Weekly Wrap-Up: Tough Week

Are you proud of me? I am posting two weeks in a row.

This week was the week that all moms of homeschooling high schoolers dread. The week before the SAT. The reality has set in for Mr. A and he is nervous. I think what he needs from me the most is my support and assurance. This has meant extra one on one time with him going through areas he needs a little help with. Mr. A is such a different sort of thinker and this makes taking multiple choice type tests very hard. We have had to work on test taking skills more than filling him full of information. His difficulty lies in the fact that he over thinks each question. This has been something we struggled with as we used the SAT Study Guide the last few months.



We have not specifically built our learning around the parameters of the test so there are a few holes which have been brought to light by using the SAT Study Guide. I am not all that excited about it because we are taking the test not to score high enough to get into a college but rather as a life learning experience in preparation for perhaps future college classes if he chooses or employment tests. He is also hoping to apply for a few local scholarships so he will have some money to pay for classes he needs to get him where he wants to be so the SAT seems to be the next order of business.

We worked through the IEW High School Essay Intensive DVD over the last few weeks and he did awesome on some practice writing prompts. I mean *awesome*. That was a real boost for him but he has still needed the pep talk from me a few times this week as he anticipates the actual test on Saturday morning at 8:00 AM.

I try to remind him:

• You are not going to know everything.
• You are not expected to know everything.
• There are going to be really hard questions in the math section that seem impossible, skip them.
• There are going to be vocabulary words you don't know, eliminate and guess if you can narrow your choices down to two.
• Your dad and I are proud of you no matter your score if you do your best.
• We are taking this test for the experience of completing a serious test.
• Relax and take it one step at a time.

I think what is adding to his stress is that he has an exam in his aviation ground school this week as well. Although he knows a lot of the material, he is learning that he has to work at the details and that means time studying the text and then working with his study group. This is where the good study habits are paying off.


Now here is something else that is frustrating him this week. His robotics project is just plain stumping him. This is the first time since we started using Lego Mindstorms that he has come up against a project that he is really needing to dig deep for. Here is a very short video of him testing his program.


He is back to the programming to try to get the project finished by next week. He is really counting on his logical thinking to make this one work. We shall see.


Physics this week included another lab activity. Mr. A decided the directions were not very well done. He ended up making the activity work and was able get the parallel circuits to work and then add in the resistors. Lots of math this week in his physics too....not his favorite week in physics.


Map is from the Trail Guide to World Geography Student notebook

Geography was interesting this week as we blended a study of Saudi Arabia and Islam. We have studied about Islam before so we didn't need to cover the basics. They focused more on how Islam influences the culture of Saudi Arabia and its current events in the news. I am finding it fascinating how my boys so easily blend in a study of world culture, religions, geography, politics, economics (0il), and relationships while doing research. This is exactly what I was hoping for.


Both boys are deep into their research for their "super essay" project. Topics are set and they are now working on picking subtopics and gathering information. Next week they will start the actual writing.


So after school, how does Mr. A. spend his free time? You would think he would run the other way from any project that includes math. Nope. He is trying to design and build a set of floats for his RC airplane. This involves taking the plans for a set of floats and adapting them to fit his airplane. He told me this morning that, "All that math is paying off finally."

Quick recap of other subjects:

• Literature-started reading Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde.
• Math-Planned out the rest of our year and made some goals.
• Bible-Using our chronological listing of Bible reading, we started reading the Psalms associated with the 1 and 2 Samuel chapters we are reading.
• Art and music-Just another week of casual viewing and listening. I was informed that Mr. A does not like Renoir's style or his choice of subjects. I can handle that....we all do not have to like everything.
• Life skills: They helped their dad cut down a tree using a chain saw. Mr. A drove my car with me in it on the freeway and I did not freak out. Completed annual labwork and physical exam...their liver numbers are stable which is good news.

Nature study: Completed the Outdoor Hour Challenge for Dandelions and started preparing for the Cattail Challenge.


Took a hike to the river...the water was freezing and the guys were building a rock bridge for me to get over to the island without getting wet.


I ended up wading over and freezing my toes off!


Four weeks to go and counting....not that any of us are keeping track. :)

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

P.S. I just finished writing this post and I wanted to add for those that are still reading that I have felt extremely inadequate this week in many areas. I normally consider myself a "math brain" but this week I have found my nemesis: truth tables. I just plain don't get them. I also am a total zero when it comes to helping with physics.....most of the time I can help my son reason his way through his questions using the text and teacher's guide. This week was a lot of extra work to get him over the hump. I am also no help with their robotics and up until now it has not been an issue. This week I saw their frustration and wished I was better equipped to help them. I know that I don't have to have all the answers. I also know that by my not being able to bail them out when they have problems that they have learned to figure things out on their own or find ways to get more information so they can figure it out. So maybe my not being the know-it-all has its benefits.

I will just keep telling myself that.