July 2020

We have ten more days of July left. So far July has blown my mind. July exhausted me. I know I burdened myself but July did extra burdening too. July was expected to be low key because my nephew was in town for the first week, and the kids had Portuguese camp together the second, and one of the kids is having another week of Portuguese camp now. But low key has translated into watching TV which is undesirable, so some structure has returned.

5th Grader:

• We are finishing Beast Academy
• We are reading and discussing Front Desk
• We are reading Pippi Meialonga for Portuguese
• He is playing daily piano and cello
• We take daily bike rides for a few hours

7th Grader:

• We are moving through Intro to Counting
• We began EIL - nonfiction, memoire
• We read and discussed Illegal, which is a graphic novel
• Daily practice of piano and violin
• Daily Portuguese camp
• We take daily bike rides

I have the agenda for the next school year. Put together aligned curriculum. We will focus more on science than in history, beginning in August. We will begin with focus on Racism in America. We will read Which Way West, the 7th grader will read Just Mercy, and the 5th grader will read Ghost boys. We will begin science with a study of anatomy, and models of the main systems.

Biology

• Foldoscope: build it, learn how to use, take samples, prepare slides, make observations, sketch observations
• How your heart works https://www.kiwico.com/diy/Science-Projects-for-Kids/3/project/Pumping-Heart/2883
• How your lungs work (https://www.kiwico.com/diy/Science-Projects-for-Kids/3/project/Lung-Model/2886)
• How muscles work (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVIpeUIpFf0) and https://www.kriegerscience.com/anatomy/toy-arm/
• Chemistry
• Reactions with sugar (https://www.thoughtco.com/make-black-snakes-or-glow-worms-605964)+yeast+https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIKDDo02hfU+https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzA1-QhFmmw
• Reactions with oxygen: candles
• Physics
• Air pressure: Hydraulic Elevator (https://teachbesideme.com/stem-project-build-a-hydraulic-elevator/)
• Air Pressure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Grziaq-caVE+https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKMKKOV7xhM + https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axbFo-wsp4g
• Instant Ice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=128&v=sQdLttUh_b0&feature=emb_logo
• Density and Float: different liquids; solutions of sugar
• Potential Energy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wT4_RGvtbU
• Challenges from here: https://webhome.phy.duke.edu/~hsg/physics-challenges/challenges.html