Back to Class!

 Spelling- We went through Spelling List 14, picking each word apart and discussing their spelling. There are some tough words in this list, particularly sundae, righteous, necessary, and advantage. Study up and we will play a game with them on Thursday!

Handwriting- Everyone remembered to bring their border sheets today! Excellent job on these,and what a perfect Scripture to write! “Let everyone be sure that he is doing his very best for then he will have the personal satisfaction of work well done.” Galations 6:4

Poetry- We are beginning a new poem, “The Shadow”, which we read out loud today. I am still working on video editing on “The Duel”, and my brain is in overdrive thinking of our next creative outlet in poetry!

Reading- After our long holiday, we are back into Macbeth! We have now read to page 29, where the evil deed is done. We left Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, hands red with blood. Needless to say, the kids find Shakespeare to be anything but boring! We will review these pages at home and continue on Thursday to see who is knock, knock, knocking at the south gate!

Grammar- We have already learned the definition of a verb: A verb is a word that does an action, shows a state of being, links to words together, and helps another verb. We already know about verbs that do an action. We will talk about state of being verbs and verbs that link words together later on. For today, we discussed helping verbs. We will be memorizing the list of helping verbs, with the help of a little chant and clapping! Practice at home... it will make it easier to pick out helping verbs when you see them! In addition to learning about helping verbs, we discussed present, past, and future tenses. These were new terms for the kids, in respect to verbs. We'll be working with this more on Thursday!

Math- In correlation with our Teaching Textbooks lesson, we worked more with telling time using “past” or “after” and “till” or “to”. The students are getting better and better at knowing when to use which term!

Social Studies- Today, Mr. Dennis lead the kids through a lesson on the Dutch Colonies. They learned about the Dutch West India Company and the New Netherlands. They also learned how New York got its name! We will be working at home on a lesson that delves deeper into the Dutch Heritage of New York.

Art- What is it about buttons that is so magical? Open a box of old buttons and even adults can't help but dig in! Today, the kids learned to sew... creating their own Christmas ornaments. They attached buttons, sequins and shapes using only stitching. No glue allowed! For this project, it was amazing to witness all of the class in quiet focus. It really was something that they each enjoyed!

Music- Mrs. Beresford has invited the class to perform in the recital that she hosts for all of her students. It isn't until March, but she is already preparing our kids as they work on their pieces. She is especially working on playing with a constant rhythm, and in unison. They are doing so very well!