Each week I like to share how we approached the Classical Conversations memory work, specifically for Bible, history, and science. Those are the subjects I try to do hands-on learning to make fun and memorable. This week we focused on:
- Bible: Solomon's Temple
- History: Four key people during the Renaissance period: Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Shakespeare, and Copernicus
- Science: How animals react to their environment changing: adapt, hibernate, and migrate
Here's how we tackled those subjects:
Bible:
We are using the study I created, Foundations of the Bible vol 2. We read from the teacher's guide each day to really understand the history of the temple and the elements inside. We also discussed how those elements pointed to Jesus Christ. It was a really meaningful lesson. I spread this study out over five days, so we covered the same topic all week.
Over the summer, I took my kids to a few museums that showed the tabernacle set up, so that really helped them grasp the details even further.
A great video to watch is Solomon's Temple explained. There are two versions. One that explains all the elements, and one that shows the temple as scripture is being used to narrate. Great videos for kids and adults!
Another great idea that a friend shared with me was her kids set up a temple in their bedroom with pillows, stuffed animals, etc. and then walked the parents through their temple. Such a great idea to help them truly grasp the details.
Solomon's Temple shown with a reading of 1 Kings 6-7
History:
We usually read from Story of the World, but this week we just did picture books from the library. If you want to read Story of the World, you would read chapters 35, 37, and 39 from book 2.
Activity: We watched two videos from Createful Art that gave a brief explanation of who Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo were. Then she provided a craft idea for each person. For Michelangelo, you will need an ivory soap bar to do that craft. I grabbed mine at Wal-Mart.
Leonardo Da Vinci Video + Craft
Science:
This week we learned about how animals react to environmental change: adapt, migrate, and hibernate. I found two books at the library about hibernation and one amazing book about migration. The migration book I am going to need to buy for our personal library because my son loved it so much.
Activity: We made a hibernating bear craft. It was super simple with just a paper bag and construction paper. The kids really enjoyed the project. They drew a picture of a bear from one of the picture books we read and then placed it in their cave.
Library Books:
I actually didn't grab any library books for weeks 1-5, but wanted to for this week. My tip for finding library books related to the memory work for each week is to browse your library's online catalog first. I can check out 10 books through my library's website that they will hold and pick out for me. They email me when they are ready, and I just have to pick them up. It makes it super easy and time efficient. It also helps me screen books online first by reading reviews and brief overviews. Here are the books we found:
Leonardo da Vinci by Diane Stanley: Explains the life of Leonardo da Vinci
Migration by Mike Unwin : The most beautiful book!! I will be purchasing this to add to our home library. Great for animal lovers.
Michelangelo for Kids by Simonetta Carr : Tells the life story of Michelangelo with lots of craft ideas. This is a book you could easily keep for several weeks because there is so much you could cover. There were 1 or 2 images of nude sculptures (since that's obviously common for the Renaissance period), so just be aware of that before letting your children flip through it on their own.
Hibernation Station by Michelle Meadows : Cute story for younger kids of animals in pajamas getting ready to hibernate.
Goodbye Autumn, Hello Winter by Kenard Pak : Beautiful book that takes you from autumn to winter. I thought it was relevant since animals' environment changes during this season change.
Sleepy bear by Lydia Dabcovich : A short story for younger kids (3-5) of a sleepy bear prepping to hibernate and then waking up at spring.
A stage full of Shakespeare stories by Angela McAllister : A retelling of twelve Shakespeare plays for children. I was very impressed with the beauty of this book and I love how it makes his stories more accessible for kids and adults. I will preface that since it's Shakespeare, the stories are more mature. So you can read the brief summaries at the back of the book to see which ones you think will be appropriate for your child's age. One of the stories I read used the word "jackass" for a donkey, and then used the word "ass" two more times in the same story in terms of looking dumb. I just skipped over those words or rephrased them for my kids. So just a side note. My son was actually asking me to read more. We read 3 out of the 12. I also like how it has the characters at the front of each story so I could more visually explain to my kids what was taking place in the story.
Renaissance Baking Day:
We bake something every Friday to have a fun, relaxing day. This week I thought it'd be great to make a traditional Renaissance recipe since that's what we are learning about in history. So we made these Renaissance small cakes. They are really quick and easy. I do recommend adding a powdered sugar icing to the top, it makes them sweeter and provides extra moisture. These are loaded with raisins, so if you are not a raisin fan then you may have a similar response as my 4-year-old daughter who said, "Mommy, the raisins make it not good." haha. I actually enjoy them and think they are yummy!
Recipe: Renaissance Small Cakes
I hope you have a great week 6!
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