The Pretty Life: ivey league academy: week in review!

Reading: Caleb finished the 2nd grade level of Hooked on Phonics this week! He was very excited. We'll continue to practice reading and phonics using other curriculum starting next week.

English: This week we learned about time-order words ("first," "next," "finally," etc.) and how to write out instructions for something. Caleb chose to write out instructions on how to make popcorn in the microwave. I helped him with the planning, drafting, and revising/proofreading stages.

Spelling: We did Week 8 of his spelling workbook and Caleb got 10 out of 10 correct on his test!

Word of the Week/Journal: This week's word was "ruckus." Caleb chose to write about the "ruckus" between two characters in the Narnia series!

Math: We continued in his math workbook.

Bible: We finished Lesson 4, or "What is God Like? Part 2." We made another mini-book about God's attributes.

Zoology: This week we started our unit on rainforests, specifically the Amazon Rainforest. We learned about sloths and toucans. Caleb filled out animal fact sheets based on what we learned from the curriculum as well as library books, and we also found short videos on YouTube. Our science demonstration was a "rainforest in a bottle." I cut an empty two-liter bottle in half and Caleb helped me put small rocks and potting soil in the bottom. I then took a few weeds from the backyard (making sure to keep the roots and leaves intact) and "planted" them in the soil. We watered the soil and then taped the top of the bottle back to the bottom. We put it on the kitchen windowsill where it would get lots of sunlight. After just a day, we could see water droplets forming, and we could tell that the mini-environment inside the bottle was warm and humid, just like an actual rainforest.

We also sent away for our "cup of caterpillars" for our butterfly habitat and they arrived this week. We'll be studying the life cycle of the butterfly (as well as the frog) next week so this will be fun to watch. It's amazing how fast the caterpillars grow after just a few days!

World Cultures: This week we learned about Colombia. It's nice that our science is overlapping with our country study right now! We learned about Colombia's flag and other facts, and also more about the pink dolphins living in the Amazon. I printed out a regular dolphin art project, which Caleb colored pink and cut out (he cut off the top fin; pink Amazonian dolphins have different physical characteristics than the dolphins we're used to!). He also helped me make a coconut-lime smoothie as a snack. He drank some of it but didn't care for it (I think the texture of the coconut milk was a little much for him). Over the weekend I made baked beef empanadas, which turned out very well!