What we're learning this week

This week we are exploring the world and studying Japan! I am ridiculously excited about this week's plans. I hope some of this enthusiasm rubs off on the kids.

Monday:

Today we studied haiku. We read about them at kidzone, and then we practiced counting syllables. I felt like I really taught Anthony something today, because he was obsessed with counting syllables for the rest of the day. We read Basho and the River Stones by Tim J. Myers, which I highly recommend. The illustrations are gorgeous!

Then, the boys composed their own "What am I?" haikus. The goal was to write a haiku that allowed the reader/listener to guess the subject of the poem. Anthony wrote:

I am green and seen
I am unusually seen
I am bigger than you

Fortunately, he also drew a picture. This "What am I?" was a crocodile, which is not to be confused with an alligator.

Later haiku included:

I am a creature.
I am the biggest animal
I am a blue thing.

The description was much better, even if the syllables were slightly off. He and Jerimiah both loved this activity. Woohoo!! Score one for Mom!

Tuesday:

We are studying Ukiyo-e at Kids Web Japan. They have a gallery on that site, and we may even be able to make one virtually. We'll see if I can get that one to work.

Compare haiku and Ukiyo-e. Both are simple and reflect a snapshot in time. Then we are going to write a haiku that describes a moment in time.

Wednesday:

We are heading back to Kids Web Japan to read some of the folk tales there. Then we are going to compare Japanese tales with those they are familiar with now. I would call them American stories, but they really aren't, are they?

Thursday:

Kids Web Japan also has a really cool section on Shodo. If we can't get the virtual Shodo to work, then we will bust out the paint and paper. Please, oh please, I hope the virtual works!

Friday:

Friday is all about the Origami!! I think this will probably be the boys' favorite.

In math, Jerimiah is studying fractions. He has a pretty good mastery of adding and subtracting them, and we are learning about multiplying fractions for the next few days. To reinforce what he's already learned, on M, W, and F he will play Fishy Fractions, Fraction Cafe, and practice adding fractions at this site.

Anthony is still rocking the triple digit addition and subtraction. He gets to play MathMan and Math Dojo.   


For Language Art/Literature, we are still reading Little House on the Prairie. On Thursday, the boys get to play "Word Invastion" at www.abcya.com. I love love love that website.  We will also be reading lots of haiku books from the library. I'll let you know if they are any good!

We are starting Geography this week too, but in a super mellow, relaxed, fun-loving way. Tomorrow, the boys get to put together their 50 States puzzle (Thank you, Dollar Tree!) and then play the 50 States game on abcya.

That's about it. What's going on in your homeschool?