Our final quarter began with the class sharing and writing journal entries about their Spring Break experiences.

In reading, we have been comparing and contrasting between fiction and non-fiction, connecting and comparing literature selections including several autobiographies.

In Bible, we learned about Israel's history of Judges. We learned about the life of Samuel, Israel's last judge, leading up to the rise and fall of Saul as Israel's King. We explored about the life of David in the battle against Goliath and the Philistines, how God protected him in the challenges he faced in dealing with Saul, and using David to fulfill his plans and purposes as Israel's next King.

Writing: We continued writing and correcting sentences, writing journal entries and diaries, comparing and contrasting paragraphs, reviewing various writing prompts, and writing research papers on selected topics.

In Math we used problem solving strategies in relation to story problems, modeling average numbers, comparing prime and composite numbers, dividing by multiples of ten, adding/subtracting fractions while reducing them to simplest forms, and adding/subtracting decimals.

In Social Studies, we have been learning about life in the Great Lakes region leading up to the Western United States using graphic organizers, research, exploring maps. We worked in groups comparing and contrasting between the midwest, mountain, and pacific states. We continued reviewing the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the checks and balances between the three branches of government and their roles and functions.

In Science, we explored our unit on weather comparing water, steam, and ice, the three stages of matter, different kinds of precipitation and clouds, and predicting weather. Our last unit, we focused on plants. We learned different types of plants, the different types of soils, how seeds grow, and the step by step process on how to plant seeds. We also enjoyed the field trip to Morton Aboretum in learning about some plants. The class planted potatoes, wrote creative stories about their potato and planted different seeds in observing germination.

In health, we learned the importance of exercise, eating well balanced healthy meals according to the food pyramid, and wrote our class cookbook on our favorite recipes.

The third quarter began with our study of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights movement. We also learned the history of some famous African Americans during Black History Month and how they influenced our culture in teaching us respect and values of human freedom and the right for equality in America.

We also learned about two of the famous presidents, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln and how they shaped our country from the beginning of America’s Independence to the battle over slavery during the Civil War.

We’ve been excited about what we have been learning in our classrooms each day and we could not wait to show off our talents and skills during Academic Night.

The class worked hard in completing the assigned state projects in presenting factual details of their state’s history and background. We learned about the events in the life of Christ from Palm Sunday leading up to the day of Jesus’ Resurrection and what it means in our Christian lives.

Thanks again to the parents who volunteered making our Easter party and festivities a success. We all were looking forward to enjoying our Spring Break!!

Our class has had an exciting second quarter. At the start of the quarter, we learned about the first Thanksgiving in America and celebrated with a class feast together with parent volunteers. The incredible edible science of making turkeys out of fruit was fun.

We also have learned about the various parts of the Old Testament Tabernacle and how it pictures Christ who later "tabernacled" among us during that first Christmas. We learned that the word tabernacled means "dwelt". Thus, "the word became flesh, and dwelt (tabernacled) among us."

The class worked hard in music for the Christmas program practicing and memorizing their selections. They did an outstanding job on the evening of their performance.

We enjoyed our mission field trip to Lexington Nursing Home and performed our Christmas musical and spent time with the residents sharing Christ's love.

Each school day, we continued developing better reading and writing skills. We compared and contrasted stories and examined things from the author's point of view. In writing, we wrote character sketches, friendly letters, and poetry. We also participated in class a play from one of Judy Blume's class chapter book series.

In Social Studies, we learned geography skills by interpreting maps of the eastern United States and studied various explorers from other countries seeking land through the Northwest Passage.

In Science, we studied a variety of birds and other animals of the United States and their environment. The class worked on their animal research projects, writing the characteristics, habitats, and their environmental surroundings. The poster boards and pictures of their detailed findings and presentations were outstanding!

We are moving along well into the fall season. I cannot believe November is here already!

What are we learning?

Bible: We continue learning about the Life of Moses as we journey to Sinai where Moses gives the ten commandments.

Spelling/Word Wall: We are spelling challenging words and decoding words and applying strategies to reading and writing.

Reading/Language Arts: We are reading selected American stories exploring vocabulary, recognizing characters, setting, plot, and comparing/contrasting of characters in stories. We are also learning a variety of poetry.

Writing: We have been writing news articles, narrative descriptions, essays, announcements, summaries, responding to prompts and journal entries. Our writing exercises begin with prewriting, drafting, revising, proofreading, and publishing skills.

Math: Reviewing basic multiplication and division facts to 12 using multiplication tables and division with remainders. We continue dividing by one digit numbers and using mental math in solving problems.

Social Studies/Science: We have been learning different landforms, regions, and people groups in the United States. We continue to explore geography using map skills. In science, we learned about astronomy, stars, and the wonders of the sky. We will be learning more about the earth studying geology.

Christopher Columbus: We have been learning about Columbus for our class project. Students participated in a variety of mini research projects: biographies, time lines, map of the voyages, fact files and cards, trivia questions and answers. The class presentations and the creativity of their projects were outstanding!

Charlotte's Web: We have enjoyed our field trip to Charlotte's Web at Timothy Christian School. The students wrote and discussed the comparison/contrast of the play to the class chapter book and movie. Many thanks to the wonderful parents in partnering with us in making this field trip a success!