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Geography - US States

Free hand drawing of the states this week by two of my daughters.

We can take these pages and add them to our States notebook.

Other ideas for studying geography - take flashcards with states on one side and capitals on the other or make a set of cards to use as a match game (write on only side of the cardstock).

Check out Seterra geography games, available online or as an app.

Latin Cards

To study Latin this week, we simply made flashcards!

What:

• Fold cardstock into 8 equal pieces and cut them out. You will need 2 pieces of cardstock to get through the first three weeks of Latin.
• Write one Latin word per card. 
• Flip over the cards and write the English word on the back.  
• (Write in pencil or colored pencils.  We found that markers showed through the cardstock)
• For more fun, add color: colored paper, colored pens, or a colored background or frame.  You could laminate cards if you wanted but certainly not necessary. 

Why:

front

back

• Writing practice (handwriting)
• Spelling practice for both Latin and English
• Forces students to slow down and look at each of the words separately
• Can be used later for drilling words
• Can mix up the cards so that each word is learned individually and not just as a list (This will be particularly important 

Other Ways to Study Latin

Younger than second grade, I do not suggest anything requiring writing.  Simply drill the words orally.

Older students: 

• Write words into a spiral notebook, week by week (with or without looking).
• Write words on a marker board.
• Play a match game. Write words on only one side of cardstock. Make sure the writing does not show through.  

I have a daughter who is project oriented.  She enjoys projects and making flashcards was a much more pleasant experience for her than simply copying the words onto paper.  And with this daughter one project almost always leads to another project where her creativity shines.  She asked me, "What else can I make?" which evolved into her and her sister drawing, coloring and labeling these state pictures.

Ideas for Connecting Timeline with Bible

The first few weeks of our Timeline covers a number of important Biblical events.  Maybe your children already know all the stories of the Old Testament, but I'll be in honest in saying that mine don't, at least not my younger children.  They know bits and pieces, but as we memorize a timeline of the history of the world, I want this to be an opportunity to help my children make those connections.

How do I help my child learn about the pieces of the Timeline?  Not just memorized as a part of the song, but in a way that they can explain some of the terms.

1. First I must familiarize myself with the historical Biblical events.  This may mean reading Genesis and Exodus along with my children or I study ahead of time and summarize it to my younger ones, maybe with the aid of coloring pages or a picture story Bible or some other visuals.

Here are some quick references to help you get started:

(There is additional info on the back of the Timeline cards.)

Creation and the Fall - Genesis 1-3

Flood - Genesis 6-9

Tower of Babel - Genesis 11

Patriarchs of Israel

• Abraham (also known as Abram)
• Isaac
• Jacob (known also as Israel)

Israelite Exodus - Exodus 3-15

Israelite Desert Wandering - latter part of Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy (a little history is also in Leviticus, but this book is primarily laws)

Israelite Conquest - Joshua

Israelite Judges - Judges

Israel's United Kingdom - Kingdom under Saul, David, and Solomon, found in 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings 1-11

2. Define some terms for your child.  For example, "Patriarchs of Israel" means Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  You may already know this and it may seem obvious to you, but your child might not.  When I defined that to my third grader, a light went off for her.  She has heard of Abraham, but didn't know what is a patriarch is.  So, now part of our reviewing memory work is to add in questions such as "who are the partriachs?"  It's sort of a catechism approach to learning: reciting with questions mixed in.  

A funny story: I recently taught my toddlers Ephesians 6:1 "Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right."  My two year old didn't know what "parents" meant.  So, now, I say "children" as a prompt and he says the verse; then I say, "and who are your parents?"  He answers "Mommy and Daddy."  

So what terms may need defining or what questions should I add to our review time?  Here are a few that are possibilities:

• Where in the Bible is Creation? Genesis
• Who is the Creator? God
• What does "the Fall" mean?  when Adam and Eve sinned, all sin afterward
• What was the Flood?  Who was spared?  God sent a flood as judgment over sin; God spared 8 people: Noah, his wife, his three sons, and their wives and also 2 (or 7) of every kind of animal.
• What happened at the tower of Babel? God confused the languages to stop the people from building the tower.
• Who are the patriarchs?  Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
• What does exodus mean?  Leaving (it's when the Israelites left Egypt and were no longer slaves)
• Who led the Israelites during the exodus and desert wandering? Moses
• What does Israelite conquest mean?  The Israelites fight against the pagans living in the Promised Land of Canaan and take the land as their own.
• Who were the kings during Israel's United Kingdom? Samuel, David and Solomon

Note: asking these questions and answering them with your child is only a short conversation, but makes huge connections for your child.  You don't need a fancy Bible curriculum or a workbook or craft supplies or songs or anything.   (This assumes that you and your child do take time to study the Bible in some form, through church, devotions, etc. These questions build on the Bible knowledge already present to make connections.)

3. Go into more depth on one (or more) of these Bible topics. 

You want to learn all the judges names?  Try this song from "What's in the Bible with Buck Denver?"

For another resource, check out my blog post from when my kids were preschoolers on using a coloring book that walks through the Old Testimony.

Diagramming Scripture

I am in process of creating a student workbook that walks you through the process of diagramming Scripture.

I chose the book of Titus in the ESV translation, partly because it is short, and therefore doable for a school year.  

The goal is diagram three verses a week throughout the 24 week CC school year.

There are times that I am not quite sure how to diagram a particular phrase.  In these instances, I will give it my best guess and break down the parts as I can.  Sometimes I will use other translations for clarity and rephrase something to help us understand the meaning and how it fits into the text. Occasionally, I will add a word, such as "is" or "that" for clarity.  These words are implied in the text.

Don't let the first page overwhelm you!! Use it as a reference and move on to page 2 to start breaking down the Scripture.

Click on the Scripture below to download the workbook pages.

Titus 1:1-3

Titus 1:4-6

Titus 1:7-9

“Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”

Day 20 - NATURE CONVERSATION

INSECTS - CICADAS

23 Be glad, O children of Zion,

   and rejoice in the Lord your God,

… 25 I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you.

26 You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God who has dealt wondrously with you. Joel 2:23a, 25-26

NATURE CONVERSATION

Cicadas are not specifically listed in the Bible, but the Bible mentions locusts, grasshoppers and crickets.   Often locusts are mentioned as a plague, as something that will destroy the crops, a result of judgement.  I choose the verse above because God promises to restore what had been destroyed by these insects.

The cicadas in my yard are not particularly destructive, but they can be when they arrive in huge numbers.  I am reminded of Laura Ingalls Wilder's book On the Banks of Plum Creek when the grasshopper took over their crops and she related it to how those in Egypt must have felt (Exodus 10).

24 Four things on earth are small,
    but they are exceedingly wise:
25 the ants are a people not strong,
    yet they provide their food in the summer;
26 the rock badgers are a people not mighty,
    yet they make their homes in the cliffs;
27 the locusts have no king,
    yet all of them march in rank;
28 the lizard you can take in your hands,
    yet it is in kings' palaces.
Proverbs 30:24-28

NATURE JOURNALING/OBSERVATION

I thought about titling this one "The Sounds of Summer."  One of our first observations when going outside is the sounds.  We hear the cicadas singing their songs all day long.  Here's a youTube video of a cicada.

Studying Insects through Questions

NATURE STUDY

Planet Earth video series, Episode 10 "Seasonal Forests", at approx. minute 25-30.  Available on Netflix.

Suggested Reading, Cycle 3

Here are books that we actually read my first time through cycle 3, when my children were in third, second, and kindergarten.  We did not make it through all of the Childhood of Famous American series that I listed, but we actually read (mostly as read alouds) all the others during that year.  This list is not meant to be exhaustive.  I may add to it as we go this year.  We will be reading the books suggested by the Essentials curriculum.  Those are not listed here because I wanted to include books meant for younger elementary.

 

Printable Cycle 3 Reading List