Naaktgeboren's Class Blog

Greetings parents, The headmasters have asked us to do a homework survey to evaluate our homework procedures. Please take some time to fill out the short survey as we try to better serve your family. For the survey, click here . Best, Michael Naaktgeboren

Greetings parents, Today, we began our study of vertical division, or long division as many call it, with remainders. Many of the students caught on quickly, especially those with strong multiplication facts skills. However, many of the students were confused by the process. Sadly, the day is only so long and we must move on to other content. Tonight, your child will have math problems requiring vertical division, but they may not have mastered the concept. That is okay, because math homework is meant to serve as a time to practice, not demonstrate mastery. I ask you to check your child's work to ensure that they are doing it correctly. I do not want him or her to practice bad habits tonight that will hinder him or her from moving forward. Many of them might need you to sit down beside them and help them. That being said, I know many of you probably haven't done long division since elementary school. We tend to lose what we do not use. Therefore, I have found a video onli...

Greetings Parents, I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. Here are the lessons for this week. History In history, we are beginning our study of ancient Rome. We are beginning by understanding the timeline, the Mediterranean region, the legend of Rome's founders, and its beginning. Science We began our study of the human body last week with a look at cells, tissue, organs, and systems. Today we began our study of one of those systems: skeletons. We had a brief introduction today and will work on memorizing all of the bodies major bones. Math Today we had our math test. This was a challenge for many of our students. More will be noted below. Moving forward we are learning division. Language Arts Idiom: "Eaten out of house and home" Poem: "Rain," by Robert Louis Stevenson Spalding: Learning 30 words and reviewing phonograms Literature: Chapters 7-12 in Pinocchio Writing with Ease: We are continuing our development of central idea of a stor...

Greetings parents, I wanted to remind you that there will be a math test on Monday. The students have learned and are working towards masterings multiplication of four digit numbers by one digit numbers. Many students are still having challenges with their multiplication facts. We addressed these in the classroom, explained why multiplication works, and spent some time reviewing them. However, class time does not permit their memorization in the classroom. Therefore, it is very important that they are studying and memorizing these at home until they are mastered. The test on Monday will cover these concepts, with some expectation of being able to apply previously learned content like estimation/rounding. The assignments given tonight and over the weekend should prepare your child for the test, but if you would like for them to do some extra work to ensure they are proficient I have provided some links for material that will help: http://www.math-aids.com/cgi/pdf_viewer_6.cgi?scri...

Greetings parents, I hope everyone is having a great week. Here are the lessons for the week. Language Arts Poem: "I'm glad" Idiom: "Easier said than done" Spalding: This week we are learning how to add ending that begin with a vowel to base words. We will also have a short test on Friday for spelling words and phonograms. Literature: We have begun our reading of Pinocchio. Writing and Grammar: Students are continuing to refine their ability to summarize a short piece of literature and focusing on diagramming in grammar. Science We are starting our study of the human body. This week we are addressing cells as the basic structural unit of all organisms, while focusing on their presence in the human body. We will also be discussing tissue, organs, and the systems in the human body. History We are finishing up our study of rivers this week by discussing their importance and benefits, and the major rivers of the world. We are also discussing ot...

Greetings Parents, I apologize for the lateness in this week's blog. Here are the lessons for this week. Language Arts With everyday being a half day, we had to cut a few things out of language arts. This week are are only doing 30 Spalding words and reviewing The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe for our end of book test. The students should have brought home the study guides last night and tonight. They will have a third guide tomorrow and will be tested on Friday. Math Students were introduced to multiplication and division right before the break. This week we have been working on multiplication in the midst of word problems and using bar models. History This week we are continuing our study of rivers and their importance. They will be tested over rivers next week. Science This week students are finishing their study of ecology. On Tuesday we discussed John Muir, who was influential in the development of national parks and the preservation of ecosystems. On Frid...

Greetings Parents, I hope everyone is excited about our break, which has finally arrived. Many of our students have left the building early and are already on their way to their destinations. This break is declared a rest and relaxation time by the Arete staff. Therefore, there are no assignments over the break. This includes reading logs. Your child should have completed their reading logs for Monday-Thursday, but they do not have to read tonight for credit. Conferences I have noticed that most have signed up for their conference with me. I am looking forward to meeting with you to discuss your child's progress. One of the major things we will discuss is grades. We are not sure if grades will be released before conferences, or if you will receive your child's grades from me on the night of your conference. Either way, I wanted to speak to that. I have mentioned this before, but want to reinforce our previous discussions. One thing that separates Arete from other schoo...