Geography: Caucasus

Weeks 26 and 27 of school we learned about the Caucasus region using Layers of Learning, year 2 unit 15.

We found the region on the map.
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We watched videos about places in the region.
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We also watched videos of traditional dances from Georgia.
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The boys gave oral reports on famous Georgians.
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We did mapwork about how the Mongols broke into parts eventually.
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We made a pie chart of the religions in Azerbaijan
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We looked at sentences written in Armenian.
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We watched a video about the Fire Temple of Baku.
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History: Mongols

Weeks 26 and 27 of school we learned about Mongols using Layers of Learning, year 2 unit 15.

We found Mongolia on the map.
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We added to our rapidly-becoming-full timeline.
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We did mapwork using two different maps. One showed how things were on the eve on the Mongol destruction. The other took us through some notable Mongol battles.
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We made a model of a yurt.
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We ran a relay race to pass a message along like the yam.
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We did mapwork on how the Mongols eventually broke into four parts.
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We watched two Crash Course videos dealing with the Mongols.
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We watched a documentary about Genghis Khan.
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March for Our Lives

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On Saturday, Jamie, Ani, and I joined about 1,000 of our fellow San Antonioans in support of common sense gun control.

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A few tourists, upon realizing what we were doing, joined the parade.

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People along the route applauded as they watched us go by.

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As with anything in San Antonio, it was a pretty laid back, we’re having a party sort of atmosphere.

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But March for Our Lives and the incredible ease with which people can get guns in this country is not fun and games. It’s a very serious issue. Ani returned from her really long Invisible Recovery hiatus to make a video about it.

Our Plan for Next Year

I don’t know why I picked March as the time I’d start planning for the next school year, but I’ve started (and sometimes finished) in March for several years now.

So here’s our plan for next year:

History/Geography/Science/The Arts: Layers of Learning Year 3 (that’s age of exploration to American Revolution)

Language Arts:
Cameron – Fix-It Grammar Book 2, Creative Writer 2 (and literature selections from Layers of Learning)
Fritz – Analytical Grammar (using the 2 year plan), WordBuild Elements Level 1, Beyond the Book Report Seasons One and Two, Spelling Power (and literature selections from Layers of Learning)
Adrian – Junior Analytical Grammar and Junior Analytical Grammar: Mechanics, WordBuild Foundations Level 1, Writing With Ease 4, Spelling Power (and literature selections from Layers of Learning)

Math:
Cameron – Actuarial Foundation’s Building Your Future
Fritz – Math Mammoth 7
Adrian – Math Mammoth 5

Music: 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die

Current Events: CNN 10

Spanish: DuoLingo (Cameron and Adrian)

Latin: Translation (Fritz)

Logic: Discover of Deduction (Fritz)

Religion: Scripture Study for Latter-day Saint Families: Doctrine and Covenants (Fritz and Adrian; Cameron will be doing D&C in Seminary)

Drawing: Pencil Drawing (Fritz)

Recorder: Basix Recorder Method (Adrian)

Piano: Hoffman Academy (Fritz)

Interest Led: Whatever they want to learn about however they want to learn about it, but next year they’ll have to write about what they’ve learned.

It’s That Time of Year

Every March I start planning our next school year. I both hate it and love it. I hate all the options and deciding what we want to use, but I also love seeing what’s out there for the subjects I need and I really love planning.

We’ll definitely be using year 3 of Layers of Learning next year for history, geography, science, and the arts, but I needed to make some changes to things like parts of language arts (for the little guys) and math (for Cameron). I think I’ve got those changes figured out now so next comes ordering, box day, and scheduling.

For a homeschool parent, this might actually be the most wonderful time of the year.

The Arts: Vivid Language

Weeks 24 and 25 of school we learned about using vivid language in writing using Layers of Learning, year 2 unit 14.

We wrote paragraphs describing a thing.
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We drew pictures of monsters and then wrote a paragraph to describe them. Then we switched around paragraphs and had someone else try to draw a matching monster.
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We learned how to write juicy sentences that let readers know exactly what we meant.
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We wrote interesting metaphors.
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