2nd 6 Week Conclusion

 Hannah has an amazing ear for music and will come up with rhythms and structures I never could off the top of my head, but reading notes is another story. She knows where the symbol coordinates with the keys, but she's not sot quick on which letter name it is. I figures this would be a good way to remember D. : )

 These two spend a lot of time together when Chloe is in school- this results in more frequent arguing between them, but they're still sweet.

 This week as I mentioned last week, we filled in some gaps. The kids are learning their first Psalm- The Lord is My Shepherd. We watched a couple of videos of shepherds and discussed how quickly the sheep respond when they see food or when they're called. This is how we should be to the Lord. A shepherd protects his flock and cares for them. They really liked the connection. They colored their own sheep and put them in the prayer corner as a reminder.

We also listened to Beethoven's Symphony No.6 "Pastoral"and acted out parts of the thunderstorm. For "beside the still waters" we listened to Smetana's The Moldau, which isn't exactly a still river, but that's okay. Chloe was able to discuss what about the music imitated moving water.

We had a memorable time learning about Archangel Michael. They learned a song and poem and each one got to play St. Michael as we walked around during the song and performed different actions. 

 We read several books Chloe had picked out of the library but officially started The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis. I wasn't sure they would follow since many words are above their age level, but from their questions I can tell they understand what's happening. I'm also trying to be as animated as possible : )

 The kids did a number of activities to reinforce different skills. Colin liked counting beads for this mancala board. I spent hours playing this game with my sisters.

We tackled a few science basics. We looked at beautiful portraits of many people from other cultures and discussed their differences. We discussed how we all have a different fingerprint. The kids had no idea they even had lines on their fingers, and I had to laugh when I tried to make their fingerprints because they were so tiny we could barely see. We used a light board and a magnifying glass to look further.

We explored the concept of wheels, ramps, and levers. First the kids each collected a toy with wheels and we talked about why certain ones rolled further than others. This wood floor makes a lot of these activites easier.

 Next I told them to each come up with their own ramp for their vehicle...while I took a shower. I wanted to see if they could implement the concept they understood on paper. Not so much! They all three came up with something interesting, but not quite a ramp. Hannah's was more like stairs.

Colin's was a drop-off (I was impressed he gave it a go!) and Chloe's had a stopper on the end.

The good thing about them getting it a bit wrong is that we got to learn to get it right together- that's way more fun. :)

A successful ramp.

 We've been using this lever quite a bit around here lately. They were happy they were finally allowed to touch the paint cans.

Finally we added the lever and wheel concept together with a dolly. Dax carries all his church binders around on this and it's usually in our way! I'm glad it got put to good use : )

That concludes our 2nd 6 weeks. I've got some unofficial school activities planned until after Thanksgiving. I just hope I can find the time to get them organized and to finally get this house finished up.
Thanks for reading!!