Week 8 2nd-3rd grade

Religion~ We continued our discussion of The 10 Commandments. We focused on the 2nd Commandment, "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain." We talked about how we only use the name of God to speak to him or about him in a reverent way. We stressed that we should never use the name of God in anger!

History~ We learned more about the ancient Egyptians. We talked about the ancient kingdom of Kush (Nubia). We learned that Nubia means the land of gold. Nubia was a land of natural wealth. They had gold mines, iron ore, ivory, and incense. All of these were great for trading. The Nubians were excellent archers which kept them safe for many years. We discussed what their daily life was like, what they would eat, what they would wear, and why their kingdom began to weaken. The Nubians were Africans, so we created a hand painting(drawing) using geometric designs which is an African tradition that dates back to ancient times. . Each child was given a map of the Egyptian empire that included Nubia. They can color this at home if they would like. A wonderful book to read that goes along with this lesson is Anansi the Spider by Gerald McDermott. Our local library does have the book for those interested.

Poetry~ We talked about the second stanza of The Frog by Hillaire Belloc. Three of the children were able to recite the first stanza. A great job goes out to J. Spiering, J. Pullen, and M. Gilkison.

English~ We did Lesson 37 this week. We learning when to use has or have. The kids found this very easy. We actually finished English early, which is a big change for us!

Music~ The kids agreed to perform a round of Are You Sleeping? for the Saint Nicholas party.

Science~ The kids were excited for the visit from Ranger Jennifer. They enjoyed seeing the turtles, toads, and snakes. The kids were eager to touch and everyone shared plenty of information. At the end of the presentation, all the children watched the box turtle walk around. He headed for the glass doors. He either wanted to head outdoors or escape the herd of children following behind. As we ended our day, the children unanimously voted the baby turtles as their favorite animal.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving with their families!