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Classical Conversations Cycle 1 Week 8
Our Classical Conversation Cycle 1 year is well underway! We’ve had Fall Break and are now back at it. I keep telling folks that our past experience is that we can have a great routine going right up until Fall Break and then after that we’re all out of sorts until February. I’m working diligently to prove that past experience is NOT a prediction of future performance by getting back in the groove before November. Wish me luck. Math A couple of years ago, I created a little skip counting “booklet” that I used in class. You are welcome to download it by clicking on the image to the right. The…
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Classical Conversations Cycle 3 Week 21 Events
I've posted my lab sheet for this lab on CC Connected (user name lb_oliver). My thoughts here will dovetail with that approach. You can also see my suggestions for ways to expand on this topic in my post here. This post is going to be short and sweet, but don’t panic, because the concepts in this lab are largely a review of the concepts from Week 19. So, if you need a quick refresher on those, go here for my first post about probability. This week, here’s my take on the point of the lab for our Classical Conversations Foundations students: Grammar: Reinforce the grammar terms that they’ve heard in weeks…
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Classical Conversations Week 20 Combinations
I've posted my lab sheet for this lab on CC Connected (user name lb_oliver). My thoughts here will dovetail with that approach. You can also see my suggestions for ways to expand on this topic in my post here. Welcome back to week 2 of CC’s statistics-based labs! Here are my thoughts about presenting these topics in class (for what it’s worth!) . . . Remember to spend a minute or two reviewing last week’s lab and last week’s grammar (probability, outcome). Revisiting those terms and definitions will just help them stick in the kids’ minds. Plus, this week we’re setting aside those topics and picking up a new one,…
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Classical Conversations Cycle 3 Week 19: Probability
I've posted my lab sheet for this lab on CC Connected (user name lb_oliver). My thoughts here will dovetail with that approach. You can also see my suggestions for ways to expand on this topic in my post here. First, if you’ve got a better handle on these labs than me, stop reading now and move on. I’m not claiming to be an expert on the subject. But, if you don’t, or you’re just looking for someone else’s perspective, here are my 2¢. Let’s begin with the end in mind. What’s the point of this particular lab? In my opinion, for our Classical Conversations Foundations students, it’s twofold: Grammar: To teach some basic…
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Classical Conversations Orchestra Cycle 3
I say this every year, but . . . . I really ENJOY the Orchestra 6-weeks of CC! If you need some ideas for things to do in class or to expand on things outside of class, I’ve got some suggestions! I’m always on the look out for new ideas myself, so please feel free to share yours in the comments below! Activities for Class If you’re a tutor out there who is stressing about this particular portion of the year, I’ll give you my layman’s two cents (and empathize with you . . . Tin Whistle is the hardest for me!): Don’t get bogged down in whether or not you love…
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Classical Conversations Statistics Labs from Cycle 3
We are entering Weeks 19-24 of Classical Conversations Cycle 3. This is the second time I’ve been through this cycle, and I have a better appreciation for the Statistics Labs. For the youngest, the abecedarians, this will probably be their first exposure to tally marks and making charts. I realized, having experienced with my own daughter, how much easier this made some of our math lessons a year after we were actually done with this cycle. Many of the concepts taught in these labs are challenging to our Foundations-age students (and their mothers!), but if we’ll slow down, try not to get intimidated, and take the time to try and understand…
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Classical Conversations Cycle 2 Egg Protector and Drop
This may be the shortest post in the history of blogging, but since I know we’re all in the middle of wrapping up our last few weeks of CC . . . and I couldn’t find anything out on CC Connected that addressed this . . . I put together a little summary sheet of the science principles (Physics) behind an Egg Protector and the Egg Drop experiment. I’ll put together a nicer and more polished post later when I have more time, but for now, I just wanted to make this available quickly to anyone who might find it helpful. You can download the document that I put together…
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Classical Conversations Cycle 2 Week 20
Time is flying! It’s week 20 and we’ll be wrapping up this year of CC Foundations before we know it! Science Here’s a fun little video with information about the second law of thermodynamics: Science Project I found a number of videos this week that complement our bridge-building project nicely. These two from MIT are my favorites: Part 1- Part 2 – Here are two others that are also good: http://science.howstuffworks.com/29829-understanding-bridge-designs-video.htm http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/phy03.sci.phys.mfe.zstrawbridge/triangles-designing-a-straw-bridge/ (You may need to create a free account at PBS in order to view this one.) There are also several books that work well with this subject: Cross a Bridge has simple, colorful illustrations of different types of bridges…
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Classical Conversations Cycle 2 Orchestra
Confession time. I can’t sing. I mean, seriously. In fact, I sometimes wonder how the children in my CC class manage to learn any of the material from someone who teaches most of it with songs that she usually butchers mercilessly. Now, on the upside (sort of), I can actually TELL that I can’t sing. I’m not tone deaf. In fact, I have a HUGE appreciation for music and musical people. Before our children came along, my husband (who has an AWESOME voice! The proof is on his album.) and I were season ticket holders to the symphony. We loved it! Then the kiddos arrived and going out became more…
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Classical Conversations Cycle 2 Week 19
We’ve entered the final 6 weeks! It’s the downhill slope, but it sometimes feels more like it’s the hardest part of the year. I read a great blog post entitled “Everyone wants to quit in November and February” a week or so ago. It can be encouraging just to realize that you aren’t the only one who feels worn out! Hang in there, folks! History Well, here’s the thing. The Korean War is often called the “Forgotten War” and that makes finding great kid-friendly sources about it a little, ummmm . . . challenging. Crash Course History has a video on the Cold War, which begins with Korea (first 5…
