Some Science Projects -

We are using the Thames & Kosmos Milestones in Science Kit to incorporate some extra science projects into the Story of Science Series by Joy Hakim. This week we showed how the universe expands with a balloon and made a telescope that showed everything upside down as the first telescopes didn't have mirrors in them -

Beach Days of Summer

During the summer we spend a lot of days by the pool and some at the pond, but the days that KM always seems to remember best are the ones we spend at the harbor with our extended family. In my grandparents family there were 12 siblings, so when I say extended, I mean extended. It always amazes me how most of these cousins don't see each other more than once maybe twice a year, but they talk about things that happened last year, or the year before, as if it was yesterday!

Besides getting to see each other, the best part for the parents is remembering playing with our cousins in the same way and being grateful that our children get have such a wonderful experience and make great memories!

Giveaway from Friendly Chemistry: A $100 Teacher & Student Curriculum Set! - Freely Educate

Giveaway from Friendly Chemistry: A $100 Teacher & Student Curriculum Set! - Freely Educate

An A-Mazing Project

For the summer we decided to pick and choose some different art projects from a book that I had gotten awhile back -

Here was this weeks pick -

Giveaway from Salem Ridge Press for 5 Winners! - Freely Educate

Giveaway from Salem Ridge Press for 5 Winners! - Freely Educate

Freely Educate has an ENORMOUS wealth of educational resources and they are have a great week of giveaways as well!

Be sure to check it out!

Newest Experiment - Canning

I have been convinced by one of my very close friends to try canning some of the fruits and veg from my garden and grown locally during the season to save for the winter months. KM has been very enthusiastic in helping with this and we have had a great time experimenting with different recipes.

CJ's parents sent us up some peaches from South Carolina so we made some peach syrup and peach preserves.

We also made some raspberry jam and syrup last month from the berries that grow in our yard and I made a HUGE batch of baked beans from scratch - even used dried beans!!!

Once our tomatoes start turning red I will have some more to add with some sauces and salsas, but for now we have a nice little stock pile going...

The one thing that I am finding that I really still need to freeze though is the zucchini and squash. I slice them up in various measures - discs, matchsticks, and grates - and freeze them to use over the winter in breads, soups, stir fries and even quiches!

History Projects -

We did two fun history projects today from Story of the World. First we built a cannon that after several failed attempts ...

did finally work...

Then we built a Black Plague Doctor's Mask using recycled paperboard instead of foam----

that she then wore around the house like a crazy chicken for the afternoon!

Another MOS Trip

We tend to stay away from museums and such during the summer because we are just NOT big on crowds and as I have mentioned before, often feel spoiled because it is generally so quiet when we go during the school year, but I decided that we needed to brave it before my passes ran out and the kids needed something extra to do this week!

We specifically went to see the Whale Exhibit and Omni Film as part of KM's ocean film study she is doing over the summer and although I couldn't take any pictures of those two things, I did take some of others. I have to say that I really like taking just the older kids to the museum, as it allowed me to not have to count heads as often and be able to enjoy the exhibits myself as well as pointing things out to the kids along the way. I can't believe after all the times we have been to this museum there were still things that I hadn't noticed before, some were new and some were not, but here are some of my favorite shots -

Adjusting Story of the World for the older crowd!

I have gotten many emails from people asking me how I use Story of The World with KM and make it challenging for an older child. I have tried to explain it several times, but people still keep asking, so I thought I would show an example of what we do so here is our history lesson this week -

We are working on Volume 2 and KM read Chapters 21 -23. She then does the mapwork by using from the Activity Guide, by using the maps that are given,but transposes the information onto blank maps from different free websites. This seems to be the part that parents are having the most difficulty understanding so I thought I would show the work here -

These are the pages that are given in the student book -

And here is what KM's completed mapwork sheet looks like -

By following the directions given for the predone maps, she is showing that she understands the actual location and uses landmarks (seas, oceans, etc) to locate the things on a different map of the same area. I also try to find maps that have varying scales as this can also be a challenge to determine the correct locations.

After the mapwork is completed KM does the activity sheets, that have multiple choice, fill in the blank, matching and/or open-ended questions. She also really enjoys historical fiction so I try to keep lots of books around that have stories about kids her age at that time. Right now she is reading and completing a book report on King Arthur, as well as reading about the Norse Viking Myths.

I give her choices of other projects and things to do out of the activity book or I will come up with other kits to supplement with for hands on projects. This happened to be a week that we didn't have one - she really just wanted to get out to the pool!

I hope this has given you a little insight into how we do it. As always, this might not work for your family, but it does for us!

Air conditioned induced comas...

are happening quite frequently around here. The heat and humidity have been so intense that we put the air conditioners in this week for the first time in almost 4 years. The kids have been sleeping late and when awake can be found in the pool. Lessons started back up this past Monday and KM has been finding some shady spots outside to get her work done in between dips in the pool -

She has been getting things done very quickly and I have been thoroughly impressed! She actually seemed excited on Monday when she walked into the work room and to check her assignments for the day. I think she was getting a bit bored with the nothing planned month and honestly seems to be glad it is over. I think from now on we will stick with our two to three week breaks and not push it to the full month.

FREE - NASA KLASS Program and Curriculum

I honestly don't know how I ever missed this incredible program - NASA KLASS Program and Curriculum.

It has over 40 hours worth of lesson plans for 6th through 10th grade students and a full simulation program TOTALLY FREE!!!

I haven't downloaded it yet, but had to share this incredible find! I will be sure to post more when I get to play around with it a bit!

Last week of break....

and we have been taking it slow!

We have been trying out some new culinary ideas from Eat at Home Cooks - one of my new favorite websites!

While in the kitchen we also got to make our first - second and third - batch of raspberry jam from the wild bushes on the edge of our property!

KM had fun with some science kits that had been collecting dust...

and I had some time to get things finished up for next week and all our lesson plans finished while KM was visiting with an old friend over the weekend. As we prepare for upcoming 4th of July weekend events it might get a bit quiet around here, but we start back to lessons next Monday (7/5), so I will be sure to post as we start to get into our summer session routine.

Why such short breaks?

I am on a national homeschool yahoo list and when I responded to a scheduling question I got an email asking why I felt we needed only 2 or 3 week breaks. I have been asked this in the past and thought since the year round schooling and amount of "vacation time" is always such a big topic of debate amongst homeschoolers I would post my response here as well.

We do 10 week sessions that correlate with the seasons and have two or three week breaks in between them and a week off at Thanksgiving. Whenever we are out of our routine for more than two weeks and are at home, it is HORRIBLE! KM will do nothing but watch TV, she is not terribly restricted from television the rest of the time, it is just all that she will do unless she has someone over or I suggest something else. She has no issue doing something else but won't take the initiative herself and it drives me BANANAS!!! She also starts to get really cranky and easily irritable. There are plenty of things for her to do, but again she just loses all motivation.

During our spring session which should have ended 6/11 and we would have had a 3 week break til 7/5, my dd decided to work hard and get her lessons completed two weeks early, so we have been off since 5/28 and it is getting to me at this point. We have been doing a lot of things, we spent the first two weeks of the month getting in all the field trip locations that we don't like to go during the summer because of the crowds, have spent time at the beach and with family, this week her PS friends have all been out of school so they have been doing things, but the days that we are just home "not doing anything" - cause you know there aren't any chores or projects or gardening or anything else to do around house on a regular basis - it is TV, ROKU, TV, ON Demand, TV....I think you get it.

But as far as our schedule we do the 10 weeks because we also only do lessons 4 days a week, it was 3 days last year because she was doing co-op and theater group on Mondays. We leave Fridays open as field trip day or as a catch up day if we decide to do something in the middle of the week. This ensures that our weekends stay as down days. This coming year I am doubling our ELA days to pick up some of the slack that we have had in this area to prep for High School level work next year (2011-2012).

I have also found that homeschooling year round significantly reduces review time! This allows for us to get more done as we can often skip a far amount of the repetitive work in Math and can stay on track with the flow for history and science.

Hope that clears up why we homeschool year round and take such short breaks! Every family is different, but that is one of the greatest gifts of homeschooling, customization to whatever fits your family!

Writing BREAKTHROUGH!!!

I can't even tell you how EXCITED I am right NOW! KM's writing issues have been the bane of my existence for the past 6 years! If you search this blog you will find nearly every frustration I have had with homeschooling has stemmed from writing. However I have had a breakthrough! I decided to take a look at the Official SAT Study Guide, that I got off of Paperback Swap so that I could use it as a guide for our studies over the next few years, and I came across this AMAZING little paragraph...

"There is no formula for writing an effective essay. You are free to choose your own writing style. For example, you can write an essay that is narrative, expository, persuasive, or argumentative. Furthermore the SAT will not reward or penalize you if you write, for example, a five-paragraph essay. Good writing is marked by the strong development of ideas, the ability to connect to an audience, precise use of language, effective organization, and appropriate choices of evidence." p. 103

Why on earth have I been trying every method under the sun to teach her to write a five -paragraph essay if it is not even REQUIRED on the SAT? Why is this nearly the ONLY method of writing that is being taught to children in Public, Private and Homeschools, yet the national be all to end all of tests doesn't even require it?

I am baffled, dumbfounded and completely elated all at the same time. I read on to some of the example essays that were given perfect scores and was ecstatic to see that the content was the main derivative for the scores. They want the student to be able to express their point of view clearly and thoroughly!

I am DONE trying to teach KM how to write. She knows how to write and has always known how to write, she just has had a very difficult time getting her information to come across intelligently in the 5-paragraph essay format. Instead I will be helping her to develop her point of view clearly and effectively, organize and focus her ideas so that they are coherent, enhance her use of language by using varied vocabulary, and to continue to improve on her grammar and mechanics.

I had KM read through this section of the SAT guide herself as well, so that she could get a grasp at what she should be aspiring toward. She was also SHOCKED to find out that the writing style wasn't all that important. We spent quite a while discussing strategies and wondering why in the world the school had spent so much time and beat her down so hard over something that apparently means very little in the grand scheme of academia.

Of course we never came to a real conclusion, yet we did develop another truly solidifying moment for homeschooling!

A Little Visitor

Every afternoon, at just about the same time, I have a little visitor who appears outside our workroom window. He sits on the ledge and waits for his turn. After several failed attempts over the last few days, I was able to snap a few quick shots of him today.

He comes to eat the leftovers in the dogs bowl. Apparently the bird seed and bread chunks we leave out back are not good enough for this Blue Jay! We are waiting to see if the kibble bulks them up like it did Dixie!