What We’ve Accomplished Today…04/14/10

Bible: Read Genesis 35. We were all a little confused by some of the verses in this chapter. Not because we didn't understand what was going on. In the first verse, God tells Jacob to go to Bethel. Then in verse 6, "Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Bethel..." So...we were trying to figure out which is Bethel: Luz or the land of Canaan? Then in verse 15, "And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel." We were a bit confused because we thought the place was already called Bethel...? Not that it detracted from what was taking place, just something we were wondering about. After reading the chapter they did very well with naming Jacob's 12 sons. We missed a few the first go round but the second time, got them all. They even wanted to break it up into which wife and which handmaid had which sons. Let's see if I can list them now:

Reuben, Simeon, Zebulun, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Asher, Gad.

As far for mothers: Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, Bilhah. If we separate the sons to the mothers: Leah: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun; Rachel: Joseph, Benjamin; Zilpah: Dan, Naphtali; Bilhah: Asher, Gad.

Admittedly, I missed Levi and Judah and I fixed my mistakes with spelling ;)

Next was Animal Heroes, The Slum Cat. We read two 'chapters' but they are fairly short. Kitty, as Seton refers to the kitten, was left alone after her mother had to make a quick getaway from a dog by jumping onto a boat that just happened to be leaving. Kitty waits for her mother but soon gets hungry enough to venture out of her box home. She smells many different scents but doesn't find food. Kitty walks into Jap Malee's downstairs, where animals are kept in cages. This part of the story has what might be called a 'politically incorrect' reference to a black man but I explained to the kids before hand what it meant and that the word is not used today because it may be offensive. I still read it the way it was written however. During their narrations they referred to the man as 'black' and not as a negro. So, the little kitty goes into the room and spots a cage with a fox in it. She sees and smells the food dish and goes for it. She is quickly snatched up by the fox and shaken to stun her. At that moment though the black man rescues the kitten by spitting in the face of the fox. It stuns the fox enough to drop the kitten and scoot back in a corner of the cage. Kitty is fine and soon is playful. Jap Malee comes to the downstairs area and it is made known that he does not want the Slum Kitten. The black man gives her as much food as she can eat and then takes her to an iron-yard away from Jap Malee's place. We stopped after Kitty takes an hour long nap in the sun and wakes up to encounter the big black tomcat that murdered her siblings at the beginning of the story. Kitty doesn't remember him and is friendly. He walks away with a swish of his tail and Kitty doesn't realize that she was as in much danger then as when she was in the fox cage.

Plutarch's Lives: Julius Caesar. Continuing from after Caesar was appointed the government of Spain. He and a companion travel across the Alps and come across a small town. Caesar's companion asks if it is reasonable to think that this little town has as much competition as there is in Rome. Caesar replies that he would much rather be number one in this little town than number two in Rome! At first, the kids didn't understand this. Some suggestions as to its meaning were that Caesar thought that even the little cities count toward his victory if he can conquer them. Another thought was that Caesar felt he could make this little town great if he were running it. It was concluded that Caesar just wanted his name well known in all places, big and small, as the most prominent. To prove this point, we read about Caesar crying that his accomplishments were nothing compared to Alexander the Great! Both of the kids got a laugh at that part. It went on to talk about his achievements in Spain; he brought peace to Spain, expanded the Roman empire and made Spain famous, so to speak. Comparisons were made of other great conquerors: he surpassed them in regards to the size of land conquered, the number of people defeated, the number of savage peoples civilized, the treatment of prisoners, the treatment and compensation of his soldiers. Plutarch says that Caesar had to be looked at in a new light, as if he were a new man after these accomplishments.

Afterward, they independently worked on Math. Lee is working on The Brendan Voyage and Fox is doing is Free Reading Time. They have a few more things and then they will be done for the day.

That is where we are at 1:12pm. Gasp. Seems like we are running behind today. :) It will get done..and if not, we have a new TBC (To Be Completed) 'file' that incomplete work will go into for the next day. I don't see any need today for that to happen...but if it does, that is okay.

Update later! :)

Updated: 4:23pm: Everything done! Yeah!!

Fox: Language Arts, Foreign Language, Daily News and Complete Book of Marvels (finished chapter 9).

Lee: Language Arts, Fearfully & Wonderfully Made (we did this together and I realized that she isn't understanding quite as well as I thought she did- she was doing this on her own and writing her narrations), Foreign Language, and Daily News.