: Week 10

2006-11-02T14:07:00.000-08:00

Monday
1. Religion: daily prayer.
2. Math: 100 board: roll dice. First one to 100 wins. 100 board: use like battleship game board, guessing opponent's location. Basketball scorecard: 2 teams. Calculate spread between scores, exchanging 10 bars for unit cubes as necessary to calculate (2-digit subtraction), also look at the written version of the equations with borrowing indicated; count by 20s.
3. Language Arts: Explode the Code 2: short vowel words with consonant blend endings; write words on flash cards with consonants in blue and vowels in red for spelling vocabulary.
4. Art: art class: sketch a scene in pencil on canvas in prep. for acrylic painting; twist tie and clay creations; sew a stuffed horse: tie a knot, thread a needle, stitch all around the felt horse (running stitch), fill with wool stuffing, check off step by step directions on the pattern; make a paper scarecrow.
5. Read Aloud: from Cowboy Sam and the Rustlers, Edna Walker Chandler.

Tuesday
1. Religion: daily prayer; read about St. John Capistrano and St. Anthony Claret; read Bible readings for the day; read chapters 1 and 2 of Faith and Life, Grade 2: Our Heavenly Father, and The Blessed Trinity.
2. Language Arts: read "What Letters Are" from The Alphabet and Elements of Lettering, Goudy; read and distinguish final consonant blends: ft, lt, nt (Explode the Code 2); review spelling words on flash cards.
3. Math: make up and solve seven subtraction problems using base ten materials: calculate the difference between the scores of 2 basketball teams, exchange ten bars for units as necessary.
4. Read Aloud: read from Cowboy Sam, and Cowboy Sam and Freddy, Chandler.
5. Science: watch Get Scientific videos about recycling, ice fishing, the farm, sign language, science camp, ski jumping, ice skating, kayaking, cycling, and space camp. Do an experiment to find out whether items sink or float.
6. Handwriting: make a list of items that floated and items that sank.

Wednesday
1. Religion: daily prayer.
2. Handwriting: watch the printing of all the lowercase letters on a chalkboard, and also all the lowercase letters written in cursive; write numbers to answer math problems.
3. Math: money problems: calculate the total for each row of nickels, single digit addition problems with sums greater than 10, color a house using a number/color key (chosen by which digits were in the tens and ones places) (Learn on the Go Addition and Subtraction workbook).
4. Language Arts: read and distinguish words ending in lf, lp, nd, nk (Explode the Code); read flashcards made from words studied in Explode the Code book; identify complete vs. incomplete sentences (Macmillan English Skills Practice Book); begin narrative writing exercise.
5. Read Aloud: Cowboy Sam and the Rustlers, Chandler.
6. Science/Nature: watch Eyewitness videos: Weather and Survival.
7. Sign Language: watch the video, Say It by Signing: Conversing in American Sign Language, Dr. Elaine Costello.
8. Art: make a flamingo from modeling clay; draw a squirrel in a garden scene (abstract style).

Thursday
1. Religion: pray; read about the saint of the day; read and answer questions from the chapter, "God the Creator", Jesus Our Life (Faith and Life 2).
2. Math: simple addition with sums over 10 (demonstrate the concept of regrouping to make 10); two digit subtraction with base ten materials (exchanging 10s for 10 ones as necessary).
3. Language Arts: spell words with short vowels and consonant blends; spell CVC words with tactile letters; make short sentences; make a book of sentences.
4. History: watch The Renaissance (Just the Facts Learning Series video).
5. Science/Nature: observe and draw squirrels and scenery.
6. Music: attend choir rehearsal.
7. Read Aloud: from Cowboy Sam and the Rodeo, Chandler.
8. Art: make ghost and bat Halloween decorations from a craft book.

Friday
1. Religion: pray; read about the saint of the day; read and discuss the chapter, "God Made Us", Faith and Life 2.
2. Science/Nature: observe and draw more squirrels and scenery (the come right up to the screen door).
3. Music: theory review: staff has 5 lines and 4 spaces, treble and bass cleffs, notes on lines and spaces, high notes, low notes, SATB parts, whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, eighth notes, sixteenth notes (Rabbit Man's Music Books 1 and 2); write some notes on the staff (a pretend song for the squirrels); color the rabbits :) ; look at some homemade flash cards.
4. Spanish: color and learn words in Spanish alphabet coloring book; listen to names of the letters of the Spanish alphabet on Help Me 2 Learn Spanish DVD*.
5. Read Aloud: from Cowboy Sam and the Rodeo, Chandler.
6. Sign Language: review sign language alphabet.

2nd Grade Activities: Week 9

2006-10-25T12:41:00.000-07:00

Monday
1. Religion: daily prayer.
2. Math: demonstration of addition and subtraction (of numbers under 10) with base ten materials, and also with dice; demonstration of multiplication and division (numbers under 10) with montessori bead materials; show place value (written numbers) of units, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, one hundred thousands, millions, ten millions, one hundred millions, billions; correctly identified 1,000,000,000; 1,000,000; 1,000; 100; 10; 1; play dominoes; write the numbers 1-12.
3. Art: take pictures of toys (repositioning them for each shot) to make a movie; draw a squirrel.
4. Language Arts: build words with letter tiles representing individual syllables.
5. Telling Time: draw and label a clock.
6. Science/Nature: make a book about birds.
7. Handwriting: write title and author name on the cover and title page of the book; practice a page of handwriting (Victory Pre-Drill Book).
8. Reading: read a postcard.
9. History: read from California Rancho Days.
10. Art: art class: observe outdoors: light and shadows and the various shades of color in living vs. nonliving things; learn about focal point, horizon and perspective; sketch an outdoor scene; paint with acrylics.

Tuesday
1. Religion: daily prayer.
2. Read Aloud: three chapters of Bandit's Moon.
3. History: read about the historical figure Joaquin Murietta and the California State Rangers at the time of the Gold Rush:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joaquin_Murietta
http://www.militarymuseum.org/CaliforniaStateRangers.html
(historical background for today's art class).
Read a brief history of the famous woman mathematician, Maria Gaetana Agnesi (1718-1799):
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01214b.htm .
4. Math: read and solve word problems, and read about problem-solving strategies in the book: Word Problems Made Easy, Rebecca Wingard-Nelson.
5. Art: class: learn about beaded ceremonial aprons worn by Tolowa indian women and make a similar one with feathers, beads, and shells.
6. P.E.: park time.

Wednesday
1. Religion: prayer, girls' group: class with other girls about a saint and a virtue, sing a hymn.
2. Math: mental math: add multiples of 100.
3. History: read about the invention and usefulness of the Conestoga wagon (covered wagon) in Colonial days.
4. Geography: locate Pennsylvania on U.S. Map.
5. Art: make a Fall table centerpiece at girls' group; make a tarantula out of modeling clay.
6. Spanish: story time at the library.
7. P.E.: park time.
8. Science/Nature: observe a squirrel jumping, eating, and hiding nuts.

Thursday
1. Religion: pray, read about the North American martyrs, read Bible readings for the day.
2. Cooking: make a banana/pineapple tart.
3. Art: create a squirrel and nuts out of modeling clay.
4. Math: 2+2=4. 20+20=40, 200+200=400, 2000+2000=4000, 2,000,000+2,000,000 = 4,000,000, 2,000,000,000 + 2,000,000,000 = 4,000,000,000, etc., also with 2+4, 4+4, and other addition problems.
5. Music: watch Wee Sing: Under the Sea (video); attend choir rehearsal.
6. Read Aloud: Is Your Mama a Llama?, Deborah Guarino.
7. Reading: some words in read-aloud book.

Friday
1. Religion: pray; read about the saint of the day; read the book: Prayer, Inos Biffi, with beautiful illustrations by Franco Vignazia; read We Go to Mass, picture book by George Brundage; read The Holy Mass, Coloring and Activity Book, Ancilla Christine Hirsch, FSP; learn the liturgical colors.
2. Music: listen to classical music and contemporary music; music theory with Rabbit Man's Music Book 1: Bass and Treble cleffs and the notes: treble G, high G, bass F, low F; sing.
3. Language Arts: phonics and reading: Explode the Code 2 workbook: initial consonant blend review and final consonant blends: mp, sk, st.
4. Reading: signs, labels, packages, book titles, posters, many words in the environment and on outings.
5. Art: fill a blank book with drawings, "family snapshots".
6. Read Aloud: Animal Ark: Sheepdog in the Snow, Ben M. Baglio.
7. P.E.: soccer.

2nd Grade Activities: Week 8

2006-10-16T12:41:00.000-07:00

Monday
1. Religion: pray; read about saints of the day.
2. Math: sort confetti by shapes; fractions 1/4, 1/2, 1/3 (Miquon); locate items by hours on clock face (Miquon); read and solve money problems with dimes, nickels, pennies, quarters (Learn on the Go workbook); count items and write numbers 1-10; review greater and less than signs; match graphs to data given (sample STAR 2nd grade test).
3. Language Arts: correct the grammar in sentences; read a short passage and answer questions; match correct sentence describing a picture (sample LA test book).
4. Read Aloud: from Little Women, Louisa May Alcott, and
Magical Melons, Carol Ryrie Brink.
5. Art: make an indian arrow with a stick, feathers, clay for arrowhead; make a clay and feather decoration; make black cat and ghost decorations.
6. Spelling/Handwriting: copy words of interest into a rolodex of 3x5 cards in alphabetical order [sorted by first letter only].

Tuesday
1. Religion: daily prayers.
2. Math: simple subtraction problems and identifying quantities using 10 bars and units (Learn on the Go Workbook: Addition and Subtraction, gr.1-2); discussion, using examples, of how math is necessary in daily life and work.
3. Read Aloud: Bernard on His Own, Syd Hoff;
Grizzwold, Syd Hoff;
Stop, Stop, Edith Thacher Hurd;
Barkley, Syd Hoff;
"That's Not Fair!", Stephanie Roehe.
4. Reading: signs, directions on worksheets, read some words in the read alouds and some on-line books.
5. Art: sketch a few items; make leaves of various kinds with water droplets on them from modeling clay; watch Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists: Claude Monet*, Mike Venezia (video).
6. History: watch a video showing all the California Missions.
7. P.E.: take a walk.
8. Sign Language: sign some numbers.

Wednesday
1. Religion: daily prayer.
2. History: read brief history of the period from early California rancheros to California statehood, and some stories from California Rancho Days, Helen Bauer.
3. Read Aloud: Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? and Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?, Bill Martin Jr, Eric Carle.
4. Reading: some words in read alouds.
5. Spanish: Mom reads some bilingual books; story time at library.
6. Math: addition problems with pictured items, coins, numbers.
7. Art: clay creations: miniature pies, cake, cookies, soup, cookbook, story book, spoon, ladle; make paper cow puppet.

Thursday
1. Religion: daily prayer, read about saint of the day; Bible readings for today.
2. Language Arts: listen to stories and answer questions; read directions and parts of stories; write answers to questions about the stories (LA workbook).
3. Math: work out story problems (simple subtraction, counting coins, counting by tens and ones); watch demonstrations of regrouping (10s) and multiplication (rows by columns); tell time to the minute comparing digital and analog clocks.
4. Art: clay creations; color cars for counting.
5. History: read about the Spanish/Mexican founding of San Francisco to the Goldrush and statehood from the book California Rancho Days.
6. Music: attend choir rehearsal.

Friday
1. Religion: pray; read about the saint of the day.
2. Math: two digit addition and subtraction with regrouping using base ten materials (Learn on the Go workbook).
3. History: read about Christopher Columbus and his voyages.
4. Art: draw an Indian girl, corn, and tools; watch the Monet video.
5. Science/Nature: watch Magic School Bus Taking Flight, Magic School Bus for Lunch; collect rocks and leaves.
6. P.E.: soccer practice.

2nd Grade Activities: Week 7

2006-10-06T14:39:00.000-07:00

Monday
1. Religion: pray; read about guardian angels; read Bible readings for the day.
2. Math: count by 10s to 100; make up cards with each of these numbers on them; work with fractions: Miquon; count coins; come up with more math equations to equal 10 based on Cuisenaire rod work.
3. Reading: one Reader Rabbit story; read and solve problems in Scholastic Success With Tests: Reading Workbook.
4. Science/Nature: watch Eyewitness Rock and Mineral video. Make different sized "rocks and gems" from modeling clay; ask "What is the difference between a rock and a mineral?"
5. Art: modeling clay creations; paintings to go with Bandit's Moon for art class.
6. Phonics: reading and phonics at Starfall website.
7. Read Aloud: Bandit's Moon, Sid Fleischman; Boxcar Children, Gertrude Chandler Warner.

Tuesday
1. Religion; pray; read about the saint of the day; read Bible readings for the day.
2. Telling Time: show on a clock and write answers to: What time do you finish dinner? What time do you take a bath? What time do you go to bed? (Kumon)
3. Narration: summarize four chapters from Bandit's Moon.
4. Art: draw and paint scenes from Bandit's Moon; attend art class; learn about portrait painting in early California; look at California indian masks; create a colorful mask in a similar style.
5. Read Aloud: Bandit's Moon; Ottie Slockett, Ida Luttrell;
Old Turtle's Soccer Team, Leonard Kessler.
6. Reading: some words in read alouds and instructions on worksheets.
7. P.E.: park time.

Wednesday
1. Religion: pray; read about St. Francis of Assisi; read Bible readings for the day; Mass attendance.
2. Math: demonstrations: odd numbers to 100, even numbers to 100 on 100 board; also add 1, subtract 1 with various numbers; add 2, subtract 2 with various numbers; add 5, add 10. Demonstrate multiplication with Cuisenaire rods: 1x3, 2x3, 3x3, 4x3, 5x3, then division with same rods. Do a fractions page in Miquon red book.
3. Handwriting: several pages of words in Kumon: My Book of Writing Words: Learning about Consonants and Vowels.
4. Read Aloud: Bandit's Moon;
When Martha's Away, Bruce Ingman;
Emile, Kurt Futterer.
5. Art: draw picture from Bandit's Moon.
6. Narration: summarize Bandit's Moon, chaps. 10 to 16.
7. Reading: The Chick and the Duckling, Mirra Ginsburg.
8. Spanish: story time at the library.
9. P.E.: park time.

Thursday
1. Religion: pray; read about the saint of the day; read Bible readings for the day.
2. Math: work with 100 board: odd and even, skip count by 2s, 5s, 10s, 20s, 50s, 100s; more work with fractions and several pages of odd and even items/numbers (Miquon).
3. Language Arts: read and follow written directions, and story comprehension (sample LA test book).
4. Read Aloud: finish Bandit's Moon.
5. Narration: summarize Bandit's Moon, chaps. 17 and 18.
6. History: read about the California Gold Rush in: The Settlement of California, George Sanderlin and The California Gold Rush, Tom Ito.
7. Art: draw and color two more pictures to go with Bandit's Moon; drawings for a book: Cats and Dogs.
8. Science/Nature: read Oh Say Can You Seed? All About Flowering Plants, Bonnie Worth.
9. Reading: Chuckle with Huckle And Other Funny Easy-to-Read Stories, Jane E. Gerver.
10. Music: attend choir rehearsal.

Friday
1. Religion: pray; read about Saint Bruno and Blessed Marie Rose Durocher; read Bible readings for the day.
2. Music: work in Rabbit Man's Music Book 1: learn about treble and bass clefs, notes on lines and spaces, quarter, half, eighth, sixteenth, and whole notes.
3. Chinese: learn to read and draw some chinese characters, including numbers 1 to 12 from Long is a Dragon: Chinese Writing for Children, Peggy Goldstein.
4. Math: make up several addition problems for Mom to solve; telling time: hour, half hour, quarter hour; count Cuisenaire rods.
5. Reading: read a postcard from a friend visiting Hawaii.
6. Geography: locate China, Italy, Hawaii on the globe.
7. Art: clay creations.
8. P.E.: soccer.

2nd Grade Activities: Week 6

2006-10-05T16:33:00.000-07:00

Monday
1. Religion: pray; read about the saint of the day; read Bible readings for the day; read: The Ten Commandments: I Obey God, Lawrence G. Lovasik, S.V.D.; attend Mass.
2. Phonics: Explode the Code: short vowels and consonant blends st, sw, tw; long vowel sounds.
3. Math: Miquon: demonstrate and write simple addition problems; add different numbers to get the sum of 7; simple subtraction problems; watch demonstration of halves with Cuisenaire rods: give answers from 4 to 12; watch demonstrations of simple multiplication problems; measure toys using 1-centimeter cubes; calculate change from lunch: $5.02 - $3.02; telling time: hour and half hour.
4. Art: draw and construct Halloween decorations: Jack-o-lanterns, ghosts, spider and web; construct buildings and towers with Cuisenaire rods, Lincoln Logs.
5. Science/Nature: collect, feed, observe garden snail; watch National Geographic: Really Wild Animals: Deep Sea Dive (DVD); watch Magic School Bus Gets Ants in Its Pants (video).
6. Read Aloud: Magic Tree House: Christmas in Camelot.
7. Handwriting: write names of 13 Pokemon characters when making a book of drawings; write numbers in math problems and phone numbers.
8. Reading: Christmas in the Manger, Nola Buck.
9. P.E.: park time.

Tuesday
1. Religion: daily prayer; read about saints of the day.
2. Math: Miquon pages: addition and subtraction problems; make up problems.
3. Phonics: watch Between the Lions: Step by Step (video); Explode the Code: read and spell with consonant blends and short vowels; spell words with vowel, consonant, consonant blend, and word family blocks.
4. Art: make animals and other items out of modeling clay; construct a "computer" with 100 board for the screen and Cuisenaire rods for the keyboard (show how it is used to calculate math problems).
5. P.E.: soccer practice.

Wednesday
1. Religion: daily prayer.
2. Math: calculate area of rectangles in centimeters using Cuisenaire rods (counting); look at corresponding multiplication problems; make up 14 word problems (orally) for Mom to solve. Example: "Jill has 10,000 cats; John has 20,000 dogs; Jill and John have 20,000 hamsters (half each); Jill has 2,000 birds; John has 2,000 birds. How many altogether?" Observe the solutions being demonstrated.
3. Sign Language: sign L-O-V-E; and various signs for animals.
4. Spanish: story time at the library.
5. P.E.: park time.
6. Art: clay creations.

Thursday
1. Religion: pray; read about saint of the day; read Bible readings for today.
2. Read Aloud: Tillie and Mert, Ida Luttrell; Clara and the Bookwagon, Nancy Smiler Levinson.
3. Math: which set is larger (1 problem); measure lengths of lines and objects in centimeters (using ruler): 2 pages; addition: add from 10 + 1 up to 10 + 10 (out of order -- notice pattern); count by 2s, 4s, 6s, 8s using a number line.
4. Phonics/Spelling: workbook: initial consonant blends, short vowels, final consonant blends: distinguish blends, read and spell words.
5. Art and History: watch Sister Wendy's Story of Painting: Early Art (video); read about early Settler life: the lifestyle and crafts of early artisans: Early Artisans, Bobbie, Kalman; twist-tie and clay creations.
6. Reading: some entries in children's picture dictionary; some words in read aloud books.
7. Computer: practice keyboard and text manipulation skills.
8. Science/Nature: watch Growing up Wild: Amazing Baby Animals video: about kittens and large cats, monkeys, insects, elephants, hippos, rhinos, seals, otters, frogs, ducks.

Friday
1. Religion: pray; read about saints of the day.
2. Math: lay out many different Cuisenaire rod combinations adding up to 10; write addition equations to represent each; learn about fractions: 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/6, 2/3, 3/3; count all the base ten materials (matching each 100 with a 100-square while doing so), total: 1979; simple addition problems; make and decorate a 100-square with lentils laid out on 10 craft sticks; skip counting: 2s, 5s, 10s, 100s; discuss odd and even; make a counting device with craft sticks, pipe cleaners, and beads.
3. Read Aloud: Bandit's Moon, chap. 1.
4. Art: draw the black stallion from Bandit's Moon.
5. Narration: tell what happened in chapter 1 of Bandit's Moon.
6. Music: count and sing along with songs in Progressive Keyboard 1, Method for Young Beginners, Andrew Scott; review note values: quarter note, half note, dotted half note, quarter rest; introduce the locations of notes (in C-B groups) on the keyboard starting with middle-C (the white keys).
7. P.E.: soccer.

2nd Grade Activities: Week 5

2006-09-25T13:41:00.000-07:00

Monday
1. Religion: pray; read about St. Joseph of Cupertino; read Faith and Life 1: Jesus Grows Up.
2. Math: make up and solve (with help) 11 word problems.
3. Art: make Pterodactyls from colored wire and twist ties.
4. Read Aloud: the Constitution of the United States.
5. Science/Nature: draw 10 insects and other creatures; read a little about worms; read Dinosaurs Big and Small, Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld; watch Eyewitness: Dinosaur (DVD).
6. Read Aloud: The Signmaker's Assistant, Tedd Arnold.
7. Geography: watch U.S. Geography for Children: The United States (DVD).

Tuesday
1. Religion: daily prayer.
2. Science/Nature: watch Really Wild Animals: Deep Sea Dive, National Geographic; To the Moon, Nova; and Bill Nye: Dinosaurs (DVDs)
3. Art: make an astronaut and some animals out of modeling clay; attend Art and California History class: make a drum with California indian symbols and patterns.
4. History: study some artifacts of early California indians.
5. Math: count to 80 by 10s.
6. Read Aloud: Magic Tree House #28: High Tide in Hawaii.
7. P.E.: soccer practice.

Wednesday
1. Religion: pray; attend Mass; attend Girls' Group (class): learn about a saint and do a craft.
2. Science/Nature: To the Moon (video); Magic School Bus: Microbes, Dinosaurs.
3. Handwriting: make a table of contents for a book, numbering the chapters 1-10.
4. Music: Wee Sing video.
5. Reading: worksheets from Art class: charts of animal footprints, indian symbols.
6. Spanish: story time at the library.
7. P.E.: park time.

Thursday
1. Religion: pray; read about St. Matthew; read Bible readings for the day.
2. Reading: Oliver, Syd Hoff.
3. Read Aloud: Bears Out There, Joanne Ryder;
Sato and the Elephants, Juanita Havill;
The Alphabet and Elements of Lettering: I. The Beginnings of the Alphabet, Frederic W. Goudy.
4. Telling Time: work in Kumon Book: My Book of Telling Time: Learning about Minutes.
5. History: read handout from Art class about the Achomawi Indian artifacts.
6. Math: simple addition practice (worksheet).
7. Phonics: Explode the Code: sm, sn, sp consonant blends.
8. Science/Nature: use My Amazing Human Body (DK CD-ROM) to practice identifying names and functions of bones and organs of the human body.

Friday
1. Religion: daily prayer; read saint of the day; read Bible readings for the day.
2. History: read a little more background on the Constitution and Benjamin Franklin's speech at the Constitutional Convention; look at photos of the original Constitution:
http://www.usconstitution.net/constkids.html ; read about the invention of cable cars in San Francisco.
3. Science/Nature: observe and sketch a desert tortoise; make a book about a snail;
4. Math: free play with Cuisenaire rods (she first placed the longest to shortest in order from left to right; then built a town); Miquon sheets: one to one correspondence, then trade units for matching-length bars; write the number of objects; simple addition; geometric shapes.
5. Reading: Snail Trail, Ruth Brown.
6. Art: make small food items from modeling clay: loaf of bread, pile of pancakes with ribbons of syrup, cake, pie; illustrate book about a snail.
7. Read Aloud: Maybelle the Cable Car, Virginia Lee Burton.
8. Phonics: Explode the Code: short vowels and sm, sn, sp consonant blends.
9. P.E.: soccer practice.

2nd Grade Activities: Week 4

2006-09-16T11:38:00.000-07:00

Monday
1. Religion: daily prayer.
2. Geography: locate Ireland on the globe, show distance traveled from Ireland to America when relatives made the journey in the 1800s. Identify Africa and America on the globe: "You'd have to travel pretty far to get there -- across the ocean -- the North Atlantic Ocean."
3. Math: make some money out of modeling clay; get out some play money too: "Mom, please help me count my money." First she read off the amounts; we wrote each amount in vertical columns, and added the columns. Then we recalculated the total by sorting the bills by denomination first and adding the sums of each type of bill and coin. Mom explained that this was how she counted the money when working as a cashier. Explanation of what the decimal point means. Watch a video about addition.
Play ice cream shop using the play money; dictate a menu of ice cream and candy flavors; read the menu.
4. Art: make money and ice cream cones out of modeling clay.
5. Science/Nature: make chicks out of modeling clay; read news article about space shuttle launch and mission (Atlantis); read that it successfully docked with the international space station.
6. Read Aloud: Super Cluck, Jane and Robert O'Connor;
Magic Tree House #26, Good Morning Gorillas.
7. Reading: some of display text from Good Morning Gorillas; read the book titles of the other Magic Tree House books: Day of the Dragon King, Viking Ships at Sunrise, Tigers at Twilight, Earthquake in Early Morning, Summer of the Sea Serpent.
8. Phonics: work in Explode the Code 2: short vowels and consonant blends; spell some words with alphabet blocks (vowel, consonant, and consonant blend blocks).

Tuesday
1. Religion: prayer and read about the saint of the day.
2. Music: do exercises in Rabbit-Man's Music Book (theory): to recognize note shapes and the staff; sing made-up songs; listen to Suzuki Recorder School (Soprano vol. I) music CD.
3. Geography: look at maps of Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota; demonstration: use city index and grid on the map to locate a town.
4. Science/Nature: more about dinosaurs: Bill Nye the Science Guy: Dinosaurs: Those Big Boneheads! and Magic School Bus videos; attend composting workshop.
5. Language Arts: match uppercase and lowercase letters; write the capital letter next to each lowercase letter of the alphabet (workbook).
6. Math: math questions: "Can you go a million miles in one day?" "Can't you go around the world in eight days?"
7. P.E.: soccer practice.

Wednesday
1. Religion: pray, attend Mass.
2. Geography: locate the countries China, Australia, America.
3. Science/Nature: review compost workshop materials and observe worms; read about what to feed the worms; try feeding them various foods.
4. Math: make up addition and word problems to solve; watch the demonstrations of how to solve them.
5. Spanish: story time at library.
6. P.E.: park time.

Thursday
1. Religion: daily prayers.
2. Science/Nature: watch nature videos: See How They Grow: Insects and Spiders, and Jungle Animals; draw insects; observe and draw fish in large aquarium.
3. Homeschool meeting.
4. Library time.

Friday
1. Religion: pray; read about saint of the day; catechism: read and discuss Faith and Life 1: chaps. 7-11: Noah, Abraham, Moses, prophets, John the Baptist, Annunciation, Nativity, visit of the Three Kings.
2. Directions: follow diagrams to build a Lincoln Log structure.
3. Language Arts: phonics and reading in Explode the Code: consonant blends and short vowels.
4. Math: make up 13 addition and subtraction word problems to solve; watch the demonstrations of how to solve them.
5. Science/Nature: read about worms and rolypolies.
6. P.E.: soccer practice.
7. Reading: I Kissed the Baby, Mary Murphy.
8. Read Aloud: Magic Tree House #27, Thanksgiving on Thursday.

2nd Grade Activities: Week 3

2006-09-11T13:14:00.000-07:00

Monday
Holiday

Tuesday
1. Science/Nature: homeschool workshop, "Colors of the Sun": Agenda: spend about 50 minutes indoors and do the experiment at the park.
Opening: demonstration of how the sun looks larger than other stars, but is not, short reading about what the sun is; “Colors of the Sun” movie (what we know about the sun, how we can observe the sun, how it affects earth, questions scientists are currently asking and trying to find the answers to about the sun. Spectroscope making. Experiments outside.
2. P.E.: park time, soccer practice.
3. Read Aloud: Magic Tree House #23, Twister on Tuesday.
4. History: learn something about pioneer life and tornadoes.

Wednesday
1. Religion: pray Our Father and prayers for grace.
2. Science/Nature: learn about the history of dogs and the qualities of various different breeds of dogs: watch Dog, Eyewitness nature series, and Puppies (commentary about the characteristics of many different dog breeds), David Story (videos). Observation: "If you sit here you can see the glories of the universe" (about watching nature videos).
3. Spanish: story time at the library.
4. P.E.: park time.
5. Read Aloud: Magic Tree House #25, Stage Fright on a Summer Night (meet Shakespeare).

Thursday
1. Religion: pray Our Father and prayer intentions.
2. Science/Nature: watch Born Free (lions) and Magic School Bus: Busasaurus (dinosaurs) videos. Observations: "There are more plant-eaters than meat-eaters, you know." "Did you know that scientists can tell what kind of food dinosaurs ate by the kind of teeth they have?": make small models from modeling clay of a tooth from a meat-eater, and one from a plant-eating dinosaur (describe each); make model dinosaur leg and arm bones; show how they might connect; make a partitioned box with handle for the dinosaur "fossils".
3. Language Arts: read and answer exercises from Explode the Code (phonics): short vowels and consonant blends.
4. Math: put all the number tiles in order on the 100 board; observe the patterns of numbers in the rows and columns; skip count by 10s, 5s, 2s on the board; observe odd and even numbers to 100; look at individual number tiles (separate from the board) and name each number from 1 to 100 in random order.
5. Time: review hours, minutes, quarter hours and half hours on Judy clock; display the current time on the clock.
6. Reading: Dinosaurs (Scholastic Reader, level 2), Grace Maccarone.

Friday
1. Religion: pray Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, prayer intentions.
2. Spanish: phonics, spelling, alphabet, and vocabulary from: Super Star Series Spanish 1a with Phonics, Help Me 2 Learn (bilingual educational cd-rom). Make an illustrated Spanish word book including the animals: elephant, lion, seal, bear, giraffe, monkey, tiger, snake, hippo, kangaroo, bird, zebra.
3. Phonics: review all the sounds of each letter of the English alphabet and some spelling (on the bilingual Spanish program); Explode the Code 2: reading and distinguishing consonant blends and short vowel sounds.
4. Math: demonstrate and write the numbers 1111-1122 (with base ten materials).
5. Art: make a tiny person out of modeling clay.
6. Science/Nature: watch Magic School Bus Microbes (video); ask questions about microbes.
7. P.E.: soccer practice and parade.

2nd Grade Activities: Week 2

2006-09-02T18:46:00.000-07:00

Monday
1. Religion: read about Saint Augustine; read the Bible readings for the day; pray; visit a friend in the hospital.
2. Art: make a doll hat and food out of modeling wax; block printing; face painting.
3. Music: learn the song: "Shalom to my friends"; practice a round: "Row, Row, Row Your Boat"; sing and make up songs.
4. Read Aloud: Silly Stories to Tickle Your Funny Bone, Reading Rainbow;
May Belle and the Ogre, Bethany Roberts;
Addie's Bad Day, Joan Robins.
5. Math: read: ...98, 99, 100! Ready or Not, Here I Come!, Teddy Slater: compare counting to 100 by 1s, 5s, 10s, 20s.
6. Phonics: Explode the Code: consonant blends with r; review some consonant and vowel sounds (with flashcards, lower case letters), use each sound in a word (oral).
7. Reading: Finding Nemo: Best Dad in the Sea, Amy J. Tyler.

Tuesday
1. Religion: pray Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
2. Read Aloud: Magic Tree House #20, Dingoes at Dinnertime.
3. Geography: locate Australia on the globe; note that it is about the size of the United States; local geography: locate familiar items in the neighborhood and outlying areas from a scenic view spot from which you can see for miles.
4. Art: make a Pokemon toy out of colored wire; make a necklace.
5. Science/Nature: watch DK's Eyewitness: Cat: history, anatomy, habitat, behavior; learn about homing pigeons from Handbook of Nature Study, Anna Botsford Comstock; make observations about the usefulness of plants.
6. P.E.: soccer practice.

Wednesday
1. Religion: sing He's Got the Whole World in His Hands, and other songs from Veggie Tales Sing-Alongs: Bob and Larry's Sunday Morning Songs.
2. Math: take a K12 placement test.
3. Art: make a family of pom-pom dolls.
4. Read Aloud: Magic Tree House #21, Civil War on Sunday;
Nacho and Lolita, Pam Munoz Ryan;
Iris and Walter and Cousin Howie, Elissa Haden Guest;
5. History: learn something about the Civil War, slavery, Abraham Lincoln, and Clara Barton.
6. Foreign Language: Spanish story time at the library.
7. P.E.: park time.

Thursday
1. Religion: pray Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
2. Read Aloud: Magic Tree House #22, Revolutionary War on Wednesday;
Dinnertime!, Sue Williams.
3. Geography: locate Pennsylvania on U.S. map.
4. History: learn a little about the Revolutionary War and George Washington. Read aloud: Goin' Someplace Special, Patricia C. McKissack: a young African American girl faces racial segregation and discrimination in the South in the 1950s.
5. Science/Nature: "How many toes does a bear have?" Look up on internet -- grizzly bear and black bear tracks show 5 toes:
http://www.yellowstone-bearman.com/bears.html#ID .
6. Art: make a bear print and other artwork with rubber stamp kit.
7. Math: read about how to solve word problems in Addition Made Easy, Rebecca Wingard-Nelson; discuss place value and review addition of vertical columns: hundreds, tens, ones.

Friday
1. Math: again: "How many days until Christmas?" (Mom again describes the process of adding the days of each month until Christmas.); read The Great Graph Contest, Loreen Leedy, demonstrating how to ask a question, collect data, and turn the results into different types of graphs, diagrams, and pie charts.
2. Music: children's songs from Veggie Tales: Josh and the Big Wall!, Wiggles: Yummy Yummy.
3. Reading: Daniel's Pet, Alma Flor Ada. Read the sentences backwards -- interesting, challenging, funny, (and actually a good test of reading skills) -- her ida.
4. P.E.: soccer practice.
5. Read Aloud: The Lonely Doll, Dare Wright;
The Worm Family, Tony Johnston.

2nd Grade Activities: Week 1

2006-08-28T12:46:00.000-07:00

Monday
1. Religion: read about Saint of the day; pray.
2. Writing: write Mom notes.
3. Science: make paper tadpoles; play Sammy's Science House computer games, including weather, story sequencing, and classification of animals.
4. Handwriting: make a remote control, with buttons labeled STOP, CRAWL, FAST, GO, SLOW, SWIM, MOM, DAD.
5. Creative Writing: dictate a page of instructions for a "robot baby".
6. Math: "How many days until Christmas?" [from Aug. 19]: 128 days (counting) or 128 days by adding column of numbers (number of days in each month until Christmas). [Observation: adding the days in each month was much faster than counting each day individually.]
7. P.E.: swim class, park time.
8. Read Aloud: Magic Tree House #16, Hour of the Olympics.

Tuesday
1. Phonics: Play Reader Rabbit computer phonics games: CVC words; spell "bag", "cap", "hen" with tactile letters. Mom demonstrates (writes examples and sample words with) the lowercase letters: b, d, p, q.
2. Handwriting: practice upper and lowercase letters: a, e.
3. Math: aptitude test.
4. P.E.: swim class, park time.
5. Art: make 6 plastic spoon puppets.
6. Read Aloud: Mem Fox, Tough Boris;
A Gift from the Lonely Doll, Dare Wright.

Wednesday
1. Read Aloud: Magic Tree House #17, Tonight on the Titanic.
2. Math: telling time: read current time on analog and digital clocks, review number of minutes in hour and half hour, observe motion of hands on the "Judy Clock" (showing a mark for each minute, a number for each five minutes).
3. Science/Nature: watch Really Wild Animals: Amazing North America video: polar bears, wolves, alligators, rattlesnakes; observe and draw a moth.
4. P.E.: swim class, park time.
5. Spanish: attend Spanish story time.
6. Religion: attend Mass.

Thursday
1. Read Aloud: Magic Tree House #18, Buffalo Before Breakfast.
2. Sign Language: watch Signing Time!, vol. 3: Everyday Signs, and practice signs.
3. Math: "Mom, please help me count my money": counting nickels: learn to count by 10s to 100 (group nickels by 2s first, then observe the pattern 10, 20, 30, 40 on the hundred chart); count by 5s to 100 (oral -- noticing the pattern).
4. P.E.: swim class, park time.
5. Science/Nature: observe and draw dragon flies.
6. Foreign Language: asks to be taught some Greek: Dad writes the Greek alphabet. "Daddy, please can you let me repeat those a few times?" Copied some of the letters.
7. Geography: locate Greece on the globe. (These Greek interests were sparked by watching a silly Disney video).

Friday
1. Religion: pray.
2. Math: write the Roman numerals I to XV.
3. Science/Nature: watch Henry's Amazing Animals: Prehistoric Animals (video).
4. Creative Writing: dictate what sounds like advertising copy for the Amazing Animals video.
5. Reading: Chester, Syd Hoff;
Digby, Barbara Shook Hazen;
Row, Row, Row Your Boat, Joanne Oppenheim;
Two Crows Counting, Doris Orgel.
6. P.E.: soccer.

Homeschool Meme

2006-08-24T08:37:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged for a homeschooling meme by Studeo.

One homeschooling book you've enjoyed:
Homeschooling for Excellence, by David and Micki Colfax (the first and most interesting book I read about homeschooling). After this one I read every homeschooling how-to book my library system offered until the information became pretty repetitious.

Resources I won't live without:
Computer and internet
art supplies
car
library and interlibrary loan
globe
heavy duty stapler
3-hole punch
electric pencil sharpener (especially for colored pencils)

Resources you wish you had never bought:
none

Resources you enjoyed last year:
library
Some of the Montessori bead material shown here.
Weigh Too base ten materials (I don't see the exact product listed anymore).
a local homeschooling art class
Spanish story time at the library
soccer, T-Ball, swimming, ballet
educational videos on various subjects (library)
homeschool blogs and message boards
conversations with homeschooling parents about homeschooling
conversations with non-homeschoolers who are curious about homeschooling

Resources you'll be using this year:
Explode the Code books (phonics)
modeling clay and other art supplies
library
internet
math manipulatives
try EPGY for math
(charter school will pay for it -- it's expensive)
robot kit,
another robot kit

Resources you'd like to buy:
Story of the World
Latina Christiana
microscope
high speed internet access

One resource you wish existed:
Perhaps most of them exist already or could be created by one of us.

Homeschool catalogs you enjoy reading:
none (I don't get any)

One homeschooling website you use regularly:
Varies from year to year. It used to be Playschool 6 (Montessori homeschoolers). Now it is the 4 Real Learning board.

Learning Plan: 2nd Grade

2006-08-05T14:17:00.000-07:00

LANGUAGE ARTS: Practice reading. Study phonics, grammar, spelling. Parents continue to read aloud fiction and other subjects of interest. Handwriting practice: lowercase letters, numbers, sentences and short essays, stories. Creative writing: stories, poems, booklets, dramas.

MATH: Cover areas and skills recommended by the State standards. Use oral, manipulative, written, and computer-based approaches. Weights and measures. Telling time. Calendar. Money.

SCIENCE: Observation of nature: living and non-living things. Seasons and weather. Earth: oceans, mountains, rivers, ecosystems, North and South Poles. Solar System and space exploration. Human and animal anatomy. Botany, gardening. Build simple gadgets and machines. Study electricity, magnetism, molecules. Use library books, field trips, experiments, internet research.

SOCIAL STUDIES: Family and community. Our town, state, country, world. Cultural diversity and history. Government, including age-appropriate news, political discussions, reading, and research.

HISTORY: Local and state history. U.S. and world history. History as it comes up in music, art, science, and other subjects. Library books, museums, internet research. Use of a time line, history binder, or computer file for review, adding to it as various people and events come up in the study of other subjects.

GEOGRAPHY: Interest-based. Map work, globe and atlas. Incorporate with other subjects. Library books and internet sites about various places of interest. Learn while traveling. Local geography.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: Exposure to Spanish and Latin. Spanish story time at the library. Read simple bilingual Spanish / English books. Work on vocabulary for each. Use Spanish and Latin course materials and A/V materials for further study. Study of Sign language and Braille.

ART: Crafts, drawing, painting, sewing, sculpting, computer art, fine art study. Books, prints, museums, internet, classes.

MUSIC: Listen to music of various styles, periods, and cultures. Listen to children's songs, sing. Make up songs. Introduction to musical instruments: rhythm instruments, Melody harp, keyboard, recorder. Beginning music theory.

RELIGION: Prayer, Bible study, lives of the saints, catechism, CCD. Study Judaism and other religions. Church attendance.

P.E.: Soccer, swimming, hiking, dance, park time, T-Ball, tennis.

Immersion Learning

2006-07-12T10:31:00.000-07:00

She got interested in playing Monopoly when she watched older cousins doing so on vacation. So yesterday I bought the game and brought it home. (I probably haven't played it for 25 years, so I had to read the directions ;)

She wanted to play her own hand, so she had both the opportunity and the desire to practice math and reading skills.

We made her Assistant Banker, so she counted and distributed the money at the beginning of the game, selected and sold the right property out of a group of 2 or 3, and collected the money for it.

In the course of the game, she had to add up the dice, count the spaces to move her token, count out her money for a purchase, read the property card to collect rent, make change, and estimate whether she had enough money to buy houses to improve a property.

This turned out to be quite an immersion experience. I really didn't expect the attention span to play pretty far into the game (until bedtime). I really only expected that for the first game we would roll and count dice, move the proper number of spaces, and play with the game pieces :) . She previously has had very little experience with board games.

Here's a homeschooler for you

2006-07-11T09:06:00.000-07:00

We were on vacation for 10 days. Did a lot of playing with cousins, swimming, and even watching TV.

The moment we walked in the door at home, she had a snack, watched a Magic School Bus video, and set about to make a model of the Solar System. "How many planets are there, Mom?" "Usually nine, but I think they discovered a 10th." "Can I have 11 colored wires, 11 sticky tags, and some tape?"

I found a few web pages to refresh my memory about the planets while she took out some rubber balls, made some balls out of wire, asked for help labeling the planets, and attached them to a couple of clothes hangers. The sun is a yellow tennis ball.

We think the 10th planet's name is Quaoar (from an internet search) and included that one too.

This morning she woke up and asked: "What planet should we study today, Mom?"

So we will be off to the library to check out books about the Solar System.

1st Grade Activities: Week 39

2006-06-06T09:34:00.000-07:00

Monday (holiday)
1. History: attend Memorial day service at the national cemetery, including American songs and speeches by veterans and local community, government, and military leaders; discuss presence of a group of protesters outside, and the presence of policemen there; visit a relative's grave.

Tuesday
1. Science/Nature: make a simple catapult to throw stones into the water; observe a small spider.
2. Art: make a set of medical instruments to play veterinarian; watch How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way, Stan Oliver (DVD) and draw some characters; make 2 doll sized American flags; rubber stamp art; make a paper star sheriff badge for the Sheriff of Biggle Wiggle Eagle.
3. Music: listen to Haydn Piano Sonatas Nos. 11-16, 18; sing songs.
4. Creative Writing: make a poster for a fictional prairie town (dictate text): "Welcome to Biggle Wiggle Eagle. The cook is Mom. She will cook anything you want her to. The sun sets are beautiful. Sheriff is Dad. Explorer is Rose. You eat, nap, roundup. You eat, nap, roundup, listen to the radio. Biggle Wiggle Eagle is great! I love Biggle Wiggle Eagle!"

Wednesday
1. Music: listen to Beethoven Symphonies 1 and 6.
2. Science/Nature: observe and draw ocean, cave, rocks, mud, flowers, sunset.
3. Religion: pray; read short bio. of the saint of the day; read Bible readings for today.
4. Geography: read about the state of Iowa.
5. Read Aloud: Magic Tree House #1 Dinosaurs Before Dark, Mary Pope Osborne.
6. Art: make a clay model of the Pteranodon from the Magic Tree House book; "make a baby one too, and magnolia flowers for them to munch on."
7: Handwriting: write PTERANODON on a stand for the model dinosaur.
8. Spanish: story time at the library.
9. P.E.: run and play at the park.

Thursday
1. Religion: pray; read short bio. of the saint of the day; read Bible readings for today.
2, Math: ask "What does the second century mean?" Explain that a century is a hundred years. The first century is 0-100, the second century is 100-200, etc.
3. Read Aloud: Magic Tree House #2 The Knight at Dawn.
4. Music: sing made-up songs; attend choir rehearsal.
5. Art: clay creations: pink pig, doll items.
6. Reading: signs and chapter titles, read handwritten fragments in the Magic Tree House books.

Friday
1. Religion: pray; read short bio. of the saint of the day; read Bible readings for today.
2. Geography: watch American Road Trips: California, Hawaii, Alaska, a Travel Channel video.
3. Sign Language: watch Signing Time, Vol. 3: Everyday Signs video; practice and use the signs; sing a song from the video.
4. Read Aloud: Magic Treehouse #3 Mummies in the Morning, #4 Pirates Past Noon.
5. Math: put 29 Magic Treehouse books into numerical order (with a little help by first grouping them into 1-9, teens, twenties).
6. Music: listen to Beethoven, Sonata no. 5: "Spring", Sonata no. 9: "Kreutzer"; selections from Spin Doctors.

1st Grade Activities: Week 38

2006-05-29T09:09:00.000-07:00

Monday
1. Reading: The School Play, Rosemary Wells;
Doris's Dinosaur, Rosemary Wells;
Pie Rats Ahoy!, Richard Scarry.
2. Read Aloud: Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle;
Nurse Matilda, Christianna Brand.
3. Art: make a large Nurse Matilda figure out of a lamp; draw dogs, landscape, bird, angel.
4. Science/Nature: observe seedlings in garden that she helped plant and water.
5. Religion: pray; read short bio. of the saint of the day; read Bible readings for today.

Tuesday
1. Religion: attend Mass.
2. Handwriting: write: THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD. THERE IS NOTHING I SHALL WANT in a booklet.
3. Art: make Mass booklet with: cross, dove, Mary, Jesus.
4. P.E.: run and play with friends.

Wednesday
1. Geography: look at and read the names of various places on the globe: Alaska, Australia, China, Canada, America, Spain, Algeria; locate where we live on the globe; feel the mountains on the part where we live (America): Rocky Mountains -- notice that they span two countries, notice the Sierra Nevada mountains; feel the high Himalayas too.
2. Read Aloud: Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle.
3. Reading: Push or Pull?, John Parker;
People Build Dams, Trent Johnson.
4. Religion: pray; read short bio. of the saint of the day; read Bible readings for today.
5. Art: clay creations: "a climbing post where you grab an apple; actually, there is no apple, a clay fish that can swim in the river, a little clay dog, a target, a bow and some arrows, books, hearts, a little bird tucked under a blanket and a mat for it to lay on, a cave, with a rock and some treasure."
6. Spanish: story time at library.
7. P.E.: run and play at the park.

Thursday
1. Religion: pray; read short bio. of the saints of the day; read Bible readings for today.
2. Science/Nature: color and paste planets on solar system chart (labeled in Spanish).
3. Art: draw abstract sunsets (felt pen and oil pastels); clay creations.
4. Read Aloud: Lucille, Arnold Lobel;
Water Buffalo Days: Growing Up in Vietnam, Huynh Quang Nhuong.
5. Geography: read Maps and Globes, Ray Broekel.
6. Music: sing made up songs; attend choir rehearsal.
7. Reading: Olivia Counts, Ian Falconer.
8. Math: measurement: connect 3 long wires of different colors, then use this "measuring tape" to measure people and things: "You are 2 tall." "You are 2-1/2 tall."

Friday
1. Math: "How much is a thousand?" Watch demonstration of 10 hundred squares laid out in a row, then stacked into a cube; the cube is 10 units wide, 10 units high, 10 units deep (10x10x10=1000 [10 cubed]); sort and stack coins in order to count them; review value of each coin: penny, nickel, dime, quarter, dollar.
2. Science/Nature: astronomy discussion: "Why don't we see the stars during the day?" "Do stars move?" "Is the airplane next to the star?" "Is a star a ball of fire?" Name a constellation. Make a booklet with planets and stars on the cover and two pages with constellations.
3. Religion: pray; read short bio. of the saint of the day; read Bible readings for today.
4. Art: draw Lowly worm; rubber stamp and fingerprint art; paintings: frogs and fish in water; construction: a stick to rest on shoulders with 2 buckets to carry things.
5. Reading: Pie Rats Ahoy!, Richard Scarry;
Dr. Seuss's ABC;
Green Eggs and Ham, Dr. Seuss (read the whole book fluently even though we have not read it much or recently).
6. Phonics: in context of reading: qu=kw, ph=f, gh is silent in midnight; make words (short vowels and blends) with alphabet cubes.
7. Music: sing the tune Joy to the World; sing Daisy, Daisy.

1st Grade Activities: Week 37

2006-05-22T15:29:00.000-07:00

Monday
1. Religion: pray; read short bio. St. Isidore the Farmer and his wife, St. Mary de la Cabeza; read Bible readings for today.
2. Art: clay creations: robot and toys.
3. Handwriting: write the numbers 11-20.
4. Math: make up, write, and solve equations: 4+1=5, 5+1=6, 10+1=11, 9+1=10, 2+1=3, 1+1=2, 1+2=3 (all numbers correctly drawn).
5. Read Aloud: The Quicksand Book, Tomie dePaola;
Stuart Little, E.B. White.
6. Assisted Reading: Amanda Pig, Schoolgirl, Jean Van Leeuwen;
Tales of Amanda Pig, Van Leeuwen.
7. Phonics: phonics concepts in context, such as ph=f.
8. Reading: parts of Mickey Mouse comic book.
9. History: do two crafts from Little Hands Celebrate America, Jill Frankel Hauser: a scrap doll, simple model of a suspension bridge; read about Niagara Falls and Yosemite Falls from the same book.
10. P.E.: swimming.

Tuesday
1. Art: make another scrap doll from Little Hands Celebrate America.
2. Math: measure the diameter of a circle (7") in order to reproduce it.
3. Religion: pray; read short bio. of the saint of the day; read Bible readings for today.
4. Music: listen to Beethoven, String Quartets: Op. 135 in F major, Op. 131 in C sharp minor (CD).
5. Reading: Reader Rabbit's Interactive Reading Journey 1, books 33-37.
6. Read Aloud: Hank the Cowdog: The Case of the Swirling Killer Tornado, John R. Erickson.

Wednesday
1. Music: listen to Guillaume de Machaut, La Messe de Nostre Dame, Songs from Le Voir Dit (CD); sing Little Drummer Boy, America the Beautiful.
2. Art: clay creations: 4 lizards, 3 credit cards, clam with a pearl; a mechanical device for "shrinking things" (modeled after the one in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids).
3. Religion: pray; read short bio. of the saint of the day; read Bible readings for today.
4. Spanish: story time at the library.
5. P.E.: run and play at the park.
6. Science/Nature: visit the 4-H farm.

Thursday
1. Math: 5 colored wires plus one more equals 6 wires.
2. Read Aloud: Doris's Dinosaur, Rosemary Wells;
The School Play, Rosemary Wells;
Oliver and Albert, Friends Forever, Jean Van Leeuwen;
Mr. Putter & Tabby Make a Wish, Cynthia Rylant;
Amelia Bedelia, Rocket Scientist?, Herman Parish.
3. Assisted Reading: Pie Rats Ahoy!, Richard Scarry;
The Happy Hocky Family Moves to the Country, Lane Smith.
4. Religion: pray; read short bio. of the saint of the day; read Bible readings for today.
5. Art: draw Baby Hocky, draw a pig, make more "flies" for "fly fishing"; clay creations: bees; make a beehive for the bees, jar of honey, bee journal.
6. Music: attend choir rehearsal.

Friday
1. Science/Nature: dissect a daisy; ask questions: "What is an organism?" "What is yeast?" Discuss milking cows, and other aspects of pioneer life (as in Laura Ingalls Wilder books).
2. Art: make large wire character and a small wire doll; make another scrap doll.
3. Reading: chapter titles from Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle.
4. Music: sing Mary Had a Little Lamb.
5. Math: count to 30 (hide and seek); 3+3+2=8 (oral).
6. Read Aloud: Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, Betty MacDonald.
7. P.E.: swimming.

1st Grade Activities: Week 36

2006-05-15T12:39:00.000-07:00

Monday
1. Phonics/Spelling: Explode the Code 2, pgs. 9, 31, 35; make words ending in un and og with letter cubes.
2. Art: make erasers out of eraser clay: great white shark, goldfish, funny eraser guy, daddy snake; make Twiddle Bug family out of wire and clay; make a garden (flowers and cabbages) for the Twiddle Bug family.
3. Religion: pray; read short bio. of saint of the day; read Bible readings for today.
4. P.E.: run and play at the park.
5. Math: count backwards from 13 to 1.
6. Read Aloud: Stuart Little, E.B. White.
7. Science/Nature: collect flowers, petals, leaves, rocks.

Tuesday
1. Religion: pray; read short bio. of saint of the day; read Bible readings for today.
2. Math: oral: 2x2=4, 3x4=12; identify 10 random numbers from flash cards between 1-100 (some of them teens); watch demonstration: add 100 squares up to 1000; add two 100 squares, then add ten 10 bars up to 300; telling time: current time to quarter hour.
3. Art: clay creations: pie, cherries, blueberries, doughnuts, syrup bottle and syrup, wash basin, 2 small dogs, bone, Jolly (pet fish), Piglet, Tigger.
4. Phonics/Spelling: Explode the Code 2, pgs. 10, 11, 13 (read and make words with sk, sl, pl).
5. Read Aloud: The Berenstain Bears and the Bully, Stan and Jan Berenstain;
Baseball Ballerina, Kathryn Cristaldi.
6. Reading: 28 book titles from the back of the Berenstain Bears book.
7. P.E.: run and play at the park.

Wednesday
1. Religion: pray; read short bio. of saint of the day; read Bible readings for today.
2. Reading: Baseball Ballerina, Kathryn Cristaldi (Step into Reading, step 3).
3. Read Aloud: Blackberries in the Dark, Mavis Jukes;
Spot's Bedtime Storybook, Eric Hill.
4. Art: clay creations: food: ice cream, cocoa, toast, buns; "little bird, dolly bird, more birds, bread for the bird, clam, books, dam to wash dishes in, swimming pool".
5. Spanish: story time at the library.
6. P.E.: run and play at the park.

Thursday
1. Art: make a "fly" for fly fishing modeled after one in the book: Blackberries in the Dark; draw flower arrangement, palm tree, musical notes, horses, church and man; make clay creations:
2. Handwriting: trace the upper and lower case letters of the alphabet; take notes while attending a reception for a college professor; write first and last name.
3. Vocabulary: look up the word iridescent (from the description of the fishing flies): producing an array of rainbow-like colors.
4. Music: sing Christmas songs, learn the words; attend choir rehearsal.
5. Assisted Reading: Read Me a Story, Rosemary Wells.
6. Science/Nature: watch Secrets of the Bay: A Celebration of San Francisco Bay's Hidden Wildlife (video); observe and draw caterpillars.
7. Religion: pray; read short bio. of saint of the day; read Bible readings for today.

Friday
1. Science/Nature: build small models of T-Rex and Velociraptor dinosaur skeletons from a snap together kit; learn a little about them from accompanying book.
2. Math: write the numbers 1-6 for a list.
3. Music: watch Sound of Music video.
4. Art: make a "bottle" (box) by cutting and taping 6 rectangles together; label it VIKNENE BONE JUICE, a "medicine" for the dinosaurs' bones; dictate a list for directions for the medicine: 1. Buy, 2. Go home, 3. Roll the juice, 4. Pinch off a tiny bit and put the rest in the bottle, 5. Take a teaspoon, 6. Bone better. Read and follow the directions. The "juice" is made from modeling clay.
Draw cats chasing butterflies, Santa and sleigh.
Clay creations: Maria (from Sound of Music).
5. Creative Writing: dictate a story about a cat chasing butterflies.
6. History: watch Modern Marvels: Gothic Cathedrals, the History Channel.

1st Grade Activities: Week 35

2006-05-09T12:46:00.000-07:00

Monday
1. Religion: pray; read short bio. of St. Joseph; read Bible readings for today.
2. Art: rubber stamp art; make clay caterpillars, eggs, babies, flower; make 2 bead necklaces.
3. Music: sing the Our Father.
4. History: watch Great Moments in History: A Visit with Betsy Ross (video).
5. Science: handle and observe caterpillars and pill bugs; draw them.
6. Telling Time: 2:56 (on digital, then analog clock), 3:00, 4:00.
7. Math: make cubes from clay: discuss the differences between a cube and a square, how many sides each has, that a square is flat (2 dimensional), a cube is 3 dimensional.
8. Reading: In a People House, Theo. LeSieg.
9. Science/Nature: visit and learn about three newborn goats and two young pigs at the 4-H farm.

Tuesday
1. Spelling: sun, ant, bug with red and blue tactile letters.
2. Science/Nature: make a model incubator with plastic eggs to hatch baby chicks; magnetism: test magnet with knife, nails and paperclips.
3. Art: clay work: make a bowl of soup with peas, spaghetti, ham, and a glass of punch for Wirey (a model wire man); make chicks for the incubator, a flower, Piglet, a goat.
4. Music: attend the musical: Ruddygore, Gilbert and Sullivan; sing This Old Man.
5. Reading: Big Fat Hen, Keith Baker;
Five Little Chicks, Nancy Tafuri.
6. Religion: pray; read short bio. of St. Athanasius; read Bible readings for today.
7. Math: solve equations: 5+4, 4+5, 10+2.
8. Drama: pretend to be a veterinarian; make thorn, bandaids, etc.

Wednesday
1. Art: decorate a paper kite; make a cell phone, fairy, ant, 2 pigeons, Casper the ghost, Monkey King and lady monkey friend out of clay; look at Mary Cassatt's paintings online:
http://www.abcgallery.com/C/cassatt/cassatt.html
We studied her work in art class last session. (Thank you to the ladies at
http://4real.thenetsmith.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=4146
for the links).
2. Phonics: watch Between the Lions: Trains and Brains and Rainy Plains (video).
3. Music: write musical compositions of pretend notes; make a wire "banjo" and pretend to play compositions.
4. Reading: Bravo, Kazam!, Amy Ehrlich;
Green Grass, Joy Cowley;
My Little Sister, Philippa Werry;
The Clown, Karen Anderson;
There Is a Planet, Gavin Bishop;
Trucks, Rebel Williams;
Snappy Little Bugs, Claire Nielson and Dug Steer.
5. Read Aloud: Safe, Warm, and Snug, Stephen R. Swinburne; fairy tales;
The Clown of God, Tomie dePaola.
6. Handwriting: make a business card with phone numbers on it.
7. Religion: pray; read short bio. of saints of the day; read Bible readings for today.
8. Spanish: story time at the library.
9. P.E.: run and play at the park.

Thursday
1. Spanish: watch Stuart Little video in Spanish.
2. Phonics: Explode the Code 2: pgs. 3-4.
3. Art: lots of clay creations: ladder, pillow, blanket, cat dish, cat, butter dish, shelf, lamp, glass, plate with toast, books, curtain rods, Stuart Little, 4 ducks, pen, snake, squirrel, bag of oatmeal, bowl of oatmeal, sled.
4. Religion: pray; read short bio. of saint of the day; read Bible readings for today.
5. Read Aloud: Mickey Mouse Adventures 2, Darko Macan, Andreas Pihl, Francesco Artibani.
6. Music: attend choir rehearsal.

Friday
1. Art: clay and wire mesh creations: fish in a fishbowl, ruby in a box, 2 "feelers for the blind and the seeable with horses on them so they can guess what kind of animal", scoops of ice cream (4 kinds: rainbow, chickseed, crazy icecream, egg ice cream), baby bottle, baby rattle, baby Pebbles from Flinstones.
2. Religion: pray; read short bio. of saint of the day; read Bible readings for today; read and discuss Faith and Life 1: Our Heavenly Father, chapters 4, 5, 6.
3. Drama: play store.
4. Phonics/Spelling: Explode the Code 2: pgs. 5-8 (bl, cl, fl, gl); form clay letters, then make them into a sign: BLACK BEAUTY.
5. Read Aloud: Little Town on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder.
6. P.E.: T-ball game.

1st Grade Activities: Week 34

2006-05-01T13:42:00.000-07:00

Monday
1. Drama: perform in homeschool recital.
2. Read Aloud: A Child's Book of Art: Discover Great Paintings; Albert's Thanksgiving, Leslie Tryon; Thesaurus Rex, Laya Steinberg;
Maurice Maeterlinck's Blue Bird, Brian Wildsmith.
3. Art: draw monkeys in the jungle scene from Great Paintings; handprint art on steamed glass; make a paper turkey from the book Albert's Thanksgiving.
4. Reading: the Our Father from handwritten text;
Animal Sounds, Aurelius Battaglia;
What the Sun Sees, What the Moon Sees, Nancy Tafuri.
5. Religion: pray; read short bio. of the saint of the day; read Bible readings for today.
6. History/Folktale: Imani's Music, Sheron Williams (Summary: Imani, an African grasshopper, brings music to the new world when he travels aboard a slave ship.)

Tuesday
1. Read Aloud: D is for Dragon Dance, Ying Chang Compestine;
In My Heart, Molly Bang; several fairy tales from A Child's Book of Stories: Best-Known and Best-Loved Tales from Around the World.
2. Science: read Me and My Shadow, Arthur Dorros.
3. Handwriting: write phone number legibly so that a notebook could be returned if lost again.
4: Reading: read Baby Blues comic strip from the Sunday paper (13 panels with text).

Wednesday
1. Phonics: watch Between the Lions: Three Goats, No Waiting; The Ram in the Pepper Patch (videos).
2. Art: draw separate parts of an elephant to make a puppet with moveable head and legs; make a Twiddlebug from twist ties, and a cardboard box house.
3. Math: measure four equal lengths of string (for puppet).
4. Religion: pray; read short bio. of the saint of the day; read Bible readings for today.
5. Reading: Puppy, Steve Shott.
6. Read Aloud: The Twiddlebugs' Dream House, Pat Tornborg.
7. Music: listen to Mozart Horn Concertos (CD).
8. Library trip.

Thursday
1. Spelling: spell words with short vowels and consonant blends using letter cubes (blue for consonants, red for vowels, green for consonant blends).
2. Art: make a colored wire lamb, a large wire person with clay feet and hands, a colorful clay fish, cat, dog, rock, snakes, playing pieces for a game, make the game board to go with the playing pieces (hand-drawn on cardboard).
3. Phonics: Explode the Code 2: pgs. 1-2 (consonant blends with l); Between the Lions: The Lost Rock.
4. Reading: My Friend Goes Left, Barbara Gregorich;
Using Magnets, Margie Burton;
I Can Breathe Underwater, Pat Malone.
5. Read Aloud: Elizabeti's Doll, Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen (then make a "rock doll"); several fairy tales from Blue Fairy Book, Andrew Lang.
6. Religion: pray; read short bio. of St. Zita; read Bible readings for today.

Friday
1. Homeschool meeting; present projects and artwork.
2. Library day.
3. P.E.: run, skip, climb trees.
4. Arts and Crafts: draw a fish in aquarium; make a fishing pole and pretend to catch fish.
5. Read Aloud: fairy tales from Celtic Fairy Tales, Joseph Jacobs.
6. Reading: signs, book and video titles.

1st Grade Activities: Week 33

2006-04-24T14:05:00.001-07:00

Monday
(vacation)

Tuesday
1. Read Aloud: fairy tales from various collections.
2. Sewing: sew a button on a bear.
3. Science/Nature: test various objects to see which ones float; observe animals in the field: cows, horses, sheep, birds; watch two doves preening.
4. Art: drawings of pool and toys; rubber stamp art; draw a horse and Dino the dinosaur.
5. Handwriting: write notes to Mom and Dad.
6. Reading: signs on a trip;
Picnic, Phyllis Root.
7. Music: sing made-up songs.

Wednesday
1. History: read (twice): Landed, Milly Lee (picture book)
Summary from the book: "After leaving his home in southeastern China, twelve-year-old Sun is held and interrogated on Angel Island before being allowed to join his merchant father in San Francisco." Nice drawings, simple presentation of a real boy's journey and immigration experience.
2. Reading: Emily's Shoes, Joan Cottle.
3. Math: Easter eggs: group 8 paper chicks in 2 plastic eggs in different ways. Add the chicks in each egg and solve the equations: 1+7, 2+6, 3+5, 4+4, 5+3, 6+2, 7+1; telling time: hours.
4. Art: make twist tie animals to play with; draw deer, bee, chicks, butterflies, book and cartoon animals.
5. Science/Nature: watch A Day With Horses and Creepy Critters videos.

Thursday
1. Science/Nature: watch Bill Ny the Science Guy: Forensics (video); make and study fingerprints; attempt an experiment from the video.
2. Art/Science: draw bat, ants, silkworms, grasshopper, bees, butterflies, moths, snake.
3. Reading: Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop, David Martin;
Dr. Seuss's ABC.
4. Read Aloud: Baloney (Henry P.), Jon Scieszka;
Pigasus, Pat Murphy.
5. Religion: read short bio. of the saint of the day; read Bible readings for today.
6. Assisted Reading: Scaredy Squirrel, Melanie Watt;
Madlenka's Dog, Peter Sis*.
7. Library day.

Friday
1. Art: draw winged Pegasus; make a paper flower on a toothpick stem.
2. Cooking: make a milkshake: bananas, yogurt, juice, milk, syrup, jam.
3. Drama: sketch steps in a dance.
4. Religion: read short bio. of the saint of the day; read Bible readings for today.
5. Sewing: running stitch, repair small stuffed bear.
6. P.E.: practice bunny dance for a talent show.
7. Music: sing made-up song: "O let us proclaim Him".
8. Reading: The Puppy, Jane Buxton;
We Get Squished!, Philippa Werry.

1st Grade Activities: Week 32

2006-04-24T14:05:00.000-07:00

(vacation)

1st Grade Activities: Week 31

2006-04-12T14:51:00.000-07:00

Monday
1. Math: 5+4=9, 6+2=8, 0+15=15, 10+7=17, 10+8=18, 5+2=7, 5+1=6, 0+100=100, 4+3=7.
2. Art: Art Center Family Day: make a dolphin (clay) in a habitat (paper).
3. Science/Nature: read about dolphins and look at pictures online:
http://tinyurl.com/nsgfa
http://tinyurl.com/psrgs
http://tinyurl.com/m7fks
http://tinyurl.com/rw4bz
4. Music: singing; attend choir rehearsal.
6. Read Aloud: Benjy's Boat Trip, Margaret Bloy Graham.
7. Dictionary: look up the meaning of the word mobile (n.); find a place to hang up butterflies to function as a mobile.
8. Art/Handwriting: fill in a missing letter, draw, and label: GOAT, BOAT, DOG, PIG, CAT, BED, CALIFORNIA.
9. Relgion: attend a requiem Mass in Latin.

Tuesday
1. Art: study A Child's Book of Art: Discover Great Paintings again; draw another scene of monkeys in the jungle; make snail and other clay characters; make a habitat for the snail out of a cardboard box; make a rabbit mask.
2. Computer: type chat msg. to dad asking for 5 envelopes.
3. Handwriting: write names of family members on 5 cards to send to them.
4. Foreign Language: Braille -- after reading book; do online word puzzles; decode Braille characters and unscramble word to answer question; found and wrote the Braille letters for her name.
5. Read Aloud: Where Robins Fly, Anita Holmes;
Redwoods Are the Tallest Trees in the World, David A. Adler;
County Fair, Raymond Bial.

Wednesday
1. Music: listen to children's songs: On My Way to Sunday School (hymns).
2. Read Aloud: read from English Fairy Tales.
3. Computer: chat online with dad; learn to copy and paste text.
4. Spanish: story time at the library.
5. P.E.: park time.
6. Handwriting: copy fancy writing: NARNIA from cover of DVD.

Thursday
1. Art/Science: plan, make, and decorate a paper airplane from The Paper Airplane Book (Seymour Simon); practice flying it, modifying design, observing changes in flight.
2. Science/Nature: read Death Valley: A Day in the Desert, Nancy Smiler Levinson;
Switch On, Switch Off: a Let's-Read-and-find-Out Science Book, Melvin Berger, discussing magnets, coils, generators, circuits, lightbulbs, outlets, plugs, prongs, switches; watch Bill Nye, Science Guy: Dinosaurs, and Wild Animals videos.
3. Reading: What Have I Got?, Mike McClintock.
4. Music: sing about the paper airplane: Little Bird.
5. Read Aloud: Petook: An Easter Story, Caryll Houselander.
6. Art: make clay creations (people and animals); make mouse costume.
7. Drama: pretend to be a mouse.

Friday
1. Art: make 6 paper airplanes, come up with list of names, name the planes; make a paper butterfly with twist-tie antennae; cut and put together paper strips to make a paper chain to hang the butterflies on.
2. Science/Technology: fly paper airplanes.
3. Choreograph a dance: a different ballet step around each object laid out on the floor.
4. P.E. dance around objects in living room.
5. Music: Sing made-up songs.
6. Civics: discuss taxes and where our tax dollar goes: fire dept., police, roads, bridges, schools, libraries, etc.
7. P.E.: play T-Ball game.
8. Foreign Language: learn Braille online: http://www.afb.org/braillebug/Games.asp ,
decode the Braille letters for: panda, lion, koala, crocodile, parrot, rhinoceros, gecko, raccoon, cheetah, hyena, ostrich, gorilla.
9. Religion: pray; read short bio. of saint of the day.

1st Grade Activities: Week 30

2006-04-01T12:34:00.000-08:00

Monday
1. Religion: pray; read short bio. of St. John of Egypt; read Gospel for today.
2. Reading: Measure It, Gloria Bancroft;
Champions, Rebel Williams;
What Can Fly?, Brenda Parkes;
Legs, Miriam Frost;
Penguins ABC, Kevin Schafer.
3. Science/Nature: read and discuss North Pole, South Pole, Nancy Smiler Levinson; watch What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up? The Zoo Crew (video); chart temperature and time on a chart after running a fever.
4. Read Aloud: Oranges on Golden Mountain, Elizabeth Partridge;
Fishing, Diana Engel;
Not Yet, Elijah!, Harriet K. Feder.
5. Art: make a bouquet of paper flowers.

Tuesday
1. Religion: pray; read short bio. of saint of the day.
2. Science/Nature: videos: Pets: See How They Grow,
Nature Series: Kitten Companions,
Bill Nye the Science Guy: Forensics; care for garden snail.
3. Science/Technology: The Greatest Engineering Achievements of the 20th Century: The Golden Gate Bridge (video).
4. Phonics: Up With Phonics: Short and Long Vowel Sounds (video).
5. Math: making a small book: 1 sheet of paper = 4 pages; 3 sheets = 12 pages; 3 sheets x 4 pages each =12 pages for a book.
6. Music: singing.
7. Reading: read 6 pages of The Golden Picture Dictionary.
(More video learning on sick days.)

Wednesday
1. Handwriting: make tags (name and number) for stuffed penguin.
2. Art/Drama/Music: draw fish for the penguin, create a fishing game, fish and sing about fishing; then feed the fish to Lucy the penguin.
3. Science/Technology: watch mom unplug and very carefully disassemble the TV/VCR, unjam tape, and reassemble it [Hey, my dad and 3 brothers are engineers -- how hard could it be? I've watched them take things apart hundreds of times]. Tape unjamming was successful, hooray! Door operation was not. So it had to be done over again or we would be watching the same show for the rest of ... or until we upgrade to DVD ;) [now door is fixed too -- everything works again] (mini field trip -- inside the TV).
4. Economics: If we can't unjam the VCR, we will have to take it completely apart (break it), remove the tape to return to the library, and throw the player away. It would cost more to have it repaired (probably at least $100) than it would to buy a new VCR.
5. Civics: read a newspaper article about the sale of soda and junk food being prohibited in California schools. High school students are collecting signatures to get a proposition on the ballot to overturn the law. She said the students should make the choice whether to buy soda or juice. We read further, and there was more information about the law and its implementation, including other views. After reading the article, she decided that little kids should not have the soda and junk food available (let the parents decide what they eat and drink). For the medium-sized kids, let the teachers decide (somehow). For the teenagers, they should be given both options (healthy drinks and soda) and be allowed to choose.
6. Spanish: story time at the library.
7. Religion: read short bio. of today's saints.

Thursday
1. Religion: pray; read short bio. of the saint of the day; read Bible readings for today.
2. Reading: I Am a Little Monkey, Francois Crozat.
3. Art/Drama: make a monkey tail, and a banana out of colored pipe cleaners; monkey picks up items all around the room with her tail, peels the banana.
4. History: read Louis Braille: The Blind Boy Who Wanted to Read, Dennis Fradin.
5. P.E.: run and play at the park.
6. Geography: look at maps of California, U.S., and individual states; read some city and state names; play with puzzle pieces (states).
7. Music: sing songs.

Friday
1. Art: read A Child's Book of Art: Discover Great Paintings, Lucy Micklethwait; draw a monkeys in the jungle scene similar to "Tropical Forest with Monkeys", by French artist Henri Rousseau (1844-1910); wear the pipe-cleaner monkey tail again; create a character called Cyber Monkey; make sword, shield, and ring of keys for Cyber Monkey out of colored pipe cleaners.
2. Reading: read some of the captions in the book: Discover Great Paintings; read some text on a children's website.
3. Drama: play acting: Cyber Monkey kills the serpent (representing evil).
4. Music: singing.
5. Science/Technology: read from the book Footprints on the Moon, Alexandra Siy.
6. Read Aloud: from English Fairy Tales, F. A. Steel.
7. Math: demonstration: count to 12 by 1s, 2s, 3s; count to 15 by 5s; count to 16 by 4s; divide 10 items in half (into 2 groups): 5+5=10; another way to divide 10 into parts: 2+8=10; count to 20 by 2s.
8. Cooking: help make an apple pie.

1st Grade Activities: Week 29

2006-03-27T16:07:00.000-08:00

Monday
1. Music: sing a made-up song: "Wake up snail..." to her pet garden snail.
2. Art: visit Auguste Rodin statuary and art museum; look at projects in The Encyclopedia of Origami and Papercraft Techniques, Emma Callery: make 2 jointed shadow puppets.
3. Read Aloud: Kiss Good Night, Amy Hest;
Henry and the Kite Dragon, Bruce Edward Hall;
Alice NizzyNazzy: The Witch of Santa Fe, Tony Johnston, illustrated by Tomie dePaola.
4. Reading: McDuff Moves In, Rosemary Wells;
5. P.E.: T-Ball practice; run and play at park.
6. Religion: read short bio. of the saint of the day; read Bible readings for today.
7. Science/Nature: care of pet snail; observe wasps and nest in a tree; observe tiny ants climbing another tree; watch a video about kittens.
8. Math: calculations for making books: 6 pieces of paper will give you a 12 page book (6 pieces x 2 sides = 12); 10 pieces of paper will give you a 20 page book (10 pieces x 2 sides = 20); 5 pieces of paper will give you a 10 page book (5 pieces x 2 sides = 10). She settled on 5 piceces of paper (+ front and back cover [colored construction paper]). She wants to make a book for her art teacher about pandas.
[She wanted to know the teacher's age, but I told her it was not polite to ask a lady's age. She wanted the number of pages to match her age. I suggested 12, then 20 ;) . But she decided a 10 page book would be fine.]
9. Computer: email art teacher asking her what her favorite animal is and what her favorite color is in order to make her a book as a parting gift (last class of section).

Tuesday
1. Art: make origami paper animals [kit: Easy fold-by-number Wild Animals, Yasutomo & Co.]; decorate a homemade envelope; draw a snail, hearts, flowers; attend Discovering Great Artists class: introduction to American artist Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986) and her work; create a piece (watercolor flowers with oil pastel outlines) in similar style, present to the class; present 2 homemade books in front of the class.
2. Telling Time: review hours and minutes, hour hand, minute hand.
3. Geography: study a map of the Mediterranean in the book: The Travels of Benjamin of Tudela: Through Three Continents in the Twelfth Century, Uri Shulevitz (note some familiar places from past reading: Africa, Asia, Italy, Sicily, Greece, Egypt, Jerusalem, Rome).
4. Science/Nature: watch videos: See How They Grow: Forest Animals and The Magic School Bus Goes To Seed.
5. Music: singing, including trying to learn 1st verse of America the Beautiful.
6. Math: math number sequencing worksheet: teens; and 3 simple addition worksheets.
7. Read Aloud: June 29, 1999, David Wiesner;
Claire and the Unicorn Happy Ever After, B.G. Hennessy.

Wednesday
1. Religion: pray Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be; attend Girls' Group (class) at church: learn about Saint Bernadette, make blankets for orphanage.
2. Read Aloud: Here Comes Kate, Kay Chorao.
3. History: My Tour of Europe, By Teddy Roosevelt, Age 10, Ellen Jackson.
4: Reading: vocabulary game (read and place sticky tags around the room): chair, globe, shelf, fruit, table;
Our Grandad, Jillian Cutting;
Would You Like to Fly?, Rebel Williams;
Who Says?, Miriam Frost;
Hello, Hello, Hello, Jan McPherson.
5. Library trip.

Thursday
1. Religion: read short bio. of the saint of the day; read Bible readings for today.
2. Art: draw birds in a homemade book.
3. Science/Nature: make a book about 13 different types of birds; explain it to mom;
Observe birds (with binoculars): descriptions:
1st bird: "red head, tail tip blue, yellow breast, orange beak, black legs, medium sized bird";
2nd bird: "black with orange wings, black legs, small bird";
3rd: "also ravens: big birds".
March 23, 2006. 9:30 a.m. Weather: sunny, "not a cloud in sight, except for a baby one, partly cold, partly warm";
11:00 a.m. Weather: "it's all cloudy and there's no blue in sight. Actually it's beige-blue, so there is some blue in sight. Actually, I found the bluest spot";
Put together a journal to record drawings or information about birds.
Watch video: A Day with Horses;
4. Music: sing songs; attend choir rehearsal.
5. P.E.: run and play at park.
6. Presentation: present more books to art teacher.
7. Reading: "Are you sure you want to shut down your computer now?"
8. Read Aloud: Pocahontas Coloring Book, Brian Doherty.

Friday
1. Religion: pray.
2. Homeschool meeting.
3. Library time; use auto-book checkout station independently.
4: Drama: song and dance about the wind and snowflakes.
5. Reading: browse through children's dictionary;
read The Big Hill, Joy Cowley;
The Tree House, Joy Cowley.
6. Read Aloud: Colors Everywhere, Tana Hoban;
Just Me, Marie Hall Ets;
Abuela, Arthur Dorros;
7. History: read A Sweet Smell of Roses, Angela Johnson (Civil Rights movement).
8. Handwriting: workbook page: Bs and Ds.

1st Grade Activities: Week 28

2006-03-20T10:41:00.001-08:00

Monday
1. Phonics: "ar", "ck", short "a" sounds in context: reading cards to choose the day's activities.
2. Read Aloud: Tracks in the Wild, Betsy Bowen;
The Book of the Goat, Jack Denton Scott;
The Three Pigs, David Wiesner;
How Animal Babies Stay Safe, Mary Ann Fraser
3. Math: watch World of Geometry (video).
4. Science/Nature: observation while reading Tracks in the Wild: "The front is like a human's; the back is sort of like a duck" (describing the footprints of a beaver); model from clay: deer and footprints, snail; internet research all about deer: what they eat, where they live, their predators, their habitat.
5. Art: illustrate a book about Easter bunnies; make a deer in a scene (clay and drawings) with footprints and plants, trees, lake: habitat; illustrate a book about T-Ball and dogs at the park.
6. Reading: cards: Pack, Park, Art;
the books: Mouse TV, Matt Novak;
The Eensy, Weensy Spider, Mary Ann Hoberman.
7. Religion: pray; read short bio. of the saint of the day; read Bible readings for today.
8. P.E.: play at the park.

Tuesday
1. Science/Nature: read from The Book of the Goat, Jack Denton Scott.
2. Art: attend Discovering Great Artists class, introduction to American artist Alexander Calder (1889-1976), make art creations from wire, clay, and foam, including a cat and a trophy; present them to the class; present the deer in deer habitat created yesterday, tell about the book we read and the research to find out where deer live, what they eat, who their predators are.
3. Religion: pray; read short bio. of the saint of the day.
4. Read Aloud: The Great Egg Hunt, A.J. Wood;
The Children's Book of Heroes, Williamn J. Bennett.
5. P.E. play at the park.
6. History: read from Helen Keller: Out of a Dark and Silent World, Sandra H. Shichtman (includes historical photos).

Wednesday
1. Religion: pray; read short bio. of the saint of the day; read Bible readings for today.
2. Art: put together paper parts of a flower.
3. Reading: At the Park, Dr. Alvin Granowsky.
4. Read Aloud: Saint Ita, Ide Ni Riain;
Franklin's Pond Phantom, Sharon Jennings;
Just Call Me J.P., Jacqueline Sweeney.
5. Science/Nature: read from the book How Birds Fly, Nick Williams.
6. Spanish: story time at the library.
7. P.E.: run and play at the park.
8. Cooking: 4-H project: help prepare, set the table, and eat a pasta dinner, french bread, salad, chocolate-dipped strawberries.

Thursday
1. Religion: pray; read short bio. of the saint of the day; read Bible readings for today.
2. Phonics: ph = f, in phone, photograph.
3. Reading: Long Ago, Rachel Emmer;
A Windy Day, Robin Nelson;
The Three Pigs, David Wiesner (assisted);
Nursery rhymes: Hey Diddle, Diddle; Itsy Bitsy Spider; This Little Piggy; Pat-a-Cake; Hickory Dickory Dock; I'm a Little Teapot; Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star; Little Miss Muffet.
4. Science/Nature: read How Birds Fly, Nick Williams.
5. Music: sing nursery rhymes.
6. Art: sticker and felt pen designs.

Friday
1. Music: sing Old MacDonald Had a Farm, A-E-I-O-U, and made-up songs.
2. Religion: pray; read short bio. of the saint of the day; read Bible readings for today; read the story of Joseph from Genesis.
3. Phonics: do Lesson 4 of Tanglewood's Really Reading lessons (short and long vowels).
4. Reading: Mouse's Hide-and-Seek Words, Kathryn Heling;
Here Comes Silent e!, Anna Jane Hays.
5. Handwriting: practice writing Aa and Bb as shown on the video: Learn to Read with Phonics (shows how to pronounce all the letters [short vowel sounds], write them, and read them in context).
6. P.E.: attend ballet class.
7. Read Aloud: He Remembered to Say Thank You, Victor Mann;
The Kind Samaritan, Teresa Olive.

1st Grade Activities: Week 28

2006-03-20T10:41:00.000-08:00

1st Grade Activities: Week 27

2006-03-15T11:37:00.000-08:00

Monday
1. Religion: pray; read short bio. of the saint of the day; read Bible readings for today.
2. Art: make a Kufi hat from colored paper strips; make a paper retablo (cupboard); make Mexican Milagros ornaments (projects from Cultural Kaleidoscope Family Day at local Art Center); look at book of paintings by Raphael; make a paper shamrock doll; make a book about Robin Hood.
3. Phonics: discuss several vowel sounds.
4. Reading: read Latin words under chant notation;
read 2 math word problems from mathplayground.com ;
Noah's Ark, Sally Lloyd-Jones.
5. Music: sing made-up songs; sing the Our Father.
6. Math: read and solve 2 word problems online: 5+4, 3+4
http://www.mathplayground.com .
7. Handwriting: write GAMES.

Tuesday
1. Art: attend Great Artists class, introduction to Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944), create an piece in oil pastels while listening to Johann Strauss's Egypt March, Op 335; name the piece and present it to the class; present two books she created to the class, and several projects from the Art Center; draw flower family; create a space, art pieces, and type and print out labels for a home "museum"; draw paw prints: dogs and cats.
2. Games: make a scavenger hunt game; draw borders for clue cards, make up clues; hide items; make a gift certificate and a prize; draw 7 flamingos.
3. Music: sing made-up songs.
4. Religion: pray; read short bio. of the saint of the day.
5. Field Trip: Art Museum: observe paintings, sculptures, tapestries, statues, furniture: modern and classical; observe and sketch scenery: bay view with bridge; draw reflection of a figure reflected in elevator mirror.
6. Science/Technology: learn to select and resize type on computer.

Wednesday
1. Religion: pray; read short bio. of the saint of the day; read Bible readings for today.
2. Handwriting: write: PIZZA, GET WELL SOON, I LOVE YOU, DOG AND SKINK, THE END.
3. Art: illustrate a homemade book a dog and a skink (newt-like lizard -- we looked it up on the internet) titled "Dog and Skink".
4. Reading: read from a homemade book; read the titles of all the library books checked out today.
5. Phonics: sound out words to spell, reviewing sounds such as "qu", "sk", "ee", "oo".
6. Math: correctly identify the written numbers 1-19, 20, 30, 40, 50; with closed eyes, draw number tile out of a bin (1-100); name and demonstrate the numbers (with help) using 10 bars and single units: 6, 57, 85, 55, 70, 100; ask for 12 pages for book she is making: 6 pieces of paper x 2 sides each = 12 pages.
7. Spanish: story time at the library.
8. P.E.: run and play at park.
9. Read Aloud: Ronald Morgan Goes to Bat, Patricia Reilly Giff;
Snowmen at Night, Caralyn Buchner;
The Nursery Collection, Caroline Repchuk.

Thursday
1. Religion: pray; read short bio. of St. Frances of Rome; read Bible readings for today.
2. Art: create larger-than-life pink and purple cat (paper); draw various items and squirrels from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (video).
3. Science/Technology: search for and order kitten videos on library website (assisted).
4. Reading: Big Brown Bear, David McPhail.
5. Read Aloud: Big Susan, Elizabeth Orton Jones; comment: "This is the best book I've ever read!"
6. Music: sing made-up songs.

Friday
1. Music: sing made-up songs.
2. Art: make 2 twist-tie people, 2 birds, 1 bear; make a toy carpet (a facial tissue) with repeating patterns of green, red, purple bars of color and other decorations, such as cats.
3. Religion: pray; read short bio. of the saint of the day; read Bible readings for today.
4. Reading: read the words "See how mice grow"; "See how chipmunks grow";
Tabby Cat at Night, Phyllis Root;
Making a Hat, Kate McGough;
Worm Is Stuck, Kathy Caple.
5. Math: eat breakfast cereal, doing equations: 4-2, 10-3, 2-2, 7-3, 4-2.
6. Science/Technology/Nature: look up information about cats and kittens on the internet: specifically, looking for words to write describing cats; watch See How They Grow: Forest Animals (video).
7. Phonics: watch Learn to Read with Phonics (video).

1st Grade Activities: Week 26

2006-03-04T11:59:00.000-08:00

Monday
1. Religion: pray; read short bio. of the saint of the day; read Bible readings for today.
2. Math: work with 100 board, review and count printed numbers 1-100; count the days until Spanish story time on Wednesday; make hidden number drawings: 8, 6, 4, 2.
3. Technology: dial a friend's phone number and leave a message, including the return phone number.
4. Art: draw cats with food and toys; draw a credit card with a long number; make a book about panthers for a friend in the hospital; make a twist-tie snake.
5. Read Aloud: Favorite Children's Stories from China and Tibet; The Starlight Princess and Other Princess Stories.
6. Creative Writing: dictate a book about two panthers; illustrate the book.
7. Science/Nature: observe and care for snail and fish.
8. Music: sing made-up songs.
9. Reading: read The Black Panther, the book she wrote today.

Tuesday
1. Religion: pray; read short bio. of the saint of the day; read Bible readings for today; discuss fasting, prayer, and almsgiving for Lent.
2. Music: sing He's Got the Whole World in His Hands, making up verses.
3. Math: count unit cubes by 2s to 10, trade 10 units for ten bars, after 10 ten bars (count by 10s to 100), trade for a hundred square, up to 500 (ran out of 10 bars), count by 100s to "10 hundred" or 1000.
4. Reading: Edna's New Coat, Margaret Park Bridges;
Edna Bakes Cookies, Margaret Park Bridges.
5. Science/Nature: read from Paper, Chris Oxlade: about papier mache, Japanese screens, watercolor paper.
6. Art: attend Great Artists class, introduction to American artist Jackson Pollack (1912-1956), create an Action Painting piece; name it and present it to the class; present two books she created to the class.
7. P.E.: run and play at the park.
8. Music: listen to Mozart Horn Concertos (CD).

Wednesday
1. Art: make a book about Lent; draw reindeer, goat, hearts, birds, candles, wreath, crown of thorns; decorate an old CD with colored permanent markers.
2. Religion: pray; read short bio. of the saint of the day; read Bible readings for today; discuss fasting, prayer, and almsgiving for Lent; hang up links in a paper chain representing these deeds; explanation of art for Dad: "The cross means: God be with you in your dreams; the heart means: I love you; and the candle means: peace."
3. Reading: Johnny Lion's Book, Edith Thacher Hurd (assisted);
Biscuit Finds the Christmas Tree (homemade book).
4. Handwriting: write LOVE, GOAT PAPER DOLLS, MAKE A WREATH.
5. Spanish: story time at the library.
6: P.E.: run and play at the park.
7. Math: review hundreds, tens, and units places; use Montessori bead material: 100s, 10s, units to demonstrate various written numbers.
8. Latin: read the words of a Latin chant from printed music.

Thursday
1. Religion: pray; read short bio. of the saint of the day; read Bible readings for today; hang up links in a paper chain representing Lenten deeds.
2. Art: add drawings to a book she is working on.
3. Science/Nature: observe and sketch an ocean scene; observe footprints in the sand, behavior of waves and foam; observe a seagull flying, but not traveling far (flying into the wind); observe and draw dogs.
4. Photography: take pictures of relatives.
5. Culture: eat with chopsticks; taste a variety of Chinese dishes.
6. Reading: My Bed Is Soft, Stewart Gardiner;
Up, Down, and All Around, Sharon Street;
Measuring Time, Margie Burton (assisted).
7: Music: make up a she goes: a long sung composition with variations in rhythm and melody based on a few words.

Friday
1. Religion: pray; read short bio. of the saint of the day; read Bible readings for today; watch The Song of Bernadette (video).
2. Music: sing made-up songs.
3. P.E.: ballet class.
4. Art: make a shamrock paper doll.
5. Telling Time: name hours in the day from the book, Measuring Time.
6. Read Aloud: Abagail Takes the Wheel, Avi;
Favorite Children's Stories from China and Tibet;
The Children's Book of Heroes.

1st Grade Activities: Week 25

2006-02-25T11:05:00.000-08:00

Monday
(Presidents' Day holiday)

Tuesday
1. Science/Nature: The Magic School Bus Gets Planted: Helping a Tiny Sprout Grow Tall (video).
2. History: look at interactive portrait: http://www.georgewashington.si.edu/portrait/index.html: George Washington stands before you in a full-length portrait by Gilbert Stuart (1796).
3. P.E.: skipping, dancing, run and play at park.
4. Art: attend Discovering Great Artists class: study works of Claude Monet (1840-1926); make a Value Scale out of various shades from one color of clay (mix with white to produce variations in shade); paint water using various shades of color; draw, cut out, and paste water lillies on the water; draw a Japanese-style bridge over pond; present works to parents at home.
5. Handwriting: label drawings.
6. Music: attend a Music Together class: singing, dancing, play instruments.
7. Read Aloud: Indian Fairy Tales, Joseph Jacobs;
The Hat, Jan Brett.

Wednesday
1. Phonics: do three pages of Tanglewood's Really Reading! (short vowel review).
2. Reading: Here Comes Silent e!, Anna Jane Hays;
Happy Birthday, Danny and the Dinosaur!, Syd Hoff.
3. Religion: pray; read short bio. of the saint of the day; read Bible readings for today.
4. Handwriting: practice lowercase letters: r, n, d, w.
5. Art: draw an American flag, valentines, comic strips, game cards.
6. Math: 5 rows of 10 are 50 stars (for American flag).
7. Music: sing made-up songs.
8. Read Aloud: The Starlight Princess and Other Princess Stories, Annie Dalton.
9. Drama: act out teaching, presenting and attending art class.

Thursday
1. Art: draw lots of cartoon polar bears; draw sweets for a picnic modeled after food in Voyage of the Dawn Treader; make twist-tie mouse, beagles; help draw and color a beagle; draw Rocko (a boxer dog).
2. Handwriting: letter a sign: POLAR BEAR LIBRARY.
3. Reading: Go, Dog. Go!, P.D. Eastman.
4. Religion: pray; read short bio. of St. Polycarp; read Bible readings of the day.
5. Telling Time: review the hours on the clock, and concepts of hour hand and minute hand.
6. Music: sing made-up songs.
7. P.E.: run and play at the park.
8. Read Aloud: Favorite Children's Stories from China and Tibet.

Friday
1. Religion: pray; read short bio. of saints of the day; read Bible readings for today.
2. Music: sing Winnie the Pooh songs.
3. Art: draw Piglet, Eyore, Eyore's daughter and wife, Pooh, bees, hive, honey, and honey pot from Winnie the Pooh: Imagine That, Christopher Robin (video).
4. Handwriting: write HUNNY. Try to copyfit on the honey pot.
5. Reading: read titles of videos from the library.
6. Science/Nature: observe, draw fish in tank, hermit crab; birdwatching: observe and draw crows and smaller bird.
7. P.E.: run and skip, monkey bars.
8. Library: independently request and order materials from the children's librarian.

1st Grade Activities: Week 24

2006-02-18T15:04:00.000-08:00

Monday
1. Art: Draw an owl, write OWL; make books: one about a baby sister cow, another about two dogs and their little girl owners: Dog Days has a table of contents, page numbers, and chapter numbers and titles.
2. Music: make up a song: "Why do I like to show art -- because I love art!"; follow words and notes in chant music.
3. Reading: read the word: "mountaintops" among others; My Five Senses, Aliki;
Walking Through the Jungle, Julie Lacome (assisted);
Ten Apples Up On Top!, Theo. LeSieg (assisted).
4. Read Aloud: Elvis the Rooster Almost Goes to Heaven, Denys Cazet;
5. Spelling: sounding out words to write in a book, sounds: ck, ch, ng, ay, oo, ie, ow.
6. P.E.: hiking, play with dogs; dance to Irish music.
7. Math: 5x2 = 10; discuss calculating number of pages for the book she is making (5 sheets of paper - 2 sides each piece).
8. Handwriting: number book pages 1-10; Chapter numbers.
9. Religion: pray; read short bio. of the saint of the day.
10. Science/Nature: observe several characteristics of the boxer breed of dog after playing with one.

Tuesday
1. Reading: The Story of Valentine's Day, Nancy J. Skarmeas;
Tickle, Tickle, Helen Oxenbury (assisted);
Making Patterns, Elizabeth Savage;
Making Raisins, Marvin Buckley;
To Work, Pauline Cartwright.
2. Read Aloud: There Are Monsters Everywhere, Mercer Mayer;
The Penderwicks.
3. Art: make valentines; draw square people; draw Wishbone the Dog and items for him to play with.
4. Handwriting: label the drawing: Wish Bone, Dog, Kibbles.
5. Social Studies: watch Mexico for Children: The Culture of Mexico video.
6. Spanish: attend an elementary Spanish class: review numbers, colors, directions, etc. (conducted all in Spanish).
7. P.E.: run and play at the park.
8. Religion: pray; read short bio. of saints Cyril and Methodius; read Bible readings for the day.

Wednesday
1. Art: pretend to make a vase with Play-Doh; use a "potter's wheel", "fire in an oven"; show a finished product (substitute a real vase); twist tie art: bunnies, birds, dogs, deer, mice, snake, flame for candle; stamp whale, turtle, kitty cat out of clay.
2. Music: watch Zin! Zin! Zin!, a Violin (video); introduction to instruments in the orchestra; rhythm; concepts of duo, trio, quartet, quintet, etc.; sing made-up songs.
3. Reading: Toad on the Road, Susan Schade;
Measure It, Gloria Bancroft;
Ants, Judy Nayer;
Duckling Days, Karen Wallace (assisted);
read the schedule for The Cauliflower.
4. Read Aloud: Blue, Philippe Dupasquier (a book about creativity);
Ten Play Hide-and-Seek, Penny Dale.
5. Science/Technology: read and discuss Flick a Switch: How Electricity Gets to Your Home, Barbara Seuling; do a couple of the experiements from the book.
6. Spanish: story time at the library; craft.
7. P.E.: run and play at park.
8. Religion: pray; read short bio. of saints Faustinus and Jovita; read Bible readings for the day.

Thursday
1. Religion: pray; read Gospel for the day; read What Is God Like? and Who Is Jesus?, Kathleen L. Bostrom (bilingual Chinese/English -- read the English text only).
2. Reading: I feel Angry, Kelly Doudna;
Tiny the Snow Dog, Cari Meister.
3. Read Aloud/ Phonics: Short a and Long a Play a Game and Short e and Long e Play a Game, Jane Belk Moncure.
4. Spanish: read Mi Perrito, Inez Greene.
5. Art: make twist-tie animals; make a ladybug from clay.
6. Math: "I have 2 twist-ties. May I have 5 more? I need 7. 2 + 5 = 7."

Friday
1. Religion: pray; read short bio. of saints of the day; read Bible readings for the day.
2. Music: listen to Beethoven 33 Variations on a Waltz by Anton Diabelli, Op. 120 and 11 Bagatelles, Op. 119; make up a song and dance about her "Goat Club".
3. Phonics: read Short i and Long i Play a Game, Jane Belk Moncure; discuss ck, sh, silent e concepts while reading; review all sounds of the letter o from phonogram cards; do two pages of Tanglewood's Really Reading!; spell the sh sound in fish.
4. Art: color an American flag in rainbow colors with animals and a peace sign for "Goat Club"; make valentines; draw people and pet animals.
5. Drama: ask how a headless horseman can be shown headless and later have his head back on: discuss photo, film, video editing.
6. Reading: Up, Down, and All Around, Sharon Street; three pages of Little Rabbits' First Word Book, Alan Baker.
7. Read Aloud: The Penderwicks.
8. Handwriting: label animal drawings: PETS, MOUSE, RAT DOG, CAT, GUINEA PIG, RABBIT, FISH, HORSE; write the numbers 0-9.
9. Math: solve 5+8.

1st Grade Activities: Week 23

2006-02-11T10:16:00.000-08:00

Monday
1. Science/Technology: "It seems to be a problem with the tape, not the tape player, because everything else works except Madeleine" (diagnosis of video player problem is correct); read about the SuitSat-1 project; look at world tracking map and log; listen to audio transmission clips; look at prep and launch pictures: suitsat.org, AMSAT, NASA, more.
2. Art: draw story boards: Jolly the Super Fish, including fish, newspapers, buildings, water, gravel, scenery, shark -- 10 pages; number the pages.
3. Reading: Turtle and Snake's Day at the Beach, Kate Spohn (assisted);
Honk Honk!, Anne Rockwell.
4. Read Aloud: Favorite Children's Stories from China and Tibet, Lotta Carswell Hume.
5. Sign Language: watch Signing Time! video; learn some signs; also make up some signs such as: drawing (verb), rocking chair.
6. Spanish: watch Spanish for Gringos video.
7. Sewing: straight line running stitch.
8. Math: solve flashcards: 0+0, 0+1, 1+1, 2+0, 1+2, 2+2, 0+3, 3+1, 2+3, 3+3, 4+0, 4+1, 2+4, 3+4, 4+4, 0+5, 1+5, 5+2, 5+3, 4+5, 5+5, 0+6, 1+6, 6+6, 6+5, 4+6, 3+6, 6+2, 7+0, 7+1, 7+2, 7+3, 7+4, 5+7, 7+6, 7+7, 0+8, 2+8, 8+1, 8+3, 8+4 (oral).

Tuesday
1. Art: attend Discovering Great Artists class: listen to presentation of works of Paul Klee (1879-1940); create a project in similar style -- portrait chalk drawing; present artwork in front of the class; present to the class the book of drawings about Jolly the Super Fish.
2. P.E.: run and play at the park.
3. Reading: We Play on a Rainy Day, Angela Shelf Medearis;
Sleepy Dog, Harrriet Ziefert;
Moving Day, Robert Kalan.
4. Read Aloud: Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs, Tomie dePaola;
Mama, Don't Go!, Rosemary Wells.

Wednesday
1. Art: watch Basic Cartooning video. Draw 2 pencil people, 2 ballerinas in different positions for animation; draw 7 Valentine heart people; illustrate a 13 pg. book about 2 squirrels: Michael and Leeah.
2. Science/Nature: watch How to Begin Birdwatching; play question box game: Q: What do bird's eat? A: "Breadcrumbs and whatever else they like to eat."; observation: "they use decoys (fake birds) to keep danger away from the eggs, and so that the eggs blend in/are camouflaged".
3. Reading: Hiccups for Elephant, James Preller (assisted);
The Twelve Days of Christmas.
4. Read Aloud: California Fairy Tales, Monica Shannon;
The Penderwicks.
5. Geography: watch The Rockies by Rail video.
6. Creative Writing: narrate the story of 2 squirrels: Michael and Leeah (oral).
7. Handwriting: MICHAEL AND LEEAH; STUCK; AH, HA, HA; CAT; DOG.
8. Spanish: story time at library and craft: make a cat from paper heart shapes.
9. P.E.: run and play at the park.

Thursday
1. Sign Language: watch Signing Time! vol. 2; learn more signs.
2. Social Studies: watch Mexico for Children: The Culture of Mexico (video).
3. History/Archaeology: watch The Seven Wonders of the World (video).
4. P.E.: run and play at the park.
5. Reading: Tiny's Bath, Cari Meister.
6. Read Aloud: In the Park / Vamos al parque, Kingfisher;
Molly's Store, Jacqueline Sweeney;
The 101 Dalmatians, Dodie Smith.
Franklin and the Tin Flute, Sharon Jennings.
7. Math: read Monster Money, Grace Maccarone.
8. Religion: discuss ancient gods versus the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Friday
1. Reading: review some words in Monster Money.
2. Art: draw circus fleas from Monster Money; draw a bird.
3. Religion: read short bio. of St. Scholastica; Bible readings for the day.
4. Reading: Clifford Makes a Friend, Normal Bridwell;
Our Heroes, Brenda Parkes.
5. Read Aloud: Saint Valentine, Robert Sabuda;
Saint Valentine, Ann Tompert;
St. Valentine's Day, Clyde Robert Bulla;
Who Dug This Hole?, Anita Holmes;
What's for lunch? Rice, Pam Robson.
6. Science/Nature, Art, Handwriting: look at a book about goats; draw several goats and items for the goats; write GOAT several times.
7. Spelling: Mom: "Now that you can spell goat, you can also spell boat, moat, and oat."; sound out and spell the word: sweet.

1st Grade Activities: Week 22

2006-02-04T13:32:00.000-08:00

Monday
1. Music: watch Reading Rainbow: Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin, filmed at Juiliard School of Music; watch orchestra of 8-18 year olds, and STOMP percussion demonstration included in this video, try similar style of percussion; listen to Machaut: La Messe de Nostre Dame and Songs from Le Voir Dit (CD).
2. Art: draw ant characters from Charlotte's Web 2; draw Lucy from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
3. Science/Nature: observe squirrel building a nest;
4. Reading: In My Bag, Belle Perez;
No New Pants!, Marcia Leonard;
Dan and Dan, Marcia Leonard.
5. Read Aloud: A Bed for the Winter, Karen Wallace;
Ten in a Bed, Jan Ormerod;
The Penderwicks, Jeanne Birdsall.
6. Spanish: watch Spanish for Gringos and Bilingual Baby videos.

Tuesday
1. Music: listen to Mozart: The Magic Flute and Piano Concertos 20 & 21; sing made-up songs.
2. Art: draw superhero pig and girl transforming into superhero from a Chinese cartoon.
3. Library: use library computer catalogue to search for items and order them: searched "dog video" and ordered Clifford; searched "the chronicles of narnia" and ordered a video of Prince Caspian; use express self-checkout system without assistance.
4. Reading: Time for Bed, Mem Fox;
*Come and Have Fun, Edith Thacher Hurd;
Happy Birthday, Thomas!, Rev. W. Awdry;
Pillow Pup, Dianne Ochiltree (assisted).
5. Read Aloud: Chickerella, Mary Jane and Herm Auch;
Grandpa Loves, Rebecca Kai Dotlich.
6. P.E.: run and play at park.
7. Math: estimate how many dog biscuits in a jar; add several items for purchase varying from .50 to $2.

Wednesday
1. Spanish: story time at library.
2. P.E.: run and dance.
3. Poetry: compose poem while making a bed:
"We work all day.
We work all night.
Our work is hot.
Our work is bright."
4. Reading: When a Bear Bakes a Cake, Jasper Tomkins (assisted);
Dinosaur's Binket, Sandra Boynton.
5. Art: draw girl, Super Pig, and newspapers; make an owl with paper collage.
6. Video: watch Prince Caspian.
7. Music: sing made up songs.

Thursday
1. Religion: pray Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be; attend Mass.
2. Art: draw chalk murals; make an illustrated sign: CAT CLUB.
3. P.E.: run, play, swing, scooter outside.
4. Reading: My Dog Talks, Gail Herman;
Rick Is Sick, David McPhail;
Where's That Duck?, Mary Blocksma (assisted).
5. Read Aloud: Fox Be Nimble, James Marshall;
Lucky Days with Mr. and Mrs. Green, Keith Baker.
6. Music: listen to polyphonic Mass.

Friday
1. Religion: pray; read short bio. of St. Blase; read Bible readings for the day.
2. Sign Language: watch and practice with Signing Time video, vol. 1 (first simple signs).
4. Handwriting: write THE CAULIFLOWER on the side of a homemade boat.
3. Art: draw two fish in a fish tank; draw and color little people to go in the boat; make a calendar for activities on the boat.
4. Reading: Captain Cat (assisted);
Annie and Bo and the Big Surprise, Elizabeth Partridge;
Emma in Charge, David McPhail;
read sign: CAUTION POLICE DOG on the back of a police van; "What does it mean?"; discuss police dogs, and dogs protecting their owners.
5. Read Aloud: I Am Not Going to Get Up Today, Dr. Seuss;
The Starlight Princess and Other Princess Stories, retold by Annie Dalton.
6. P.E.: ballet; run and play.
7. Science/Nature: observe birds and snails.
8. Drama: watch Voyage of the Dawn Treader; make observations about characters, plot, and costumes.

1st Grade Activities: Week 21

2006-01-28T10:23:00.000-08:00

Monday
1. Science/Nature: "What is an aardvark? Do aardvarks eat ants like anteaters?"; watch How to Begin Birdwatching (video); practice use of binoculars; review bird identification playing cards (Garden Birds Playing Cards, Heritage) and chart of birds local to our area; review drawings and pages in the book: Keeping a Nature Journal (Clare Walker Leslie, Charles E. Roth).
2. Telling Time: hours and quarter hours.
3. Math: play with manipulatives: 100 flats; review: 1 is 100, 2 are 200, 3 are 300, 4 are 400.
4. Spanish: watch video in Spanish: All Dogs Go to Heaven 2.
5. Music: watch Wee Sing in the Marvelous Musical Mansion (video); sing made-up songs.
6. Reading: Whose Hat Is It? Please, Wind? Puppies.
7. Assisted Reading: Sometimes I Wish; Jeepers Creepers.
8. Read Aloud: My Best Shoes; Henry and Mudge and Mrs. Hopper's House; Five Little Monkeys Wash the Car; Dog Breath: The Horrible Trouble With Hally Tosis; Crocodile and Hen; Good Night, Sleep Tight, Don't Let the Bedbugs Bite! The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood.

Tuesday
1. Art: attend Discovering Great Artists class; present book created last week following class project; learn about Paul Cezanne (1839-1906) and make a still art collage; present to the class; draw and paint a cat.
2. Reading: Polar Babies, Susan Ring.
3. Read Aloud: If You Give a Pig a Pancake, Laura Numeroff;
The Wind Blew, Pat Hutchins.
4. Computer: send IM message to Dad; look at how some secret codes work in book: The Secret Code Book.
5. P.E.: run and play at the park.

Wednesday
1. Art: draw a dog from A Kids's Guide to Drawing: How to Draw Dogs.
2. Phonics: watch Read Between the Lions phonics videos.
3. Reading: Hot Dog, Nora Gaydos;
A Trunk for Buck, Nora Gaydos.
4. Read Aloud: If I Ran the Circus, Dr. Seuss
5. Music: watch Wee Sing Musical Mansion (children's songs).

Thursday
1. Music: attend choir rehearsal.
2. Reading: *The Lunch Bunch, Margo Finch (assisted);
Biscuit Finds the Christmas Tree (handmade book).
3. Read Aloud: *That's What Friends Are For, Florence Parry Heide
4. Science/Nature: watch video about bears.
5. Art: outdoor chalk mural of the dream world from Sharkboy and Lavagirl video; draw Lavagirl.
6. P.E.: play with dogs.

Friday
1. Religion: pray; read short bios. on several saints: Paul, Timothy, Titus; read Gospel of the day.
2. Cooking: read, follow, improvise recipe for milkshake; measure liquids.
3. Art: draw butterflies; watch Basic Cartooning video (Mike Artell), draw a caterpillar. Video includes an explanation and demonstration of animation.
4. Language: watch video Clifford's Fun With Opposites: "The Pet Show"
5. Science/Nature: watch The Magic School Bus: Ready, Set, Dough (Chemistry -- It's A Piece of Cake) and The Magic School Bus: Butterflies! videos; peruse a book about paper: how it is manufactured, uses, properties.
6. History/Geography: read Ms. Frizzle's Adventures: Ancient Egypt, Joanna Cole
7. Reading: The Hungry Billy Goat, Rita Milios (assisted);
Do Donkeys Dance? Melanie Walsh (assisted).
8. Read Aloud: Arthur's Prize Reader, Lillian Hoban.
9. Music: sing made-up songs.

*best picks

1st Grade Activities: Week 20

2006-01-21T15:54:00.000-08:00

Monday
(Holiday)

Tuesday
1. Art: attend Discovering Great Artists class: introduction, viewing of compositions by Piet Mondrian (1872-1944); create a piece using similar style; present and explain the creation to the class; draw paper dolls of Narnia characters: Digory, Polly, Eustace, Jill, swords, shields, bows, arrows, rings, toffee.
2. P.E.: park time.
3. Science/Nature: view video about bears.
4. Reading: A Fun in the Sun Day.
5. Read Aloud: The Last Battle.
7. Math: handle new base ten materials. 10 stacked 100 unit squares makes a cube of 1000 units (blocks).

Wednesday
1. Religion: pray; read brief bio. of Blessed Christina; read Bible readings for the day.
2. Reading: Big Ben; The New Kid; Bugs! Bugs! Bugs!; A Brown Cow.
3. Assisted Reading: Curious George Rides; The Story of Saint Patrick's Day.
4. Spanish: story time at library.
5. Music: Wee Sing in the Marvelous Musical Mansion, children's songs (video).
6. P.E.: run and play at park.
7. Cooking: 4-H class: help bake a cake for Chinese New Year dinner: measuring, pouring, stirring, read ingredient list, sprinkle sesame seeds before serving, help set table, enjoy meal with class, clean up.
8. Read Aloud: Adventures of Frog and Toad; The Last Battle.

Thursday
1. Music: sing made-up songs; watch musical: Annie (video).
2. P.E.: run and play outside; observe a karate class.
3. Reading: Who Wants a Dragon? Bob the Builder: Muck Gets Stuck.
4. Read Aloud: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; Richard Scarry's: Nicky Goes to the Doctor; Peter Pan: Where are Wendy's Brothers?
5. Art: illustrate a book.
6. Creative Writing: narrate text of book: Rosae, based on a horse character from the art class creation earlier in the week.
7. Science/Nature: observe and draw 2 dogs and 2 cats.

Friday
1. Homeschool meeting.
2. Library time: select and browse/read some books.
3. P.E.: run and play.
4. Spanish: color and read Let's Learn Spanish Coloring Book.
5. Geography: watch The Rockies by Rail (video).
6. Art: draw 2 mice and some cheese.
7. Read Aloud: There Are Monsters Everywhere.

1st Grade Activities: Week 19

2006-01-14T14:26:00.000-08:00

Monday
1. Grammar: on-line madlibs stories identifying parts of speech such as nouns, verbs, adjectives (pbs.org/kratts/crazy/madlibs).
2. Reading: Where's My Teddy?, I Like Getting Dirty, I Like Growing Up.
3. Religion: pray; read short bio. of today's saints; read Gospel of the day.
4. Art: draw and color a speckled frog from the book: The Water Hole; color a cat, girl, and draw George from George Shrinks internet site.
5. Music: listen to Natalie Cole Christmas CD again.
6. Read Aloud: The Magician's Nephew.
7. Spanish: attempt to read some Spanish words in bilingual books; note that word order differs from the English.

Tuesday
1. Religion: pray; read short bio. of St. William; read Gospel of the day.
2. Art: make a cardboard coin (with picture of Ernie); write Ernie on it (copied from video cover); draw and color a pixie.
3. Handwriting: "Mom, I made my first lowercase r without tracing -- and it's perfect!"
4. Poetry: "Row, row, row.
Ho, ho, ho.
Santa comes to row,
in the lake of Socatoe."
5. Reading: What I See (emergent reader book); 10 Cut-Ups, Chickens, Peg and Ted, Willy's Wish (Bob books).
6. History: read The Statue of Liberty.
7. Read Aloud: Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp; The Magician's Nephew; Adventures of Frog and Toad.
8. Phonics: Bear Friends Learn to Read; Between the Lions: The Lost Rock (short "O" sound) -- videos; online books and concepts: starfall.com.

Wednesday
1. Religion: pray; watch Joseph, King of Dreams (video).
2. Spanish: story time; watch a fundamentals of soccer video in Spanish.
3. Art: story time craft; drawings in 4-H booklet.
5. 4-H meeting: respond to roll call; participate in games; listen to project reports; review member booklet; volunteer to sell raffle tickets in front of market.
6. Handwriting: label drawings in 4-H booklet.
7. P.E.: run and play at park.
8. Read Aloud: The Last Battle; Boss for a Day.

Thursday
1. Reading: Emily's Shoes; Bear Hugs; My Car; Best Friends; Get the Ball, Slim; Hop, Skip, Run.
2. Assisted Reading: Snakey Riddles.
3. Phonics: in context.
4. Art: draw people; twist tie characters; colored chalk drawings.
5. Music: sing made-up songs; write (pretend) musical composition on classroom chalkboard; attend choir rehearsal.
6. P.E.: run, skip, dance.
7. Religion: pray; read short bio. of St. Marguerite Bourgeoys.

Friday
1. Religion: pray; read short bio. of St. Hillary of Poitiers; Mass attendance.
2. Assisted Reading: Sammy the Seal; The Bunny Hop.
3. Read Aloud: Beauty and the Beast; Adventures of Frog and Toad; Railroad Toad; Where Fish Go in Winter; Look! I Can Tie My Shoes!
4. Music/Dance: watch Annie (Little Orphan Annie) musical (video); sing made-up songs.
5. Science/Nature: save apple cores for planting seeds; ask questions about growing an apple tree.
6. Art: drawings (pencil and pen).
7. Public speaking: sell raffle tickets for 4-H in front of market.
8. Geography: match state quarters to corresponding state on US map.

1st Grade Activities: Week 18

2006-01-09T16:17:00.000-08:00

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
Vacation

Thursday
1. Religion: pray; read today's Bible readings; read short bios. of yesterday's and today's saints; read Psalm 1.
2. Phonics: on-line work at starfall.com; watch Look and Learn: Bear Friends Learn to Read; Between the Lions: Little Big Mouse Starring the Short "I" Sound, Red Hat, Green Hat Starring the Short "E" Sound, The Lost Rock Starring the Short "O" Sound, The Lucky Duck Starring the Short "U" Sound (videos).
3. Reading: What Rose Doesn't Know, Dress Up, Spots, My Pal Al (short early reader books).
4. Assisted Reading: Three Stories You Can Read to Your Dog.
5. Read Aloud: The Magician's Nephew; Robinson Crusoe; The Water Hole.
6. Music: listen to Classical Kids Christmas CD; attend choir rehearsal.
7. Art: draw a duck, bunny, two cats; draw colored chalk mural on large classroom chalkboard and label: Peter Pan, Wendy, Michael, John, Captain Hook, Tinkerbell, Indian Camp; the Lost Boys, mermaids, Ma, Pa, Tick-Tock; make rock "puppet"; label a rock: "ROCK AND ROLL".
8. P.E.: run and skip.

Friday
1. Religion: pray; read short bio. of Blessed Andre Bessette; read about the creation of angels in children's Bible; make angel wings so a tiny doll can be St. Michael.
2. Phonics: Between the Lions: Little Big Mouse (short "I" sound) -- video.
3. Math: work with base ten blocks: addition.
4. Art: draw ballerina, cat, doll, whale: decorated with glitter pens.
5. Reading: Where Are Maisy's Friends?; Catch Me, Catch Me: A Thomas the Tank Engine Story; Bed Bugs (Bob Books).
6. Music listen to Natalie Cole, The Magic of Christmas CD.
7. P.E.: dancing.
8. Drama: play roles of gypsy, St. Bernadette, Mary, cat.

Weekend
1. Art: drawing; decorate Christmas door hanger with pens, glitter glue; make beaded ornaments: included sorting, counting, measuring, cutting, assembling according to directions; sketch deer at park.
2. Music: listen to Christmas music: Simply the Best Christmas Album (CD); listen to Orlando di Lasso: Missa Sesquialtera (live); Beethoven: Symphonies 1 and 6 (CD).
3. P.E.: run and play; scooter riding.
4. Phonics: Between the Lions videos.

Christmas Vacation

2006-01-09T16:00:00.000-08:00

During vacation there was lots of drawing, crafts, singing, drama, read-alouds, informal math, nature study, and conversation.