Thursday, December 17, 2015

You were scared there for a minute, weren't you? 

Your assignments for today are :

History: finish

Science: Draw a picture of each phase of mitosis. 

Math: Xtramath

Reading: done

Spelling: finish

Writing: finish

the end

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Yo Yo Yo! Just 3 more days!  Woot!! 

Let's get it done! 

History: Finish up Chapter 7

Writing: Today we're going to do the thumbprint activity. On this one that I am sending you, the person didn't write on an outline of their own fingerprint, but made their writing look like a fingerprint. You can do that too. I do want it to look like a fingerprint when you're done, however you decide to do it. I also like the pictures she added to it! 

Science: Today, do the practice section of the lesson on Cell Cycle. 

Math: XtraMath

Spelling: contract

Reading: Finish Best Christmas Pageant Ever and do the comprehension questions. 

That's it. Seriously. 

That's it. 

For real. 

And remember: 

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

4 Days Until Christmas Break!! 

We're getting there!! Yay! 

Just stick with me for the last few days and then we'll have a break. 

For History finish reading section section 3 in Chapter 7 (pages 163-168).  Define your vocabulary words and answer the questions on pages 163 and 168. This section discusses King Phillip's War, the whaling industry, and the slave trade. Watch this video about King Phillip's War (its in two parts). 

For Writing tell me how you feel about what you have learned about King Philip's War. How does it make you feel as a white person and someone of English ancestry? (dig deep for this one) 

We'll do the fingerprint activity on W-F. 

For Spelling continue working on your contract. 

For Math, do XtraMath.

For Science answer these questions from the lesson on the cell cycle. 

1. What are the major phases of the cell cycle?
2. Why do you think it is important for a cell to grow before it replicates its DNA? Be as specific as you can in your answer.
3. What happens during the S phase of the cell cycle?
4. What happens during mitosis?
5. What is the function of spindle fibers? Where do they attach?
6. What is the function of meiosis?
7. What is the cell cycle?
8. What are the two main components of the cell cycle?
9. What occurs during interphase?
10. What are the three stages of interphase?
11. What is the main purpose of the S phase?
12. Describe the main events of the mitotic phase.
13. Define cancer.

For Reading finish The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.

When you finish reading the book, answer these questions: 

. 

1. How did the Herdmans set fire to Fred Shoemaker's toolhouse? 

a. They were playing with matches. 

b. They were making fire bombs. 

c. They were playing with a chemistry set. 

2. What did Claude Herdman bring to first grade for Show-and-Tell? 

a. their one-eyed cat 

b. Leroy Herdman's chemistry set 

c. the fire chiefs hat and boots 

3. Mrs. Armstrong was the head of anything she belonged to because she . 

a. was so good at getting contributions 

b. was so good at giving orders 

c. was so good at organizing things 

4. Why wasn't Alberta Bottles asked to whistle "What Child Is This?" for this year's pageant? 

a. Last year, she fainted in the middle of the third verse. 

b. Last year, she threw up in the manger. 

c. Last year, she spit on the minister's son, who was playing Joseph. 

5. Who always got to be Mary in the pageant? 

a. Lucille Golden 

b. Wanda Pierce 

c. Alice Wendleken 

6. What did Gladys and Ollie do while Imogene was snitching money from the collection plate? 

a. stood guard 

b. acted as lookouts 

c. drew mustaches on the disciples in the Illustrated Bible 

7. The librarian said she'd heard everything there was to hear when . 

a. Imogene asked for a library card 

b. Imogene asked about Jesus 

c. Imogene asked where the poetry books were kept 

8. On the night of the dress rehearsal, . 

a. the ladies let the applesauce cake burn up 

b. someone called the fire department because of smoke in the ladies' room 

c. both of the above 

9. What did the Herdman Wise Men bring Jesus? 

a. bath salts and baby oil 

b. ham 

c. gold, frankincense, and myrrh 

1 0 . What did the Herdmans ask for after the pageant? 

a. ham, candy, and small testaments 

b. a poinsettia plant 

c. a set of Bible-story pictures

That's all folks! I love you so much, and I am looking forward to reading what you have to say....and remember: 

Tyler Oakley had lavendar hair. 

 

Monday 12/14/15

I think this calls for lots of writing in red. Except not cause that's distracting. 

I really enjoyed reading the things you wrote this week. Your writing in your personal narrative about Tanner was REALLY good! You're very talented, Bethany!

My head is kinda hurting a lot, so I'm going to get right to the schooly side of things. 

For History I want to go over some of the things you did last week so that we can make sure that you are clear on everything-especially the government of the Puritans. We'll do that together.
We're going to finish up Chapter 7 (not today) and then we'll be done with History for the week! 

For Science, we're going to be moving on to a new lesson that talks more about Mitosis and Meiosis. Last week talked about the fact THAT cells divide. This week we're going to talk about how they do it. Read the lesson but instead of watching the video at the end of the lesson, watch this video. (you can watch both if you want to!) 

For math, do XtraMath. This will be the last week that we do XtraMath. After Christmas we are going to start into some pre-algebra. Give it your all this week!! 

For Spelling do your spelling contract  for these words: 

Chromosome          cytokinesis      interphase        replication

authority            meetinghouse           Massachusetts

spindle     infectious      hysterical   bazaar 

For Reading continue reading Best Christmas Pageant Ever. You need to finish this week. 

Plan to make me a test on this book and we'll see if I can pass it! At least 15 questions. 

For Writing, start with this Daily10 topic: 

Commercial Conflict

Does holiday shopping encourage, or hinder, the true spirit of Christmas?

Next we're going to do something called fingerprint writing. I'll explain this-come see me. This will be due Friday. (warning-you'll have to write with your *gasp* hand!) 

That's it for today cutie! I'm glad I get to spend Monday with you!! I love you so much, and remember.....

December 8, 2015

You're just gonna need to take a minute to truly appreciate the oddness of this photo. 

.

.

.

Ok...now you may move on. 

I know its been a while, and its hard to get back into things...it is for me too. It won't be that much longer until Christmas vacation though, and we have some things we need to finish up with before then. 

For History we're going to be learning about a new colony and a new settlement. So far we've learned about Jamestown and Plymouth. Today we're learning about Boston and New Amsterdam (which later becomes New York). Read pages 141-143 in The United States:Its History and Its Neighbors.  Define the words on page 141, and answer the questions on pages 141 and 143. 

For Science, read and watch the videos for the lesson on Cell Division. 

For  Math continue with XtraMath. My goal before Christmas is for you to have improved by 20 points and completed math *DAILY*.  If you think that it isn't recording that you have completed math each day, then you are responsible for taking a picture of the screen that shows you have completed it each day, or leaving the screen up on your laptop so that I can see it. If we don't meet this goal, we'll continue with math during Christmas break. 

You can do it. Shia LeBeouf and I believe in you!! (seriously. You gotta watch this video. Its pretty much hilarious.) 

For Spelling complete your spelling contract for these words. Remember to do one activity each day to keep it from being such a chore! 

1. meiosis                                   6. inflation

2. mitosis                                    7. Manhattan

3. zygote                                     8. Netherland

4. deciduous                               9. militia

5. navigable                              10. embryo

For Writing we are still working on Personal Narrative. Read the following information and complete the assignment. Its not due until Thursday, so do a really good job!! 

The elements necessary for a narrative are:

Characters: people or creatures about whom your reader will care;

Setting: a place that is familiar, even in a fantasy;

Action: something interesting that happens.

The three rules for writing a narrative are as follows:

Rule One:  Know your audience. In story telling, your listener or your reader is your foremost consideration. Your story would shift dramatically were you writing a narrative for an uptight English teacher who will give you a grade, for a group of young children in a summer camp setting, or for your classmates held captive by the bell schedule. Vary word choice, images and action in a manner appropriate for your audience. 

Rule Two:  Have a story in mind. This means you have a character in a setting with a problem and a resolution.  Sometimes narratives can be fragments of stories; glimpses of experience. Still these bits of life must compel your listener to listen. They inform and enlighten when they show a life being lived. The best of them leave your readers with something for themselves: a lesson, an idea, or an image. 

Rule Three: Describe. You must show rather than tell the story. Use words to create sensory images of the experience you are relating so that your reader can hear the scrape at the window, feel the hammer on the thumb, smell the locker room, taste the fried termites, see the just-born bird. Which has more impact: “Ralph is mean” or “Ralph likes to stomp little kittens to death with his size 14-D steel-toed boots?"  Details are everything.  They provoke the empathic reaction.

Exercise in “Showing Rather than Telling” When Writing a Narrative

Read the following narration about getting to school in the morning.

I got up at 6 a.m.

I got annoyed with the alarm and got hurt when I hit the clock too hard.

I got into the shower.

I got chilled because my sister had used up all of the hot water.

I got dressed.

I got into the kitchen after all the eggs and toast were gone.

I got myself a breakfast of cereal and juice.

I got a stain on my shirt.

I got a different shirt.

I got my stuff together and got it all in my backpack.

I got yelled at by my mother for lagging.. 

I got irritated by the way the morning was going.

I got in trouble for keeping my carpool waiting.

I got in the backseat of the car with two other people.

We got a ticket for speeding on the way to school.

We got to school late.

I got detention for being late.

I got behind in the assignment given in my first period class.

I got a bad grade on my assignment.

This is a narration no one wants to read. Rewrite it:

Do not use got at all.

Vary your sentence length and style. 

For Reading choose one of the following novels to read during the next two weeks: 

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Begin reading the book that you chose. 

Ok, we'll stop there for today. I'm looking forward to the Christmas Party tonight! See you there, and Remember: 

Happy Gay Anniversary Conner Franta. 

Week of Nov 16-Nov 20, 2015

Its the week. THE week. The 50 hours of work week. wooo!! 

Ok, I know this is going to seem like a lot, but just remember that it is a whole week, not one day, right?  For each subject I am going to give you an amount of work that I want you to have done by the end of the week. Its up to you to manage your time and get it all done. Basically, I'm not going to day "monday do this, tuesday do this." I expect everything to be done by Friday at 5:00. 

Um. No. 

History

Ok, we have been talking about the new Plymouth colony. The Separatists came to Plymouth for religious freedom because they were being persecuted in England by King James I for not joining the Church of England. The Virginia Company (remember them fromgave them money for a boat, the Mayflower, and for the trip. *End Recap*

When we rejoin our group they are just sitting out there in the Mayflower, not coming to land.

To establish a colony in the New World, you had to get a charter (or legal permission) from England, because they kinda owned it. There were three different kinds of colonies: charter, proprietary, and royal. A Charter colony was governed by a  business, like the Virginia Company. In a Proprietary colony, the King would appoint someone to govern the colony. He reported to the King though. A Royal colony was governed directly by the King. The Separatists had permission to settle in Virginia, which was a charter colony run by the Virginia Company. They were supposed to go to an area near the Hudson River (now NY).  When they got there there, the shore was all rocky and they almost shipwrecked. They decided to move a little and ended up in an area outside of Virginia, near Cape Cod, MA. So now they are there without any kind of legal protection from England and outside of the charter. The Virginia Company needed to get permission for the group to be there, but in the mean time they needed some kind of short-term, legally binding for of self government until they could get permission to be there. They group's leader-a man named William Bradford-wrote "The Mayflower Compact". The signers of the Mayflower Compact promised to establish laws and ordinances that would be for the good of the colony, and to obey the laws that were established. It was a short document, but it was the beginning of a type of democratic mind set for Americans-a government for the people, by the people.  The original document has been lost, but it was reprinted in pamphlets back then, so we still know what it said. Here are the words and the signers. It is written in an old english style, so its a little harder to read.  

For this week:

1. read pages 135-140 in The United States:Its History and Its Neighbors. Define the vocabulary words on 135, and answer the questions on pages 135 and 140. (I included the above because I wanted a little more explanation about a few things.) 

2. Read these articles about the life of women and girls on the Mayflower. Carefully consider, would you have wanted to go on the trip, or would you have wanted to stay home and wait for your husband to send for you. Write a paragraph stating your opinion. 

3. Research what the pilgrims ate at that first Thanksgiving meal. Find a recipe that you would like to try. (not venison please-I can't get that.)

Science

For Science this week, do the lessons on Cellular Respiration and the Process of Cellular Respiration. Read the lessons, watch the videos, answer any questions in the lesson (send through google drive), and answer the practice questions for both lessons. Be sure to take a picture of your score on the practice. 

Math

For Math, keep working on XtraMath. I want to see that you have completed a lesson each day, and my goal for you is to improve by 10 points by the end of the week. 

Also, there is a book called Math Doesn't Suck by Danica McKellar.  Read the first two introductions, Math Used to Suck and FAQ at the beginning of the book. 

Spelling

This is a spelling contract. Below you will find a list of words that I want you to use for the spelling contract. Follow the directions (except for the heading on the paper-don't worry about that one). 

1. Respiration             6. mitochondria           11. Squanto

2. Mayflower              7. nucleus                    12. Plymouth

3. cellular                    8. anaerobic                 

4. glucose                    9. destination

5. aerobic                  10. Massasoit

Writing

Each day do a Daily 10 topic. We are on week 3, but you can do any 5 topics we haven't done yet. 

This week we are going to work on Personal Narrative. Personal Narrative is a type of descriptive writing, but like it says its more...personal. 

Here is a pic that describes it a little more.....obviously. 

Think The Fault in Our Stars.  Hazel is telling us about a small moment in her life. Less than a year? That is what I want you to work on this week. Pick a moment or a time in your life that you want to write about. Make it very descriptive. Use all week to make it just like you want it. Make sure you have no spelling, capitalization, or grammar errors. If you have questions, feel free to ask! 

Reading

I know that I told you this week we would be starting on a novel set in colonial times, but I jumped the gun a little. I want to start a book called Sarah Bishop but I want to wait until we get into the Revolutionary War. For this week, just continue reading whatever you like. If you want a book from the library let me know. 

Ok Chica...it seems like a lot, but you have a whole week. Or...it doesn't seem like a lot and you're not really noticing how much it is, so get on with it! I love you so much!! And this week I want you to remember: 

Friday, November 12, 2015

But it did come, Bethany. It did. Its here. 

Happy Friday! 

I hope you are as happy to see Friday as I am! I am looking forward to being off tomomorrow too! woot woot woot woot woot!! 

For History today, we're going to continue with learning about the pilgrims and how they came to be in America. I really didn't plan for us to end up studying about them the week before Thanksgiving, but it worked out kinda cool like that! 

So why did the pilgrims come to America? There was a group of people in England called the Separatists.  They disagreed with the teachings of the Church of England. At that time, the King (King James I) was over both the country and the church, so to not belong to the church was actually considered treason. The Separatists didn't like this and thought that it made the church corrupt. They were also being persecuted because they didn't believe everything that the Church of England taught. (The Church of England was very much like the Catholic church-but not quite.) The Separatists decided to go live in Holland, and they lived their for about 12 years, but they weren't able to earn much money there and didn't have enough to live on. They also wanted their children to grow up with English customs and traditions, not Dutch ones. They decided to go to the New World, but didn't want to go to Jamestown. They were afraid that the people there would treat them badly because of their beliefs. The Separatists (Or Pilgrims-someone who makes a journey for religious reasons), decided to go to an area in Northern Virginia Territory that is near what is now New York. They didn't have any money though-so how are they going to get a ship and food and stuff?? Investors gave them money and in return they were supposed to give the investors a share of the profits of whatever they earned while they were there. They bought a boat called the Speedwell and sailed back to England. They got more colonists to join them and they bought another boat called the Mayflower. 

Now you might be saying "NOW HOLD UP. I've heard of the Mayflower but I've never heard of the Speedwell." That's because when they left England in August of 1620, they realized that the Speedwell wasn't in good enough shape to make the trip, so they sailed back to Plymouth, England. All 102 people crowded into the Mayflower and they set sail again on September 16, 1620. It took them about a month and a half-from Sept. 16 to Nov. 9 to see land again.  Even then, most of the people stayed in the boat while the others went to find food and shelter. The rest of them didn't leave the boat until December 23. They named the place "Plymouth" after the city they had left from in England. On Monday we'll talk about the Mayflower Compact! 

For Science read the lesson on Cellular Respiration  and answer these questions. Make sure to give really good answers! 

1. What is cellular respiration?
2. Do plant cells respire?
3. What kinds of molecules are used for cellular respiration? Give specific examples.
4. What is the use of ATP? Give three examples of how ATP is used in the cell.
5. What is the purpose of cellular respiration?
6. What is ATP?
7. How much usable energy is extracted from one glucose molecule?

For Math, do XtraMath, then go here and pick a couple of games to play. 

For Writing do your Daily 10 topic: My M.V.S. (most valuable sense)

Which of your five senses is most valuable / important? Explain.

For Reading read anything you like for 30 minutes. On Monday we'll be beginning a new novel that is set during the colonial times. 

That's it for this Friday, Sweet Girl! Do you very best, and always remember: 

Veteran's Day, Nov. 11, 2015

Your only assignment for today is to find out when we started celebrating Veteran's Day, why, what it was originally called, when we celebrate it, and the President that made it an official holiday. 

Ok, I lied-one more assignment. Write a letter to a veteran thanking him/her for their service. It doesn't have to be to a specific person. This would be what we would call an "open letter". 

Monday, November 9, 2015

Welcome to Monday! 

According to Mrs. Annie, ya'll made over $400 yesterday!! That's great! I'm proud of you :) 

Now just cha-cha-slide straight through this school work today and you'll get to have Brooke tonight! 

For History today we're going to be talking about the House of Burgesses. To kind of recap where we are, Pocahontas has just passed away, ending a time of peace between the Jamestown colonists and the native nations ruled by her father Powhatan. This was in 1618. (Keep in mind that I'm telling you dates to help you see how close things are happening in history. Some things may happen 10 years apart, and some things may be just months apart. I don't want you to be so focused on trying to remember dates that you forget the real meat of what is going on. I hope that you'll be able to say "this happened in the 1600s" but really just focus on the Whats right now..not then whens. There are a few things I do want you to know a when for, but when those pop up I'll let you know!) 

OK, the very next year, in 1619 the Virginia Company (remember them? they funded the Jamestown Colony) established the House of Burgesses. This was the first type of government in the new world. It was a representative government, meaning that the "Burgesses" (or what we would call representatives) were chosen from the colony to represent the other colonists in making laws, etc. 

Watch this Shmoop video about the House of Burgesses.  While you are watching the video, take notes. You will notice sentences pop up in orange lettering throughout the video. Those are good things to write down. You may want to add other things that you hear also. At the end of the video, all the sentences that popped up in orange will be in a list. You can pause the video and make sure that you have all of them. 

For Math you have to complete the placement quiz for multiplication on XtraMath. I see where you have done some of it, but it isn't finished. 

For Science answer these questions from the lesson on Light Reactions of Photosynthesis. 

1. Where do plants get the raw materials for photosynthesis?
2. What do plants take up through their roots? Which of these substances are used for photosynthesis?
3. Where does the chemical reactions of photosynthesis take place?
4. Describe the structures of the chloroplast where photosynthesis takes place.
5. What would happen if the stomata of a plant leaf were glued shut? Would that plant be able to perform photosynthesis? Why or why not?
6. What are the reactants needed to perform photosynthesis? The products?
7. What happens to the products of photosynthesis?

For Reading, read this interview done with John Green about The Fault in Our Stars.  John Green always writes what he knows-the best authors always do. I had wondered how The Fault in Our Stars  fit into his past, and you'll find out here in this interview.  On this same site on the right side there are some audio clips from the interview if you'd like to here more.

Also, see if you can find out where the title comes from. Here's a hint to get you started: Its from a quote in Shakespeare. 

 No spelling today. 

For Grammar we're going to be talking about commas with coordinate adjectives today. Read this to learn more about it. Watch this video for a little extra explantation,  then go here to practice. 

(By the way, the music in this video is annoying and no one talks. I would turn the audio off if I were you.)

For writing, do your Daily 10 topic: Second Look

Share a first impression that proved to be totally wrong. What changed your mind?

Also, I don't see your Oreo activity. If you haven't done that, make sure to do it today. 

Ok, chica-that's enough for today. I promise that next Monday I'll be home with you!! Ok. I really really hope that next Monday I'll be home with you. From now until Christmas I may be working on some Mondays because its getting really busy for Mrs. Megan. Keep in mind though that we have all of this week and all of next week, then we're taking all of the next week off for Thanksgiving! And Aunt Amy and Grandaddy and everybody will be coming :D 

I love you so, so much!! And always remember: 

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

I love starting the day with a good Pooh quote. 

How is your morning so far? Quite well I hope! 

For History, we're still talking about Jamestown. Yesterday we covered the first couple of years in Jamestown which weren't that great unless you like eating boiled shoes. Today we're going to talk a bit about the natives that were living there when the colonists arrived. They were led by a man named Chief Powhatan. Powhatan had a daughter, named Matoaka. She was his favorite of all of his children. He nicknamed her "Little Wanton" or "Little Naughty" would be another way to say it. In their language "Little Naughty" would be said "Pocahontas." 

no. not her. 

Pocahontas, legend says, saved the life of John Smith. This may or may not be true. Primary source documents written by John Smith tell about her saving his life, but they were written years later. Nothing was ever written about it at the time and no one else ever wrote about it either. That makes people think maybe it never happened and John Smith made it up. Apparently he liked to write about himself being saved by young women-but at this time Pocahontas would have only been 10 or 11-not a sexy Disney princess girl. 

John Smith was taken prisoner by Powhatan, but a month later was back in Jamestown with food from Powhatan for the colony. According to the legend, Powhatan brought John Smith forward and was going to kill him by bashing his brains in with a stone club. Pocahontas put her head over John Smith's head to protect him. There are several things that may have happened here. 

1. It really happened just like that. 

2. Powhatan planned for it to happen that way, so that he could release John Smith without seeming weak. 

3. John Smith made it up. 

At any rate, Pocahontas did not fall in love with John Smith, but she did seem to like him. She would bring food and supplies to Jamestown, until she heard that John Smith had died and then she stopped. He had not really died-this was when he got that gun powder burn on his leg and went back to England. Several years passed and no one heard from Pocahontas. She had been taken captive by a man named Captain Argyle. While she was a captive the colonists taught her about Christianity. One of the colonists-a man by the name of John Rolfe-fell in love with her and married her. She became a Christian and changed her name to Lady Rebecca Rolfe. They had a son named Thomas. During her marriage to Rolfe, it was known as "The Peace of Pocahontas" because there was peace between Powhatan's tribes and the colonists in Jamestown. This lasted for six years, but ended when John Rolfe took her to England, and she died on the ship on the way back. 

This is a portrait that was painted of Pocahontas in traditional English clothing. 

This is supposedly a portrait of Pocahontas and her son Thomas, but people aren't exactly sure where it came from. 

This model is dressed as Pocahontas would have been in her native dress. 

What do you think about Pocahontas' story? Do you think that the story about her saving John Smith's life is real? We're going to combine writing and history today. Use your Daily 10 time to tell me your opinion of whether is true or not. If its not, what do you think happened? If it is, why did no one else know about it? 

Also write me a paragraph giving me a vivid description of what it was like to live in Jamestown during the time when Pocahontas was visiting John Smith on a regular basis. You can imagine that you are a young girl, or anyone else in the village. Just make it clear from what POV you're writing from. 

For Math, do XtraMath. I don't see where you did the multiplication placement test yesterday. You need to do that today. 

For Spelling write me a Ricky Dillon sentence for each of your words. (Ricky Dillon optional). If you need to look at the definitions again you can find them here. 

For Science read the next lesson on Light Reactions of Photosynthesis and watch any videos that are included. Answer these questions: 

1. How do autotrophs differ from heterotrophs? How are they the same?
2. What do plants do with most of the sugar they produce during photosynthesis?
3. How do decreasing levels of CO₂ affect plants? How do you think increasing levels of CO₂ affect plants?
4. Where do plants get the raw materials for photosynthesis?
5. What do plants take up through their roots? Which of these substances are used for photosynthesis?
6. Where does the chemical reactions of photosynthesis take place?

Bah! We forgot Grammar last night. Skip Grammar today. 

For Reading read a book of your choice for at least 30 min, and then read the section in Reading for Thinking about underlining and highlighting that we discussed last night. 

Ok sweet girl! That's it for the day! I hope you enjoy your movie tonight. Don't forget to ask Mrs. Tara about your poster, and remember: 

If you make faces, it might stick that way. 

Monday, November 2, 2015

Ryan Gosling believes in you and so do I!! Happy Monday! 

So I don't know about you, but I was blown away by the fall festival! I was talking with Mrs. Jan last night and she said that she started by praying, keeping the idea of 52 days in her mind. She first prayed that we would have 152 people, then 252, then 352, and finally she prayed for 520. God went just passed what she prayed for and we had 534. It reminds me of this story in the bible (2 Kings, chapter 4). There was a Mother and son who had nothing. The mother went to the prophet Elisha and told him, "my husband feared the Lord, but he is dead. Now the people I owe money to have taken two of my sons. Can you help me?" So Elisha asks the woman what does she have in the house, and she says that all she has is a jar of olive oil. So he tells her to go around to all of her neighbors and get empty jars and things that she could put olive oil in-and get lots of them. So they do this, and then he tells her to start pouring the olive oil from her jar into the empty jars. The oil never stops coming until they filled all of the jars and things that they had. Elisha tells her that now she can sell these and pay her debts and have money to live on. He also tells her that the oil would have continued as long as she had jars, so not to let her faith be small. I wonder, if we pray...really pray....What will God do for us?? I would love to see this happen with our Christmas Child shoeboxes! How many could we get?? What do you think?

For History today we're going to continue talking about Jamestown colony. Today we're going to talk about the period known as "The starving time." Jamestown was started by a business in England called "The Virginia Company." All the people who had invested money in sending these people to the New World had one goal in mind-Gold. The Spanish had found gold in South America, so they were hoping for the same thing in North America. They would continue to send money to help support the colonists as long as the colonists were generating wealth for the company, so the people there spent their time searching for gold. Now......the Native Americans hadn't build a Walmart or a Winn Dixie just yet, so ....even if they found gold they didn't have anywhere to buy food, right? So they needed to farm. The people weren't focusing on farming though-just searching for gold. Food supplies got really low, and of the original 144 people, only 38 were still alive after the first year-and we haven't even gotten to the Starving Time yet. John Smith started a rule that said that colonists HAD to farm at least 4 hours a day if they wanted to eat. In 1609, John Smith got a bad burn from gunpowder and had to go back to England AND a boat that was coming to bring them more supplies and help sank before it got there. Double Whammy. 

That year they punished some colonists by tying them to a post and leaving them there when they tried to steal food from the colonies store house, and one man actually ate his own wife. Things weren't looking good for Jamestown, but a new boat full of colonists showed up to help. 

They tried growing tobacco, but the colony failed as a financial venture. The King declared the colony bankrupt in 1624. The Virginia Company revoked the charter and Jamestown became the first Royal colony, ruled by the King. 

Take a look at these pictures. These are things that the Jamestown colonists ate during the Starving Time. Which things would you have been willing to eat and which things would you have refused to eat? Why? 

Read this quote, a primary source about the starving time, and then use it and the above information to answer these questions: 

 

• Name at least three factors that led to the “Starving Time” in Jamestown in 1609–1610.
• How did the food sources change during the “Starving Time”?
• What would YOU have done or not done if you were a Jamestown colonist during the “Starving Time”?

For Math do XtraMath, then move on to ck12 math. We're going to jump up to Multiplication today. For ck12 math, read the lesson and watch the videos. I know some of it is stuff you already know-maybe all of it, but its just refreshing your memory.  Do the first five problems of the list at the bottom. 

For Science do the practice questions for Active Transport. 

For Spelling we'll do a pretest on your next ten words. 

For writing we're going to be working on "Show not Tell" today. Watch this video of a middle school teacher teaching this concept to his class. We're going to be doing the same activity that they did in the video. 

We'll discuss Reading-I'll get with you about that tomorrow. 

In Grammar I want to review compound and complex sentences and start commas with direct addresses, introductory words, interjections, and interrupters. We'll discuss this also. 

For life skills, bring me your lifepac. I want to see where you are in child development and we'll go from there. 

Alright chica! I love you so much, and you make me smile :) And remember: 

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Boo. That's scary. woooo! 

Let's get this school work thing going....

History: Since we have finished with learning about the early French, English, and Spanish explorers and the lost colony of Roanoke, we are going to start learning about the colony of Jamestown. Jamestown was the first permanent English colony in the Americas. It was established in 1607, 115 years after Columbus came to the new world. This is where we meet Pocahontas, but not the way the Disney movie shows it. 

Watch this short video. 

After watching this video, read the basic story of Jamestown below (There's much more to it, but we'll get to that another day)-then try playing this Jamestown game. 

Basic story of Jamestown Colony

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The Virginia Company was assigned land in the New World by the king of England. They had high hopes of making a lot of money by growing and making things in their colony that they could ship back to England for a profit. To do this, they needed a labor force.

The Virginia Company advertised for colonists. Anyone who agreed to make the journey was promised 50 acres of land and a share in the profits. That was quite an offer. About 1000 people accepted. A ship set sail for the New World.

Jamestown was the name of the area selected by the Virginia Company to be the new home of these colonists. It was a swampy area, nearly an island, connected to the mainland by a sandbar. It was selected because the Virginia Company believed it could be defended. The colonists were not worried about the natives. The Indians in the area seemed friendly. They were worried about Spanish invasion.

The choice of location did not work out well. The colonists soon ran out of game on the "island", and fresh water was in short supply.

They had other problems. The colonists were badly equipped to start a colony. About half of the colonists had been "gentlemen" back in England. They had little or no work experience. They knew nothing about farming or building. They had no intention of doing any of the work. They expected the others to feed and care for them. As you can imagine, this did not go over well with the other colonists.

Even then, the colonists in Jamestown might have survived if they had had time to plant crops and harvest before winter set in. They did plant. But they were not worried about food. They expected ships to arrive from England. But only a few ships arrived. The ships brought some supplies, but the ships had been sent to take goods back to England, goods that had not yet been created by the colonists.

They might have survived if they had abandoned their original settlement and moved inland where food, water, and firewood were in ample supply. Of course, they did not know if the natives would remain friendly if they moved inland. And the fort they built on the "island" did offer some protection. So they did not move inland.

If it had not been for the generosity of the Indians in the area, they all would have died.

As it was, with only two doctors, low supplies of food and fresh water, freezing temperatures, and almost no medicine to combat disease, only about 100 of the original colonists survived Jamestown.

For Math, do XtraMath and fix the 9 problems that you did not have correct yesterday. (The last one is actually already corrected for you)

For Science read the next lesson on Active Transport. Watch the video and answer the three Review questions at the bottom. Send them to me on Google Drive, please. 

For Reading, read for thirty minutes (anything you like) and then look at Exercise 1 at the bottom of page 7 in Reading for Thinking.  Make SURE you read the directions and follow the survey steps or you will end up doing a whole lot of unnecessary work! 

I liked your description that you wrote for writing yesterday. I made some notes on it. Go look at them and see what you can do with it! 

For Grammar try and see if you can put the commas in the right spots in these compound and complex sentences. 

Ok sweet girl, I'm off to bed. Hopefully tomorrow will be magical, but remember: