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Kindergarten Week 23
Feb. 27th, 2011 12:17 pmSince Karl had the week off from preschool, I hadn't actually planned to consider this a week of school. But it was such an educational week, I may as well! We went on two field trips, read books, and watched a lot of educational videos.
English
Erika finished reading African Animals and Jenius. She continued reading Dinosaurs Before Dark out loud, and started reading Little Horse on His Own silently. She thinks the chapters are way too short.
She also happened to read Fox in Socks out loud, and did the Nora Gaydos Cinderella play together with a friend. She practiced her Shakespeare lines, and did a bunch of pages in a new workbook. Some were writing exercises, some spelling, and some reading comprehension.
Math
We only did one page of our regular math curriculum this week, but Erika did do a bunch of pages in a workbook, played an addition game, and added up numbers when playing games.
Social Studies
In honor of Presidents' Day, I read out loud from What Your First Grader Needs to Know about the Revolutionary War and George Washington. We also read a bit from the encyclopedia on Abraham Lincoln.
I read out loud from Exploration and Conquest, continuing my American history read-alouds from last week. Erika will be going with me to Boston in April, so I want her to have some understanding of American history before we go.
I also read out loud from Afrika für Kinder Erzählt, which we got in the mail this week.
Science
We started off the week with a Lego WeDo session, building the drumming monkey. ( Picture of Erika with drumming monkey )
Both kids had a great time with that!
On Wednesday, we went to co-op and science class, both of which happened to be studying water. The theme at co-op was surface tension, while at science class the kids experimented with buoyancy.
On Thursday, we watched the shuttle launch on TV, which tied in very well with our field trip on Friday to the National Air & Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy center. The Space Shuttle Enterprise is located there, along with a Space Shuttle main engine, Spacelab, and other Shuttle-related stuff. Since we've recently talked a lot about the Apollo missions, the F-1 engine (5 of which are used in the first stage of the Saturn V rocket) was also nice to see. ( Picture of Erika in front of Spacelab )
On Saturday, we visited the rocks and minerals exhibit at the Natural History Museum. One highlight of that visit was getting to touch one of the world's oldest rocks -- 3.6 billion years old, if I recall correctly! We also enjoyed the earthquake and volcano exhibits, and just looking at many different kinds of rocks and minerals.
Throughout the week, we watched a few episodes of Walking with Dinosaurs. This afternoon, we're planning to do some work with an electricity kit. Obviously, a good week for science!
Edited to add: As an extra bonus, we did an activity involving yeast and a balloon. The point of it is to see that yeast releases gas when it grows. ( Picture of inflated balloon )
Art
Erika made a sticker mosaic, did general drawing, and rehearsed the Shakespeare play.
Music
Music was a weak point this week -- we didn't really do anything here.
Physical Education
We didn't do anything planned, but there was a lot of outdoor play.
Health
I read The Magic School Bus Explores the Senses out loud this week.
German
We didn't do our regular German work this week, but I did read aloud from our new Grundschullexikon. Erika did do her homework for German school, and attended her class on Saturday.
English
Erika finished reading African Animals and Jenius. She continued reading Dinosaurs Before Dark out loud, and started reading Little Horse on His Own silently. She thinks the chapters are way too short.
She also happened to read Fox in Socks out loud, and did the Nora Gaydos Cinderella play together with a friend. She practiced her Shakespeare lines, and did a bunch of pages in a new workbook. Some were writing exercises, some spelling, and some reading comprehension.
Math
We only did one page of our regular math curriculum this week, but Erika did do a bunch of pages in a workbook, played an addition game, and added up numbers when playing games.
Social Studies
In honor of Presidents' Day, I read out loud from What Your First Grader Needs to Know about the Revolutionary War and George Washington. We also read a bit from the encyclopedia on Abraham Lincoln.
I read out loud from Exploration and Conquest, continuing my American history read-alouds from last week. Erika will be going with me to Boston in April, so I want her to have some understanding of American history before we go.
I also read out loud from Afrika für Kinder Erzählt, which we got in the mail this week.
Science
We started off the week with a Lego WeDo session, building the drumming monkey. ( Picture of Erika with drumming monkey )
Both kids had a great time with that!
On Wednesday, we went to co-op and science class, both of which happened to be studying water. The theme at co-op was surface tension, while at science class the kids experimented with buoyancy.
On Thursday, we watched the shuttle launch on TV, which tied in very well with our field trip on Friday to the National Air & Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy center. The Space Shuttle Enterprise is located there, along with a Space Shuttle main engine, Spacelab, and other Shuttle-related stuff. Since we've recently talked a lot about the Apollo missions, the F-1 engine (5 of which are used in the first stage of the Saturn V rocket) was also nice to see. ( Picture of Erika in front of Spacelab )
On Saturday, we visited the rocks and minerals exhibit at the Natural History Museum. One highlight of that visit was getting to touch one of the world's oldest rocks -- 3.6 billion years old, if I recall correctly! We also enjoyed the earthquake and volcano exhibits, and just looking at many different kinds of rocks and minerals.
Throughout the week, we watched a few episodes of Walking with Dinosaurs. This afternoon, we're planning to do some work with an electricity kit. Obviously, a good week for science!
Edited to add: As an extra bonus, we did an activity involving yeast and a balloon. The point of it is to see that yeast releases gas when it grows. ( Picture of inflated balloon )
Art
Erika made a sticker mosaic, did general drawing, and rehearsed the Shakespeare play.
Music
Music was a weak point this week -- we didn't really do anything here.
Physical Education
We didn't do anything planned, but there was a lot of outdoor play.
Health
I read The Magic School Bus Explores the Senses out loud this week.
German
We didn't do our regular German work this week, but I did read aloud from our new Grundschullexikon. Erika did do her homework for German school, and attended her class on Saturday.