U.S. History Lesson Plans - Screenshots

As I have gotten a number of emails after posting the resources that we have used for our U.S. History study from people asking about how we implemented it I figured the easy thing to do would be to take screenshots from the Homeschool Tracker program to show exactly what we are doing and here they are --

Just a few notes --- We have all reading and worksheets assignment due on Wed, but we tend to spread them out over the course of the week which allows for extra flexibility in our schedule. Some experiments, activities and movies are listed on Mondays so that KM and DN could work on or watch them together, as they are both following the same time line, but DN is not using the Story of US textbooks at all. We take a two week book break in March - starting this next week - but KM decided that she wanted to keep watching Liberty Kids during this time and so that is why there is two weeks of just the show listed. The "Book 2 Part 3" references are based on the break down used in the Assessment Book and has worked really well for us. I will be adding additional historical movies and documentaries on things like Lewis and Clark, Westward expansion etc. as they come along in the Story of US series. I had been trying to read ahead, but just have not had time to do that so I get a general idea and plug in something ahead, but for the most part we read a section together and then once I know what it is fully covering I will look up on netflix or in our library for corresponding and relevant materials. Hope that makes sense. I am more than happy to answer any questions anyone has, but it is really helpful to others if you leave them in the comments section!

Weekly Update - A HECTIC ONE!!!

I feel like we haven't been home much at all and since our internet is out and I am now at the library, I am going to keep this rather short so that I can go get some things done around the house!!!

DN was not with us this week, but reported having no issues with his lessons and that he likes this bi-weekly schedule. KM cruised through her work this week despite our busy in and out schedule. Highlight of the week had to be seeing the BLO final dress rehearsal of Barber of Seville! It was breathtaking and sidesplitting. KM always loves going into Boston for whatever reason, but this was an extra special occasion and we had a blast!

Here are some pics from the show -

Spring Session Plans ALL SET!

Got every little piece tidied up this afternoon and it is like a weight has lifted from my shoulders. As I have said a bazillion times before, although I am willing to switch things up it is SOOOOO nice to just have things set and ready to go.

After some discussion DN has decided to stay on an every other week schedule, which means he will be here for only two or three days every two weeks and will complete the majority of his work at home. I had to switch things up a bit so that this could work, but I think that it will go well as long as he stays on top of things. KM's schedule will basically remain the same as it has, but we are tweaking a few things here and there to hers as well.

Literature -
City of Embers - DN

Animal Farm - DN

Math - 

Manga Joku - Both

Science - 

Biology Coloring Workbook - KM

Janice VanCleave's Bio Labs - Both
Usborne Science Encyclopedia - DN

Health & Phys. Ed. - 
Bowling - KM

Tennis - Both

Ice Skating- KM
Basketball - DN

Heads Up: Real News About Drugs and Your Body - Both
Mind Over Matter - Both


Social Sciences – U.S. History & Geography - 
A History of US Books 1-2 - K

Liberty Kids - K

Story of the US DVD -  - K

U.S. History – Basic Not Boring - K

Hip Hop History - U.S. - D

Westward, Ha-Ha!, 1800-1850 (America's Funny But True History) - D

The Journal of Douglas Allen Deeds: The Donner Party Expedition (My Name is America) - D

The Revolution - D
Journey North - Both
25 Map Crosswords - Both

Elective - Financial Literacy -
Building Your Future - Financial Literacy Curriculum - Both


Foreign Languages - 
Japanese from Zero!  - K

Spanish Grammar Study Cards- D

Spanish Conversation Demystified - D
Spanish (The 100+ Series) - D

Current Events - 
CNN Student News - Both

World Science Day Practice Rescheduled to Open today!

they changed the date to open practice from 2/14 to 2/21- sorry to those who were as frustrated as we were trying to log on this week! 

Practice opens today for World Science day!!! Get on over and get ready for the big day!!! 

Journey North - Mystery Class starts tomorrow!!!

Not too late to register!!! 

Calendar 2012

Any time Find out How to Participate Sept. - Jan. In fall 2011, monthly "Countdown" Updates are posted to help you get ready for the global game of hide-and-seek. Jan. 30 - Apr. 9 On Mondays, record your local sunrise/sunset. Feb. 3 - Apr. 13 On Fridays, sunrise/sunset data are posted for the ten Mystery Sites. March 16 The "Longitude Clues" are posted. Mar. 23, 30, Apr. 6, 13 Interdisciplinary clues from the Mystery Sites are posted each week. The final week of clues will also provide Contest instructions. (Please Note--out of fairness to all participants, we will only post the clues on their scheduled dates.) April 27 Deadline for your Answers! By popular request, you have TWO weeks to prepare your answers. No lateContest entries will be accepted (out of fairness to all participants). No exceptions. May 4 Locations of the Mystery Sites revealed! May 11 Meet Your Mystery Friends! (Pictures, background information about the sites and greetings are posted.)

Questions? Frequently Asked Questions

Winter Session Outlined and Ready to Go

I have the majority of our lesson plans ready and outlined for the winter session - PPPHHEEWWWW!!!! As always there is room for change, but I need the guidelines so that I can feel comfortable and ready to go. With DN being here and learning with us now, it really is essential as he wants to know what is going on and when it is going to happen. As I have seen with many deschooling teens, he needs room to find his interests, but if left completely to his own devices I truly believe - and have seen - he would flounder. He has been so set in the path of following orders and completing tasks that are given, that he truly has no idea what to do when he is told he can do whatever he wants. I have heard it said time and time again that they will eventually snap out of it, but I don't always think that is true. I feel it is very dependent on the child and would rather ease him into it, allowing more and more choices as we go rather than to just pitch him into the pool and hope he figures out how to swim.

So anyway....they are covering almost all the same subjects, just at different levels. I have an outline of all our curriculum choices on this page along with our weekly schedule. These are just guidelines and we often swap things around, but again having a plan helps. We will continue to tweak and monitor, especially with DN as he progresses to ensure the proper fit in all areas.  In addition to the outlines and basic curriculum choices, I picked up a few extras to make things fun and fresh!   

Deschooling Update - Week 2

First week went superbly - as you might remember if you read either this post or this one - however we had a few bumps in the road this weekend that were far more dramatic because CJ was here. We did manage to get through them and after much discussion - and some near meltdowns - it was decided that the freedom all at once was far too much for DN to handle and he needs some help to learn how to take responsibility and make smart decisions. So although our weeks may seem a bit strange to some, due to the living arrangements here for DN his week with us is going to be running from mid-day Saturday through late afternoon/evening on Tuesdays. I will have his lessons spread out and scheduled for him - of course they are still tailored to him and I am doing a lot of mixing & matching to try to find those keys, but after the horrific weekend we do seem to be back in a good place.

Monday was lovely - weather and energy wise - we started the morning out with a trip to the library and some time on the tennis courts and then the kids got their lessons and chores done after lunch.

Today - Tuesday - went by very quickly, as they did a few lessons in the morning before we went to public skating. KM was so excited to get back on the ice. Last year I sat out because I was having issues with my sciatic nerve, however I have been feeling pretty good lately so I got myself some skates at our local thrift shop and after having them sharpened they only cost me $14!!! This was the first time that DN had ever gone ice skating and I have to say he did far better than I expected. He definitely needs to build up some stamina, muscle control and strength, but I think he will get there.

I will say it was seriously bizarre to be peeling off the layers when we came out of the rink and it was 68 degrees outside! Is it really only a day until December.

UPDATED ---- Readers or Test Takers ~ What really is the intent of this book? - Review of Motivating Teen and Preteen Readers by Jeffrey Pflaum

I would like to preface this review with the information that I love reading, my daughter loves reading, my stepson loves reading, however, in my previous life – prior to unplugging – I worked and volunteered in schools, mostly with kids who were wrongly diagnosed, grossly neglected by and often tortured through the system and more often than not HATED reading. I feel reading is the most important skill for a successful life. Reading opens minds to worlds without limits, breaks through any restrictions, and allows true freedom from everything, so when I was contacted to review Motivating Teen and Preteen Readersby Jeffrey Pflaum, I was really excited to delve into something that might help those who have no interest in reading.

The outline of the program that Pflaum puts forth is this -

• 4 books of questions on reading and reading life
  • students answer questions on a schedule spread out over a course of a year and then discuss answers
• brief teacher/parent raps and mini-discussions examine the experience of reading
• class or 1:1 discussions bring out reading-world encounters and ideas
• evaluations follow up each set

The list of goals that Pflaum lays out on pages 6-8 are somewhat inspiring and include -

• Motivate, reading by heightening understanding of its processes.
• Reveal the power of the written, spoken and imagined word.
• Define reading as a process of self-communication.
• Deepen students' understanding of reading's affective side.
• Create confident, intrinsically motivated, effective, independent, lifelong readers.

Throughout the first few sections of the book, I felt there were a number of contradictions that I had a difficult time getting past. The author seems to illustrate that these books of questioning techniques will boost adolescents' motivation to read, but he states that motivation for reading must be intrinsic.  My question to the author is, "How are these extrinsic questions going to bring about a self-motivating drive?" A quote from page 1 "Reading in the 2000s is functional: to get grades on standardized tests." may seem to be taken out of context, but shortly there after Pflaum states "They [the questions] motivate students to make sense of reading and realize that testing is only a small part." p. 8. This leads me to wonder the actual intent of the book - is it to increase test scores or to create an interest for teens to read?  I am uncertain as to whether it is about essay writing and expression of experiences than actual useful tips to help teens WANT to read.

The four books of questions - which by the way are actually all included in this compilation - are comprised of questions which are suppose to make the reader enjoy reading more by teaching them "fundamental prerequisite skills or tools needed to enjoy reading and learning".   After looking over the questions I could picture was a class full of high schoolers rolling their eyes at these touchy feely questions -

• How cool and calm are you when you are reading? Explain your answer.
• Do you enjoy the solitude and silence of reading and your reading life? Explain your answer.
• When is reading sweet peace for you?

Again I am no expert in this area, but my 14 year old daughter said it rather eloquently when she stated - "You just need to find a book genre that you like and read." To me this is the quintessential solution - let kids read what they want to read when they want to read it. Many kids hate to read because they are forced to regurgitate the information to pass a test. They are made to feel inferior if they cannot read at the same time or earlier than kids their own age. They don't connect with the book because they see it as "work". They have no time to read for "fun" because they have homework and sports and dance and even over the summer they have stacks of books that MUST be read by the fall. While I don't want to say that ALL home educated kids like to read, I have never met one who doesn't.

When kids aren't rushed, prodded and ordered to read restricting possibilities, content and given strict timelines, they tend to have that intrinsic motivation that Pflaum mentions naturally. This is just another approach to the same end, get the kids to write so they can pass the test. I don't mind offering the advice of my young sage!

I'm interesting in learning from the author during his upcoming interview with Unplugged Mom, whether the intent of the book is to "teach the test" or to motivate a true love of reading and appreciation of literature.   I look forward to the opportunity to hear from him. ----

Updated– Nov. 15, 2011

After listening to Pflaum's interview on UMRadio, I feel like he has the best intentions, but the ideas expressed in his interview did not translate into his writing. It is my opinion that this is a teacher trying to make better students, rather than make better readers!

Readers or Test Takers ~ What really is the intent of this book? - Review of Motivating Teen and Preteen Readers by Jeffrey Pflaum

I would like to preface this review with the information that I love reading, my daughter loves reading, my stepson loves reading, however, in my previous life – prior to unplugging – I worked and volunteered in schools, mostly with kids who were wrongly diagnosed, grossly neglected by and often tortured through the system and more often than not HATED reading. I feel reading is the most important skill for a successful life. Reading opens minds to worlds without limits, breaks through any restrictions, and allows true freedom from everything, so when I was contacted to review Motivating Teen and Preteen Readersby Jeffrey Pflaum, I was really excited to delve into something that might help those who have no interest in reading.

The outline of the program that Pflaum puts forth is this -

• 4 books of questions on reading and reading life
  • students answer questions on a schedule spread out over a course of a year and then discuss answers
• brief teacher/parent raps and mini-discussions examine the experience of reading
• class or 1:1 discussions bring out reading-world encounters and ideas
• evaluations follow up each set

The list of goals that Pflaum lays out on pages 6-8 are somewhat inspiring and include -

• Motivate, reading by heightening understanding of its processes.
• Reveal the power of the written, spoken and imagined word.
• Define reading as a process of self-communication.
• Deepen students' understanding of reading's affective side.
• Create confident, intrinsically motivated, effective, independent, lifelong readers.

Throughout the first few sections of the book, I felt there were a number of contradictions that I had a difficult time getting past. The author seems to illustrate that these books of questioning techniques will boost adolescents' motivation to read, but he states that motivation for reading must be intrinsic.  My question to the author is, "How are these extrinsic questions going to bring about a self-motivating drive?" A quote from page 1 "Reading in the 2000s is functional: to get grades on standardized tests." may seem to be taken out of context, but shortly there after Pflaum states "They [the questions] motivate students to make sense of reading and realize that testing is only a small part." p. 8. This leads me to wonder the actual intent of the book - is it to increase test scores or to create an interest for teens to read?  I am uncertain as to whether it is about essay writing and expression of experiences than actual useful tips to help teens WANT to read.

The four books of questions - which by the way are actually all included in this compilation - are comprised of questions which are suppose to make the reader enjoy reading more by teaching them "fundamental prerequisite skills or tools needed to enjoy reading and learning".   After looking over the questions I could picture was a class full of high schoolers rolling their eyes at these touchy feely questions -

• How cool and calm are you when you are reading? Explain your answer.
• Do you enjoy the solitude and silence of reading and your reading life? Explain your answer.
• When is reading sweet peace for you?

Again I am no expert in this area, but my 14 year old daughter said it rather eloquently when she stated - "You just need to find a book genre that you like and read." To me this is the quintessential solution - let kids read what they want to read when they want to read it. Many kids hate to read because they are forced to regurgitate the information to pass a test. They are made to feel inferior if they cannot read at the same time or earlier than kids their own age. They don't connect with the book because they see it as "work". They have no time to read for "fun" because they have homework and sports and dance and even over the summer they have stacks of books that MUST be read by the fall. While I don't want to say that ALL home educated kids like to read, I have never met one who doesn't.

When kids aren't rushed, prodded and ordered to read restricting possibilities, content and given strict timelines, they tend to have that intrinsic motivation that Pflaum mentions naturally. This is just another approach to the same end, get the kids to write so they can pass the test. I don't mind offering the advice of my young sage!

I'm interesting in learning from the author during his upcoming interviewwith Unplugged Mom, whether the intent of the book is to "teach the test" or to motivate a true love of reading and appreciation of literature.   I look forward to the opportunity to hear from him. ---- 

Summer/Fall Book Break

We will be on our 3 week book break from now til the last week in September. In case you are new here, our 10 week on 2-3 week off schedule allows us breaks at key times in the year - like our birthday month - when we don't have any lesson plans or book work, so that we can take full advantage of the season! We take one now because the schools are back in session and our birthdays are this month, one in Dec to get through the Holidays, one in March to get our yard ready and take advantage of field trips etc that start up again when everyone is ready to burst from cabin fever, and then one in June to be able to enjoy our local museums, libraries etc. before school kids are back out for the summer. Generally we have activities and projects planned, but KM just wants to do NOTHING and it will be interesting to see how long that lasts. It might be quiet here for a bit, but on the other hand this nothing time, might give me some time to write, so it might not!

NOT Back to School Day - TAKE ONE!!!

We had planned a NOT Back to School Beach Day for a large group of home learners in our area, but unfortunately we had to postpone it because of Hurricane Irene power outage related issues. We are hoping that it will be able to run later this week, but today we got to take an adventure to a new spot that we have tried to go several times, Ellisville Harbor in Plymouth. We brought a few friends along and ran into some more as well!

It was a really nice relaxing day. The kids climbed on rocks, hunted crabs, relaxed after their lunch and I got to take some interesting photos!

Ironically we had to reschedule our day and our local schools are all had to do the same as well - they won't be going back until next week as they are all in outage zones! 

If at first you don't succeed....

try, try again - so they say.

So we have tried in the past for KM to set her own schedule and it really didn't work out all that well past the first day or two. She did get the swing of getting her things done daily when I gave her a list and the freedom to complete things as she wanted, but it seemed like everytime we tried for more than that it just wouldn't work. She would become overwhelmed and feel like she needed more structure.

Our summer session begins next week and we are trying it again . This time, after some simple instruction and guidance on how to use the Homeschool Tracker, KM has set her own schedule up. We both agreed that this would be the perfect time to try it out because we have far fewer pressing time constraints, places to be at specific times, a lighter lesson load and we are already adjusting to changes in the house, so this can just be another one of those adjustments that should hopefully be all worked out by the fall.

She is very excited about the programs that she will be doing over the summer and feels that she has set things up in a way that makes sense and won't be overwhelming for her to handle in her own way. Here is the schedule that she came up with.

There are no actual guidelines for "timing" other than getting things done on those days and/or within reason. Like if she knows that she wants to go to the beach on Tues, she may want to do a little extra math on Monday so that she can have less to do that day. 

Here is an example of one weeks assignments -

Her assignments are quite short so she can easily bump them around here and there with little problem. I really think this will be helpful in her managing her time in a constructive way so that she feels as though things are flowing.

Her program choices for the summer include

• beginning a year long Shakespeare Study
• Math & The Cosmos - a Duke Tip program
• an overview of U.S. Government, Economics and Citizenship
• Keyboard Level 2B
• Beginning French with some online and computer games
• CNN Student News for Current Events
• Some more advanced Nutrition study - including cooking and baking
• Bowling Camp, Swimming, Basketball and Dance for P.E. 

Trying to Adjust

The past week has been a bit of a blur. Between CJ's abrupt departure for training for his new career, a vast weather change from high humidity to frigid rain causing havoc in the yard, and the exhaustion of picking up the slack and trying to find some sort of rhythm, KM and I really just trying to wade through the chaos and I am finding it very difficult for my fingers to get the thoughts out of my head clearly - so I apologize in advance if this becomes garbled or rambly.

CJ has gone away for things before, but there was usually preparation and adjustment time. This was very much an "OH I have to leave in two days and need to locate or purchase all the things on this list" and we then spent the next two days packing and collecting so that he could be off for a week. There was no time for lawn mowing, moving things to the attic, floor scrubbing or anything else that is CJ specific.  KM and I have had to pick up the slack and take on tasks that we don't usually do, but are glad to do it so that when he comes home for his brief stay we can enjoy the time with him before he has to go again. His rotation for the coming weeks will be a bit difficult, but once we get past it and into his regular schedule we should be fine.

I have many topics and posts that I have started, but have just been able to find the time to really delve into them and am hoping during the next few weeks I will be able to find some time to do so. For now be sure to check out Unplugged Mom and let the authors' know what you think by leaving comments!!!

You can see all the articles and reviews that I have submit at this LINK!



~~~~~~~So I didn't realize as I was writing this that I was going to be picked as a Blog of Note by the Unplugged Mom, but I WAS!!! Thanks to Laurette and Desiree for the wonderful words! It is always so great to hear that what you are saying is being received and enjoyed!!! Be sure to listen to this weeks podcast if you haven't heard it yet! -


 

Listen to internet radio with The Unplugged Mom on Blog Talk Radio

Sometimes things just work out

May is one of those months when EVERYTHING seems to happen at once! On top of our regular schedule KM has theater practice twice a week, has signed up for a sailing class that was too good to pass up and decided to do a Science Jim class at the last minute. We also have lots of events and spring field trips scheduled and have been wondering when the two newest Littles were going to arrive.

Well this afternoon I got back from theater a bit early - our hike went REALLY quickly and we got to theater early so we ended nearly an hour ahead of schedule - and I thought to myself here is some "extra" time to get some work done. I emptied out the bags and got things put away, changed into some sweat pants, and was ready to get down to work. First I checked my emails and saw that due to the forecast of 40 MPH winds KM's sailing class was going to be cancelled for tomorrow - YIPPEE even more free time! What luck I will be able to get ahead of the schedule! I stopped for a second and went to check the mail. When I came back in the house the phone was ringing. I answered to hear MC saying - "Hey what are you doing tomorrow?" I replied, "actually I suddenly have a free day. Why what do you need?" "Well I think my water may have broken....."

So here I sit - at my sister's - waiting to hear if my new little niece and nephew have arrived! I will be sure to let everyone know when I have heard that they have arrived.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~UPDATE - 9:32p

All is well I just got the call - 

Baby Boy - MJ was 6'10"

Baby Girl - AR was 5'8"

pretty decent sizes for three weeks early.

Mom is doing well - Dad reports that AR is beautiful and MJ is a chunker.

The littles were perfectly exhausting and I am now going to crash into the big fluffy mountain of pillows that is beckoning me from my sister's bed. 

Will be sure to post pics as soon as I can get there to take some! 

Stay Day System

I have been asked many questions about stay days since I posted our spring session plans, so while I was reseting our white board calendar for the month I thought I would take a few seconds to explain this simple process that we use.

I require that we stay home for three days each week, no ways around this. There are so many activities and things to do that if I don't we would be out every day, my house and work become neglected and KM becomes exhausted, cranky and CRASHES! So I took a tip from a fantastic homeschool guru and I created a Stay Day System of our own.

Here is what are calendar looks like at the beginning of the month. I list all the things that we already have scheduled or planned and then I choose 3 days a week that we stay home, I mean I don't leave the house. Each of the three days gets designated a number 1, 2, or 3 because different chores need to be completed on those days. The three days can fall in any combination during a 7 day period. I try to space them out if possible, but sometimes it just isn't. On these days KM can have people over once she has gotten her assigned chores done for that day, but I will not take her anywhere or pick anyone up as I need to be able to get my household chores and work completed. This system works so well and each time I have allowed us to slip out of it, it has backfired and the house and the families attitudes fall to pieces.

Now I was also asked what sorts of things get completed on these stay days and this is going to be something that if you decide to implement you would need to decide for yourself. For us the days look like this -

• Stay Day #1
• Weekly baking - deserts, breads etc.
• Meal Plans for the Week
• Bathrooms thoroughly cleaned
• Full Kitchen Clean Up
• Laundry - Linens
• Vacuuming
• Stay Day #2
• Project - art, household, yard ~depends on what is needed~
• Vacuuming
• Clean Bedrooms
• ALL trash barrels emptied
• Laundry - K
• Stay Day #3
• Laundry - M & D
• Vacuuming
• Floors
• Fully Clean Dining Room & TV Room

Having this routine and schedule allows us to not get overwhelmed with the household chores. We do pick up things as we go along and there are other daily things - compost, feeding animals, recycling bins, etc - that are done, but those things take little to no time and allow us to be able to the "Full Cleans" in a much quicker way because things aren't left to get out of hand. 

This also allows KM to quickly be able to answer her friends when asked to setup an activity. If the day is blank or only lists library or something then she knows she can go ahead and say yes, if there is a number in the block she knows that the friend can come here or if she can get a ride from someone else - even CJ - she can go, but that I can't take her. There are of course ALWAYS exceptions to these rules - like birthday parties etc. but in general we have those things on the schedule in advance and I work the stay days around them. 

As always this is something that needs to be tweaked for each family - it will not work the same for yours as it does for ours - but it is a great place to start from! It also gives the kids a sense of knowing what is coming and if they want to spend the day in their PJs they can because they know they aren't going anywhere! 

I hope that clears up the questions that I received! Please let me know if there are any others. 

Finishing up Winter Session and Prepping for Spring!!!

This is our last week of our winter session and KM has continued to do really well and is truly enjoying her topics of study. As always we have tweaked and evolved things throughout the session and will continue to do so as we set forth our plans for next session. I have most of the outline planned and over the next week will be fine tuning things.

First and foremost we have both decided after a long discussion, that we need to slow down a bit. We went FULL THROTTLE through the winter and managed to not get any winter duldrums or cabin fever, however we are EXHAUSTED! I have made a last minute decision to go back to our 3 stay day routine and with all that is coming up I am feeling a NEED to really stick to it.

There are some big jobs around the house that need to be taken care of and we are hoping to address a few this weekend ~ including taking down the snow damaged pool ~ while we are all around. The spring brings different chores and household responsibilities that need to be addressed and with CJ starting a full 6 week course to get his advanced licenses, KM and I are going to have to step up and take on some of the things that we would normally leave for him to do.

As for our lesson plans we will be continuing with a majority of the programs from the fall and winter we have been doing, but have decided to tweak a few areas including -

• Science - After some dissection of the Spectrum Science Workbook we both felt like the last few chapters were so disconnected in their content that it was too chopped up and KM didn't really want to finish it. On top of this KM has been very Science focused over the last two years, doing multiple programs at a time, so we decided to back off a bit. She will finish up the next few issues of Scholastic's Science World and will be doing the Environmental Study - see below - that she had planned on doing over the summer during the spring instead. I think this will tie in nicely to our gardening and landscaping plans as well.
• Math - She will be completing the Straight Forward Math Series Algebra Book 2 this week and will begin Book 3 after the break. She is moving very smoothly through this series and really seems to be retaining the information well. 
• Social Science - 
• History - KM has completed Volume 3 of Story of the World and has just begun Volume 4. It seems to be just as intriguing to her although the style is a bit different in this volume than in the ones before. She has been a bit stumped on the outlining portion, but I think with continued practice this will improve. As she is moving through this program at a more advanced rate and completing two to three chapters a week, I will not be requiring that she complete all the outlines and we will be  doing far less of the activities as well. I have, however, chosen to incorporate more of the Brain Pop! videos into the the history areas to hopefully bring a bit more life into it. 
• Current Events - This is an area that we have been a bit lacking in lately and CJ feels we should put a bit more energy into. KM does read Youngzine each week, but I stumbled across the CNN Student News and I think this will be a great resource! 
• Art - I went back and forth in this area recently. We tried a Great Course series from the library, but it was more than a bit DRY! KM is always working on different projects and crafts, but she also likes well done documentaries and shows having to do with art. So after some poking around online, I landed on Netflix and found this rather intriguing looking PBS series called Art 21 which we can stream live through the ROKU and/or the Wii onto the big screen! There are also free downloadable educator's guides to give some extra insight and ideas on how to use the program in an educational setting! We are both looking forward to utilizing this resource.
• Environmental Study - We had planned on working through this unit study over the summer, but as I mentioned earlier our plans changed a bit! We will be reading the Cartoon Guide to the Environment and going through the Our Fragile Environment Unit on BrainPop. We will also be watching documentaries that will correlate with each weeks topics. 
• Music - This is another area that we tend to focus a lot on around here. KM is more than halfway through the Annenberg Media course Exploring the World of Music and is thoroughly enjoying it. She will continue with and hopes to complete Piano Adventures Lesson Book, Level 2A by the end of this next session. She has been doing incredibly well considering she is self teaching and neither CJ nor I have any instrumental talent! She also continues to utilize the Wii with Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero, as well as a multitude of Sing It games that she has acquired. There has been talk of wanting to take drum lessons next year, but she is wavering as to whether she wants a traditional drum kit or an electronic one. 
• Literature - KM has picked two pieces to focus on this session Old Yeller and Wright 3. For Old Yeller we will take advantage of this online resource, as well as doing a movie comparison. For Wright 3 we will be using this guide put out by Library Sparks. 
• P.E. - Ice skating was fabulous over the winter and KM really took to it! For the spring the kids will be finishing up their bowling league and we will go back to Basketball and Tennis as the weather permits. When the weather is against us we will be using the Wii Sports Resort and Just Dance to get our sweat on! We have also decided to start incorporating more family fitness activities like hiking, bike riding and roller blading on the weekends when DN is here. These are things that we used to do regularly when KM was little, but have just moved away from over the last few years. 

Will you be changing things up for the spring? What kinds of fun activities does your family have planned?

I will be updating the Current Curriculum & Schedule page soon!

Prepping for our winter session to begin tomorrow!

I spent the afternoon finishing up the prep that I needed to so that we can begin our winter session tomorrow. There aren't a ton of new additions this time, as most of what we have been doing is working out really well. The only changes are -

• Continuing with the Straight Forward Math Series Algebra and moving onto Book 2
• In literature we will be reading The Giver by Lois Lowry and using the online quizzes here
• KM is very excited to start The Story of Science Volume 3: Einstein Adds a New Dimension
• We will be doing the Annenberg Media Project - Mystery Class Journey North as our elective this session and it looks like it is going to be really interesting
• Ice Skating will be two days a week
• Keyboard will be back to daily
• Theater will be every week instead of bi-weekly
• KM will be taking a break from Spanish

I have updated our Current Curriculum & Schedule Page if you are interested in checking it out!

What are you doing differently after your break?

Busy STILL

I really don't know how this keeps happening, we have been so BUSY lately! What have we been doing you may ask? Well there has been lots of fun stuff, lessons, tennis, hiking, web classes, parties, field trips, birthdays, fall activities, theater, volunteering, errands, and the list goes on....who has time to be home when you are "homeschooling"?

I am trying to slow things down, but it looks like at least the next two weeks are going to be the same. Once Thanksgiving week rolls on through, we should be good to be SLOOOOOWWW!

I just have to keep my fingers crossed, there has to be end somewhere....Right?

What do you do when things seem to be getting too overscheduled?

Some things we have been thinking about lately...

So you might remember the post from just a week or so ago about KM wanting to be more independent and schedule her own week, well she has decided that she doesn't want that responsibility any longer. Personally, I thought she was doing a decent job, but she was feeling a bit overwhelmed by it and really didn't like that she was doing lessons 6 days a week instead of 4. She has asked if we can go back to the previous setup ~ me giving her the weekly list, which is broken up into four days for her ~ but instead of her doing things right off the bat in the morning, she can do them whenever she wants throughout the day. This is TOTALLY fine with me. However she wants to get her lessons done is up to her. She is starting to really understand that she is in charge of her learning.

A few days ago I was asked by a friend what I would do if KM didn't want to do "lessons" anymore and I was a bit taken aback by this one, as I had no idea what I would do and honestly had never thought of it. There have been programs that she has decided that she doesn't want to complete for whatever reason and that is totally fine. However I don't know, for sure, what I would do if she just flat out didn't want to do any of it.

I think that if she really and truly didn't want to do any lesson work, then I would talk to her and see why she felt that way and/or what her plan would be moving forward. As I also mentioned in previous posts, I truly don't feel like you can force anyone to "learn" anything. You might be able to get them to memorize something or test through something, but in order for them to truly absorb, understand and retain it, they have to be invested and interested. I don't think that my feelings on this will ever change.

Having gone to school and having always done work with me over summers and during vacations, it has just always been the norm for her to do academic studies. She really enjoys the programs that we use. She has a huge hand in the decision making process and makes the final picks on what she will be using, as she is the one that has to do it and why would I want to waste money on something that I would have to fight with her to get done. She is even liking the writing workbook that she has been doing - Spectrum Writing, Grade 8 - which is a huge find! She has goals that she has set for herself and now it is my job to help her get to reach those goals. If for some reason she has a change of heart, I will keep an open-mind and work with her in whatever manner she needs me to. 

Building Time Management Skills

We have been discussing time management skills lately and being in the right mindset to learn. It is rather difficult to truly retain and learn information if you are tired, stressed, or just not interested! We have been going through and streamlining some of the things that she is working on and KM has decided that she would like to try to work on her time management abilities.

There are often mornings were she feels as though she is just going through the motions and not really sure that she is truly learning what she is feeding into her brain. As we have done away with all forms of "busy" work, I was a bit surprised that she came to that realization on her own, but I am learning to trust her and her instincts. I am willing to give anything a try as long as I see that she is putting forth effort in her endeavors.

KM really enjoys doing her lesson work and is often inspired by the programs that she is working on to delve far deeper into areas than I ever thought she would want to. So I am going ahead with her request with all the hopes that she will succeed.

She has asked to be allowed more freedom in the scheduling of our days. Now I must say that I have never been extremely strict with our schedule in any manner. I do request that the work be completed on the day it is assigned, unless we decide to bump one or two things, but have always been more than willing to allow bumping to happen. I am not the mom that says, "No, you can't go to the - fill in the blank - because you have to finish your school work."  I feel like learning should be intertwined with life and not be the be all that ends all of our day to day life. So KM would like to have her assignments given to her all at once at the beginning of the week, rather than daily, so that she can work on them and have them completed by Sunday. CJ and I were a bit hesitant at first, but she has been showing a lot more responsibility lately and decided that if this was truly going to work, we would need to have some sort of consequence set up in the event of a crash and burn situation. We decided to compromise with her and have the assignments due on Saturday, so that if they are not done there will be no social engagements on Saturday evening and ALL work will be completed on Sunday.

I have no problem admitting that I am a bit of a control freak and I will not allow things to get pushed and pushed and pushed to the next week so that then the list of uncompleted tasks is so long that I cannot bring myself to look at it without feeling like I will throw up. I will be having enough trouble allowing the work to possibly pile up even until Saturday, but I am going to force myself to be okay with this. It is not the end of the world, it is only 8th grade!

I think that if this project is successful, she will be a much stronger independent person. I will keep you all updated on our progress. Time management skills are important at all ages and stages of life. How are you helping your child develop stronger skills in this area?