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Kindergarten Week 11
Nov. 13th, 2010 10:05 amWe had a really good week of school, and I'm not bothered by the fact that we fell two pages short on what I plan for German. On the flip side, Erika did more writing than usual, in both English and German, and made great strides on her math drill.
Math
Erika started in on the Math Mammoth Subtraction 1 book this week. I feel that she already has a pretty good grasp on the concept of subtraction, as it's a subject we had covered in Miquon and MEP before switching to Math Mammoth Addition 1, so I'm having a bit of trouble figuring out exactly which pages to give her in the Subtraction 1 book. Thus far, I've given her some, but not all, of the early pages in the book, particularly those that focus on the use of a number line. She tends to make mistakes when using a number line, even when she knows the answer to the problem, because she loses track of how many "hops" she's made, or loses track of what the number line actually means. I'm happy to see that she's doing much better with the number line this time around.
She's also continuing to work in the Place Value 1 book -- I hold up a page from each and ask which she'd rather do.
She made a sudden leap in speed when using the Math Drills software. I think she finally started to get the idea that it was fun to compete with your own previous speed, and figured out how to focus better on it. It's funny that last week, I was noting that she wasn't improving, and now all of a sudden she's twice as fast.
English
Erika wrote a couple of thank-you notes for birthday presents this week, which I thought was great as a homeschooling activity -- a meaningful, necessary writing assignment!
She also finished reading Nate the Great and the Pillowcase, read Come Back, Amelia Bedelia!, and also enjoyed Mouse Mess while we were at the library. We mixed things up a little bit with bedtime reading this week to give me more time to read to Karl, so she did most of this reading with John. There was even an occasion when she read the directions on her math worksheet herself. Yay!
I'm really looking forward to the day when the written word "jumps out at her" in a way that makes it easier for her to read something for herself than to have someone read it to her.
Social Studies
We read a couple of books related to the "first thanksgiving" this week -- Giving Thanks and Tapenum's Day. I don't think Erika has a very good understanding of it all yet, but I'm sure she's getting something out of it. At our Earth Scouts meeting on Monday, we made some crafts inspired by Native American dress, and read Brother Eagle, Sister Sky.
On Wednesday, we made a collaborative map of the continental United States at our Kindergarten co-op, which was lots of fun. ( Pictures of map-making )
Each kid had four small maps showing things they were to draw or put on the map: a river, a city, a lake, and a mountain. They needed a fair bit of help, but everyone had fun and I think they learned something.
On Friday, Erika participated in the St. Martin's Day Lantern Parade at the German School, which culminates in a retelling of the St. Martin's Day story. ( Picture of the kids with their lanterns. )
She also continued her study of world geography with Anki. I added the continents to her study this week, since she had mastered the countries and flags she'd been studying. I need to decide what to have her learn next!
Science
We finished watching the Arctic Exposure videos this week, much to Erika's disappointment. She really loved them! We also watched the next episode of Life, on fish. We were amazed to learn that there are fish that can climb up cliffs, through waterfalls, to get to the pools at the top.
Erika also did an activity on metamorphic rocks, which involved making lots of little balls of Play-doh to represent individual rocks, putting them in a balloon, and smushing the whole thing under a pile of big books. ( Pictures of metamorphic rock activity )
Art
Erika received a game called Who, What, Where? Junior for her birthday, which provided lots of drawing entertainment. The game provides separate "who," "what," and "where" decks, and you have to draw whatever you get. For example, you might be asked to draw a zebra watching television in a van, or a peacock skiing in a canoe. The other players have to guess what you drew. In theory, you're supposed to time it and keep score, but we just had fun drawing pictures and guessing.
Music
We began studying Prokofiev with Classics for Kids this week, and listened to Peter and the Wolf. Erika did a great job of listening for the different instruments and telling us which animal was being represented.
Erika also had a piano lesson with John.
Physical Education
The weather was beautiful, so we went to the playground several times this week. One day, I took the kids and three of their friends to a playground 3/4 of a mile from the house, and was impressed at the lack of "are we there yet" kind of whining. It was a lovely walk along the creek.
This afternoon, the kids are going swimming with John while I go to a meeting.
German
Since Erika had finished book 2 of Einsterns Schwester 1 last week, she read the corresponding selections in the Lesespaß mit Lola book. She's really making good progress reading German. She also did seven pages in book 3, which isn't the nine we aim for, but it'll do.
She wrote thank-you notes to two of her friends in German, did her homework for the German school, went to her Saturday class, and listened to me read aloud in German from Am Samstag kam das Sams zurück. We are almost done with that book, maybe one or two more sessions left.
Math
Erika started in on the Math Mammoth Subtraction 1 book this week. I feel that she already has a pretty good grasp on the concept of subtraction, as it's a subject we had covered in Miquon and MEP before switching to Math Mammoth Addition 1, so I'm having a bit of trouble figuring out exactly which pages to give her in the Subtraction 1 book. Thus far, I've given her some, but not all, of the early pages in the book, particularly those that focus on the use of a number line. She tends to make mistakes when using a number line, even when she knows the answer to the problem, because she loses track of how many "hops" she's made, or loses track of what the number line actually means. I'm happy to see that she's doing much better with the number line this time around.
She's also continuing to work in the Place Value 1 book -- I hold up a page from each and ask which she'd rather do.
She made a sudden leap in speed when using the Math Drills software. I think she finally started to get the idea that it was fun to compete with your own previous speed, and figured out how to focus better on it. It's funny that last week, I was noting that she wasn't improving, and now all of a sudden she's twice as fast.
English
Erika wrote a couple of thank-you notes for birthday presents this week, which I thought was great as a homeschooling activity -- a meaningful, necessary writing assignment!
She also finished reading Nate the Great and the Pillowcase, read Come Back, Amelia Bedelia!, and also enjoyed Mouse Mess while we were at the library. We mixed things up a little bit with bedtime reading this week to give me more time to read to Karl, so she did most of this reading with John. There was even an occasion when she read the directions on her math worksheet herself. Yay!
I'm really looking forward to the day when the written word "jumps out at her" in a way that makes it easier for her to read something for herself than to have someone read it to her.
Social Studies
We read a couple of books related to the "first thanksgiving" this week -- Giving Thanks and Tapenum's Day. I don't think Erika has a very good understanding of it all yet, but I'm sure she's getting something out of it. At our Earth Scouts meeting on Monday, we made some crafts inspired by Native American dress, and read Brother Eagle, Sister Sky.
On Wednesday, we made a collaborative map of the continental United States at our Kindergarten co-op, which was lots of fun. ( Pictures of map-making )
Each kid had four small maps showing things they were to draw or put on the map: a river, a city, a lake, and a mountain. They needed a fair bit of help, but everyone had fun and I think they learned something.
On Friday, Erika participated in the St. Martin's Day Lantern Parade at the German School, which culminates in a retelling of the St. Martin's Day story. ( Picture of the kids with their lanterns. )
She also continued her study of world geography with Anki. I added the continents to her study this week, since she had mastered the countries and flags she'd been studying. I need to decide what to have her learn next!
Science
We finished watching the Arctic Exposure videos this week, much to Erika's disappointment. She really loved them! We also watched the next episode of Life, on fish. We were amazed to learn that there are fish that can climb up cliffs, through waterfalls, to get to the pools at the top.
Erika also did an activity on metamorphic rocks, which involved making lots of little balls of Play-doh to represent individual rocks, putting them in a balloon, and smushing the whole thing under a pile of big books. ( Pictures of metamorphic rock activity )
Art
Erika received a game called Who, What, Where? Junior for her birthday, which provided lots of drawing entertainment. The game provides separate "who," "what," and "where" decks, and you have to draw whatever you get. For example, you might be asked to draw a zebra watching television in a van, or a peacock skiing in a canoe. The other players have to guess what you drew. In theory, you're supposed to time it and keep score, but we just had fun drawing pictures and guessing.
Music
We began studying Prokofiev with Classics for Kids this week, and listened to Peter and the Wolf. Erika did a great job of listening for the different instruments and telling us which animal was being represented.
Erika also had a piano lesson with John.
Physical Education
The weather was beautiful, so we went to the playground several times this week. One day, I took the kids and three of their friends to a playground 3/4 of a mile from the house, and was impressed at the lack of "are we there yet" kind of whining. It was a lovely walk along the creek.
This afternoon, the kids are going swimming with John while I go to a meeting.
German
Since Erika had finished book 2 of Einsterns Schwester 1 last week, she read the corresponding selections in the Lesespaß mit Lola book. She's really making good progress reading German. She also did seven pages in book 3, which isn't the nine we aim for, but it'll do.
She wrote thank-you notes to two of her friends in German, did her homework for the German school, went to her Saturday class, and listened to me read aloud in German from Am Samstag kam das Sams zurück. We are almost done with that book, maybe one or two more sessions left.