Week Two!

I enjoyed class from beginning to end. We appreciate the Grays allowing us to use their home these first two weeks! And let's be honest - the kittens will probably be one of the major highlights of the kids' entire school year.

Some overall takeaways:

1. Reward System I instituted a very complicated reward system. I will give rubber bands to kids who stretch themselves in any number of areas, announce when I've decided to give one and why, and then drop it in a cup. Once said cup is full, the class will be getting some kind of Challenge A 'Happy Hour' treat (sonic slushes or milkshakes, etc.). The kids wanted me to share this with you so you can note when they have stretched themselves during the week. I agreed to give rubber bands if a mom acknowledges a notable stretching moment!


2. Scheduling and Expectations. You should expect these first few weeks to be an adjustment, especially in the area of how to schedule all of this work and still give your student a balanced home life!

This week would be a great time to reread the "How" section in the guide, specifically the AT HOME & Tailoring sections on the pages listed below. Here are some notes in italics under each strand.

Logic/Math pp 112-113 (AT HOME & Tailoring)
Set up a time to check/grade your student's work asap, directly after finishing the work is preferable. If your student spends the entire week incorrectly practicing a concept, not only is it demotivating, but it also makes more work for both of you once corrections are done & checked again. REMIND your student to SHOW all of their work.

Grammar/Latin pp 118-120 (AT HOME & Tailoring)
DO NOT feel you must do every problem in every exercise! Decide how much time you will spend on each exercise, then stop & move on. DO plan to spend time drilling vocab & declension endings also. IF you have a Latin w Andy subscription, DO watch all of the videos even if you are not doing that exercise. DO practice w Andy before attempting your Henle exercise. In my opinion, it would be better for your student to do less problems in the exercise if you run out of time because of watching the videos. If you use Latin w/ Andy, read the Henle lesson and when you come to an exercise, watch & work the Latin w Andy video, then work some of the Henle exercise, or discuss it and do it orally. 

Research/Science pp 124-125 (AT HOME & Tailoring)
Research is the focus. The result is a presentation. Spend time researching your topic, even beyond your topic. YOU, the teacher should decide how many paragraphs you expect for the final product. 1 paragraph is the goal, but feel free to add on. Also, I included an IEW Unit 6 checklist in your teacher folder if you want to use it to assign or remind your student to include stylistic techniques from IEW, or if you want a way to grade the work.

The presentation can be read by the student, presented from an outline, or even memorized. They may have 1 simple sketch to show, a poster to present, or even a diorama. Let your student get immersed in research. In class assessment will also happen every week.

Feel free to be a part of your student's process. Answer their should question. Ask Dad, bro, sis, gma too.

Rhetoric p 158 (AT HOME & Tailoring)
1 chapter & 3 catechisms a week should take almost no time at all. As a teacher, you'll need to decide if your student will complete the study guide for each chapter (guide pp 165-166 - make copies or use as a guide), use the highlighting system, or both. The chapter work will take about 1 hour per week. Practice the catechisms EVERY DAY - about 10 minutes.

Exposition/Composition pp 170-171 (AT HOME & Tailoring)
This is a 3 week cycle. Invention (ANI) Arrangement (Outline) Elocution (Write persuasive paper with style) Teachers, READ the lessons & WATCH the LTW videos. 

Debate/Geo pp 182-183 (AT HOME & Tailoring)
Students will need their lists in class each week. pp 188-201 (or at least the current continent) Draw, draw, draw every day! They proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that they can do this! DRAW, read about, label, define geo terms, & DRILL.

The BRAIN Do schedule a "BRAIN Break" with your student every week. Use their In-Class BRAIN to spark some conversation. Have FUN w it. Do not "judge" it. The quantity & quality of note-taking is very different from student to student. They are practicing, thinking, and learning to focus. Ask them what they did well that week (glow), and what they can work on for next week (grow). Ask them what is something that would stretch them, and set a goal.

3. Next Week Info. Next week will be our first time meeting in our official church building. I would love to start right at 9 (or even a smidge before), so if you could arrive/drop your child off with time to get settled and find their way that would be wonderful. I will plan to be there no later than 8:30. I'm told our room has ping pong and foosball tables, so arriving early with time to play wouldn't be a bad idea! I haven't personally seen our space, so I'm looking forward to checking it out on Monday.

Immanuel Bible Church
2000 W North St
Bellingham, WA 98225

Remember to click 'Week 2' label for a run down of each strand!