Saturday, September 13, 2014

September, Eureka

THE COMPASS!
 
 
Here is a fun movie explaining the compass, and how it works!
 
 
 
 
Do the experiment at home if you would like! We will be making a different type of compass in class.


Watch this video to help you find direction in the world!

You Tube Compass

Christopher Columbus, and Navigation

http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/how-the-compass-helped-columbus.html#lesson

Watch the clip and read the article if you would like.


Let's learn our directions! This is a fun song!
 
 
Come share any projects that you have made
 
Did you learn more about Antarctica?
 
Did you learn more about the world, continents and oceans?
 
Bring a project or something to share!

Thursday, September 4, 2014

September, GEO CONQUEST Week

Hi everyone, time for some fun, with the world we live in!!
 
 
It's GEO-CONQUEST WEEK!!!
 
We will be studying Humility in the world around us!
 
Well, how can we understand Humility, if we don't know what it means?
The best way to understand a word, is to do a word study!
 
 
 
Monthly Word Study:
I would like to ask each of you to do a word study on the word "Humility"
 
(PARENTS NOTE: if you don't understand what a word study is or how to do it, please see Sister Gilbert, or your Vanguard Youths Tomes have an awesome handout!
We will do one word study per month, on the principle of the month, however you choose to do this as a family, is great! I would love to see the apprentice youth doing this monthly, as my desire is for apprentice kids to be doing just that apprenticing into core class. Word studies are a huge part of Vanguard, and the more they are familiar with them, the easier the children will transition into vanguard. As a side note from here on out, this will be a part of the Leadership Week inspirements.)
 
Work on Memorizing the poem and scripture of the month:
September Scripture and Poem
Scripture: Proverbs 22:4—By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, honour and life.

Poem:
 
YOUR MISSION

 If you are too weak to journey
Up the mountain, steep and high,
You can stand within the valley
While the multitudes go by;
You can chant in happy measure
As they slowly pass along--
Though they may forget the singer,
They will not forget the song.


 Do not then stand idly waiting
For some greater work to do;
Fortune is a lazy goddess,
She will never come to you;
Go and toil in any vineyard,
Do not fear to do and dare.
If you want a field of labor
You can find it anywhere.
--Ellen M.H. Gates
 
We will be doing a month long memory project, each month, with the scripture and poem. If you would like to get a jump start on this project, you can begin my copying the scripture and the poem. Each needs to be copied on it's own separate piece of paper. Then each you will choose a way to decorate or make a visual for the memory piece. For this week, just start working on the copying.
 
(PARENTS NOTE: I will be explaining this project to the youth this week, and be bringing an example. Again from here on out this will be part of the Leadership Inspirements. Giving the children the entire month to do this.)
 
 
MAP WORK!
 
(PARENTS NOTE: Please print this map for each of your children who would like to participate in our map work.)
 
Please fill in the above map with the continents and oceans. Once you finish labeling the overview of the world, add any other landmarks or locations you would like to! Have fun, and work hard. You can also color it, or add stickers or whatever, to make it yours! We will take a moment to share these in class and then hang them up to show everyone!
 
We will be playing some fun geography type games and learning about Animals of the Arctic!

 
Then......the ultimate fun......
 
We will be having a CULTURAL FESTIVAL!!!
 
We will be celebrating the cultures of the world!!!
*Please prepare or bring a traditional food item from any culture in our world to share.
*Also have a place card of some type that says the name of the item, and a printout map (or a map from a book) to show where your dish is from!
We will have a taste of the world potluck!!!
(PARENTS NOTE: Please make sure that you do bring something to share for this potluck! You may bring one dish per family, or if individual children would like to bring dishes that's great too. This will not replace lunch, but be an added snack!! Remember if life hits you too hard, then go American and buy a food item made in America!! Also get with your Vanguard Core Youth and have them help you or just make a double batch of what they are doing!!!)
 
*If you would like to prepare a game, activity or craft from any culture, please let Sister Gilbert Know, ASAP.... as she will be planning some fun activities for our festival!
 
 
DIG DEEPER!!!!!
(PARENTS NOTE: Dig deeper, is for families or children who want more, these are just ideas that children might want to do for their project sharing time, or families might enjoy, to make Vanguard more of a Family Fun Activity! 
 
*Do an Animals of the Arctic Report, lapbook or prezi!
*Play this fun Antarctica game with your family or friends. Come to class and tell us how it went!
*Play this fun Penguin Math Game with your family or friends. Come to class and share!
*Prepare a presentation on Antarctica.
 *Make a fun snowflake craft, or grow crystals!
* Here are some fun arctic animal crafts
*Research a specific culture and come and share your findings with us!
*Prepare a display or poster size map of any culture to share and set up by our food for the cultural festival.
 
(PARENTS NOTE: Please remember all the above, except the cultural festival food, are only suggestions and ways that you can make Vanguard and Vanguard Jr. flow and work as a Family Vanguard in your home. Please DO NOT stress about any of the above items, they are all optional, and just ideas. This is also simply the icing on the cake so to speak!!!
 
My plans for Vanguard Jr. is to make it so as a Family you can be learning about the same subjects or similar subjects with all your children in your home. I took many of these ideas from both the schedule Brenda outlined and the Core Class Blog.
 
As a side note the Core Class Book this month is Alone Yet Not Alone, If you would like to work that into your families Read Aloud Times. The Core Class will be discussing this book for Imaginative Arts week- week 4. Just a simple idea that we do in our family is I read aloud to all my children during lunch time. This is a tradition we have been doing since my oldest children where 6 or 7.  I also have heard many families who do this in the evenings, as a wind down for the day activity. Remember that one of the reasons we do homeschool is for the memories, and these times will be such wonderful memories in years to come!
 

Monday, August 4, 2014

Expectations and Supply List

We would like to invite all families participating in the K2 Vangaurd to participate in K2 Vanguard Jr: an optional group offered to younger siblings during Vanguard Core Class. We would like to offer this group as a means to support the families of K2 Vanguard. Vanguard Jr, along with the Nursery is provided to give all our children opportunities to grow and learn in a group setting. We want this to be a loving and nurturing environment to all participating. We would also like to offer the same individualized and fun learning environment to all our children. We would love to see this group offer such a support for all!
Please read through the following expectations and supply list.
PARENTS EXPECTATIONS
*If  a child is in Vanguard Jr. or Nursery, the parent must be present.

 We must have a strong support from all parents, in order for it to be the best it can be!
            Parents will either:
                        *Assist or Mentor in Core Class, for Vanguard, as scheduled.
                                                         OR
                        *Assist in Vanguard Jr. or Nursery, as scheduled.
You as a parent will be mentoring, and/or assisting during Vanguards Core Class, Wednesdays from 9:30-2:00. 

*This group is a Weekly Group.
You need to commit to come and participate every week.
If you can not attend one week, please let Brenda Black or Melinda Gilbert know, as soon as possible. Please be aware your absence does affect the outcome of that Vanguard Jr. day. The sooner you are able to inform us, the easier it will be for our group as a whole.
*If you are unable to participate one week, you will also be in charge of  making sure your responsibilities are covered. If you have supplies, it is your responsibility to get it to someone in the group, or the church.

*This group will have a registration fee of $5 per child, ages 2 and older, per semester. This will help with the teaching supplies and activities. This will be evaluated at the beginning of each semester. This will be due August 23rd.

*You will need to provide a sack lunch for your child. You will need to have your child's lunch labeled and in a sack or lunch box. These will be placed in a designated area, until lunch break. Please have your children bring them in the mornings. Vanguard Jr's lunch time will not be the exact time as Vanguards Lunch time. It will also go longer for a recess/play time.
*You will need to provide 2 snacks for each of your children. We will have 2 snack times, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. These can be any snack your child would enjoy! Please speak to your children that these will be taken out only at snack time.

*You will provide a labeled water bottle for your child. There are no water fountains, however we have access to a water faucet. We can refill water bottles as needed. This can even be a plastic cup, labeled with your child's name.

CHILDS EXPECTATIONS
*The child in the group needs to come ready to learn and have fun!
 If there are inspirements asked to be completed, it is the responsibility of the parent to have your children prepared. A child who is ready, will be more engaged and less of a distraction. However the inspirements do not have to be completed for children to attend Vanguard Jr. So please come if inspirements are not completed. Just try your best to have inspirements completed. The inspirements will be very minimal. If a child is consistently coming unprepared we will speak with their parent, and determine the best way to help that student and/or family.
*Parents are responsible for the behavior of their child in class. If a child is having a hard time participating respectfully they may be asked to stay with their parent until they are ready to engage respectfully. Continued problems may lead to a child being asked to not participate in Vanguard Jr.

*Children will not be allowed to wander around the building unsupervised. Not only does this compromise their safety and the care of the building, but this creates a distraction for other kids.
*All toys and non class items are welcome, if they are not a disruption. There will be a time for children to share items, and use them. Please advise your child to only bring them out of their backpacks during specified free times.  We do ask that items that can be dangerous, be used with care and caution. If a mentor feels something is being used in a dangerous way, it is the mentors choice to take that item away, and ask any child to not bring it again. This is only for the safety of the child or other children in the class.

SUPPLY LIST
Please make sure to label all your child's supplies with their name.
*Basic School Supplies
   *Scissors
   * Ruler
   *Glue Stick
   *Pencil
   *Box of Crayons
   * Watercolor's (paint)
   *a notebook, spiral bound or composition notebook.
   *a 2 pocket, 3 prong folder or 3 ring binder per child. This will be their mini tome!!
   *a clipboard.  
*a bag or backpack to keep all their supplies in
*a lunch box or bag, water bottle, and snacks as described above.

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Welcome to our new year!!!

 
 
Yes, this is going to be fun!!!
We are so excited to be starting a new year, with new ideas, and tons of fun!
 
Brenda Black and Melinda Gilbert will be organizing a meeting for our Vanguard Jr. and Nursery Opportunities. Watch for an email coming soon!!
 
 
Looking forward to a fun filled year of learning!!!

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Vanguard Jr. Schedule and Mentor Duties


Vanguard Moms,
The rotation for Vanguard Jr. mentors is up on the blog!
I have also attached a chart to this email. (to the original email)
Please look it over and find your assignment.  If there is an issue with your days please try to swap with someone or if it will need to be changed permanently let me know and I will get it fixed.  We will have the same schedule each month. 
I have also attached a schedule of how the day will go for each group.  Check it out so everyone is familiar with how the day will go each week.
We have three groups of different ages. 
Vanguard Junior (ages 8-11) -  A scaled back version of Vanguard that follows the same topics of study.  The weekly mentor is expected to provide inspirements a week in advance from the week you are assigned.  Please send them to Melinda Gilbert <growingwithtruth10@gmail.com> to post on the blog.  We will follow the same four week lenses rotation as regular Vanguard. So, next week will be LEADERSHIP. 
Littles (5-7) - The mentor is expected to provide a 45 minute lesson and activity based on the monthly topic studied in Vanguard. 
Nursery (0-4) - The mentor is expected to provide a 30 minute lesson and activity time that is age appropriate.
If you have any questions please contact me.  Thanks for everyone's input and efforts to make this work.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Planning Meeting

PLANNING MEETING  FRIDAY, SEPT 20th, 10:30 A.M. AT HARVEY PARK
 (796 MOUNTAIN RD. KAYSVILLE) 

Dear Moms,

A meeting for all moms to discuss Vanguard Jr. will be held Friday, September 20,10:30 am.  We will meet at Harvey Park (910 Mountain Rd. Fruit Heights 84037) which is very near Westminster Presbyterian Church (796 Mountain Rd. Kaysville 84037) where master class is held and where we hope to move Vanguard to. 

We'll be discussing how Vanguard Jr. will be organized and run each week, the blog, we'll make assignments for weekly class mentors, and snack rotation. 

According to the bylaws every mom is to take a turn helping with this younger group, even those who only have Vanguard youth. (This was recently explained to me.) So I am happy to get the opportunity to work with everyone. We have a wonderful group of younger children who are eager to learn and by everyone pitching in we can have a great program for them.

The park is behind the city hall and has a small playground if it's necessary to bring your children. 

Please try to make it if you can. It will really be best to have everyone meet together so we can have a great program for our children. After this initial meeting we hope to be able to take care of Vanguard Jr.business during the monthly parent meeting, 2nd Saturday morning at 8 each month.

Thanks,

Elizabeth