Mary Jo Kinser
The 5th and 6th grade classroom is a hub of activity, with students working independently, in small groups, grade groups or as a whole class. Many of our activities relate to our yearly theme of either D.O.G. (Depend on God) or F.R.O.G. (Fully Rely on God). Some of our geography and math curriculum are learned through simulation games which involve “traveling” as teams around the world or through “math land” in order to find treasures or solve problems. Once a week a few students at a time are able to go to Zimpher Hose (a nearby home care facility) to “give to others” by spending time interacting or playing games with the residents there.
In the first trimester we get involved in our history day projects with several of our students going on to compete at the county level and occasionally onto the state competition; in the middles trimester we do our group country reports that go along with our missions’ emphasis; and during our last trimester we get involved with inventions and rockets or science fair projects.
Throughout the year we look forward to our Outdoor Education time at a nearby camp or the overnight educational learning experiences at nearby historical sites (possibly Fort Ross, the Capital, San Francisco Bay). Of course, there is the continual emphasis on Bible (Old and New Testament stories, character trait emphasis, and scripture memorization), spelling, English grammar, reading novels, doing book reports, writing, math (a lot with fractions, decimals, percents, a little pre-algebra), history and geography, science, P.E., computers, art, and music. We work hard, have fun, and learn a lot!
