In the midst of summer swimming lessons, Vacation Bible School, Tuesday themed camps, piano lessons, and preparing for upcoming vacations, I've attempted to pull together a summary of what Emily Anne accomplished this year.
ART (Co-op Course; 3rd Year of Study)
• Sketched from models
• Used a variety of mediums, including oil pastels, watercolors, pencils, & pastel pencils
• Experimented with light & shadow
BIBLE
• Completed Topic Studies on Pride, Blame, Selfishness, & Defiance
• Memorized Psalms 1, 8, 23, & 121
• Memorized Methodist Episcopal Catechism (God’s Nature & Attributes; the Person of God)
EARTH SCIENCE
• Identified crust, mantle, inner core, and outer core of earth
• Identified igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rock
• Identified how fossils are formed
• Understood basic structure of minerals and gems
• Understood basic plate tectonics and formation of mountains
• Studied volcanoes, earthquakes, and geysers
• Studied planets, moon, and stars (participated in portable planetarium presentation from STARLAB from the SC State Museum)
• Studied atmosphere, air, weather, and climate
• Identified stratus, cumulus, and cirrus clouds as indicators of weather
• Studied weather and wind, including thunderstorms, tornadoes, and hurricanes
• Studied ocean currents, waves, and tides, along with ocean floor and ocean zones
HANDWRITING
• Completed Zaner-Bloser Handwriting 2C
• Formed letters correctly
• Wrote with good shape, size, spacing, & slant
HISTORY
• Completed The Story of the World, Vol. 2: The Middle Ages (From the Fall of Rome to the Rise of the Rennaissance), by Susan Wise Bauer
• Listened to readings and wrote narrations of each section of the 42 chapters; some of Emily Anne’s favorites were:
o Eric the Red Discovers Greenland
o Joan of Arc
o The Princes in the Tower
o Ferdinand & Isabella Unite Spain
o Christopher Columbus and His New Discovery
o Gutenberg Invents the Printing Press
o Elizabeth Becomes Queen of England
• Listened to additional read-alouds that tied into various historical periods (See Reading Log)
• Read additional chapter and picture books that tied into various historical periods (See Reading Log)
LANGUAGE ARTS
• Studied Grammar through First Language Lessons, Vol. 2 by Susan Wise Bauer, the topics of which included:
o Memorized State of Being, Linking, & Helping Verbs
o Commas in Dates & Addresses & in a Series
o Contractions
o Adjectives & Adverbs
o Conjunctions
o Memorized the Prepositions
o Synonyms & Antonyms
o Direct & Indirect Quotations
• Reinforced these Grammar Topics through Copywork
• Memorized the Following Poems:
o “Ooey Gooey”
o “The Swing” by Robert Louis Stevenson
o “Persevere”
o “After the Party” by William Wise
o “The Vulture” by Hilaire Belloc
o “The Secret” by Emily Dickinson
o “Who Has Seen the Wind?” by Christina Rossetti
o “The Owl & the Pussycat”
o “The Duel” by Eugene Field
MATH
• Completed Saxon 3
• Struggled with Math Facts using flash cards and computer games for reinforcement until we began reciting them (Emily Anne is definitely an auditory learner!)
PIANO
• Learned treble and bass clefs
• Learned counts of quarter, half, whole, and dotted half notes
• Accomplished playing with left and right hands in a variety of songs
• Scored Superior at Hartsville Piano Festival
READING/LITERATURE
• Increased fluency in reading aloud
• Continued to use phonics knowledge as word attack skills
• Increased speed in silent reading
• Enriched vocabulary in silent reading and read-alouds
• Exposed to a variety of literature (biography, nonfiction, fiction, poetry)
• See attached Reading Log
SPELLING
• Completed Spelling Workout B
• Completed through Lesson 24 of Spelling Workout C
• Continued applying phonics rules to correct spelling of words
WRITING
• Completed
Beginning Institute for Excellence in Writing Course
o Learned to replace weak words with stronger ones using a thesaurus
o Completed the process of key-word outlines, rough drafts, editing, and final drafts for fables and nonfiction paragraphs
o Practiced combining sentences using dependent clauses
o Enlivened writing by adding adverbs, adjectives, and
• Completed
Writing with Ease, Vol. 2 by Susan Wise Bauer
o Progressed from writing short copywork sentences to longer ones containing direct quotations
o Progressed from writing very short sentences from dictation to two or more sentences from dictation
o Progressed from narrations of one or two sentences to paragraphs
o Wrote many unassigned, creative pieces
This book will be great for Biology.
I thought these books would be good for Emily Anne in a few years, but she surprised me by sitting down with the Nancy Drew and reading a couple of chapters this afternoon. I remember devouring these mysteries when I was young, but not quite as young as Emily Anne!
We thought this book would be good for Will and also good for later this year in history when we cover the Middle Ages in Britain.
Emily Anne is a huge fan of Cynthia Rylant's Mr. Putty and Tabby books, so we thought Poppleton might be good, too.
Here are some great classic read-alouds.
The top of slice of bread included the tittle, author, and illustrator. Emily Anne summarized the book on the lettuce leaf. The tomato included the book's setting, and Emily Anne drew a picture of the boxcar in which the children lived. The meat of the sandwich discussed the main character, and Emily Anne chose to write about Henry, the oldest brother. The next ingredient asked what in the book made the reader smile and say "cheese." Emily Anne wrote about when Benny requested a small skinny tail for his stuffed animal so that he could pull it. On the onion students were to write about what was sweet or tearful in the book. Emily Anne described the scene where the children met their grandfather and found that he was kind and not mean, as they had feared. Emily Anne explained what she liked about the author's style on the bottom slice of bread; she enjoyed the action and the way the siblings took care of one another.
While waiting for Emily Anne to finish coloring her dolls, Will built this Byzantine palace. Do you see the red and blue thrones in the top of the palace?
