Essentials Week 2

Hello Emoms!  What a great day we had AGAIN!  Love spending time with you and your kids!

Our verse this week was John 1:14 - how Jesus is the WORD.  It's no coincidence that in studying Grammar and WORDS that JESUS is the perfect WORD!

 We studied VERBS this week in EEL!  We got the BIG PICTURE of how verbs are the heart of the sentence and all the parts of them!

I made a poster and hung it on the board and we talked it through.  I sent a sheet home with your kids to fill in this week.  After they complete it, hang it on the wall. It will be an immeasurable help to you as you begin writing essays.

Here is the completed poster if you need it. Remember: the poster is an overview of Charts C and D.  Lucky for us, we will be reciting several lines of Chart D in our Foundations classes this year!  We have a head start in learning it!

We also reviewed Chart A with our wall posters. We reviewed the 5 parts of a sentence and the 8 parts of speech.  We saw the big picture of all 112 sentence structures. 

I know that I say "It will make sense soon" and "Hang on, we'll get there." But it's true.  After this week, we will begin to break this info into smaller, better digestible pieces. And while we would long for a slower pace, the truth is that we will still move quickly but you will hear this information 2-3 more times.  Don't expect to get everything the first, or even the second time.  We are learning in the Classical model of education.  We repeat and model and repeat and model and repeat again.  Give yourself grace to relax the expectation that you or your kids should pick this up quick.

EEL Homework: Mom: read Week 3 lesson: pages 35-41.  Encourage your child to copy or recite charts.  Have them put their names on their papers!  Kids: Copy charts - C and D are the assignment for this week, but don't neglect A and B!  Copy Chart A in a fun way - poster board, tall hat made of paper, wear it on a shirt!  This is just to make it fun and engaging!  Also, complete the verb handout and post it on the wall!

We are still working through the rules and information about N2K.  This week we briefly discussed the order of operations (PEMDAS).  I'll admit - I'm not good at this.  I'm learning right along with you and your kids.  I appreciate your gracious input and correction when I make a mistake. :)

We did some mental math using dice and white boards.  I asked the kids to roll three dice then add or multiply them in their heads and only write down the answer. I was pleased to see how everyone was engaged and motivated to do as many as they could and I was excited when kids were able to go faster the second time we played! I know it was a great self esteem boost for them. After that, we dove into N2K, playing alone. We will probably do it again the same way next week.  I have some ideas on how to get the kids playing in teams, not as competition but as partners to knock out as many as they can together.  Continue practicing mental math and fact families at home.

IEW: We started this portion of our day in groups of 3 kids to read KWO and essays.  I really liked what I heard happening and how the kids got right to reading and encouraging each other.  Thanks to Shelly, Nicole, Mary and Alecia for heading up each group.  Groups will change occasionally and the new group lists will be on the board weekly.

I challenged the kids to use ly adverbs this last week and many of them did!  So impressive!  Keep up the good work!

We learned about who-which clauses, the title rule and 5 senses words this week.  Remember, a who-which clause connects two sentences together that have the same thought or idea to eliminate repetition. Page 31 in your UHB is a great resource on this!

Example:
Sarah loves dogs.  Sarah hopes to be a veterinarian one day.

Sarah, who loves dogs, hopes to be a veterinarian one day.
Sarah, who hopes to be a veterinarian one day, loves dogs.

The truck blew a tire.  The truck was carrying rocks.

The truck, which blew a tire, was carrying rocks.
The truck, which was carrying rocks, blew a tire.

WHO - for people            WHICH - for things and items

We also discussed the title rule.  The last sentence of your KWO holds the words that the title should be formed from.  The title should repeat or reflect the KWO. You can use the exact wording from the KWO or you can use words that give the same meaning.  We did an example from the KWO for The Mayflower Mishap (pg 34).

There are some good examples on page 37 of how you can repeat or reflect the words from the KWO.  I'm sure that your kids will be writing some amazing titles to their essays.

We began talking about 5 senses words - words to describe using sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch.  In the SRP on page 111, there are 3 pages of sensory words that could spark the imagination to using these words in sentences.  The purpose of sensory words is to engage the reader in the story, to make them feel as though they are feeling what the author is feeling. The storm sequence in our source text will be a great starting point in using 5 senses words.

Homework: Mom - read week 3 lesson, "The Boston Massacre" page 39. Help your child finish their KWO (1st tour - 1st paragraph, or more if they are able; 2nd/3rd tour - both paragraphs) and start writing their essay.  Kids - finish your KWO and read it aloud to check it.  Practice your dress ups as you begin writing your essay!

NEXT WEEK'S PASSWORD: 4 types of Verbs - HILT (Helping, Intransitive, Linking, Transitive)

Please let me know if you have any questions on what we've done this week. I appreciate your encouragement and forgiveness when I muddle something in class!

See you next week!

Blessings,
M

Essentials Week 1

Good evening Emoms!  What a fantastic day we had today.  I am encouraged by how engaged and productive the kids were.  I know that today was just the first day and there are bound to be days where class isn't as engaging.  However, if today is an indication of what is to come...I'm EXCITED!

 

Here's what we accomplished today, which was incredible!

 

EEL - We talked about the grammar of Grammar.  How we have words that form sentences that form paragraphs that form essays.  EEL is the grammar of words and sentences.

 

We rapped the 8 Parts of Speech rap and remembered that we'd heard it in Foundations.

 

We used an outline of a hand to remind us of the 5 Parts of a Sentence -

           

         Thumb - Capital Letter

         First finger - Subject - Subject Noun

         Middle finger - Predicate - always has a verb

         Ring finger - must Make Sense

         Pinky finger - End Mark!

 

I sent an outline of a hand home with your kids to help them remember.  This will be beneficial when they start writing sentences for essays.

 

We talked about Subjects and Predicates - the Subject is who/what the sentence is about and the Predicate is what is being said about the Subject.  Every sentence has a Subject and Predicate.

 

We began learning about sentence Structure, Purpose and Patterns.

The Structure of a sentence is how a sentence is built - what it looks like.  Consider a house.

 

Simple - one independent clause with a subject and verb.

Compound - 2 independent clauses joined by FANBOYS (for, an, nor, but, or, yet, so)

Complex - one independent clause with a subordinate clause - www.asia - who/which

Compound Complex - two independent clauses with at least one subordinate clause

FANBOYS + www.asia - who/which

 

The Purpose of a sentence shows the intent or function of the sentence.

 

Declarative - makes a statement and ends with a period.

Exclamatory - expresses a strong emotion and ends with an exclamation point.

Interrogative - asks a questions and ends with a question mark.

Imperative - expresses a command and ends with an exclamation point or a period.

 

There are 7 sentence Patterns that all sentences are made of.

 

*Remember that you can sing these patterns to the tune of Three Blind Mice*

 

S-Vi

S-Vt-DO

S-Vl-PN

S-Vl-PA

S-Vt-IO-DO

S-Vt-IO-OCN

S-Vt-IO-OCA

 

All of this info is on Chart A.

 

We didn't get a chance in class to use the Analytical Task Sheet but we will use it weekly to practice dictation and asking questions to see if sentences are complete.  Don't worry about it just yet if this is your first tour.  We will practice in class. 

I also showed you the BIG PICTURE of all 112 sentence combinations (charts B, G, M, P).  While it looks intimidating, we will break this down and we will make sense of it.  I promise.

HOMEWORK:
Moms - guide your kids in their copying of Charts A and B.  1st Tour - only the gray portions (or more if they are up to it). 2nd and 3rd tours - all of it.  Break it into pieces if you need to if it causes stress.  Read week 2 lesson.
Kids - copy Charts A and B as many times as you can/want.  Recite to mom what the 8 parts of speech and the 5 parts of a sentence are.

Here's a fun idea for practicing the charts!
 

 

MATH - we started by practicing some mental math.  We used the white boards and I rolled 3 dice and the kids added them together.  Then we began talking about N2K - National Number Knockout.  We will play this weekly in order that everyone will become accustomed to playing it. 

We walked through how to play: 

 

Each player needs a board numbered 1-36.  Three dice are rolled.  Equations are made using the order of operations (PEMDAS - we will discuss later - for now use, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) to get answers that we "knock out" of the board.  We practiced in class very.slowly  how to play. It is a fun game.  Don't be discouraged if it takes your student awhile to catch on.  We will not be competing against each other for awhile yet. 

 

HOMEWORK: If you have the Math Trivium Table, there is a 1-36 grid on the back page. Practice fact families at home then move on to practicing N2K.  The more they practice, the more successful they will feel.

 

IEW - We tore up the room and made it a mess and I shared with the kids that you can't do your schoolwork if the room is a mess.  They need "structure" to find all their supplies and be able to complete their work.  I also dressed up in too many clothes and I didn't look "stylish".  I told them that their papers needed style to be interesting and to capture their reader's attention.

 

After we cleaned up the room, we dove into the structure of an essay.  We read the essay on Christopher Columbus in our HBW on page 14.  We read it once, then again, and began forming our KWO.  We made it through one sentence, but I hope it was enough to give you a jump start in doing it.  Remember these things:

 

1. Only 3 key WORDS per line.

2. Numbers, abbreviations and symbols are FREE!

3. Proper noun names (Atlantic Ocean) counts as ONE word. 

 

I will email you a list of symbols you can use if you'd like. 

 

We briefly talked about -ly adverbs.  Behind the Dress-ups tab of your TWSS, on the pink pages (pg 93), is a list of -ly adverbs. I suggested that you choose one and have the kids use it as much as possible at home.  Then I challenged the kids to say as many as they could and to keep a tally of them and that they could receive a reward of some sort.  Sorry to put that on you! :)

HOMEWORK:
Moms: help your child complete their KWO. Read each sentence and decide which words they want to use to help remember the idea of the sentence. After the KWO is complete, have your child read the story to you using the KWO - this is the chance to test your outline.  If it doesn't make sense, go back, check your text and revise your KWO.  Read over week 2 lesson: Unit 2 - Writing from Notes and who/which clause, titles from clinchers.
Kids: 1st tour - complete the KWO.  2nd and 3rd tours - complete the KWO and write a rough draft of an essay (not required but good practice). We will not read them in class.

***NEXT WEEK'S PASSWORD: Structure, Purpose, Pattern. I totally had this on the board to show the kids and I FORGOT!!  Please let them know what it is!

Be looking for the sing up genius email for our next 3 P&P (Pudewa and ?).  Remember:  two people should sign up per event, one to host (set up room at church, provide decor, etc) the other to provide snacks.  Get together and decide on a 'P' theme!

Don't forget our CHART WAR that we are working toward!  Have your kids copy as many charts as they can!  Remind them that the possibility of a Sonic gift card is there! :)

 

If you have any questions, PLEASE contact me!  See you next week!

Blessings,
M


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here We Go!!

Hello Emoms!

Here is where you will find weekly information about what we did in class, homework, and the password for next week.  I'll send the weekly link and you can look here. Feel free to call, text or email me at any time if you have questions.

I'm looking forward to spending the year with you and your kids!

M