Year 1: Week 14

Gemma's week included samba-ing in the street.

This is a castle Gemma drew, using Freddie Levin's 1-2-3 Draw: Princesses.

We read several poems from Nature in Verse, 3 pages of Lamb's The Tempest, The Story of Pretty Goldilocks from The Blue Fairy Book, the story of The Fiery Furnace from the Bible, 2 pages in Nature Connection about why leaves fall off trees, recitation passages (Psalm 100, parable, Baby Moses), wrote 4 words in cursive (lettuce, autumn, etc.), added 3 people to timeline book, and did the "strengthen skills" feature on Duolingo.

The fable Gemma chose was The Mouse and the Weasel. In it, a mouse chews a hole in a corn basket, and once in the basket, eats so much corn, and gets so fat, that he can't squeeze back through the hole to get out. Gemma's narration included advice to the mouse: "He should have taken the corn to his burrow, instead of eating it in the basket."

The fairy tale was perfect for prediction. Instead of having Gemma narrate - gasp! Call the Charlotte Mason police! - I had her predict what would happen next, because, if she had been paying attention, she should have been able to, at several points in the story, predict what would happen next. For example, Charming rescues a carp, and the carp says she will repay Charming. When Charming comes upon another animal, the listener should be able to predict that Charming will help this animal, too, and that this animal will also gratefully promise to repay Charming. When Charming comes upon a third animal, the listener should easily predict Charming will rescue the third animal, and that this animal, too, will promise to repay Charming. When Charming is asked by Princess Goldilocks to do the impossible task of getting a ring from the bottom of a river, the listener should immediately be able to predict that the first animal, the carp, will get the ring for Charming. At this point, the listener might predict that Princess Goldilocks will ask Charming to perform two more impossible tasks, because there are still two animals who need to repay Charming. Otherwise, when Princess Goldilocks asks Charming to go on a second adventure, the listener should predict that the second animal will come to Charming's aid. And so on and so on.

One of the thoughts that struck me while reading this story to Gemma is how necessary predictable stories like this are for developing the ability to predict. It seems obvious, but it is something disregarded by public education.

It also struck me that the king cruelly imprisons Charming, because he is fearful and jealous. This story clearly shows that this is an injustice, that kings shouldn't rule this way, and that government should be just.

This week, I prioritized the things we didn't get around to last week. I had Gemma choose a hymn, and she chose one we often sing in church: All Creatures of Our God and King.

She also did a nature watercolor of her lettuce plant, which she noticed is producing a flower!

I made handicrafts a priority this week, and we pulled out the doll sewing kit Gemma started. She sewed and stuffed the body and head; I attached the arms for her. She did this while Alouette, a couple of other French songs, and some of Tchaikovsky's Pathetique played. We also listened to some of Swan Lake, and revisited Van Gogh's The Potato Eaters.

Math: Life of Fred: Kidneys chapter 16

History: Cinncinatus, The Battle of Marathon, and The Perfect Building (the Parthenon)

Free Reads: The Father Brown Reader

PE: Dance, jiujitsu, swim

Gemma passed her swim test (swimming the length of the pool), and is now able to swim in the rec area of the pool without me being in the water with her. That meant she was able to swim before her lesson and after, spending not just 30 minutes in the pool, but an hour and 30 minutes.

Geography: a couple of games of Jax Sequence States & Capitals, The World By the Fireside (The Baby's Cradle & The Medicine Bag)