Week 18: Luck O' The Irish

Irish Soda Bread

On Monday we met with our Classical Conversations group where my son made a presentation on the parable of the prodigal son, did a Morisot-inspired painting of a lion, and observed a spinning fountain demonstrating Newton's third law of motion.  The rest of the week we practiced our memory work and did work in our usual subjects.  Here's an outline of the rest of our school endeavors for the week:

Geography:  Ireland

Brigid's Cloak by Bryce Milligan

Saint Patrick and the Peddler by Margaret Hodges

Saint Patrick by Ann Tompert

Irish soda bread for Sunday morning breakfast (recipe here)

History:  Post World War II era

A New Coat for Anna by Harriet Ziefert (highly recommended as a gentle look at the hardships endured in a war-ravaged country)

Math:  Measurements

See this post.

Language Arts:

The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading lessons 56-59

The Phonics Road to Reading and Spelling review weeks 1 through 7

Handwriting Without Tears

Various Hooked on Phonics level 1 readers

Family Read-Aloud:

Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis

Fine Arts:

Daily violin practice and weekly lesson

Violin recital concert

Physical Education:

Last basketball game of the season

Gymnastics

Miscellaneous:

Friday afternoon at the circus!

Feet, Fleas, And A Jumping Contest

We are spending too much time at the desk.  So, at least through April, we're going to do math using a different format.  I'm going to use books and activities to illustrate, discuss and demonstrate math concepts.

A lot of my book and activity ideas will come from here.

This week, for example, our CC math memory work dealt with measurements (specifically, one foot).  So we read the book How Big is a Foot? by Rolf Myller.

 

It's an amusing look at standard measurements.  I also got an idea incorporating a ruler, a discussion about fleas (as in Ctenocephalides felis) and a jumping contest from a book called Right In Your Own Backyard:  Nature Math from Time-Life Books.

I think a literature-based approach to math will be a fun change of pace.

42 before 42

Today I turn 41.  It's a good age, it really is.  I've seen people putting their goals out there in the blogosphere for all to see.  I thought I'd do the same in the hopes it'll give me a little bit of accountability.  I'm approaching my personal list as a series of 42 things I want to accomplish before I turn 42.

Here's the list in no particular order:

1. Log 42 miles on my bicycle
2. Walk/job 420 miles
3. Do a plank for 4 consecutive minutes
4. Do 40 push-ups in 2 minutes
5. Do 42 half sit-ups in one and a half minutes
6. Master meringue
7. Make sour dough bread
8. Knit this hat
9. Hand make 4 other items
10. Drink 4,200 ounces of water...twice
11. Learn to write in Spencerian
12. Learn to play chess
13. Read 42 books
14. Read at least four of the Great Books
15. Change the banner and background on this blog
16. Blog at least once a week
17. Go on 42 one-on-one dates with the people in my family
18. Make 42 calls to my parents, sisters or brother
19. Mail 42 pieces of personal correspondence
20. Work through this math book
21. Attend 42 family meetings
22. Do 42 nature studies with the kids
23. Find just the right thing to put over the fireplace
24. Teach the kids the habit of putting away their own laundry
25. Make this cake
26. Participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count
27. Participate in the Great Sunflower Project
28. Assemble 4 good outfits
29. Entertain 42 guests in our home
30. Complete an album or scrapbook
31. Complete a will
32. Get a family portrait taken
33. Join a food co-op
34. Finish memorizing Ephesians 6
35. Memorize Paul Revere's Ride
36. Take a class 
37. Host a ladies' Bible Study
38. Memorize a history timeline
39. Learn to play Scott Joplin's "Bethena" on the piano
40. Learn to draw
41. Give 42 items to charity
42. Bring 4 different kinds of fruits or vegetables to harvest from the space in our yard