Next Semester Music Change

I hope everyone has had a great Christmas! I am getting organized and ready for next semeseter. I wanted to tell you about a change I want to make to the World Music Class. The curriculum I was using was great fun, but just wasn't working for the multiple ages. It had a lot of music history, which the 2nd graders liked, but the Kinders had trouble sitting though. It unstructured dancing also got out of control very easily. I have decied I would like to try musical theatre with them this semeseter. I have researched it and have ordered a few books with fun excercises for drama and stage presence. I have also ordered a musical that looked like a lot of fun specifically for home school groups (it is good because it doesn't need 42 people like some of the other musicals I looked at). It is based on Tikki Tikki Tembo and gets into the culture and music of China. It has music, costumes, and scenary, so hopefully Suzy can get involved in that on the day she is with me. I think it will be great fun and something we can perform for an audience and take to the Montessori school. It is only 20 minutes long so totally do able. I hope this change is ok with everyone.

Cindy-- would you like Shaylene to be involved in this?

Rachelle- have you checked on Ella's piano?

Maybe we can play around with a new schedule for Tues. if Shaylene wants to do either the recorder class of this.

Talk to you later----reply in the comments section if you have a comment

Ranae's Late Post

Dancing in music class


Ella with Science "goo"



melting butter over a candle in science class.




I figure I better post before this week is totally over!















Monday K Science- We had fun finishing up the unit on matter. We reviewed the 3 types of matter and learned about how matter can changed form. We examined an ice cube, made popsicles (which are still in my freezer), melted butter, and lit a candle to see how matter changes. We made goopy goo which started as a liquid and turned solid. We also started the unit on weather by looking at my weather book and starting their weather journal. Good day.





Tues- K Music- We did more reviewing of favorite songs and are all ready for next semester!






World Music- We played 2 boomwhacker games and reviewed our "Inch by Inch" song.






K History- started the US history by learning about Katherine Bates who wrote "America the Beautiful". We also learned about the Appalachian Mts, Rocky Mt. and Mississippi river. They did a great job of concentrating.


Have a great Christmas everyone!

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 19

SCIENCE 2 - We finished the unit on the body by reviewing the digestive and excretory systems. We learned about the food pyramid - they have a handout in their folders that you can cut out and have them fold into a pyramid (I didn't do it in class so it wouldn't get crushed). We took the unit assessment and they did very well. Make sure the next unit handouts are in their folder for January.

HISTORY 2 - We learned about Ibn Sinah - a famous Islamic doctor who wrote a book about the history of medicine that was used for hundreds of years in Europe. It was in interesting story and they really got into it. Ibn also wrote a book called "Book of Healing" and it was an encyclopedia of music, science, astronomy and mathematics. We made books in class about what they know about different subjects - David's is on how to avoid getting a cold, Isaac's is on how to care for a cut and Holden's is on what foods to eat to be healthy. They did a great job, check them out. We also did the lesson on Scheherezade and they enjoyed it but that was as much as I could get done on this crazy last day of school! We'll finish up this first semester during the first week of school in January.

Merry Christmas everyone! love, Rachelle

MONDAY, DEC. 17

SCIENCE 2 - reviewed the digestive system and moved on to the excretory system, really poor timing considering the silliness this time of year! They did great, though and Isaac and David really followed how the kidneys and bladder work. They asked good questions, like what is that bad stuff that gets taken out of water in the kidneys (alcohol, poisons, etc.) and what stays in the water (red blood cells, large molecules of nutrients). It was a good lesson.

CHRISTMAS CRAFT PROJECT - they did so well with this and wanted more to paint. we'll be able to finish it tomorrow, I think. It's going to be cute!

Rachelle

Late Tues. post

Here's what we did on Tues. It was actually a good day with minimal fighting for the kinders, so I was happy!

K Music- We are reviewing this week and next as well as doing favorite songs through out the semester. They had fun remembering their favorites.

2nd Ensemble- I really got on them about practicing. You can tell the newness is starting to wear off :-) We pretty much spent the entire class on one song. They just need to learn some good practicing skills, which we will work on in class. Their hwk is the new note on next page and the first song---also any they haven't passed off.

World Music- We ran through our Christmas program as well as played 2 boomwhacker games which were fun. I would like to actually do a musical with them this next semester. I saw some in my music catalogue that looked like they would be fun and not too hard to put together. Maybe Suzy and I can work together for the set. I think it would be fun.

K History- finished up Mexico. We talked about Fiestas and the market place. We spent a lot of time learning the Mexican Hat Dance and dancing to it. We also read a few stories in the reading room. Very easy lesson.

The pictures were taken at recess during their "Star Wars" game. Ella is flying in the space ship and Holden and Isaac were in deep discussion with the Sythe (no idea how to spell this). Nadia had had enough of Star Wars at this point and opted to play a puzzle with Ian :-)

WEDNESDAY, DEC.12

SCIENCE 2- Reviewed what they learned about the digestive system. We had very good discussions about nutrition and how each organ contributes to the digestive process. They asked a lot of very good questions. David and Isaac were particularly concerned about the epiglottis - the flap that blocks food from getting into the trachea. They wanted to know what would happen if food got into the lungs and I had to keep telling them that the body would never let that happen, that we cough violently before food would go that far. We measured our intestines - very fun - and chewed up pieces of food for varying numbers of chews to see how it looks. They really got into the lesson - it was good (and kind of gross).

HISTORY 2- Learned about mosques and how they are built, and about how Muslims pray. Learned a few new vocabulary words and reviewed the new ones from recent lessons. We looked at a few pictures of mosques - they remembered the Hagia Sophia. We read the book The Hundred Names. They enjoyed that so you might want to leave it out for awhile.

It was a good day despite the strange schedule.

Good Luck tomorrow Suzy! Rachelle

Wed K science and history

Thank goodness it was an easy lesson day!
The kids did well for being thrown off and with my house a disarray.
Science- we talked about bouancy and what would float and sink. They made predictions (pretty good guesses). We included corn syrup and oil. These were harder, but they got to see that oil floats and corn syrup sinks.

History- start of United States. They learned that there are 50 states, including 2 not together with the other 48. We went over the terms united and states. We reviewed all the past continents and I tried to find out what they remembered from each spot. Some things stuck more than others.

See ya all Fri,
Cindy

Monks and Ink Pictures

Hi Everyone! Sorry I haven't posted all week! I am finally feeling well enough to make a post tonight. I think the worst is over and I am o

n the mend. I just wanted to post the great pictures Suzy took a few weeks ago. These were taken after the 2nd grade History lesson on ink making and the monks. The boys went out there and found ash in the fire pit and went to work. Everyone got involved. It was too cute. See everyone on Tues! I hope you feel better Suzy!

Wed K science and history Dec 5

Science- we talked about liquids, stayed away from gas :), reviewed solids a little. We compared objects checking to see if they were liquid or solid.

History - on to Mexico, we did the map, and flag and learned about the picture in the middle of the flag, how the Aztecs were told to build a city (Mexico City) where they found a eagle on a cactus eating a snake.

Good day, they played well, the only little friction came from seating arrangement.

Cindy

THURSDAY, DEC.6

SCIENCE 2 - Reviewed cells and cell structure. David asked good questions about molecules and atoms, so when we were on line we looked at some diagrams of them. The subatomic particles are quarks, leptons and gluons - I never would have remembered that, but seeing it I knew I'd seen it before. They are really interested in cell division, particularly about how cells divided in utero, so I'm going to see what I can find on the subject.


SCIENCE K - We talked about the 3 types of matter again and today we focused on gases (lucky me...) We did experiments showing how gas is matter because you can move objects by blowing air, blowing air into a plastic bag (with different objects balanced on top - they got a kick out of that) and blowing air into water. We also put a bottle upside down into water to see how it didn't fill with water until we got the air out of it. They had fun with it and understand the concept. A book I reserved for the lesson came in today so we picked it up at the library on our way back to my house and they got to have a little adventure. FYI - I reserved the book on Tuesday so that didn't take long. It was a good day.

Have a good weekend. Rachelle

WEDNESDAY DEC. 5

HISTORY 2 - Reviewed the map of Europe in the middle ages. Then we began the unit on Islam. Learned about the Arab world before Muhammad (there was a lot of fighting, people worshiped many gods and goddesses.) Then Muhammad had a vision in which the angel Gabriel told him to teach people to worship one god - "Allah." Muhammad then founded the Islamic religion. He was persecuted in Mecca (his birthplace) and fled to Medina. On the way he followed the moon and stars and today the crescent moon with a star is the symbol of Islam because Muslims believe that they should follow Islam as Muhammad followed the moon and stars. Muhammad eventually gathered an army and returned to Mecca to make it the capitol of the Islamic world. We discussed the similarities and differences between Islam, Christianity and Judaism and how they are related because of the area of their origins. We talked about how Muslim women dress, how the "bad guys" are related to Islam and how Islam is second only to Christianity in number of followers. They kept wanting to say that Muhammad was spreading Christianity because he only believed in one god!

SCIENCE 2 - Reviewed the past semester and took the first semester assessment. They did very well. I'll keep reviewing some concepts. We'll review and complete Unit 6 - the body before the break but I won't begin Unit 7 until we come back in Jan.

It was a good day. Rachelle

Dec. 4 History 2nd grade

2nd grade History

Unit 7 lesson 10: Charlemagne is crowned - We learned that Charlemagne (Charles the Great) was the most important ruler in western Europe in the early Middle Ages, he ruled a large Frankish kingdom. RR - we read the story of how the pope surprised Charlemagne by crowning him emperor of what would come to be called the Holy Roman Empire.

They all did well on the unit assessment.


Suzy

INFO FOR 1ST WEEK OF DECEMBER

Hi Everyone,

HISTORY 2 - we need Unit 8 handouts in their folders.

SCIENCE 2 - we need Unit 6 handouts in their folders. I will be reviewing and completing Unit 6 before the Christmas break.

ELLA'S RECITAL - I have the tickets. The show starts at 2:30 but they are opening the doors at 2 and it is sold out. I'm going to get there about 1:30 and I'll save all the seats for our group but they are asking people to get there at 2:00 so they can start right on time. I'll get directions for everyone before Friday.

POINT FOLDER DAY - on Tuesday. I'll bring the boxes for after class.

KINDERGARTEN CHRISTMAS/GINGERBREAD COOKIE PARTY - let's begin after lunch at 1:00 on Dec. 14 at my house and it can go until whenever it ends! Bring cookie decorations you might have. I'll have sprinkles, chocolate chips, peppermint chips, coconut, marshmallows and whatever else they want to dig out of my pantry!

See you tomorrow,

Rachelle

Nutcracker info

Hey gals,
Just some change in info for the Nutcracker-
Good news is that it's only $5 a ticket. Dates are still the same 12/14 and 15. The matinee time is different- it's at 1:00 instead of 2:00. Also, the location has changed. It's at Arts Academy @ Estrella Mountain, 2504 S 91st Ave 85353 (a little closer, except maybe the same for Ranae).
Cindy

Wed K science and history

Good job with the pictures Suzy!

We had a pretty good day. Distractions were less today.

Science- we learned about matter and how there are solids, liquids and gases. Ella was funny and said that gas (you know what kind) was brown. I told her that if gas did have a color, I'm sure that kind of gas would be brown. They really got the concept and understood that even their bodies are made of matter. We concentrated on solids and labeled things in the room that were solid.

History- we continued on with Antartica. They really picked up a lot from Tues. class. We looked at a page in the Great Animal Search book and talked about all the animals, read the cute bedtime book that told how a little girl would survive going to the cold, and after class I put on Scamper the Penguin, which really reinforced everything about the cold and penguins.

that's all folks

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 28

HISTORY 2 - we learned about Clovis - the king of the Franks who united Gaul and became the first Christian king in Europe. the boys really got into his story - all Frankish kings had to have long hair or they couldn't be king. he doubled the Christian membership when he converted his people. we also learned about Charlemagne (means Charles the Great in French) who expanded the Frankish empire to include parts of what are now Italy and Germany. he was into learning and one of his abbots developed the alphabet with lower case letters and added spaces between words for the first time. we reviewed a lot about what we've learned so far about the Middle Ages.

SCIENCE 2 - learned about Alexander Graham Bell and the invention of the telephone. talked about how sound travels (it's all vibration) and how the telegraph was used. we made a whisper phone using tin cans and string. they thought this was really funny and I showed them my ancient phone with the cord on it. they couldn't believe that people could only walk as far as the cord could go and still talk on the phone. I told them that the phone is a recent invention - 150 years old - and they thought that that was like a million years ago! "that's not recent, Ms. Rachelle! that's so old!" I told them that cell phones have only become common since shortly before they were born and they couldn't believe that either. we took the unit assessment and they did very well. I will still review pitch and volume occasionally because they sometimes get them mixed up.

FOR NEXT WEEK: make sure the next unit for science 2 is in their folders. we'll do the point folders on Tuesday.

Have a great weekend! Rachelle

MONDAY NOV.26

Suzy - awesome job on your photos!

SCIENCE 2 - the boys missed David today, I hope he had fun with Grandpa and Grandma. We talked about vocal chords and how they work. Learned how we change the pitch and volume of our voice. Did experiments using balloons and yarn and watching the vibrations and how the end of the balloon is like the vocal chords - needs to be tightened to produce sound. I asked them to think about how people who have had their vocal chords removed are able to talk using a microphone against their throat. They are getting very good at applying what they already know to these kinds of questions. Key ideas for this unit - vibrations produce sound and everything is vibrating, pitch is either high or low, volume is loud or soft.

See everyone tomorrow, Rachelle

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Nadia and Ella getting ready for the Thanksgiving

friends feast.

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Ranae and Boys practicing the recorder.

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Suzy's third blog art post.

This is the third blog of

photogrphs of art projects.

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Holden building a city.

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Isaac and David building a city.

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The art show in June 2007.

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More art show June 2007

Suzy's second art project blog.

These are three photos of cityscapes

made by the "Boys" in May 2007.
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This Cityscape was made by Isaac.

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This cityscape was made by Holden.

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This cityscape was made by David.
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This is my first blog using photographs.

I plan to take photos of all the artwork and add it to the blog.

These three phots are from May 2007.

Suzy

This is the horse that Holden made.

This is David's horse.

This is Isaac's horse.

Wed K science and history

Good day for the Ks, not so much for the 4 added distractions (Ilaiza, Ryan, Joshua, and Alex). The lesson was easy andthey picked up on it really well.

Science - we talked about weight and capacity, comparing sizes of containers and how different things have different weight. As a team they were able to put 5 cups of water with differing amounts in 1-5 order, in no time. We took 5 containers and tried to put them in order by guessing how much they would hold. We took a big ball of foil and guessed whether it or a pear, which was smaller than it, was heaver. All but one guessed lighter. They understand the heavier, lighter and holds less and more really well.

History- we talked about the pampas (grasslands), compared them to the savanah in Africa. We read a story about a gaucho (cowboy), made a lasso flip book,, looked at South America in the atlas (tango, lahmas). I told them about Nadia's Ato (grandfather who lives in Colombia half the time switch back and forth was the term, and they understood it from knowing how to share, - how he takes a siesta everyday). They remembered where the Amazon River and rain forest, Brazil and Andes Mountains are.

They had fun. They went out front for a while (checking out a hurt bird Josh found yesterday) and out back we saw a "real crane" that was working on the road.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING everyone!!!

WEDNESDAY, NOV.21

SCIENCE 2 - Yikes, the holiday craziness is upon us! We reviewed pitch and volume and practiced both using stringed instruments (my guitar and Holden's little mandolin). They really got into that part - how the thickness, length and tightness of the strings change the pitch. I think they understand the difference between pitch and volume better today because they could demonstrate it for me on the instruments. Learned about the difference between stringed, wind and percussion instruments and how sound is produced in each. Isaac said he could play guitar and used to play all the time when he was little. David seemed to really enjoy playing both instruments. Sometimes when he speaks he sounds just like Scott - it's funny! Lots of warnings to settle down but we got through.

HISTORY 2 - Talked about the spread of Christianity in Medieval Europe. The pope was head of the church, then archbishops, then bishops, then priests and then the regular people. Patrick was a bishop who went back to Ireland after having been enslaved there as a child and converted a lot of people to Christianity. Augustine went to England to return 3 young Angle boys who had been slaves in Rome and purchased by the pope. He converted lots of people and became the first Archbishop of Canterbury. Cathedrals (means "seat" for "seat of the bishop") became the center of major life events - weddings, funerals, baptism and healing. The boys really got into the stories of this lesson when they weren't being silly. We learned about monks and monastic life in the Middle Ages. "Monk" means "alone" and the boys couldn't get over anyone wanting to do this. The monks prayed, helped the poor, copied books, taught school and made furniture. They preserved education and literature during the Dark Ages. The boys couldn't believe that people were afraid of knowledge - they thought it was a crazy idea. They asked a lot of good questions when they were focused. Look at the writing sample they did - it's a letter to someone describing life in the monastery (except for David's, his is a book). They did really well with this - David even made his first letter very ornate like the monks did.

Ranae - For Monday - do Kindergarten Science Unit 7 Lesson 4

Cindy - You'll be teaching Unit 8 Lesson 1 for Kindergarten Science on Wed. For Tues., if you want to, come to Ranae's at 11:30 and you can wait there until Nadia's music is over and leave for the doctor from there.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

Rachelle

Tues Classes

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Here is what we did yesteray.....

K Music- Reviewed the staff...made one on the ground...found third space "C" and introduced 2nd space "A". Practiced jumping on different lines and spaces. Played a new song on the glockenspiel called "Dr. Foster" they were so cute at demonstrating how great their "C" note sounded. We reviewed brass instruments and listened to examples of each and identified them. We only have one more class until this semester of Kindermusik is over. After that, I will just review with them until the break.

2nd grade ensemble- great job on recital songs. It is going to be fun. They all need to practice to the end of the page we are on. They need to take their time and really pay attention to the rhythm---that is what is holding us back now. It just got harder, but I think once we get over this hump, it will go faster.

World Music- I introduced our Christmas program. They all have a talking part, so please help them practice saying it in a loud voice. We also practice our 2 songs as well as the songs we are going to sing with the adults and the boomwhackers. Next week, I will practice on Tues. and Wed. with them so we are ready. Holden & David were so cute and serious when they were saying their part. Of course, Isaac & Ella need to work on not being silly! The parts are in the green folders.

K History- Visited the Andes mountains. We made the llama art and talked about life there. They were all fascinated that they don't have trees up that high and that the people actually sleep with the small animals like goats and chickens at night.

Good day. They seemed to handle the longer day well. They did gets lots of little breaks which was nice.

MONDAY NOV.19

SCIENCE 2 - learned about pitch and volume. this was a little confusing for them in that they kept mixing up the words to describe each when I put them together. pitch can be high or low based on the speed of the vibrations that make sound waves. volume is either loud or soft depending on the force used to make the sound. questions like can pitch be loud or low kind of threw them off so I'll review it some more. they get it when I teach it separately. we reviewed the parts of the ear and I told them about cochlear implants and how they work. they thought that was very cool. I introduced frequency - the number of vibrations per second. we did experiments banging a large and small pot to hear the different pitch and we tapped a large and small nail to hear pitch. we practiced increasing and decreasing the volume using force. I showed them how to use a playing card against a spinning bike tire to see the vibrations and hear the changes in pitch - they thought this was really amazing!

SCIENCE K - did some experiments with measurement using our hands for one pictograph and pennies for another. I talked about how units of measure should be the same so that everyone can get the same measurements for things. they thought it was funny to see how different my measurements were because my hands are sooo big. I showed the ruler again and we talked about measuring with that to keep our measurements exact - just like scientists would. they were good and I think they all understand this concept.

Cindy - there were no books on Argentina or the folk tale - I'll send a world atlas I have that shows pictures of the country at least!

Rachelle

THURSDAY NOV. 15

SCIENCE 2 - talked more about sound and how our outer ears capture the sound waves and make it easier for us to hear. did an experiment making cones to amplify sound into the ear. learned about the 3 parts of ears - outer, middle and inner ear. named all the parts and talked about what their functions are - there's a diagram in their folders that they might want to review at some point. they were silly but I think they got the lesson.

SCIENCE K - introduced the unit on measurement. talked about the difference between height and length. we compared objects of different lengths and different heights and I did some experiments with them to see if they could do this just by touching and not looking. they had fun with that. I got rulers out, too and introduced cm. even though it wasn't in the lesson plan. they liked that as well. I had them make pictures with themselves in the middle and something taller on one side and shorter on the other. take a look at these - very cute. it was a good day....

Cindy - I'll have to ask Ella about the sugar. hmmmmm........it wouldn't surprise me a bit - I just went into my sugar bowl this morning (I never use it, I normally use honey) and it was quite empty. I thought that was strange.....mystery solved.

See you tomorrow for the party - I'm bringing pumpkin scones. Rachelle

Thanksgiving Party

I'll bring baby carrots. I'll put them in a microwave steamer and we can add honey and butter?

Yes, I'll bring heavy cream too.

Let me know if you need anything (like jar for butter) or items to make a craft.
Cindy

Suzy, It sounds like Nadia is planning on a play date earlier. Let me know if 8:30ish is too early.

Wed K science and history

Science - We learned about nocturnal animals and read Stellaluna - a bat story. We checked out a website that talked about different animals eyes at night. The lesson tied in the 5 senses and how different animals use different senses to help them out at night.

History- We went to Brazil, talked about the border and coastline, how big the country is, that the people live along the coast line, but how it's hard to find a port because of all the rocks. We listened to Samba music, talked about rubber, oranges, coffee, and sugar. (Rachelle- I think I've heard this before, but Ella confessed to sneaking sugar early in the morning when she first woke up :) . We juice some limes (supposed to be oranges). Quinn tasted a bit, and needed water right away. He said it hurt his neck :), Ella knew she didn't want to try. I added sugar and water, but quite sour for me. Of course my kids drank it right down.
Ranae, we colored another suitcase half - they said they already did one, but we had plenty of time, so we did the other one too.

Thanks for all the great photos. I enjoy seeing what I don't get to other days.

Ranae, the clarinet was my instrument of choice from 5th -12th grade. I tried to continue in college, but wasn't great at it, so I couldn't put it as a priority anymore. I should pull it out and see if I can still make music with it.

Cindy

Tues. November 13th

Classes went fairly well on Tues. the kids were a bit wired, but nothing awful. Here is what we did.

K Music- We reviewed the staff and where to find the 3rd space C. We introduced the glockenspiel and learned how to properly hold the mallets as well as find 3rd space C. They are to practice this this week. We listened to more transportation sounds and identified what they were as well as did a movement activity with this. We sang some songs with our glockenspiel.

2nd grade ensemble- They need to work on Barcolle if they haven't passed it off as well as the songs on the next page. Rhythm seems to be a big thing as well as keeping a steady tempo throughout. If they can't play with the CD have them play it slower and slowly work up the tempo. They need to be practicing our concert songs every week with the CD too. So far they are- Hot Cross Buns, Down by the Station, Au Claire de la Lune, fais do do, and cobbler, cobbler. They are all doing really well, just a little more attention to rhythm and praciticing a song more than once :-).

K history- we traveled to South America and visited the Amazon Rain Forest. It was a fun lesson. We talked a lot about the animals that live there, read the "Great Kapok Tree" and worked on our rainforst tree and placing where the animals were (in the canopy or understory). We also decorated our suitcases and labeled our map.

World Music- we finished memorizing one of our Christmas songs on the boomwhackers and worked on learned a song. I am going to have them practice again on Friday and add a new song them. I am going to try and get to them twice a week so they don't forget anything before the party! Holden says he missed learning about the world music. I told him after the concert we would start up again (very cute).

I found this picture on my camera of me sharing my clarinet in World Music Class. Suzy must have snuck it and I didn't even know. They were very fascinated by it.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 14

HISTORY 2 - Talked about how the Celts and the Angles-Saxons fought over Briain and how the Celts eventually moved to Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The Celts also fought each other but there was also intermarriage and a lot of cultural sharing. Britain became England because it was "Angle Land." They wrote a very creative Celtic story about a knight, a king and a ghost and we will finish it another day. A good research project would be to have them look up some more information about one of the Barbarian tribes. I didn't assign it because it didn't go over so well last time but we could do it on our own and they can present it whenever they are prepared. We learned about King Arthur and they were surprised that he was a Celtic king. It was good for them to have the context in which the story was written because they were all familiar with it to some extent. We had good discussion and good questions.

SCIENCE 2 - more on how sound carries. Talked about how the molecules in matter move differently in solids, liquids and gases. We did experiments with vibrations and listening to sound through water, air and wood and found that wood amplified the sound the most. This is due to the density of molecules in solids. They really understand the concepts I think and had fun with these experiments. We talked about the Atom bomb because David wanted to know if there were particles smaller than molecules, so the subject came up (thanks to our WWII books). I told them just a little about what an atomic bomb does and that it was used on people only twice in Japan. They asked a lot of questions and seemed really concerned - just so you know.

It was a good day despite a little silliness. Rachelle

THANKSGIVING FEAST

Suzy, if we're making pumpkin pie, why don't I bring something else - like corn and some veggies? Or I could make mashed potatoes and bring apples - something fall-like. Let's do that so we have some variety. My kids did a thanksgiving essay for our teacher so we'll bring those and maybe we could make hand turkeys or something cute, too.

See you later, Rachelle

Smartplay family Thanksgiving feast

Where: Suzy's house

Time: 12:oo

I will provide the turkey and the children will be cooking a pumpkin pie from scratch which we will start on Thursday. Ranae is bringing cornbread. Rachelle is making pumpkin scones. Cindy can you bring some heavy cream that we can shake into butter. Also if you have a specialty you would like too bring let me know. Other ideas vegetables or cranberries two things the kids may not eat anyway?

Also have the children think of things they are thankful for so they can share. What do you guys think of having them make a picture and/or writing something down? Maybe we can put them in the yearbook.

See you soon, Suzy

Thanksgiving Party

Can someone pass along some information about the party on Friday please?, just checking out my week. We may be late (I'm going on a field trip with Shaylene and the scheduled time to get back is 12:30, but she's telling me that the other classes got back later.

Thanks

Sorry Rachelle about that sheet. I printed it and left it in the printer. :(
I'll do it with Nadia here.

Thursday Nov. 8th - Art

K- Art Unit 4: lessons 3 & 4 - Patterns in the wild

We viewed the art galleries. We reviewed what makes a pattern. We looked for tropical patterns in Henri Rousseau's jungle prints. We also learned about the life of Henri Rousseau. They painted a jungle landscape in water colors; which they will add jungle animals too next week. Great focus this week we all had fun painting.

2nd grade Art - The boys were very interested in the the jungle paintings the younger kids were working on and French was cancelled; so they finished their jungle paintings. I will be going back to unit 4 next week and plug in viking art when we get to unit 9 in history. The art classes went very well this week.

Have a wonderful week-end, Suzy

THURSDAY NOV. 8

SCIENCE 2 - More fun with sound. Talked about vibrations and they create sound waves and produce sound. We did experiments vibrating rubber bands and balloons and made rice dance to the vibrations of REM on Suzy's speakers. We compared sound waves to the waves in water. I told them about native people putting their ear to the ground to listen (and feel) the vibrations of animals and other people. We talked a little bit about soundproofing (we get into that more next week) It was a good class and discussion - science is fun!

SCIENCE K - Learned about life in caves. They all thought it would be too scary, except for Ella, who thought it would be cool. They really liked hearing about the fish and reptiles that have no eyes or color. We learned about the moisture and darkness and how many nocturnal animals live in caves. Made a diorama of a cave, Quinn really liked making a big spider web in front of his. We took them in the bathroom with a flashlight to see how dark it would be and we sprayed them with water to make them damp. It was fun. We didn't complete the what doesn't belong page because Nadia didn't have it and I couldn't get my printer to work :) Good class.

See you next week! Rachelle

WEDNESDAY NOV. 7

HISTORY 2 - Learned about the Hagia Sophia - a beautiful church built by Justinian. I had some lovely photos of this and they did a great job on the coloring page - they really wanted to take their time and add a lot of gold and color. We talked about how this structure has survived 2 earthquakes and became an mosque before becoming a museum. We also got into how as a global community we need to protect ancient works of art - I told them how the Taliban destroyed those ancient Buddhas in Afghanistan and it was a tragedy for the world. They were surprised that we didn't send troops in to protect these things (their answer for everything:) The second lesson was about St. Nicholas and we didn't get into his relationship to Santa. We focused on his generosity and how we can be and have been generous. I think their papers on this could be a good teacher assignment. I loved their response to this.

SCIENCE 2- Began the new unit on sound. We talked about how our brain tells us which sounds to pay attention to and which to block out. We listened quietly to indoor and outdoor sounds and wrote down what we heard and talked about which sounds we block out. It was a very good class and discussion. I focused on writing complete sentences and being specific in their assignments.

Ranae and Suzy - look at my blog from last week Oct. 31 about the presentations.

Cute photos Ranae! Rachelle

Wed Science and History

The kids had a good day and they got along really well.
History- we talked about the villages and cities in Africa. They are really able to point out the desert areas and savanna and rain forest, the rivers and Lake Victoria. We specifically talked about Marrakech, Nairobi, Kinshasa and Cape Town. We finished the relief maps and used the extra dough to make beads. I baked them, but they were still a little soft. They didn't want to put them together here so I sent home the beads and some string. We also talked about how they don't have telephones in most homes and how they can relay a message through drums. We were going to try to make our own messages, but forgot at the end.

Science- we talked about pond life for animals. They made little ponds with the animals and plants. Quinn didn't want to color his pictures, but then he added his own fish and I think food. Ella seemed a little tired and said she would finish at home. On our way back from picking up Josh and Shaylene from school, we stopped at the Lake to get some water sample and see the ducks. When we first arrived the ducks all swarmed to us and made a big fuss. My kids would have been scared if I let it continue, I couldn't believe how agressive they were. I don't think there would be any nests and eggs around at this time of year. I just let the ducks know who's boss, and they decided to take a swim.

I forgot to do points until it was too late, but they all got 5's for a great day.

Tues Classes

We had a fun day yesterday.

In K Music we--- reviewed high and low notes. drew a staff on the floor with masking tape and learned that it has 5 lines and 4 spaces. We practiced jumping between lines and spaces. We learned middle C is on space 3. We played a moving game and pretended we were space ships, riding horses, and on a train (they loved this one). We listened to transportation sounds and tried to guess what it was.

K History- We visited the rainforest in Africa and learned that pygmies live there. They were fascinated that these people were only as big as them as adults. We read a hunting story in the reading room, added salt dough to our relief map, and painted our loin clothes. We will put them together in the next class. They had alot of fun painting.

Ensemble- We practiced "jingle bells" with the boomwackers and are learning a song for the concert. World Music will be on hold until after the holidays so we can do the fun Christmas stuff.

For those of you wanting to order pictures the sight is http://www.shutterfly.com/. My username is harriman9885@msn.com and I changed the password to smartplay so it would be easy to remember.

The party was a blast over the weekend!

Magnets

Just a funny thing. I was cleaning off David's desk and he had two batteries with magnets all over them so curious I asked what they were for and he said, " I am sucking the life out of the battery with the magnets." Like I should know! Their minds never stop working.


Good night, Suzy

Thursday Art Nov. 1

K Art - Unit 3 Lesson 8: Read about Art and Artists: Manet, Bouguereau, and Brown pages 20, 22, and 24.

• We did a compare and contrast of the three paintings. We looked at the different painting styles and compositions. I think It would be fun for you too view these painting with the K; they have great insights and know what they like about the art work and why.

• Unit 4 lesson 1 and 2: We did a review of these two units. Lesson 1 is an introduction to patterns and lesson 2 is making fishy patterns, which they have done a lot of. Next week I will be doing lesson 3 and 4: patterns in the wild. I feel another jungle coming on and it will be a new subject for them.

2nd grade Art- Unit 8 lesson3: Roman Sculpture

• We reviewed fresco painting and mosaics. We looked at Roman sculptures and learned the difference between sculptures and relief sculptures. The boys added the definition to there sketchbooks. Then they made a relief sculpture out of cardboard tinfoil and wood shapes. The art work turned out great and I am keeping them for the art show.

See you Saturday for some more Halloween fun. Suzy

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 31

HISTORY 2- Began the Unit on the Byzantine Empire (the former Eastern Roman Empire). They really liked learning about life in Constinanople (the capitol) which was similar to life in Rome but with more diversity in language and culture. We also learned about Justinian, the greatest Bysantium emporer who recaptured some of the Roman land that had been lost to the barbarians. They enjoyed coloring a map with different colors to show which barbarian tribes he took the land from. They want the empire to have the land and think that the barbarians are the "bad guys." We had good discussions about the meaning of "empire" and how civilizations can change over time because of the influence of other cultures. It was a good class.

PRESENTATIONS - Holden did his presentation that was assigned last week. I told David and Isaac that I would talk to you guys to see when you want them to do theirs. No pressure, I know everyone's busy, but I think it's good for them to do these kinds of things and it's interesting, too. We researched Huns, Attila the Hun and Asia during the 400's A.D. and found some interesting things - Holden's paper focused on the Huns progress from western China to Rome. Maybe you could choose a different area to look at ( one could do Gaul at the time and one could do Italy). Isaac and David were good listeners and we had a good discussion. Holden included a picture of a man from Kazhakstan today, so they thought that was cool.

SCIENCE 2 - more fun with magnets. We finished reading the book and did some experiments magnetizing screws and needles. We de-magnetized them by pounding them and heating them. They got really into the heating part and had fun burning the screws :) They understand how things become temporary magnets - that the molecules line up and create a magnetic pole. It was a good day.

THURSDAY, NOV. 1

SCIENCE 2 - finished the unit on magnets. Experimented with magnets strength through various materials and thicknesses. It was fun. We made a cardboard maze and they timed each other to see who could move a paperclip with a magnet through the maze fastest. Isaac won and David and Holden tied for second. They all aced the unit assessment.

SCIENCE K - talked about how humans and animals use trees (for food, shelter, shade, etc.) We made a tree and they put some of the animals we talked about and looked at on-line onto the tree. It took awhile because of the cutting and coloring but they really had fun doing it. The girls where getting along better today, but Quinn was being so sweet and really trying to be a peacemaker. He kept telling them he would give them a special treat if they were good. And he told them they were both his best friends. Just precious, poor caught-in-the-middle guy :) It was a fun day.....

See everyone Saturday! Rachelle

Halloween part 2

ok I finished!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone! Here are a few of the pictures I have worked on. I will post more as I get them done. They really turned out cute. Suzy--there are so many cute ones of Harrison. You will have to look at all of them before I order the proofs. These are my favorites.

Wed K science and history

Wow! good thing it was an easy day!
History went pretty well and took longer than I thought even without the salt dough. I had to do a lot of getting back on track mostly with the girls. They were not being the best at being kind with each other. Now they seem better. Quinn did really well at focusing. We didn't get the last picture done. We did do the concentration game pieces for the animals that life on the savana, and played the game. We covered the areas of Africa (savanna and Lake Victoria, Nile and Congo Rivers). Ranae, I went over with them what color dough they will be doing on what areas for next week.
Science was a pretty short lesson. We didn't do either optional. We read about Jane Goodall and how she lived with the chimpanzees in order to study them. We went outside and they followed ants for 2 minutes to track what they do and tried to watch birds flying. This was it though, they were so done after this. I tried to ask assessment questions, but didn't get much out of them. I told them that moms would be asking the questions.

They are doing really well dispite Ilaiza and Ryan interupting. I'm still trying to figure things out since the time change. I'm just having a hard time getting Ilaiza down for a nap. Ryan usually goes down good if he had an early enough nap #1. I may need to figure out a new plan for Ilaiza. I would try to skip her nap, but then she gets cranky and loud and if Ryan isn't down yet, it's hard to deal with both of them.
Any ideas from you pros who have dealt with the younger ones?

I'm looking forward to Saturday.

Cindy

Tuesday 2nd grade History

2nd Grade History Unit 6 lesson 1 - The Contributions of Rome

While the Roman Empire fell, the influence of Rome lives on. We looked at some English words that came from Latin words. The Romans gave us many things, including books, words, the names of our months and planets, styles of architecture, and the idea of republican government.
This was review for the boys but it was fun putting it all together in a lesson. Great discussion.


Thursday please send K art book; Come look with me: Enjoying Art with Children

Saturday I will bring hot dogs and buns, lime graneda, and the pumpkin project.

Happy Halloween, Suzy

Tues. Classes

We had a fun Halloween celebration today. The kids were so excited to be in their costumes and played really well together. I think the new schedule is going to work out well.

K Music- practiced reading rhythms off the board. Sorted instruments by high and low and learned to read high and low notes in music. They used note chips to write their own high and low piece. Reviewed Mozart and listened to excerpts of "The Magic Flute". They all seemed to like the story. Rachelle and Suzy, you may want to pull out your "Magic Flute" book from last year and let Harrison and Ella look at it. We will review more next week in class.

2nd Grade Ensemble- Good class. They need to work on #1, 2, &3 on pg. 10. With the recording they need to work on pg. 7 # 1, 2, 4 and pg. 6 # 1 & 5. That will help them get ready for our concert in December.

K History- We reviewed the African Sahara and introduced the Kalahari desert. We started the salt dough relief maps (Cindy I will bring those to you tomorrow) and did an experiement with sand and making an oasis. They liked this. We talked about life in the desert, they read a story in the reading room about life in the desert, and starting coloring a picture (they didn't get to finish this).

I will download the pictures tonight and see how they turned out.

See everyone tomorrow.

NOTES FOR THE WEEK:

SCIENCE 2 - I need all the magnets and the magnet book again this week.

POINTS FOLDER - We'll be adding the points and they can cash them in next week -Nov. 6. This will be week 5 for Oct.

I'll be giving everyone a new Roster with baby Eve's birthday on it and a new schedule that shows the new Tuesday schedule.

FOR THE PARTY - I'll be grilling chicken and hot dogs/hamburgers for the kids and we'll have cider and marshmallows to roast. Cindy is bringing a fall casserole and Ranae said she'd make cornbread and bring some veggies/fruit for the kids. Suzy - that's the menu so far so whatever Scott is up for is fine... I'll give you some limes tomorrow if he wants to make graneda.

See you tomorrow! Rachelle

My vote

I too like 2 and 3, but 1 shows the most of her, and maybe shows how she's like her brothers?, or not?, for those who would be able to compare.

Cindy

Baby Eve Photos....

Oh, hard to choose, they're all so adorable. I think I'd go with 2 or 3, just because she looks so tiny and peaceful. 2 is nice because of all the pink around her, but 3 is like an Anne Geddes baby. I don't think you could go wrong with any of them!

Rachelle

I like.............................

Ranae,

I like the first two best probably the second would be my first choice; but really, considering the subject they are all cute.

Cindy,

I would be interested in going to one of those Ballets you mentioned.

Suzy

Which do you like?

So, this is not school related, but I need your help! Which one should I use for Eve's baby announcements? I took a bunch of photos of her today, and these are the ones I like.