Learning Log 17 (Jan 2nd - 6th)

This week for Science we learned about herbs in nature, by playing Wildcraft!  It's a board game that helps you identify plants found in nature, and how you can use them for a variety of problems.  The kids loved it enough to play it twice in a row.  We were all shocked by how much use there is for Dandelions and Stinging Nettle!

We also learned about what it's like to live in -25* weather.  The kids learned how to take care of chickens in those conditions and what to look for to make sure they're healthy and well taken care of.  We also did a few experiments with water in that temperature; timing how long it took a cup of water to freeze under those conditions (longer than expected, actually... about an hour), and what happens when you throw a pot of boiling water into the air (it turns into a cloud!).

A lot of time this week was spent playing in the snow, too (PE).  We built snow caves, and tunnels, did a lot of digging ourselves out, measured the snow often, and really had quite the workout just trying to get to the chicken coop!  And going back again with water jugs out to the chicken coop!

This week in History we found ourselves amongst the barbarians of ancient Greece, who were becoming more civilized.  We learned about the alphabet they used, and we learned about the life of Homer.  It took some time before the kids stopped laughing and making jokes about The Simpsons while we learned about his life.  We learned a brief overview of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and watched a clip about the Trojan War, and the Trojan Horse.  They colored some great pictures of that while they listened.

For Sign Language this week we focused more on understanding sign language.  We watched clips from our lessons and practiced seeing the words we've been learning used by the hearing impaired.  The kids said it was too easy, so I guess I should choose more advanced videos next week.
  

Our Family Read Aloud was Fablehaven this week.  We started book 2 in the series, and read from it nearly every night as a family, stopping often to define words they didn't understand.  Good quality time together reading a fun story.


Math:
Keira completed her review of all the times tables this week.  She's ready to move on to the next concept.  She did some chapters in her Life of Fred textbook.

Garrett learned more of his times tables facts, and took a test on the 4s.  He started learning the 11s, and did great practicing those!

Libby read some chapters from Life of Fred, and practiced her penmanship.  Her number writing needed a little attention.

William got out a white board and learned to write his numbers.  He insisted on practicing them often and was disappointed when it wasn't time to practice.  He also practiced writing them on an ipad app.



Reading:
Keira made more headway in her book, BFG. She's enjoying it!  Enough to read on her own without being reminded to.

Garrett is thoroughly excited to be back in the swing of things so he can read more from his Jedi Academy book!  He started the second book after getting it for Christmas, and was anxious to read from it every day.

Libby was sick often this week, but when she wasn't she did some reading lessons on Reading Eggs.

William spent every chance he could writing ABCs in his ABC workbook this week!  He was enthusiastic to get stickers and praise for every letter he finished!  He also practiced reading by putting a reading puzzle together with me, matching pictures with words.



In her spare time, Keira practiced Piano Maestro.  She must have put at least 3 hours of practice in on the piano this week!  Good Music practice!