As I begin this post on Tuesday we are off to a sloooooow start. Dad was off yesterday and that always messes us up. I’m ill this morning due to lack of sleep so nothing is getting done. I anticipate a nap for everyone this afternoon. I just hope the week picks up, and I am glad we are always learning year round. We are also purposefully slowing down on the 3Rs during December.

Olivia
Math – Dreambox.com
Reading – Played Silly Sentences by DK. She really liked this, and I think it will be helpful for reading and later for grammar and writing as well.

John
Lots and lots of playdough

Unit Studies
This week was Nutcracker Week in our house. I can’t find our version on Amazon, but any version will do. We pulled some of our activities from this unit on Homeschool Share.

  • Listened to the Tchaikovsky shows (bio, ballet, and Nutcracker) on Classics For Kids while working on a coloring page.
  • Located Russia on the map and placed our story disk there.
  • Made sugar plums. The kids didn’t care for them past the making stage, but Matt and I really enjoyed them.
  • Discussed pantomime and had a blast acting out scenes from the ballet. The battle scene between the Nutcracker and the Mouse King was a favorite. We love dramatic death scenes.
  • Colored Nutcracker stick puppets and acted out the story.
  • Watched Time to the Hour from BrainpopJr.com. 
  • Used our little movable hands clock to quiz each other on time to the hour. Discussed midnight and noon, AM and PM, and different activities that we do at different times of the day.
  • Discussed ballet performance etiquette.
  • Saw a live performance of The Nutcracker. It was Olivia’s third year, but John’s first. Both of them did beautifully and loved it.
  • Watched The Nutcracker: A Fantasy on Ice. I think I enjoyed this more than they did, but Olivia stuck in to the end. They really noticed the creative license and how the show was different from the book and ballet.

Other

  • Played our saints matching game numerous times.
  • Jesse Tree readings and ornaments each day.
  • Spent some time exploring the St. Nicholas Center and learning about the bishop, not the jolly elf.
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