April 8 - 12

MATH

Preston:

Preston completed four assignments in his math book this week.  He also worked on math wrap-ups with addition, subtraction and multiplication to work on his speed with math facts.   

Marissa:

Marissa completed four assignments in her math book this week.  She is reviewing perimeter, time in minutes and money.  She also completed math wrap-ups for addition and subtraction.  

Caleb:

Caleb completed two assignments in his math book this week.  He is working on counting, matching numbers and simple addition problems.  

LANGUAGE ARTS

Preston:

Preston completed four assignments in his language arts book this week.  His reading fluency continues to improve as well as his spelling and grammar skills.   

Marissa: 

Marissa completed two assignments in her language arts book this week.  She read mini books from the beginning of the year to practice her speed and gain confidence in her reading abilities.  She also worked on spelling simple words using wikki stix for extra practice.  

Caleb:

Caleb completed two assignments in his language arts book this week.  He worked on the letter C and practiced making the letter C with wikki stix, play dough and other sensory materials.  

HISTORY (WORLD GEOGRAPHY)

Preston, Marissa & Caleb:

We flew to Asia this week and began our studies with the country of Japan.  We had SO MUCH FUN studying Japan that we may stay in that country for another week or two.  There were so many fun books and activities!  

We read some books about Japan.  One of our favorites was about a boy from America who moves to Japan.  It is called "The Way We Do It In Japan."  It was so interesting for the kids to learn how different it is to attend school in Japan.  We watched a really awesome YouTube video about how lunch is a subject in Japan.  The kids learn to prepare their lunch area, serve one another and clean up.  It brought up so much good discussion about how we can learn so much by cleaning and cooking and doing other chores as well as learning subjects in school.  

 

We learned to count to five in Japanese after reading a book called "Count Your Way Through Japan."  

We learned how to fold oragami boats (that had a step that looked like hats).  Marissa decided origami was fun and ended up folding all sorts of other things, including a little paper drawer that could hold her small markers.  Caleb needed a little more help so he and I made a sword out of paper (technically called kirigami since it included cutting and not just folding).  We had a great time and finished off the class with a Ramen noodle lunch that resembled a Japanese noodle meal.  We forgot the chopsticks though so everyone was sent home with an assignment to practice eating with chopsticks another day.  

TECH (BUILDING & ENGINEERING)

Preston:

Preston built an awesome "mech" this week out of Lego's.  He made it look just like another one he built from a Lego set.  It took him so much time using random pieces, but it turned out so great! The one on the left (white) is the official mech from a Lego set and the one on the right is what he built using random Lego pieces he had in his bins.  

Marissa:

Marissa built her Kiwi Crate this week for building and engineering.  She made a marble timer.  It was so cool!  Probably one of her favorites so far.  It was been played with and adapted by the whole family all week.  

Caleb:

Caleb built his Koala Crate this week.  His was on things that glow.  He made an adorable firefly out of a sock and played with it all week.  We also checked out some books from the library and did some more reading on fireflies and other glowing plants and animals.  So much fun!  

OPTIONAL (PE)

Preston:

Preston attended karate three times this week.  He is excited to learn new things and start working towards earning his orange belt. 

Marissa:

Marissa attended tumbling this week.  She sprained her ankle when she landed her whip so we may need to take a week off depending on how long it takes to heal.  Fingers crossed.   

Caleb:

Caleb attended karate two times this week.