Assignments for May 5, 2026

 Time to celebrate! Classes are almost done. Now it is just the fun stuff. 

For parents: After I grade all the papers, I'll prepare an end-of-year report. These I will mail to you. 

Spirit Day: May 4th is Star Wars Day. Wear your Star Wars getup to co-op. 

Journal: Summer Plans. List at least five things you want to do this summer.

Fix-it: Week 30--the last.

Bible Heroes: Finish your thankful paragraph, Lesson 27. We'll play "Are You Thankful" next week.

Wonders of Science: Finish up your essay on the outdoors, Lessons 22 & 23. Be sure you follow the directions for the introductory and concluding paragraphs. The body paragraphs should have 3/5 dress ups and 2/4 sentence openers. 

We also talked about how to do a formal critique using the lesson on George Washington Carver. We discussed how the body paragraphs use the Story Sequence Chart. We have an introductory and concluding paragraph that are similar to the current ones we are doing. We are not finishing the Einstein essay. We just ran out of time. 

High School I: Finish reading The Horse and His Boy. Also finish Lesson 27 "Bree." Remember we are doing a character analysis. We need to pick a character trait and pick evidence from the book that backs that up. Try to also include a Bible quote.  Final drafts need 3/5 dress ups, 3/6 sentence openers, and one decoration. 

High School II: Your only homework is to finish your essay on Till We Have Faces. Send me any drafts you have questions about. 

Assignments for April 28, 2026

 We're close to the finish line! Two more classes to go. May 5 will be final checking of assignments, returning papers, snacks (bring some to share), and games (bring some to play as a group). 

Spirit Day--May 5--May the 4th be with you! Wear your Star Wars paraphernalia. 

Journal: Book Cover. Design or copy a book cover (real or imagined book). Include the title, author, a short summary. Illustrate it if you like. Tell something about the author. 

Fix-it: Week 29.  Also do the first page of week 30--fill in the words for the Mad Libs-like activity. 

Bible Heroes: We're trying to finish up the book. I checked Lesson 26 "The True Neighbor." Be sure you include the new decoration alliteration. Our last lesson is Lesson 27 "Paul Was Thankful." We aren't writing about Paul, but we are using him as an example of someone who was thankful. Think of someone or something that you are thankful for. Use the questions next to the KWO to help you generate ideas, but you do not have to use them all or use them in any order. 

For homework: Lesson 26 "The True Neighbor" final draft. Change the title. Use your checklist on page 153. Lesson 27 "Paul Was Thankful"--try to at least do the KWO. Write a rough draft if you can. This is a great lesson for moms to do as well. 

Wonders of Science: I checked drafts of Lessons 22 & 23, reviewing the introductory and concluding paragraphs. The final drafts should have 3 out of 5 dress ups and 2 out of the 4 sentence openers per body paragraph. Dress ups and sentence openers are extra credit in the introductory and concluding paragraphs.

This lesson on the outdoors is our last graded lesson. We will discuss (only) how to write a book/story critique with Lesson 27. This one has a source text on George Washington Carver, so please read that ahead of time. 

For homework: Lessons 22 & 23 final drafts. Pre-read the source text with lesson 27. 

High School I:

The Horse and His Boy: read at least through chapter 9. 

Following Narnia: I took up Lesson 25 "Chores." We discussed Lesson 26 as a model for how to write a formal critique. We are not doing this lesson. We did work on Lesson 27 "Bree." I gave out sample KWO for a different character--"Shasta." Follow the questions to help you write your KWO. Be sure you have quotes from the story to support your analysis of Bree's character. There is a sample paragraph on page 240 if you should need it. This lesson adds in the additional decoration of alliteration. 

Homework: Lesson 27 "Bree." Write your KWO and a rough draft. The checklist is on page 169. You will need 3/5 dress ups, 3/6 openers (#1 doesn't count toward the three), and one decoration. 

High School II:

Till We Have Faces: we finished discussing the book and the questions. I handed out the essay prompt for homework. I amended the instructions to say two body paragraphs/four total paragraphs for the final draft. I also gave out again a handout on symbols and themes from the book, the grading rubric (please return this with the final draft), and a sample with body, introductory, and concluding paragraphs for a different work--"The Necklace." Notice that you will need "two chunks" of information per body paragraph topic with quotes from the book. Your grading rubric is a good guide for that. 

For homework: rough draft of your symbols/themes essay on Till We Have Faces.

Blue Book of Grammar: we discussed a few "confusing words." For homework complete the two quizzes for confusing words on pages 171-172. 

Please bring your Jensen's Format next week as well. 

Assignments for April 21, 2026

 Well, I was all discombobulated today. I did mostly get today's date correct, but I made a mistake with the Spirit Day activity. I thought next week's activity was today as well. I also got twisted up with which Fix-it was due today in one class. Being off an extra week probably had a lot to do with the confusion.

Spirit Day (for April 21): Anything but a backpack day. Carry your gear in something or some way that's creative. (May 5 will be in honor of Star War's Day--May 4. Wear Star Wars gear.)

Journal: Journey into a cave. Use all your senses to describe the experience. 

Fix-it: Week 28 (Week 30 is the last lesson.) 

Bible Heroes: 

Lesson 24 "The Determined Shepherd"--due today; I took up.

Lesson 25 "The Son Who Was Sorry"--I checked. This one added in the alliteration decoration. Alliteration is repeating the same sound close together within one sentence.

Lesson 26 "The True Neighbor"--we started. Finish the KWO. Make changes to it if you like. You do not have to follow the Bible version in a strict fashion. If you can, write a rough draft. (Lesson 27 is our last lesson.) 

Homework: Lesson 25 final draft with alliteration. Optional--rough draft of Lesson 26.

Wonders of Science: I took up the Inventions essay, Lessons 20 and 21. I checked the work that was done for lesson 22, "Exploring Outdoors." I'm looking for one place and three activities that can be done in that one place. Say you choose Citizens Park. It has a splash pad, walking track, and sports fields. Each body paragraph would be about one activity/location. What all happens on the walking track? moms with strollers, small kids on bikes, adults walking alone or with a dog. That's all one paragraph. The next one would have the splash pad. The final paragraph would have the sports fields, where soccer and softball/baseball are played. (That's a sample idea. You're welcome to choose your own.) 

We also quickly added the intro and concluding paragraphs. 

For homework: Polish your body paragraphs. Dress ups--3/5 per paragraph; sentence openers--2/4 per body paragraph. Also try the KWO for the introductory and concluding paragraphs. Optional--write rough drafts of those. 

High School I:

The Horse and His Boy--read at least to chapter 6. Since the number of classes has dwindled, more is recommended.

Narnia: Lesson 25 "Chores." We added in the introductory and concluding paragraphs included in the lesson. Your checklist is on page 162. Dress ups and openers are optional for the intro and concluding paragraphs.  For body paragraphs--any three dress ups and any three openers per body paragraph. 

For homework: Second draft of "Chores"--mostly finished. We'll study lesson 26 but do Lesson 27 on "Bree" next. 

High School II:
Till We Have Faces: Finish the book. We did not get to chapter 3 today, but hopefully we can do both chapters next week and cover final book discussions. 

Research Papers: Review any material that you need to complete your paper. Your MLA booklet and the 9-page initial handout have instruction. Send me copies of your paper well before Tuesday if you need assistance. 

Your final draft needs to include: 

--Title page

--Formal outline

--Document--at least three full pages with at least one quote per body paragraph

--Works Cited page. All periods, quotation marks, commas, capitals that are appropriate. 

Research paper final draft is due next week--no exceptions. Not present--send it in.