Alexandra started off by introducing me to her unicorn and turtle. Once we were acquainted, we started identifying words with the /r/ sound. I pointed to the picture and word, and she identified the ones she knew. For the ones she didn't recognize, I pointed to the picture and the word and pronounced the word. Then, I had her repeat after me. Next, Alexandra wanted to put together a few of her puzzles. As she worked, I prompted her to identify the names of the dinosaurs, the trucks, and the pieces that fit into a specific category (i.e. the sports hub needed the mitt, football, soccer ball, and roller blades). Alexandra did a great job of picking the correct pieces and was able to name 10 out of 12.

We wrote and drew about summer vacation plans- underlining words which did not look right. In our next session Trenton will practice spelling these words and looking at the various spelling patterns. He is also reading a bio on Albert Einstein, stopping after each page to make connections and to read between the lines.

This morning we began with a discussion on the trial system. We supported our discussion with the Brainpop videos on Trials, Court System, and Student Rights. We were introduced to the concepts of criminal and civil cases. We discussed several examples of each. Additionally, we talked about the difference between state and federal courts. We learned about the prosecution and defense as well as the terms evidence and verdict. We worked through the follow-up quizzes together. Finally, we discussed the jury system process. We examined the need for a fair, impartial jury. We talked about the process of selecting a jury and how this impacts the trial as well as the individual participating on the jury. For our next area of study, we focused on a Time for Kids current events magazine. We read articles about how plastics are impacting our environment and how children and adults are working to reduce our use globally. We also read about pollution, a documentary of a panda moving into the wild in China, and the death of the last male northern white rhinoceros. In one article, we read about the use of robotic animals made to look like real animals for integration into the wild. This new experiment is providing a great deal of information to biologists about animals. Additionally, we practiced cursive handwriting.

For math, we enjoyed a fun card game called 3 Up 3 Down. This is a quick game in which strategy and luck play a part in helping the player get rid of their cards first. Next, we rolled dice to create two-digit numbers. We then used these for two-digit by two-digit multiplication practice on the whiteboard. For our next activity, we watched the Brainpop learning video on mixed numbers. We saw how they work with improper fractions. We went through the quiz together and worked out some problems. We then continued to practice making mixed numbers and improper fractions on the whiteboard. Yanuell did a great job learning this new skill!

Oliver worked on the math section of the Stanford assessment.

I reviewed spelling words and vocabulary with Morgan. She wrote words on the dry erase board and we corrected them. We read together Chapter 10 in "The Trumpet of the Swan," stopping to discuss new words. We looked at two videos to hear "reveille" and "taps" played by a trumpet. These are two of her new words. Afterwards, she completed the Chapter 10 activity, making conclusions. She took the spelling test and completed 1 1/2 grammar exercises.

Morgan did a spelling review writing her spelling words. She wrote definitions for her vocabulary words and read them out loud after she wrote them. She continued reading Trumpet of the Swan by reading chapter 9. She completed a chapter activity after she read and wrote a newspaper article on what happened in the chapter when the trumpet crashed through the music store window and stole the trumpet.

Morgan continued her Lindamood Bell training online.

Morgan practiced writing her list 27 spelling and vocabulary words. These words focus on suffixes -ly, -ness, and -ful. Morgan wrote them very neatly today! In her spelling text, she completed a proofreading activity in which she found three misspelled words and saw how not completely forming letters can make some letters look like two instead of one. She also completed several different activities in which she found words by their definition or opposites, wrote words broken up by their syllables, added suffixes to target words in sentences, and built new words by adding suffixes to base words (for example: thank + ful + ness). In literature, we read chapter 8 in The Trumpet of the Swan. In this chapter, Louis the swan returns home to his family. He’s excited to write in his slate board to communicate with them, however he didn’t think about the fact that the other swans didn’t know how to read. He falls in love with Serena, but can’t communicate his feelings to her due to his defective voice. He tries getting her attention in various other ways, but is unsuccessful. During our reading, we used context clues to help us interpret the meanings of disinclined, seized, and bust (as in, “it was a bust”). For our targeted vocabulary, Morgan wrote the definitions of coy and teeming in her project journal. As a follow up to the reading, Morgan answered two short answer comprehension check questions. Additionally, she wrote a poem on behalf of Louis to Serena! For Latin today, Morgan reviewed her six vocabulary words. We then reviewed that the verb “to be” shows existence. Morgan took a modified lesson 18 quiz and got all of her vocabulary words correct.

Baylie worked on an experiment involving soluble and insoluble substances. She had to measure certain liquids then draw a picture of what she saw and record the results. For History, Baylie read about slavery and the cotton gin. For her Latin lesson, Baylie took a test on Lesson XVIII. After she took the test Baylie read about cardinal and ordinal numbers.

We did some writing by creating a paper game fortune teller. We used it to learn, that no matter what, we can always find something for which to be grateful. We read Pinkalicious. We created an obstacle course and discussed all the shapes around us.