Fourth & Fifth Grade: December 7 - 11

It is hard to believe that we are in the last week of the first semester. Getting here has been like taking the snaky trail instead of the road, but I can attest to the fact that your children have learned a lot and have adapted well to school in the woods. 

This week has been rewarding. They all love studying about ancient Egypt. Friday we made papyrus paper and on Monday they will write their names in Egyptian hieroglyphics on the paper they made. Tuesday will be all about the pyramids. If you have anything that might be an interesting show and tell about Ancient Egypt, please send it on Tuesday. 

Wednesday will be Pajama Day. Each student will need to bring their own mug from home. We will make hot chocolate and have individual bags of popcorn. We will finish any tasks yet to complete for Ancient Egypt, then spend the rest of our time together playing games, one of which will be Senet, an ancient game from Egypt which the students made a copy of this week.  

The Advent Spiral will be held outside this year. We will be walking it with the Middle School on Thursday morning at 10:30. Our pod will be together most of the morning listening to some Holiday music, making crafty things, making date balls (dates, honey, nuts) - if your child has any allergies or sensitivities to these three things please let me know. We will also be exchanging gifts. They drew names today.  Molly will be posting the particulars. Please look for them on her Monday Messenger. The students will bring home everything they need for the buffer week when they leave school on Thursday. 

Have a great week!!

Blessings and much gratitude,

Kathee

Fourth & Fifth Grade: Nov 30 - Dec 4

The virtual classroom went well this week as we explored the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia.  The Sumerians and Babylonians made significant discoveries that improved agriculture, created the first city-states, and led the world forward in the quest to understand the stars by creating astronomy.  I read the story of Gilgamesh to them - an abridged version - which, like all ancient civilizations we have studied, has a flood story.  We also noted the similarity of Gilgamesh’s search for the gift of immortality to the quest of the monkey king.

I’m looking forward to playing SUMER with them on Monday with the Bingo-type games they created with facts about Mesopotamia.  The next two weeks will be devoted to Ancient Egypt.  This block will include more historical data than the first two.  Nefertiti, Cleopatra, the quest for territory and the capture of other peoples for slave labor brought forth some astounding architecture, the creation of paper, hieroglyphics, and more.

The temperatures this week are slated to dip into the twenties at night and in the early morning hours.  I would like to stay outside as much as possible, so the children should definitely have layer upon layer of clothing, hats and gloves for outside, and appropriate inside clothing for when it is just too cold to be outside.

We will continue our observance of Advent using the poem written by Rudolph Steiner.  I am always fascinated by the reverence our children have for light in the midst of darkness.  Today is the anniversary of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor.  Sunday was the second Sunday of Advent in the Christian calendar, and the word for the week is PEACE.  As we move through this time of year and observe times of darkness and times of Love, Peace, Hope, and Joy, may we all be grateful for the wonder of childhood and the promise of a future that will be better, more just, and brighter than this particular time of uncertainty.

Blessings to you all,

Kathee

Fourth & Fifth Grade: November 16 - 20

We had a lovely week finishing up our study of Ancient India.  We continued our celebration of Dival - mehendi (decorating our hands with henna), rangoli (making designs from colored sand which we dyed ourselves), and having Divali treats, thanks to Molly Parker.  We were ready to light our diyas, but discovered on Thursday morning that the critters of the woods really liked them. Two of the lamps were eaten completely, and two more were chewed on.  We’ll just have to make some more and protect them from the critters next time.  They were made from a wheat flour mixture and baked.

Each morning we enjoyed circling around the fire and starting our morning there.  We appreciated the stack of wood that Russell Hollister sent us.  The students learned the poem, Brahman, by Ralph Waldo Emerson, as a part of the block.  Here it is:

If the red slayer think he slays,

Or if the slain think he is slain,

They know not well the subtle ways

I keep, and pass, and turn again.

 

Far or forgot to me is near;

Shadow and sunlight are the same;

The vanished gods to me appear;

And one to me are shame and fame.

 

They reckon ill who leave me out;

When me they fly, I am the wings;

I am the doubter and the doubt,

I am the hymn the Brahmin sings.

 

The strong gods pine for my abode,

And pine in vain the sacred Seven;

But thou, meek lover of the good!

Find me, and turn thy back on heaven.

They would benefit from reciting regularly, especially the last verse.  When we return I want to video our reciting this poem for the next 1st Friday Assembly.

I do hope you will enjoy the Thanksgiving Break.  This Thanksgiving we have so much to be grateful for, and yet we pine for family traditions that just can't happen this year.  I want to take this moment to say how thankful I am to be a part of The Garden School, to be a part of the lives of your children, and to be safe from the pandemic.  

Some of my students had a difficult time with the virtual learning in the Spring.  On Wednesday there were two students absent, so we went inside and zoomed them in for the morning.  I did this to make sure those two students did not miss the final story in our block, and also to show all of them the format we will be following when we are at home.  I ask that you do the following to augment the experience for your child:

  • Please find a space for your child to have class that is quiet, and where they won’t be interrupted during the lessons.

  • They have a green bag which has all of their supplies and lesson books.  Please help them keep these supplies organized, and ready to come back to school on Dec. 7.

  • Math practice assignments will need to be printed.  If you do not have a printer, let me know so that I can either mail the hard copies to you or bring them by your house.

  • All main lessons will be live.  I will also record these lessons and post when they are available for re-watch.  Some of the specials classes will be live and others will be pre-recorded. Time slots have been allotted during the school day for each of these classes.

If you have any concerns about remote learning, please reach out so that we can talk and hopefully make the week successful for all of us.  I will be available beginning Saturday, November 28, to answer questions, concerns, or coordinate delivery of additional materials.  During the week, if you have questions, please feel free to contact me anytime after classes end at 12:30.

Have a great week!!!

Blessings and gratitude,

Kathee

Fourth & Fifth Grade: November 9 - 13


We continued our exploration of ancient India this past week with the story of Rama and Sita.  We used clay to shape India and then drew the map of ancient India in our Main Lesson Books.

The recapitulations of the creation and flood story and the story of Rama and Sita are in our books, and we are ready to spend one more week on stories from the ancient Indian tradition.  The students learned about Diwali and made diya lanterns, which we will use in a Diwali celebration Monday as we learn the story of Lakshmi.  We can also use these lamps for the Day of Courage celebration on Wednesday.  It is no accident that ancient celebrations of light happen at this time of year.  As the earth changes position it offers less and less light to those of us who live in the Northern hemisphere.  The ancients were truly afraid that the sun would go away and not return, so they created ceremonies to honor the return of light, thus bringing to fruition another year.  Different cultures used different kinds of calendars - solar, lunar, the constellations - to set the dates for the celebrations.  Through the years the understanding of the cycles of the year have become clear.  Sun and moon worship are not as important as they were 2.000+ years ago, but the need for community celebrations continues.  We honor our heritage and that of other cultures so that we can bridge the gaps in understanding and promote a more peaceful world.  This week we celebrate Diwali, from the Hindu tradition, and Martinmas, from the Western Christian tradition.  Let there be light!!!

 Have a wonderful, bright week!!

Blessings,

Kathee

Fourth & Fifth Grade: November 2 - 6

This past week started out with the first cold weather we have had this year.  Each morning we built a fire, and during time at our desks we had a kerosene heater to keep us warm until the sun took over.  There is something about an open fire that invites conversation.  The students and I shared stories about Halloween weekend, pets, and more.

We finished up the Botany block by filling in our rubric.  Each student self-evaluated, and then I evaluated.  I will be tabulating those over the weekend, and will post a copy in Transparent Classroom soon.

The Serpent’s Secret was a hit with everyone.  We now have a new reader, The Egypt Game. which is a delightful book about children, diversity, creativity, and it includes a little suspense.  The “game” they create is all about Ancient Egyptian history, which will lay the groundwork for our block on Ancient Egypt later this year.

Our study of Ancient India will include improving our map skills, continuing to improve our writing skills, learning some sanskrit letters, and making lamps for Diwali, the Indian New Year’s celebration - a celebration of light which occurs during our block.  

Rain is coming our way this week.  Remember to pack rain boots, layers, and ponchos.  The ponchos are so important because under them students can carry their backpacks and/or supply boxes should we have to move inside.

I continue to enjoy teaching your children.  We are getting settled in our new space, and we do something every day to make it a nice cozy space in which to learn.

Have a great week.

Blessings,

Kathee

Fourth & Fifth Grade: October 26 - 30


Nature made her voice loud and strong late last week and cut short our Botany Block.  We will work on finishing Botany up on Monday and then begin Ancient India on Wednesday.

Class scarecrows should be completed by this coming Monday. Please take a look at the things we need for our scarecrow listed in Priscilla’s email and let us know what supplies you can share.  We will be building it this week and appreciate your helping our students really enjoy this community project! 

The weather is changing now, and we are due for our first frost this week!  Dress warmly! This means fingerless gloves, extra warm layered clothes, thick or wool socks, boots, etc., will be necessary to keep us warm and comfortable in our outdoor classroom. Remember those ponchos and waterproof shoes too!  

Have a great week!

Blessings,

Kathee

Fourth and Fifth Grade: October 19 - 23

Another lovely week in the forest!!

Your students brought their terrariums home on Friday, The terrariums need to be placed somewhere in the house that does not get direct sunlight.  The plants in the terrarium are understory plants, so in their natural environment they stay moist and shady.  The terrarium will thrive if it is kept moist, but not soggy.  Based on the size of the container, watering it once a week with about a tablespoon of water should keep it healthy.  In some cases the terrarium may maintain its own ecosystem and will not need water.  The moisture rises, droplets form at the top, and then “rain” on the plants.  That cycle might be observable; however, these containers have a hole which might prohibit that cycle from occurring.

This past week we collected and observed mosses and ferns, and began a conversation about conifers, which we will complete this week.  The following week we will begin our study of Ancient Cultures. We will begin with India.  As you look ahead to that week’s menus at home, please explore Indian cuisine.  One of the things that enhances a study of world cultures is the sharing of food from those areas.  Currently we are not sharing food at school, so maybe you can create the enhancement at home, and then your child can come back to class and describe the tastes and textures.

Once our Botany block is complete, we will continue to spend observation time in the forest, and the students will be logging their observations in their nature journals, a la Calpurnia Tate!  They all seem to love purposeful walks.  The second Botany block will come in the Spring, when we will discover flowering plants.

Our math and grammar reviews continue.  One thing that would be helpful and supportive of our efforts at school would be to challenge your child with solving real life problems with math, for example, how many mpg your car gets between fill ups, adjusting a recipe for more/less amounts for the number of servings, measuring spaces when you want to rearrange the furniture.  Some of them have asked recently about the need for math in the real world, and providing students with an example of how it’s used everyday is helpful!

This week I will be giving the students their first lesson in writing with fountain pens.  We will transition slowly into using the fountain pens on a regular basis.  I will be asking them to sign a contract with the understanding that if they lose the fountain pen, they will have to replace it.  Here’s another math problem.  How many weeks’ allowance do I need to have in savings just in case I have to pay for a lost fountain pen? ;)

This week we will be building our scarecrow Kali.  Thanks to our parent rep Priscila for getting us ready to build it.  We appreciate anything you can send from the list Priscila sent out.  Fun fall times!!

And the best and biggest news I have saved for last.  Our new classroom is ready!  Today we will have a ceremony to bless our new space and show gratitude for everyone who helped us put up our tarps, which have served us well in the first two months of school, and those who helped clear and build our new space.  We are going to need some potted plants and some battery operated twinkly lights to make our space special, so if you have an extra string of lights or a pot of mums or pansies you’d like to share, we would be most grateful.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me via email, phone, or text.

Blessings,

Kathee

Fourth & Fifth: October 12 - 15

We have enjoyed being outdoors during our Botany block, and spent quite a bit of time finding mushrooms, algae ( AKA pond scum), and lichens on the campus.  Next week we will go to the woods again and look for different varieties of moss.  Once we have discussed moss, we will begin to build our terrariums!  The terrariums will come home next Friday with directions for how to maintain them.  

This week the weather will be relatively mild again, so please make sure your child is wearing layers of clothing.  We all started with sweaters and jackets every morning this week, and then shed the jackets, usually when we went up to run and practice the long jump.  The whole class is improving their running form and they are jumping a few inches further each day.  I love watching them grow!!

While the timed math sheets are not the favorite thing we do each day; every student is benefiting from the experience.  We have begun to draw angles in preparation for our Form Drawings, and will be drawing on a daily basis.  We also explored square numbers by drawing dots in a square of 2, 3, 4, etc. and we will talk about them to lay some groundwork for our math block.

The old lady with the purple polka dot umbrella caught most of the students at least once this week.  The most frequent errors are punctuation marks for quotations and spelling homophones.  Revealing a sentence a day of a sometimes funny story is a great way to practice grammar and punctuation.

In painting this week we explored intensity and blending colors with a wet-on-wet watercolor painting.  

Just a reminder that Monday and Tuesday will be full days this week, and parent conferences will be Wednesday-Friday, making those three days half days with dismissal at 12:30.  Two people have signed up for conference times.  Don’t forget to sign up.  If you are not available for any of the times I have listed, contact me and we will find a time that will work for both of us.

Many thanks to Russell Hollister for sawing the stumps!  We are one step closer. 

Asher will be 10 on Tuesday.  Happy Birthday!!

Have a wonderful week, and enjoy this weather!!

Blessings,

Kathee

Look what BJ and I did Saturday!  We are very close to having our space cleared. I am thrilled. If you want to help, text me and we can make that happen!!

Look what BJ and I did Saturday! We are very close to having our space cleared. I am thrilled. If you want to help, text me and we can make that happen!!

Many thanks to Russell Hollister for sawing the stumps!  We are one step closer.

Many thanks to Russell Hollister for sawing the stumps! We are one step closer.

 LOOK WHAT WE FOUND IN THE FOREST!


Fourth & Fifth: October 5 - 9

It was a beautiful week to start our Botany Block.  The gentle Waldorf approach to Botany gives every child the opportunity to discover natures with a sense of wonder and awe.  We are fortunate to have a school campus that thrives with plants from many different classifications so that we can witness how mushrooms, algae, and lichens grow.  In this first Botany block, we will study the oldest plants, the ones that have not developed complex systems of feeding and reproduction.  Those include algae, lichens, mushrooms, mosses, and ferns.  If we have time we will study conifers and trees.  In the Spring block we will study flowering plants.  What a perfect way to spend the Fall and Spring outside.  I have given them a rubric for this block which begins our preparation for getting grades next year.  I will send a copy of this block to you before and after it is complete.

The other new things for this week have been timed math worksheets and form drawing for geometry.  For our math, we are taking a gentle approach, and I am giving them the opportunity to correct their own papers which lessens the competitive aspect.  I collected them at the end of the week, and I’m quite pleased that they are continuing to get better at math memory.

The students and I are very excited to be clearing the space for our new home down by the pond.  Please come and join us in our project.  We need to clear a space that’s approximately 12-14 feet wide and 24 feet long.  The Parkers have donated mulch for the area once it is cleared, and also to help set it up.

I look forward to seeing you either at the parent conferences on Zoom or at a workday in the future!

Here is the link to sign up for a conference: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0844AAA928A0F58-45parent

Have a great week!

Blessings,

Kathee

Fourth & Fifth: September 21 -25

Our sweet little classroom continues to hold up against the rain and is a lovely place to learn and play!  During the break I will begin to clear the area for our semi-permanent home down by the floating classroom.  If you love clipping, weed-whacking, and general clearing of a space, please let me know.  I'd love to have some company (bring clippers, loppers and gloves to join in the fun!).  I hope that your families will have a nice break while continuing to stay safe and honor the TGS protocols for keeping everyone well. I am looking forward to a two-day drive along my favorite road - The Blue Ridge Parkway.

Each student received a math packet at the beginning of the week.  As we did not finish the packet while at school, please make sure your child finishes this packet some time over the break and returns it on the Monday we get back.  Their other assignment is to finish reading The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate.

The Norse Myths block ended on Friday; however, there are two important stories that have not yet been told.  I will use some of our Extra Main Lesson time to tell these stories even though they will not be represented in our ML book. 

The next block is Botany I.  The students will be challenged to learn several recitations during this block.  I will email the poems to you as I introduce them, and would love for you to help your child memorize each one.  There is so much beauty and wonder in the world of plants.  I am looking forward to helping the students to draw and paint a series of pictures as part of the block.  We will be making a terrarium with plants from our forest.  When these come home, I will send information about the plants and how to care for the terrarium and I encourage you to participate with your child in caring for it.  When we study mushrooms and algae, I would like to show the students what the tiny algae plants look like, and what the gills of mushrooms look like.  If you have a microscope you would be willing to loan me for that part of the block, please contact me via e-mail/text.

We have completed our review of Form Drawing for Cursive, and when we return I will be teaching cursive writing with a fountain pen. We will also begin a series of Form Drawings for Geometry. 

The math and grammar reviews will continue.  In math, we will be focusing on division and will begin to review fractions.

I am really enjoying our class dynamic.  Your children are eager to learn, and they have a great sense of humor.  Sometimes their quick wit makes me laugh in a moment of distraction... 

Our running and long jumping continues.  Three students ran a full mile this week.  YAY! 

Be well, stay safe, and know that you are loved,

Kathee

Fourth & Fifth Grade: September 14 - 18

In the Norse tradition, we grew our World Tree, Yggdrasil, this week, and finished up the lengthy creation story.  Next week we will finish meeting the gods and goddesses.  Magnus Chase is now an einharji - a warrior of Valhalla - and is about to embark on a quest to find the Sword of Summer.  The really cool thing about this particular book is that all of the characters of Norse mythology are introduced and explained as Magnus' adventures begin.

We eased into our math review and will now begin to solve problems that primarily use division (keeping in mind that division is multiplication spelled backward, which is addition in groups).

Our music classes have been great so far.  We are so fortunate to have the ability to share a set of Orff instruments with the Emerson Congregation, and we are making great musical arrangements on them.  We aren't singing in class yet, nor playing recorders, but we can play percussion instruments, pitched and unpitched, and make beautiful music.  I am also exposing the students to a variety of musical genres through guided listening. 

This week we listened to Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint Saens, Bolero by Maurice Ravel, and Celtic music provided by the Celtibillies.  Several students asked about the titles.  Perhaps you could listen together and talk about instrumentation, what feeling is evoked, how the music compares to the movements of animals, etc.

This week we will finish up the Norse Myths.  I will be giving Calpurnia a "middle of the way" boost by letting the students listen to chapters 16-21 in class this week.  That leaves 7 chapters for them to complete during the Fall Break.

The weather is due for a change this week. Please be sure that your child dresses in layers.  Some of the mornings will be chilly. Warm tea would be a good option for one of the water bottles.  I plan to bring hot water in a large bottle so that we can resume our tea time, but the students will need to bring their own tea bag and non-breakable cup.  If anyone has a chiminea that they are not using, and would be willing to bring it for our use, a little heat in the mornings will be welcomed.

Happy Birthday to Amelia, who will be 11 on Monday!

I look forward to seeing you all during our Parent Curriculum night on Tuesday, September 22 at 6:30pm.

Don't forget that Friday is a 1/2 day, and next week is Fall Break.

As always, if you have concerns or questions, please feel free to get in touch.

Blessings,

Kathee

Fourth & Fifth Grade: Week of September 8 - 11

It has really been great to just pick up where we left off last year.  I feel really good about the coming year.  The students and I are working as a team, and we accomplished a lot this week.

We began reading The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate.  The goal is to read a chapter a day.  So by Tuesday morning, they should have read through Chapter Nine.  I will give a short comprehension quiz Tuesday morning.

They drew a SIeve of Erosthanes this week.  I will be laminating it over the weekend, and this will serve to help them memorize the prime numbers between 2 and 110, and because they color coded the multiples, will be a subtle way to check multiplication tables.

I did not give a spelling list this week.  They will get one on Monday.  We are reviewing the form drawing for cursive exercises so that their cursive writing gets a boost.  I will be issuing fountain pens in a couple of weeks, and they will begin to use them for writing in their main lesson book pages.  We will be reviewing the parts of speech, grammar, and punctuation. The students wrote their first summary on Friday.  The topic was the creation story of the Norse Myths.  We will continue to add more to the story next week by learning about the personalities, magical powers, and interactions of the gods and goddesses of Norse mythology.  They did a beautiful drawing this week of the world in the beginning of time as described by the ancients using their new watercolor pencils.

In conjunction with this block, I am reading them Book 1 of the Magnus Chase trilogy: Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer.  Rick Riordan, the author, is a master at bringing mythology alive in a humorous and informative way by setting the stories in contemporary times through creating children and teenagers who are the children/grandchildren of gods and goddesses.  Their other parent is human, making the main characters demi-gods.  Thus far, Magnus, who is 16 and homeless, has found the sword of his father (who is a god), fought a giant, been killed, and retrieved by a Valkyrie to go to Valhalla.

Being outside seems to be a good thing for all of us.  It is not unusual for a student to say, "Hey, look at the turtles," or for me to get them very quiet and still to listen to the echoes of cicadas in two different trees, or to hear leaves falling.  We have been lucky not to have rain.  It is in the forecast for next week, so please make sure there is a poncho in your child's backpack, rain shoes, a change of clothes, dry shoes, and socks, and a wet bag.  Unless the wind is blowing the rain into our covered space or there is lightning within 5 miles we plan to stay outside.

This will be our first full week of school.  May all be well, and may the good times continue.

Blessings,

Kathee

Fourth & Fifth Grade: First Week of School

I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the outpouring of help in getting our space ready for the first days of school. Poison ivy was uprooted by hand. Heavy tires were hauled down the hill. Many hands wrapped guy ropes and hoisted tarps. It is cool, shady, and there is usually a breeze. We have had a good week!

I considered this to be the “last three days of our Middles Grades year.”  The students worked diligently to fill in missing pages of their Main Lesson Books as we recapped our blocks and wrapped up the block on Human and Animal. Once the books are bound they will be coming home. 

On Tuesday we will officially begin the 4-5 year. The first block is Norse Mythology. I will be reading Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard to them as we study the myths. They will be given a reader that preps them for the Botany Block which will be coming up in several weeks. The book is The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. 

Each morning they will have a math review, which will continue until we have our first math block. We will be renewing our expertise in cursive writing by doing the form drawing for cursive exercises. Finally, we will be improving writing skills by writing rough drafts of our recapitulation and going through the process of editing. 

I hope everyone stayed safe this past weekend while you were having a good time!!

Blessings,

Kathee

Fourth & Fifth Grade: Welcome to School!

Welcome from the 4th-5th classroom!

We have a lovely spot at the top of the pond and are developing a cozy learning space among the trees.  The wide range of topics we will be studying this year has been exciting for me to prepare. We will be hearing, drawing, and writing about Norse Mythology, and the mythology of ancient cultures - India, Persia, Egypt, and Greece. These studies will be enhanced with the history of each area, including some the important inventions and innovations that lead to the growth of civilizations. We will also explore the wonders of plants with two blocks of Botany!

In the second semester, we will be learning all about North America - the rivers, the mountain ranges, the indigenous peoples, the climate, the resources, and, finally, the political regions of Mexico, Canada, and The United States. In math, we will be continuing our study of long multiplication, long division, and fractions; and we will begin the journey into understanding decimals. All of the above will be woven in along with music, drawing, painting, and creative writing.

How could this not be a great year?

~Ki Kathee

Middle Grades: May 11 - 15

School is out, and yet I feel like we already had our "break."  I hope that everyone will have the opportunity to spend a lot of time outside and maybe even get in a couple of short trips to experience the beauty of the mountains or hear the roar of the sea and soak in the saltiness.  Whatever you do, please be safe and stay well.

To give you a foretaste of next year, here are our blocks: ( I haven't put them in order)

  • Botany

  • Ancient Civilizations - Mythology and History of Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, and Greece

  • Geography - the topography and political boundaries of the United States

  • Mathematics - continuing to understand long division and fractions 

  • We will also take some time at the beginning of the year to finish our Human and Animal block and delve into some of the Norse myths.

Priscila Benson will be our class parent again.  Many thanks to Priscila for designing my farewell poster!!!!  She will be organizing some summer get togethers for our families, using precautionary guidelines. 

I have so much heartfelt gratitude for all that you do and for the many gifts, especially the gift of being able to teach your children.

Blessings and love,

Kathee

Middle Grades: May 4 - 8

Hello Middle Grades families!

Some of the writing exercises this week were so much fun to read!  Your children are creative and crafty and I was reminded when I was reading these exercises why I love teaching them so much. 

We had our last tea time of this school year on Friday and had a good time telling jokes. It is so good to see the class laughing. 

By now you will have gotten an email from me about having a field day at home for Wednesday. I hope that everyone will be able to engage the whole family in some fun outdoor games, and I encourage you to revisit your childhood and teach some of the field day activities you loved when you were in school. I understand that you might not have the time or energy, and that’s OK. It might be fun, though....

I want to say again how grateful I am that you have all worked so diligently to keep school going. I know you are looking forward to having more time to breathe, and I hope you will all have a good summer. 

The Monday packet has a list of summer reading suggestions and practice exercises to help your child be prepared for the next school year. There are also some main lesson pages that I would like for you to make sure are finished.  At the start of the next school year, we will assemble and look through our main lesson books.  In this way, we can review this past year before moving into our next year’s lessons. 

I will not be traveling this summer. If you need me, give me a call. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that at some point soon we can all get together for a picnic!

Blessings!

Kathee

Middle Grades: April 27 - May 1

After today, we only have two more weeks of school! It seems unbelievable that we have almost finished another year. To quote a little Dickens, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. “ It is definitely a time these students will not forget. I do not want to give this as an assignment, but I think it would be a nice thing for the students to reflect on what this quarantine has been like for them and then hold onto this reflection so that they can read it sometime in the future.  

Today we begin our final block, ending the year by looking at more animals. My goal had been to talk about the animal one day, then write draft, edit, draw the picture and put both on main lesson book paper the second day.  In our current situation, we will spread each animal’s lesson out over three days. When we begin in the fall, we will have a short animal block to do our research project and hopefully visit the rescue zoo in Dahlonega. At that time, we will look at the animals we did not have time for in the Spring.

We will not assemble the Main Lesson Books until the beginning of school next year. I will continue to collect the ones we finish between now and May 15.  If you aren’t finished, you can continue to work over the summer, and allow your child  time to finish and bring them to class in August. 

I’m thinking about a virtual field day, especially since all of you have multiple children. Outdoor games and tests of skill. Most definitely involving water of some kind. What do you think?  I am interested in feedback and  suggestions. We could do a zoom session and be able to watch each competition and have a mystery judge. 

While I increased the number of assignments this week, please do each assignment at a pace that suits your circumstances. The classroom will be up and running all summer. 

Have a great week!  We are on the home stretch!

Middle Grades: April 20 - 24

Finding the right balance of assignments and minimizing screen time are two things that I have thought a lot about over the course of the last 6 weeks.  I have heard from some of you that this week your child wanted more work.  I have also heard from some of you that your child is struggling with the number of assignments.  Please know that I will continue to find that balance and adjust assignments in the next three weeks to fit your child's individual needs. 

This week's story was from Denmark.  It was a rags to riches story of a young peasant who went out into the world to find work and ended up being a prince or an emperor.  There are three more stories that I have for this block. I will go ahead and post the stories and the drawings today, and you can introduce them as you please.  The rhythm of our classwork for stories goes as follows:

  • I tell the story on day 1

  • The class retells the story orally on day 2.  We make a list of keywords, and we put them in sequence on the blackboard.  Using those words, each child begins to write a recapituation of the story in their own words.  As they finish, I edit, helping them with punctuation, spelling, capitalization, etc.

  • At this point, I introduce the drawing that will go in their main lesson book.  Most of our students prefer to practice their drawings before they actually draw it on main lesson paper.  When the drawing is finished, they copy their recap. We've been using cursive and either pen or colored pencils this year.  Some of the students do better if I draw very faint lines for them to write on.

  • During the school year, this whole process usually takes two days, using Main Lesson time and Extra Main Lesson time.  This week I stretched out the assignment, and they are currently submitting keywords to me.

  • Going forward it would be ideal if you can work with your child to find a rhythm of each story's assignments.  I will gladly edit their recaps at any point that they are finished, or, if it works best for you to do the editing, that will be fine too.  ( I am remembering my children when they entered this stage.  My attempts to help edit usually did not end in happy times!)

The final block of the year will be the 2nd block of Human and Animal.  That will begin on May 4.  

I have received positive feedback from my Monday visits, so I will continue to bring them.  This week I would like to pick up all of the main lesson work and book reports that your child has completed.  (I forgot to ask last Monday.)  At Tea Time today, the students wanted more comics, so here's what we decided to do since I don't have 5 new comics.  I will give Adrianna a new comic.  She will give me the comic she had this week.  We will continue to "pass them on" at each stop.  There is a certain amount of practice work that each child should be doing each week; however, I am not a fan of "busy work," so I will choose wisely what I am giving them to do.  Each worksheet has a purpose - to either introduce them to a new concept or to reinforce what they already know.  

Some of their skills can be developed by playing board games, especially those that require counting, reading, or forming words.  My shelf includes Scrabble, Parchesi, Rummicube, Ticket to Ride, cards - Rummy, Gin, Wisp, and there are many new board games that I'm sure some of you have on your shelves.  Another way to help with recapitulations is to encourage your child  to stage a play or puppet show about one of the stories.  And, in my opinion, the one most beneficial activity for your children right is to snuggle up and read together.  If you have run out of books, the library has a lot of downloadable books.

Have a great week.  If you haven't signed up to feed the animals yet, please do that and take your children with you so they can play in our woods.

Blessings,

Kathee

Middle Grades: April 13 - 17

This week the Middle Grades heard a story from Sweden called The Lad Who Stole the Treasure from the Giant. It is a "from rags to riches" story and a "sibling differences" story.  I found similarities between this story and Jack and the Beanstalk.  The treasures were all gold; there was a golden harp in Jack's story.  Both the young lad and Jack were from poor peasant families.  I find these similarities in stories from all over the world fascinating.

My intention was to tell two stories. I slowed the pace of the lessons when I realized that one recapitulation per week was probably a better rhythm.

I will visit you again on Monday with a new packet.  I would like for you to help your child gather their Charlotte's Web book report, the animal book report, and the Main lesson book page for last week's story and have them on Monday for me to pick up.

I continue to send you good thoughts and prayers for all that you are doing to make this time as stable and happy as possible.  Please know that if you need anything, I am available to listen and would be happy to help in any way that I can.

Blessings to you all,

Kathee

Middle Grades: March 30 - April 3

Dear Parents,

Thank you for all that you are doing to make sure your children are participating in school work while you are juggling other children, your jobs, and adjusting to being at home.  To all of you who are essential employees and are going out into the community to serve, my heartfelt gratitude.  To those who are struggling because you have been laid off, or can't do your free lance work, my heartfelt regret.  To all of you, know that I will do whatever I can to help.  Please reach out, even if you just need an adult conversation!

In the block that we just finished, I continued to develop the students' understanding of the basic elements of division and fractions.  Going forward, they will get a weekly packet of math practice assignments, however, I won't be presenting any new math concepts.  Since we will not have a block for our Spring Play, I have created a block on Scandinavian stories, which is a lead up to the Norse Myths. I have moved that block to the beginning of the next school year and we will finish the year with our second block of Human and Animal.

While we are on Spring Break next week, I will be learning some new ways to use Classroom and drawing a lot of pictures to get ready for the Scandinavian story block.  We have not yet created anything on the main lesson paper, so I think your child should have enough paper to complete the pages that are coming up.  If you start to run low on paper, please give me a heads up.

Thank you for all that you are doing - I miss your children all so much!  Take care, stay well, and know that you are loved!

~Ki Kathee