Weekly Review -- Year 4 Week #8

What a busy week!  I thought it was going to be a nice quiet week with only two things planned... then Friday rolled around and we realized we only spent one day at home.  We had a few things crop up at the last minute-- including an emergency orthodontic visit but all it all it was another fabulous week.  I don't think we completed much in the way of book work but we sure learned a lot through field trips, talks and life.


History-- We toured Fort Adams in Newport, RI learning about the use of the fort from the time it was built until after World War II when it was shut down.  You can read all about our trip to Fort Adams here.  We read I Am Abraham Lincoln, Abe Lincoln's Hat, Abe Lincoln's Dream, and Abe Lincoln: The Boy Who Loved Books.  We also went to Battleship Cove and toured four different vessels; a submarine, a battleship, a world war II destroyer, and an east German Tarantful I class convertible.  It was a long day of walking filled with all sorts of wonderful history tid- bits.  You can read about that trip here. We read a few more pages in Cracker! The Best Dog In Vietnam.

Cannons at Fort Adams 


Touring ships at Battleship Cove 

Checking maps for ships that sunk during World War II 

Science-  We've been studying nature a lot this week.  We saw a baby snake in our yard and while hiking.  We watched the geese flying south for the winter.  We learned about and saw a Chinese Mantis.  We saw all kind of swans, cormorants, ducks and seagulls while at the shore.  We watched the animals moving though the air and sea, watched them eating fish, and interacting with one another.  We learned (or re-learned) that baby swans are called cygnets and that they are not born with white feathers like the adults.  We read The Gift of the Tree and I Know It's Autumn, talking about the life cycle of the tree, the forest, and all the signs of autumn.  We spent an afternoon hiking in the woods enjoying the fresh air, sunshine, exercise and all the forest sights and sounds.  Since we hiked after reading The Gift of the Tree we were more aware of decaying, dying, and dead trees.  We saw all sorts of real life examples of moss and fungus on trees, shelf mushrooms, trees that were being eaten by termites and grubs and turning into sawdust.  We touched the soft pulp of the tree and noticed how it just sort of melts back into the earth.  It was wonderful and completely unplanned!








Health/ Physical Education-- We played at the park with our friends one day and had the whole place to ourselves.  The boys went to karate and we all spent an afternoon climbing on the obstacle course at Soarin' Indoors.   The younger two boys spent an afternoon playing on a huge pile of dirt; running up it, surfing down it, jumping off it, etc.  I introduced the boys to kick ball while we were at the park with our friends and they've been playing it like mad with anyone who will play with them.  They've played at least 3 more times that I know of this week.  We walked and hiked so much through our travels!  We rode bikes, played on the slides and ran- a lot.  We also learned about abscessed teeth; what abscessed means, how it happens, if we can cure or prevent it.  We've talked a lot about nutrition, calories consumed, calories burned and what it all means.  We've been talking about healthy choices, eating out versus eating at home, what types of calories fill you up and keep you filled the longest.


Life Skills-- Ian spent two days working with the excavator helping his grandfather to clear some land.  I watched him for quite awhile and was so impressed with how well he can control it.  He was able to load several truck fulls of logs without any mishaps to any machines or logs.  He looked so grown up!  He's dying to go to work more often and looking for way that he can help.

Math/ Technology-- All three boys continued working in their math workbooks.  They each completed several pages this week.  Evan taught himself how to add three digit numbers (without re-grouping) one morning and he amazed me by getting them all correct; even when the page moved onto money!  Evan and I have also worked with fact family houses and completed a few pages working on those too.  The older two boys did a few math minutes working on quickly computing multiplication facts as well as working in their books.  Ian is thrilled that he's only 8 pages away from finishing up his series on Measurements.  I'm thrilled we'll be moving onto a new topic but he's thrilled because I promised him he could get a special treat after he had finished up all four books.

Reading- Alec read Ms. Cuddy Is Nutty and several chapters in Garden of the Purple Dragon.  Ian read Ms. Cuddy Is Nutty also.  Both of my boys rave about this super silly easy reader chapter book series. I've read a few myself and they are quite funny.  I love that's it a nice long series too with lots and lots of books to choose from.  Evan read Ride Fly Guy, Ride! and There's a Fly Guy In My Soup. He also completed another page in his Star Wars reading book working with the long u sound.

Weekly Wrap-Up

  

Comments

  1. Sounds like a super fun week! I once stayed overnight in Newport when my husband was out there for business, and I've always wanted to go back. Such a pretty and interesting area.

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    1. Even though we only live an hour or so away it's not a place I often think of going. After having been this summer with my boys I remembered why I used to enjoy it so much and I'm trying to make more of an effort to get back there. It's so pretty and full of history. I can't wait until they get a bit older so we can start touring the mansions too.

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  2. YES - geese have been flying over all week here in NY. What great outdoor time this week! I love how you break out Life Skills! Thanks for your blog!

    melissa

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