Finally, the blog you've all been waiting for! I hope Christmas break has been rejuvenating, and that you've had lots of time to eat, sleep and be merry! Unfortunately, it is quickly coming to an end, so here are the things you need to be working on to be prepared for our next class meeting:
Opinion Paper: When the war was over, and thousands had died, was it worth it?
Parent Night: Please have your presentation piece ready to practice by January 12th!
Presentations: Last but never least, Taylor will present on famous women of the war on January 5th.
Reading: Please have Being George Washington finished on January 5th, and be prepared with a question/comment or two to discuss in class. I believe I asked Leila to lead the discussion this time. Also, we will be discussing Freedom Factor by Gerald Lund on January 26th, so make sure you have that one finished by then also.
Award Requirements: January 12th is the LAST DAY to pass off first semester requirements, so please finish those up...especially memorizing the Declaration of Independence!
Just a heads up: we have a field trip to the state capital scheduled for January 19th, and I may need an extra driver, so if anyone has a parent who is willing and able to help with that, please let me know. We'll need to leave right at 10 that day, so please be to co-op by 9:45.
I didn't assign anyone to do devotional this week, so Reina, will you please do the honors? I think that's it! Enjoy the rest of your break, and I'll see you in 2017!
-Mrs. Hellyer
Wednesday, December 28, 2016
Monday, December 12, 2016
Week 11
So is all the freezing weather making you feel a little cold? Imagine how the soldiers at Valley Forge felt during the winter of 1777-78! We learned last week that that winter was one of the most difficult challenges faced by George Washington and the colonial army. Moral was probably at its lowest point of the war as men faced homesickness, freezing, starvation and diseases, all on the heels of some devastating defeats in battle. What a debt we owe to the colonists who persevered through this formidable time to secure peace and liberty for us, their posterity! This season is a great time to remember and thank God for our patriot ancestors who sacrificed so much 239 years ago.
Opinion Paper: Write a letter home as if you were someone living in the colonial period. This is my favorite writing assignment for first semester! Remember, you can be anybody! Here are a few ideas:
Presentations: We heard a very informative and well-executed presentation from Paige last week on the different groups of people in the war. Way to raise the bar, Paige! This week, we look forward to being enlightened by Lucy on colonial fashion, and by Reina on spies.
Devotional: I forgot to assign this in class...Ethan, would you please do the honors of preparing an inspirational thought to share at the beginning of class?
Reading: Keep plugging away at Being George Washington and Freedom Factor.
Award Requirements: We have only 3 class days left to pass off requirements, so make sure you're working on checking off those requirements! January 12 is the deadline!
Parent Night: Please work on finalizing/memorizing your part and putting your costume together for our dazzling January 26th performance!
Have a fabulous week!
-Mrs. Hellyer
Assignments:
Opinion Paper: Write a letter home as if you were someone living in the colonial period. This is my favorite writing assignment for first semester! Remember, you can be anybody! Here are a few ideas:
- a colonial soldier or officer
- a wife on the front lines, tending the wounded
- a delegate in the Continental Congress
- a loyalist
- a redcoat
- a slave
- a family member of a soldier, awaiting your loved one's return from battle
- a privateer
Presentations: We heard a very informative and well-executed presentation from Paige last week on the different groups of people in the war. Way to raise the bar, Paige! This week, we look forward to being enlightened by Lucy on colonial fashion, and by Reina on spies.
Devotional: I forgot to assign this in class...Ethan, would you please do the honors of preparing an inspirational thought to share at the beginning of class?
Reading: Keep plugging away at Being George Washington and Freedom Factor.
Award Requirements: We have only 3 class days left to pass off requirements, so make sure you're working on checking off those requirements! January 12 is the deadline!
Parent Night: Please work on finalizing/memorizing your part and putting your costume together for our dazzling January 26th performance!
Have a fabulous week!
-Mrs. Hellyer
Monday, December 5, 2016
Week 10
This week we spent our time working on passing off requirements and discussing parent night. I am SO excited to show all the parents what we're preparing and knock everyone's socks off! Here's a recap of what we decided:
The presentation will be in the style of a wax museum exhibit in which each scholar will dress as a different historical figure and recite a 1-minute quote/song/bio/etc., or any combination thereof. Mrs. Brennan and I will introduce the exhibit or be tour guides. At the conclusion of the presentation all the scholars will recite the beginning of the Declaration of Independence from memory ("When in the course" through "the pursuit of happiness"). Parts are listed below:
Movie night last Friday turned into a bit of a fiasco, and I'm sorry for that. To make it up to all of you, I will hold a make-up movie night at my house this Thursday evening (12/8). Anyone who can attend can ride with me to my house directly after co-op on Thursday. We'll have dinner and watch April Morning. Your parents would need to pick you up from my house between 7 and 7:30. Please let me know as soon as possible if you will be attending! Parents can text or call me at 253-254-9064 to respond and get my address.
Presentations: We heard some excellent presentations given by Taylor and Ethan last Thursday, and this week we will be pleased to hear from Paige on Tories, loyalists, Hessians and Red Coats.
Memorization: This week you should be working on the Statement of "Wanting" to have the whole Declaration passed off by January 12th. Remember, you can pass it off one section at a time!
Reading: Keep working on Being George Washington by Glenn Beck so you can finish before January 5th. If you have finished, begin reading Freedom Factor by Gerald Lund, which we will be discussing on the first day of second semester, January 26th.
Devotional: I'm not sure if anyone was already assigned, so if not, Taylor, would you please bring an inspirational thought to share at the beginning of class this week?
Pray for snow this week, and we'll see you all Thursday!
-Mrs. Hellyer
The presentation will be in the style of a wax museum exhibit in which each scholar will dress as a different historical figure and recite a 1-minute quote/song/bio/etc., or any combination thereof. Mrs. Brennan and I will introduce the exhibit or be tour guides. At the conclusion of the presentation all the scholars will recite the beginning of the Declaration of Independence from memory ("When in the course" through "the pursuit of happiness"). Parts are listed below:
- Dean - John Paul Jones
- Ethan - Paul Revere
- Leila - Abigail Adams
- Lucy - A Pilgrim
- Paige - Alexander Hamilton
- Reina - Betsy Ross
- Taylor - Thomas Jefferson
Movie night last Friday turned into a bit of a fiasco, and I'm sorry for that. To make it up to all of you, I will hold a make-up movie night at my house this Thursday evening (12/8). Anyone who can attend can ride with me to my house directly after co-op on Thursday. We'll have dinner and watch April Morning. Your parents would need to pick you up from my house between 7 and 7:30. Please let me know as soon as possible if you will be attending! Parents can text or call me at 253-254-9064 to respond and get my address.
Presentations: We heard some excellent presentations given by Taylor and Ethan last Thursday, and this week we will be pleased to hear from Paige on Tories, loyalists, Hessians and Red Coats.
Memorization: This week you should be working on the Statement of "Wanting" to have the whole Declaration passed off by January 12th. Remember, you can pass it off one section at a time!
Reading: Keep working on Being George Washington by Glenn Beck so you can finish before January 5th. If you have finished, begin reading Freedom Factor by Gerald Lund, which we will be discussing on the first day of second semester, January 26th.
Devotional: I'm not sure if anyone was already assigned, so if not, Taylor, would you please bring an inspirational thought to share at the beginning of class this week?
Pray for snow this week, and we'll see you all Thursday!
-Mrs. Hellyer
Monday, November 21, 2016
Week 9
I hope you all enjoyed watching The Winter Patriots as much as I did! I know some of the battle details can get a little tedious if you're not into that sort of thing, but seeing the maps and troop movements can really give you some perspective on the war. Considering the size of our nation today, all the most popular battles of the revolution were fought in a relatively small land area, so the war was very close to home (sometimes at home!) for most colonists. I imagine every colonist probably felt they were personally involved in the war, which is probably why Thomas Paine's American Crisis paper inspired so many colonists to stay in the fight. Here's some food for thought, that maybe we can discuss in class next week: Have you ever felt connected to or affected by a situation that didn't involve you personally? Maybe a circumstance with a friend or family member, or an event that was making news? Think about it, and we'll share in class.
Opinion Paper: "For though the flame of liberty may sometimes cease to shine, the coal can never expire." Is this a true statement? What does this statement mean to you?
Parent Night: Please be thinking about a presentation idea for parent night that will wow them, make them laugh, cry, or all of the above! You had some good ideas last week; just remember that we'll only have about 10-15 minutes to present.
Declaration of Independence: Do your best to get as much of this document memorized as possible over the break! Looking at it only once or twice a week WILL NOT be enough! After speaking to teacher Genne, Mrs. Brennan and I decided we would let you pass off the Declaration one section at a time to make it a less formidable. So shoot to have through the Statement of "Petitioned" done by next Thursday, 12/1. Again, if you email me BEFORE then and tell me you have it memorized to that point, I will bring you a yummy treat!
Reading: Being George Washington by Glenn Beck. To be discussed on January 5th, with Leila leading our discussion.
Presentations: Thanks Reina, for the presentation on Betsy Ross! Now we know why the stars on the flag have 5 points! Next week, we look forward to hearing from Ethan on the role of the Navy in the Revolutionary War. The words "I have not yet begun to fight!" come to mind...
I think that's all for now! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and in the spirit of the holiday I will say that I am very grateful for the opportunity I have to be your mentor for Key of Liberty, and for each of you and your participation in this class. You guys make learning and teaching really enjoyable for me! Thank you!
-Mrs. Hellyer
Assignments this week:
Opinion Paper: "For though the flame of liberty may sometimes cease to shine, the coal can never expire." Is this a true statement? What does this statement mean to you?
Parent Night: Please be thinking about a presentation idea for parent night that will wow them, make them laugh, cry, or all of the above! You had some good ideas last week; just remember that we'll only have about 10-15 minutes to present.
Declaration of Independence: Do your best to get as much of this document memorized as possible over the break! Looking at it only once or twice a week WILL NOT be enough! After speaking to teacher Genne, Mrs. Brennan and I decided we would let you pass off the Declaration one section at a time to make it a less formidable. So shoot to have through the Statement of "Petitioned" done by next Thursday, 12/1. Again, if you email me BEFORE then and tell me you have it memorized to that point, I will bring you a yummy treat!
Reading: Being George Washington by Glenn Beck. To be discussed on January 5th, with Leila leading our discussion.
Presentations: Thanks Reina, for the presentation on Betsy Ross! Now we know why the stars on the flag have 5 points! Next week, we look forward to hearing from Ethan on the role of the Navy in the Revolutionary War. The words "I have not yet begun to fight!" come to mind...
I think that's all for now! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and in the spirit of the holiday I will say that I am very grateful for the opportunity I have to be your mentor for Key of Liberty, and for each of you and your participation in this class. You guys make learning and teaching really enjoyable for me! Thank you!
-Mrs. Hellyer
Friday, November 11, 2016
Week 8
This week we discussed overcoming roadblocks. You guys all had some really good suggestions of what to do when you face roadblocks, and now that we've studied about people who have overcome really hard things (the pilgrims, Ji Li Jiang, the American colonists, John Adams, the other 55 signers of the Declaration), you should have a lot of inspiration to draw upon when you hit roadblocks in your own lives. You all are a strong, intelligent, faithful bunch of scholars, and we have no doubts that you'll be able to achieve anything you set your minds to do!
**Remember Friday, December 2nd is the class pizza and movie night. We'll possibly watch April Morning at my house in Graham, but we'll let everyone know as soon as we finalize plans.
**Remember Friday, December 2nd is the class pizza and movie night. We'll possibly watch April Morning at my house in Graham, but we'll let everyone know as soon as we finalize plans.
Assignments This Week:
- Presentations: Reina will give us a presentation on Betsy Ross and the first flag. We're excited to hear what you find out, Reina! I hear Lucy's and Dean's presentations were excellent, and I'm sorry I missed them...except for the moving rocks part!
- Opinion Paper: How do you overcome roadblocks in your life?
- Morning News Discussion: Be prepared with news tidbits to share!
- Reading: Make sure to read The American Crisis by Thomas Paine (in your binder) by next week and take note of any questions or comments you have so we can discuss them in class. Also, keep working on Being George Washington by Glenn Beck.
- D.o.I. Memorization: If you haven't memorized through the Statement of "History" yet, do your best to get it done this week! If you have, start on the Statement of "Petitioned," which comes right after the 27 Injuries of the King. I'll bring an extra special treat for those who email me before Thursday to tell me they have through the Statement of "History" memorized!
- Other: Remember to come up with some ideas for a short skit or presentation that our class can do for parent night. We want to show all those parents, grandparents, siblings, etc. that learning about our nation's founding isn't stuffy or boring! (And we want to outshine the Sword of Freedom class!)
Have a great week, y'all!
-Mrs. Hellyer
Monday, November 7, 2016
Week 7
We learned about the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence this week; that they were men of fortune and reputation that had a lot to lose by putting their names to the document. They definitely were not changing their government for "light and transient causes!" Reading and discussing the John Adams book helped to give us a little more insight into the impact the path to independence had on these men, and also the influence they had on their fellow colonists. Thank you, Lucy, for having some thought-provoking questions prepared for our discussion! I encourage you all to read and study more about these men, because the few minutes we spent talking bout them in class really did them little justice. You will find their stories are both humbling and inspiring...
Opinion Paper: What is more important: your family or your country?
Morning News Discussion: The presidential election is on Tuesday! Please pay attention to the results, and what predictions are being made about the election and the next presidential term so we can discuss this in class.
Presentations: Thanks to Paige for a great presentation on Continental soldiers (very creative use of Legos)! This week we look forward to hearing interesting presentations from Lucy on life as a prisoner and prisons, and from Dean on Francis Marion "the Swamp Fox."
Reading: Being George Washington by Glenn Beck is the next book we will be discussing, so please have it completed by January 5th. Everyone needs to prepare 2 questions or comments to share during book discussion. A good tip: while you are reading the book, jot down or underline anything you think is comment-worthy or anything you have a question about. It's that easy! Leila is the lucky scholar who gets the honor of leading the discussion for this book!
D.o.I. Memorization: Our goal this week is to have through the Statement of "History" memorized by Thursday. Please work on this for a few minutes several times a day. I know you guys can do this!
**Don't forget about your other award requirements for this semester! All first semester award requirements need to be completed by January 12th. I know your parents would really like to see those keys jam-packed with ribbons on display for parent night! If you need help getting things finished, please come talk to either me or Mrs. Brennan.
See you all Thursday!
-Mrs. Hellyer
"We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately."
-Benjamin Franklin, encouraging the delegates to the Continental Congress to unite and vote for independence from Britain.
Here is a link to the video we watched in class for those who were absent:
Assignments
Opinion Paper: What is more important: your family or your country?
Morning News Discussion: The presidential election is on Tuesday! Please pay attention to the results, and what predictions are being made about the election and the next presidential term so we can discuss this in class.
Presentations: Thanks to Paige for a great presentation on Continental soldiers (very creative use of Legos)! This week we look forward to hearing interesting presentations from Lucy on life as a prisoner and prisons, and from Dean on Francis Marion "the Swamp Fox."
Reading: Being George Washington by Glenn Beck is the next book we will be discussing, so please have it completed by January 5th. Everyone needs to prepare 2 questions or comments to share during book discussion. A good tip: while you are reading the book, jot down or underline anything you think is comment-worthy or anything you have a question about. It's that easy! Leila is the lucky scholar who gets the honor of leading the discussion for this book!
D.o.I. Memorization: Our goal this week is to have through the Statement of "History" memorized by Thursday. Please work on this for a few minutes several times a day. I know you guys can do this!
**Don't forget about your other award requirements for this semester! All first semester award requirements need to be completed by January 12th. I know your parents would really like to see those keys jam-packed with ribbons on display for parent night! If you need help getting things finished, please come talk to either me or Mrs. Brennan.
See you all Thursday!
-Mrs. Hellyer
Friday, October 28, 2016
Week 6
This week we learned a little about the battles of Lexington and Concord. I recommend watching the movie April Morning for a good, dramatic depiction of those battles. We also began talking a bit about John Adams and the kind of man he was. Make sure you finish the John Adams book by next Thursday for our book discussion!
Check out this video of the dramatic reading of the Declaration of Independence that I told you about in class:
We have Friday, December 2nd on the calendar for a class pizza and movie night, so keep watching the blog for more details!
Check out this video of the dramatic reading of the Declaration of Independence that I told you about in class:
We have Friday, December 2nd on the calendar for a class pizza and movie night, so keep watching the blog for more details!
Assignments This Week:
- Presentations: We will be pleased to hear from Paige on life as a soldier in the Continental Army, and from Taylor on hospitals and doctors in the War.
- Opinion Paper: Define the word stubborn. Is it good to be stubborn?
- Reading: Finish John Adams: Reluctant Patriot of the Revolution. I would like Lucy to lead the book discussion this week, so please read through the page in your binder titled Steps in Leading a Colloquium, which gives you information on how to do this. If you have any questions about this, please call or email me before Thursday.
- Declaration of Independence: Memorize through the Statement of "Patient" by Thursday for a candy treat!
- Other: Try working on 2 items for the Heritage Award to mark them off your list, or memorizing the 10 Commandments.
Have a fun and safe Halloween, and don't each too much candy!
-Mrs. Hellyer
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)