DECEMBER 8

Good Afternoon,

Sorry I did not write an update for math last week, my little ones were so sick that I never had a chance. I am sending this out without Lale's, but will post hers when I get it. Thanks for being patient.

We have been quite busy the past few weeks:

Math:
We have officially begun fractions. We started looking at ways to divide crazy cakes or shapes into two equal halves last week. We looked at the connection between shapes and noticed that two triangles could be put together to make a square. This helped us to prove that our shapes were divided equally by looking at the area. We also talked about symmetry and congruent shapes during the activity. This week we used geoboards to learn more about halves. We first figured out the area of the geoboards and then talked about how to divide it into two equal shapes. We built on our knowledge learned during crazy cakes to design crazy shaped halves. Learners noticed the relationships between fractions and division by noting that if the area of the geoboard was 16, half of that would be 8 because 16 divided by 2 equals 8. Next week we will begin to explore fourths, thirds, etc using these same methods.
I have noticed that many learners are continuing to practice their multiplication facts at home, but many are not. I am leaving this up to your learner, but am assessing them at school. It is very obvious who has been practicing and who hasn't. If you need suggestions for practicing them please don't hesitate to ask. I posted a dice game to the update blog as one example. If your learner practices every night for five minutes they should master them quickly.

Social Studies:
We began looking at why the California missions were built. We talked about the Spanish desire to establish presence in California and keep the Russians from claiming it as their own. We talked about how mission life changed the way of life for the native tribes and looked at the positive and negative effects the missions had on California. Learners then selected a mission that they will learn more about. They will begin researching their mission in class next week and will present their mission to the class. This way all of the learners get to learn about the different missions. We will then complete a group project that uses the information learned to share with others. Stay tuned.

Age of Sail Volunteers:
Unfortunately after I posted the final volunteer list for the Age of Sail program five people responded asking if they could go. I would like to be respectful of the fact that we don't always all get to email as quickly as others, and propose a lottery. I will do the lottery and let you know Tuesday if you are selected. We can only bring six parents, so I will ask Paula to give up her spot to help with the demand. I hope you understand, but I want to be fair. Please email me if you have any questions.

Sincerely,
Elysha

Help! ThereÕs Nobody to Play With!

Beat the Clock

What am I practicing? = Multiplication math facts, 1-6

What do I need? = A pair of dice and a kitchen timer

Who do I play with? = Yourself silly!

How do I play? = IÕm glad you askedÉ.

1. Set the timer for 3 minutes.

2. Roll your dice. What two numbers did you get?

3. Multiply the two numbers together.

Example:

4. Write down the product (answer) on your score sheet.

5. Roll your dice over and over again. Each time you roll, multiply the two numbers and write down the product on your score sheet. Keep playing until the timer goes off.

How do I win? = Add up all of your products. If your total is greater than 300 you win!

Score Sheet:

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