Treasure Hunters 1/14/2014

The Declaration of Independence was studied before Christmas break and was discussed again on Tuesday.

We read The 4th of July Story by Alice Dalgliesh, discussed the Declaration and its dispersement to the colonies by broadsides on horseback.

The children made horses carrying broadsides.   We also mentioned the Liberty Bell and talked of how its signing is remembered when we celebrate on the 4th of July each year.  The kids make 4th of July confetti poppers to commemorate this.

 

We continue to work with marching songs and rhythms, as well as learning the parts of the Grand Staff.

 

Treasure Hunters 12/3/2013

Little Treasure Hunters looked at a replica of the Declaration of Independence and examined the tiny cursive writing and signatures.

They then listened to the ENTIRE declaration as illustrated in Sam Fink’s book:  The Declaration of Independence. . .The words that made America!  The kids loved the humorous illustrations depicting each phrase despite lots of wordiness! 

These little guys milled blueberries to make blue ink and put together straws and feathers for a pen.  They practiced writing their names with ink like the founding fathers did.

Regular music making ensued, as we practiced rhythms and songs for the Christmas presentation.  

 

 

 

Treaure Hunters 11/19/2013

This week we studied the Revolutionary War. We learned all about what it took to be a Revolutionary soldier including the skills, training, pay , rations and hardships.

For Drama, we took turns being Minutemen getting dressed in full uniform in a minute. The students really enjoyed timing them while shouting, "Hurry!" "The British are coming!"

 

For gross motor we played a game of who could sneak up on the British-very carefully!

In art we made paper doll soldiers. The students enjoyed cutting out uniforms and hats with different textiles.Of coarse we couldn't forget the muskets!

 

Lastly for music, we are working on our Christmas presentation songs as well as learning our Bass and Treble staff.

 

 

Treasure Hunters 11/12/2013

This week was Valley Forge. We learned about the harsh winter and what the Continental Army endured that season.
We also learned about their training and drills and who led them-General Von Steuben.
To give the students an idea of what it was like, they camped out in a tent while enjoying an episode from Liberty's Kids. They had a great time!

Treasure Hunters 11/5/2013

This week we learned about George Washington! We found out what makes a good leader, one who is humble and a true servant of the people.  We played a game of hunting foxes-one of  George's favorite past times. For Art we made powdered wigs out of cotton balls. A lot of cotton balls!

Treasure Hunters 10/29/2013

 The students enjoyed a real tea party complete with actual tea- one lump or two please:) 

Treasure Hunters 10/15/13

All about the Mayflower and the Pilgrims first year here in Plymouth, Massachusetts!  We read the "Pilgrim's First Thanksgiving" by Ann McGovern.

We all sat titghtly-packed in the Mayflower eating hard-tack while listening to the story.  We played marbles and learned how to play "draughts" which is also known as checkers, and spoke some "Gliffes" (tongue-twisters).

We painted candle-holders, and made bees-wax rolled candles.  We held our entire class with the lights off! ~Pilgrims couldn't flip a switch to turn on the lights.

We encourage parents to read a story by candle-light before bed one night.

Questions you can ask your children:
"What is Hard-tack?"
"What was life like on the Mayflower"
"How many Pilgrims returned to England on the Mayflower?"

Treasure Hunters Summary 9/17/13

Columbus and Compasses!   

Treasure Hunters were read A Sailor Who Found a New World  from A Child's History of the World- by Hillyer. . . the whole story!! (They were great listeners).  

We also viewed the pictures in the D'Aulaire book, Columbus.   

The class learned how to find Italy and viewed and marked Columbus' voyage on a map and discussed navigation using a compass and identified a compass rose on several maps.

The children were shown how to make a compass by floating a bar magnet in a bowl of water (we compared this to a physical compass to gauge accuracy)  fascinating!

All children created their own compass rose with moveable velcro tags to practice directions.   

We played several games using the compass rose and navigational cues.

Children marched to a Bible passage set to Colonial Music and practiced various rhythms.  

Things to ask your little Treasure Hunter about:

• Which direction does the sun rise and set? 

• Can you show me the cardinal directions on your compass rose?   

• Can you remove them and put them in the proper place?  

Summer

Dear FAITH Families,
Welcome!

What an honor to have the opportunity to learn along side of you and your children this coming year! We are working diligently to plan and coordinate all the necessary details for the fall.  As soon as the syllabus is finalized we will send it out to you.

The time period we will be focusing on over the coming year is the Early Modern Period (1450-1815) From the Explorers to the Missouri Compromise.
 Thank you for partnering with us to create this learning adventure for our children. Please feel free to let us know if there is anything we can do to be of help to you in the coming months! Have a great summer!

 The FAITH Leadership Team