Deschooling Update - Week 3

As I sit here typing DN is sitting across from me on the laptop excitedly blasting his way through spaceships with prime numbers playing Sigma Prime on Manga High. This is a kid who has said he hated math over and over and over again, yet he has become obsessed with beating these levels and getting a gold medal. I think I have found a key.

We had a really great week. We finished up a ton of lessons and are taking the next three weeks off from regular book work in order to enjoy the season. Saturday we finished up the bio experiments from last week and set up some interesting bean ones for this week -





We also had a lot of fun and enjoyed the beautiful weather before it is gone - of course I keep saying that and we keep having it, so I will just KEEP SAYING IT!!! On Monday we headed over to the courts and played some tennis, before we went to the local herring run to have a picnic, do some nature sketching and play some pooh sticks!

Today (Tuesday) we went to a local DCR ice rink for FREE public skate. DN is building his confidence and doing great. KM has begun skating backward, but thinks we need to go to a rink that skates clockwise so that she can turn to the left better. We also check in on one of the bean experiments and it seems to be coming along nicely.

All and all I would say it was quite the educational, entertaining and enjoyable week! If you want to check out some funny highlights from our day out see KM's you tube channel for - Rock Sliding and Other Silly Stuff and Playing Tennis

You Tube Monday - HOLIDAY EDITIONS - Charlie The Christmas Present

Yummy Math - website recommendation

Yummy Math | We provide teachers and students with mathematics relevant to our world today …

Some really interesting topics to help keep math relevant!

Ko’s Journey – Revisited, Updated and a Chance for a Free One-Year Subscription

Ko’s Journey – Revisited, Updated and a Chance for a Free One-Year Subscription - pop on over to enter this great giveaway!

Day full of Muppets!!! - Movie review

Ok we love all things muppets, but when I started seeing the trailers for The Muppets, I was a bit hesitant and unsure that it could live up to my high expectations! Well I have to say - MY CHEEKS HURT from smiling and my eyes were stinging from having wiped them so often. This movie was HYSTERICAL. From the 80's robot to the random outbreaking of song to the map travel button - this movie was exactly what it should have been. Jason Segel did an incredible job and I have to say that this was the first TRULY kid family friendly movie I have seen in a long time. There were no inappropriate and unnecessary jokes that you had to hope would fly over the kids heads, just pure Muppet humor, slapstick and fun!

And to top off our Muppet day the CW is airing the Christmas special - A Muppets Christmas - Letters to Santa - is airing tonight and we will be snuggling up on the sofa to watch!

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.

You Tube Monday - Fun Science: Sound

Trimming the Tree and Jamming out -

In addition to tree trimming the day after Thanksgiving it has become a tradition in our home to have guitar hero jam sessions -

It is rather hysterical and everyone gets in the mix - luckily, I am the only one who thinks of grabbing the camera!!!! 

For more hysterical guitar hero moments be sure to check GCKstudents You Tube Channel - Bunniestar97

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Hope you and yours have a safe and happy thanksgiving! 

Teenagers: Enter YouTube Space Lab competition by 12/14

Teenagers: Enter YouTube Space Lab competition by December 14 - Boing Boing

Adventures in Science!!!!

As I mentioned we are in deschool mode for DN and KM is on break this week since it is Thanksgiving, so we spent a lot of time doing Science.

We start off the week by using the downloaded copy of Janice VanCleave's Biology For Every Kid: 101 Easy Experiments That Really Work that I had on my kindle and let me tell you this is the first FULLY successful set of experiments that we have EVER done!!! Every single one was successful, easy to understand, follow and explain! LOVE LOVE LOVE this book!

Scientists at work - 

Growth Rate - this one will take a while, but we are going to measure the difference in rate from sunny to dark spot! 

Freezing Tissue - Which do you think froze first? Leave your guess in the comments section!

 

Hard to Freeze - 

Fluffy Raisins -

Before

After

Stand Up - 

wilted leaves

12 hours later - crisp, firm 

 and blue leaves! 

Sugary Leaves - what do you think the outcome of this one was? Leave your guess in the comments section!

We also took a trip into the Boston Museum of Science and here is a video KM pasted together of some highlights - The best part is at 4:40!!!

Finding the Key to Fit the Lock

It has been a bit quiet around here lately as I have been busy preparing to enter deschool mode for the second time, but this time it is with DN, as last week was his last attending public school. He is 15 and in the 10th grade so this situation will be quite different from KM's as he is older and not here full time, but we are hopeful that this will be the direction that leads him to where he needs to be.

When I received the call a few weeks ago requesting that I help file the paperwork for his ed plan, I jumped on it and had it written and ready to be delivered within an hour - I was not letting anyone change their mind! Since then we have been discussing what he wants to learn and where he would like to see himself in the future. We have devised a plan and are finding ways to implement it that will work for him and our unique situation.

When I was deschooling with KM I realized that her retention of facts and information from school was similar to Swiss cheese, with lots and lots of holes, however DN's seems to be just the opposite random bits with little connection between them, so my hope is to string those bits together with meaningful connections. I am looking at like there are all these keys and I just need to find the one that will unlock his mind and engage him. I know I may have to try every last one before I find the one that works, but there has to be one!

As they are only a year apart I had hoped to combine some of KM's and DN's subjects - at the very least science and history, however he has a hard time retaining nearly anything - even simple story lines from his favorite book series - so I am going to have to go down an alternative route for subjects like History, which he claims to detest and with very little knowledge base there is no way that he can keep up with KM in science, but they can do their labs together which was one of our beginning areas this week. They will also be doing Logic & Geography together and will be following similar time lines in history in order to watch movies together.

I helped him set up an account for Khan Academy and he has been blowing through that the past few days, I hope that his enthusiasm holds once he gets to the more challenging areas. He was taking Spanish last year in school and really liked it so he is going to try the Spanish Conversation Demystified  that I had gotten for KM before she decided on French and will supplement using the Mango online through our library network.  So far that is our plan - go with what he is interested in and work from there! I really hope that he is able to embrace this lifestyle and truly learn.

So as I take this journey on again, I realize that I am in a COMPLETELY different place than I was when I did this the first time through with KM. I am going to use all the wisdom and experience that I have accrued over these last four years to help this young man discover how incredible learning really can be! I apologize if it seems as though I am neglecting my blog, but I must focus on other areas at the moment, but will be sure to check back in often with updates on how things are going. WISH US LUCK!!!!

What I am Reading - November - GCKMom

Be sure to check out - The Core – The Perfect Name For This Incredible Book – Official Review

A new MUST read for EVERYONE!!!

You Tube Monday - Classic Sesame Street - The Amazing Mumford and a rabbit

ALA PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICHES

What I am Reading - November - GCK Student