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.

Year 2 Term 1: Literature Exam

Grace had her first oral exam today. It was also MY first day of giving exams. Today is our official Exam Week for Ambleside Year 2, 1st Term. Despite our many firsts, Grace showed no fear whatsoever with the idea that she would be orally tested on the material she had covered over the course of our last term. I was the one who was nervous for her! This was my first opportunity to see how reading literature slowly over a long period of time assisted in her memory retention.

At the age of seven, in Charlotte Mason fashion, Grace is tested orally in a manner that seeks to give her a way to provide as much information as she can recall about subject matter that she has covered. This tends to be a stark contrast to exams today, especially at her age. There is no guess work. No multiple choice. Just tell me what you know. Overall, I am very happy with her narrations, considering this was the first time she had been asked to recall from months back. I wasn't sure what to expect. Because of my own doubting demons, I tended to go a little easy on this round, and after today, feel comfortable heightening the bar as the week progresses. Grace quickly declared that she loved exam week, since once the oral exam was over, she could play on the farm for the rest of the day!

Today Grace's exam questions revolved around our Literature reading for the term, which included chapters 1-6 in The Wind in The Willows, two Shakespeare plays, and a number of chapters from Parables of Nature. Below are the exam questions and word for word answers as dictated.

The Wind in The Willows:

Name the four main characters in The Wind in The Willows and tell me about each character.

There is Rat. He watches Toad like Badger told him. Ratty found mole a friend. And there is Mr. Badger. Mr. Badger showed Rat and Mole his gigantic place that came under water that man built and he also got mad at Rat for leaving Toad. There is Toad, and he's all about the motor car. He loves motor cars, and he climbed out the window and he got arrested and put in a deep dark dungeon with a crooked key. Mole...he went in the carriage with Rat and Toad and he was cleaning his house with whitewash, and he went on a walk with Mr. Badger.

What has been your most favorite part of The Wind in The Willows so far and why?
When Toad climbed out the window. He was pretending to be ill and he was like "I have my own plans", and he climbed out the window.

What do you think the story of The Wind in The Willows is about up to this point?
It is about animals becoming friends and about the trees blowing with wind, and about seasons, like change. About coming home, and going on adventures.


Shakespeare:

Choose a play from Shakespeare that we did this term and tell me the story line.

Play selected is Romeo and Juliet.
Romeo sneaks into the Capulet's party with a mask on pretending to be a Capulet. And there was a guy who recognized his voice and he was like "You dare sneak into our party!". And he was like, "You are going to be sacrificed for your punishment." So Romeo ran away from that guy and he met a beautiful woman named Juliet. And he said, "Are you dancing?" And she said, "Of course I am young gentleman." And so he was like, "Who are you a Montague or a Capulet?". "A Capulet", she said. And she was like, "Who are you, a Capulet or a Montague?" And she got so startled that she went to her room that night.

I think that Lord Capulet banished Romeo from Verona. And the Friar kept sending notes of how he was and he was in need of food. And the Friar came and told that they had a plan for Juliet, but he did not tell Romeo what the plan was and so the Friar went back, but the bad news came faster than the good news. When Romeo heard that Juliet was dead (but she really wasn't) he was so sad he really cried. And so when the Friar got there Romeo was dead. And so when the Friar told him that Juliet was alive she just drank a potion, Romeo didn't believe him.

So he came back to to Verona to die with his fair lady. And when he got there Count Paris was there. They had a battle and so they fought, and fought and fought, until Romeo killed Count Paris. When he turned on the light, he saw it was Count Paris. And it was nearly time for Juliet to wake up. And he got to the tomb where Juliet was laying asleep, and he stabbed himself and fell dying on the ground. And then when Juliet woke up and the Friar came back they both saw Count Paris and Romeo were dead and so Juliet now knowing Romeo was dead took a knife and stabbed herself in the belly and died next to them.

And so Lord Capulet and Lord Montague became friends. After all they weren't friends before and now they say they are brothers.


Parables of Nature:

What is a zoophyte?
A plant that lives in the sea that is an animal.

What is a Will 'o The Wisp?
It is like a glowing ball that keeps people from danger like a bog.