Week 5

Grammar

-Review Charts A-F, as needed
-Point out Interrogative sentences in speech and as you read aloud
-Analytical Task Sheet, tasks 1-4 (shoot for 2 or 3 per week)


Writing

-Finish KWO for Lesson 10
-If time, write a paragraph (or 3) for the "Borrowing a Conflict" Lesson on p. 73
-New dress-up is "because clause"


Also, try to get some math drill practice in this week. My kids have enjoyed playing Multiplication War at home. This game is nice because all you need is a deck of cards. But any math practice that works for your kids will be great (flash cards, math board games, orally reciting times tables, copying times tables, etc.)

We will have our next DVD viewing Tuesday, September 27 at my house at 6 pm. 
I'll make some soup and tea we can all enjoy. 

See you tomorrow!

Great job on Week 4!

All you moms and kids are doing so well! Please let me know if you need clarification on any assignments or materials during the week.

If you are on Pinterest, feel free to follow my "Essentials Class" board. I post helpful tips and aids relevant to grammar, writing, and math. Here is a link:

https://www.pinterest.com/jenna_shea/essentials-class/?etslf=5536&eq=essent

Grammar:

-No new charts this week, so try to review any weaker ones. And of course, listen to your songs, if you can, which are basically charts in song form.

-Try to identify interjections with your kids, either in speech or books, signs, etc. (comic books have lots). Also, identify imperative sentences.

-Sample sentences for you Analytical Task Sheets begin on p. 84. Remember to walk the kids through tasks 1-4.

Writing:

-

-Refer to the checklist on p. 72 as you write your The Sword in the Stone paragraphs. They are striving to use one of each of the stylistic techniques we have learned in every paragraph. Also, trying not to use any banned words this week.

-It helps if you can put all the dress-ups, banned words, etc, on a white board or poster so you can refer to it while writing. It's also great to have all their reference lists handy (strong verbs, -ly adverbs, symbols for outlining).

See you Thursday!

-Jenna

Prepping for Week 4

I wanted to include a blog post I read this week about Essentials. It has some great practical tips for new and seasoned Essentials families, including a lot of lessons this mom has learned after going through the program for 6 years!

10 TIPS FOR SUCCESS WITH ESSENTIALS AT HOME

There was a segment of my lesson plan I was unable to cover due to time restrictions. I'm including it below for you guys to talk about at home.

• Now that we've shown the 5 types of Nouns, let's take a closer look at Personal Pronouns on Chart F, since we use these the most. There are 40 of them, which are determined by case, person, number, and gender.
• We've already noted that there are only three cases in English. 
• subjective
• objective
• possessive: however pronouns can take one of 3 forms when expressing possession.
• possessive pronoun
• possessive pronoun adjective
• reflexive: ends with "self" to show that the action affects the subject. (I hurt myself.)
• Personal pronouns, like verbs, show person; this is the perspective of the one doing or being what the verb expresses.
• "1st"; this is when the one speaking is the one being or doing something.
• "2nd" is when the audience (one being addressed) is the one being or doing.
• "3rd" is when someone else (neither the speaker or the audience) is being or doing something.
• And also like verbs, they show number. This is the number of the persons/things doing or being something. 
• "Singular": only 1.
• "Plural": more than 1.
• And they can show gender. 
• masculine
• feminine
• neuter

Here is a math game that helps hone multiplication skills. We will most like be trying it in class. I'm including the video in case you want to familiarize the kids with it before class. The operation could easily be changed to addition, also. 

Please, let me know if you have any questions or concerns. If your kid is having a hard time getting through 3 paragraphs this week, that's fine. Do 1 or 2 paragraphs. Y'all are doing great!

Preparing for Week 3

Good morning! I hope all of you made it through the storm ok. I know it's kind of a crazy week, with the storm and Labor Day, so just work on Essentials when you can and don't stress about it.  Here is your take-home sheet that I forgot to bring Thursday.