5th 6 Weeks Update

Benjamin only has six weeks left of his 1st grade curriculum. Woohoo! I’m planning a TX history unit for this summer, but we’ll have to wait for Hannah so I will try to find some subjects he is interested in doing some self study on to fill the gap.

Ben tags along for bible readings during our morning devotions as Hannah is working her way through the New Testament. We also have a book called Leading Little Ones to God which is great for discussing some Christian topics. He usually has a memory verse or two a week, but right now we are working on a fun poem.

In history/social studies, we finished our tour of ancient Greece and started into Rome. We finished The Greek News. We have weekly selections from Akebu to Zapotec, A Child’s History of the World, Usborne Book of World History, and Usborne Time Traveler: Rome and Romans. We also started a biography of George Muller, and A Roman Diary.

Read Alouds have been fun. We finished Greek Myths and The Wheel on the School, then started Gooney Bird Greene, and Mr. Popper’s Penguins. We also have poetry selections from Favorite Poems of Childhood and Mother Goose Rhymes.

We have a pretty good routine for Language. We have weekly spelling, Explode the Code 6 assignments, write a verse in cursive, and work one Wordly Wise A activity. Ben reads well and he usually wants to read more than is assigned. He finished Greg’s Microscope, Hill of Fire, Frog and Toad All Year, Daniel’s Duck, Amelia Bedelia, and Nate the Great this unit. He spends time reading Shaun the Sheep and Minecraft and Smurf books for his personal time.

Science has been focused on our bodies. We have What Makes You Ill? and First Encyclopedia of the Human Body for reading and have been reviewing weekly water experiments.

Math seems to be a little easier for Benjamin than Hannah. He’s in the middle of Horizons 2 and on off days he gets to play math apps on the Ipad.

Extras always keep us on our toes. We have weekly piano lesson, Royal Rangers, park day. For activities this unit, we had a camp out, Ben participated in an Arts Festival by submitting a video of his piano work, and we attended a children’s theater version of Alice in Wonderland. I get them to help a little with the garden, they are pretty excited about our rogue pumpkin patch and we work on our hideout on the days we don’t have outings.