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Tuesday, December 21, 2010

December 21, 2010 Day Seventy-Two

Happy Solstice!

Sophie's blog: (the gift of the magi) Hello this is Sophie summarizing in 20 sentences (again) the story of," The Gift of the Magi". This sweet old English story is about this young adult Della, who has super long hair, her only treasure. And her husband, Jim who has a gold watch his special possession. The only left over money that Della had was one dollar and 87 cents. That was all the money to buy her beloved Jim a present. In the meantime, Jim wasn't being paid as much money as he was supposed to and he only had a little bit of money to buy his darling Della a present. So he sold his gold watch to buy Della the combs she had been dreaming of. Back on Della's side of the story, Della saw a hair salon and decided to cut and sell her beautiful long hair. In return the hair stylist women gave her 20 dollars. So she bought Jim a chain from his watch. She looked at herself in the mirror and wondered if Jim would still like her even though her hair was short. So when Jim got home, he looked at her in curiosity and didn't speak, He thought that now that she had her cut she couldn't use the combs, but then gave Della a hug. They opened each other's gift knowing that they sacrificed their most special possession for them. This story teaches that sometimes you have to give up something important to you to make another person happy. This story made me tear up, thanks for reading GOODBYE! –Sophie

Christmas Mad Lib                            December 21, 2010

I have had a ____________ _______________ Christmas'. I don't ___________ what I got on my first

        (number)    (adjective)                (verb)

_______________. But I will have many more _______________ ______________ to come! My

(noun)                        (adjective)        (noun pl.)

______________ part of Christmas would be the ______________. I love _______________ the

(adjective)                        (noun pl.)        (verb-ing)

________________ . I also like___________ the ______________ because they are so ______________

(noun pl.)            (verb-ing)    (noun pl.)                (adjective)

when I get to _____________ them. This year we made ______________ of ______________. I ate

        (verb)                    (number)        (noun pl.)

about ____________ of them. Yum! Another thing I ___________ like about Christmas is the _________

    (number)                    (adverb)             (adjective)

____________. I have gotten so many presents I don't _____________ a lot of ________________.

(noun)                            (verb)            (noun pl.)

But it's the _____________ that counts! I bet you _______________ love these things about _________

        (noun)                (adverb)                 (noun)

too. I hope you have a very ______________ Christmas!

                (adjective)             

Solstice Goals and Dreams ritual—find a stick in the shape of a person, which represents yourself, write your goals and dreams on a slip of paper and wrap the man with it, then put it away until solstice next year, when you will pull it out and review your goals and dreams for the year 2011.

Skating: land at least 2 more doubles and place in 2 competitions.

Have Thanksgiving dinner all organic and local!

See the Triplets more often.

Keep everyone in our family healthy & safe.

Not let anyone get hurt.

See a shooting star.

Go to Disney for sure this year!

Make Christmas gifts all homemade.

See my friends more often.

Stay homeschooled.

Have more of Mom's peanut chicken dinners!

Get my dresser and chest painted.

See Amanda, Ben and Connie more often.

Monday, December 20, 2010

December 20, 2010 Day Seventy-One


 

5 x 5 for 5th Grade


 

5 Vocabulary

1. Solstice: Either of the two times of the year when the sun is at its greatest distance from the celestial equator tomorrow being Winter solstice

2. Equinox: The time when the sun crosses the plane of the Earth's equator, making night and day of approximately equal length all over the Earth occurring around March 21st Spring Solstice

3. Ebb: The flowing back of the tides as the water returns to the sea; the word describing the motion of slowly moving back

4. Hogmanay: The Scottish Holiday celebrating the last day of the year or for us New Years Eve

5. Total Lunar Eclipse: When the sun, Earth, and Moon align perfectly making the moon red because the sun is in front of it

5 Details/Facts

1. You shouldn't use glue in scrapbooks because it doesn't hold the picture down and if you use to much it shows and gets really messy!!!

2. Winter Solstice happens on the 21st every year

3. This year, tonight we're having a total lunar eclipse

4. I fell in my double salchow last night in the show

5. Everyone fell in their double salchow last night!!!!

5 Sentences

1. We will be going to Disney 2 days after the Spring Solstice.

2. Equinox is used In the Phantom tollbooth as one of the words at the word market.

3. Ebb is usually referring to tides, but it also describes moving slowly back, for example, Sadie was so frightened she ebbed backward and finally ran.

4. In the celebration of Hogamanay They celebrate with lots of fireworks and a big bonfire.

5. Sally the news reporter said, " This is Sally from news 9 saying tonight's forecast is rain and a rare total eclipse.

5Questions

1. When did the last total lunar eclipse occur on the winter solstice? A: 500 years ago in 1638

2. To what degrees is the Earth titled away from the sun at its maximum point on the solstice? A: 23 degrees

3. What is the Ursids Meteor shower and where in the world is it visible tonight? A: Another astronomical event that will be visible in the SOUTHERN hemisphere

4. How long will the eclipse last tonight? A:3 ½ hours if skies are clear

5. What is the best time to set your alarm tonight to see the total lunar eclipse? A: 3:53

5 Math

1. You want to buy a shirt for $15.00 and you have a coupon for 30% off. You have a twenty dollar bill. How much in change will you get back after you buy the shirt on sale? A: $10.00

2. 64 / 96522 = 1,600 r 10

3. 58 x 14 = 812

4. 76- 23 = 53

5. 10 % of $50.00 = $5.00

Activities:

Solstice video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoYVF9cGshM

Write a 5 sentence paragraph about what you learned from the video. There are lots of ways to celebrate the Winter solstice. Candles, fires, staying up late, and activities like writing down your dreams and wishes for the year to come. Me and mom are going to do that!!! Winter solstice night this year is going to have a lunar eclipse too. We are going to wake up early to see it. Winter Solstice doesn't get celebrated much though, but I think it's cool anyway.

Write Family to Family Game rules

Family to Family

Rules

Each get three cards to start with get new card after each round to have three cards through whole game.

Object of game: One person is the judge and they don't put a card in for that round. Other players do. The card they put down has to match the adjective or personality card that the judge puts down. There is a pile of adjective or personality cards in the box and a pile of characters, relatives, or nouns!! WHATEVER YOU WANNA CALL THEM! The judge decides which card the players put down matches the best with the personality card. The player who put that card down is the winner of that round and gets the card. The judge order starts from youngest to oldest 4+ players can play. –Sophie!!!

Adjectives


 

Funny: hilarious over the top

Lovable: Sweet hard to not love them

Crazy: Funny cookoo

Clumsy: Falling down clownish

Awesome: Cool spectacular

Young: not old developing

Messy: filthy dirty

Fearless: Brave unafraid

Old: Elderly aged

Tough: Sturdy strong

Athletic: Likes sports sporty

Busy: Active employed

Loud: noisy Booming

Shy: Afraid quiet

Far-Away: distance not present


 

Current Events: Read and draw cartoon

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101219/ap_on_sc/us_sci_total_lunar_eclipse


 

Friday, December 17, 2010

December 17, 2010 Day 70!!

5 x 5 for 5th Grade

5 Vocabulary

1. Jesus Christ: The son of God as believed by Christians sent by god as savior to show us how to be true Christians

2. Nativity: The Christian story of Jesus' birth; Also the picture of Mary, Jesus, and Joseph

3. Bethlehem: Name of the town where Jesus was born by the angel Gabriel

4. Annunciation: The Angel coming down to tell the shepherds and the wisemen that Jesus Christ their king was born

5. Virgin Birth: Mary was chosen by God because she was a good and pure woman and God bestowed her the honor of being Jesus' mother. Mary and Joseph did not conceive Jesus the natural and biological way instead God made Mary Jesus' mother when she was still Virgin!!!

5 Details/Facts

1. Mary was in Nazareth when Gabriel came down to talk to her.

2. Mary and Joseph 3were the chosen parents for Jesus.

3. Dad played Joseph in the Butterfingers Angel play that Mom and Dad met in.

4. Adeste Fidelis is Spanish for Come All ye Faithful.

5. We have 4 presents under our tree.

5 Sentences

1. Next year the Midcoast Youth Theater is going to perform Jesus Christ Superstar, mom explained what that was about to me today.

2. I read a book that explained the Nativity and mom explained why it was titled that.

3. One of the favorite Christmas songs is, "O' Little Town of Bethlehem".

4."Come All ye Faithful" is about the annunciation and the star of the manger and the story about that.

5. Silent Night's lyrics say "Come now Virgin Mother and Child" which explains the Virgin Birth.

5 Questions

1. What other miracle besides his birth do we celebrate of Jesus? A: His Death and how he came back to life

2. What holiday is that? A: Easter

3. Why do we "adore" the baby Jesus on Christmas? A: He's Gods son and the star and it was a miracle and other stuff.

4. What gifts did the wise men bring? A: Myrrh, Gold, and Frankincense.

5. Why did Mary and Joseph have to go to Bethlehem? A: They had to go to the town they came from to be counted in census and to pay their taxes.

5 Math

1. How many days until Christmas? A: 8 days until Christmas Day 1 week until Christmas eve.

2. How many hours? A: 192 hours approximately

3. If we baked 6 dozen cookies and each cookie costs $.14 each to make, how much money did we spend baking cookies? A: $10.08c

4. 87 x 7 = 609

5. 156 x 19 = 2,964

December 16, 2010 Day Sixty-Nine

Sophie's Blog: Hello this is Sophie writing 20 sentences for my blog today! As you know over the weekend I had my big play. In case you're wondering, it went GREAT! On the first night, Friday, it could've gone better. But we all had the bejeebers!! I forgot my picture of the house I needed to show Mr. Kringle or Santa Claus! I improvised big time. I just described it to him, and he caught on and saved me. Also in the court room scene the judge didn't appear for like 2 minutes, he was all ready and everything but the director was talking to him and they both forgot it was his scene! But Saturday's performance and Sunday's performance were as perfect as can be. I had a lot of fun at rehearsal for the play and I think it paid off big time. In the last two days I finished my vests for the triplets. I made them and did all of the sewing myself and they look awesome. I hope the girls will like them. Another exciting thing that happened to me this week is that I caught Lily's cold and now me and mom are sick. WHAT A BUMMER! So I can't wait for next week because it's Christmas! I can see me now on Christmas morning taking pictures with that wonderful I-pod touch. Hopefully! This weekend is the skating show. I can't wait for that either!!! A lot of things are exciting around Christmas. I think I've written more than 20 sentences by now but I just really enjoy telling all of you about me and my life and all of the cool stuff that's happening to me. The machine now says that I've written exactly 291 words! WOW! I hope Lily get's her D.S on Christmas. She really deserves it. Now I've written on 2 pages so goodbye, thanks for reading about me. (I feel Special!) -Sophie

Book Report: A Picture Book of Hanukkah by David A Adler

  1. Summarize the story:

This story tells about the miracles of Hanukkah in a child's version. Antiochus ruled the Jews in Greek style for so many years the Jews decided to get into war with Antiochus. They fought for year until there were only a co0uple of Jews left. The small group of Jews also called the Maccabees won. They got back to Jeruselum they lit up the nertamid and the candle stayed lit for 8 nights.


 

  1. List at least 3 characters with one sentence describing them:

Mattuthias: The old high priest of the temple who fought in the war

Antiochus: The Greek King of the Jews trying to make the Jews Greek

Judah: The ruler of the Maccabees

  1. What did you like best about this book?

The details and illustrations


 

  1. Write a one sentence advertisement for the book.

So you're not Jewish? You don't celebrate Hanukkah? Well this book is the right book for you, it's a child's guide to Hanukkah!


 

  1. What did you learn from the book? What lesson does the book teach?

ABOUT HANUKKAH

December 14th & 15th, 2020, Days Sixty-Seven & Eight

We are all busy these days working hard on our Christmas crafts and gifts. We have an ongoing plan and have been organized since December first with a timeline and schedule for completion. I am so proud of both girls for being determined and focused on finishing the gifts and learning new crafts. Each gift has been carefully chosen, planned, and executed. We are on track for Christmas delivery in Alabama and Virginia and the annual Skating Club of Brunswick's Christmas show!

Sophie "school" this month has been learning about the holiday and other traditions that are celebrated this time of year. There are some things I wished I'd planned out better like celebrating St. Nicholas' Tag on December 6th and learning about Hanukkah throughout the 8 days, however the play did take a lot of extra time and energy—so, there's always next year!

Meanwhile we have been watching Christmas movies, baking cookies, working on crafts, learning new crafts, and just spending wonderful time together. It's been a nice "break" and Sophie has accomplished a lot of great work—the week after Christmas will feature posts of pictures of all the gifts she made for the special people in her life.

I am grateful, as I continue to be on a daily basis, for the time we have together, especially this Christmas. I can honestly say, even with ALL the gifts we've made and need to keep track of and ALL the cookies we've baked, it's been one of the most relaxing, joyous, lovely Christmas' of my life. Thank you Sophie and Lily for working so hard and so well together. You both should be very proud of yourselves and all that you've accomplished this month! Every person who receives one of your gifts this year will know that you made it with love and hard work and that means so much more than anything you can ever buy at a store.

I was wondering as I watched the news and heard the pleas for Toys for Tots, which we have donated to in the past, about the meaning of Christmas and the true spirit of giving gifts. Granted, although I cannot say we didn't spend ANY money this Christmas, I can say we spent an insignificant amount for what we managed to produce! Besides, each gift was carefully planned and created for each individual person on their list—it has truly been magical watching them create these beautiful gifts with love and pride.

Activities:

Music

Art

Christmas Crafts

Cookies

Book Report: Christmas USA by Mary D. Lankford

Assignment: Read about each region and write at least two summary sentences.

Northeast: In the 1600s and 1700s the Puritans in Massachusetts did not celebrate Christmas at all. Until 1828 it was just another day to them.

Do you know why?

A: the Nativity story wasn't in their Bible

Southeast: Now these folks are more festive than the Northeastern folks. Every Christmas Eve tor the past 25 years they put lighted floats on the river as a parade.

Great Lakes: Now this region is known as one of the best Christmas Tree producers in the world. Michigan now hosts a festival tree contest to see who has the best decorated tree.

Mountains: A tradition in the mountain states on Christmas is to have pancakes. They all had a feast with elk and sourdough bread pancakes and really good food.

Plan States: Ornaments came from the plain states in 1870. They started the tradition of decorating trees with garland and pretty ornaments and lights. Now everywhere in USA almost every family does it now.

Southwest: The Southwest culture celebrates Christmas by decorating cacti as Christmas trees.

Monday, December 13, 2010

December 13, 2010 Day Sixty-Six

5 x 5 for 5th Grade


 

5 Vocabulary

1. Hanukkah: Also Chanukah, is a Jewish holiday celebrated for 8 days celebrating the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem and the festival of lights.

2. Menorah: A candelabrum having 7 branches used in the festival of Hanukkah.

3. Shamash: The sun god of Assyria; also the name of largest candle in the menorah

4. Latkes: A Jewish food made with potatoes but are like pancakes

5. Dreidel: A 4 sided top with Hebrew numbers on it used in the festival of Hanukah as a game.

5 Details/Facts

1. The Hebrew numbers on the dreidel are he, gimel, nun, and shin.

2. Each night on Hanukkah you light the candles with the shamash.

3. You only use the Shamash to light the candles to celebrate about the miracle of the candle.

4. Passover is a bigger Jewish holiday than Hanukkah.

5. Most Jewish people spell Hanukkah "Chanukah".

5 Sentences

1. Sadie is Jewish and she celebrates Hanukkah, but she spells it Chanukah.

2. Last year we had a Jewish girl in our class named Isabella, she brought a Menorah into school.

3. At Elliot's Bar-mitzvah the caller sang a song about the god Shamash.

4. I've never had a Latke before but Sadie said she liked them.

5. Last year in synchro it was Hanukah and we were at a competition Sadie brought a dreidel and we all played.

5 Questions

1. What is something similar between the Jewish Hanukkah celebration and the Christian Christmas holiday? A: They get Presents

2. What is another similar aspect of the two holidays? A: You decorate with lights

3. What honor did Sadie just have in her family's Hanukkah celebration? A: To do service

4. What was the best part of the play you just performed? A: Meeting and performing with the cast

5. What lesson does the play "Miracle on 34th Street" teach? A: If you believe you can get the things that you want

5 Math

1. 48/ 2= 24 How many days is that? A: 1 day

2. How many hours in 3 days? A: 72

3. How many minutes in one day? A: 1,440

4. How many hours of rehearsal did you do last week? A: 20

5. If our average cost per cookie is approximately .10, how much money will it cost us to bake 8 dozen cookies? A: 91c or approximately 1.00

Activities:

Follow this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VfChLAADS8

then this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vrd9p47MPHg

then this one:

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/showbiz/2010/12/02/maccabeats.candlelight.video.maccabeats.html

Now, write 3 sentences about what you learned:

The Greek and Jewish people were having a war about their beliefs. So Juda Maccabe decided to make the war end. Juda took over the Greeks and started a Temple where they could they could have their own beliefs. They put a candle on the windowsill to celebrate but they only had enough oil for one candle but the candle stayed lit for 8 nights with only a tiny bit of oil.!!!

Poem for gift:

Although I can't be with you all of the time

I'm very special to know that you're mine

This is me showing my love and care

To have grandparents like you, it's very rare

In these pictures our smiles are reflections of love

Have a very Merry Christmas!

Friday, December 10, 2010

December 10, 2010 Day Sixty-five

5 x 5 for 5th Grade

"Santa"=

5 Vocabulary

1. St. Nicholas: 1 of the German names for Santa Claus

2. Santa Claus: The American/English version of Sinterklass, Supposed to bring presents to little kids on Christmas.

3. Kris Kringle: The 2nd name for Santa in German

4. Odin: A Norse or Viking yuletide god, who rode on an 8 legged horse, rewarding children with gifts because they put food out in their shoe for his horse.

5. Sinterklass: The Dutch version of Santa Claus, where "Santa Claus" came from.

5 Details/Facts

1. Odin's 8 legged horse's name was Sleipner.

2. Twas' the night before Christmas was written in 1823.

3. Twas the night before Christmas was written by Clement Clark Moore.

4. Twas the night before Christmas was first called, "A Visit from Saint Nicholas."

5. Twas the night before Christmas is how the American Santa Claus first got started.

5 Sentences

1. St. Nicholas was the first name for Santa Claus.

2. In Miracle on 34th Street they call Santa Claus Kris Kringle.

3. I believe in Santa Claus for a lot of different reasons.

4. Emily, in Miracle on 34th street, has to call Santa Claus Sinterklass because she's Dutch

5. Odin and St. Nicholas together became "Santa Claus."

5 Questions

1. If St. Nicholas is German, how is Santa Claus American? A: Because lots of different stories came together to make a new American story.

2. What are three adjectives you would use to describe Santa Claus? A: Jolly, Plump, Merry, BONUS: Joyful

3. Why do you think St. Nicholas Tag and Christmas, the birthday of Jesus, became one holiday? A: Different beliefs.

4. What lesson does both Jesus and Santa Claus teach children who believe? A: Both Santa and Jesus remind kids to be good

5. Why do you believe in Santa? A: A couple of different reasons, last year in Mystic, the Santa knew exactly what I wanted and what my name was, Mom believes in him, and I just know he's real.

5 Math.

1. We calculated it costs .14 a cookie for 2 dozen to make it with the Betty Crocker mix. Trader Joe's sold a Christmas Cookie box that made 2 dozen cookies for $3.00 that also included three cookies cutters (value .50 each). How much per cookie is it to use Trader Joe? A: .06 better deal Trader joes

2. $2.50 x .025 = .62

3. $2.50 / 4= .62

4. .025 + .50 x 2 = 1.50

5. 24 x .14 = 3.36

Saint Nicholas (Greek: Άγιος Νικόλαος, Aghios ["holy"] Nicolaos ["victory of the people"]) (270–6 December 343),[3][4] also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a saint and Greek[5]
Bishop of Myra (Demre, in Lycia, part of modern-day Turkey). Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker (Greek: Νικόλαος ο Θαυματουργός, Nikolaos o Thaumaturgos). He had a reputation for secret gift-giving, such as putting coins in the shoes of those who left them out for him, and thus became the model for Santa Claus, whose modern name comes from the Dutch Sinterklaas. His reputation evolved among the faithful, as is common for early Christian saints.[6] In 1087, his relics were furtively translated to Bari, in southeastern Italy; for this reason, he is also known as Nikolaos of Bari. His feastday is December 6.

Sinterklaas is a traditional Winter holiday figure in the Netherlands, Belgium, Aruba, Suriname, Curacao, Bonaire, and Indonesia; he is celebrated annually on Saint Nicholas' eve (5 December) or, in Belgium, on the morning of 6 December. Originally, the feast celebrates the name day of Saint Nicholas, patron saint of Amsterdam, children and sailors. Today, since celebrating saints' feast days is an uncommon phenomenon in the traditionally Protestant Netherlands, the Dutch celebrate at the 5th of December his reputed birthday. He is the basis of the mythical holiday figure of Santa Claus in the United States.

Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, or simply "Santa", is a figure which was derived from the Dutch figure of Sinterklaas, a historical, legendary figure who in many Western cultures, is said to bring gifts to the homes of the good children during the late evening and overnight hours of Christmas
Eve, December 24[1] or on his Feast Day, December 6 (Saint Nicholas Day).[2] The legend may have part of its basis in hagiographical tales concerning the historical figure of gift giver Saint Nicholas. A nearly identical story is attributed by Greek and Byzantine folklore to Basil of Caesarea. Basil's feast day on January 1 is considered the time of exchanging gifts in Greece.

While Saint Nicholas was originally portrayed wearing bishop's robes, today Santa Claus is generally depicted as a plump, jolly, white-bearded man wearing a red coat with white collar and cuffs, white-cuffed red trousers, and black leather belt and boots (images of him rarely have a beard with no moustache). This image became popular in the United States and Canada in the 19th century due to the significant influence of caricaturist and political cartoonist Thomas Nast.[3][4][5] This image has been maintained and reinforced through song, radio, television, and films. In the United Kingdom and Europe, he is often depicted in a manner identical to the American Santa Claus, but he is commonly called Father Christmas.

A well-known folk legend associated with Santa Claus says that he lives in the far north, in a land of perpetual snow. The American version of Santa Claus says that he lives at his house on the North Pole, while Father Christmas is often said to reside in the mountains of Korvatunturi in Lapland Province, Finland. Santa Claus lives with his wife Mrs. Claus, a countless number of magical elves, and eight or nine flying reindeer. Another legend, popularized in the song Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, says that he makes a list of children throughout the world, categorizing them according to their behavior ("naughty" or "nice") and that he delivers presents, including toys, candy, and other gifts to all of the good boys and girls in the world, and sometimes coal to the naughty children, on the single night of Christmas Eve. He accomplishes this feat with the aid of the elves who make the toys in the workshop and the reindeer who pull his sleigh.[6][7]

        


 

Numerous parallels have been drawn between Santa Claus and the figure of Odin, a major god amongst the Germanic peoples prior to their Christianization. Since many of these elements are unrelated to Christianity, there are theories regarding the pagan origins of various customs of the holiday stemming from areas where the Germanic peoples were Christianized and retained elements of their indigenous traditions, surviving in various forms into modern depictions of Santa Claus.[14]

The most important single source for our modern day version of Santa Claus comes from the Christmas poem A Visit From St. Nicholas by Clement C. Moore. Written for his children in 1823, the family poem was later published for the general public and included what became the now famous picture of Santa Claus by Thomas Nast ( see below right ).

was the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

way to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! Now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On Cupid! On, Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!

s dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my hand, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

e was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.
His eyes -- how they twinkled! His dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;  

he stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

e spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"

Follow the link below to watch & hear:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZfSoJmS1ug

Thursday, December 9, 2010

December 9, 2010 Day Sixty-Four

Activities

Book/ Movie report

Title: "Squanto: A Warrior's Tale"

Author: Disney movies

  1. Summarize the story:

Squanto was a Native American from the Wampanog tribe. He was sent over on a ship to England. He got tortured and hurt by George, President of the Plymouth Boat Company. He got washed onto a place off the coast of England. There were monks there and they taught Squanto English and saved him from George.

  1. List at least 3 character with one sentence describing them:

    Squanto: a Native American who is famous now; he got sent on a ship to England and got bullied

    Brother Daniel: the monk who teaches Squanto English

    Nakuman: Squanto's wife who got killed by the English

  2. What did you like best about this book?

The costumes

The make-up

The Native American language


 

  1. Write a one sentence advertisement for the book.

If you're hesitant about history, watch this movie and discover the real story of Squanto the Native American.

  1. What did you learn from the book? What lesson does the book teach?

    The real story of Squanto—anyone can be a hero.

Crafts

Cookie Math—same problem but using multiplication instead of division

Rehearsal—last night before play opens, rehearsing 4 hours a night and not getting home until almost 10 pm but learning a lot about being on stage and participating in a professional production.

Sophie's Blog: 15 Sentences about Play/rehearsal, Skate Christmas show, singing lessons, etc.

THIS WEEK PLAY REHERSAL HAS BEEN So much Fun. On Monday we first did it with set, Tuesday with costume yesterday with set, props and lighting, and tonight dress rehearsal. I have 8 dresses and I'm wearing each of them twice. My favorite dress is either my rose one that I wear when I go see kris at the mall. Or the one I wear in the one before last scene, my Christmas daY DRESS. I CANT WAIT FOR TOMMORROW! IM VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE SKATING SHOW TOO. IM SKATING TO "LASSO SANTA CLAUS" FOR MY SOLO, "UP ON SANTA CLAUS MOUNTAIN"FOR CHALLENGES. I'm in challenges to guide and tell the little kids what to do. Senior team's music is "joy to the world". Junior team's music is "Rockin around the Christmas tree" and " Twelve days of Christmas" for our finally. Mom got her cut today. It looks really good I think, it's a long layered bOb. For the summer, I might have mine like that. I watched a Disney movie today about Squanto. I also cleaned my room. It looks really good. This morning we had a clean clean clean time! I had a bath, we did my fingernails, we washed our hair, we cleaned our rooms. It was actually Sort of fun!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

December 7 & 8th, 2010 Days Sixty-two & Sixty-Three

5 x 5 for 5th Grade


 

5 Vocabulary

1. Deciduous: Latin "to fall", trees that lose their leaves every fall (maple, birch, oak)

2. Coniferous or "evergreen": cone-bearing tree (pine, fir)

3. Tannenbaum: German word for Christmas tree

4. Saint Nicholas Tag: A Dutch holiday celebrated on December 5th and 6th, where young children put their shoes (clogs) out for St. Nicholas to come put candy in them

5. Saint Nicholas/Santa Claus/Kris Kringle: Santa Claus is Dutch for Saint Nicholas and Kris Kringle is German for Santa Claus

5 Details/Facts

1. Romans celebrated winter solstice with a feast called Saturnus.

2. Saturnus was the god of agriculture.

3. One of the presents the Romans gave each other for Solstice were lamps to light the houses.

4. The puritans band Christmas in New England.    

5. The Christmas tree market was "born" in 1851.

5 Sentences

1. A german Christmas Song is like we have O' Christmas Tree they have O' Tannenbaum

2. Christmas trees don't loose their leaves which makes them Coniferous but trees that do loose their leaves make them Deciduous.

3. Mom thought deciduous described trees that do loose their leaves.

4. My friend from school, Tiffany, celebrates Saint Nicholas Tag.

5. Saint Nicholas is what Franz calls Santa Claus, I call him Santa, and in the play we call him Kris Kringle.

5 Questions

1. What is the German translation for "Silent Night"? A: "Stille Nacht" is the correct translation.

2. What do German children leave out on St. Nicholas Tag? A: SHOES!

3. Is December 21st or the Winter Solstice the longest or shortest day of the year? A: Shortest Day longest night

4. What starts happening in Maine to the planet Earth and our days on the day after the Winter Solstice? A: We get closer to the sun and start gaining daylight

5. Why do people bring evergreens indoors at Christmas time? A: As a reminder that spring will be coming again.

5 Math

1. Write out the forms for the fraction ¼: percent, whole number, decimal in tenths: 25% 25 .25

2. If I say "a quarter to noon," what time am I referring to? A: time "15 minutes till noon"

3. You want to buy a shirt that costs $20.00 and is on sale for 25% off. How much is the shirt on sale? A: 5 dollars off price: 15 dollars

4. 873 x 6 = 5,238

5. Pull up the calculator on the computer. What is 100 / 3? A: 33.333…

Bonus Question: How do you write that in %? A: 33 %

Activities

Music lesson—worked on Annie audition

Art Lesson—painted glass for present

Crafts—painted ornaments and science project

Christmas Stories & Traditions: The Christmas Tree

German Christmas Carols

O Christmas Tree - O Tannenbaum

Two English Versions

There are many different English versions of the German "Tannenbaum" song. Here are two poetic English translations, both by authors unknown. See more about the history of this German Christmas carol below.

O Christmas Tree
English Version 1

Author unknown

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,
How lovely are your branches!
In beauty green will always grow
Through summer sun and winter snow.
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
How lovely are your branches!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,
You are the tree most loved!
How often you give us delight
In brightly shining Christmas light!
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,
You are the tree most loved!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,
Your beauty green will teach me
That hope and love will ever be
The way to joy and peace for me.
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,
Your beauty green will teach me.

O Christmas Tree
English Version 2

Author unknown

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
How steadfast are your branches!
Your boughs are green in summer's clime
And through the snows of wintertime.
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
How steadfast are your branches!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
What happiness befalls me when oft
  at joyous Christmas-time
Your form inspires my song and rhyme.
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
What happiness befalls me

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
Your boughs can teach a lesson
That constant faith and hope sublime
Lend strength and comfort through all time.
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
Your boughs can teach a lesson.

Follow Link and Listen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LcKKZucaig

Origins of Christmas Tree

The Egyptians were part of a long line of cultures that treasured and worshipped evergreens. When the winter solstice arrive, they brought green date palm leaves into their homes to symbolize life's triumph over death.

The Romans celebrated the winter solstice with a fest called Saturnalia in honor of Saturnus, the god of agriculture. They decorated their houses with greens and lights and exchanged gifts. They gave coins for prosperity, pastries for happiness, and lamps to light one's journey through life.

Centuries ago in Great Britain, woods priests called Druids used evergreens during mysterious winter solstice rituals. The Druids used holly and mistletoe as symbols of eternal life, and place evergreen branches over doors to keep away evil spirits.

Late in the Middle Ages, Germans and Scandinavians placed evergreen trees inside their homes or just outside their doors to show their hope in the forthcoming spring. Our modern Christmas tree evolved from these early traditions.

Legend has it that Martin Luther began the tradition of decorating trees to celebrate Christmas. One crisp Christmas Eve, about the year 1500, he was walking through snow-covered woods and was struck by the beauty of a group of small evergreens. Their branches, dusted with snow, shimmered in the moonlight. When he got home, he set up a little fir tree indoors so he could share this story with his children. He decorated it with candles, which he lighted in honor of Christ's birth.

The Christmas tree tradition most likely came to the United States with Hessian troops during the American Revolution, or with German immigrants to Pennsylvania and Ohio, adds Robson.

But the custom spread slowly. The Puritans banned Christmas in New England. Even as late as 1851, a Cleveland minister nearly lost his job because he allowed a tree in his church. Schools in Boston stayed open on Christmas Day through 1870, and sometimes expelled students who stayed home.

The Christmas tree market was born in 1851 when Catskill farmer Mark Carr hauled two ox sleds of evergreens into New York City and sold them all. By 1900, one in five American families had a Christmas tree, and 20 years later, the custom was nearly universal.

Christmas tree farms sprang up during the depression. Nurserymen couldn't sell their evergreens for landscaping, so they cut them for Christmas trees. Cultivated trees were preferred because they have a more symmetrical shape then wild ones.

Six species account for about 90 percent of the nation's Christmas tree trade. Scotch pine ranks first, comprising about 40 percent of the market, followed by Douglas fir which accounts for about 35 percent. The other big sellers are noble fir, white pine, balsam fir and white spruce.


 

St. Nicholas Tag December 6th

Saint Nicholas

Early in the Advent season celebrate a feast that has been popular for centuries in Christian countries, especially in Northern Europe. In our over-commercialized society, this holiday gives us a good "teaching moment" to remind children that Jolly Santa Claus, is, in fact, Saint Nicholas, a fourth century bishop of the city of Myra in what is now Turkey.

Saint Nicholas was renowned for his great kindness and his generous aid to those in distress. Among the kind and miraculous acts attributed to him are saving three young girls from prostitution by secretly providing them with dowries, raising three murdered boys from the dead, and saving sailors caught in stormy seas. For these reasons, he is considered the patron saint of children, unmarried girls, and sailors, among others.

Traditional celebrations of Saint Nicholas Day in Northern Europe included gifts left in children's shoes (the origin of our American Christmas stockings). Good children receive treats - candies, cookies, apples and nuts, while naughty children receive switches or lumps of coal. Sometimes coins were left in the shoes, reminiscent of the the life-saving doweries the saint provided. Today - especially in families of German extraction - children still put a shoe outside their bedroom doors on the eve of Saint Nicholas Day, and expect to find candy and coins or small gifts in their shoe on December 6th.

In some households the father of the family may dress up as Saint Nicholas on the eve of his feast. He comes in, sometimes with his sidekick, Krampus or Black Peter, and helps each child examine his conscience. He admonishes the bad and rewards the good. If your family enjoys theatrics, this is a wonderful opportunity early in Advent to inspire children to amend their ways in preparation for the coming King. (Your family might get together with other families with young children and celebrate together.)

Cookies: We've done a basic math lesson in baking cookies and a general lesson on how baking uses chemistry. Today we will talk about budgeting & baking by calculating the cost per cookie of baking at home vs. purchasing packaged cookies.

After working through all of our math we calculated that it cost us approximately $0.14 a cookie to bake 2 dozen.

Rehearsal (every night this week until almost 10 pm) & skating

Monday, December 6, 2010

December 6 2010, Day Sixty-one

5 x 5 for 5th Grade


 

5 Vocabulary

1. Joy: The emotion of happiness or delight

2. Joyful: Showing or expressing joy

3. Joyous: Having a happy mood or nature

4. Pleasure: Enjoyment or satisfaction derived to what is to ones liking

5. Gratification: The state of being gratified; great satisfaction

5 Details/Facts

1. The word joy was first used in the 13th century.

2. The word joy came from old French.

3. Carol of the bells sometimes has words to it.

4. Owls, bats, and sometimes cats are nocturnal.

5. Moms name Corrie means a circular hollow in the side of a hill or mountain

5 Sentences

1. Samantha looked up and filled with joy as she saw her mother running outside the beautiful house to give her a hug.

2. This treasure sure is joyful said pirate Bobby P. but, joy can only last if you give it back to the rightful owner.

3. I'm feeling joyous just jumping around Jamaica in July.

4. It was a pleasure to stay in Boston, but we have to get back to our family in Nebraska.

5. So many things have happened because of this evening I feel very gratified that you let me stay here.

5 Questions

1. What do you do if someone messes up their lines on stage? A: Improvise

2. Who is the President of France? A: Nicolas Sarcozky

3. What is the French spelling of "joyous"? A: Joie

4. How do you say "Merry Christmas" is Spanish? A: Feliz Navidad

5. How many medals do you have now? A: 73

5 Math

1. 64 x 64 = 4,096 Then divide that sum by 8= 512

2. 65 / 45987 = 743 r 32

3. 66 – 13 =53

4. 67 x 10 =670

5. 68 – 15 x 2 + 69 = 175

Friday, December 3, 2010

December 3, 2010 Day Sixty

Activities:

Current Events:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101202/sc_nm/us_arsenic_bacteria Read & draw cartoon

Crafts: Ornaments for gifts

Cooking: Cookies & Chemistry

Movie: "Miracle on 34th Street"

5 x 5 for 5th Grade

5 Vocabulary

1. Granulated: To form in granules and grains; granulated sugar is like very small crystals

2. Temperature: The measurement of how hot or cold something is in degrees

3. Yeast: any of several yeasts of the genus Saccharomyces,  used in brewing alcoholic beverages, as a leaven in baking breads, and in pharmacology as a source of vitamins and proteins. Compare bottom yeast, brewer's yeast, top yeast Used in making bread rise.

4. Resting (cooking or baking): In the chemical process you need to let meat or dough be or rest before starting another process

5. Refrigerated: To keep in refrigerator


 

5 Details/Facts

1. I learned how to make friendship bracelets yesterday Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

2. We will rehearse Miracle On 34th Street every single day of the week with costume next week.

3. Daniel D. Tompkins was John Quincy Adams vice president.

4. In England, on your bike means go real fast.

5. Supercalifragilisticexpealadotious is spelled like that.


 

5 Sentences

1. Granulated sugar is different than powdered sugar because it is in individual balls, granules or crystals.

2. When you are sick a thermometer checks your temperature to see if you are above average or below.

3. Yeast helps bread rise, if you let it rest for a while.

4. On Thanksgiving mom had to let the turkey rest before she could do the next step.

5. We refrigerated the dough for 2 hours yesterday all of the dough will make 252 cookies!


 

5 Questions

1. What kind of science is cooking and baking like and why? A: Chemistry, the reactions of what the ingredients taste like together

2. What is the most common usage of decimals in daily life? A: MONEY

3. What is one important thing to remember when working on finger weaving? A: To tighten the strings

4. What other movie did the actress who starred as Susan in Miracle on 34th Street go on to star in later and what was her name? A: "West Side Story" and Natalie Wood

5. What is one of the most important things to remember when baking and working with a recipe? A: Follow the STEPS!

5 Math

  1. A: 425. B: 4.25 C: 42.5 D: .425

What decimal places are each figure? Tens, Tenths, Ones, Hundreds, Hundreths

A: Hundreths

B: Ones

C: Tens

D: Tenths

2. ¾ is how much in %? A: 75% Which is how many cents? A: 75 c or 3 quarters

3. .25 + .25 = .50 How do you write that in %? A: 50%? And in a fraction? A: ½

4. 66 x 13 = 858

5. 5 x .5 = .25


 

Sophie's Blog: I watched the movie Miracle on 34th street today. The girl who played Susan was Natalie Wood. Most of the lines in the movie were the same as in our script. The guy who played Santa Claus was really good. I wanted to watch the movie because I need to know how Susan would act. I got my script back last rehearsal. I have to practice my lines a lot!!!!!!! On Monday we're going to run through with costume, I'm very excited!

December 2, 2010 Day Fifty-Nine

Activities

Cookies & Math—multiplication, fractions, measuring, time & temperature—fractions to percents to money

Craft—finger weaving

Book/ Movie Report

Title: "Felicity: An American Girl Adventure"

  1. Summarize the story: The movie/story was about a young 10 year old girl named Felicity growing up in 1775. She tames a horse that got beaten named Penny. She has to decide if she wants to be a Patriot or a Loyalist. Lots of other things happen to Felicity.
  2. List at least 3 characters with one sentence describing them:

Felicity: Courageous child who lives in 17th century

Elizabeth: A Loyalist whose sister doesn't want her talking to Felicity but they become best friends anyway

Chickeenee: From a Native American family. He torches Penny at first, he's a bad guy at first but a hero at the end

  1. What did you like best about this book?

I liked the actor who played Felicity and Penny

  1. Write a one sentence advertisement for the book.

If you're in the mood for the 17th century, this movie will lift your mood by the minute.

  1. What did you learn from the book? What lesson does the book teach?

    I learned about the 17th century.

Skating 3 hours

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

November 30th & December 1, Day Fifty-Seven & Eight

Since Sophie worked so hard on his first unit and accomplished so much with her presentation and she is so busy preparing for the Christmas skate show and Miracle on 34th Street and because homeschool is about learning, not testing, we are spending the school-month of December making Christmas gifts for everyone on our list. Sophie will continue to complete three 5 x 5 s a week and they will be a little different than what we have been doing, which have been thematically linked to the unit. For the month of December the 5 x 5s will vary between commonly misspelled words, fun words, holiday-inspired words, etc. Also we've made a big change after Sophie's math Review to replace the pictures/illustrations with 5 math problems.

Sophie will continue to post her blog and I will make some comments but we are going forward in stealth-mode on our projects and any details of what she's doing because she is making Christmas gifts. At the end of December we will list and take photos of all she's learned and made. It will be great!

So welcome to the month of December and almost Day 60 of school—I can't believe it! Sophie and I both consider this part of school as a "break" but she will continue to learn! Today she is off with Gamma to the fabric store and next week will learn how to cut a pattern and use the sewing machine…and there's math to practice in cookie-baking...Happy Holidays All!

5 x 5 for 5th Grade

5 Vocabulary

1. Ordinarily: A common occurrence

2. Weather: A noun describing meteorological conditions of the Earth

3. Whether: Connecting word used in comparison

4. Scholastic: Of or pertaining to education

5. Necessarily: As an inevitable or natural consequence

5 Details/Facts

1. My favorite Christmas song is "Twelve Days of Christmas" by, "Fr Russel Roide. "Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

2. The 3 ghosts in a Christmas Carol are the ghost of Christmas past, present and future.

3. The Christmas Carol was written by Charles Dickens.

4. Mom's favorite Christmas song is, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."

5. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" was written by Ralph Blaine.

5 Sentences

1. Mom said I could combine all my words and make one sentence.

2. We ordinarily go to Friendship for a scholastic reason, but not necessarily every Tuesday whether the weather is fine.

3.

4.

5.

5 Questions

1. What year was The Christmas Carol written? A: The book was written on December 19, 1843

2. What kind of math did Hypatia work on? A: She did astronomy, philosophy, and mathematics.

3. What are two definitions for the word "score"? A: The record of points or strokes in a sport and composition of music

4. What is a soucow jump in skating? A: A jump taking off from an inside edge going a half rotation around, or a double 2 times a round.

5. Who is your favorite skater? A: Either Sasha Cohen, Even Lysachek, or Kim Yu Na.

5 Math

1. 204 x 32 = 6,528

2. 81 x 81 = 6,561

3. Take the two sums from 1 & 2 and multiply together. 426,980,208

4. If we drive 50 miles to Friendship on Tuesday and the Prius gets 48 miles to the gallon and gas is $3.05 a gallon, how much gas do we use and how much money does it cost to drive? $ 6:10c

5. 5463/ 32 = 170r23

Activities:

Music

Art

Crafts

Cooking—Christmas cookies, round 1

Letter to Santa

Plus skating & rehearsal

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

November 29, 2010 Day Fifty-Six

5 x 5 for 5th Grade

5 Math

5 Vocabulary

1. Wednesday: The fourth day of the week

2. Experience: An act or activity that you've done before, that you're good at; you can offer experience

3. Sincerely: A formal closing remark in a letter

4. Experiment: Usually pertaining to science to test out a theory

5. Especially: With special emphasis

5 Details/Facts

1. Wednesday comes from the god Wodan.

2. Virgo is the biggest constellation in the zodiac.

3. The next unit I'm going to learn about is colonial life.

4. My play on Thanksgiving was called The Voyage of 1586.

5. Celestial is referring to the stars and sky.

5 Sentences

1. At 7:00 in the morning on Wednesday, I'm on the ice!

2. Dead reckoning doesn't have a tool to help out other than a brain, good eyesight and experience.

3. If you were writing a letter to the president, you would always sign it sincerely.

4. We did a science experiment a while ago, with the bottle cap and the needle.

5. I love to skate, especially in performances.

5 Questions & Answers

1. What was the theme of today's 5 x 5 vocabulary words? A: easily misspelled words

2. What are two common pairs of letters that often lead to misspelled words? A: c and s and e and i

3. What is the goal for school for December? A: To make ALL of our Christmas presents.

4. What is the purpose for taking a Review? A: To make sure I've learned everything

5. What was your favorite part of presenting your play and portfolio? A: Writing the script

5 Math Problems

  1. 240 x 81 = 19,440


     

  2. 4562 / 24 = 185r2


     


     

  3. ½ + ½ + ½ = 1 whole and a half?


     

  4. How many degrees for a half-circle? 180%


     

  5. Name one Greek mathematician. Hypatia, was considered the first notable mathematician.


 


 

Sophie's Blog: Hello folks, I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving! I sure did, Uncle Aaron and Grandpa Mike and Grandma Linda came down. In the morning, I performed my play, and everyone watched my portfolio presentation. Tonight I have rehersal, we're going to run through the whole show. Next week we start with costume!! I can't wait to perform it next weekend. Mom said I could get a T-shirt. I want one because this is the first play I've ever really been in, and I'm starring in it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yesterday at skating I fell and brused my hip. I was really proud of myself though because I didn't cry. I can't wait for the Christmas show. It's going to be so much fun doing Lasso Santa Claus.

Monday, November 29, 2010

November 24th & 25th, 2010 Day Fifty-four and Fifty-Five


Pics and video to come.........
Day 54 was spent preparing and rehearsing and finalizing for the Portfolio Presentation and Play Performance. Sophie woke up early and went to skating, like she always does on Wednesdays. Then she and Emma, and Eloise and Lily, and Coach Linda went to LL Bean's for the holiday story hour. Sophie had a lot of fun being big sister for the little girls and showing them all around Bean's and looking at all the animals. Then we got packed and went to the farm.

We rehearsed the play twice, set and checked all the props, finalized the set (which looked great!), and practiced with the sound effects. We all worked hard and felt ready for the play the next morning. Sophie stayed at the farm with Gamma and Bill and helped get everything ready for Thanksgiving.

Day 55, which was Thanksgiving, we welcomed friends and family to the farm for a 10:00 performance of the play. We successfully presented Sophie's wonderful play, "The Voyage of 1586," which was written completely by Sophie for the purpose of demonstrating her knowledge of the Age of Discovery in a fun, informative, exciting play. And boy did she ever accomplish her goal! We're all so proud of her and we will be posting the video of her play soon.

After the play we gathered and viewed the video of Sophie's portfolio presentation of her Age of Discovery Scrapbook. She wrote and prepared her video and it too was successfully presented and received. We had the scrapbook, her play props, and some of the books we used set out on tables for guests to look through after the presentation. Emma and Andy spent a lot of time with Sophie looking through all her schoolwork and when Grandpa Mike and Grandma Linda arrived, we watched the presentation and the play again. Sophie was beaming proud and happy to share her accomplishments with some of the most important people in her life. And now we have the opportunity to share with all of you too.

Sophie and I do not "grade" homeschool. But I do assess. She has completed 55 days of homeschooling and her first major Core Unit: the Age of Discovery—Explorers, Navigation, & Astronomy. She passed all of her Reviews—Vocabulary 1 & 2, Explorers You Should Know, Astronomy, Math. She presented her Portfolio for the unit in a significant and public manner. She wrote and performed a play demonstrating her gained knowledge of the unit. As her teacher I am more than satisfied and impressed with her work and I am happy to report she is ready to move forward!

Enjoy the video and her presentation and pictures from the play. We will post the video of the play as soon as it's ready! Thanks for your support and for the reading the blog thus far.
Please feel free to make any comments or ask Sophie any questions you have.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

November 23, 2010 Day Fifty-Three

Almost there...almost done…two more days! Wow, what a lot of work Sophie's done. Now that we're getting even closer and finishing the unit up and we're reviewing all she's learned and finalizing all her projects, she really has accomplished a lot in these first fifty-plus days of homeschooling. Sophie, I am so proud of you sweetheart.

Activities

Music—lesson with Kat

Art—lesson with Gamma, finished Ben's Portrait for play and scrapbook and man is it good!

Play Rehearsal—two run-throughs in preparation for performance on Thursday

Portfolio Presentation—written and filmed

Scrapbook Presentation Directions

Goal: To present all the work you've accomplished to an audience.

Objective: To tell the "story" of your scrapbook.

Remember, your audience will have an opportunity to look through and read your Age of Discovery Scrapbook and all its "facts" and labels. Your presentation is your opportunity to tell them more about the story of the Age of Discovery that you learned.

Keep it casual, like you were sitting down with each of them and looking through the scrapbook together. What would you explain? Which parts do you like best? What else can you teach them about the subject? What parts are you proud of? What did like most about what you learned?

Prepare a written paragraph (or more) for each page of your scrapbook as a script to help you when we film your presentation. Think about writing your paragraphs like you were writing your blog or an email or a letter to someone.

Introduction. Hi, my name is Sophie Calderwood. This is my 5th grade Portfolio Presentation about the Age of Discovery. I made a scrapbook on everything I learned about explorers, navigation, ships, Native Americans, maps, and how America was discovered.

The Sea Chest. On this first page I have my sea chest that Gamma helped me with in art class. It is important to a sailor because they carry their stuff in it. I made it based on a book report I did on a book called The Sea Chest. Inside it I have navigating tools like this parallel ruler, and this compass tool. I also have a regular compass and an astrolabe. I will be using the sea chest and all of its navigating tools as props in my play, "The Voyage of 1586." In my assignment with Bo I had to think of things that I would put in a sea chest if I were going on a journey. You can read about the ten most important things I would put in my sea chest.

Title Page. This is my title page, The Age of Discovery. I worked very hard on this map and it is very detailed.

Viking Page. When we turn the page we have my two Viking pages. I made my first Viking map at the Mystic Seaport with Grandpa Mike. Emma and I drove by this landmark in Providence, Rhode Island where the Vikings landed in the year 1000. On this map I can move Lief Erikson and Erik the Red's ships along their path to Newfoundland.

The Play. These are the pictures of the play I made up called "The Voyage of 1586." This play includes a whole bunch of key words that I learned and used in my dialogue. The characters in the play are my character Ben, Gamma's character Samuel, Bill's character Captain Berrin, Mom's character Adotte, and Lily's character Ariel the Dog. In my last couple of art lessons with Gamma we've been working on this portrait of my character Ben. As you can see I've improved a lot in my art. I thank Gamma and Bill for letting me have the time to go to the farm and work on my play.

Ships and Navigation. These two pages are about ships and navigation. The ship I used in my play is a carrack. The ship's name is The Calderwood. The other ship on my first page is a caravel and it's a much smaller ship and it has lateen sails. I painted this picture of The Calderwood and I chose it to be a carrack because it was used more often for explorers around the time of the voyage of 1586. As you can see, I labeled all the parts of the ship.

Field Trips. We went to the Mystic Seaport, the Pequot Village, and the Osher Map Gallery for our big field trips. We collected brochures to put on this page. Probably my favorite field trip out of these three was the Pequot Village because I liked all the statues in the village. It looked very realistic.

Native Americans. Now we move on to Native Americans and on this page it tells about the land bridge and how Native Americans got here. The Land Bridge was a big piece of land that crossed over from Asia to North America and people migrated over it thousands of years ago and they became the Native Americans. It also tells about the tribes in New England and Maine.

Native Americans have different houses for different areas if North America. The grass house, long house, cliff dwellings, tee pees, and wigwams. The character Adotte in my play lives in a wigwam.

Wampum. Wampum was very important to the Native Americans because they valued it. This is my handmade Wampum belt. Wampum belts were used to tell a story. My wampum belt says "We are peaceful." Mom and I also made this necklace that Adotte is going to use in the play.

This is the picture of Adotte or Mom in her costume. I found the costume at Salvation Army and Mom said I have a very good eye for costumes!

Columbus. Finally we move on to Explorers! The first explorer in this scrapbook is Columbus. Christopher, that is. I am moving the ships along the paths Columbus took. He took four journeys. The three most important things that Mom wanted me to know about Columbus is that he is a dreamer and he never gave up. This other most important thing is that he believed he had a destiny and he died believing he found the Indies. The third thing I learned about Columbus is that he was the first to have a relationship with the Native Americans and he didn't treat them very well. His three ships were the Pinta, The Santa Maria, and the Nina.

Web Quest. I did an explorers web quest and I learned about explorers that I didn't really know about like Marco Polo and Ferdinand Magellan. A web quest is an on-line quest where I go to sites and learn about whatever it is I am studying and I follow the directions. My explorer's web quest I think was very fun, especially learning about Ferdinand Magellan because he had an Animaniacs video tell the story about him.

In my web quest I also learned about Prince Henry the Navigator. It's ironic that Mom had this page that said "There lived a handsome prince," and I used it for Prince Henry! Henry was the first to open a navigating school in Europe.

Bartholemu Diaz was the first to go around the Cape of Good Hope, which is the tip of Africa and he's famous for that. Vasco de Gama was about ten years later than Dias and he took the same route but actually made it to India. All of these explorers were looking for one thing: spices and a faster route to the Indies. Most of the explorers did not find what they were looking for but found new land!

Conquistadors. The Spanish explorers were called Conquistadors. Some of the famous ones were Coronado, who was the first European to discover the Grand Canyon. Ponce de Leon who discovered Florida while we was looking for the Fountain of Youth. And Hernando de Soto who crossed the Mississippi River.

One of my favorite explorers I learned about was Sir Francis Drake. He was the second to circumnavigate the world and was one of the first English explorers. By the Spanish he was called "el Draco" and a pirate but by Queen Elizabeth he was called a privateer. The Spanish called him a pirate because he took the gold from them and the Queen called him a privateer because he gave the gold to her!

Hudson and Cabot. Next, these are the explorers I spent a lot of time learning about: Henry Hudson and John Cabot. They both came from England. I read a novel about John Cabot. I didn't really like it about half way through, so I gave it up but, I still really liked learning about him. Mom's favorite explorer, Henry Hudson, explored around Northern Canada and he was looking for the Northwest Passage. This is probably one of my favorite pages because of the ice!

Constellations & Polaris. Constellations were very important to navigators exploring on the sea. They were helpful because they were the calendar for sailors. It's like a calendar because as the Earth rotates around the sun the constellations in the sky change with the seasons and sailors identified the pictures or constellations in the sky and that's how they knew what month it was.

Polaris or The North Star was very helpful for navigation because that's always where North is. This picture illustrates how sailors used the North Star to navigate by measuring the ship's position or angle in relation to the horizon and Polaris. The North Star was particularly important before compasses because explorers like the Vikings used it to show them where North was.

Mexico and South America. The next explorers I learned about were Amerigo Vespucci, Hernando Cortez, and Vasco Nunez de Balboa. Cortes conquered Montezuma and the Aztecs in Mexico. America was named after Amerigo Vespucci because he was the first explorer to realize that it was a New World and not the Indies, so a mapmaker named the new continent for him. South America was mostly conquered by the Spanish. Balboa was the first European to see the Pacific Ocean while standing on Panama. He soon realized that that it he couldn't get his ships through the small bit of land that we call Panama.

Cartier & de Champlain. Jacques Cartier was a French explorer who explored around Canada searching for the Northwest Passage. He was one of the first explorers in Canada and he discovered the St. Lawrence River. He met the Iroquois Indians. Samuel de Champlain sailed after Cartier for France and he also explored Canada. He colonized Quebec City and started the fur trade.

Iroquois. The Iroquois were a Confederacy of six Native American tribes in upper New York/ Vermont / Canada area. In my web quest I had to choose three topics to learn about. I chose Music & Dance, Clothing, and Sports & Games. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a famous poem about Hiawatha, who was an Iroquois Indian. Before I watched the video and did my web quest, I read the poem with Bill.

On this page I talked about the Huron Carol, as well as the pow-wow dance. The Hurons were the Wydonot tribe in the Iroquois Confederacy. The Huron Carol is a Canadian Christmas hymn sung in the Huron language. I listened to it and I thought it was very pretty.

Picture Sentences. These were props in my play that Ben used to communicate with Adotte. They're called picture sentences. Picture sentences tell a story using drawings. This first sentence says "we come in peace and mean no harm." This one says "we welcome you to this land." And this one means "would you indigenous people have some food and shelter for us?"

Folder.And finally in the folder is my script for the play. I have also included the list of Key Words I learned and used in my script. You will also find copies of the Reviews I completed for this unit, as well as some really fun Mad Libs I wrote. Please feel free to try taking the Reviews yourself and doing the Mad Libs!

Conclusion. Thank you for watching my Portfolio Presentation and I hoped you learned as much as I did! It has been fun learning about the Age of Discovery and I thank Mom, Gamma, Bo, and Dad for helping me with this unit. I invite you to look through my scrapbook and read the facts. I will be available to answer any questions you have! I hope you enjoyed watching!


 


 


 

November 22, 2010 Day Fifty-Two

Review Day! 3 plus hours of Review work today and then on to farm for Play Rehearsal!

Good, hard work today but worth it because we're almost done with the unit!


 

Math Review: Sophie and I both struggled with this review. Sophie has a tendency to try to make math a lot harder than she needs to. Strangely, she goes at word problems especially assuming it's going to be a lot more difficult than it needs to be. She is also learning the hard lesson about math, especially with word problems, that a lot of the math you do are "steps" in a process towards the answer.

answer out. This can be interesting with me as her teacher because I struggle with math and numbers so much and it is in my nature to get very frustrated and to give up. One thing I have learned with math is to (and Sophie has heard me say this over and over and it's a lesson she is still learning) "TAKE YOUR TIME"!

So, we struggled. We worked on the Review together and Sophie did all the math on her own, with my support and guidance when needed. Math is going to be tough for us. But I think I am definitely challenging her with this Review and for the most part she did really well. The point of the Review is not to "test" her necessarily, but rather to "check in" and see where she is, where she's struggling, and where we need to work harder.

Because of this struggle we're having with Math, I have decided to alter the 5 x 5 for 5th grade and we are substituting the 5 pictures/ illustrations, which are not always applicable or easy to upload to the blog, with 5 math problems. Sophie is not super-excited about this change, which will be implemented starting next week, but I think once she gets into the practice of it she will be happy with the results.

Math Review

  1. You are building a stage! The measurements for your stage are 10 feet long by 6 feet wide by 1 foot tall. What is the Area of your stage? If plywood sheets are sold in prescribed measurements of 4 feet by 8 feet, approximately how many sheets of plywood do you need for your stage? If each plywood sheet costs $15, how much money do you need to build your stage?

    Area = 60 square feet 3 sheets of plywood $45.00


     

  2. We are sending a package to the girls in Virginia. Our box is 24 inches long by 12 inches wide by 6 inches tall. We will send books that measure 6 in by 6 in. by 1 inch. We will send boxes of cookies that measures 4 in by 6 in by 2 inches. We will send ornaments measuring 4 in by 2 in by 1 inch. And we will send them 3 pairs of shoes in boxes measuring 12 in by 6 in by 6 inches. How much space do we have to fill the box with presents? Can we send all the presents we want to in this box?

    1728 inches cubed 1572 inches cubed of presents     Yes!


     

  3. I have one whole pizza. I cut the pizza across four times. How many slices do I have? How do you write that in a fraction? If there are four people eating, how many slices each can they eat? How do you write their share in a fraction?

    8 slices 8/8 or 1 whole 2 slices 4/8 or ¼ of pie


     

  4. Our Disney trip will cost approximately $2500.00. There are four people traveling and we will be gone for fourteen days. How much per person per day will we spend on our vacation? We have twelve weeks to save all the money. How much money per week do we need to save?

    $45.oo per person, per day    $208.00 per week


     

  5. If we leave our house on Monday at 6:30 am and it takes approximately 11 hours and 15 minutes to arrive in Virginia, what time will we arrive? On the next day our travel time will be approximately twelve and a half hours. If we want to arrive by 7:30 pm, what time should we leave Virginia?

    5:45 pm on Monday

    7:00 am on Tuesday


     


     

    Bonus Question: Re-draw, label, and calculate our Columbus Day Nina experiment. (hint: really draw and "map out" the experiment we did in the driveway.)


     

    The dimensions of Columbus' ship the Nina are 67 feet long and 21 feet wide. The dimensions of an average sailor are 5 and a half feet tall and two and a half feet wide.

    1. Calculate the Area of the Nina. ___1407_________
    2. Calculate the Are of a Sailor. ____14__________
    3. Calculate how many "squares" of space a sailor had aboard the Nina if there were 25 sailors. ______4___________

      But remember! There are other "stuff" and people aboard who took up space. We figured all the fixtures (hatch, ropes, wheel, cargo-hold, etc.) took up approximately 81 square feet. We figured the Captain needed 224 square feet in his quarters. We calculated the officers took up 448 square feet.

    4. Calculate the total square feet of the other "stuff" and people on the Nina. ____448__________

      Using this new information.

    5. Calculate how much space the 25 sailors really had aboard the Nina. ____

      _2 ½ approximately___________

Plus 5 Approximate the Angles (all correct!)

Plus 5 double-digit multiplication—3 correct with 2 "wrong" with minor errors, which she corrected

Plus 5 Long Division problems using the 1 * 2 * 4 * 8 method to solve

Sophie also struggled with this portion of the Review. We discovered that she lacking the basic skills of rote, simple-math memorization and recovery. Her ability to easily recall basic, simple, one and two-digit subtraction especially is limited and leads to simple mistakes that cannot ever give her the right answer. I understand her frustration and her desire to give up, especially after you've done all the math "work" and even though all the steps were correct but the answer is wrong, you still have to start the problem over. It's a hard lesson and one I am still learning. So I say to her again, "Take your time." Math and numbers don't come naturally for either of us—we don't "think" in numbers and patterns. But that doesn't mean we can't learn math! For me, simplifying the math problem—even if that means extra steps and extra time—works better and more efficiently than guessing.

I look forward to implementing the new math aspect to Sophie's 5 x 5s and her Review worked as it should—it showed us the areas of math that she's ready to learn more: angles & geometry, fractions & decimals; and areas she needs more practice: word problems; and the math skills she needs to work on memorizing: basic subtraction and division problems.

Astronomy Review: She got a 98% we decided because out of 20 questions she had one she couldn't answer without help but when I guided her, she came up with the answer!

Astronomy Review

  1. What is a "star"?

    A ball of fire and gas

  2. If a star goes dark or "dies" five light years away, how long before we "see" it go dark on Earth?

    5 Earth years

  3. Why is the planet Mercury named so?

    Because to the Romans it was considered a "speed demon" so they decided to name it after the super-fast god messenger Mercury

  4. What is strange about Venus' rotation?

    It spins sideways on its axis

  5. How long in Earth years is Neptune's year?

    164 earth years

  6. How many asteroids have been spotted in space?

    Almost 5,000

  7. What us the name of our galaxy? How many light-years is it at its widest point?

    The Milky Way, 1500 light years

  8. What was the name of the first satellite? Which country sent it and when?

    Sputnick 1, Russia, 1957 * (Sophie needed some help with the actual date but approximated it on her own)

  9. Who were Laika and Ham? What did they do for astronauts?

    Laika was a dog and Ham was a chimpanzee. They proved life could be held in space

  10. What are space stations like and why?

    Little cities or towns in space. Because it is the home for astronauts


     

  11. What are two other names for the North Star?

    Polaris or the Pole Star

  12. What is a star's magnitude?

    *this is the one she skipped but after some minor "help" she answered it*

    How brightly it shines in the sky

  13. What makes Virgo special in the Zodiac?

    It is the biggest

  14. About how many minutes earlier does each star rise in the sky than the night before?

    4


     

  15. In what direction do the stars rise and set?

    East to west

  16. Does the sky move or do we? How does an umbrella help explain?

    We do. The point on the top of the umbrella is the north star and we spin under it, that's how it works.

  17. What happens in the Summer at the North Pole? How about in the Winter?

    The sun never sets, never rises


     

  18. What is a UFO?

    Unidentified Flying Object

  19. Why do stars twinkle?

    They really don't it's just the reflection of the moon

  20. What did a spacecraft recently get super close to?

    comet