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Archive for January, 2009


Posted on January 28, 2009 - by

Books We Love: Carnival of the Animals

 Carnival of the AnimalsA bit about the book…
While we had listened to a few of the movements from Camille Saint-Saens’s “Carnival of the Animals” (specifically Yo Yo Ma’s performance of  ”The Swan”), Kate had never really appreciated it the way I wanted her to.  So, when I saw this book was at our public library, I decided to check it out and see if it would help her to fall in love with this clever composition.  From the moment we read the first pages and listened to the first accompanying piece, we were hooked!  Kate couldn’t wait until our next ‘school day’ when we could listen to a few more of the movements and read along in this book.

What we loved…
Barrie Carson Turner has done a fabulous job of commentating and setting the tone for this entire work of Saint-Saens.  The first few pages describe why Saint-Saens wrote the piece (although I’m not positive it’s historically accurate, it’s a very cute story) and then describes an orchestra, the different instrument families, and how they are all arranged during a concert.  A perfect introduction to the orchestra!  The illustrations, by Sue Williams, that accompany this are a great visual for kids to ‘see’ it all, too.  Turner’s descriptions of each musical movement and it’s corresponding animal are incredibly written so that you can easily hear the subtle nuances of each piece without getting bogged down in too much verbiage.

(Continue reading this article…)


Posted on January 27, 2009 - by

Year 0: Week 16

Our school days are Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 9:30am, when we return from dropping off Ethan at Mother’s Day Out. Each bullet point is a 5-15 minute period of time.

Monday:

  • Errand, cleaning day
  • Mommy’s book club

Tuesday:

  • History:  Watch the Inauguration of President Barak Obama
  • Lunch (1hr)
  • Literature: Kate’s choice
  • Independent Reading/Rest Time

Wednesday:

  • Story time at the Library (10:30 am)
  • Turn in old and check out new books (11:00 am)
  • Lunch (1hr)
  • Outdoor Play (1hr)
  • Literature: Library Books
  • Independent Reading/Rest Time

Thursday:

  • Pledge
    Weather: Record temperature, outside conditions
    Calendar: Write out weekend schedule
  • Phonics:  Phonics Workbook: short and long e sounds (pgs 4-5 )
  • Math: Addition/Subtraction Workbook: addition equations (pgs 2-3)
  • Artist Study: Pointillism: Katie’s Sunday Afternoon, by James Mayhew – great use of famous paintings by Seurat and others in a clever story line
  • History: Duck for President, by Doreen Cronin- Fun book about our democratic process starting with Duck holding an election to oust Farmer Brown as the leader of the farm he lives on.  (Wish we had read this during election time, instead of after the inauguration, but Kate seemed to ‘get it’ anyway.)
  • Grammar:  Dear Deer – A Book of Homophones, by Gene Barretta  - Awesome book about homophones – need watch age level, though, as a non-reader won’t get the double meanings of the all the homophones.  Of course, they would just enjoy the cute story line, if nothing else! :)
  • Natural History: All About Sharks, by Jim Arnosky  and  Tough, Toothy Baby Sharks, by Sandra Markle  (Kate’s most recent picks in the non-fiction aisles at the library.)
  • Lunch (1hr)
  • Outdoor Play (1hr)
  • Literature: Kate’s choice
  • Independent Reading/Rest Time

Friday:

  • Nature Walk

Posted on January 15, 2009 - by

Year 0: Week 15

Our school days are Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 9:30am, when we return from dropping off Ethan at Mother’s Day Out. Each bullet point is a 5-15 minute period of time.

Monday:

  • Errand, cleaning day
  • Mommy’s book club

Tuesday:

  • Pledge
    Weather: Record temperature, outside conditions
    Calendar: Write out weekly schedule
  • Handwriting: Finish writing out new monthly verse
  • Phonics: Vowel combinations (oo, ir, and ur) on foniks.org
  • Poem of the Month: Mr. Lion and His Sneeze 
    Verse of the Month: 2 Cor 5:17 “Anyone united with God gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life blooms!”
  • Math: Telling Time Flash Cards
  • Natural History: All About Sharks
  • Composer Study: Camille Saint-Saens: Carnival of the Animals (with accompanying children’s book) The Elephant, Kangaroos, Aquarium, Animals with Long Ears, Cuckoo in the Woods, Birds
  • History: 
  • Literature: Old Mother West Wind by Thornton Burgess: How Reddy Fox was Surprised
  • Lunch (1hr)
  • Literature: Kate’s choice
  • Independent Reading/Rest Time

Wednesday:

  • Story time at the Library (10:30 am)
  • Turn in old and check out new books (11:00 am)
  • Lunch (1hr)
  • Outdoor Play (1hr)
  • Literature: Library Books
  • Independent Reading/Rest Time

Thursday:

  • Pledge
    Weather: Record temperature, outside conditions
    Calendar: Write out weekend schedule
  • Phonics: Phonics educational workbook from Target – short and long a vowel sounds
  • Poem of the Month: Mr. Lion and His Sneeze 
    Verse of the Month: 2 Cor 5:17 “Anyone united with God gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life blooms!”
  • Math:  Graph letters in names – Write the child’s full name down. Ask the child to count how many “A’s” “B’s” “C’s” etc. are in his name. Graph the results. Try this with various family members names or even any silly word that your child can think of.
  • Sign Language: Review all signs
  • Artist Study: Georges Seurat on Starfall
  • Literature: Old Mother West Wind , by Thornton Burgess – How Grandfather Frog Lost His Tail
  • Handicraft: 
  • Lunch (1hr)
  • Outdoor Play (1hr)
  • Literature: Kate’s choice
  • Independent Reading/Rest Time

Friday:

  • Nature Walk

Posted on January 6, 2009 - by

Books We Love: Jane and the Dragon

Jane and the Dragon

A bit about the book…
We first were introduced to the characters of Jane and the Dragon during the tv show of the same name in the qubo block on NBC Saturday mornings.  Kate instantly fell in love with Jane, and the CGI by Weta workshops (think Lord of the Rings trilogy) was pretty cool, too.  We’ve since found the books and have enjoyed them even more.

What we loved…
Martin Baynton has found a fresh way to address character issues through this series.  In this book, the moral of the story is to follow your heart and do something unexpected.  By the end of the book, I was in tears as Jane, who was supposed to grow up to be a lady-in-waiting is able to finally become what she really wants to be – a knight.

(Continue reading this article…)


Posted on January 6, 2009 - by

Year 0: Week 14

Our school days are Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 9:30am, when we return from dropping off Ethan at Mother’s Day Out. Each bullet point is a 5-15 minute period of time.

Monday:

  • Errand, cleaning day
  • Mommy’s book club

Tuesday:

  • Pledge
    Weather: Record temperature, outside conditions
    Calendar: Write out weekly schedule
  • Handwriting: Write out new monthly verse
  • Phonics: Vowel combinations on foniks.org
  • Poem of the Month: Mr. Lion and His Sneeze 
    Verse of the Month: 2 Cor 5:17 “Anyone united with God gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life blooms!”
  • Math: Fishing Addition Game
  • Natural History: Snails Up Close and Pill Bugs Up Close (Kate picked out both of these books on her own at the library last week. She’s LOVING learning about bugs!)
  • Composer Study: Camille Saint-Saens: Carnival of the Animals (with accompanying children’s book) Royal March of the Lion, Hens and Roosters
  • History: 
  • Literature: Old Mother West Wind by Thornton Burgess: Mrs. Redwing’s Speckled Egg
  • Lunch (1hr)
  • Literature: Kate’s choice
  • Independent Reading/Rest Time

Wednesday:

  • Story time at the Library (10:30 am)
  • Turn in old and check out new books (11:00 am)
  • Lunch (1hr)
  • Outdoor Play (1hr)
  • Literature: Library Books
  • Independent Reading/Rest Time

Thursday:

  • Pledge
    Weather: Record temperature, outside conditions
    Calendar: Write out weekend schedule
  • Phonics: Phonics Scramble Game
  • Poem of the Month: Mr. Lion and His Sneeze 
    Verse of the Month: 2 Cor 5:17 “Anyone united with God gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life blooms!”
  • Math:  Telling Time
  • Sign Language: Numbers (0-10)
  • Artist Study: Vincent Van Gogh on Starfall
  • Literature: Jane and the Magician, by Martin Baynton – a great book about forgiveness (without actually using that word)
  • Handicraft: Get Ready for Kindergarten – Learn how to draw an apple (pg 56) balloon (pg80), kite (pg 104), dinosaur (pg 116) 
  • Lunch (1hr)
  • Outdoor Play (1hr)
  • Literature: Kate’s choice
  • Independent Reading/Rest Time

Friday:

  • Nature Walk