Building Up!

This February has been skill building for our unit in Architecture. This is going to be the theme for the remainder of the year. We will learn about structure building, design, decorating, and the histories of the building that we see everyday

(Did you know that the building out school is in is over 110-year-old and was probably built by German immigrants. Next time you're in the building you'll also notice that every room in the building is near a major source of sunlight because the church was built before the invention of indoor lighting.)

Next month the GC3 art class will have a special guest that will give us an introduction to Architecture. He will even introduce us to CAD (Computer Assisted Design).

Look in at our video section for a special short feature from the the GC1&2 art class!

Attack of the Teaching Tomatos

We are growing our own tomatoes. We planted them at the beginning of the month and now they are 4 inches high. We are even doing an experiment to see whether rainwater or tap water will make the plants grow better. So far the tapwater plants are winning. (we suspect that the tap water plants have been hogging all the sun.) If you know anything about growing tomatoes, please feel free to give us your input. Mr. Raines knows more about cyber-culture than agriculture.

This is all to supplement our understanding of various lifeforms. We just finished studying plants, now we'll be studying animals. We were talking about a way to observe animal life the same way we observe plant life.
Maybe a pet monkey? Nah... too much clean up.
I don't know... maybe a fish in a bowl? I would LOVE to hear your ideas.
 

We are Growing Up! (1&2 Science)

In our class we are talking about living things. Did you know that a living thing is anything that needs food, water, and air? If it were not for the “water” requirement, then fire would be living thing, wouldn’t it?

We are also learning about plants, their parts, and the different kinds of vegetation. We talked about plants that live where there is very little water and how they store water in fat, juicy leaves. This brings a FABULOUS family field trip to mind. On Chicago’s Westside is, perhaps, one of the most beautiful and educational experiences in the city. It’s also FREE. It’s called the Garfield Park Conservatory. Inside you can actually show your child and example of this plant and how (carefully) you can pick off a leave and squeeze out a copious amount of drinkable water. Remember, it will only cost you your time and it is REALLY worth the gas money.

Basic Nouns (Spanish Pre-K-2nd )

In Spanish, we are learning basic nouns and colors. This means that every class is an opportunity to practice saying the names of things like colors, the days of the week, and animals. Learning these things are part of your child’s Olympic goals. You can help your child by having them use the Spanish words around the house. (No, Sam, go put on your rojo sox.)
If you go to the Parent Resource Center (to the upper-right of this blog entry) you will find a link to a series of study guides to help you rehearse at home. Below, I’ve included some basic phonics that will help you be able to pronounce Spanish words.
j= the ‘h’ sound
a= the ‘ah’ sound
ll= the ‘y’ sound
¡Bueno Suerte y Albé al Senor!
Good Luck and Praise the Lord!