The Germ Fight!

Health/Ag - Before my scheduled lesson for the day, I decided to take this time to talk to the class about germs!  It is the time of year that colds and flu spread like wildfire, and I hope to reduce our risk of infection here at the schoolhouse.  Last year, we had to actually cancel class for a week because so many of the kids were sick!  This year, I am going to get a jump on keeping kids healthy!  The class learned about viruses and bacterial infections.  They also learned a very important fact: illnesses have incubation periods!  Even though the person next to you may be fine now, they could actually be carrying a virus that has not shown symptoms yet.  We then talked about proper handwashing techniques.  They were also reminded to keep their hands out of their mouths, use hand sanitizer periodically, and just to give friends some personal space.  Now that they know about carriers and incubation periods, hopefully they will take handwashing and being germ-conscious a little more seriously!  Our goal is to have NO illnesses for Christmas!

After our germ talk, we dove into our lesson on mental and emotional health.  At the beginning of the year, the class learned that there are many factors to being healthy.  Today, we focused on having a healthy self-concept and a positive self-esteem.  They learned the meaning of these terms, and we talked about influences on our self-concept. I have taught this lesson many, many times, but always in a public school setting.  Teaching it to our homeschool group was quite different... and eye-opening.  I know that our children are blessed to be in a loving environment, and that they are learning and thriving.  However, today was a reminder that they are allowed to thrive in this way, to blossom and to develop their own unique talents and interests, without fighting or struggling against a flurry of negativity.  It is possible to sprout through tough soil, grow against the biting wind, or bloom in the bitter frost.  Many do.  However, today I am especially thankful for the soft, tilled soil of respect and sweet sunshine of peer support that is present as these little people learn their way.

As a follow-up, I read Dr. Suess's "The Sneetches" to the class.  This is a story about uniqueness, acceptance, respect, and self-esteem.  We briefly discussed the lessons found in the story, but the class will be working on making the connections at home in their journals.

Spanish-  After their review songs, some of the students showed Ms. Cindy their hard work as they recited their poem, in Spanish!  The rest of the class will recite theirs next week.  Afterward, she introduced them to a new song and game.  This involved Spanish names for articles of winter clothing (scarves, hats, coats, etc).  The class discussed the terms, listened to the song, and then divided into teams.  Each team sent a member to the front of the class, where they had to listen to the song while putting on articles of winter clothes!  They had to listen closely in order to pick up the right article of clothing.  It was an excellent way to practice, use tactile learning, and apply their knowledge!

Art-  In art class, Ms. Nancy had each student work on decorating a card to send to our troops overseas.  Then, the class worked on creating Christmas tree decorations! Some of the students are working on individual tree projects, while some wanted to combine their efforts to create one large class tree! 

In social studies, Mr. Dennis began the next unit: The Cold War.  They discussed a timeline of events, carrying them from 1940 through the present.  They learned about Proxy Wars, the Arms Race, and the Space Race, and demonstrated their knowledge through a review crossword.  The kids will be working very hard to learn vocabulary terms, understand the timeline, and grasp the causes of the events!