Time Flies!

Mimzy and I were discussing time today, and I ended up doing a small presentation with her to illustrate how much time there really was in a year. We started using red dots to show individual seconds, then increased to 60 red dots to represent one minute. I put the 60 red dots inside a black square to show it was one minute. Then I copied 60 representations of one minute to illustrate an hour. At this point I had to copy the entire hour in order to shrink it down to continue the lesson. We went on to show one day, one week, one month, and one year, shrinking when necessary. We tracked the seconds, hours, days, weeks, and year numerically. Mimzy was shocked when she realized the full scope of how much time was in one year! I also went on to explain numerically how many seconds, minutes, hours, and years she has been alive for. It was a fun lesson!

Week of 09/28/2014-10/04/2014

Mimzy had a blast watching the musical production of Aladdin Jr.!

Reading/Language Arts : Finished reading the Tale of Paddy Muskrat, and entering it into the reading journal. The poem we learned this week was "A Snail" by Maud Keary.


Math : Did problems involving even and odd numbers, and wrote down her 5 times table. She also practiced reciting her 2 and 5 times tables and did Splashmath.com once a day.

Social Studies : Read “Fair Exchange -- A Celtic Folktale" and drew a picture relating to the story.

Science : This week Mimzy collected leaves and  identified that they came from 9 different trees (The Ohio Public Library Information Network was an invaluable resource). She was then supposed to press them in wax paper, but we had a hard time finding wax paper, so instead she drew them. We also discussed laws of motion. We discussed how to measure and speed, how gravity affected speed, and how inertia worked. We also did some experiments relating to these topics.

Health : This week we discussed community safety, including how to help keep others safe and how to safely cross a street. We also made a list of where to go and who to talk to in various places we go regularly to find help if there is a problem or emergency. 

Art : Painting with "real" watercolors instead of the cheap dry palettes, also lots of drawing relating to her other assignments.

Music  : Learned lots of new songs to sing, and we also went to see the musical Aladdin Jr!

Craft : Lots of painting! Our big craft project was a bust since we couldn't find wax paper until the end of the week.

Extra : Karate lessons, Spanish lessons at Duolingo, and seeing the musical Aladdin, Jr. We also went to the library and she sat in on the story time sessions.

Week of 09/21/2014-09/27/2014

Reading/Language Arts : Continued reading the Tale of Paddy Muskrat, and entering it into the reading journal. The poem we learned this week was "Who is that singing?" by Maud Keary.

Math : Did several worksheets, including : counting money, telling time on an analog clock, filling in the missing numbers in subtraction, addition, multiplication, and a multiplication speed sheet. She also practiced reciting her 2, 5, 10, and 11 times tables and did Splashmath.com once a day.

Social Studies : Read “Bridget of Ireland" and drew a picture relating to the story.

Science : This week we researched natural cycles some more, focusing on natural rhythms in nature. We discussed things that changed in each season (to plants, animals, weather, sunlight) and she drew a picture showing some differences visually.

Health : This week we discussed personal safety, including what to do if you're lost, both in crowded areas and in isolated areas.

Art : LOTS of drawing and coloring this week. Mimzy has really started to show great creativity and interest in her art. 

Music  : Continued learning recorder. She also spends lots of time every day learning new songs, singing, and dancing!

Craft : Continued learning to crochet. Mimzy hasn't made a scarf yet, but she has had a lot of fun making various jewelry items and "ropes". We also started collecting fallen leaves for later craft projects.

Extra : Karate lessons, Spanish lessons at Duolingo, and a trip to the Art Museum to see an exhibit on The Art of Video Games! 

Week of 9/14/2014-9/20/2014

Reading/Language Arts : Continued reading the Tale of Paddy Muskrat, and entering it into the reading journal. Mimzy was getting a bit overwhelmed by how much she had to copy, so we also talked about breaking her work into easy-to-consume "chunks". The poem we studied this week was an old favorite of hers, "Rhinos Purple, Hippos Green" by Michael Patrick Hearn.

Math : Worked on mixed problems (+, -, x, ÷) in her journal. We also used Splashmath.com once a day, and played math games with Easy Peasy Homeschool.

Social Studies : Read “Columcille of Ireland”, and drew a picture about the story. We also discussed the part that Druid and Christian monks played in preserving our history and knowledge during the Dark Ages.

Science : This week we researched natural cycles. We made a chart to track her sleep, hunger, and energy level through the week.

Health : We did a review of the past 5 weeks' lessons. She also had a chance to use her first aid kit on an injury at the zoo. 

Art : Drawing and painting for other subjects, painting with tempera paints just for fun. She did a great job mixing basic colors (white, black, green, yellow, red)! 
Music  : Continued learning recorder.

Craft : Continued learning to crochet.

Extra : Karate lessons, Spanish lessons at Duolingo, and we also went to Homeschool Day at the zoo! Mimzy also got some first-hand knowledge of plumbing when she watched the contractor (who also homeschools, pleasant surprise!) replace our leaking tub.