Fall is here, Grammarland!

It's time to witness the glorious beauty that God gives us during this lovely season. Our students are loving the cooler weather for their post lunch recess!

6th graders have been working hard on verbs. Today we discussed "interrupting adverbs", and how they are the "rudest" of the parts of speech. We have also been discussing our exciting castle project, which is due October 29. Next week we will begin writing our parts for a special chapel service - we will teach the elementary students how to pack an Operation Christmas Child shoebox! I love how my students react to this ministry! Last year we had an unprecedented 400 shoeboxes...and I cannot wait to see what God does this year!

8th graders are either finished or close to finishing the last Narnia book. It's sad to say goodbye to such beautiful novels that reflect God's word. We will be moving on to poetry for a while, and we will study "The Raven", by Edgar Allan Poe (which is spooky, eerie, and endlessly cool). We will also begin a unit on MLA formatting, which will help kids do research without plagiarism, and which will get them ready for writing papers. We've been hard at work learning about progressive verbs and the difference between active and passive voice. My hope for my 8th graders is to prepare them abundantly for what they will encounter in their high school and college English classes.

My constant hope for your children is that they will know Christ, that they will follow Him, and that they will live the life of abundance He has planned for them. Please know that I'm joining you in prayer for your child. May God bless you, and as always, I am beyond grateful that you've allowed me to be part of your child's middle school story.

Mrs. Desjarlais

 Hey, there, LCS Grammarland!

What a week. My 6th graders are learning all about verbs, action and linking, and about the parts of speech that hang out with them (direct objects, indirect objects, predicate  nouns, and predicate adjectives, oh my!).They're also learning about the consequences of sin, through our story about a boy who betrays his siblings in exchange for candy. Oh, and we are becoming tri-lingual counters to ten. We have mastered French, and Maria is teaching us this:

Marchelina is going to teach us some Vietnamese, too! 

In 8th grade, we are mastering the many forms of verbs, be they be perfect tense, progressive tense, or past participle. Brooke has not forgiven me for not letting them use "snuck" as the past tense of "sneak", but such are the rules of grammar. Inflexibly correct, they are. My goal with grammar, always, is to make us good writers and speakers of English. Our novel, The Last Battle, is leading to beautiful conversations about Christ, about the reality of demons , and about the glory of Heaven. 

8th graders can also count to ten in French, and they know a few colors, too. 

On Monday, this happened:

and it was amazing. My classroom was full of 6th graders and two 7th graders. We talked about what prayer is, how we have this beautiful conduit to God, and how prayer is vital in the life of a 

middle school girl. We concluded with group prayer. I can't wait til next Monday!

 I've ordered a new devotional for us, and I'm so looking forward to our sweet time together.

 Please encourage your girl to come pray with us!

Have a wonderful weekend! The weather is finally feeling a little more like fall. 

Well, that is, when we aren't being drenched by a wandering hurricane.

 May God richly bless your families.

KD

Notes on middle school life....

 Hello, Grammarland!

Some highlights this week...

My 8th graders are showing such confidence when it comes to understanding grammar, and I am so proud of them. I love to watch students realize that they've got it!! Our five SAT vocab words a week will make their brains all wrinkly, and I'm hoping these words make their way into their writing and speaking. Our novel, The Last Battle, is producing beautiful discussions about reliance on God. All in all, some great things are happening!

I love starting my day with my 6th graders! They're learning nouns, as well as a slew of Narnian vocabulary words, and next week we branch out to verb land. I love watching them fall in love with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe! Next week, I will introduce their first project: building a castle! It shall be amazing! Our next vocab test will be next Friday.

Calling all middle school girls! Next Monday is the start of our Middle School Girls' Prayer Group! Each Monday, we will meet in my room, eat our lunch,and lift up our families, our school, and our world in prayer. This was such a blessing to me last year. I cannot wait to see what happens this year!

It's a blessing for me to be part of your child's middle school story! Thank you for sharing your child with me.

Mrs. Desjarlais

Well, we've come to the end of another week, and it's been a great one!

Some of the highlights....

My 8th graders rocking the transitive /intransitive verb conundrum.

One of my 8th graders finding an incorrectly apostrophe-d word in Hamilton lyrics.

The wonders of Narnia, as seen through the eyes of my 6th graders. Oh, and we shared some of this:

Turkish Delight. We decided it was not good enough to sell our siblings out to a wicked witch. I am pretty sure I bought the non-enchanted kind.....

Brain breaks are necessary, so we've been trying some new things. Teaching my kids some basic French words has been fun! They can count from un to deux, and we've started learning colors. My sweet 6th grader, Maria, is teaching us Portuguese! 

Quizlet is a free study tool for kids to study vocab words. It means your child will never be without his or her vocabulary words, and it makes studying fun! Please click this link to automatically join our class: https://quizlet.com/join/P7BRFEtkA?i=502q6&x=1bqt

**If you'd like to donate something to our classroom, we could really use some pre-sharpened Dixon

Ticonderoga pencils.

Don't forget: NO SCHOOL MONDAY!

May God bless you and your families. Please stay safe and well, and please keep our school in your

prayers.

Blessings,

KD