Pythagoras: Father of Numbers

We are taking the next two weeks to study a bit about the life of Pythagoras and his contribution to Mathematics and proving the geometrical theory that was used by the Sumerians thousands of years earlier. We will take a look at his biography, and try to understand his philosophies of creating order out of chaos by way of music and math. Taking a look at the way he gave numbers a personality ( complete with male and female attributes, beautiful or ugly, complete or incomplete), we can start to bring back the poetry of numbers and math and begin to find ways to relate and retain the formulas we learn. By studying the Pythagorean Theorem, we will have a nice visual representation of square numbers, and how to construct algebraic equations to create order and accuracy. Next will be diving into linear equations introducing Integers, Exponents, Square, Cubes, Square Roots, and Perfect Squares.

We will be getting our feet wet for our Subject Series in Pre- Algebra later in the year as well as setting up for our Ancient Greece studies which we will begin after the Holiday break.

Foods and Festivals of Mexico

For the next two weeks we will have our Spanish Language focus on Foods and Festivals of Mexico.
We start with a brief history of Mexico and its Geography. We will discuss the Foods and Festival of Dia De Los Muertos, its origins,and visit the Altar Exhibits at the Living Arts Museum. We will make drinking chocolate from the inspired recipe of the early Maya, and discover a realm of recipes that contain Mexican chocolate such as Chicken with Mole Sauce, and Chocolate Cake with Ancho Whipped Cream. We will watch the movie "chocolate" and parts of the foreign film "Como Agua Para Chocolate", and try a recipe from the film...Stuffed Poblano Chiles with Walnut Sauce. All of our shopping with be done in Spanish using Spanish names for the foods and exploring the basic ingredients of the Culture.

We continue week two with the Study of Mexican Weddings and Las Posadas (the traditional celebration of the weeks leading up to the Christmas Holidays). Some of the tasty recipes we will make are "polvorones" (a mexican powdered sugar cookie wrapped in tissue paper and used for gifts at weddings), and of course the traditional pork tamales with red sauce used for eating and for gifts during the Christmas season.
We will be watching a short film of the "Las Posadas" parade celebration shot in a small town in Mexico and will be making crafts and decorations that support these two festivals. This is sure to be a subject studies we won't forget (and my waste line may not forget either!)