7th Grade COMPLETED!

I can't believe it, but it is true! We are DONE with 7th grade! KM had one last field trip yesterday and now our "school year" is completed! We finished three weeks early. So we will be having a full 5 week break before summer session starts in July! We have had a fantastic year and I can't believe the amount that we have gotten accomplished. I am so very proud of the progress that KM has made! I can only hope that this next year will be just as excellent!

Check out some of the great photos from our trip -

As we will be on break, it may or may not be quiet around here! I will try to post here and there as the learning never really stops, but I am going to be focusing on getting my house in order and enjoying some much needed down time!

Viking Ship

Often KM will choose to pass on the art projects that go along with Story of the World, but every once in awhile a project will catch her eye and for some reason she will choose to do it! This was the case last week with the viking ship -

Genetics & DNA Study

Last Thursday we spent the WHOLE day working on the Thames & Kosmos Genetics & DNA kit that we had gotten a few months ago. We had planned on working on these projects over the next few weeks, but KM was so gungho that we did completed all the experiments and then some...

KM will be reading The Cartoon Guide to Genetics over our break and here are the links to all the resources we used -

• DNA Extraction
• Amazing Cells Supplemental Material
• Cloning Webquest
• University of Utah Print & Go Index
• BrainPop Cells
• BrainPop DNA - FREE
• BrainPop Complete Cellular Life & Genetics

Final Push...

I tend to schedule the last few weeks of a session a bit lighter than the rest so that we can have time to make things up that may have gotten pushed to the side earlier on. This time however, we are right on track and I think that I have managed to convince KM to push a little bit harder to get some extra weeks off! I printed out all the assignments for the remainder of the session and she couldn't believe how little there was. If you don't hear much in the next week or so, please no we are still here, but are just finishing up to have a nice LONG break at HOME this time!!!

Don't forget to enter the giveaway, it will be closing out tomorrow!!!

Ko's Journey - Math Curriculum Supplement

REVIEW & GIVEAWAY!!!

Yes, you read that write I have an incredible giveaway for one lucky winner! The product that is up for grabs is a one year license to a fantastic new online program called - Ko's Journey 5th -8th grade Math Improvement with Story Playing. - Instructions for giveaway at the end of the review...

Ko’s Journey covers the core concepts in middle-school math, comprising about 20% of a comprehensive curriculum. By going deep into a set of approximately 10 main areas of learning, students gain a rich, contextual understanding of essential concepts including number lines, fractions with non-common denominators, multiplication, division, rounding, percentage of numbers, applying scales, graphing comprehension, linear equations, Cartesian coordinate mapping, area of a circle, ratios, determining unknown variables, volume, complementary/supplementary angles, slope, addition/subtraction of decimals, multi-step problems and conversion of units of measure.

This program is fantastic! It is super simple to setup an account, which they have at many different levels including individual for $39 or Intervention Homeschool (up to 3 players) for $59. To me this is an extremely reasonable price for this very unique and engaging supplement to your middle school math curriculum.

This program features -

• 15-hour curriculum of core middle school math embedded in rich story
• Easy on-line set-up and administration
• Automatically tracks student progress and assignments
• Aligned with NCTM standards
• Excellent preparation for state testing (includes pre and post tests)
• Interactive learning environment with peer teaching
• Creative tool aimed at addressing emotional resistance to math
• Empower students comprehension of fundamental concepts

Some of the reasons that KM says she has been enjoying are:

• "using math in a virtual real life simulation helps me to understand why it works"
• "the graphics are great!"
• "it is really easy to use"
• "it saves my progress and tracks my scores"
• "each new level brings some new challenge or puzzle to solve"

Some things that I have noticed - both good and bad -

• Pre-test and post-test features are great to really be able to tell if they have learned new concepts by using the product or if previously covered concepts have been reinforce.
• Entertaining storyline to help keeps the wanting to work with the program
• Set-up was super easy
• Tracking of grades and progress is done automatically so you can ask your student to work on it and will know how they did from your own log in screen.
• It is possible to change the student information so that if you have more than one child you could purchase the individual program and they could either work through it together or once one child has completed it - as it is only a 15 hour curriculum - another child could restart it, as you have access to the program for one full year
• When using it on different computers it takes a VERY long time to load. This is not a big deal when we are at home, but when we are out and about and she wants to play it on the laptop it can be a bit annoying

Here are some screen shots -

I am very excited about the direction of this program and am hopeful that we will see more things to come of this high quality!

Now for the giveaway! Imagine Education has been generous enough to offer one lucky reader a full year individual license for this incredible math game! All you have to do is post a comment and you will be entered! Please be sure to leave an email address or blog link for me to be able to connect you through.

Also if you have a blog, mention this giveaway, come back and submit a link to the mention you will have a second chance to win! This will be limited to two entries per email address or blog link.

All comments or posts must be submitted no later than 8pm EDT on Friday 5/21 - I will announce the winner on Monday May 24th!

Beginning Middle Ages

We are getting into the Middle Ages in Volume 2 of Story of the World. I have heard a lot of people feel like they can't use this program with middle schoolers, but I think with a little tweaking and creativity it is totally possible! We are using the Activity Guide that goes along with it, as well as the student pages and quizzes, but I am beefing it up with lots of hands-on activities, more advanced work and lots of living books and historical fiction from the period.

We do more advanced map work simply by using blank maps printed from Owl & Mouse Educational Software and then giving her the same directions as in the activity pages. This way she has to know where things are instead of just circling the pre-printed words. I also have her show me different routes and such on the larger blank world wall map - that we printed from the same site - so that I know that she is aware of the perspective of location.

I also supplement using a lot of videos and classroom resources from sites like the History Channel Study Guides. Most of the videos can be found through your local libraries, ordered online and some are even available streaming online.

We tend to skip most of the "coloring pages", but every once in a while we will come across something that catches her eye. Like this illumination pattern that demonstrates the monks incredible labors to reproduce books -

Straight Forward Math - WHAT A BRILLIANT CONCEPT!

KM started with the straight forward math series just a few weeks ago and though she has never complained about math - besides the repetition that often occurs - she can't say enough about how fantastic this program is!

It is literally Straight Forward and to the point! It gives short descriptions of theories or principles that it wants to cover, then it gives 1 or 2 well broken down examples and 10-15 practice problems. That's it, no long drawn out situations or concepts that confuse the kids just cut and dry here is the facts and here is how it works. Concise, uncluttered step-by-step progression of math concepts.

This is from their FAQ section and really sums it up well -

	What is unique about your math offerings?
	They tend to be no-nonsense, straightforward presentations. No frills, no cute pictures, no minimal text or minimal practice on a page. These are the serious books which teach to mastery. Perfect for on-level students, homeschoolers, older learners needing to refresh skills, or progressive self-learners.
	How is the Straight Forward Math Series orgainzed?
	The simple, computational facts of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division are highly structured drill books. Mastery of these basic facts leads to the higher level books of pre-algebra and pre-geometry, on through algebra, geometry, trigonometry, precalculus, and calculus. From pre-algebra up, concepts are presented and explained, modeled by example, and practiced in focused exercises. Periodic review and testing help to measure attained and retained skills.

You can check out samples of some of the books HERE

The only area for the Algebra series that I do think is lacking is with word problems, so we will be supplementing with Scholastic Word Problems Grade 4-8. This should keep her problem solving skills in check.

End of Winter Session - Time for a Break

So we have completed another session and are really in need of a break! Things have went really well during these transition times, but it has been QUITE A WHILE since we have taken a real break from things. But since we have a few weeks off we have decided to head down to visit my dad in sunny Florida!

So in closing our session I thought I would mention one method that we use that can be a bit of a sore spot for some homeschoolers. I know some homeschoolers are against grading for various reasons, but I think for KM it gives her some sort of grounding as to where she is and where she needs improvements. I am certain it is also largely a carryover from being in PS. I know other homeschoolers who don't do grades because they work through things until they get an A, but KM gets graded on a percentage based system based on the work that she has done. I do give her a second chance on things at times, like if she is completed her math exercises and she gets on wrong, I will have her try it again and then if she gets it correct she gets 1/2 credit for it.

Methods of homeschooling are totally personal choices, but IMHO if grades aren't introduced at some point and the kids are going to be attending colleges or any higher education facilities where they will be graded, then it could be detrimental to them to not have been intergrated into in some way. There are many schools of thought on grading and point systems and the such, so to each his own!

I brought this up though as it is the first session that KM earned all As and she was SO proud of herself. She recognized the progress that she had made from last session in some areas, bringing her grades up even a few points here and there. I think it gives her a sense of accomplishment as well.

As for our break we will be heading out to visit my dad next week, so it might be a bit quietier until we get back. - Watch for some fun pics though!

Spring Session Choices -

KM has finished a lot of her programs VERY quickly this year. So we will be beginning some new things for the Spring session.

Math -

• Middle School Advantage Math - for review
  

Science -

• Chemistry of Matter ~ we tend to stay away from "textbooks" but I came across this series on Paperback Swap and I really like the setup of it. Of course we will be supplementing with other resources to make it come alive, but this text is a great outline.
  
• Brain Pop
  
• Adaptive Curriculum
• Dynamic Earth ~ we will be using the above things when we get to this portion as well.
  

Writing - the bain of my homeschooling mission!

• Writing Survival Skills for Middle Schoolers
• Compostition and Creative Writing for Middle Schoolers
  
• Painless Writing
• Yoga for the Brain
• Unjournaling
• Building Writing Skills
• Brain Pop
  

History -

• Middle Ages - STOW - all parts
  
• Middle Ages Gifted Learning Series
• Medieval Times Thematic Unit
• Knights & Castles Hands-On Activities
• Professor Noggins Medieval Times Card Game
  
• AND MUCH MORE TO COME!
  

Geography -

• Geography of the US - Teaching of the Five Themes
• Professor Noggins Geography of the US Card Game

I have updated the links in the side bar so you can always check what we are working on now at the top of the screen to the right. If you have any useful links to share PLEASE do!

Winter Session - Coming to a Close

We are finishing up our winter session over the next week and a half, so I am looking towards the spring session to get it in order before we head off to Florida for a well earned and much NEEDED vacation.

We have been going pretty hard core for the last 2 years since we started homeschooling. I can't believe how much she has gotten done and after looking at some of the state and national framework outlines she is a good bit ahead of schedule at this point. We also have A LOT of things going on with our local group over the next few months that will be taking up most of the Mondays and Fridays with some great extra trips and events!

So for the spring we are going to be doing a lighter approach to things. We are sticking with our new schedule, but of course we are tweaking it just a bit!!!


We will be doing this great 3 day a week schedule. KM will be working on her Math daily, but otherwise we are sticking with the one a day core subject schedule. This has made such a HUGE difference in the amount of work that we can get done and the depth of information that we can get covered in one day. With her new sleeping schedule on top of this, we have been doing more electives in the evenings and she is really able to focus and enjoy what she is learning.

For the Spring session we will be moving on to some different resources and I will be sure to post those over the next week as I finish collecting them.

Inventions & Inventors Unit Study

In History we just finished up Story of the World Volume One and decided to take a break from the series and do a 5 Week Unit Study on Inventions & Inventors. We will be using multiple sources including -

• Inventions! Inventions!
• Usborne Book of Inventors - From DaVinci to Biro
• Insiders Inventions
• The Great Inventors Lapbook
• Thomas Alva Edison Project Pack
• Design Squad
• The Twenty-One Balloons Literature Study

If you know of any interesting resources - PLEASE don't hesitate to share!

Meet the Masters - Hokusai

This week we covered the life and work of Katsushika Hokusai. KM was very intrigued by the simplicity of this artists' works. Our favorite was The Great Wave -

She was also very intrigued by the stamps and created her own using the symbols for hearts and clouds - when combined would be translated to her heart is on a cloud, such an appropriate symbol for her -

We then made the Tempera Ink and tried out the methods that were outlined to make houses and bamboo trees.

KM is very excited to try some more of these methods on a larger scale this weekend - I will let you know how they turn out!

Ancient Civilizations - DONE!

We have finally completed the Giant Lapbook that we began last spring when we started studying the ancient civilizations! We have a had a LOT of fun completed this, but we are also BOTH rather glad that it is over! All graphics and cuts that were used were from the History Pockets series created by Evan-Moor. While we did not do every part from the books we did do a TON of them! KM is very proud of what she has produced!

We will be taking a break from our History Time Line for a little bit to do a 5 week unit study on Inventors! I will keep you posted and be sure to share links for any useful sites!

Meet the Masters - O'Keefe

We completed the unit on one of my favorite artists - Georgia O'Keefe this week. The image above is KM's favorite, which is entitled Red Canna and was painted in 1923.

We had a lot of fun trying out her techniques of shading, scaling and watercolors. Here are some examples of the works we did -

KM was a bit creeped out by the fact Georgia collected bones from the desert, but once we got past that fact, she seemed to really enjoy this unit!

The dust is starting to settle...

...and things are starting to feel like they are getting a bit back to normal around here...or as close to normal as it ever is around here!

We are starting out on a new leg of our adventure and some things have changed a bit ~ mostly for the better.

The biggest change is that I am no longer watching the Littles on a regular basis. They are doing wonderfully on their new adventure and I can feel more like an aunt again! KM misses them, but is really enjoying some of the perks of this change.

One of those perks being a much needed change in sleep schedules - KM had been getting a bit spacey and with all the changes going on with her physically at this age, I thought I would check in with her doctor to see what he thought. His first suggestion was to make sure that she was eating, drinking and sleeping enough! Most kids don't get the benefit of being homeschooled and not HAVING to get up at the crack of dawn, so his first suggestion was to go a few weeks letting her wake up on her own schedule. This at first FRIGHTENED me IMMENSELY - I thought for sure she would sleep til 2 in the afternoon and want to stay up til 3 in the morning, but of course her Dr quickly added, that this should not change her bedtime! She should still try to get to sleep at a reasonable hour and then her body should naturally begin to set its own rhythms. Of course I also began researching on my own as well and found a number of articles that went into great detail to explain the differences in the circadian rhythms of teenagers. - Here is one - and another - and one more!

This really made me think - "Okay yet another INCREDIBLE benefit of homeschooling!" When KM first began homeschooling we had to teach her how to acknowledge the needs of her body that she had suppressed for so long at PS. Simple things like drinking when she is thirsty, eating when she is hungry, etc. rather than waiting for the teacher to say it is time to do those things and you better do them or you may not get a chance to do them again for HOURS!

For the first week there were a LOT of late mornings, but she did seem much more awake and refreshed in the afternoons and evenings, with far fewer "duh" moments - by this I mean, "what did I walk into the kitchen for? oh yeah I need to eat!" sort of thing - I also started to see the natural switch and she is now sleeping wonderfully and awaking refreshed and ready to start at a reasonable time. With this extra time in the morning, I can get more of MY things done like chores and exercise and such, before she even gets up! It also gives her more time in the evening to hang out with CJ and I without feeling so exhausted.

Another benefit is that since we don't have the Littles ~ and all that must be brought along with tiny children ~ to haul around with us, it is so much easier to just up and go whenever the mood hits us! We can go for a snow hike today because it is sooooo pretty out and the weather is just right! We can just pop out to a matinee movie because we put the lessons off until tomorrow. We can scrap the history book for the afternoon and get the grocery shopping done so that we can have friends over in the evening. It is just so freeing! It has felt like we were missing this true freedom aspect of home learning because we were always trying to get the hard core "WORK" done on the days that we didn't have the girls so that when we had them we could play, do art and have fun little kid time. However now we get to have fun "tween" time!

Please don't get me wrong I LOVE my nieces with all my heart and would do anything for them, but it was just time for our paths to split for a while! I will however let everyone know how they are enjoying their new journey.

AS ALWAYS we are also tweaking our curriculum a bit, but we haven't worked the kinks out quite yet so I will have to let you know about that in another post! Anyway, thanks so much for hanging in there while it was quiet and all the great emails of encouragement and concern! My readers are so WONDERFUL!

Meet the Masters - Homer

Homer did not inspire KM very much at all. She did complete the worksheets, but just really was not feeling the shading project that was assigned for this artist - she says she NEEDS color!

I don't blame her! So she will be passing on this one, though we may try our hand at block printing - another technique that they described in the unit. Hopefully the next unit will go over a bit better!

Meet the Masters - Monet

KM's favorite Monet just happens to be the one that she has unknowingly been staring at a print of since she was quite little - as it hangs in my bedroom! I have always loved Monet's work, the fluidity of it all even though it really is nothing but spots. Here is KM's interpretation of his style -

Winter Session 7th Grade Curriculum Picks

As we are drawing our fall session to a close over the next week, I figured it was time to look ahead and finalize the choices we have made for the upcoming Winter Session! Since we are always changing things around here, this is of course a rough guess of what we will be doing. Most of our picks for the fall session worked out rather well, but there are some areas that we needed to tweak a bit. Here is our "intended" outline -

ELA -
We have swapped out our ELA system SEVERAL times in the past two years, but I do think that we have finally made a bit of progress in this area. KM worked through Levels 3 & 4 of Writing Strands rather quickly and decided to work through a few workbooks for latter half of this past session and the next.

• She has been working through 5-Minute Daily Practice Grammar, she tends to do all 5 lessons for the week at once on Monday, but she is getting them all correct, so I guess I can't really complain can I.
• Quick Practice Writing Skills is a bit more of a challenge for her - well it varies day to day. There are some things that she just needs a slight reminder on and others that have never been covered, so when we come to an area that needs to be covered completely we stop and cover it. It seems to be working and she is far less weary of asking for help.
• For writing itself we have gone back to the 3 minute non-stop writing and are using 350 Fabulous Writing Prompts. Some of the prompts are not so fabulous in my opinion, but we just skip those ones and take those days to go back over and review or edit her previous days writings.
• We will also begin working through the Grammar and then Writing on BrainPop.
• For literature we will be using Teacher Created Resources for Tuck Everlasting and The Island of the Blue Dolphin. As well as a Scholastic Book Guide for Around the World in Eighty Days which will coincide with our Geography. KM of course will also be continuing her free time reading - not that I have to worry about that.

Math -

• We will be finishing up The Complete Book of Algebra and Geometry this next session so that she can feel confident when she goes back to the Teaching Textbook for Algebra in the Spring.
• I also thought that it would be fun and interesting to take a look at Women Mathematicians during this session. This book features 15 women and we will spread them out covering one or two a week for the 10 week session.
  

Science -

• We have decided to put off Story of Science again as KM wanted to slow down a bit on her Physics so that she could really investigate each area more closely. So for the next session she will continue with her Physics Workshop Kit from Thames & Kosmos. She will also continue to supplement with Brain Pop.
• We are also going to revisit Chemistry. She had done a bit of it last year at our co-op, but I think we will try to dive a bit deeper this time around. I have gotten a light textbook - Chemistry of Matter - from Paperback Swap and she has agreed to try it. I have the Periodic Table from Basher Science Books - WHICH SHE LOVES! - as a stand by in case the text flops. I have a lot of projects and kitchen chemistry things to add in as well as BrainPop - AGAIN!
  

Social Sciences -

• For history we will be working on Ancient Rome and finishing up volume one of Story of the World. This will also conclude our Giant Lapbook! I will be sure to post all the info on that when it is complete! This will be our final history pocket as well. KM is very happy that we will also be continuing with the Horrible Histories series, which despite mixed reviews from others, has been going over very well with her! We started out with the books, then I purchased the animated series on Ebay and now have been using the resources for the CBBC series.
• We will be finishing up Rand McNally's Intermediate Geography as well as doing a cultural study of each area as it is covered in the book. I am using several other resources for this including Global Trek, Hands-On Heritage series and Art Projects from Around the World.
  

Health -
KM really likes the Learn to Be Healthy site - though some of the content is a bit below her level, most of it seems to be sinking in and she is moving right along through it. They do have a high school level, but I don't think she is ready for that set just yet. She is also working through the Health topics on Brain Pop.


Electives -

• Staying with our strong Science focus - per KM's request - she will be studying weather and meteorology this session. I will be listing our resources for this in a separate post.
• For her foreign language she is going to be doing Spanish. We were lucky enough to get a FANTASTIC deal on Tell Me More by Auralog through the Homeschool Buyers Co-op last summer and she is REALLY enjoying the program. The voice recognition software is great and the homeschool edition has worksheets that you can print off to supplement with. I will be supplementing with two workbooks - Let's Learn Spanish Grades 7 & 8. I also picked up to sticker books that I thought KM & SC could do together. This would help reinforce the basics for KM and would introduce SC to a bit of Spanish as well.
• Music Alive! is still a big hit and we will continue with this through the next session. We also will be taking a look at some opera pieces from Opera for Everyone and will be going to the Boston Lyric Opera's presentation of Barber of Seville.
  
• Piano Adventures is working incredibly! She will be starting on Level 2 and I am amazed and awestruck by how well she is playing with no outside instruction. There was talk of an interest in Flute, but I am not too sure how serious that was...
• She will be continuing with Drama at our co-op and they will be working on another Shakespearean play with music and dancing, but the title has not been disclosed yet!
• We will be continuing to work through the Meet The Masters for our art practical and theory section. She will also continue on her cross stitch work and may start some sewing as she interested in working on her costume for the play this spring.
  

Again I can't stress enough how much of a guideline this is and it is in NO WAY set in stone. I am very open to changing things that are not working and try to make sure that KM feels that she can be honest with me about how she feels something is going.

Meet the Masters - Picasso

This unit's artist was Picasso and KM's favorite of the pieces that were covered was the Blind Man's Meal.

She did a great job on her abstract musical instruments in chalk pastel...

Meet the Masters - Mondrian

I think this week KM truly enjoyed the work and story of Piet Mondrain. The lines and simplicity seemed to really inspire her. I think that the musical aspect was also rather intriguing to her!
Broadway Boogie Woogie was her favorite composition-

She spent a long time working on the planning sheets -


and was very particular in the lengths, sizes and placements of the pieces to ensure BALANCE!



Hers is the one on the left and mine is on the right.