Thurs. is Green Day

Today is Green day.

I think I need to change our Home School day.
Now that BJ has computer class on Thurs mornings we often do not get started until 11:00 or later and them it is lunch time. Now I just found out the placement tests are coming up and the list of things he is supposed to have learned as a 5th grader has barely been scratched! I have asked several times for some type of timeline guide and now I have it, almost at the end of the year and I can feel the panic arise as I realize there is no way I will be able to cover all that Science material in the time left!

Fortunately, Dani came to the rescue and said not to worry about that just to test him how to take a test for know. The Classical way of teaching often does not cover everything the state wants on their time table, but by the 8th grade he will have covered it all and will remember it better than if he had been taught text book style. I think she called it front loading. She would know, she has been doing this for a while.

We started today’s lesson with a nature walk. Utilizing Outdoor Challenge #2 we quietly sat outside on the grass with our eyes and lips closed, listening to the sounds all around us. At first BJ did not seem to be able to pick out the sounds of the individual birds.
California Quail run all over our property. If you listen you can hear them calling Chicago, Chicago.
He was used to pushing the sound to the back of his head without giving it a thought. It was fun watching his face as each new bird sound was recognized. By the end of the session he was able to distinguish a crow, a meadowlark, a sparrow, my parrot, the geese, the chickens, a quail, a pheasant, a mockingbird and a jay. He chose the Western Scrub Jay as his bird for the week. When he emails me the completed picture I will post it.
Then we went on a Nature Scavenger Hunt. I probably would not have done both things on the same day in light of the Science material we needed to cover, but Spring has a very short life here and there were things I wanted him to be aware of that might not be here next week.
Here are some of the pictures we took:
Flower Slide Show


We then settled down to Science, covering the Periodic Table of Elements, the names of the elements, their weight, Symbol, classifications and the fact that the can be mixed like the ingredients in a cake, to create new things, ie H 2 O = water, Na + Cl = sodium chloride. We discussed that each elemental atom was made up of protons, neutrons, electrons. The protons and neutrons form the nucleus and the number in the nucleus is what gives the element its number on the periodic table. Out of a choice of an atom, proton, neutron, and electron the electron was the smallest.

Whew! What a change from talking about planets! There is just too much we have not covered that we were supposed to have so I think, for the sake of utilizing my time most effectively, I will just focus on teaching him how to take the test. Read the question, read the answers, think about them, narrow it down to a choice of 2 and then go with the answer that sounds the most right when it is first read.
-------------
By Thursday the week is calming down.
Green is the colour of nature. It symbolizes growth, harmony, and freshness.
Green has great healing power. It is the most restful colour for the human eye; it can improve vision.
Green suggests stability and endurance.

How the colour green affects us mentally and physically:
* Soothing
* Relaxing mentally as well as physically
* Helps alleviate depression, nervousness and anxiety
* Offers a sense of renewal, self-control and harmony

Home School Thursday:
Thurs are my homeschooling day with my grandson. Currently we are studying astronomy. We are in the final chapter before moving on to Earth Science.
I will refer to "Children at Play" for articles an information on fostering child development.
Kathleen