Ancient History, Week 32

Ancient Americas

Although there isn't a lot of information about the earliest people who lived in the ancient Americas, Tessa greatly enjoyed the little there was. She was totally enthralled by the Nazca Lines, giant stone heads of the Olmecs and the discovery of Machu Picchu.

Monday

• Read Usborne: Ancient World by Fiona Chandler (pages 72-73).
• Completed HO map work for Lesson 28, Main Lesson (North America part only).
• Completed draw and color.

Wednesday

• Read Usborne: Ancient World by Fiona Chandler (pages 74).
• Looked at pictures of Nazca Lines and read related excerpts from Seven Wonders of Ancient Central and South America by Michael Woods.
• Read Lost City: The Discovery of Machu Picchu by Ted Lewin.
• Completed HO map work for Lesson 28, Main Lesson (South America part only).
• Watched Ancient Civilizations for Children: Ancient Inca DVD by Schlessinger Media.

Seven Wonders of Ancient Central and South America also has chapters on Machu Picchu, Tikal and more.

Friday

• Read Usborne: Ancient World by Fiona Chandler (pages 75-77).
• Read The Ancient Maya by Jackie Maloy.
• Completed all remaining HO map work for Lesson 28, Main Lesson.
• Read Rain Player by David Wisniewski.
• Watched Ancient Civilizations for Children: Ancient Maya DVD by Schlessinger Media.

I really liked Rain Player because it included so many tidbits of Ancient Mayan culture...tidbits that Tessa had already learned from other resources. Reading it last was a nice way to tie everything together.

* HO = History Odyssey

Kindergarten End-of-Year Wrap-Up, 2012-13

We got a really late start last fall, so we are diligently trying to finish up our studies for Life Science and Ancient History. We still have a good month or more to go for each. Insert a big sigh here...lesson thoroughly learned. We won't be starting late again, as long as I can help it. I had planned some extra fun electives for this summer, but they aren't going to happen and I'm bummed. Good news is we have managed to complete our core subjects this past month, as well as Spanish...again.

Here's what we have recently completed and are doing now.

Completed Singapore Math 1B. Started Singapore Math 2A.

Completed Hooked on Phonics: Second Grade. Started Evan-Moor Daily Phonics, Grade 1 and Daily Reading Comprehension, Grade 1. We will start All About Spelling 1 and grammar this fall.

Completed Teach Them Spanish!, Grade 1. Starting Risas y Sonrisas: Spanish for Kids next term. I'm really excited about our new Spanish program, but I'll write more about it later in a future post.

Life Science, Week 29

Plant Parts

A fun thing about studying plants is that there are so many simple, cheap little experiments that Tessa can do with them. This week, she studied the various parts of plants with most days ending with a hands-on activity.

Monday

• Read Plant Plumbing: A Book About Roots and Stems by Susan Blackaby.
• Read What Do Roots Do? by Kathleen V. Kudlinski.
• Completed Evan-Moor ScienceWorks for Kids: Plants, Grades 1-3 "Each Part of a Plant Has a Special Function - What Do Roots Do?" (pages 16-17).

After removing the roots from Plant #2 outside, we brought both plants in for Tessa to observe and draw. In ten days or so, she'll observe and draw them again while taking note of what changes may have occurred.

Tuesday

• Read What Are Stems? by Molly Aloian.
• Completed Evan-Moor ScienceWorks for Kids: Plants, Grades 1-3 "Each Part of a Plant Has a Special Function - What Do Stems Do?" (page 18).

In this classic experiment, Tessa and I placed white carnations and celery in colored water. After forty-eight hours, Tessa observed the subtle changes that proved that water and nutrients do indeed move through tiny tubes in stems to leaves and flowers of plants. Afterward, I sliced through the stems so Tessa could get a closer look.

Wednesday

• Read Cooking with Sunshine: How Plants Make Food by Ellen Lawrence.
• Completed Evan-Moor ScienceWorks for Kids: Plants, Grades 1-3 "Each Part of a Plant Has a Special Function - How Do Plants Get Food?" (page 19).
• Watched The Magic School Bus: Gets Planted by Scholastic via YouTube.

Thursday

• Read The Reason for a Flower by Ruth Heller.
• Read "Flowers" from The Usborne Complete First Book of Nature by R. Kidman-Cox.
• Completed Evan-Moor ScienceWorks for Kids: Plants, Grades 1-3 "Each Part of a Plant Has a Special Function - What Do Flowers Do?" (page 20).
• Watched Bill Nye the Science Guy: Flowers DVD by Disney.
• Examined real flowers up close and identified their parts.
• Examined bees pollinating flowers. Identified pollen stuck to the bees hind legs.

Friday

• Read The Vegetables We Eat by Gail Gibbons.
• Completed Evan-Moor ScienceWorks for Kids: Plants, Grades 1-3 "Each Part of a Plant Has a Special Function - Summary Activities" (page 21).

For the sorting activity, we used toy food that we had around the house. Instead of the bulletin board activity, I folded a piece of white paper into sixths and then had Tessa title, draw and label the foods as instructed.

Ancient History, Week 31

Ancient India

When I think of India, I think Hinduism. When I think of China, I think Buddhism. So, I found it interesting that the majority of the books I was able to unearth (and those recommended in our curriculum) for Ancient India revolve around Buddhism. Surely, there are more Hindu picture books out there that I missed. Ah, well. I have to keep reminding myself that history during the grammar years is really about dipping toes and creating pegs to build future knowledge upon. Maybe I'll search our library's catalog by Hindu god, see what I can churn up for bedtime reading.

Monday

• Read Usborne: Ancient World by Fiona Chandler (pages 70-71).
• Completed HO map work for Lesson 27, Main Lesson.

Tuesday

• Read The Prince Who Ran Away: The Story Of Gautama Buddha by Anne Rockwell.

Buddha by Demi is a good alternative to the title above. Since both are quite lengthy and pretty much cover the same material, I chose to read only one. Although I'm a big fan of Demi, I felt the colorful illustrations and the more casual flow of text in Rockwell's version was more engaging.

Wednesday

• Listened to Magic Tree House #19: Tigers at Twilight audiobook by Mary Pope Osborne.

Thursday

• Read Savitri: A Tale of Ancient India by Judith Mathews.
• Read How Ganesh Got His Elephant Head by Harish Johari.

How Ganesh Got His Elephant Head has a nice line art picture of the cover illustration at the back of the book that you can photocopy for your child to color. Tessa really liked that.

Friday

• Read The Monkey and the Crocodile: A Jataka Tale from India by Paul Galdone.
• Read Nine Animals and the Well by James Rumford.

Other Books of Interest

• Buddha Stories - Demi
• The Fantastic Adventures of Krishna - Demi
• Tales from India - Jamila Gavin
• How Parvati Won the Heart of Shiva - Harish Johari
• I Once Was a Monkey: Stories Buddha Told - Jeanne M. Lee
• Monkey: A Trickster Tale from India - Gerald McDermott
• Manu's Ark: India's Tale of the Great Flood - Emma V. Moore
• Elephant Prince: The Story of Ganesh - Amy Novesky
• Ganesha's Sweet Tooth - Sanjay Patel
• The Elephant's Friend and Other Tales from Ancient India - Marcia Williams

Darn it! I knew there were more Hindu stories. Just needed to be a bit more strategic in searching our library's catalog.

* HO = History Odyssey

Ancient History, Week 30

Ancient Africa

While there aren't a whole lot of books about ancient African life and culture, there are quite a few folktales available, so that's what the majority of our studies revolved around this week. Tessa also learned to weave when we crafted African baskets from construction paper.

Monday

• Read Usborne: Ancient World by Fiona Chandler (pages 68-69).
• Looked at pictures and read captions from Look What Came From Africa by Miles Harvey.
• Completed HO map work for Lesson 26, Main Lesson.

Tuesday

• Read Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears: A West African Tale by Verna Aardema.
• Read Zomo the Rabbit: A Trickster Tale from West Africa by Gerald McDermott.
• Read This Is the Tree by Miriam Moss.

Wednesday

• Watched Ancient Civilizations for Children: Ancient Africa DVD by Schlessinger Media.
• Listened to Magic Tree House #11: Lions at Lunchtime audiobook by Mary Pope Osborne.

Thursday

• Read Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti by Gerald McDermott.
• Read Anansi Does The Impossible!: An Ashanti Tale by Verna Aardema.
• Read Anansi and the Magic Stick by Eric A. Kimmel.

Friday

• Completed "Make Your Own: Basket" (page 74) from Amazing Africa Projects You Can Build Yourself by Carla Mooney.

I wasn't keen on the Ancient Africa projects recommended in either History Odyssey or The Story of the World Activity Book, so I went out on my own for this one. Since Tessa had never weaved before, I liked that this craft also taught her the basics of a somewhat practical skill. I knew this project would be somewhat time-consuming, so I went ahead and cut all of the pieces the day before.

Tessa started her basket by gluing the pieces for the framework in a star pattern. 

Then, she glued a five-inch circle in the center of the framework. Afterward, she folded the arms inward. This created a skeleton of sorts for her to weave the remaining pieces through. 

Next, Tessa weaved contrasting paper strips through the framework.

After folding in the top of the arms and then gluing them down, Tessa's African basket was finally complete! I'm really proud of her. Tessa diligently worked on her basket for over an hour and completed the vast majority of it by herself. She asked questions about how ancient people weaved baskets throughout the project. Afterward, she commented that she really liked weaving and couldn't believe she made her very own basket.  

Other Books of Interest

• A Story, A Story - Gail E. Haley
• Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock - Eric A. Kimmel
• Anansi and the Talking Melon - Eric A. Kimmel
• Anansi Goes Fishing - Eric A. Kimmel
• Anansi's Party Time - Eric A. Kimmel

All of the Anansi books by Eric Kimmel are available as CD audiobooks. A Story, A Story is as well. You may wish to see whether your library carries these audiobooks, unless you fancy reading Ashanti folktales over and over. Anansi has been a big hit with Tessa. She has listened to each title no less than six times a piece so far.

* HO = History Odyssey

Life Science - Week 28

Plants

Woohoo! We have finally made it to plants. This will be our final unit of study for life science. I'm excited, not because I think the grass will be greener on the other side, but because I'm longing for that sweet sense of completion.

We began our study of plants by taking a look at their basic parts. We will follow up in more detail in subsequent weeks.

Monday

• Read Plants Are Alive! by Molly Aloian.
• Completed "Plant Parts" (pages 4 and 9) from Investigating Plants, Grades 1-3 by The Mailbox.
• Completed Evan-Moor ScienceWorks for Kids: Plants, Grades 1-3 "Plants Have Many Parts - Looking at Flowering Plants" (page 12).

First, Tessa put together a paper puzzle and labeled the parts and functions of the pictured plant.

Then, she looked at parts of a real plant up close. She pointed out the various parts and explained their functions.

Finally, she drew the plant, labeled its parts and wrote about what she learned.

Tuesday

• Watched Bill Nye the Science Guy: Plants DVD by Disney.

Wednesday

• Read A Tree Is a Plant by Clyde Robert Bulla.
• Completed Evan-Moor ScienceWorks for Kids: Plants, Grades 1-3 "Plants Have Many Parts - Looking at Trees" (page 13).

Other Books of Interest

• Plants in Spring - Martha E. H. Rustad

Let's Read! - 2012-13

Note: This information was originally featured on my "Let's Read!" page (linked from navigation bar above). I have relocated it here so we can start fresh this school year.

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While writing the post, "On-Level Readers," I decided to create an ongoing list of books that Tessa can read with little-to-no help from me. I have had such a hard time coming up with appropriately-leveled books for her. Hopefully, this list will prove useful to other homeschooling moms.


Current Reading Level - June 25, 2012

Has completed Hooked on Phonics: Kindergarten and Hooked on Phonics: First Grade, Level 1. Reads short vowel CVC and CCVC words as well as add -s, -ck, compound and two-syllable words that fit the CVC/CCVC pattern, and 70+ sight words. She also can figure out quite a few CVCC and CCCVC/CCCVCC words on her own now. However, she won't formally start studying those until later this week.

Clifford Makes a Friends - Norman Bridwell
I Like Bugs - Margaret Wise Brown
Cat in the Bag and Other Pet Stories - Children's Press

Big Egg - Molly Coxe

Cat Traps - Molly Coxe
Little Lizard's First Day - Melinda Melton Crow
Little Lizard's New Pet - Melinda Melton Crow
Little Lizard's New Shoes - Melinda Melton Crow
Mud Mess - Melinda Melton Crow
Snow Trouble - Melinda Melton Crow
Tired Trucks - Melinda Melton Crow
Truck Buddies - Melinda Melton Crow
In My Backyard - Don L.Curry
Read with Dick and Jane: Away We Go - Grosset & Dunlap
Read with Dick and Jane: Who Can Help? - Grosset & Dunlap
Jen the Hen - Colin and Jacqui Hawkins
Mig the Pig - Colin and Jacqui Hawkins

Pat the Cat - Colin and Jacqui Hawkins
Tog the Dog - Colin and Jacqui Hawkins

Zug the Bug - Colin and Jacqui Hawkins
The Pup Speaks Up - Anna Jane Hays
A House for Little Red - Margaret Hillert
Four Good Friends - Margaret Hillert
Play Ball - Margaret Hillert
Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs: Uh-oh! - R. Schuyler Hooke
BOB Books: Sight Words, Kindergarten - Lynn Maslen Kertell
Hog and Dog - Diane Wright Landolf
Dragon Egg - Mallory Loehr
Camping Out - Mercer Mayer
Bugs! - Patricia and Frederick McKissack
See Me Run - Paul Meisel

Play with "a" and "t" - Jane Belk Moncure
Go Away Dog - Joan L. Nodset

Jack and Jill and Big Dog Bill - Martha Weston

Cat the Cat, Who Is That? - Mo Willems


Current Reading Level - August 31, 2012

Nearing completion of Hooked on Phonics: First Grade, Level 2. Adding such digraphs as -ch, -tch, -nd, -ng (-ing), -nk, -sp, -sk and -ft to Tessa's repertoire has boosted her to a higher reading level. Books that were still too difficult a few short weeks ago are now readable! She will study -er, -ly, -es, and -ed very soon, but already knows how to decode most of these endings along with -y and long vowel silent "e" words.

Biscuit and the Little Pup - Alyssa Satin Capucilli
Biscuit Finds a Friend - Alyssa Satin Capucilli
Biscuit Meets the Class Pet - Alyssa Satin Capucilli
Biscuit Wins a Prize - Alyssa Satin Capucilli
Biscuit's Big Friend - Alyssa Satin Capucilli
Biscuit's New Trick - Alyssa Satin Capucilli
Meet Biscuit!/Hello, Biscuit - Alyssa Satin Capucilli
Little Lizard's Family Fun - Melinda Melton Crow
Little Lizard's New Friend - Melinda Melton Crow
Little Wheels - Melinda Melton Crow
Ride and Seek - Melinda Melton Crow
Road Race - Melinda Melton Crow
Fish Had a Wish - Michael Garland
Boy, Bird, and Dog - David McPhail
Gus Grows a Plant - Frank Remkiewicz
Cooking with the Cat - Bonnie Worth


Current Reading Level - January 4, 2013

Well into Hooked on Phonics: Second Grade, Level 1 now. By the end of next month, Tessa should start Level 2. Second Grade focuses on long vowels, and such diphthongs and digraphs as -ai, -oa, -ea, -oy, etc. Aside from highly complex words and those that just don't follow the rules, she is quickly running out of words that she can't decode. Still working on fluency. I think that won't fully come until we quit adding new sounds for her brain to process and remember.

The Snowball - Jennifer Armstrong
Bathtime for Biscuit - Alyssa Satin Capucilli
Biscuit Play Balls - Alyssa Satin Capucilli
Biscuit's Day at the Farm - Alyssa Satin Capucilli
Max Spaniel: Dinosaur Hunt - David Catrow
Snow - P.D. Eastman
Our Blood - Charlotte Guillain
Our Bones - Charlotte Guillain
Our Brains - Charlotte Guillain
Our Hearts - Charlotte Guillain
Our Lungs - Charlotte Guillain
Our Muscles - Charlotte Guillain
Our Stomachs - Charlotte Guillain
Ducks Go Vroom - Jane Kohuth
Put Me in the Zoo - Robert Lopshire
Dancing Dinos Go to School - Sally Lucas
My Friends Tigger & Pooh: Calling All Piglets! - Lisa Marsoli
Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb - Al Perkins
Flip Flop! - Dana M. Rau
The Eye Book - Dr. Seuss
Ten Apples Up On Top! - Dr. Seuss
The Little Red Hen - Harriet Ziefert
Sleepy Dog - Harriet Ziefert


Current Reading Level - March 4, 2013

Began Hooked on Phonics: Second Grade, Level 2. This is the last Hooked on Phonics book. Tessa will learn the diphthongs and complex consonant blends: oy, oi, ou, ow, au, aw, all, oo, igh, ind, shr, str, scr, spr, spl and squ. Second Grade, Level 2 also teaches kn, wr, soft c and soft g. Tessa already knows the complex consonant blends and a few of the diphthongs, so we are starting to shift focus from learning new phonics sounds to practicing reading. We will be working on improving fluency for the remainder of the school year. This summer or fall, Tessa will continue phonics instruction with All About Spelling, Level 1. Tessa is reading books of varying difficulty now. From here on, this page will be more of a list of books she's read during school than those that are on level. It won't include most of the ones she reads on her own time since I don't keep track of those.

Like a Windy Day - Frank Asch
Castles, Caves and Honeycombs - Linda Ashman
Biscuit and the Baby - Alyssa Satin Capucilli
Biscuit Takes a Walk - Alyssa Satin Capucilli
Biscuit Visits the Big City - Alyssa Satin Capucilli
Pedro's Burro - Alyssa Satin Capucilli
Scat, Cat! - Alyssa Satin Capucilli
BooBoo - Olivier Dunrea
Gideon - Olivier Dunrea
Gossie - Olivier Dunrea
Gossie & Gertie - Olivier Dunrea
Go, Dog. Go! - Philip D. Eastman
Mama Cat Has Three Kittens - Denise Fleming
Across the Stream - Mirra Ginsburg
Chicken said, "Cluck!" - Sue Truesdell
Too Many Dogs - Lori Haskins
Here Comes Silent e! - Anna Jane Hays
A Good Day - Kevin Henkes
Birds - Kevin Henkes
Old Bear - Kevin Henkes
Pup and Hound Play Copycats - Susan Hood
Too Many Cats - Lori Haskins Houran
Good-Night, Owl! - Pat Hutchins
Titch - Pat Hutchins
Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See? - Bill Martin Jr.
Fabian Escapes - Peter McCarty
Hondo & Fabian - Peter McCarty
Eloise's Mother's Day Surprise - Lisa McClatchy
Big Pig and Little Pig - David M. McPhail
The Best Mouse Cookie - Laura Numeroff
The Ear Book - Al Perkins
Brownie & Pearl Go for a Spin - Cynthia Rylant
Brownie & Pearl Hit the Hay - Cynthia Rylant
Brownie & Pearl See the Sights - Cynthia Rylant
Brownie & Pearl Step Out - Cynthia Rylant
Follow Me, Mittens - Lola M. Schaefer
Mittens, Where is Max? - Lola M. Schaefer
What's That, Mittens? - Lola M. Schaefer
The Mole Sisters and the Blue Egg - Roslyn Schwartz
The Mole Sisters and the Rainy Day - Roslyn Schwartz
Great Day for Up - Dr. Seuss
Hop on Pop - Dr. Seuss
Sheep on a Ship - Nancy Shaw
Rain Rain Rivers - Uri Shulevitz
Snow - Uri Shulevitz
Snow Rabbit, Spring Rabbit - Il Sung Na
The Life Cycle of a Cat - Lisa Trumbauer
The Life Cycle of a Chicken - Lisa Trumbauer
The Life Cycle of a Frog - Lisa Trumbauer
Cookie's Week - Cindy Ward
Splish, Splash! - Sarah Weeks
Noodles: I Won't Share - Hans Wilhelm
My Friend is Sad - Mo Willems
Every Friday - Dan Yaccarino
The Princess and the Pea - Harriet Ziefert


Current Reading Level - May 29, 2013

Completed Hooked on Phonics: Second Grade. Still working on fluency. Will start All About Spelling 1 this summer or fall.


End date -  June 20, 2013

Life Science, Week 27

Invertebrates - Everything Else

We breezed through the last four units of ScienceWorks for Kids: Animals without Backbones, Grades 1-3 this week since they are very similar to those from Animals with Backbones. Picture books on the subjects covered below often include both vertebrates and invertebrates, so there wasn't much left that we hadn't already read during our study of vertebrates.

Monday

• Completed Evan-Moor ScienceWorks for Kids: Animals without Backbones, Grades 1-3 "Invertebrates Have Developed Different Ways of Acquiring Food - How Do They Eat" (page 48), "How Do Wild Animals Find Food" and "'Finding Food' Minibook" (page 49).
• Read Spinning Spiders by Melvin Berger.

Tuesday

• Completed Evan-Moor ScienceWorks for Kids: Animals without Backbones, Grades 1-3 "Invertebrates' Movements Are Adapted to the Animals' Needs - How Do I Move" (page 58), "Gather More Information" and "Comparing Vertebrate and Invertebrate Movements" (page 59).

Wednesday

• Completed Evan-Moor ScienceWorks for Kids: Animals without Backbones, Grades 1-3 "Invertebrates Have Developed Many Forms of Self-Defense - Animal Defenses" (page 65), mini book and "Summary Activities" (page 67).

We skipped "Camouflage, Protective Coloration, Mimicry" (page 66) only because we did nearly the exact same thing during our study of vertebrates. Tessa remembered how much she enjoyed the activity last time, so she went ahead and colored and decorated three beetles on her own time.

Thursday

• Completed Evan-Moor ScienceWorks for Kids: Animals without Backbones, Grades 1-3 "Some Invertebrates Build Homes - What Is a Home?" (page 74) and "'Invertebrate Homes' Minibook" (page 75).
• Read Ant Cities by Arthur Dorros.
• Watched The Magic School Bus: Bugs, Bugs, Bugs! DVD ("In a Beehive" episode) by Scholastic from Netflix.

Atelier Art, Level 1 - Module B, Lesson 2

The Queen of Hearts

No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get behind this lesson. It plagued me for quite a while before finally deciding to give it up and move on. My apologies to anyone hoping to see Tessa's completed work for this lesson.

Sylvan Math Flashcards...Perfect for Singapore Math!

It's been a very long time since I have posted anything about Singapore Math. We have just one more week before we complete Singapore Math 1B.

While wandering around Barnes & Noble a couple of weekends ago trying to decide what to spend my $5 Kids' Club rewards coupon on, I came across Sylvan Math Flashcards. I couldn't believe it. Months ago, I had scoured the internet for horizontal addition and subtraction flashcards. The few that I found were not quite right or hard to come by. Sylvan 1st Grade Math Flashcards are a perfect complement to Singapore Math 1A/1B. The addition and subtraction cards are written horizontally and go up to 20. Addition is on one side, subtraction on the other. The 240 cards also feature numbers 30 to 100, place value for ones and tens, number patterns including number lines and skip counting, number comparison, shapes, symmetry, telling time, and money. The only drawback is that the cards are pretty flimsy compared to others. They are a very lightweight card stock (more likely, a heavyweight paper as apposed to a true card stock). As long as a parent is doing the flashing, that shouldn't be too much of a problem. I won't be letting Tessa have free reign of them, though.

If you're looking for horizontal flash cards for Singapore Math 1A/1B...these are them!