Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Classically Catholic Memory~ Gamma Year Week 17

Geography~
This week we get to wander out west and learn about the rivers and mountains there.
So with every new week, we did the following.....

Labeled the map with the stickers (the kids alternate placing the stickers on)
Review the map daily (with stickers for 1st week)
Label and color the maps I printed out (great way for kids to learn how to read maps)
Review the map with the side with no stickers ( each one does this on their own while the other one is doing different work)
Geography Test



Here is a link to the map we used to label the rivers and mountains.
Outline Map of the United States

Latin~ 
We are working through the Anima Christi.
Please see week 10 and week 11 for ideas on this beautiful prayer.

Religion~

This week, we are learning the greatest commandment given to us by Jesus Christ....LOVE ONE ANOTHER! To start off, I had the kids find the verse in their bibles and we read the entire section.
After reading the verse, they worked on their cursive handwriting worksheet I made online. Later on in the week, I had them write the verse in their religion notebooks. 
We worked on reciting the bible verse daily. Lots of repetition!

I went online and searched for a fun, creative craft to get this message understood by the kids. We did a simple heart craft with the bible verse written out in the middle. I did find so many wonderful ideas! You can check out more things I found on my CCD pinterest board. I'm sure you will find something your kids would love to do!



Great Words~
This week we move on to the Concord Hymn by Ralph Waldo Emerson.


Ralph Waldo Emerson was an early American philosopher, poet, and writer. He wrote the poem the Concord Hymn. The poem was sung July 4, 1837, as a hymn in a ceremony for the completion of the Concord Monument. 

The Concord Monument commemorates the Battle of Concord and the famous "shot heard around the world."
When ever we start a new poem, I always read the entire poem first. When finished, the kids and I read the poem together a few times. We follow that up with working on the lines being highlighted that week. 
This poem was perfect. We had 4 weeks to learn it and 4 stanzas. So we just added a stanza each week.

If you want to learn more about the who fired the shot heard round the world, you can check out this lesson.  It has vocabulary, research ideas, and map work!

For younger kids, who can spell, I found this worksheet about the Concord Hymn to do.




History~
This week, we talked about the first three presidents, Thomas Jefferson, and Lewis and Clark. It was a busy few weeks. We spent more than 4 weeks on most of these topics. For older kids, I find two weeks on certain subjects is just not enough, so we delay moving on.

For the presidents, I used materials I had found online years ago when my kids were very little....too little for the info I had found. Most of it centered around George Washington. We checked out a few biographies on the first 3 presidents. We didn't go into to much detail. I still want to get the kids to Mount Vernon and Monticello sometime this year. We just didn't make their this year.

For Thomas Jefferson and the adventures of Lewis Clark, we were lucky enough to participate in a review for Lewis and Clark: From Sea to Shining Sea from Homeschool Legacy. This was a fantastic unit study filled with so much! The kids learn about Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark's travels, the Native Americans, tracking animals, and the difficulties of the journey.
This was so easy to use along with CCM. If your kids want to spend more time learning about these to great explorers, I highly recommend this unit study. It's all laid out for you. Simple and easy for
homeschooling mamas!



We did visit Harpers Ferry in June and they had a exhibit all about Lewis and Clark. The kids and I spent a great deal of time looking through the exhibit.

For an added literature bonus for this section, I had the kids read books about Seaman, the dog who traveled with Lewis and Clark. He was a huge Newfoundland. My kids loved both the books they were give to read.


Seaman: The Dog Who Explored the West With Lewis and Clark (Peachtree Junior Publication)



Science~
Newton's Third Law
This week we had fun testing this law with tennis balls. We tossed the balls softly and hard. The dog had a blast. Needless to say our testing was slightly flawed.


We did learn that if you throw a tennis ball, the dog will chase it and get it in her mouth before you can pick it up. So I guess we did prove Newton's law in a way.
A rocking chair is another great way to demonstrate this too. If you push it, it will rock back.
I found this worksheet on line to help explain this law to the kids.

Math~
Area of a Circle
For this weeks lesson, we headed outdoors for a fun lesson about the area of circle and the we worked on last weeks lesson the circumference of a circle.
All you need is a hula hoop!



I found the idea over at Ramblings of a fifth and sixth grade teacher. Sunshine and circles is what she called it. perfect for getting the kids outside to enjoy some fresh air and sunshine!

After using the hula hoop, we measured our patio table since it was round too.





Till next time,
~Monique


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