"I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day." ~E.B. White
Not sure why I liked the above quote this morning but there it is anyway.
We had a week where one child was recovering from illness and one came down with it....just a little slow going but we still managed to get in some great stuff.
Chemistry this week included our first "flop" of a demonstration from the Joy of Chemistry. I mean it didn't even come close to doing what it was supposed to do.
The second demonstration of the week went much better and although it seems as if we have done this demonstration in the past, this time around it came with some really great thinking that ran along with the concept we were learning: intermolecular forces.
I just love seeing their sketches outlining what we did in the demonstrations...so Mark Kistler-ish.
We started the Lord of the Flies which is included in the Tapestry of Grace schedule. I decided to give Mr. A the list of questions from the student sheets and have him keep them beside him as he reads. We will be writing two essays in connection with this book so he has those topics on paper as well and he will make notes as he goes along. (I don't like this book...I know I don't like it because even after reading it in high school I don't have any memory of the book except that it horrified me.)
Math (both geometry and algebra 2) is still a subject we are just getting through each day.
Both boys started new artist and composer studies this week...which is always exciting to me to get to hear and see through their ears and eyes the experiences. Mr. B is listening to Wagner and Mr. A is listening to Arnold Schoenberg. Schoenberg is going to make me a little bit crazy I think so I made sure to place the headphones directly by the computer for my son to use during his listening sessions. Here is a sample on YouTube if you want a glimpse into my next six weeks.
Edit to add: I meant no disrespect to the actual music or the particular piece linked in this post, but I was merely commenting on the emotional experience involved with Schoenberg's music and the 12 tone composition.
Literature study included a start to a new poet, Robert Browning. I posted earlier in the week about our poetry assignments if you are interested in reading more about those. Our short story this week was another Poe classic, The Fall of the House of Usher. I did a little more research on Poe this week to share with my son and one of the ideas that surfaced was the theme of being buried alive in gothic type literature. What a creepy fascination with a horrifying act.
We were able to squeeze in two hikes this week and we also studied hornworms on our tomatoes and goldfinches in our feeders. It feels nice to be outdoors and not be too hot!
Lego creations are in progress, along with all the accompanying Mess (not a mess according to my son).
Another airplane model in progress on the other side of the room....can we say Mess again please?
There ends another wrap-up from our world.
Hoping for a nice restful, healing weekend.
Barb-Harmony Art Mom
PS If anyone is wondering, I have been able to keep up my Homeschool Tracker weekly recording for seven weeks now...a record for me.
10 comments:
Barb,
I read Lord of the Flies again last year with my daughter. While I read it in high school, too, reading it with much older eyes was a completely different experience. I still found the book disturbing but I definitely picked up on a ton more symbolism than I did when I read it in high school. While not a feel-good book, my daughter and I had some fabulous discussions and I did enjoy reading it again as it seemed I got so much more out of it than I did when I was younger.
On a completely different note, how did your boys get started with Lego robotics? I am thinking that my middle son might find some work in that area fascinating perhaps in junior high next year.
As usualy, it sounds like you guys are peacefully productive at your home!
Samantha
Barbara,
Yes, I remember Lord of the Flies for Piggy being rediculed, and for a head mounted on a stick (wild boar?), and I think one of the kids getting killed...
And the music sample you linked... Yes, very different than the Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata we were listening to today. I love what YouTube has done for our music study!
My son has just started doing Lego robotics with a new 4-H club. Wish we owned the robotics set... but he can only work on it at the club meetings for now. The Club will be participating in the NXT competition this year. All totally new to me.
Diana
I enjoyed reading about your week! I'm glad I'm not the only one whose experiments don't always do what they're supposed to do.
Poe had a thing with the buried alive theme. Read "The Cask of Amontillado" as another example. And one could make a case for "The Tell-Tale Heart" as well!
We have read both those short stories already this year and I think that is why the theme resonated with us....too many times we have seen the buried alive act.
Sounds like a lovely week despite illness. I love to see your boy's worksheets too! (I hated Lord of the Flies, period. Still do.)
Hmmm. . . I don't think I've read Lord of the Flies since I was in highschool some 18+ years ago, but it is a rather horrifying read--I do remember that.
Looks like you had a great week, Barb, even if your boys were on the puny side. It's so good to get a glimpse into your homeschool!
The Lego mess is never a mess according the boys that build them. I can so sympathize.
I'm also quite relieved to hear that we're not the only ones who have those scientific experimental flops. Why does it always make us feel better to know about other people's flops?
We had a flop with a bird bath experiment recently. The birds didn't like either one. LOL
You offer so much to home schoolers here!
I was interested in purchasing your art plans for the medieval and Renaissance period but is there any ideas offered for adjusting them to lower level students as well?
Our children haven't had much in the way of formal art instruction, but I really wanted to incorporate this into our history studies this year. We are using Simply Charlotte Mason. The ages of our children are 14, 12 and 9. (The youngest one is actually our natural artist!)She draws about 10 pictures a day!
I look forward to hearing from you!
Michelle,
I don't think that your family would have any trouble with the materials presented in the Med/Ren art plans. The great thing about them is the ability to work within the three options presented to make it fit your family. Email me anytime if you have more specific questions.
Barb
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