Week 9 Overview

We did it! We completed our 1st 45 days or 1st 9 weeks of our school year. We've made it through a hurricane, a house re-piping, a leaky roof, and a worn out car. If our students can do as well as they have through all that, then I can't wait to see what they do in the 2nd 9 weeks!

We are super excited to start this 2nd 9 weeks because we get to learn through Mrs. April's favorite season. It is sure to be filled with fun and exciting events that will make wonderful memories! In fact, we have already started with a visit to the pumpkin patch yesterday!

Here's what we have been studying this past week:

Language arts, Bible, and history:

• Our 3rd graders have begun the very first and original text of... Nancy Drew! So exciting!
• All students have memorized Psalm 139:1-16 (Ask them to share with you!)
• Wars of the Greeks (fighting with Persia and themselves), origin of a "marathon", Peloponnesian War, Parthenon, Alexander the Great, expansion of his empire and the refusal of his troops to invade India, & the Nazca and Olmec people of the Americas (North, South, and Mesoamerica)
• Numbers & Deuteronomy have shown us how God blessed those who loved and obeyed Him and he has punished those who have disobeyed Him. Moses led a whole generation through the desert for 40 years because they did not trust God and obey Him in the taking of Canaan. Their children did get to enter, as they obeyed God. God loves us and we can show love to Him through our obedience to his laws and commands.
• One of our 3rd grade students has especially enjoyed trying to impress Mrs. April with her use of our vocabulary words in everyday situations. Words, such as: approximately, terse, optimist, and despair.

Science:

• Reptiles & amphibians climates
• Fish and other sea creatures: movement and defenses

Math:

• Adding and subtracting money
• Skip counting by 7s and review of skip counting by 2s, 3,s, 4s, 5s, 6s, 9s, and 10s.
• Memorizing our 0, 1, and 2 multiplication facts

No co-op this week, so we enjoyed watching It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown today!

Enjoy your weekend!

Week 8 Overview

Well, we are moving right along and getting closer to the end of the first 9 weeks. What? The end of the first 9 weeks already? That's right. We just finished week 8. All of our students have grown so much in just 8 weeks. Here are some things we are studying this week:

Language Arts, Bible, & History:

• We are finishing up our second Ramona chapter book titles Ramona Quimby, Age 8.
• We have finished reading enough different books that we punched all the holes in our reading challenge bookmark! We will celebrate with a special showing of Charlie Brown Halloween next Friday.
• We are up to verse 14 in Psalm 139 for fluency and memorization.
• Finally moving out of the ancient world and into the classical world by jumping into Greek life. Our timeline covers 500 BC to AD 500 for the next several weeks.
• Course is our word winner for vocabulary lesson 4.
• We learned more about the Ten Commandments and the Holy Tent (Exodus & Leviticus)

Math:

• We have moved on from addition fact fluency to multiplication fluency. We are busy memorizing how to skip count by 6s and 9s this week.
• Single digit multiplication and the division facts that go with these expressions.

Science:

• Reptiles and Amphibians: how they move, defend themselves, sound, eat, work together with other animals, and all about their poison

Co-op:

• How to play 9-square in the air in PE
• Our 3rd graders finished their last "backyard ballistics" class by making double barrel rubber band guns from a handful of office supplies
• We had our 2nd week with the baby chicks...they grew so fast!
• It was our last week to study the artist Winslow Homer in ACP and we continued our study of Emily Dickinson

It's the weekend, so everyone enjoy yours! Mrs. Coleman will be celebrating her 43rd birthday! It's going to be a great weekend. :)