3rd Grade Latin Class

My 3rd grade Latin class are learning even more quickly than I could hope for.  This week we are covering ch. 5 which is a vocabulary review chapter covering all the vocabulary from the previous chapters. A great way to study at home for any of the chapters is via a Latin game from Classical Academic Press.  The website will ask you which book you are using, and we are using Latin for Children: Primer A. The website lets you study by chapter and makes it enjoyable for the student. The website is http://www.classicalacademicpress.com/lfcflash/
This website will also be posted on the side bar of information in case you forget and would like to use it throughout the years. Have Fun!

Thank you for your patience and understanding

To all my parents, I hope this blog and homework calendar have been a beneficial and enjoyable home resource. Thank you for you patience and understanding as the class moves through out first quarter. It has been a work in progress as I figure out all the intricacies, and organization skills that enable the class to run smoothly. After the first quarter I feel confident the class will be moving much more smoothly, and I will have an even better grasp of what the students need concerning homework time, and study time and materials.

Church Council Banners

This week in History we have been studying the church councils.  In order for them to remember what each council decided upon doctrinally, each student made a banner for each council. Each banner has the council name, date and doctrine established.

The Miracles of Elisha

In Bible class this week we have been studying the ministry and miracles of Elisha. Therefore, the students all made Elisha hanging banners! The banner spells out the name of Elisha, while on the back of each card is a depiction of one of Elisha's miracles. Five of the miracles came from their cards and worksheets, but the sixth miracle had to be chosen from Elisha's other miracles found in 2 Kings. The students were very creative, and now the banners hang from the ceiling to decorate our room.

Gaslight Festival in J-Town

The Covenant Classical Academy booth at the Gaslight Festival in J-Town was successful in terms of enjoyment and meeting new prospective families.  Hopefully the students who were able to attend had a blast, I know the ones I was able to see at the festival were having fun. We met many new families, and the bucket for the drawing for free tickets to the Creation Museum was filling quickly.  Even Sir covenant (our knight) made an appearance at the festival!

Covenant Classical Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry?

     As shown on the calendar, today is the day in which all students were placed into houses.  For the most part the house system brings with it the connotation of Harry Potter's school Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but J.K. Rowling was not the first to implement this idea.  This system has been in place in many schools long before the writing of the Harry Potter series.
     Throughout a child's educational career their social development is mostly "horizontal", meaning for the main part they are only interacting with other children of the same age and grade.  One beneficial aspect of the house system is enabling children to have "vertical" social development, being able to engage relationally with students younger and older than themselves.  This will in turn give the students a chance to become student leaders, role models, and serve one another.  This system allows for healthy, family style camaraderie and competition athletically, academically, and behaviorally.
     There will be four houses named after the visions Daniel had of the 4 faces of the cherubim: man, eagle, lion, and ox.  One house will be made entirely of staff and adults, and this will be the house of man which will be called Anthropos( Greek for man). The other three housed will be made up of students with each house being led by student officials, and they will be called Tauros (ox), Aetos (eagle), Leon (lion).

Discipline and Rewards

     I thought it would be beneficial for everyone to know and understand the punishment and reward system in my classroom. The punishment system revolves around the changing of colors via the color chart and clothespins. Everyday the students begin on green.  Upon an infraction of the rules the student would then move to yellow or possibly red depending on the severity. Moving to yellow means loss of half (15 minutes) of recess, where as moving to red would mean losing all of recess (30 minutes), having a note sent home to the parents, and possibly meeting with Headmaster Harris. Once your color is changed, there is no going back until the beginning of the next day.
     At the end of each day any student remaining on green will receive a ticket. If the entire class has remained on green all week then each student receives two additional tickets on Friday. Twice a month these tickets can be traded in at "Smither's Bazaar", the name of our classroom marketplace shop where various items can be purchased using tickets!

Invaders!

This week in history class we studied the Barbarians and Vikings as they invaded the Roman Empire.  As a class project, each student made a viking boat and prepared to plunder the coastlines!

The Feared Viking Joanna

Mount Carmel!

In Bible class the first week we studied the Bible story of "Elijah Destroys the Prophets of Baal" found in 1Kings 18.  To help us remember the event, the students created Mount Carmel on which the event took place.  They colored pictures of all the characters including King Ahab, Elijah, the Israelites, and the Baal and Asherah prophets. They also created little alters, and showed that Elijah's alter to God was the only one burning even though it was doused in water! 

Puellae, Puellae, Puellae

The site is now officially launched, and my hope is that it will be a great help for your families throughout the year.  Puellae is Latin for "girls", and that is exactly what my entire class is made up of this year.  Feel free to check out more about me under the "About Mr. Jones" page, and about my discipulae (female students) under the "About My Class" page.  We are looking forward to having a great year working and learning together. Also, feel free to reply with a comment about any post, and check the calendar at the bottom of the page for updates concerning homework, tests, and other important dates!