All in a Week's Work

You can see what goes through my 15-year-old's mind while working on school. 

*smile*

Back to School: 2014/2015 School Year {Weekly Wrap-Up}

And we are back at it. I did a lot of planning back in March to be ready for this day. And I'm not ready. LOL. Go figure. Well, I am ready; technically. 

Our first week back included almost everything that was on the schedules. The only thing that I've not got into the line-up is Plutarch. I may just go with Aemilius Paulus simply because I recently did a paraphrase of it. I'm trying to figure out how to share it. Try this link. If it doesn't work and you are interested in the paraphrase, leave a comment or send me an email. 

But what day to put it in the schedule?

Anyway, our first week included portfolio assessments for last year and attempting to renew dd's driving permit. Here are some highlights:

• Got in folksongs, hymns, verses, Bible reading
• Both are plugging along with math {Algebra 1 and Geometry}
• Discussion posts on the AO forum are starting {you have to be a member of the forum AND the HEO teen/parent forum to see that}
• Attitudes are good...most of the time
• Not having the documentation needed for a parent -read: birth certificate- can put a damper on renewing permits
• Assessment went peachy; they aren't ruined. Yay!
• Finally had tea-time and some Eragon reading 

I've been reading- surprised? Here are some of the books in my pile

• The Iodine Crisis- suggested by mom; very interesting and informative but lacking in some areas I think
• Bible Study for Busy Moms- Thirty Days in 1 Corinthians 13- *just* got this today as a review book! Love Doorposts Busy Moms studies; excited to get into it more
• A Philosophy of Education- following along with the AO group
• The Great Gatsby- for the teen discussion group
• The Age of Revolution- another teen discussion group read 
• Technopoly- loved Amusing Ourselves to Death but am finding discrepancies in Postman's use of quotes and/or individuals' intentions; will see how it goes; but the premise is excellent {right word there?}
• Smart Money Smart Kids- review book that is actually really good, just haven't made the time to get into it like I should
• Out of the Depths- another review book; easy read, just need to finish

Things I've been making:

• Coffee cake for 1...or 2 or 3 :D
• Crockpot Lasagna
• Chicken Wraps
• Coffee jello {yeah, that was a mistake- tasted yummy anyway!}
• Flax protein bars {they're...interesting}

Things I've got my eye on {that apparently I just 'had' to buy}:

• Panels for the big front window in our living room
• A decorative rod to go with the panels
• Plants! Two stevia, one each pineapple sage and lavender {the hazards of having a kid work at a garden center}

Things I'm working on:

• Getting back into the not having school mindset; feel like I 'have' to check in for classes but they are over! {until mid August}
• Getting outside more often
• Figuring out how to make my squash plants produce fruit and not just blooms
• Working on a blogpost for the above- well, gardening in a greenhouse really
• Scavenger hunt for Fox's 15th birthday
• Did I mention getting away from the computer?

So that was pretty much the week. I just can't put it all together enough to have an unbulleted post!

Our 2014/2015 School Year Folksong Selections

You can see our Youtube Playlist here 

but it doesn't include all of our choices this year.

Remember: participation, not perfection. -Lynn Bruce

We haven't ever followed the rotation at Ambleside Online for hymns, composer study, art study, or folksongs. But, really, why try to reinvent the wheel? Kwim? Actually, I wouldn't say we are following it exactly this year either; but closer than any other year!

This year we are focusing on folksongs. It won't be in place of composer or hymns; those will still be included in our days/weeks. We will be more diligent to include more folksongs. Why are we focusing on folksongs? (from Y11 note)

"From Wikipedia: The terminal state of the loss of folk music can be seen in the United States and a few similar societies, where except in isolated areas and among hobbyists, traditional folk music no longer survives. In the absence of folk music, many individuals do not sing. It is possible that non-singers feel intimidated by widespread exposure in recordings and broadcasting to the singing of skilled experts. Another possibility is that they simply cannot sing, because they did not sing when they were small children, when learning of skills takes place most naturally. Certainly it is very common for contemporary Americans to claim that they cannot sing.
There is anecdotal evidence that the loss of singing ability is continuing rapidly at the present time. As recently as the 1960s, audiences at American sporting events collectively sang the American national anthem before a game; the anthem is now generally assigned to a recording or to a soloist.
Inability to sing is apparently unusual in a traditional society, where the habit of singing folk song since early childhood gives everyone the practice needed to able to sing at least reasonably well." -emphasis mine

That and I personally cannot recall hardly any of the songs I was taught when I was younger. I think it's important to make a connection with culture- another way for the science of relations to be realized. 

Here are the folksongs we will be focusing on this year:

Term 1:
1688-1730 (Y9)
The Sky Boat Song- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ATL4Nfi5-A (lyrics: http://www.contemplator.com/scotland/skyboat.html)

The Ballad of the Green Mountaineers- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4KcJTP8nW8&feature=youtu.be (lyrics on the page)

WWI (Y11)
Over There- http://www.firstworldwar.com/audio/overthere.htm (lyrics on the page)

It’s a Long Way to Tipperary- http://www.firstworldwar.com/audio/itsalongwaytotipperary.htm (lyrics on the page)

There’s a Little Blue Star in the Window -http://www.archeophone.com/sounds/2001/2001-210.mp3 (can't find the lyrics to this one)
Or Danny Boy- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Jgma--0WYU 

AO Rotation
Barbara Allen- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPdbHfgM0h0&list=PLhdiN-Xw0oMw1sgnD6VQxIOqlBPlUxcZv

Term 2:
1730-1786 (Y9)
The Water is Wide- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opfEk_Yoksk

Johnny’s Gone for a Soldier- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCdo-KjiTlc lyrics on the page

WWII (Y11)
White Cliffs of Dover- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuHYnzWHS7o 

AO Rotation
Billy Boy- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKRJuLHU3Qo

Lord Randal- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMR55HoeSG4&index=6&list=PLhdiN-Xw0oMw1sgnD6VQxIOqlBPlUxcZv 

The Keeper Did A-Hunting Go- YT- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=racxiCMSClk&list=PLhdiN-Xw0oMw1sgnD6VQxIOqlBPlUxcZv&index=14

Term 3:
AO Rotation
Yellow Rose in Texas- YT- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZRisGHL7ow&index=17&list=PLhdiN-Xw0oMw1sgnD6VQxIOqlBPlUxcZv

Pick a Bale of Cotton- YT- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ILbUduwBkg

Vietnam/Civil Rights Era (Y11)
Where Have All the Flowers Gone?- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1tqtvxG8O4

Okie from Muskogee- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4AgZST_TG8

Looking Towards 2014-2015 School Year {YIKES!}

The 2013/2014 School Year still has over 2 months left and then there is about 2 more months before we really get rolling with the next year {2014/2015}. But maybe it's not too early to get started. Or too early to already have it all planned...?

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links. See Disclosure/Policies.

Most of the planning was super easy. Fox's 10th grade {gasp!} will be almost identical to Lee's 10th grade, but will follow even closer the schedule at AO. I'm switching a few of the books as well. I followed the schedule for the devotion The Christian Life by Sinclair Ferguson for Lee but will switch it for The Christian's Secret to a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith for Fox. Also, Lee didn't read History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia by Samuel Johnson, but I think Fox will appreciate it more than the one I'd selected for Lee. 

Here are other subs/omissions:

Subbing: 

• Washington: The Indispensable Man by Flexner for Founding Father - Rediscovering George Washington by Richard Brookhiser OR Life of Washington by David Ramsay
• Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose for Walking the Bible by Bruce Feiler

Omitting: 

• The English Constitution by Walter Bagehot
• Mere Christianity C.S. Lewis {he's already read it}
• Simond's Literature - Increase and Cotton Mather from Chapter 1 & 2
• Tale of a Tub by Jonathan Swift
• John Adams and the American Revolution by Catherine Drinker Bowen 
• Letters to His Son by Lord Chesterfield, selections 
• Land of Little Rain by Mary Austin OR 
• Natural History of Selbourne by Gilbert White OR The Life of the Fly by J. Henri Fabre 
• The God Who is There by Francis Schaeffer
• The Story of Painting by H.W. Janson (sections)
  
• Miracle at Philadelphia by Catherine Drinker Bowen
• The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence 
• Faust, Book I by Johann Wolfgang Goethe 
• The Problem of Pain by CS Lewis 
• Postmodern Times by Gene Edward Veith, Jr. 
• Reflections on the French Revolution by Edmund Burke

For science he will use various resources for biology, one being Ellen McHenry's Cells curriculum, and a biology coloring book*. I still need to find some living books to add in for his science. I have a board on Pinterest with science links so I'll be looking in there. But mostly, I'll be looking at the "Alternatives to Apologia" on the AO forum. I am considering CK12 Biology texts*, partially because they are free. Oh, yes, and I am adding in William Harvey and the Discovery of the Circulation of the Blood by Thomas Henry Huxley that was scheduled in the last term of Y8 for this year {I purposefully took it out of his schedule this year}. It'll be in Term 1. And he will still have nature study but I'm not sure I will schedule any books for this because he really doesn't seem to like any of them so far. It could simply be a case of poor disposition...ahem.

*affiliate link

Some other things will be 'added' in, such as Science Matters by Hazen and Trefil, which we are all reading together at Round Table. It won't last the entire year though. And The Attributes of God by Pink, also a Round Table read. I really want to get Plutarch back into the week. And we do composer study/music appreciation, artist study/art appreciation and drawing, and How to Read a Book for logic. But I think that is about it for Fox's planning. Oh yes, he chose Napoleon for Term 3 biography so I am still looking for a book for that. It's between A Life of Napoleon by Stendhal* or The Story of Napoleon by H.E. Marshall. The second is by far more interesting and an easier read but geared toward younger readers {but it's free online!}. 

*affiliate link

For Lee's senior year I combined AO's Y11Lite and Y12 to come up with a schedule. And since I made it myself, although utilizing AO's curriculum, I feel okay about sharing the link to the document I made of her full year schedule. {If any AOers have a look and feel it's wrong to share, let me know.} Since it's her senior year and I'm fairly sure she will have or want to have a job, I've left it 'light' for the year. Term 2 looks like it has more but that's mostly historical readings that aren't that long; there are just a few of them. 

You should be able to click on it to see it larger in a new window.

So, Lee's scheduling is done. I am pre-reading a book called Poemcrazy* to see if I'll add it to the schedule but as I'm going through it and thinking ahead at what her year might be like, I think it will go on the optional free reads. I don't honestly care for the book. To me, poetry is an art form. But when I read a poem, I want it to make sense. I don't need to necessarily understand what the poet is saying exactly but it should be sensible. It's much like abstract art. I border on loathing abstract art; the same with poetry that is simply made up words, or words just crammed together just because. Call me a hater if you want but I don't care for jabberwocky. But I realize that we are all different. Lee does well with poetry; I do not. She may appreciate the book more than I. 

*affiliate link

And I just bought three more books for next year {Napoleon, The Lives of a Cell*, and A World in a Drop of Water*}. I love planning and don't like it at all. When I'm doing my planning I buy a lot of books. Then sometimes the books don't work out and I still buy more books. I don't sell my books any where near as often...I am done for now with planning! I think I have it all figured out. 

*affiliate link

Until next week that is *wink*.

The Homeschool Mother’s Journal–5/17/13

This post contains affiliate links. Please see Disclosure/Policies.

“Monday, Monday, Monday.” –in that special radio voice… “Manic Monday, wish it were Sunday.” –by the Bangles…

(5/13) It was just another Monday. Lee had babysitting but for two hours longer than usual so I didn’t bother to stay in town. It meant two trips in the car. I had contemplated, very seriously, mowing the lawns in between car trips but I decided against it because I always worry that I’m doing something wrong with the mower. It’s a riding mower that just has a few too many steps to get it going. I can do it; I just don’t like to. I also didn’t think there was enough time. Well, my surprise when we got home and hubby was mowing the front yard. He’d worked 11 hours and then set to work on the yard as soon as he got home.

Fox and I played the challenging board game National Parks Query Quest off and on. We bought the game 4 years ago at a used book sale in Torrington,Wyoming. But it is for teens and adults and the kids were definitely not quite old enough to enjoy the game. It isn’t easy but it’s definitely educational. I see it at the site for $35+ shipping; we bought it for $2

Oh, yes, and I made some coconut/almond milk. So yummy. I am okay with the almond milk, minus the fact that I cannot strain it quite enough and always have the tiniest grittiness when I drink it. But this time, I used less almonds and some shredded unsweetened coconut. At first I tried to do it like usual: soak it overnight, then use room temp filtered water, blend, strain. Uh, the fat from the coconut wasn’t cooperating. I warmed up what little bit I had strained and started again with warm water. Much better! The almonds by themselves usually have a nice cream top (not sure what it’s called) but with the coconut there is actually the fat that solidifies in the fridge. I like the almond cream but not so much the coconut oil. I attempted to separate the coconut oil from the rest after it was cold; somewhat successfully.

Also, I’ve had some good success with gluten free sourdough starter and bread. I just need to let it rise more before baking. I’m so impatient! And I think I need to cook it longer than the recipe states. It has been too moist when ‘done’. It isn’t as light as I expect it to be, according to the recipe. The last time I fed my starter, I used garbanzo bean flour. It loved it! It overflowed the jar even though it had a good 4 inches to the top.

Otherwise in the day- I was expecting a package from Amazon for this Kindle Fire Keyboard and this glass pitcher. Neither showed up It’s going through Prestige shipping (never heard of them!). It shows that they got the paperwork for the shipment but no actual shipment yesterday. Oh boy.

Sourdough rising…

Sourdough baked…it fell just a bit.

Tuesday- (5/14) started my day with more sourdough bread. I had to clean up the overflow from Monday’s feeding of the starter before bed. I didn’t/don’t want to waste it so I went ahead and made up a quick dough to be baked today. It rose nicely. The flour I used was 2 cups rye, 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose (which has rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, garbanzo and fava bean flour…anything else?), and 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill garbanzo bean flour. It should be ready to bake around 2:30 pm…If I can just wait that long. It’s already risen an inch in 2 hours. Edited: it turned out great! I baked it after only 3 hours. It reminds me of very moist homemade whole wheat bread- without the wheat!

Wednesday- (5/15) Last night I made enchiladas for dinner. DH has a long, hard week at work and I wanted to make him some good food to come home to. Chicken enchiladas are one of his favorite meals. They smelled so good that I decided I’d suffer if need be to have two of them. Delicious, simply delicious. But I did indeed pay for eating them. Woke with terrible headache and just feeling not well. After feeding the cat, I laid on the couch for another 4 hours; oblivious to all that was around me. Finally, around 10ish, I was human again. The weather must have sympathized with me because it rained and stormed in the morning but was nice and sunny later.

And it was ‘sunny’ later also because I got my Kindle Fire HD keyboard (oh yes, and the glass pitcher ) that I was hoping for yesterday. I figured out ‘who’ Prestige shipping is/was. They are the same people who deliver a lot of our packages one day later than it says it is expected at Amazon lol. There is a mechanical pencil on the left of the keyboard, to give a bit of perspective to size.

I had to drive Fox to Young Marines and Lee and I were to go to prayer meeting but she wasn’t feeling well. We (Lee and I) stopped by the Chick-Fil-A near the armory Fox goes to for Young Marines so that she could get an application. Her first real application!? It just seems so… unreal. I helped her understand what’s what on the application and guided her through filling it out. Now comes the difficult part: turning it in.

Thursday- (5/16) Just a simple, somewhat lazy day. Kids worked on their ‘must finish’ list, then walked to the library. I worked on compiling a list of books and resources that have been used this year. It’s for the portfolio assessment that we’ll have done May 30th. I also plan on taking a printed copy of The Weekly Barden. What else to take? I’ve no idea! I’m not nervous, per se, but I guess I am a bit more than I think. I keep wondering should I take much, or not. I want the kids (and myself, I guess) to talk more about what we’ve done/learned, rather than have a lot of papers. And honestly, a lot of the kids’ work is digital, on the computer.

…And apparently, that’s as far as I made it with my weekly journal entry lol. Posting late but posting anyway!

Weekly Wrap-up with Some Photos & School Notes

I’m linking up with Hammock Tracks Homeschool Review, The Homeschool Mother’s Journal, Collage Friday @ Home Grown Learners, and Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers
***Disclaimer: This post does contain affiliate links. See Disclosure/Policies.***
Here is my attempt at the weekly wrap-up for us.

Sunday, we had church. There was a brunch in the morning and an ice cream social in the evening. Yeah, my stomach was not happy with me that night. There were also visitors to the church. We have a small size congregation but I think we increased that day by at least a 1/4. It was interesting for Sunday School, we discussed Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, but in terms of time. What day of the week did he die and what day did he rise? Easter is celebrated on a Sunday, what many Christians consider the Sabbath but… it’s not really. One lady, in a semi-whisper, said “who cares on what day he died and rose; we just know he did!” She may be right to a certain degree. But it makes me think how time and traditions are sometimes clouding God’s Word. Eh, moving on.

Monday, before lunch time, I hit the grocery stores. Spent way more than planned but had to get all that I did. Some months/weeks are just that way. It makes for a crunch the rest of the month but it’ll all work out. It’s also the day we usually go to Mentor; and we did. But it was a trip for naught. The family Lee babysits for were on their way to Florida. Miscommunication. We stopped by the Half Price Books store that’s just down the street from the family’s house. They have some neat stuff there! First edition books and rare books. I found a beautiful little journal that I was tempted to buy but decided against it. I buy entirely too much that I don’t need and don’t end up using. Waste of money and resources. For school I’d made the kids’ day very light so we had lots of time to do whatever we wanted. They played on their gizmos and gadgets, while I researched more ‘milks’ to make at home. I shared photos of some that I’ve made in my post on Wednesday. Oh yes, and I picked up the book The Anti-Inflammation Zone by Dr. Barry Sears, (from the library) on recommendation of my mother. I hope to write a review on my blog when I’m done.

Tuesday was an easy day, I think. In terms of school- all went as planned. Don’t really know all that happened. It was a good day? I’m guessing so since nothing comes to mind! This is possibly the day I tried to make yogurt and forgot an important ingredient. This might also be the day I started some sourdough starter. I think this is when I started really reading Vintage Remedies Guide to Bread. I picked it up for free awhile back on Amazon for the Kindle and didn’t even crack the book. I let my friend borrow it and that got me thinking about it again.

I’ve made starter before but usually just end up wasting it since it’s always been difficult for me to make sourdough bread. The book I mentioned by Vintage Remedies is very helpful in explaining how-to. I’m hoping I can get a good loaf or two from this and if it doesn’t work (this time) it’s less than 2 cups of flour so far.

Wednesday. Oh gee, another “I don’t know what happened” day lol. Oh, yes, I remember! I went to Whole Foods in Woodmere, and it took me 30 minutes. It’s 7.5 miles away. Yeeeeeahhhhh. Anyway, I got a free reusable bag since it was my first visit to the store (yay!) and I found out the store is awesome. (side note: just heard that they’ve given into the USDA’s GMO pooh) I went there looking for quinoa, which I found, but also picked up some canned wild caught pink salmon. Wasn’t a bad price. And for the yogurt mess up, I bought a small container of plain Greek yogurt. Later the kids and I went to evening church. They had Teen Discipleship and I attended prayer meeting. We had a good sized group. This is also a day that the kids’ school is a bit lighter because usually Fox has Young Marines and has to get ready for that by 4:30pm. The day was very nice, too, so I turned my garden. It has quite a bit to go for breaking down the grass and leaves we put on it back in October. It has a lot of good worms though. We also put some scraps into the tumbling composter that my dh gave me for my early b-day present. I forgot to take a photo of the composter itself, but you can see the inside somewhat in the last two pictures.

Thursday and Friday: Let’s just say the last two days have been just fine. I can’t remember the details. I know I cleaned my bathroom yesterday Oh yes, and The Weekly Barden went live this afternoon.

One puzzle finished…and flung around the room…? Ahem. He was showing that when it was all put together you could pick it up. Well, about then, it started to come apart and he had to be quick.

On to the next one! This is Lee’s puzzle. I’m not entirely sure when she got it but it’d never been opened. She started it Thursday night. The photos aren’t great because fortunately our living room gets wonderful sunlight during the day.

My latest milk: flax and oat. It’s not bad. More flavorful than rice milk but not as strong as almond. I made tuna turnovers for lunch today using the milk in the biscuit recipe. Lee said they were ‘creamier’ than usual. Interesting

I think that is about all I got for our week. We don’t have any plans for the weekend other than church on Sunday. I know I need to get the kids’ school schedules done like I did this past week. Made it much more pleasant than doing it day-by-day. Oh, another school note: I figured out the books that I’d like to have completed by the end of the school year. I shared these with the kids so that they’d have some motivation by knowing that when those are done, ‘school’ is done (as long as we’ve met our days required). I’ll go ahead and share those now:

Lee (some will be finished sooner than the others and then she can focus on the others more), Y9, 10th grade:

• The Christian Life by Sinclair (currently: chapter 11 of 18)
• Washington the Indispensible Man by Flexner (currently: chapter 22 of 52)- probably have to be read during the summer; fortunately, she likes the book
• Autobiography of Abraham Lincoln by himself (currently: 66%)
• Are You Liberal, Conservative, Confused? by Maybury (currently: chapter 22 of 26)
• War of the Worldviews by DeMar (currently: chapter 3 of 8)
• The School for Scandal play by Richard Sheridan (currently: 26%)
• The Vicar of Wakefield by Goldsmith (currently: 21%)
• Pride and Prejudice by Austen (currently: 43%)
• Love is a Fallacy by Max Shulman (not started but very short)
• First Form Latin (Memoria Press) (currently: last unit)
• Advanced Algebra (Life of Fred) (currently: Lesson 55 of 101)- may have to work on during the summer
• A History of the American People by Johnson (to page 269) (currently: page 192)
• Tale of a Tub by Swift (currently: 84%)
• Traditional English Sentence Style (Einarrson) (currently: page 78 of 86)
• Ohio Study final paper, presentation and ‘speech’

Fox (same as Lee; some will be finished soon, others will take longer) Y7Lite, 8th grade:

• Mere Christianity by Lewis (currently: 108 of 190)- may have to continue into the summer
• The Birth of Britain by Churchill (currently chapter 18 of 30)
• In Freedom’s Cause by Henty (currently: chapter 14 of 27)
• Ivanhoe by Scott (currently: chapter 22, 43%)
• (Personal Recollections of) Joan of Arc by Twain (finished)
• The Brendan Voyage by Severin (finished)
• English Literature for Boys and Girls by Marshall (to chapter 31) (currently: chapter 20)
• The Once and Future King by White (currently: page 293 of 639)- can be a summer read; he likes it.
• First Form Latin (Memoria Press) (currently last unit)
• The Little Duke by Yonge (currently: 86%)
• In the Days of William the Conqueror by Tappan (currently: 74%)
• Ohio Study final paper, presentation and ‘speech’

Both are to finish the astronomy schedule we have but there isn’t a particular book (well, there are three books; one we will finish completely; the other two only parts of). When I write it down like that, it seems a lot but when I think of what they've done thus far, I know it’s not really and they can do it.

One more photo: this squirrel has been laying on that branch since I started this post. It’s taken me quite awhile to put it together. I don’t know if he’s sunbathing or what. Sorry for the poor quality; we still have plastic over our windows. It’s not quite warm enough for me!

I got up for a moment for something and when I came back, my squirrel buddy was gone.

Goals for School- Kids Input

I had thought I’d share the exam results from last week but decided not to. Perhaps it would be encouraging to some who are using AO and wondering how it would look –what kind of answers were given –but I guess you could say I’m just not encouraged myself by the results.

This week of ‘school’ hasn’t been very successful because every. single. day we have had something going on, and late. I’m worn out and it’s only Wednesday! We had a very busy week last week as well and it’s catching me up.

Yesterday the kids and I sat down and talked about their educational goals –in terms of this particular school year and the subject areas. I emphasized that it is important for them to take their education seriously and personally. This is the foundation of what ever they do with the rest of their lives. I can only take it so far, the rest will be up to them. If they don’t put forth the effort now, it won’t serve them later.

For all the subject areas, we only talked about what needed to have something different or more emphasis. If it’s not mentioned, such as a book or aspect of the subject, doesn’t mean it’s been kicked out (don’t they wish ).

We started with Math –no idea why, it was what was mentioned first by them, not me. Math is a difficult subject for us sometimes and other times it is not. We are at a ‘difficult’ time right now. I’m more interested in them understanding the concepts and remembering how to do the work rather than marking off a book or program.
Lee: Finish Advanced Algebra (Life of Fred); by the year’s end (May?).
Fox: Pearson Algebra 1- take it day by day; see how far we get by end of year (we have a subscription until July 2013).

Bible:
Lee: She wants to be able to recall more of what she reads and has decided to follow a reading schedule (2 years to read the Bible). And she will do written narrations as opposed to verbal; her choice so she can look back on them.
She also wants to be able to recall the verses she’s memorized for longer so we will start a verse memory box (?). –Which reminds me, I have to look that up.
Fox: He wants to use the Chronological Bible in a Year schedule that I use. I think it will definitely require more self-discipline from him since he will read more than one chapter a day –even the weekend –and a narration is still required.
As for verses, he has made the observation that although he does not like to, he needs to actually write the entire verse every day in order to be able to memorize them. Especially for longer passages.

Foreign Language:
Lee: Latin: finish First Form Latin and start Second Form Latin. Using the DVD more (rather, in lieu of my ‘teaching’) is something we think will help with learning this language.
Greek: She might need to go back to the previous level to review what she should know but doesn’t. It is a struggle to move forward in her current level without that base knowledge.
American Sign Language: She is interested in the ‘grammar’ of signing. Also would like to search out ‘outside’ sources for more learning (other homeschoolers, groups of sign language users, etc.).
Fox: Latin: Catch up and finish First Form Latin. I would like for him to be a the same point as Lee so we can start Second Form Latin at the same time. Same thoughts about using the DVD.
German: He uses Transparent Language from our public library and is currently in Unit 3 (towards the end?) and would like to get through Unit 5.

Home Ec:
Lee: Learn to make a basic skirt, patch pants and make cloth napkins.
Fox: Learn to cook 3 new things on his own.

Ohio Study:
Both are going to make a Power Point presentation and write a paper. Lee chose to focus on artists and authors from or currently in Ohio. Fox chose to focus on myths and legends. They will be required to have a list of books, websites, articles, etc., that they will use for references for me to ‘approve’ of, I suppose is the way to say it. Also, rough drafts and final project. Should be interesting

English:
This is anything Language Arts related.
Both: Outlining. Fox says he was taught how in public school. I didn’t know that and wouldn’t know it lol. Lee may have been…? Anyway, I want to make sure they can since I personally cannot do it very well. I’m going to use Writer’s, Inc. and a few websites.
Lee: She wants more editing work. I want her to work on essays. She has books for editing –The Elements of Editing: A Modern Guide for Editors and Journalists by Arthur Plotnik, The Copyeditor’s Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications by Amy Einsohn and Editor in Chief B1 from The Critical Thinking Co. (grades 6-8 so a little below her grade but it is full of exercises). I plan to implement POWA for the writing. I actually got it when they had it free on Amazon and put it on my Fire.
Fox: Spelling using Spelling City and dictation of passages from his books.

History/Geography:
Lee: More geography via Seterra. I also want her to make a route in Google Earth based on The Royal Road to Romance but I don’t know yet how to do that. For history, there are few (couple?) videos to watch for more background on the time period she is studying.
Fox: More map work and biographies. Map work was his choice; biographies was mine. When he reads through The Birth of Britain he often doesn’t know who some of the people are so a few quick biographies will help with that.

Art/Music:
Lee: Wants to be able to apply the techniques she’s learned from Lee Hammond books, start to finish without using images from the book. For her trumpet, she would like to work on producing clear notes and sounds and to work through the book she has.
Fox: Wants to do rendition of the art study we do. He wants to learn to play the piano which means we need to find someone who will/can teach him. We do not have a piano either so that might be a bit difficult.

Overall I think out goals session went well. Fox was a little stubborn at the start but took more responsibility as we went on. Something that I want to focus on as well is Career Choice. Lee knows what she wants to do; she has known for a few years now. Fox is ‘sure’ he will be in the military but I keep telling him even in the military he needs to have some focus of a job. It’s not PT all the time and drills.

Day #3 of Exam Week for Term 1

Final day of the exam week for term 1. I think both the kids are glad. They got going at 9 am and finished before noon. I did find that Fox did not answer a few of his questions so after lunch he must do so. Lee still has to play piece on her trumpet.

Some feedback for the exams:

Fox:
Less questions. More non-writing ‘fun’ stuff. Like the map. Consult me before making questions to ensure I can answer them.

My reply:
Thank you. Please recall the instructions do say to use a Word document. (he said verbally that his hand hurt from writing so much) Map work, check! How about at intervals during the term you come up with questions while doing your studies? (we talked about browsing the selected reading, formulating questions that he was interested in answering and then reading the passage)

Lee:
I’d like the math questions to be a little harder perhaps. I think it’d be nice if you referenced the books (if applicable) to which the questions are from: e.g.- “Name four doctrines…” (Christian Life); “What do you know of Love’s Lords in Waiting?” (Ourselves); etc.
For recitation, list verses I’ve done- Ephesians 6:10-18, etc.
There were a few questions on things I don’t think I’ve done/read, but not too many
I think it was pretty good.

My reply:
Agreed with the math. These questions were pre-written by the AO “people”; I just didn’t take time to change them. Definitely will next time. (I will point out that she is ‘in between’ maths right now; no specific program)
As for book titles, I’ll think about it.

Day #2 of Exam Week for Term 1

My dh had to get up an hour earlier for work so I slept in until 7:50 am. Yep, that’s how that works. Wake me at the right time or don’t expect me to be up until…well, when I wake up. Or something like that.

It’s two hours later now –I’ve had a couple cups of coffee and the kids have had their breakfast of honey nut o’s. Fox has done work on a few of his questions. Lee however is stalling this morning for some reason. She woke up before Fox and I thought she would get going sooner. Is it Thursday? Because that is her usual ‘slack’ day. Nope, it’s Tuesday. Although, if today is #2 of a 3-day week, then it would be a ‘Thursday’. Huh, imagine that!

Anyway. That is where we are at the moment. More to come later.

Finally both have worked on their exams. I’m going to be honest here- but I’ll try to keep it nice. I’m extremely frustrated with the lack of independence (?) in both of my kids. When I wrote the questions for the exam- barring the math- I wrote them with the purpose of wanting them to tell me what’s in their head. They both seem to think there is something particular, some exact detail or scene, that I am looking for and if they can’t figure it out, they panic. And based on just the few math problems for at least one kid, we are going to have to go b.a.c.k. in math. None of the processes or formulas could be recalled- I did try to give hints and a little help (is that bad?) but in the end I’m thinking that is just adding to the dependence.

And one more thing- the lack of details –not from the accounts they are relaying but the details in the sentences themselves –is driving me absolutely batty! I have an 8th and 10th grader but get an answer that someone could guess a 4th grader (or lower) wrote. The sentence(s) are such as: If you looked in it you would die. If you looked in what? Why? What are the surrounding circumstances? Of course I do know that written ‘narrations’ are harder than oral narrations- these exams are primarily written narrations. I need to look at the answers as areas where we need to work on not so much as failings. It’s not as easy to grade as a multiple choice test that’s for sure!

I would love to blame this on the public schools but I don’t think that’d really be accurate. Awhile ago, reading Charlotte Mason’s volume 3, about Masterly Inactivity, she talks about the parent who fairly over-explains things. I have a tendency to do that. A lot actually. I think I’ve gotten better over the last year but the ‘damage’ may well have been done!

Anyway, it is 12:30 pm now and Lee is working on her chores. Fox finished his exam portion for the day, choosing to take turns doing chores and answering questions like yesterday.

I was on the AO forums earlier and the question of grading the exams came up. There is talk of creating a rubric specific to the exams. I’m excited to hear that. I’ve really never been good with rubrics, though.

Day #1 of Exam week for Term 1

Just to share, or chronicle or for whatever reason, here’s how our first day of exam week is going. This is for Term 1 of Y9 and Y7Lite using Ambleside Online’s free curriculum. They’ve recently (within the last day or two!) gotten exams put together for the specific curriculum. Before there were general exam questions and suggestions for us to create our own. I have made a couple of our own and don’t think they were too bad. I’m very grateful for the ones put together by AO.

So I woke up at 6:30 am and fed the cat. Very important. Then I made sure that the exams were together and put on the kids’ desks. I made scones for the kids (and myself of course) with chocolate chunks. And coffee –chocolate raspberry…for whoever wanted some.

I woke the kids about 7:30 am. It took awhile for them to actually get up. Breakfast was consumed by 8:15 am. They then focused on their Pokeman obsession. Bleh. Looking at books and lists they’ve made.

I took a shower about 8:45 am and school started at 9-ish am. The exams cover 3 pages (2 full, 1 is 1/2 or less) with 15 subject areas. Fox, Y7Lite, wanted to do a page a day, since our ‘week’ is only 3 days due to Thanksgiving on Thursday. He chose to start with the last page that has all of 4 things on it. Not going to fly. He was made to choose more to work on. He chose to do his US blank map next, followed by some math. Lee, Y9, has done 5 subjects today and chose to break it up equally for the three day ‘week’.

Both have some things that they have to turn in, and I’ve set aside a two-pocket folder for that.

In between questions, Fox did some chores. Lee chose to complete her work for the day and then do the chores.

I looked over all the questions (and even came up with some of my own) before giving them the exams so I know that they know something about what I’m asking. It’s quite…interesting what those ‘somethings’ are. Neither are doing very well with Latin –both will have to refer to their Latin textbooks. Fox isn’t recalling the process for three of the math questions.

It’s often at times like this that I wonder if we’ve (rather *I*) not done enough during our school day. There are days that we skimp or simply let it all slide but when we do school (you know, the ‘right’ way lol) it goes quite well and I feel much is being learned.

I was quite impressed with both of their US maps –much more complete and accurate than last year (at the end of May of this year). Also, their writing has much improved. It is nice to read their memories of what they’ve learned. And their vocabulary has definitely been expanded –the wording of some of Fox’s answers just, well, I’ll just say they make me smile. I might be sharing their answers next week. I’ll have to get permission first from them.

It’s 12:30 pm and exams are done for the day. I’ve made lunch and chores have been done. Now the kids can have ‘free’ time (aka: screen time) before we head out for Lee’s babysitting job.

Exam Term 1, Y9

This exam is almost exactly what can be found at AO’s free curriculum website but I edited it some to better fit our circumstances. I added questions to Bible, about The Roar on the Other Side, English Grammar we are using Traditional English Sentence Style so questions reflect that, a question pertaining to Peter the Great, few different places for Geography and a blank map to fill-in. I omitted writing/penmanship and dictation, a thing or two from Literature, and since we aren’t as far in Ourselves, changed that question. The science questions I just have no idea about so they are general. I also changed the Foreign Language and decided to simply go with work that she’s doing in that particular language. The math I left as is but I will definitely need to change that next time, although I do like that they are more applicable questions than like most math tests.

Bible/Devotional
1. Name four doctrines of the Christian faith, and explain two in detail.
2. Tell what you know about the circumstances of Samson’s birth.
3. Describe the theft of the ark and what resulted.
4. Relate one of Paul’s letters to the Corinthians or the beginning of his letter to the Galatians.
Composition/Literature
1. Write a letter home as if you were Gulliver, describing Lilliput.
2. Describe the part you found most humorous in Isaac Bickerstaff, Coverley, or Tale of a Tub.
3. What was your favorite Stepping Stone from The Roar on the Other Side? Describe it and why did you enjoy it?
English Grammar
1. What is a prepositional phrase? Give an example in a sentence; underline the prepositional phrase.
2. Name other ‘phrases’ and give examples. Or, in the sentence below show the clauses by double underlining the conjunction.
•    I proceed to a third rule for the unity of sentences; this is to keep clear of all parentheses in the middle of them.
3. Parse (Question? Haven’t quite figured out the wording to this one…maybe I’ll just leave it) 
•    Among the many people making up the great household there was a little girl of seven named Esther Johnson. She was a delicate little girl with large eyes and black hair. She and Swift soon grew to be friends, and he spent his happiest hours teaching her to read and write. It is pleasant to think of the gloomy, untrained genius throwing off his gloom and bending all his talents to the task of teaching and amusing this little delicate child of seven.
History
1. Give an account of General James Olgethorpe or Cotton Mather.
2. Tell what you know about the leading up to/beginning of the Salem Witch Trials.
3. What do you know about Peter the Great or Catherine the Great?
4. Give a sketch of George Washington.
5. What do you know about The Great Awakening?
6. Name four of Benjamin Franklin's ideas and inventions. Describe two of them.
Geography
1. Describe the Matterhorn. Point out its location on a map.
2. Describe a trip to the pyramids or the Taj Mahal.
3. What do you know about Gibraltar, the "Pillar of Hercules"? Locate it on a map.
4. Fill in the blank map of the United States.
Science and Nutrition
1. Write notes, with drawings, on the studies you have made this term (science).
2. What do you know of the brain and its functions? (nutrition)
Citizenship/Government (Plutarch)
1. Explain how Pericles handled criticism and complaints.
2. "And, spite of pride in erring reason's spite,/One truth is clear, whatever is, is right." Explain Pope's argument in your own words.
3. What do you know of Love’s Lords in Waiting? Choose at least four to talk more about.
4. Define four of the following: liberal, conservative, left, right, democrat, republican, moderate, socialist, libertarian, communist.
Arithmetic/Geometry
1. Demonstrate the distributive property: 9(2a + b + 4) = ____
2. Julie has a jar of beads. She used half of them to make a bracelet. Later she bought more, tripling the number of beads in the jar. Now there are 33 beads in the jar. How many beads did Julie start with?
3. A triangle has three angles labeled x, y, and z. The ratio of x to y is 1:13. The ratio of y to z is 13:1. What is the value of each of the angles, x, y, and z?
4. A store is advertising a 35 percent discount on an item they marked up 5 percent from the factory price of $350. The sales tax is 8.25 percent. What does the item cost?
5. A train leaves the station at 2:00 pm at 40 mph. Another train headed in the opposite direction leaves the same station at 4:00 pm at 60 mph. To the nearest mile, how far are the two trains from each other at 6:00 pm?
6. Solve for x: 68 = 4(2x + 3)
Foreign Language
1. Write the Latin prayer you chose.
2. (Latin) Do Quiz Lesson 30.
3. Sign at least 10 words.
4. (Greek) Complete page 29 & 30 in your workbook.   
Music
Play a short piece on your trumpet.
Picture Study
Describe a picture from this term's picture study.
Art
Turn in some of your best art work.
Recitation
Recite the Bible verses from this term.
Music Appreciation
Tell about your favorite piece of music from this term.
Singing
Sing “Victory in Jesus” or another hymn of your choice.
Turn in your commonplace book and all current events pages

Feedback:
What did you think of this Term 1 exam? What do you think would help you next time?

AO Exams! (Y7 Lite Term 1 is Ready)

We are b.e.h.i.n.d. in our school. The calendar and schedule say week 12 but really, it’s more like 10 1/2. Yesterday was the first day in weeks that we’ve finished all that was on the schedule. It’s okay though. It’s alright. That’s what I keep telling myself –and the kids. So this week, being week 12, is exam week. NOT! It was supposed to be but I didn’t make up the exams. They take me about a week to get put together and I’ve just not got it together enough to do that.

Well…AO –how do I love thee? Let me count the ways… At least one right now

Exams are on the AO site –with actual questions that coincide with the actual curriculum. They are more than mere suggestions or blank spaces –they’ve put the exams together (almost completely but still with the flexibility that I love in AO).

We are in Year 7 (Lite) and Year 9. Right now they’ve got the exam for Term 1, Year 7 Lite up at the site and what a great wonderful –I really can’t think of words to adequately express my happiness –find!

Right now there isn’t anything for Year 9 but I did hear through the forum that there will hopefully be something in a few days. Here’s a snippet of what it looks like right now:

I know for a lot of people, this is something small (or doesn’t even pertain to them) but oh, it just makes me so happy! Next week we have at least two days for school –haven’t decided if Wednesday will be a 1/2 day –and I’m thinking that as long as Year 9 Term 1 exams are up, we’ll have exam ‘week’ then.