MFW 2nd Grade - Week #5

We continue to start our day reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.  On the occasion I jump right in and want to get started, Caleb reminds me.  I love that!

BIBLE:   Our memory verse was the same as last weeks, John 8:12.   It appears that we take two weeks to focus on the verse and have some activities to reinforce the meaning.

Activity:   Caleb make a very pretty wall-hanging.  It looks especially pretty when there is sunlight shining through it.  We used crayon shavings, wax paper and paper plates.  Very fun.

At the time of this post it's dark.  So, the next best thing was to put it in front of our computer screen.  See?  Isn't it pretty?

We also looked up and read a lot of scripture from Caleb's bible this week.  Matthew 5:14-16, John 1:9, John 3:19-21, 1 John 1:5-10, Revelation 21:1-7, 22-23 to name a few.   I help him find the book and then he looks up the chapter and verse.  He's doing a great job!

SPELLING:   It was a usual week with spelling.  A word list of twelve words with specific activities each day used to help reinforce the spelling of them.  And then we conclude the week with a spelling test.  Caleb gets so nervous, but he really does well.

ENGLISH:  With week five came our first English lesson.  We studied a picture and answered lessons.  Caleb also had some pretty heavy copy work to do.  I see why MFW had us wait until week 5 to add in English.  These are the books we are using.  The small one is the recommended book by MFW.  I found the Teacher's Guide to help ME, and a student workbook that a mom created for purchase.  It is so worth it.  Gives us the perfect place to keep his work.  Some times it involves studying a picture, sometimes copy work, and sometimes memorization.  You never know what's coming, but we just jump right in.

HISTORY:   This weeks history topics was the Pilgrims.   We read out of our Story of the U.S. book and also from the American Pioneers and Patriots book.   Caleb especially love the stories out of the American Pioneers and Patriots book.  So far they have been about children and their lives during that time.  He never wants me to stop reading.  A lot of the time they keep you on the edge of your seat until the next day.  Even I enjoy the stories!

Timeline:  We added the Pilgrims to our timeline

Activity:  We made an oiled window.  Rather interesting really.  The Pilgrims did not have windows and so they would oil paper and use them for windows.  Basically we took a sheet of paper and using vegetable oil on a paper towel, Caleb rubbed the sheet of paper until it was completely coated.  It was interesting to see how it repelled water.

Caleb also had some notebooking to do writing his summary sentences about the Pilgrims.  He hates to write, but when he quits whining long enough to do it, his writing is so neat.

Reading:  We finished up our book on Squanto this week.  It was so good and we couldn't help ourselves but to read ahead.  We finished it three days early!!

MUSIC:  We listened to the Celebrate America CD and specifically to the song "America."  Caleb was NOT into singing, so we have not tried to learn the words to this song yet.  We will definitely keep listening and eventually the words will start to sink in.

SCIENCE:  Caleb's favorite subject and we studied the constellations this week.  Our topics were, The Closest Star, Constellations, and The Big Dipper.

Reading:
The Sky is Full of Stars, Franklyn Branley
The Big Dipper

Activity:  Discussing the largest star that can be seen without a teleschope, Betelgeuse, brought about a fun activity.  If the sun is 1", then Betelgeuse is 600".  So we measured that off out in the yard.

HEALTH:   Our health/manners lesson this week was all about "Respecting the Privacy of Others."  One of the comments made was about listening in on other peoples conversations.  I turned and looked at Caleb and he shrugged his shoulders and said, "I have big ears."  Haha!!

MATH:  We're cruising along in our Singapore Math book....

READING:   Here are a few of the books we read this week...

Scooter in the Outside, Anne Bowen
Salt Hands, Jane Chelsea Aragon
A giraffe Did One, Jerry Pallotta
No Two Alike, Keith Baker

ART:   So, I thought Caleb didn't like the art and what does he say, "I love art!"  Go figure.  So, he did an art lesson this week and he did a great job.  I figure with him, less is more.  So, we won't do a lesson every day, but just every few days so that it 'doesn't wear out it's welcome.'

POSTCARD COLLECTION:  We managed to add a few postcards to our collection.  Caleb loves to get them in the mail!

FIELD TRIPS:   With our recent study of Columbus and his travels aboard the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria, I thought it would be perfect if we had a field trip day.  I would love for you to pop on over to this post and check out all the awesome pictures I took on that day.  Well, I say they are awesome, but really, I was having trouble with my good camera and had to use my cell phone all day.  So, some of them aren't the best if you are judging quality, but you can see Caleb took in a lot of information.

Our first stop was the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History.

Then we went to the Robert Wollman Planetarium at King High School

To watch the Tales of the Maya Skies....

I was a little worried about the information that would be said during this show.  It had a lot of mystical type stuff that the Mayan's believed in.  At one point I leaned over and asked Caleb, "son, who really make the sun, moon, and the stars?"  He said, "God did, mom.  They are just telling silly story."   So, I was relieved that he wasn't adversely influenced!!

Another blessed week in Adventures in MFW!!

Educating in Christ,

Pam