Weeks 14-15 Recap

During these next two weeks we study S-Vt-IO-DO. The addition of the Indirect Object introduces the Dative case (the one receiving something from the subject).

Writing: Knights 1&2
During these weeks we again practice summarizing references.

Faces of History LIST

This can serve as a listing of the historical characters who have already been claimed by one of our Essentials students. As you decide upon your character please message Mrs. Deiter and Mrs. Brown to reserve your person. If you change your mind, please let us know ASAP so we can release that character back to other students. Thanks! 😄

Richard the Lionhearted: Alex Cole
Alfred the Great: Ethan Davis
Joan of Arc: Sydney Spikkeland
Mary Queen of Scotts: Lacey Brown
Madame Jean Marie Guyon: Evelyn Lo
Shakespeare: Chase Richardson
Eric the Red - Caleb Smith
Eleanor of Castile - Andrea Johnson
Eleanor of Aquitaine - Rylin Smith
Marie Antoinette - Halle Morse
Genghis Khan - Wyatt Locey
King Arthur - Payton Sorrenson
C.S.Lewis - Emerson Forrester
Anna Comnena - Jessica Hostetler
Memory Masters - Roman Deiter
Æthelflæd, eldest daughter of Alfred "the Great" -Naomi Chavez

Week 13 Recap

Ajectival and Adverbial Clauses
Remember that you can tell which one it is based on whether it answers the Adjective questions (What kind? Which? How many? Whose?) or the Adverb questions: (How? When? Where? Why? How often? How much? To what extent? Under what condition?)
When diagraming, you connect the clause to the word it modifies.

Writing: Medieval Cathedrals
Unit IV: Summarizing Multiple Sentences.  The goal of this unit is for a student to experience choosing just a few pieces of information from multiple sources and combine them to a single paper. Your student gets to choose what is "interesting" or "important" for his/her report. Resist the urge to pass judgement on his choices; the goal is not the most ideal or comprehensive or most historically enlightening range of facts, but for them to understand this process. If we give them some latitude in an otherwise very directed assignment, hopefully we will keep their attention.

Welcome Back! Spring 2017 Essentials

Hello BGCC Moms!

We meet again for Essentials in just one week! My family is all looking forward to seeing our BGCC family again...my kids were even a bit disappointed that we have to wait another week. (I, however, was so glad to have another week to get back into school!) 😄

Here are a few things to be aware of as you approach the next 12 weeks of Essentials:

❄️ There is no paper due this next week (in case you were making your child sweat!).

❄️ Although we've loaded 12 Grammar charts into our student's grey matter in semester 1, we only have 5 new charts between now and the end of the year! So expect a little slower pace on volume of information, and instead more time to review and put all the pieces together in our heads.

❄️ On the writing side of things, we have 7 papers for this semester, with the largest of these being our Faces of History Report. This is the report which is written about an historical person, and the student dresses in costume to recite a summary sentence of the person's life at our End of Year Celebration.

❄️ Please begin looking for an historical person from the medieval era who captures your studen's interest and whom your student could research and present.

❄️ Remember that it IS "the practice of composing a paper and using the dress ups" which gives our children tools for future writing. Don't be frustrated (or ashamed!) at papers which reflect grade-school age maturity...we expect this as the "training wheels" as our kids learn the basics. Believe in the end goal: graduates who are fluent in communication skills! ❤️ In the meantime we give opportunity and praise all the good things!

See you next week!
Bronwyn