January came and went as fast as it was able. However, the kids had a very productive month academically.  They started realizing the importance of getting their work done on time, in order to learn about other things. It has been great seeing them be focused and engaged in their work. At the moment, it is awesome to look at the work board and see that most children have only one assignment in each subject to be working on for the week. In fact, this month, several of them started using more of the materials immediately after the lesson in order to be sure that they have their work done on time.

 In biology, the 6^th graders have been learning about amphibians and reptiles. They have been looking at the comparisons of them both externally and internally. The 5^th graders finished up their work on birds and have moved into the study of mammals. They are excited that in the upcoming weeks they get to move into a study of invertebrates.  The 4^th graders have been learning about the phylum of fish, of which some students did a virtual dissection. In fact, one of them even brought in his own fish to do a live dissection.

Arithmetic has students all over the board.A group is working with the checkerboard to solve multiplication problems that have a 3-4 digit multiplier. Others have moved on to abstract multiplication, subtraction facts and being able to do subtraction abstractly, division with a 1 digit divisor using the stamp game.; and division facts.  If your child is working on any one of these areas it is important to continue to practice basic facts at home. It is important that your child memorize these as they become crucial to their later work.  The 6^th graders have been working with Least Common Multiples, Greatest Common Factors and Prime factorization. Ask them about Culture has brought some interesting dialogue in the room. The 4^th graders began their work using the timeline of lifethe differences between them.

They were working with the mute chart in order to better familiarize themselves with the timeline itself.  The 5^th graders have moved into a study about archaeology, by first investigating foreign coins to see what they could find out about culture based on its currency. They are looking forward to their upcoming archaeology dig.  The 6^th graders have been learning about a variety of early humans, of which they have been comparing features to the modern man.

             The Geometry days have been abuzz with activity as well. The 5^th graders have completed their work with triangles and have moved into the study of quadrilaterals. The 4^th graders have spent the last few weeks looking at the various types of lines and their parts. Have them draw you an oblique line.  The 6^th graders have continued their study of the area of a variety of shapes. Within the last month they focused on the area of the rhombus, kite, trapezoid and even how to multiply fractions.

 In grammar, the  4^th graders have moved from the study of the noun to a further study of the adjective. Ask them about the 4 types of adjectives they have learned so far. (Do you know what they are? There are 6 different types of adjectives we will be studying.)  The 5^th graders learned about the different classifications of the verb along with their new symbols.  Then we moved into work with the adverb.  Ask the students in either grade to show you what symbols would be used to diagram a particular sentence.  The 6^th graders have done some review with the logical analysis material as well as learned about appositives, and predicate nominative/predicate adjective parts of the sentence using the materials we have.

             Finally in literature the students either finished or are just about finished with their literature circle books. Each grade got the choice between two books this time and then had a discussion each week regarding the book. This helped the child build comprehension piece because there is always some questions that caused the children to reflect upon the book.  The books that were read include: Ella Enchanted, The Prince of the Pond, Wringer, The Whipping Boy, City of Ember and A Wrinkle in Time.  Ask your child about which book he/she read or is reading.  Then have them give you a synopsis of the book.

             Just a note, there are a few resources available on my website (www.newdiscoveries.org/gehrke). This includes spelling lists, donation lists, newsletters, and recommended websites. If you ever have another resource that you think should be available please let me know.

             Let me know if questions arise from discussions at home or things that you are wondering about.