Drama Level 1, 12/3/2013

This week in Drama we continued to work on our Christmas presentation. We have a brief script and three songs which are rooted in scripture that we are learning.

MusicLevel 1 & 2, Dec 3, 2013

Topic studied:

The History of Christmas Caroling: The meaning and development behind the Tradition

Projects completed:

Locating the country of origin of various Christmas Carols

All Classes – Sheet Music Christmas Star Craft

 

 

 

Art Levels 1 & 2, Dec. 3, 2013

That was a great art class, what beautiful watercolor sunsets your children made behind a covered wagon silhouette.  I was impressed with the colors children chose and blending methods. They did a beautiful job, very proud of them.  Most of children in the level 1 class left theirs with me to dry so I will have these set out at the Christmas party to take home. A special thanks to Mrs. Hood for her help in art this week. :)

 

We practiced blending primary colors to create colors of the sky when the sun sets in the evening.  We read about how sunlight travels through a layer of dust, air and clouds to reach us.  This layer is called the atmosphere.  As sunlight travels, some of its colors bounce off bits of dust and air in the atmosphere. This scatters the colors.  The blue in sunlight scatters all over the sky. This is why it it blue in the day.  As the sun sets, blue light scatters even more.  It scatters so much that it disappears.  Only the redder part of the sunlight is left for you to see.  *Tried to keep the science lesson to a minimum :)

 

History Level 3 , Dec. 3, 2013

We discussed the answers to the homework questions, the first and second amendments to the Constitution and the need to maintain a balance of power between the 3 branches of government.

Assignment Level 3:
If you could switch places for a day with one of these founding fathers, who would you switch with and why? George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Rush, James Madison, Sam Adams, or John Adams?

Who were Lewis and Clark?
Why should we know about them?

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.  

 

 

 

The Constitution, History Levels 1&2, 12-3-13

The Constitution 
The Constitution was written in 1787 by a group of 55 men that we now call the Founding Fathers or Framers.  They were worried about the way that the country was going with the loose federal control granted in the Articles of Confederation, but rather than re-write the Articles, they created a new Constitution.

These were the elite of American society.  Many were rich, and some of the framers are still very famous, including George Washington, Ben Franklin, and Alexander Hamilton.  

During the hot summer of 1787 the Founding Fathers met in Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The process of coming up with a document that they could all agree to was not easy.  They had a lot of arguments, but in the end, they agreed to the words in the Constitution.

After the Framers wrote the Constitution, they needed the approval of the states.  It took some time, but all of the states eventually signed, and a new government was created.  The first order of business was to elect the nation’s first president, and George Washington was unanimously chosen by the electors.

In class activities 12-3-13:

• Enjoyed portions of "Shh! We're Writing the Constitution" by Jean Fritz. {affiliate link}
• Practiced active listening skills by "taking notes" on the book using clay
• Created our own Constitution out of clay
• Discussed the difficulties that the states had in deciding whether to relinquish control to a federal government

Optional lesson extension activities:

• Finish listening to "Shh! We're Writing the Constitution"  - Free Audiobook with photos from the book available here.
• Test your knowledge.  Try to identify the founding fathers based on historical clues.
• Watch a crash course on our Constution, and learn not only about how American government was founded, but how it works today.

Assignment:

There is no preparation needed for our Christmas event next week or for class on January 7th.  Enjoy your holidays!

Drama 2,3,4, - 12/3/13

Today we took a trip up the to sanctuary for a final rehearsal with each class!  We are getting very excited to share with all the FAITH classes!!

Drama 4 - We are still in need of memorizing, PLEASE be working with your student this week.  I was impressed by all the vocal ability to fill the large space and most of our timing is great!

Drama 3 - We worked on our jitters today, trying out the stage together and alone in hopes of feeling more comfortable for next Tuesday!

Drama 2 - We still have many who are not up to speed on their memorizing, I know this is a tough time of year, but please put in one last push as the work is coming along so well!

Thank you to all the parents, helping your children memorize is a precious task and I thank you for the effort!
See you all next week :)