Year 2 Term 1: Exams Continue

Yesterday we continued our oral exams. For some reason, I could tell that Grace just wasn't on her game. She was having a more difficult time with giving large narrations, and stuck to shorter answers. I found myself prying, which I am not supposed to do with oral exams, just to get her wheels turning. I had a feeling this might be coming with the subject matter we had, with the exception of Pilgrim's Progress and Science. But her short answer in the arena of Science, her natural favorite, was a clear indication, that this day she was feeling off. And she knew it.

Faith has a cold today, and is a teary, snotty mess. Since all of our school work is at the new house, I decided to use this day as a teacher prep day for the next term, and we'll have our final exam day tomorrow with our remaining subject of History. It will be the toughest of all three days...eeesh.

The following are the exam questions and Grace's answers as dictated.


The Little Duke:
The Little Duke tends to be on the drier side of our book selections and drags on in a bit of slow motion.

Who was The Little Duke?
Richard. He liked Alberic, and he really loved his father. And he found out that his key around his neck was to his father’s greatest treasure. And he wanted to try what Alberic did on the pony, jumping right up on it. He spoke English.

Why was he called “The Little Duke”?
Because he was little and they made him duke because his father died.

What happened to his father?
He was fighting with this army and so he went home, but they said, "Hey wait", and so he came over, and he was like “What do you want?”. And they put his head underwater and they sliced it. That was how it happened. (MKH Note: actually it is not what happened, but he was betrayed and killed by the sword.)

What did his father impress upon him?
Not to have revenge on anyone.

Who are some important people in the Little Duke’s life?
Alberic, Sir Eric, Osmond, Fru Astrida, Count Bernard, his father, men at arms.

Right now, The Little Duke is in danger? Explain what danger he is in.
He is in danger of being taken away by King Louis.


Pilgrims Progress:
We read both Pilgrim's Progress and Little Pilgrim's Progress at the same time. Little Pilgrim's Progress is a favorite, and Grace loves to have her read aloud assignments be from LPP. These exam questions are based on Little Pilgrim's Progress.

What has been the toughest part of Christian’s journey so far?
I think fighting with Self. Because he has sharp darts, and they are very sharp and they wounded him. It was difficult in the deep dark valley because he was frightened.

Where did little Christian come from and where is he going?
He came from The City of Destruction and he is going to the Celestial City.

Name a few mistakes little Christian made during a portion of his journey.
He listened to Worldy. And he lost his roll.

Name a few people that Christian has met along his journey. Try to do it in order. He meets Charity, he meets Piety, he meets Discretion, and he meets Prudence. He meets Watchful. He meets The Interpreter. He meets Mistrust. He meets Timorous. He meets Passion. He meets Patience. He meets the boy who was trying to blow out the fire. And he met the girl who was pouring water and the boy who swept dust. I think he met Faithful…he heard him right? He meets the guy at the wicket gate. (MKH Note: Interestingly, for the most part, Grace's order went from present in the story back toward the beginning of the story.)

Tell me about the scene in which Little Christian is shown Patience and Passion. What is happening in the room? Passion wants his toys now, so a man brings in a sack of toys, a really big sack. And so Passion is so happy, he has gold and silver and anything you could imagine. So he is leaving Patience with rags. But Patience is waiting for heaven, until he gets to heaven he will have the best treasure ever. And it is like Passion will be begging for his toys, and Patience is a good servant of God.

Name two characters that little Christian is hoping to see in the Celestial City.
He is hoping to see is mother. And he is hoping to see his father? (MKH Note: I was shooting for her answer to be his mother and The Lord.)


Poetry - Term Poet was William Blake:

Name a favorite poem from William Blake’s poetry that we read this term. Why was it your favorite?

Spring. Because it is all about Spring and spring is my favorite season.


Burgess Book of Animals:

This term we studied skunks, badgers, and bats. Tell me about the habitat and the behavior and diet of one of these creatures.

Animal selected was Bats: If you lift up a leaf that looks like a leaf, but it is really a bat, it might fly away, If you open a bush it might be there too. For the mother bat, three of the babies will hold on to her feet. Bats eat insects.