Co-op Meeting #10, K-1st

Religion - our topic was The Childhood of Jesus (O.H.F. Chapter 5). We read the story of the "Flight into Egypt" from the Children's Bible, and then from the Catholic Children's Treasure Box series about Jesus as a child. We discussed the characteristics of Mary and St. Joseph.  Finally, we read about the "Finding of Jesus in the Temple", and did a coloring page* on the Holy Family.

English - our picture study was an image of two chicks and a frog. After discussing the illustration, the children were asked to imagine a conversation between the characters in the picture and dictate their dialogue to the teacher.  They then had the opportunity to read their "story" aloud (or have it read aloud) in front of the class. This writing exercise is also in their binder front pocket, along with a copy of the picture study*.  Some students chose to opt out of the writing activity.

Poetry - we worked on memorizing the poem "Whole Duty of Children" from CCM Week 10. It was fun to see how many children recognized the author (Robert Lewis Stevenson) and could even name the other two poems of his we have learned!  Although there wasn't time to work on it in class, there is a copywork / tracing page* for the children to do at home later this week, if you wish.

History - we read Aesop's Fable, "The Wolf and the Crane" written as a play. Then we acted out the story (fun!), and did a coloring page*

Geography - we reviewed the continents and the location of Egypt, and then moved north to find Greece. We discussed the mountainous geography of Greece, and briefly discussed the concept of a peninsula and an island. The children labeled Greece on their map with a "G" and the island of Crete with a "C". They could color or further label the map at home, if you'd like them to do so.

Science - we talked about vertebrates and their five classes, focusing in on fish today.  After reading a bit about them from an Audubon First Field Guide, we observed live ones in the church building's aquarium and a dead one up close shared by the 2nd-3rd grade.  In their lapbooks, they could add to the fish "booklet" by labeling body parts we discussed (head, tail, backbone, fins, gills) and or listing what makes a fish a fish: (1) lives in water (2) breathes with gills (3) has fins. (see CCM manual - Science Weeks 9 &10 -  for further lapbook ideas)

*five hand-outs were given today. They should all be in the front pocket of your child's binder, since they were not hole-punched prior to class (sorry!).