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!)

Shakespeare

For the next 4 weeks we will be studying the Life and Works of Shakespeare.
Some of the wonderful things we plan to cover are the plays : Romeo and Juliet, Anthony and Cleopatra, and Henry VIII.
We have set the stage in our Egypt studies up to the time of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra. Reading a biography on Cleopatra then watching the movie Julius Caesar. And had a brief overview of Greek and Roman Period which we will come back to more in depth later in the year.

So now we can fully explore the idea of Anthony and Cleopatra. The material is a difficult read so we will explore only passages and the overall story. We will move our interests to the Author himself, analyzing his life, biography and world view, as well as comparing and contrasting his world view with one of today. As we explore the world around Shakespeare we will study the Elizabethan Age, The Bubonic Plague, and the reign of Henry VIII and the story of the Boleyn sisters,Mary,Queen Anne, daughter Elizabeth.


Week 2
The next 2 weeks we will be reading the complete play of Romeo and Juliet. I have found some study guides to make it less intimidating for a fifth grader :) We will also watch two different movie versions for more complete understanding. Along with the reading. We will explore and observe the Oxymoron, the art of Allusion
,writing Couplets, and Iambic Pentameter.

The last week, is reserved for a research report which will be led by the student's interests. Some ideas include; discovering The Story Behind "Bloody Mary"
Report on The Black Death
Making an Elizabethan Poetry Book
Construct a Model of the Old Globe and it's history

yoga@ JEE

Join us this Friday @ 5:00Pm for the JEE (Jenks East Elementary) Carnival! We will have a yoga booth inside the gym. Come learn about yoga and how it can benefit the whole family. The practice of yoga has been a very important tool in establishing our rhythms for home-school learning, reminding us to take time each day to listen to ourselves, allow our body's to move and explore, and have reverence for our creator and environments (the people places and things that support our health and growth). Learn how to make it a part of your life!

We usually go kite flying and have a picnic tea party with Dragon cake and spiced apple tea! I tell the story of "The Kite" which you can find on pg. 81 of Festivals Family and Food
by Diana Carey and Judy Large. If you would like, I can try to type it out for those who are interested and post it.
It basically tells the story of a boy who flies a kite into the heavens and the kite is blasted by the protector Angel Michael. The paper on the kite is burned to reveal the skeleton of the kite which is a cross that has turned into iron. They make a new kite from it which is stronger, and every year the kite is burned and the cross becomes shinier and stronger. When he becomes a young man the cross is a cross no longer, but now a shining sword. With this sword the young man traveled the world and becomes an knight and warrior servant of St. Michael.

It is also a neat custom to follow a trail of flower pedals into the woods to find the cake which has been left for the children inspired by the courageous story. Could the cake have been left for them by the woodland "fairies"??

Daily Rhythm

key: (ED) everyday (M T W TH F) days of week

{Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Schedule}

9:00-10:00am: daily verse/math drills
10:00-11:00am: Subject Studies*
11:00-11:30am: verse/Snack

SUBJECT STUDIES****
during this time, we will explore topics from the themes below: (under goals for the Fifth Grade)
(depending on the genre and materials we may take between 2-5 weeks for each subject for full exploration and to allow time for interest based learning)

11:30-12:30:continue w/Subject Studies
12:30-1:30pm: verse/Lunch
1:30-2:00pm: Spanish/ Vocabulary

{Tuesday and Thursday Schedule}
9:00- 9:30am: Math drills (T,TH)
9:45-11:00am: Ballet (Th,TH)
11:15-11:30am: Snack
11:30-12:30pm: Subject Studies*
1:00- 1:45pm: Free-read library day (T) Choir (TH)

welcome to our homeschooling page!

Organic learning is learning that occurs naturally out of the child's innate sense of wonder of the world and their relationship to it. It is deeply inspired by both Reggio Emilia and Waldorf approaches to learning. Though the curriculum is centered around the projects that flourish out of the child's interest, careful attention is payed to the reverence for rhythm and aesthetic which is designed skillfully by the parent/teacher. Forming environments where learning is spontaneous requires the teacher to be facilitator, designer, architect, artist, and philosopher -- being present not forceful, and allowing each child to digest information at their own pace and to their own capacity.

It is for this reason much attention is placed in the home-school room and outdoor environments, setting stages of intricately designed "sets" where the children are awe inspired by the beauty of the objects and concepts that are being presented. Finding beauty in relationship to all things means developing the perspective of positive awareness even when things may not go according to plan or are not in keeping with aesthetic ideals. Seeing "art" potential in the pile of junk, seeing the stained old shirt as "fabric" for a new project, seeing beauty in the way the wind carries a leaf, or the spider weave its web. Seeing the world through the eyes of beauty and potentiality allows the child to develop a deep reverence and respect for all things, finding ways to create beauty out of chaos, and finding the perspective of objectivity vs. judgment.

The child that emerges is a child that works with their respective environments, people, relationships and emotions, not against them. Orchestrating cohesive solutions which honor vs. control, and allow things to merge into the beauty of their organic state.
The child that emerges has the emotional intelligence to recognize feelings of "pain" such as sadness, or anger in objective awareness, knowing they are passing as the wind. Likewise, feelings of intense joy or excitement may pass too, but what remains is beauty of self. The awe of our creation in it's natural organic state. Pure potentiality. Pure essence of being. Pure awareness.
The child that emerges is an artist, inventor, peacemaker, teacher, leader, and visionary.
The child that emerges is a child that has the confidence to become the change they wish to see in the world and inspire beauty all around them.