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We are going to do something slightly different this month due to the interest, of E and V’s, that I’m trying to follow. I’m going to set up a shelf of materials that align with the interest and dive into whatever they are drawn to.
There were two interests lately that I’ve observed: space and skeletons.
We’d look into each question that was asked and, in time, it seemed that space interest was satisfied while skeleton interest only deepened, so skeleton it is. Besides, with Halloween, the skeleton made a lot of sense.
They have, on and off, shown interest in dinosaurs and fossils, so I debated going that route but decided against it when it became clear it was human skeletons they were intrigued by currently.
We will continue to have Music Monday and Art Tuesday, but trying to stick with the theme of skeletons.
-We have a light table, or rather a diy light table (tutorial to come soon), so we will have human xrays to examine.
–Melissa and Doug magnetic anatomy. While this isn’t as realistic as I would prefer, it allows E and V to have hands-on explorations and understand how the bones, muscles, and organs layer.
-Skelton sticker book. A win-win as fine motor work is something we are working on. Ours is from Target’s dollar area but here is a similar one.
–Human skeleton magnets. While our version is from Target’s dollar area, the one I linked is very similar.
–Skeleton puzzle. At least I was planning to get the skeleton puzzle when I began putting this outline together. However, due to budget, I decided to get this printable instead from TPT.
Of course, we can’t forget to put out books, as that’s E and V’s favourite way to learn.
–Human Body Activity Book, although we don’t plan on doing the activities, other than perhaps discussing some, but rather just reviewing the names and facts.
You will notice that I don’t have a list of resources for the following week’s subjects, honestly, that’s just due to trying to get this outline out in time to share (morning sickness has still been a bit persistent, and just starting to ease up). However, we make sure we talk about the emotions that a piece is meant to evoke, and how they make us feel. With the art, we try to recreate the techniques that are shared and our own version. With music, we listen and try to name instruments we hear.
Every other Monday, along with music, we’ve been taking a class from Sign Language 101. We’ve been doing classes bi-weekly so that we can expand on a topic or preview. For instance, week one we learned numbers 1-10 and the second week we independently expanded to learn 11-20.
Week One-
Monday: Bach – Toccata and Fugue in D minor. We also plan to listen to the Skeleton Song. While I don’t want to confuse them with actual bone names, the skeleton song is a classic and has important ties throughout history. I also came across this version of a skeleton song that we will listen to as it has facts and actual bone names.
Tuesday: Leonardo di Vinci. With his study of the human anatomy, this just seemed like a no-brainer.
Wednesday: Aesop. We read one fable and discuss it. This was something I started late last school year with them and it’s been great.
Thursday: Edgar Allen Poe. We’ll be reading a few pieces from this book this month every Thursday.
Week Two-
Monday: Saint-Saëns – Danse Macabre.
Tuesday: Philippe de Champaigne.
Wednesday: Aesop.
Thursday: Edgar Allen Poe.
Week Three-
Monday: Rachmaninoff – Isle of the Dead.
Tuesday: Arnold Bocklin. Isle of the Dead.
Wednesday: Aesop.
Thursday: Edgar Allen Poe.
Week Four-
Monday: Chopin – “Funeral March” from his Piano Sonata No. 2.
Tuesday: Caravaggio. His art has always reminded me of Halloween, with it’s dark themes, so it made sense to include him this month. His painting ‘Saint Jerome’ features a skull and thus fits our theme, even if it is a little bit of a stretch.
Wednesday: Aesop.
Week Five-
Monday: Mussorgsky – Night on Bald Mountain.
