November 2018

CPR:

My mom and I took a free CPR class at the Orland Park Fire Station. Free CPR classes are offered to citizens every first Saturday of the month. The course is mostly a lecture by a group of former firefighters, followed by a hands-on training. Very useful skill!

Math:

Grade 5:
PreAlgebra-Fractions
Geometry-Angles and Congruent Triangles

Grade 3:
Finished Beast Academy 3D
Finished the chapter on Multiplication in Beast Academy 4A

English:

Grade 5:
Esperanza Rising. S. was very excited to be reading this book. She recognized that the author also wrote Paint the Wind, which was her favorite book last year. We read about a chapter a day and had discussions on each chapter. We discussed new vocabulary, including looking up new words. We discussed the emotions of the characters, the changes in the characters, and the overall connection and association among the characters. We pinpointed interesting themes and how they are developed throughout the text. This is a wonderful book and I highly recommend this level.




Grade 3:
All About Reading 4: lessons 46-52
Handwriting without Tears-Cursive

Portuguese:

We are still reading Extraordinario and will probably manage to finish it by the end of December. It is a large text, worth deep discussion and reflection, and as consequence we are taking our time.

Social Sciences:

Native Americans Artifact - this was a school project that I helped with. The artifact S. chose was the Great Serpent Mound in Ohio. We made it out of the fluffy material used to stuff plush toys, shaped, wrapped in masking tape, and painted green. Last year we learned about Cahokia, which inspired the project.


Latin American Culture: 

We read Funny Bones, watched Coco, and re-read Separate is Never Equal. We first two books directly relate to one another as they depict the art of a Mexican artist who captured the deep spiritual belief of the Mexican people. Coco, of course, visually and captivatingly reflects the same. Separate is Never Equal is written by the same author as Funny Bones, and I decided that it is a good thing to remember, and it is a good trampoline to the next topic I wanted to touch on as an introduction, before we tackle it in earnest in February - segregation, mistrust and resentment.


Segregation:






The Game Changers - how two teams played a secret, forbidden game, overcame the awkwardness of the artificial social rules, and in the end reshuffled. The first basketball game that showed that basketball will soon be played differently, and tat people will soon be quite different. Undocumented is about mistrust, irrational fear, resentment, and hatred towards people you do not know, in this case mal-treatment, for financial gain of immigrants; but above all, the book is about the immigrants realizing that their strength is in their number, and on the fact that they are a vital component to the economy. It's short and compelling. It aligns beautifully with the hardships depicted in Esperanza Rising.



Dust Bowl
This topic tied in with Esperanza Rising and Undocumented. It talks about a conflict that is deeply hand made and is rooted in prejudice. This is a wonderful account of how one person, dedicated and rooted in his humanity and morality, can make a difference in the lives of many, and can grow out of nothing, in the middle of nowhere something grand. We should all be that person.








Chicago History:
What was the Great Chicago Fire- after visiting the Architecture foundation in Chicago, we picked up this book. It contains a lot of interesting information. We enjoyed it and learned a lot from it.


Mid-Term Elections:
We did not read this book but it is fantastic and worth reading on such occasions.

Sciences:

We talked about matter and the relative sizes. This is a good, simple book for that. We also reviewed our basic optics - rays, images in mirrors, images from lenses, and simple home made demonstrations. 

Movies:

We watched a lot of movies: Clue (all three endings), War Games, Real Genius, Wall-E and Christmas at the Kranks - all old favorites.

Piano:

Both kids continue to improve and acquire repertoire.
Grade 5:
Suzuki Book 3 - Teasing Song (last piece)

Grade 3:
Suzuki Book 2 - Arietta, Hungarian Song

Violin:

Yeah! S. finished Suzuki Book 1, and celebrated the occasion with a recital. It was some sweet 30 minutes. She was quite happy, as were we. She sounded great!

Adventures:

Toy Fair - this is an annual event that we try to attend. This year I was disappointed that there were not many interesting games and toys. It appeared scaled down.

The Art Museum - this was our second visit for the year. I found it overwhelming - too many, too different things to see. Thankfully, we chose to walk around downtown and thankfully the weather was fantastic.

The Architecture Foundation of Chicago - we saw the 3D-printed version of Chicago, and watched the brief presentation on the history of Chicago, which motivated we seek the book on the Chicago Fire.

Field Museum - this is the top adventure, for me. I felt as if I had never ever been in this museum even though I have been there many, many times. We saw a lot of exhibits - The antarctic dinosaurs, the Native American civilizations,  the Save the Planet exhibit, the Evolving Planet. It was wonderful. I was tired, but extremely inspired and hungry for more.