This year we are using My Father's World for history/geography, science, bible, music, art, and the read alouds. Our theme is: A Trip Around the World. Of course we are doing math, phonics, language arts too but they are not near as exciting so most of my blogs with be on the other subjects.
The first two weeks of the year are an introduction. We are learning all about maps and globes. We did a cool experiment where you draw the continents on an orange and than quarter the orange and peel of each section. Than you try to lay it down on a flat surface. This really demonstrates how different maps look versus a globe and how distorted maps really are. Try it sometime - it was fun.
The girls have also learned a new song, which has helped them learn the different continents. We point at the continents as we sing it. It is sung to the tune of Yankee Doodle:
North America, South America,
Europe, Africa, Asia,
Kangaroos hop in Australia and
Penguins waddle in Antarctica.
My girls love to sing so this is a hit! We have also been singing Jesus loves the little children (all the children of the world) and are doing a poster of children from around the world. The girls have a lot of friends that are adopted as well so we are adding pictures of themselves and their friends.
We went to the Arboretum on Friday with Aunt Bonnie and so we picked up a map of the Arboretum so we can practice our mapping skills.
In Science we learned about Ecosystems, ecozones, habitats, and niches. We will be creating our earthworm niche tomorrow.
As we will be going "around the world", the girls completed a passport application, complete with a picture. They will be getting a pretend passport in a few weeks (created by mom) and as we travel through the different countries, we will put a flag sticker in their passport.
We are also using the "workbox system" to organize our school day this year. This allows me to put everything we need for each subject/activity in a box. The boxes are numbered and we do them in order. When they are done with the boxes, they are done for the day. This takes a little more time on my part ahead of time, but there is less "wasted" time in school. I don't have to go find a glue stick, or a pencil. It is all in the box. Some boxes we do together or I do with one of them and others they do independantly.
We are also doing Spanish this year using a CD and book. The girls love it and asked if they could do it outside of school time. We all got to listen to it on the way to church today. The CD says the words in English, than Spanish, and than the kids repeat it. They also have a book to follow along. This gives them the visual spelling of the words and a picture. "Choco" is our puppet that we use for Spanish. The girls love him.
Something else we started this year is learning to type. I bought a computer typing game for kids. They play it far more than I expected and really enjoy it.
For reading, they are doing the Magic Treehouse series. We read about Dinosaurs this week and made Dinosaur Dioramas.
All in all it was a good week. I love the curriculum and the girls are excited too.
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