In this recap I am going to share what we did at home for more hands on learning related to Bible, History, Geography, and Science. At the end of this post, I will also share some Grammar ideas for Tutors and a few of the favorite read-alouds we grabbed from the library this week.
Let's dive right into what we did for Week 2!
Bible:
Resource: Foundations of the Bible vol.3 | Bible Memory Songs | Hymnology Cards
We completed Lesson 2 of our Foundations of the Bible Vol. 3 study this week. We learned about the importance of both the Old and New Testament, why we need to study both parts of the Bible, and how the entire Old Testament points to Jesus Christ. We had a fun discussion about our favorite Old Testament stories and finding ways that those stories pointed to Christ. We discussed Noah's Ark and Daniel in the Lions' Den.
I also have to say that I really love the addition of these lesson tabs. I decided to make these after scrambling every week last year trying to find our spot in such a big study. There are 24 tabs to mark each lesson. I tabbed my Teacher Guide and my kids' activity books so everyone can easily find their spot. Such a time saver! You can grab your own set in my shop here. I've been told these lesson tabs work great for Essentials notebooks as well. You can also grab a copy of the study if you haven't already. It's not too late to start! Go at your own pace because there is so much info to learn. You don't have to rush through it.
History:
Resource: Story of the World Book (Match Up List)
Activity: Traced the scribblers pilgrim coloring page.
We learned about the Pilgrims on the Mayflower. My kids loved the Story of the World chapter this week. I love how the book includes facts that keep the kids engaged. They were shocked and saddened to find out that William Bradford’s wife fell overboard and drowned after the ship was anchored.
We also loved the picture book called The Boy Who Fell off the Mayflower. It’s a longer book that we read over the course of 3 nights. We also used our globe to see where the Pilgrims traveled.
I printed the activity page from the scribblers section on CC Connected. The kids could either color the picture or put a paper on top and trace it. My kids loved tracing it and it kept their attention the entire time I read from Story of the World.
Science:
Resource: Science with Friends Year 3 Bundle
Activity: Vertebrae with Straw and Hollow bone activity from CC Connected
We used the activity from the Learning with Friends anatomy science unit and the CC Sandbox recommendation. I enjoyed both activities because it helped visualize how our bones work. The Learning with Friends shows why it is important for our vertebrae to be flexible. The CC Connected activity shows what is inside of a bone and how strong a hollow bone can be.
The kids enjoyed both and they are both minimal prep. Stock up on paper towel rolls, straws, pipe cleaners, and a sponge and you’ll be good to go!
Geography:
Resources: CC Sandbox Geography page | Drawing the USA | Eat Your Way Through the USA Cookbook
Activity: Make a meal from one of the states we are learning each week
Each week we color and find the states using the CC Connected map printouts that are located in the Sandbox e-zine file. We then draw the states using the geography book Drawing the USA. It's super simple and easy to follow. Excited to see our entire map completed next quarter.
We also made a recipe from the state of Delaware. We did a peppered roast and a peach crisp. I only provided a picture of the peach crisp because I drastically over cooked my peppered roast haha. The flavor was good, but not picture worthy. Recommend using a thermometer when you are making your meat😆. Both recipes came from the Eat Your Way Through the USA Cookbook and were easy to follow.
Library Books:
As always, we grab a ton of books from the library because I love picture books. I find the easiest way to find books for each week is by searching your library's online catalog for key words from the memory work. Every library's catalog is so different, so it can be more time consuming trying to find other people's recommendations vs. just searching by keywords for your local library. However, here are a few books we enjoyed:
- Bones: Skeletons and How They Work by Steve Jenkins (Science)
- The Boy Who Fell off the Mayflower by Patrick James Lynch (History)
- Brothers at Bat: The true story of an amazing all-brother baseball team by Audrey Vernick (Geography - NJ)
- Fireboat: The heroic adventures of the John J. Harvey by Maira Kalman (Geography - NY) This would also be a great book for history when we cover 9/11 at the end of the year.
- How Emily Saved the Bridge: The story of Emily Warren Roebling and the building of the Brooklyn Bridge by Frieda Wishinsky (Geography - NY)
- Saving the Liberty Bell by Megan McDonald (Geography - PA)
Tutor Tips:
Activities: Memory Review Game | Activity Flash Cards
This week, in my stories on Instagram, I shared a recap of all that I did with my class for Grammar, Fine Arts, Science, and Review. Lots of people asked if I could share my plans, so I'll do my best to summarize briefly what we did:
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Math: The first week I had the kids throw a ball back and forth in pairs and try not to drop it. This week I made activity cards that I put on the table upside down. I let one kid at a time pick a card to see what activity the whole class would do for math review.
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English: We sang the memory work to the tune of “Happy Birthday” and passed a present around. When the song ended, the student with the present grabbed an item inside. Some tutors do gifts from the Dollar Store, but I opted for something free. I wrote a number on 8 Legos, and as the kids grabbed a Lego, the number they selected was their presentation order.
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Latin: We did a cheer chant back and forth. I said the Latin and the kids said the English and vice versa. We sang it to the song I recorded on YouTube as well. It's super catchy!
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Geography: I laminated the black line master maps from CC Connected and have one for each child. Each week I pass out the maps and they trace the states and capitals. We do a show me tell me method, and then we sing the CC States & Capitals song (on iTunes or YouTube).
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Science: I taught the hand motions and then did a Simon Says game to get them to touch the different parts of their axial skeleton. I started slow and then went super fast to see if they could keep up.
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Timeline: I read the events out loud to make sure they knew what they were actually singing. We then reviewed the hand motions and sang the song a few times with hand motions.
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History: We read the sentence, then taught the hand motions, and then sang the song with the hand motions.
- Review Games: I made this Memory Review Game that takes up about 15 minutes of review time. The kids really enjoy it! You could also use the Activity Cards that I cut and laminate and let the kids each pick one to determine what they have to do while we do review. I usually have 2 activity ideas ready for review. Four corners is a hit with the kids too!
YouTube: Week 2 Playlist
I created my first YouTube channel to record all the songs and hand motions I want to use with the kids. I've compiled each subject's songs into a weekly playlist. I create this primarily to help the parents in my class review the motions with their kids at home. I also think this is a great resource for other tutors to use to build their plans for the week.
If you are a parent and not tutoring, the "best practice" for CC is to let the tutor introduce the memory work in class for the first time on community day. You then review the week's memory work with your child until the next CC community day. You ideally use the methods you saw the tutor use in class at home with your child.
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