1st Grade: Week 5 Highlights

Phonics: This week we played a racing game with phonics. I had the book open to the lesson we were working on so that we both could see it, and we raced to see if I could write it on the white board before he could read it out of the book. It was so good for me to see that he actually CAN read fast, he just usually chooses not to, and that is something we are working on in all aspects of life.

Grammar: Rupert has memorized the first poem in his grammar book, "The Butterfly". This week he started memorizing the second poem, "Work". He's really quite good at memorization.

Math: We worked more on adding 9 this week, and did a little review of all the adding we've learned so far this year.

History: The time has finally come! This week we started the project I've been waiting for for over a year, Mummifying a Chicken! We decided to use a Cornish game hen for this 6-week project. Rupert was a little disappointed that we weren't wrapping our mummy yet, and I had to remind him that mummification is a long process. There are so many great resources on mummies that we're going to stay with this topic for another week.

Here are the things we used: Baking Soda, Salt, Baking powder, All Spice, and a Cornish game hen.

And here is our chicken pharaoh sealed up in his salt mixture:

Science: I've decided to modify our science curriculum and study one (maybe two) animal(s) per week instead of three. I think we'll have a lot more fun with it if we take our time instead of feeling rushed through basic information on each animal. I'm looking forward to viewing nature videos together and witnessing animal behavior in their natural habitat.

Spelling: This week Rupert was stumped by "is" and "his". He wanted to spell them with a z instead of an s. Understandable.

Kung Fu: With just one week until the tournament, Rupert is practicing the forms that he will be performing there. For the most part, he seems to be taking direction better now, and his forms are looking pretty good! I think I've also found the secret to great sparring. He spars very lightly with the kids in his class, because he is worried about hurting them. They are all geared up and he's really not going to hurt them, it's just a mental block he has to get over. Last week I offered him ice cream if he fights "fast and hard like a wild animal". That did the trick! The next time he sparred, he was a different kid! It'll be interesting to see if this transfers to tournament.

Field Trip: This week we joined the homeschool co-op on a field trip to the cucumber farm to learn how to cold pack pickles. It was a fun activity and they will be ready for us to eat in one month. We can't wait to try them!!