Fun, Fascinating, and Frustrating From Week Four

Week four was a little slow, as we were just getting back into the swing of things from the kids' summer break. We were also trying out a new schedule, so we took it slow and just did the core subjects. So far, I am delighted with the schedule and the new way of looking at school. I can't wait to dive into the whole thing next week!

FUN: The new schedule! It has all the 'fun' things, the delightful things, that make a Charlotte Mason education about so much more then just books. Things like composer study, music, art, foreign language, and handicrafts. These riches we were adding into afternoons, trying to make time after lunch and stuffing them all in. It just wasn't working for us, for so many reasons. We were tired and wanted to do something else by then, and it just seemed to take up so much of the afternoon. Now, the riches are sprinkled throughout the school day. It is so relaxing to have it planned this way. I know it will all get done, it doesn't feel pressured, and we get to do harder stuff in between the delightful, relaxing things.

We also had a lot of fun having a designated outside time every morning. I have a book of old-fashioned games, like leap-frog and blind-man's buff, and I am playing them with the kids in the yard for a break every day. How fun!

A lovely pink camo pocket! 

Hailey decided her
kangaroo Katy,
(from the book Katey-no-Pocket)
needed a pocket. 

Mr. Lego Man

FASCINATING: The older kids enjoyed (yes, they really enjoyed!) their phonics review we are doing this summer. That surprised me! Abby loved her story from James Herriot's book. Caiden liked finally hearing the story of Henry VIII's six wives for himself, and Hailey absolutely adored Robinson Crusoe.

FRUSTRATING: Although I know in my head that school cannot get done before noon anymore, it is still frustrating to me. I know I cannot get all the kids through school at the same time, and some have to take turns, but I still feel behind if we aren't done by lunch. I expected each day to take 1-2 hours past lunch, but it is still frustrating to switch gears to something we aren't used to doing.

We also had some frustrations with grumpy attitudes getting back to work after vacation, but I expected that and was mentally prepared to deal with it. It also wasn't as bad as some times!

Learning to cast out nines

Math- She is graphing coordinates

Grade Three Ambleside Online Exams, Term 2

Wow, I just realized I had this ready a long time ago, but I never posted it!

Hailey always looks forward to exam time. She loves to see her words written down, and she always tries to remember the stories really well, especially the ones from several months ago. She did the oral exams, which I typed for her, and a math and reading test. I also had her do a page from a writing test, just to give her practice. She wanted to do more!

Hailey Snyder
Third Grade, Term 2 Exam
2-2014

History: Tell me about Guy Fawkes

   Guy Fawkes was part of a plot to destroy parliament. They sneakily found out where the parliament was going to have their next meeting and luckily there was storage containers under the building where parliament was having the meeting. Their plan was to get some gun powder and bring the storage containers and put the gunpowder inside one of the storage containers, cause the storage containers were under ground, and set it on fire.
   But that night they were found out and Guy Fawkes was the man who was told to set off the gun powder. And they took Guy Fawkes and all the gun powder away. And someone accidentally set off the gunpowder and it made a BOOM! But it didn't actually hurt anybody it just scared them. And they hanged Guy Fawkes for treason. Ever since that day they they had a celebration. They would make a man out of straw and old cloths and burn them. And here's a poem that goes with the story:

Remember, remember the fifth of November.

With gunpowder, treason and plot.

There is no reason gunpowder and treason

should ever be forgot.

Science: Tell what you know about volcanoes

   Well basically volcanoes are earth's way of letting out pressure. Inside of a volcano the magma which is lava not out of the volcano, builds up enough pressure and there is bubbles inside that pop but before they pop they like, all join up into a big, big bubble and then it pops and makes all the lava start rushing out and that's one of the worst kind of volcanoes.
   But there is a quiet volcano that people like to see. This one, the bubbles don't join up and they just go, “pop pop pop!” and fling up into the air with little chunks of lava and they get hard in the air and fall back down. Some of them are big and other are little dusts of sand. And some of the volcanoes don't even erupt lava, they just erupt dust and coals. The End.

Geography: What do you know about the beautiful city of Daidu?

   Daidu is not like our modern streets today. You could stand from one side of the city and look all the way down to see the last house in the city. So basically it's like a chessboard. And Daidu each house has it's own garden and courtyard. The Palace of the Mongols is one of the ones Marco Polo is greatly most interested about. In the king's room there is a throne for the Mongol king. 

THE MONGOL'S BIRTHDAY
   At the Mongol's birthday, everyone in the whole country comes to bring him presents. And anyone who has a present has to give him 90 of what they give him. They give him 90 white horses and other things. And in honor of the Mongol's birthday, they send a lion in and the lion bows before the Mongol king.
   And when the Mongols attack other places they were smart enough to use what the other people use against them as ideas of what they would do in the next battle. One time there was even soldiers mounted upon the elephant's backs. And the elephants were used as giant war horses. But then they scared the elephants away and when the elephants ran away the troops were falling off their backs so that didn't work. But then they used that idea for other battles.

THE MONGOL'S HUNTING PARTY
   The Mongol King decided that it would be a great idea to claim a bunch of land for his own just for the hunting. The hunting parties back then were nothing like the hunting parties now. The hunting parties back then they had animals do all the work. They had halfway tamed tigers but just so the tigers didn't get too mean they had a little dog living with each one. They have falcons and other birds taking down smaller birds in the sky. They even trained eagles to kill wolves. The way they did that is kind of gross. They went and put one of their foots in its neck and one of their foots in its back and used their beak to pull out its liver. The End.

History: How London was Burned

   The great fire in London. People make many tales about how London was burned. But the most possible is there was a baker and one of his pies burnt because his stoves were made of wood and their houses were made of wood. And the fire spread from town to town but at that time people thought it was bad but then afterward people looked back at it and said, “hey, they did us some good because it got rid of the black death and burnt up the sickness”. And it also burnt up the garbage let the sun in and it also made the people make their houses wider next time.
   But to stop the fire they were breaking down an old house so that the fire would burn itself up. But the destruction was too slow and they had to flee. But then they decided to use gunpowder and that stopped the fire. The End

Literature: Tell me one of the American Tall Tales

   Johnny Appleseed was a man and in that time there was not very many apple trees. And he bought lots of apples and took... and ate them and kept their seeds in a little bag and he went around making orchards. And he was good friends to the animals. And one time he was walking around in the snow and he found an old log he wanted to go sleep in so he went in the log and he found that there was something soft and it was a bear. But he was friends with the bear. And one time he was walking along and he saw a big brown wolf, and the wolf liked him. And he stayed with the wolf. And the wolf was his pet.
   And after he died everyone was sad but one time a mad came walking and he saw Johnie Appleseed alive and walking around and he saw there was animals all around him. And he got up and then he went across a rainbow to heaven. The End.

Science: Tell me about Tookehees the wood mouse

   Tookehees the wood mouse is a small fellow and if you want to see him, he just wants to make sure that there is no danger. If there is a hawk flying above him he will peek out and then look startled and then go back in his cave. And then he will wait awhile and then come back out. Because if you were a hawk or a fox you would think he had saw you and then you would just go away.
   And his diet is of nuts and seeds and other things like that. And Tookhees is very hunted by predators. Foxes and wolves and maybe even some birds like big hawks. But he's not safe in the water either. There are hawks in the sky, and foxes and other things on the ground, and trouts in the water. And a wood mouse that is not scared is one that is going to die soon. If it doesn't know fear then it doesn't know that anything will hurt it. So if you get near enough to a wood mouse and it's not scared of you, then you should teach it to be afraid. The End.

Artist Study: Tell about a picture from Degas

       The lady ironing.
   The lady ironing has a dress with an apron tied around it and she's ironing some nice shirts. She's wearing a light dress and shes in a room and theirs a mirror on one of the walls and its kind of medium sized and its square. Most of It is white.

       The ballet dancers
   In the picture it looks like they are behind the curtains.... are not drawn on the stage. And they are getting their shoes on and some are stretching and they have little nice tutus with lime green and hot pink. And they look like they are getting ready to go on a show. There are little fake trees that they are leaning up against that are going to be part of the show. There is about eight or nine dancers getting ready and there's one near the back and shes bending down putting her shoes on. Theres another one in the front and shes got her hand on a tree and shes doing a stretch. The end.

History: Your favorite story from Jamestown

The Powhatan wouldn't give the settlers food and so they decided to take Pocahontas and he would have to pay her for ransom. But instead of being like the olden days, mean people who were mean to their prisoners, they let her roam around the village. And one time she even met some girls that wanted to play dress-up with her. And they said to her, this is what the English people wear. Then they took her on a ship to another village and her father didn't pay ransom for a long time and the people at Jamestown hoped he didn't cause they really liked Pocahontas. The End.

Literature: Tell your favorite story from The Children of the New Forest

   How they discovered their ponies. Edward said, “I would believe that you have ponies when they are in the stable”. And then he went to his house. The next morning Humphrey said to Pablo, “we will catch the horses today”. He was like, “I know there's a giant pile of drift snow and that will be perfect for what we need to do”. And then he put hay there and the ponies went and grazed on it every morning. And then one morning they went there before dawn. And they told their dogs to be behind trees and stay quiet until the ponies came. And then the ponies came and they jumped out and the dogs kept the ponies from running away. And they pushed three ponies into the pile of drift snow and tied their forelegs. And then Humphrey tied the front leg of the pony to the ponies neck so whenever the ponies looked up its front leg would go forward. All the ponies were made to walk in that position till they got home. The End.

Bible: Tell me the story of Queen Esther

   One day the King Ahazueres was the king and one day he decided that he didn't like his other queen. And then he wanted to pick the beautifulest queen and he called all the fair maidens to come. At this time King Ahazuerus had taken the Jews prisoner. And Esther was one of the Jews. But Esther was the one he decided to be the queen. And then he said..... her uncle told her not to tell them that she was a Jew.
   But a man Haman wanted to kill all the Jews. So he sent out a letter that there would be lots of money to those that went and attacked the Jews in their homes. And then one day two door-keepers got angry at the king and set a plot to kill him, but Esther knew that the plot was coming because her uncle had told her so, and she warned the king.
   And she was told by her uncle to try to save her people. And she went into the king's room and everyone that went to the king's bedroom without permission would die unless he gave her the golden scepter.
   And then she said, “oh king please pardon me,” and then he gave her the golden scepter. And then she said, “please come to a feast I have made ready for you tomorrow night,” and he did. And then the next morning she said the same thing. And she told him, “my uncle the Jew told me that the men were going to kill you,” and then he gave her a pardon and she said, “can you send out a letter to all the Jews and tell them to beware for the person that will come kill all the Jews?” and he did, the end.

Science: Tell me about something you have observed on a nature walk this winter

       The snow geese
   The snow geese are white with orange bills and big webbed feet and they've got longer necks then ducks, and they feel safer on the water. And to keep their feet warm they stand up and put one foot up in their feathers and just stand there. And then to keep the other foot warm they just do the other side. And then when they want to do both feet they just sit down on the snow.
   And the reason they are white is in the home they are supposed to be, that helps them keep camouflaged from the predators cause where they are supposed to be there is always snow. They migrate because in their other home it gets too cold sometimes and here it gets too hot. Their wing span is really, really, really big and they keep their feathers nice and clean. And their eggs are huge! They were just hanging out and when they go to eat they fly out to cornfields and stuff, and eat grain and seeds. And they are vegetarian, and then when they come back the other geese that are on the lake go, “honk honk honk!” and they like to talk a lot. They very, very, very, rarely will eat bugs. The end.

Composer: Tell me something about Tchaikovsky

   Tchaikovsky was a man and he was a composer who made a lot of great music. And then he made the Nutcracker and the story was, there was a prince who was attacked by a mouse king and the girl's toy nutcracker turned alive and turned into a prince and saved the girl from the mouse king and took her away. And then they went to a castle and chocolate did a ballet, and coffee did a ballet. And nutmeg did a ballet, and all the nice things. And my favorite music was the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.

Literature: Tell a story from the Heroes (Greek Mythology)

       Cassiopeia
   Cassiopeia and her daughter were said to be the most beautiful mortals ever existing. But Cassiopeia was jealous and she told her daughter, “we're not just the most beautifulest of the humans, we're more beautiful then the gods and the sea nymphs”.
   But then, one of the sea gods heard her and was angered because she said she was more beautiful then his sea nymphs. And he sent a giant sea monster to raid the towns and anyone who came near to the shore would be swallowed and he would use his tail and splash it and the water would splash up and flood the towns.
   And the king went to the hermit and said, “how do I save my people?” And he said, “you must tie your daughter to a stone at sunset. The next morning the beast will awaken and take your daughter and then he will not raid your town anymore.” And he obeyed with much grief.
   But the next morning, Perseus saw her and fell in love at sight. And then he saw the monster coming and then he remembered that he had just killed the Gorgon and any mortal that saw it would be turned to stone. And he told the girl to turn away and she did. And then he pulled the Gorgon's head out of his sheepskin and the monster turned to stone. The End!

Science/ Geography: What causes the change of day and night?

   The rotation of the earth. It turns and Australia... it could be day easily in Australia and be night easily in the opposite side of the world. So what happens is. the earth turns, not its big circle but the little circle that the earth does.

Second Grade Exams, Ambleside Online Term 2

OK, so I haven't been keeping up with the weekly updates. We are now (obviously!) far beyond week 15. Here are Caiden's term 2 exams. I have never been able to video them and get the editing and all my hard work to save and post properly, so I did it the easy way this time. I was the secretary, these are his answers. 

These are selections from the things we have been learning about for the last 12 weeks. I get my exams, like the rest of our curriculum, from Ambleside Online. I may or may not post videos of him doing recitations of poetry and verses later. :) 

Caiden Snyder
Second Grade, Term 2 Exam
2-2014

Bible: Tell how Haman's evil plot was stopped

Mordecai, he was a good man and he was in one of the king's books about the best people that did good deeds, and he was in there. Mordecai was in there. But Haman wanted to kill him, hang him on a gallows about, what, fifteen feet tall or something! And then the king, he was like “What do you think I should make my favorite person?” And then, he (Haman) was like, (cause he thought it was him) and he said lots of really really cool things. And then when it was given to the other guy he was really mad about that and then he got hanged on his own gallows.

History: What do you know about Richard the Lion Hearted?

King Richard the Lionhearted traveled in lots of crusades. And one of the crusades to get some people back for taking the Holy Land, and then when they got there only... they went with 4,000 people but they didn't get there with very many cause it was such a long trip. And on the way back he got... he had to go through a town and he dressed up himself like he was poor and then one of them saw his gloves and he was like, “You stole gloves from the king?” And he was like no, I am King Richard. And then they went to the castle and they put him in a tall dungeon and he was not murdered there like most people were. And he was sent from castle to castle and he finally got let free. And then he finally went back. The end!

Science: Flitter the Bat

Flitter the Bat, he likes hiding in the... he likes hiding down in like, dark places to get away from the sun cause he does not like sun. And he will eat little bugs like wasps and bees or anything else he can get. His coat is black and you most likely will find him in caves. It doesn't fly like birds, it flies much faster and it does not glide.

Literature: Tell what you know about the Hill of Difficulty in Pilgrim's Progress

He was at the bottom and as he walked he fell asleep. Under a tree he fell asleep. And after that when he woke up he lost his scroll and then he walked on cause at first he didn't know that, and then, and he turned around after he figured out that he lost it and he went back and then he went back up and at the top of the hill there were two lions and he was afraid of them but a man told him not to be afraid of them but he didn't see their chains case they were chained up. And he asked to go in the house to spend the night and the other dude he said, (and this dude's name is Christian) then he yelled to a girl. The End. More to come.

Geaography: Tell about Greenland

It's very cold and even at summer time its a pain to grow anything cause its so cold and in the winter its even worse. There's vikings that discovered it and they decided to call it Greenland, I have no idea why. And their great-great- great-grandsons were like the Duke of Normandy and stuff. And the Blue-Tooth dude. Not much lives there cause they cant find much to eat. But there's like seabirds and stuff ….so the vikings they didn't stay there for long cause they didn't like it at all. The end about Greenland.

Science: Tell about a bird or a tree you have studied this winter.

American Coot
We were at Confluence park and we saw American Coots and they were not at all like ducks are, or geese, cause they didn't have webbed feet. They didn't have bills like ducks they have beaks. And so I think they got like, little tough stuff in the water like little minnows or something and they need a beak to like spear them like herons or something. They are black and their babies are red and white and black. And so I'm probably guessing that they were on land more then in water but hey still lived really close to the water and one time we saw a whole lot of them just going into the water.... and they really use a sort of, the only way they eat is by, they eat like ducks putting their heads underwater and pecking stuff under the water. Or else they eat grain and they have to use their sharp beaks to get up pebbles to help grind the food up. And they are a lot like birds that do not live near the water. The end.

Composer: Tell something you know about Tchaikovsky

He's a really good music player, cause he is a music player. Well his music is ballet music. He started by a piano, a piano class, and eventually he ordered a top secret music thing for a ballet called The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. And so he wanted to get that instrument by secret so no one would use it. (He is talking about an armonica, which that song was composed on. )

Literature: What was your favorite part of The Wind in the Willows?

The Mole and the Rat. Once they found the mole's house and they stayed in it. They were walking so they could try to find the rat's house. And then the mole remembered that he had left his house. So he told Rat all about that. And the rat remembered that and so he tried to look for it with him. And they found it, they found the mole's house! And then they went into it and some singer people came and they asked to eat with them. And they let them in. So they had a good day. And then they went to sleep. And then they woke up the next morning and they had a good day at the moles house. And they had a good breakfast. The End.

Artist study: Describe your favorite picture from Degas
It was a dance place and they were just learning, it was like a class, they were doing a class. There was a dude talking and telling them what to do, and there was people standing around and there was a door int eh back of the picture and they were just coming on or leaving. It was a bright day and they were near a window and it looks like their mothers and their fathers were there, well some of them, and it looked like they were just performing for their dad and mom. And the old man had a staff and was talking to them through the microphone.

Geography/science: Tell why the sun seems to move

Because we go around it. It stays in one place but we go around it. We orbit it, actually. Sometimes the moon and the sun, the moon arises too early and it gets over it. It's really rare and it's an eclipse.

Nature Study Notebook Pages

Guide
Border Pages
Flowers
Clover
Daisy
Dandelions
Orange Flowers 
Sunflowers
Summer Leaves
Fall Leaves
Insects
Spiders
Butterflies
Rocks

All files on this page are copyrighted and may not be used or copied for use outside of your immediate family. 

Please refer anyone interested to this site. 

Thank you for your understanding! 

State Study Notebook Pages

A-C

C-G

H-I

K-M

M

M-N

N-O

O-S

                  S-V  

                 V-W    

All files on this page are copyrighted and may not be used or copied for use outside of your immediate family. Please refer anyone interested to this site. 

Thank you for your understanding! 

Beatrix Potter Copybook Download

The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit

I love this sweet Beatrix Potter tale for the youngest listeners. It is very short, perfect for copywork! There are three versions for three levels of writers. The first is a beginning version, with the words over each line, like a handwriting book. The second has the words all at the top of the lines, for more advanced writers. The last version can be used by print or cursive writers who can do copywork from a separate text.  The word are on a separate slip of paper so only the child's writing appears in the story. Some of the pictures are black and white for coloring.

Beginning Book

This is the book for the beginning writer. Each word is directly over a line, for kids who still need help with letter formation. The model is on lines, to remind them how to write them correctly. Best for kids transitioning to writing longer words and phrases. 

Copywork Book

For the child who no longer needs reminders about letter formation, this copywork book has the lines for the child's writing after the sentences, rather then directly under them. This helps transition the child from letter-by-letter copying, an important step in learning to visualize words for spelling. 

Penmanship Book

This book is for the child who is ready for beginning copywork from a separate source. Since eventually they will be copying from a book, this helps them transition to looking at a different source for their model. This also helps encourage them to look at the whole word rather then writing letter by letter. 

 All files on this page are copyrighted and may not be used or copied for use outside of your immediate family. Please refer anyone interested to this site. 

Thank you for your understanding! 

Reading and Writing Printables

Long 'o' and 'oo' Game

This is a game I made with pockets and word cards.  I colored the vowels blue for emphasis, but the could also be printed in black and white.  I have pockets for three sounds- 'oo' as in 'zoo', 'oo' as in 'hook' and 'o' as in 'toe'.   

Word Family Games

These word family games are organized by vowel.  The children read each word and then find a matching picture card.  You can laminate them for durability.  Enjoy!  :)

Beatrix Potter Copywork

I have two versions of  "The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit."  I made an older one for showing off writing skills, and a younger one similar to a handwriting book.  Enjoy!