This week it was Columbus Day week. The first day, Monday October 11, it was a holiday for most of the country, but we chugged along as we learned about Christopher Columbus. This way we can take off whenever one of us gets sick, there are extenuating circumstances, etc. Keeps us well on schedule.
ENGLISH
Son worked on dictation on page 6 of PLL, which took all week. It was long, but I broke it up into three pieces. He learned spelling in the process. He seems to like the challenge.
PHONICS
Lessons 13 and 14 orally together. I like the connections he makes while reviewing phonics, especially when it comes to spelling.
READING
Using Living Books Curriculum's excellent Columbus Day Holiday helper, on Monday he read aloud James Baldwin's Columbus And The Egg, a very short story that helped illustrate Christopher Columbus' character. On the remaining days we continued with King Arthur's Tales, and wallowed in the world of knights, spells, and chivalry.
LITERATURE
For read-alouds, I used the Holiday Helper's The Mutiny, by A. De Lamartine on Monday, which made us feel as though we were right there with Columbus on his exciting and suspenseful journey that almost broke out into mutiny. The remaining days we went back to Pinocchio, who, to our dismay, still hasn't mastered the art of listening and obeying.
HISTORY
SOTW Chapter 6, The Rise of Islam. We discussed Mohammed and his vision in the cave, Son narrated, colored a page of a Bedouin, and did the Five Pillars of Islam activity.
MATH
We're on Math Mammoth 1B now, and focusing on Place Value. Son worked on sheets p. 18-24. He kept practicing first with his abacus, then without. He's got a good grasp of it. Mental note: more of the computer games. Why is this so hard for me to remember?
NATURAL SCIENCE
This week, using BFSU, we discussed Vertebrates and Invertebrates, and arthropods. Son looked up crabs (arthropods) and animals with no skeletons (worms) in his Kingfisher's Animal Encyclopedia.
SPELLING
Keep on going with Spectrum Spelling. We reviewed Lessons 1-5 this week, and in the process refreshed Son's memory. I'm not sure this program is working, but I'm trying it out for a few months to see. This is the only curriculum choice I'm not thrilled about.
ART
We did Picture Studies of Vve Turgis' and others' paintings, and Son pointed out Columbus, Queen Isabella, and King Ferdinand. I really like the selections by Living Books Curriculum.
MUSIC
We keep reading about Tchaikovsky and getting a good picture of the man behind the music.
POETRY
In Poetry, I just read him and we both enjoyed Holiday Helper's poems about Columbus: Columbus and The Things That Haven't Been Done Before was one that we liked.
THEOLOGY
I read Jacob and Rebekah tricked Isaac and Jacob Has to Flee from the 365 Children's Bible Stories. Son was shocked that Jacob had to leave home like that, and how he tricked his father.
GEOGRAPHY
Hills, mountains and reliefs were part of our geography studies this week in Maps and Mapping.
HEALTH & SAFETY
Husband showed and discussed food-borne illnesses and raw meat bacteria, and how to take precautions while cooking meats. Son realized there was more to cooking, and how we as adults had to be careful in the kitchen.
SPANISH
Son copied a line from the Muzzy storybook, and and watched the Muzzy video to practice his Spanish. I also talk to him and ask him questions in Spanish, and reviewed vocabulary.
COPYWORK
Besides Spanish, using the Holiday Helper again, Son copied some neat passages from Columbus' own journal. Husband was able to chime in and say that the Spanish kept meticulous diaries on their voyages too. Columbus was Italian, but he was an admiral on a Spanish fleet.
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