Lots of good conversations and challenging going on this week in class. We 'challenged' each other with crazy Latin sentences and worked on solving math problems without pencil and paper. We are talking about strategies for solving multiplication problems, breaking them down into smaller units for easier understanding. So 15 times 12 becomes 15 X 10 plus 15 X 2 and the problem is suddenly an easier one to solve!!
Math-continue on with the lessons. A reminder-the students will have 8 lessons to complete during the Christmas break. If they get stuck on some of their problems or concepts, check out Kahn Academy online. There are many lessons and explanations for common math concepts.
Latin-we are almost finished with the third declension. For our mid-term, they will need to memorize the noun endings, vocabulary and some of the other things that we talk about each week. There will also be a section of translating and they will be able to use their helps and notes to answer (not their book though).
Geography-keep drawing Europe and working on countries, features and capitols. The mid-term will include drawing Europe from memory including countries and capitols. They will also get a long list of features and will need to fill in as many as they know.
Biology-I gave the students a paper with a picture of a hamburger linked to a five paragraph essay outline. They are to use this in writing their biology/research paper. Some papers have been a bit too long and some are not long enough. They should work towards 5 paragraphs that are filled with interesting and important information.
Lost Tools of Writing-there is a paper due this week (using all of the techniques that we have learned so far) and a worksheet from the book. They are also reading "Amos Fortune, Free Man". I encourage you or a sibling or other family member to review some of their papers and help them to edit. We have talked about re-reading and proofing our own papers. Sometimes a different 'eye' can find problem areas. Many of the 'mistakes' are sentences that make sense when read aloud but are not always clear or grammatically correct.
Rhetoric-we are continuing to read our books and work on catechism questions. This week, we watched a powerful video by Ray Comfort about evolution and God. Ask your child what they thought of the students and professors that Comfort interviewed.
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This week is the campus Thanksgiving celebration. I hope that you have signed up to participate. We will take an extra 15 minutes for lunch so that we can enjoy some extra fellowship.
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November 19 is our open house. Please invite any friends you have that may be contemplating Challenge for next year. Challenge B will also be hosting an open house. For our open house, people may come in the morning or afternoon. We will be doing half of all six strands in the morning and half of all of them in the afternoon. Visitors will be able to see a bit of all of the classes in three hours. Prospective students are invited to attend with their parents, also.
December 3 is our last day. We will take tests in the morning, participate in the community's Christmas celebration and then have a 'white elephant' exchange with the Challenge B class in the afternoon. Please let your student bring a small gift on that day.
Any questions-let me know. I know that we are all ready for a break! I am amazed at how much we have accomplished in our first semester!!
Candy
I am posting a screenshot on the blog of one Mom's weekly schedule for her student. I will do this weekly if it is something that you might find helpful.
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