Friday, October 26, 2012

I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke or Week 9


Our theme this week and next (and possibly the week after that) is environment. This week we primarily focused on how the inhabitants of an environment function within that environment.

George showed a mastery of what I was trying to convey when he pointed out that a bird's nest in our yard contained bits of black fur that have no doubt been shed by our dogs, though I think referring to pooch fluff as a "natural resource" is a bit of a stretch.

Our favorite time was when we took a walk through downtown Winston-Salem looking for plants in unusual places (like on the sides of buildings or in gutters) as well as bird nests in unexpected locations.

In science we made a terrarium containing low-light, high-light, and mid-light plants. After we sealed it, we put it in the low light of our classroom, and next week we'll see what has happened to the plants inside. We talked about moss at length, noting how shallow a soil it demands.


After measuring out his room and some of the large items in it, George drew a to-scale map of his own environment (his room) which we'll use next week when we talk about changes to a natural environment, like clearing land for fields or houses (spoiler alert: or cleaning one's room).

George's book this week was Invisible Inkling, Dangerous Pumpkins by Emily Jenkins, which was a very easy but well enjoyed read. It's a book George chose himself at the public library, and given the newness of his love of fiction, I was loathe to nix a book on the basis of reading level.

I had an email asking me to please go back to recording the poems we read. Our poems this week were
  • "House. For Sale" by Leonard Clark
  • "One Day When We Went Walking" by Valine Hobbs
  • "Rhyme" by Elizabeth Coatsworth
  • "Long Gone" by Jack Prelutsky
  • "October" by Thomas Bailey Aldrich
We also devoted a lot of time this week to the practical matters of construction of George's costume, which is coming along splendidly. Expect a photo (or ten) here next week.

In the meantime, please enjoy the above video from this week's uke lesson. This is an original composition George has been perfecting for some time now. Coca-Cola is the greatest beverage ever in his world, and this is but one of three songs George has written extolling its virtues.

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