The Newport Aquarium

Yesterday we went to the Newport Aquarium with some of our friends and our aunt. We got to see sharks, crabs, jellyfish and much more. Here are some pictures: 

 Here is Adam touching a shark.

 Here is a picture of a Piranha. 

 This octopus was going right up against the glass.

 Some of the staff members were training the otters.

 This type of crab is called a Japanese Spider Crab.

 Here is a interesting kind of jellyfish

 You could walk inside a tunnel where the sharks were swimming around you 

and we saw them feeding the sharks.

 This is some kind of frog.

 This is Mighty Mike the crocodile who has grown up to 15 ft!

 This is a catfish.

A Jellyfish

An Angelfish

Sting Ray

Tentacles!

 Maggie Jane

 Another type of ray.

A Seahorse

The Frog Bog

 This is another kind of jellyfish

 This frog had a cool habitat

 This was a really cool jellyfish

 This is a x-ray of a sharks body.

This is Caleb and Ethan.

Other Highlights from the day:
petting sharks
watching the sharks get fed
watching the otters train
going to Aunt Andi's apartment
the bookstore
the candy shop

Weekly Report 4/27/12

Bible- We finished up the story of Daniel and the return of the Israelites to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. We talked about five things that we can learn from Daniel. 1) He was faithful- he kept praying to God even when he knew that he would get punished.  2) He wasn't afraid to be different- Daniel refused to eat the meat that had been offered to the idols. 3) He had wisdom- he was chosen to be in a position of great power. 4) He trusted God- he wasn't even afraid when he was thrown in the lion's den. 5) He was a good example- his life showed others how great Jehovah is.

Also, finished memorizing the 23rd Psalm.

History- We learned about Lewis and Clark and the journey west to find the Northwest Passage. We also learned about a few notable Native Americans.

Sacagawea was brave because she helped Lewis and Clark when their boat turned over to get their stuff. She showed them some of the plants that they could eat and she carried her baby in a papoose the whole time. She helped then learn Indian words.  By Abigail
Tecumseh was an Indian chief and he united the indian tribes together to drive out the settlers that were coming onto their land. His brother was called The Prophet because he was a spiritual leader and he helped Tecumseh fight the settlers. They were beat at the Battle of Tippecanoe and all the Indians scattered. Tecumseh was killed a few years later at the Siege of Detroit.  By Caleb

Tecumseh was a hero to his people. He urged them to follow their old ways, to act with honor and not give in to the white man's ways. We came across this poem attributed to him:

So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people.

When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home.

Science- We finished studying Reptiles. This week we learned about Turtles, Alligators and Crocodiles. Here is what they kids wrote on their notebook pages:

A sea turtle has a flatter shell than a turtle that lives on land. The only time they come on land is to lay eggs. Their feet look like flippers so they can be good swimmers.    By Adam

A tortoise lives on land. A tortoise eats leaves on plants. It moves slow. A tortoise has a shell that is curved up in the front so that they can reach out and get a lot more stuff to eat. A tortoise has a very curved shell that protects it from other animals that want to eat it.   By Abigail

Crocodiles are born from an egg. When crocodiles are in their eggs if it is hot, all the crocodiles will be male. If it is cold, they will all be female and if it is warm, they will get a mix. Crocodiles are reptiles. They store a lot of fat and can not eat for several months.   By Ethan

Alligators are born from eggs. If the weather is cold, the alligator gives birth to females, if it is hot out it gives birth to males and if it is warm out it gives birth to a mix. If an alligator's mouth is closed you can not see a lot of its teeth and if you do, they are pointing down. The alligators almost became extinct but people created gator farms and they are now thriving. The word alligator comes from the spanish word "el lagarto".
By Caleb

We also watched a super video about crocodiles. It came with a book called "Crocodile Safari" by Jim Arnosky. In the video, Arnosky took his viewers on a tour of the Everglades where he was searching for crocodiles. He told about the differences between alligators and crocodiles and even showed us how to draw them both.

Just in case you are wondering, here are the differences between an alligator and crocodile.
1. Alligators are darker, almost black. Crocs are brownish.
2. Alligators have a u-shaped snout and a more defined body/neck/head. Crocs have a body that tapers into a v-shaped snout with no discernible neck.
3. Crocs have bumpier skin.
4. Gators have eyes that protrude more from their heads.
5. When a crocodile has its mouth closed, you can see its teeth going up and down which make it look like it is grinning.   By Mom

Also, we learned about some very interesting reptiles in God's creation. Here are a few:

The Gavial- is known by the bump on the end of its snout. Don't worry- you could swim with one of these as they only like food that they can swallow whole and humans are too big. Caleb said,  "No, thanks".

The Pig nosed Turtle- lives in Australia and has a leathery, soft shell.

The Alligator Snapping Turtle-Has a little pink thing that it wiggles in its mouth. Fish are atracted to it like a lure and SNAP! they are dinner.

Anne of Green Gables- Anne continues to get into trouble. This week she dyed her hair green, fell off a roof and almost drowned but was rescued by Gilbert Blythe. She was also in a concert and finally got a dress with puffed sleeves. 

Sidebar: As I was looking for a picture of puffed sleeves, I cam across this blog post and I think it eloquently describes why I think AOGG is such an excellent story- especially for my boys! It depicts an example of beautiful girlhood not often found in our culture but one I am trying to model and one that they should be looking for someday, e.g. emphasis on grace over beauty, the honor of being a wife and mother and being a force for the good in my community.
Also, I was delighted when we came to the part where Anne is hanging on to the bridge pile because her boat flooded as she was acting out Elaine from The Lady of Shalott by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Ethan perked up right away when he perceived her plight and whispered, excitedly, "Gilbert!".

Pilgrim's Progress- Christian and Hopeful get caught in the Dungeon of Despair. When they start to sing hymns they find a key which lets them escape.

Poetry- We continue to read poems by Emily Dickinson. My favorite poem was...

There is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away
Nor any coursers like a page
Of prancing poetry.

This traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the chariot
That bears the human soul!


Picture Study- Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party

Nature Study- We made new  nature journal collage covers and we also took pictures of an oriental spruce which we hope to add as our first entry  in our new journals.

I pass this tree when I run and I could just not get over the red pinecones!

 I also see at least 3 groundhogs when I run and so we went on a groundhog hunt but we didn't find any.

New journal covers- photo collage made glossy with Mod-podge.

This is Ethan's.

Individual Readings- Caleb is reading "The Robe" (I am also reading this book and I love it- highly recommended!)  Ethan is reading "21 Balloons". Adam finished a book about sharks. Abigail and I were reading an Usborne Book of Charles Dickens stories- Oliver Twist and also Night of the Ninjas- a Magic Tree House Book.

Writing Projects- Ethan is writing a story. Adam is typing up facts about alligators and crocodiles. Caleb is in between projects.

Continue to work through piano, math, phonics or spanish work. No formal art or phys.ed. but plenty of baseball!

Courage Undaunted: The Adventures of Lewis Clark

Here is what we learned:
1. President Jefferson asked Merriwether Lewis in 1804 if he would go west and look for the Northwest passage.
2. Lewis had been the President's secretary.
3. Lewis asked William Clark to go with him.
4. Only one person died on the journey.
5. Lewis recorded many new plants and animals in his journals.
6. Clark drew maps of their travels.
7. The expedition left from St. Louis and followed the Missouri River upstream.
8. Along the way, they picked up a French trader and his Indian wife. Her name was Sacagawea and she had a baby.

9. They did not find the Northwest passage but they did make it to the Pacific Ocean.
10. It took them two and half years to complete the trip.
11. They were gone so long that their families thought they were dead.
12. It was very hard getting there. They had to go through rapids, waterfalls and mountains. They also found grizzly bears and Indians.
13. They saw many Indian tribes: Teton Sioux, Nez Pearce, Blackfoot, Shoshoni, Chinook.

14. After the journey, Lewis was made governor of the Louisiana Territory and Clark was made governor of the Missouri territory.
15. Lewis took his dog on the trip west. There is some dispute over the dog's name because Lewis's handwriting was hard to read. His name was either Scanon or Seaman.

Resources I found: (We didn't use them all....)
How We Crossed the West by Rosalyn Schanzer
Chapters in This Great Country of Ours and also The Story of the World
Courage Undaunted by James Daugherty
National Geographic Simulation Game
Online narrated version for ESL students- it read aloud while you can follow along with the text.
Lewis and Clark: Great Journey West- this is a documentary by National Geographic. It is narrated by Jeff Bridges and is available on Netflix. Highly recommended!

The Tempest

We just completed a study of The Tempest by William Shakespeare. I'm not always certain how to go about teaching Shakespeare but this term really seemed to work and Shakespeare was often their first choice for our readings. We started with an illustrated, easy version just to cover the characters and the basics of the plot. We used Usborne's Stories from Shalespeare:

Then we illustrated all the characters and made them stand up using legos so that we could them close by as we read a more difficult version.

Next, we read The Tempest in Tales from Shakespeare by Charles Lamb. We also found a portion of a play of The Tempest on Youtube put on by a children's acting company. As we read, we talked about differences between the versions that we had read. 

Lastly, we watched The Tempest on Shakespeare: The Animated Tales. I can't vouch for all the episodes but The Tempest was very well done with a great deal of the original language.

Lastly, we may read a scene from the original play just to experience the language but I don't want to beat a dead horse so we will see......

Living Books and Anne Shirley

“Isn’t it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive—it’s such an interesting world. It wouldn’t be half so interesting if we knew all about everything, would it? There’d be no scope for imagination then, would there?”

-Anne Shirley

I really enjoyed this blog post about Living Books. Since we are reading Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery right now and enjoying it immensely, I've been thinking about the joys of using good literature. Here are some ideas about Living Books and how I think they apply to Anne of Green Gables:

1. Living books appeal to all ages- We all are loving the story; from Mom (fond memories of a favorite childhood story) to brothers (who laugh at all the scrapes that Anne gets herself into) to little sis who loves any story about girls.
2. Living books have scope for imagination- since this is one of Anne's favorite things to say, I definitely think that AOGG qualifies.
3. Living books have an important message- there are many messages here but I think a major theme is the redemptive and healing qualities of love. Other ideas are loyalty (bosom friends and kindred spirits), kindness and forgiveness.
4. Living books make you think- we have had some lively discussions about Anne's situations and what could have been done differently.
5. Living books use a rich vocabulary- some examples are capricious,  traversed, ferreted, decorum, gauntlet, innovation, qualms, uncanny, profound,  sorrel mare, sundry, elusive, ruminated, rapture, revelation,  dialogue, animation, deprecatingly, mellowed, reconcile, asylum, perturbation, predilection.
6. Living books describe the hero's moral crisis and growth- Anne certainly grows and it seems that each chapter contains a moral crisis and victory. 
7. Living books contain beloved characters- Anne is certainly a beloved (though crisis-prone) character, Diana is the beloved friend, Marilla and Matthew are just what Anne needs though in much different ways and even Gilbert is much admired for his repeated attempts to earn Anne's forgiveness despite her disdain.
8. Living books describe historical and geographical details- there are  references to the politics of the time and also to the geography of Prince Edward Island.
9. Living books have descriptions of natural surroundings- here is an excerpt: "Spring has come once more to Green Gables- the beautiful, capricious, reluctant Canadian spring, lingering along through April and May in a succession of sweet, fresh, chilly days, with pink sunsets and miracles of resurrection and growth. The maples in Lover's Lane were red budded and little curly ferns pushed up around the Dryad's Bubble. Away up in the barrens, behind Mr. Silas Sloane's place, the Mayflowers blossomed out, pink and white stars of sweetness under their brown leaves."

Here is a map that I found of Avonlea:

And here is a map of Prince Edward Island: 

Renoir

Renoir: Self-portrait 

Our artist for this term is Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919). He was a French Impressionist painter. His paintings are know for the light and color and mostly used people as subjects. Renoir had six paintings in the first Impressionistic exhibition in 1874. . Renoir traveled greatly to see the masterpieces of artists he admired- to Madrid to see the work of Velasquez, to Florence to see the works of Titian and to Rome to see the works of Raphael. Before his death, he visited the Lourve to see his work hanging next to that of the masters.

Monet Painting in his Garden

 Girl with a Watering Can

  The Artist's Family

 On the Terrace

 Luncheon of the Boating Party

Girls at the Piano

(my personal favorite)