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Learning Notes Week of January 23

Learning Notes Week of January 23

Sisters reading.

Monday January 23

Bella really wanted to read to Lucy but Lucy first wanted to draw a picture of our house and the backyard. When Lucy was done with her picture and Bella had done math, Bella read Lucy several Beatrix Potter books.

Everyone did a page in Miquon math and some copywork. Sophie and Bella are still copying their poems. Bella is working on memorizing her poem, Old Ironsides. I’m explicating Sophie’s poem, To Hear an Oriole Sing, with her a stanza at a time as she copies it.

Anthony read the first story in Great Stories for Little Americans, about Governor Winthrop of Massachusetts colony. He really enjoyed it and was still telling me about it at bedtime: “I guess they were really praying for that ship. And then when it came the fast day became a day of thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is just giving thanks in a different order.”

Afternoon stories: Anne of Avonlea, Calpurnia Tate, Secret Soldier, Life of Our Lord for Children

Bedtime story: from The Bronze Cauldron, The Price of Fire, a story from Gabon.

Sophie is re-reading Half Magic and the Childhood of Famous Americans book about Abigail Adams. Also lots of Asterix.

Anthony is reading lots of Asterix. 

Bella has been seen reading 

Royal Diaries.

Lucy draws a picture
Anthony with copywork

Tuesday January 24

High winds in the night. The fence blew down, the grill cover blew away. And the roof is leaking in the living room. Bella and Ben went out to inspect the damage and look for the grill cover.

Everyone did a page of Miquon math, except Ben who did something in the MEP book. Bella and Sophie did copywork as did Ben. Bella practiced some cursive copywork. Bella glanced at her Latin briefly. Anthony read to me about Fr Marquette in the Stories for Little Americans book.

Bella read me several poems including The Tide Rises the Tide Falls. She also read me today’s Gospel.

Afternoon stories: Anne of Avonlea, Calpurnia Tate, Africa Trek, and Story of the World, end of Minoan civilization.

Stories led to looking up pictures of cuttlefish (mentioned in Calpurnia Tate) and Greek depictions of the Minotaur. Also super-volcanoes to determine whether or not the volcanic eruption that devastated the Minoans was from a supervolcano or not. Bella had been very taken with a book she read about Krakatoa last year and wanted to know if they were similar. So we watched a video about a supervolcano underlying Naples and discussed supervolcanoes under Yellowstone and Oregon and looked at a lot of maps of volcanoes both worldwide and in Europe. It was a nice little rabbit trail that took us to a dozen or more websites and ended with a promise to Bella to get more books about volcanoes from the library. Oh and Bella found the piece of pumice stone on the shelf and floated it in a bowl of water. Everyone was amazed.

Anthony notes that Vulcan sounds like volcano and so we talked about how Vulcan was the god of volcanoes and forges and armorers. And how he’s the same as the Greek Hephaestos. And had a nice little chat about Roman mythology in general.

Bedtime story: Bronze Cauldron, Sea Chase, a story from Finland. I really liked this one. Might be my favorite so far.

Pumice floating in water

Wednesday January 25

Ben and Anthony did Miquon math. Ben did two pages of letters and some copywork. Anthony read to me from Stories for Little Americans and copied a sentence.

Sophie did a page of Miquon math, fractions. She started copying a new poem, the bath song from LOTR. She read to me from her Geography and then we looked up the Kohinoor diamond, which was mentioned in the reading. Went on a little rabbit trail about monarchs of England, the coronation jewels, the coronation robes, the robes of state. Pictures of rings and crowns and Queen Elizabeth on the throne.

Bella read me a poem from The Harp and Laurel Wreath. She wrote a couple of sentences about the Royal Diary book she’s reading, one about China. (Her own idea, with a little prompting from me. She’s starting a new notebook that will be her reading journal of sorts. Her choice for now as to what she writes about and how often. We agreed on a minimum of once a week.) She did part of a page of Miquon math, starting long division. She did some cursive copywork. She chose and copied a dictation sentence. She didn’t do Latin.

Afternoon stories: Anne of Avonlea, Calpurnia Tate, St Jude, and Story of the World, beginning of Mycenaean civilization.

Bedtime story: Bronze Cauldron, story about the Buddha.

Sophie finished reading the book about Fatima and began reading one about St Elizabeth. She’s is also reading a book about Hellen Keller and one about Abigail Adams.

Bella has been seen reading Star Wars manuals, a book about Eucharistic Miracles, and lots of other books she picks up and puts down around the house.

Anthony with copywork 2

Thursday January 26

Slept in late and we had to get to the grocery store, so no math or copywork today. But the kids are such awesome help at the store.

Afternoon stories: Anne of Avonlea, Calpurnia Tate, Africa Trek.

We had to look up spats because of Calpurnia Tate. A nice juicy wikipedia article with photos and a social history of costumes. Including a funny anecdote about George V of England appearing in public without spats and men immediately abandoning theirs under bushes. Both spats and frock coats faded away because the king stopped wearing them.

And when we began Africa Trek Bella ran to the map and could not find Zaire. So we had to look it up and discovered that just a few years after the events of the book it became the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Bedtime story: Bronze Cauldron, a Native American story. Also the first half of the book about Our Lady of Guadalupe (Bella’s request). Dom is reading Lucy the Ozma of Oz graphic novel.

Spotted today: Bella reading a WW2 encyclopedia of people, also Missee Lee and Half Magic. And a couple of the Royal Diaries, one about a Chinese princess and another one.

Lucy as Princess Leia
Lucy as Princess Leia
Lucy as Princess Leia, shooting Bella.

Friday January 27

Everyone did math and copywork. Anthony read to me about St Angela Merici. Bella did dictation and we reviewed some Latin. Bella and Sophie both reviewed the poems they’re memorizing (informally). Bella recited her stanza for Daddy at dinner.

Afternoon stories: Anne of Avonlea, Calpurnia Tate, Story of the World. Lots of interruptions from the roofer meant we didn’t get a lot of reading done. Oh well.

Bedtime story: Bronze Cauldron

Sophie made this vehicle which is a boat/plane/ship/spaceship/submarine/fire truck/police vehicle.
Hamilton Dance Party in the kitchen
Ben and Lucy, young scrappy, and hungry.
Anthony, not throwing away his shot.
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