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Teaching and Learning with my Daughter, Elke.

...this page will always be a work in progress...

 

Spring 2012

Fall 2011

Elke earned her first degree Black Belt at Tae Kwon Do. Her goal was to get the Black Belt before she turned eight years old. The goal was accomplished.

Summer 2010

Elke is 6.5 years old. She has completed kindergarten and will be in the first grade, 2010-2011 school year. She is a junior green belt at tae kwon do and has recently started the master club, which trains her in the use of weapons.

This is Elke, she is naturally curious, eager to learn, full of energy... and has a wonderful attitude about life. My role as a mother and her first teacher is to expand her knowledge base and scaffold her development of a comprehensive worldview that is both broad and deep.

Fall 2010

Elke is now 7 years old. She is in the first grade and doing very well academically. Some days, she gets into trouble for too much talking.

Elke's first place blue ribbon cake decoration entry.

In this photo, Elke came home with her missing tooth in a container and 100 on her spelling test. I believe she has been smiling even more since losing the two top teeth, in front.

Log 3 - Science as a Conduit to Teaching and Learning the Academic Languages of School

August 5th 2010: First day of school for Elke. She is in the first grade, new teacher, some old and new friends to make.

Why science?

You are probably going to say, What does a Mohawk have to do with Teaching and Learning?

September 2010: Elke asked Dad and I, "Can I have a mohawk?" We were not willing to let to get a real one, but what we considered a "faux-hawk" was not an unreasonable tasks to under take.

For Elke, this was important. That was the look she wanted. We are learning and teaching as we go.

Log 2 - Summer of Science 2010

Our Summer of Science took us from Florida to Texas and back and the from Florida to New York. The trip from Florida to New York allowed us to stop in North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland on the way and back.

From Florida to Texas:

We traveled as The Thatch Trio, Stephen, La Vergne and Elke with a newly found friend/family member, Guy! Elke received Guy as a gift, on a Saturday, when he was a tadpole. The next day, we all left on trip to Texas. We drove through parts of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana nd stopped in Fort Worht, Texas. Stephen worked in Fort Worth, Dallas and the Dallas suburbs and Houston.

On the way home, the following Sunday, Elke noticed that Guy's hind legs had grown in. Thanks to Guy, the idea for a Summer of Science came about!

 

 

Log 1 - Spring/Summer 2010: Topics we have covered recently:

• Bats
• Waterfalls
• Frogs
• Multiplication using an Abacus

Our current topic: The Life Cycle of a Frog, she was given a tadpole. Elke is good friends with a set of twins who are full of life, energy... and excited about learning! They gave her the tadpole as a gift. The tadpole's name is Guy!

Vocabulary:

• amphibian
• respire
• gills
• lateral
• lateral undulation
• metamorphosis (metamorphasize)
• apoptosis
• consumer
• predator
• herbovore
  • algae
  • plants
• omnivores
  • detritus
  • smaller tadpoles
• tadpole (juvenile)
• axolotl (adult)
• neoteny

Tadpoles are young amphibians that live in the water.

Elke: What do tadpoles eat?

 

A diagram of The Life Cycle of a Frog - A Starter Kit for pre_K-5.

Frogs have big eyes, which enables them to have amazing panoramic vision. This panoramic vision allows them to see almost the entire area around them, which helps them stay alert and aware of attacking predators.

To be continued!