Year 4, Session 4, Week 4
We are over halfway through session 4 and our heroes haven’t slowed down! They continue to work on improving their skills and crushing their goals. Now is a great time to check in with your learner on how well they are slaying the monsters of resistance, victimhood and distraction. What do they need to do in order to accomplish their goals by exhibition?
Quest
The Elementary Studio began their 5 round chess tournament this week! The tournament will wrap up on the last day of the session and rankings will be announced at exhibition. ES heroes reviewed the United States Chess Federation tournament rules and will be practicing these throughout the competition. This week we discussed using retrograde analysis (the process of working backwards based on an end goal) as a chess strategy. Our learners tried to visualize how they wanted the game to end and plan their moves accordingly.
Writer’s Workshop
In Writer’s Workshop, the ES learners began drafting their letters to their hero of choice. They are including all parts of a formal letter which they discovered in their research from last week. We discussed what makes a piece of writing excellent and how they can improve upon their first drafts. Next week we will begin exchanging peer feedback and revising!
Art
Our art project this week was mixed media holiday decorations! Each learner colored a paper stocking, ornament, and tree, and then decorated it from various materials of their choice. They used ribbon, paper, feathers, pom poms, straws, and pipecleaners!
Civilization
In our civilization discussions we are still focusing on ancient times. This week we read about Alexander the Great and his quest for power, early Greek civilizations, and the rise of the Roman empire. ES heroes discussed which they would prefer: living in a massive empire but there is intense fighting among the citizens, or a peaceful civilization - but it is small and has little power. Which would you prefer?
Little Heroes Studio
The Little Heroes had a productive week! In the mornings, they work on core skills, such as reading and math, on their computers and then switch to hands-on Montessori work. In the afternoons they continue working with the ES learners on developing their chess skills. On Wednesday they baked gingerbread cookies and got to decorate them. They wrapped up the week with “Fun Friday” and got to watch a movie at the end of the day with the ES heroes!
