This year I seem to have watched, and reviewed, 73 films. Wow. Below is a list of them in decending star order. Within each catergory they are in alphabetical order.
This Tuesday at virtual school, she was able to turn on and off her microphone (although it took a bit of time sometimes). The small groups were a bit chaotic, as it was the first time trying to do them. Hopefully they’ll be worked out by next Tuesday (although when this post goes live, it will have been yesterday…). Dragon raised her hand to talk three times – to sing the “Bonjour song”, to recite the days of the week, and to answer a question about trees. All of which she did in French! I’m so very proud of how well she’s doing. I’m very impressed by her teachers. She loves them. The homeschool portion of the week was short by one day, because of Thanksgiving, but that’s why we have a flex day worked into the schedule every week, to give us some wiggle room.
Dance
No martial arts this week, but she did ballet 2-3 times this week.
Good toes!
Music
I forgot to get her to practice with the letters, so we did it verbally just now as I’m writing this post. I’d say she’s doing pretty well.
She had another piano lesson on Saturday. They reviewed whole, half, quarter, and eighth notes, and tried clapping their rhythms. She was introduced to whole and half rests and how not to clap them. She played the piece from last week, as half notes, and had no trouble at all. She is holding her wrists properly. They’ve started learning “Chopsticks”.
We listened to a bunch of French music. Coeur de Pirate was the favourite yet again and I am thrilled because it is a beautiful album.
Crochet
We managed to get a few more stitches in on Friday.
Basic Information
Rather than pull out the papers, we did these verbally this week. She can now recite the days of the week in French without prompting. I took my thought about 12 being too many and shrank it down to only the first three, which we started learning on Friday. I think she’s remembering them by sound, but that’s okay for now. We’ll work on the first three months until she can say them with minor assistance before adding the next three months. I think this is working. *fingers crossed*
Printing words
Tracing the letters went better this week than printing them. I think she was having an off day today.
TracingPrinting
Counting objects/math-type activities
She’s still forgetting that sept comes after six. I’ll need to figure out a game or something to help her remember (note to self…)
CountingWriting numbersShe wanted to be in the picture
Storytime
We didn’t read any French books together this week.
Activity
Film script in stop-motion (2 days: taking the pictures + putting them together on computer, find music to go with it) – She directed me in how to move the toys (and I showed her how to make the basket look fuller than it actually was – movie magic!) and followed her script and storyboard extremely well. She told Éric how long to make each frame and where to put the text. Then we recorded her playing her xylophone to make the music. Éric put it all together because the technical ability to do that was a bit beyond a 4 yo’s ability, especially since she can’t read yet!
Director hard at workMovie magic!Putting it togetherStaged photo of her playing xylophone because I forgot to take one when we were actually recording!
The completed movie!
Make a shoebox diorama – we looked at the provided example, and then I asked her what she wanted in hers to make it Halloween-y. We searched google for the objects, put them in a word document, and added blocks underneath them (or on top) to be able to stick them to the inside of the box. Then we made the background very simply – just black with a yellow moon. She had fun using the “big-kid” glue.
Colouring and cuttingFIguring out where to place the piecesThe bottom ones are glued!The ghost is still wetCompleted shoebox diorama!
Today we’re talking about the 2012 film ParaNorman.
Story
The story is a pretty standard middle-grade mixed with zombie elements. It has a strong message and a great twist. I’m not a fan of the fat jokes but other than a few of those it was a very positive film.
Score: 1
Characters
All the characters were horror stereotypes but done with lots of heart. It’s great characterization that I ended up liking the zombies better than the townspeople.
Norman and his family are extremely believable and I have a soft spot for Neil. I definitely relate to him.
Also big props for Gay representation in 2012. Onward was banned in multiple countries for the same type of thing 8 years later.
Score: 1
Dialogue
The movie is utterly hilarious, balancing horror, humour, and heart, but it’s dialogue is forgotten as soon as it’s said.
Score: 0.5
Visuals and Music
The level of visual detail in the movie is utterly stunning. It’s beautiful even when it’s gross and grimy. The work and effect they managed is just fantastic. The blocking and camera work is so much better then most movies.
The music is suitably epic and well used.
Score: 1
Fun
My daughter loved it even though it was, “Kinda Scary”. I found that they created a great rhythm between scares and gags that helped her go from terrified to giggling. I enjoyed the adult jokes, the references to other movies, and the message that was well delivered.
Score: 1
Overall
A wonderful homage to horror movies with lots of heart and a great message. All that with some of the most impressive animation. It’s a perfect movie for October.
I’m going to be honest with you here; I BARELY remember this movie. I saw it in theatres, loved it, bought it, and haven’t seen it since. I’m pretty sure Dragon will love it, so here it is. Warning: could be a bit scary for younger audiences.
Singing, listening to different pieces, learning piano
Crochet
The project she is working on (currently she is making herself a poncho)
Basic Information
We talk about the days of the week and play games with the cutouts of the names. We do the same thing with the names of the months of the year. You can find the print-outs here.
Printing words
Download materials
Counting objects/math-type activities
Practice counting objects and writing how many of each type –in download materials
How many zombies were on the council? (7) How many were judges? (1) How many were not judges? (6)
Count fairy tale objects (like beans or coins)
Storytime
Fairy tales
Activity
Film script in stop-motion (2 days: taking the pictures + putting them together on computer, find music to go with it)