First we read a book on Living and Nonliving things as an introduction into Botany which discussed the 5 senses. I wrapped a piece of Belize chocolate in a piece of foil several times ahead of time and gave it to each of them.We then did an observation chart using the 5 senses on what we see, then feel, hear, smell and then I let them open and taste it which was fun of course.
We decorated our Interactive Writing Notebooks for tomorrows writing lesson while listening to some Sinatra . Tomorrow my 2nd graders will be given the assignment to write about 3 things they did on their first day of school and 3 things they liked the best about their first day and then illustrate it. My 4th grader will be given the assignment to write about her favorite summer activity and illustrate it and then her favorite first day of school activity and illustrate that. Then she will have to write a collective piece integrating both items together in a story.
For Spelling we took a placement test to figure out what level to start our words at next week. Nothing too exciting there. We are trying Sequential Spelling.
For History we watched a 27 minute show on Amazon Instant called The Song of Sacajawea in the Hull Theater. There is a fantastic site that I found integrating shows found on Netflix and Amazon that are fully educational. http://edexcellence.net/articles/netflix-academy-best-streaming-videos-lewis-and-clark-expedition I will be using this a lot. Then we made Sacajawea dolls using popsicle sticks and other misc art supplies I pulled out of the closet:) That took care of Art for the day.
For Math 2nd grade played a coin exchange game where they rolled the dice and exchanged pennies for larger coins until they upgraded to all quarters using a fun charting system while my 4th grader used a program online called Xtramath.com to practice her facts. This is an amazing program because you can put in all of your students and it tracks their progress and the parent/teacher can log on and track their progress at any time, not to mention it is really fun for them! They then continued on with some playful patterns by Discovery Toys and took turns playing Mancala while they each had a turn on XtraMath which worked out well.
Our Handwriting books came today so we were able to do the first lesson in those. 4th Grade is learning full writing pieces in cursive while 2nd grade is learning the start of the alphabet in cursive. I used the Zaner Bloser books continuing on the level they left off at from school last year so they are familiar with the learning style and what to expect.
Recess included riding bikes and chalk which is always fun and a hot lunch with FRESH fruit is delightful when it comes straight from the fridge and not a lunchbox.
We did graphs for Health on all of their favorite foods to eat and healthy alternatives to each food.
We went from 8:30 to 3! I cannot believe we had that much to do and we didn't even start the Grammar or Math books yet, which came today. I have a LOT of planning to do tonight. Considering the fact I have always wanted to be a teacher, this is the best experience I could ask for! Why not teach the most important people in my life.....my own. The thing most beneficial about this experience is I find myself super critical on the material they are learning to make sure it is challenging for them. If that means it takes 2 hours to plan 1 subject for one student then I do it. A normal teacher could not dedicate the time to do that whereas a mom has that advantage and the invested interest. I am very much looking forward to watching them grow this year.
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