Weekly Wrap Up #7....

This week in first grade...

In Poetry..
We finished our Poem of the Month with a dramatic reproduction for Matt.  The kids really liked acting out each line of this silly Halloween rhyme, the daily rehearsals were as much fun as the main event.  For our poem of the week we enjoyed reading Old Old Witch. Our Silly Poem of the week involved a dinosaur hunt, and a bear in a cave.  Our pictures that we made reflected a scene from the poem.  I went with the bear in the cave (please notice the museum quality of my work), Ava decided that the dinosaur was a mama and drew her daughter, Cyrus chose the bear motif.

In Social Studies....

This week we covered the continent Asia.  SO large, and so diverse, it's obviously something that can hardly be covered in a week.  Our Asian continent box has quite a lot to go through, so starting there we then talked discussed a few interesting facts about the cultures while we played with the box.  My children absolutely loved trying the rice paper candy from China.  It could have (should have) been a week about candy.

I've decided to write a separate post (or posts) just to cover the content of the boxes.  More on that later.

In the Kitchen..

We made popsicles again this week.  The weather is finally starting to cool, but our afternoons are still highs in the 90s.  Ava chopped the peaches using a 'sharp' knife.  It was her first time using a sharp knife at home.

1 cup of Greek honey yogurt

~a bunch of chopped peaches (maybe three large?)

~a splash of orange juice

~a  bit of honey

Blend 'til smooth.

In Music...

We tackled the Jaw Harp.  Thought to be the oldest musical instrument, pictured in Chinese art dating back to the 4th century b.c..  We received ours as a gift from my sister.  We found lots of examples of people all over the world using this instrument on youtube.  Cyrus had the most fun experimenting with sounds.  (I think it's kind of uncomfortable)

In Art..
We talked about Japanese Sumi-e ink and wash paintings.  Using this guide, and black water colors we created our own simple creations.  Ava and I took inspiration from a plant cutting.  Cyrus decided to make "seaweed that lives under the ocean".  Perfect.

In Art Study..

We explored Summer House, Bayshore, by William J Glackens.  This is Ava's favorite painting so far this year.  She has been waiting for it much anticipation.  "I like it like it like it like it.  I like all the color and the way it looks.  The tulips, sky, trees and water, and houses are all very pretty.  I want to live there and I want to go there and find this exact place.  If I lived there I would play outside all day.  Unless it was too hot, then I'd wait then go back out."  This really was the most enthusiasm she has had for any painting.

In Science We..
We started talking about sound, air vibration and energy.  (This tied nicely in with the music lesson: the jaw harp, which tied in with the social studies lesson: Asia.  I love when things are serendipitous like this.)  I was grateful to have this book on hand (got it for fifty cents at the library!) , it has a wonderful little section on the human voice box.

In Math We... 
~ Started a new game called Corners.

~reviewed right angles
~build quantities 1, 10, 100 and 1000 in various forms
~reconstructed the quantities with base-10 cards
~laid out base-10 cards for various quantities
~matched place value cards with base-10 cards
~combine denominations by overlapping place value cards
~wrote large numbers

This week was really exciting for me.  We worked to get caught up after last week's slip, we had a allergy (maybe a cold) that slowed us down, and then rallied to get back to where we "needed" to be.  I know that part of the benefit of homeschool is not having to watch a calender or clock, but I also know that we are heading into cold and flu season.  Any thing we can make up now will save us in a few weeks when the inevitable hits our home like a brick.  I was really proud of how hard Ava worked, and how gentle the transition was.  It was time to work, we felt up to it, so we did.  I love homeschooling.