Our Children Have Not Changed, Math Standards Have

• I am getting close to graduating my fourth and final child from high school.
• I started homeschooling fourteen years ago. 
• I am really a "math" person and it generally comes easy to me. 
• I have jumped through lots of hoops finding ways to teach all my children math in a way that fits their style of learning. Hands-on, textbook, computer based, online games, drills, flashcards, and everything in between have been used over the years. 

All this to say that I have lived and experienced math for a long time.
What have I noticed with math and math standards?

When my third child was in the grammar years, the State of California changed their math standards. They shifted many concepts into the lower grades, including algebra into middle school. We were on track to stay abreast of the intensified standards in math because my boys are also "math" people. Algebra in 7th and in some cases 6th grades was not uncommon in our local school district. In fact, if my boys had been in public school, they would have been considered "behind" because they were not finished with algebra in the 8th grade.

What are we doing to our poor children?

Our children and their brains have not changed in the past few years. Our children are still the same but with the added pressure to be successful and competitive, our public school counterparts are pushing the acceleration in math. The crazy thing about it is that I don't see them achieving much with all their pushing.



Personal example: My friend's son is taking algebra for the third time in public school. His eighth grade year they pushed algebra on him and he was not ready mentally to handle the course. He failed miserably. He then took it again his freshman year and did a little better with tutoring but he still didn't master it. He is now a sophomore and taking it a third time....he hates math and he thinks he is stupid. These are the fruits of the public school system that does not recognize individuals and their abilities but tries to force a set of standards onto everyone in a certain grade level.

I could almost be on board with the acceleration of math for some students but if you follow the prescribed track for math, even our average or slightly above average math students are going to be hitting some very high level math courses in high school. For some students this is a benefit and they welcome the challenge but for most students it only makes them feel inadequate or that they are somehow deficient in math.


In our high school district, the choices beyond Algebra 2 are: Advanced Algebra 2, Math Analysis, Probability and Statistics, AP Calculus, and AP Statistics. They suggest you take four years of math. That means a student on track with the typical math progression would finish Algebra 2 in their sophomore year and need to take TWO more of those advanced math classes in addition to all their other courses. Yikes. Even for their "alternative" track you would end up taking at least one of those courses.

Let's face it. Algebra, Geometry, and Algebra 2 done with seriousness and the aim to master is a great high school education. After that, whatever higher math course you choose is going to be difficult for most homeschooling parents to offer at home without a great deal of support from an online course or community college course.



I made a deal with my boys. I told them I would get them through algebra, geometry, and algebra 2 and then they were going to need to find an outside source to fill in their math objectives. I could have pushed both boys to finish those three math courses earlier but the pace would have been crazy. I know there would not have been the mastery of concepts that I see now looking back. My friend, who is a public school teacher, tells me that they shoot for finishing 80% of a course and not with complete mastery knowing that the next year they will spend the first five or six weeks reviewing concepts from the year before.

As homeschoolers you know your children best and how much they are ready to handle and to master. I am actually lucky enough to live in a state that does not require standardized testing so I can bypass a lot of the nonsense. I cringe when I hear families that say their child didn't test well in math. What standard are they trying to live up to? Who made the standard? Who gains from new and "improved" textbooks? Who gains from setting up impossibly high achievement levels?

I say with conviction that it is not the children. 

We homeschool to create a better person in our children. We all are not brilliant in math or science or art or whatever subject you can fill in the blank with. We can let our children be the best that they can be without looking at a standardized test score or making them feel inadequate by comparing them to other children.



I would rather create goals for my children rather than to have them test to a "standard". This does not mean that we don't reach out for excellence or that they don't eventually take higher math courses. My two oldest have gone on to college and completed far more math successfully than I could have dreamed of offering at home but they had the basics under their belts and were confident about their skills in math. Maturity in both mind and body helped prepare them for the rigorous math they needed to accomplish their personal goals. They were ready when the time came.

Just a little venting.

Barb-who is now stepping down off her soapbox

Sketch Tuesday: Dental Fun

Thanks for your patience this week....I think I got all the sketches into the slideshow...if yours is missing please email me.

Here is your slideshow: Something With An Antenna



This week's assignment due Monday, November 1, 2010: 
Sketch something you use to clean your teeth.

All sketchers are welcome and there is no need to sign up. Participate as much as possible and make sketching a weekly habit. Send in your sketches in jpg format and mail them to: sketchtuesday@yahoo.com by Monday, November 1st and I will include them in Tuesday's slideshow. Complete instructions are found by clicking the Sketch Tuesday tab at the top of my blog.

Thanks for all your support,
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Plans for High School-Looking Back Now

Courtesy Mr. D

Charts and lots of scribbled notes, both in the binder and on the computer, have driven my planning for high school. I have attempted to put on paper all the ideas and thoughts that swirl around in my brain. It doesn't matter how much I try though since there is always something that seems to escape the list.

This brings me to the point of this post. I could never have planned all the wonderful things that have evolved as we have moved through high school. I totally thought I was going to combine Tapestry of Grace and The Well-Trained Mind ideas into one plan for high school.

My boys had different ideas. I am so glad I listened to their hearts.

I know the normal sequences of classes through high school but my boys have never been exposed to that thinking. They have had no idea that they have done science "out of order" or math "out of sequence". They just assumed that what we did was normal. I have been waking up at night wondering if I should have just stuck to the normal scope and sequence and all the while they have been happily working on their schoolwork during the day...no idea that I was not so confident.

Without really thinking about it, by looking at their strengths and goals in life, we have created a unique school experience. They may not have read every classic I had on my list, been exposed to every great book or thinker that there is to be explored, or had great life-changing field trips (my dream) but they are interesting people who have a lot of knowledge and a love for learning.

Keeping my mind and heart on their needs has allowed lots of room for their interests and cultivating the skills needed to pursue things in the future.

Just a few thoughts as I begin the process of planning my very last ever homeschool year, 2011-2012.

Sigh.

Do You Want to Dance?

I always wanted to learn to tap dance when I was a child.

I love Eleanor's dress, the music, and the dancing in this Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell YouTube video.



How fun is that? Does anyone really tap dance any more?

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Robotics Website: Additional Information

I know some of you are starting out or contemplating a robotics course for your children and would love some additional information. My boys linked me up with the website that is the publisher of the Lego NXT books we have been using.

Here is the website:
http://nostarch.com/catalog/lego

This is the book my son is using right now to the robotic hand:
Lego Mindstorms NXT: One Kit Wonders

Remember you can find all my Lego Mindstorms entries by clicking the "robotics" tag on the bottom of this entry.

Savoring the Moments - Favorite Chair

October 17, 2010

School is pretty relaxed this year and Mr. A takes advantage of every opportunity to study comfortably.

Love his plaid shirt...hand-me-down from his older brother.

Sketch Tuesday: Something with an Antenna

Last week we sketched something you see in an art museum...lots of great ideas and sketches this week. Thank you so much for sharing your hard work with viewers of the slideshow!

Sidenote: I am giddy with anticipation over the new exhibit at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. Post-Impressionists from the Musee D'Orsay in Paris are on display until January. I have a friend that just went on Thursday and she was OVER THE MOON with excitement over all the pieces they have to enjoy. 


Here is your slideshow:  
Something you see in an art museum.


This week's assignment, due Monday, October 25th: 
Something with an antenna.

Special note: The slideshow will be later than normal on October 26th. It will more than likely be posted in the afternoon instead of the morning because of an obligation I have next week. Please be patient and I will get it up ASAP. (Remember I am on Pacific Time.)

All sketchers are welcome and there is no need to sign up. Participate as much as possible and make sketching a weekly habit. Send in your sketches in jpg format and mail them to: sketchtuesday@yahoo.com. Complete instructions are found by clicking the Sketch Tuesday tab at the top of my blog.

Thank you for sharing your sketches and all the personal notes this week.
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Weekly Wrap-Up: Anti-Procrastination Week

This has been my Anti-Procrastination Week. I made a list of lots of little things that I have been putting off doing and made it a goal to take care of a few a day. Doesn't it feel good to check things off a list? I have one item left on my list and I will be taking care of that later with a phone call. :)

So, with that said, I will not procrastinate writing this post until later. We have had a fairly normal school week...whatever that means. There really has been no real exciting projects or activities since our horseback riding field trip had to be postponed due to illness. We are going to combine a visit to a near-by apple orchard and horseback riding into a trip next week.

Literature: I wrote a blog post last week about our Shakespeare study and how I was happy that I had saved some of the plays for high school. This week reading The Grapes of Wrath I realized that this book needs to be read by adults, the meaning is so deep and reflective. I actually cried this week while reading this book, tears of relief for the Joad family when they finally reached the big government camp in California. I so related to the mother and her emotions as she realized that here she was now "Mrs. Joad" again, a real person. If you have not read this book as an adult, I highly recommend it for your summer reading list. As part of Mr. A's study of this book, he wrote a paper on Hoovervilles.


Chemistry this week was interesting and relevant. If you doubt the power of simple activities you may be interested to know that my boys think they are learning more about the periodic table and chemistry of everyday things from reading the book The Elements than any other resource they have at their disposal. They also have started reading Joy Hakim's The Story of Science: Einstein Adds a New Dimension, the last of the books in this series. Someday I will need to write a complete review of this series.(In the spirit of Anti-Procrastination Week, I started a post and saved it in my blogger dashboard to remind me to write the review.)


Math was ho-hum. I see a pattern here but that is okay with me that math is not exciting or fun. We are sort of in the *let's just get it done* mode with both boys.

History: Mr. B this week is focusing totally on Bible reading as part of his ancient history plans with Tapestry of Grace. I I have read quite a few moms lately that say that TOG is overwhelming and have given up using it altogether. I have to say that in our family it has been just the right amount of structure and since this is the second time through the year plans, I see the wisdom in being able to build on the foundation we built the first time through. I have no problem adding or subtracting from the different levels and at this point I don't even feel bad skipping big chunks of the plans.


Mr. A is plugging along with modern history, enjoying his study of Hitler's Empire using The Teaching Company DVDs. We are also throwing in a few History Scholar pages each week now as a great way to narrate his reading.


Robotics: Did I tell you last week that Mr. B started working on a robotic hand? This is going to be really slick when it is done.

I had to take an afternoon this week to polish up the next few week's school plans since I originally had only planned the first nine weeks of school in detail. It felt great to look back and see how the original plans panned out and now I have a good feel for the next nine weeks. Astronomy is the only subject that has taken a complete revamp (more on that in a future post) and I added How To Write a Story to Mr. B's creative writing plans. I will more than likely be sharing a review of this book from IEW in the future...stay tuned.



Since art and music are at the core of Mr. B's weekly plans, he always finds something interesting to share with me. He has started a study and listening plan of Richard Wagner. You can listen HERE to what we have been hearing all week....the boys had a friend over and he wanted to know what they were listening to because he recognized it from a movie. Amazing how much classical music is all around us and we just don't identify who the composer is or what time period it is from.



I almost forgot this week's baking project.


Braided egg bread. Now we are talking MY language, warm bread that is so yummy that you don't even need to put butter on it to enjoy it!

I think that is the end of this Anti-Procrastination Week post. I will not procrastinate posting it any longer. Have a great weekend!

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Hearts and Trees New Fall Kit is Ready! Special Offer for my Readers!

My daughter Amanda over at Hearts and Trees has her new Fall Handicraft, Art, and Nature Study Kit all ready to go....she has finished the projects and I was able to help sample the contents. I always enjoy getting to see everything as it comes together.

Here is what you get when you order this Hearts and Trees Art, Handicraft, and Nature Study kit:

In all this kit includes:

1 sewing project, 1 handicraft project,

1 art project, 1 art print, 1 artist notebooking page,

1 art element notebooking page and 1 nature study project.

Complete Contents List:

* Fall bunting sewing project (muslin squares, 6 fall colored fabric squares, needle, thread, pins, templates and instructions)

* Jan Van Kessel art print

* Van Kessel artist notebooking page

* Shrink plastic suncatcher handicraft project (shrink plastic, template and instructions)

* Circle and dot families art element notebooking page

* Insect framed watercolor postcard project (watercolor paper postcard, professional black mat, instructions)

* Nature color wheel nature study project (blank color wheel and instructions)

Here is my bunting from the kit....such a happy addition to a fall window. I hope you all click over and read more about the kit on her blog.  If you have never seen one of her kits, you need to know that everything is included to complete all the projects....needles, pins, thread, complete instructions. All you add is an eagerness to offer some fun handicrafts and activities as well as common art supplies like markers and colored pencils. If you have any questions, please feel free to email Amanda at amandachristina@yahoo.com.

Now for the exciting part!

As a special gift for my readers, if you order before Tuesday, October 19th at midnight, she will include with your kit purchase your choice of either her Clouds In Art Mini Unit or her Still-Life Art Mini Unit ($4.95 value). These are both wonderful products that you can use with your family to supplement your fine arts appreciation. Once you click the Paypal button, you will need to make a note in the "Add special instructions to the seller" section that you are a Harmony Art Mom reader and then tell Amanda which mini unit you would like for her to send to you as a thank you gift. If you have any questions or you forget to make a note, you can email her at amandachristina@yahoo.com and make sure to get your free gift.

She makes a limited number of kits to sell each season so make sure to order yours before she reaches her limit. Now is the time to order if you would like to receive the free thank you gift and make this kit an even better value.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Free Reading List: 11th and 12th Graders

Our formal school plans include quite a bit of literature. These are books we will read and discuss together and I often assign essays based on the reading of our formal literature selections.

In addition, I also am very grateful for the idea to include what we call "free reading" as suggested in Ambleside Online, the free online Charlotte Mason style plans. These are books that are still required reading but the reading of them takes place during off school hours. In our family, I provide them with a list of free reading books and they take time each week to enjoy reading the books with no additional assignments attached. I find that they still narrate the books to me in an informal way, usually when I ask them on Fridays what they have read for their free reading during the previous week. We keep a list in their assignment binder where they keep track of when they start reading a book and when it is finished. One book is going at all times, some weeks they fit in time for a few pages and sometimes they devour a complete book. I really leave it up to them.

Last year we had the situation where Mr. B finished his free reading list early in the year and I had to go back and find additional books for his free reading list. He is a much faster reader and tends to read on his own for enjoyment more than his brother. He appreciates the free reading list because he is of an age that it is hard to walk into the library and find a book that appeals to him...sort of in between the juvenile section and the adult fiction selections. He has also read *a lot* of books already. The free reading list gives him a place to start. If he finds he likes an author, he can choose more of their books when he is at the library next.

So here are the free reading books for the year, some are on both of their reading lists and Mr. B has a few additional books on his.

• Alas Babylon
• Fahrenheit 451
• Murder on the Orient Express
• All the President's Men (Mr. A only)
• The Jungle (Mr. B only)
• Sea Wolf (Mr. B only)
• Up from Slavery (Mr. B only)

I have a feeling that I will be adding a few additional books to each of their lists since they are well into finishing their third book already. I am always happy to add to their free reading lists.

Here are links to the books on Amazon.com if you are interested. If you read my entries in an email, you may need to click to the actual blog entry to see the Amazon.com links. 





Here is last year's free reading lists if you are interested in those books as well.

Happy reading!
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Sketch Tuesday: Art Museum

Last week's assignment was to sketch something you drink....lovely, lovely slideshow this week. Thank you to everyone who sent in their sketches early. I actually had 58 sketches received by Friday night this time! I appreciate your effort. Now if we could just get the families that sent in the 45 sketches on Monday to be a little bit earlier. :)



We had a record number of sketches this week with the total ringing in at 143...awesome! Enjoy the slideshow!





Here is your slideshow: Sketch something you drink.








This week's assignment due Monday, October 18th: 
Sketch something you see in an art museum.



Here is a link to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and the National Gallery if you need some ideas.

Make your sketches and send them in by Monday, October 18th and I will include it in the slideshow on Tuesday morning. (The earlier in the week, the better.) All sketchers are welcome and there is no need to sign up. Participate as much as possible and make sketching a weekly habit. Send in your sketches in jpg format and mail them to: sketchtuesday@yahoo.com. Complete instructions are found by clicking the Sketch Tuesday tab at the top of my blog.

Thanks for all your support,
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Weekly Wrap-Up: The One With The E.B. White Quote

"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.

Our Shakespeare Selections for the Year

We are making time this year for Shakespeare study again. It has become our tradition to include a few of his plays each year, choosing plays at random. I know many families start their Shakespeare study with their children when they are quite young but over the years I have come to the conclusion that many of the plays are not really truly meant for children.

Instead of feeling regret that we didn't start earlier with Shakespeare, I now am enjoying the reaction my children have to the various convoluted plots that would have been far above their comprehension as young ones.

Previous Year's Lists
2007-2008 Romeo and Juliet, As You Like It (I think this was during this year or perhaps the following year.)
2008-2009 Much Ado About Nothing, Tempest, Henry V, King Lear
2009-2010 Twelfth Night, Hamlet, and MacBeth

This year our list is Merchant of Venice, Comedy of Errors, and Two Gentlemen of Verona. If we can fit it in, we are going to also read Julius Caesar.




I have linked to three different Shakespeare series that we have enjoyed using. The boys like No Fear Shakespeare the best.

I know I have said it before but it bears repeating. Save some of the plays for when your children are older so they can enjoy the twists and turns of the plot without knowing what is going to happen. More of my Shakespeare thoughts can be found HERE in this post.

Happy Shakespeare!

Sketch Tuesday: Thirsty Edition

Last week the assignment was to sketch something that starts with the letter R. I always love to see how each of us solves the assignment. Robots, rats, rainbows, roses, and many other things were sketched.

I also want to welcome all the new sketchers....thanks for sharing your artwork with the slideshow.

Here is your slideshow: Something that Starts With The Letter R.

 


This week's assignment, due Monday, October 11th, 2010: 
Sketch something you drink.

Make your sketches and send them as early as possible or by Monday, October 10th at the latest and I will include it in the slideshow on Tuesday morning. (The earlier in the week, the better.) 

All sketchers are welcome and there is no need to sign up. Participate as much as possible and make sketching a weekly habit. Send in your sketches in jpg format and mail them to: sketchtuesday@yahoo.com. Complete instructions are found by clicking the Sketch Tuesday tab at the top of my blog.

Please note: If you do not send your images in jpg format it really adds to the time it takes for me to make the slideshow. I don't like to leave any sketches out of the slideshow so it means I have to send an email back to you letting you know that your images are not in the right format. I know it may not seem like a big deal but if you could just send your images in jpg format to begin with, it would be much appreciated. 

Thanks for all your support,
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Edgar Degas Giveaway Winner Announcement

Last week I announced a giveaway for Color Your Own Degas Painting and a set of markers. There were 37 entries and my son helped pick a winner.

The winner is Jennifer Gregory Miller.

Congratulations and please email me with your mailing address so I can get your book and markers out to you in the mail this week.

Also, sending a big thank you to all who participated.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Poetry Study for High Schoolers-Part 2

As part of my on-going effort to share our poetry study, here are the next three weeks of assignments.

Week 4: Choose one of the poems read on YouTube by Edna St. Vincent Millay herself. After listening to the poem, read the poem out loud to yourself. Does listening to the poem first help you get a better understanding of the meaning? Choose a stanza to read aloud on Friday at our meeting. (I previewed and chose ahead of time several of the poems by Millay and had them on my playlist.)

Week 5: Choose a poem and print it out. Using a highlighter, mark any strong words or images in the poem. (Look up any unfamiliar words.) Be ready to discuss on Friday how you think the word choices set the mood of the poem.

I gave him the following definitions:

Tone in literature tells us how the author thinks about his or her subject. The author's style conveys the tone in literature. Tone is the author's attitude toward story and readers.

Mood is the effect of the writer's words on the reader. Mood is how the writer’s words make us feel.

I gave him this link that lists words he can use in his explanation: Tone and Mood List

Week 6: Complete your study by finishing your author's biography notebook page. Choose one final poem to copy into your notebook. Be prepared to share both the notebook page and the poem at Friday's meeting.

I Was Tagged! Just For Fun....

There's a game of tag going around the blogosphere. Someone tags you with 8 questions to answer. You answer them, and then tag some other blogger buddies with your own set of questions. I was just tagged by Phyllis of All Things Beautiful.


She asked:
1. What is your ideal way to spend an afternoon?
Anything done outdoors: Hiking on a favorite trail, gardening, sitting in the sun and reading on our back deck, having a picnic with friends.
2. What was your favorite subject when you went to school?
I loved any class where I did not have to sit in a desk: drama, sports, science labs, and our very unconventional French class. In college I loved any art class.
3. What is your favorite subject to teach now?
Science/nature study/journaling/notebooking....no surprises there huh?
4. What was your best received gift?
I am not a big "gift" person. I like to have people *do* things for me like wash my car, cook dinner, or help me in the garden.
5. What's your favorite food to cook?
I am a big breakfast cook and I love to make special breakfasts for the family. My favorite things to cook are probably my special pancakes, omelets, muffins, and of course my dear hubby's biscuits and gravy.
6. If you could live during any time in history, when would it be?
I have absolutely no idea (except if I can dovetail into question #7).
7. Who would you most like to meet (living or dead)?
I know it sounds cliche but it is very true...I would love to met Jesus or at least have been in his presence while he was living on the earth. I would have loved to hear him speak and deliver the Sermon on the Mount, to follow him in his ministry, to just observe him.
8. What is your favorite type of restaurant (French, Italian, Indian...)?
Absolutely hands-down, no question.....Mexican food. Preferably authentic Mexican food cooked by a person who knows how to make homemade tortillas, refried beans, tamales, enchiladas, and really hot salsa.

My questions:
1. Do you use a bookmark or do you turn pages down? How many books do you read at a time? For Bible readers-Do you write in your Bible?
2. Where do you dream of traveling some day? Alone with your dh or with your children?
3. What is your favorite household chore? (I think vacuuming is like therapy....love it.)
4. What is a personal goal you have made this year?
5. How many blogs do you read every week? What attracts you to certain blogs?

I will make it easy and only ask five questions (okay, some of them are more than one question).

I am choosing these five bloggers to tag (they have all commented on my blog this week):
Melissa from Bugs, Knights and Turkeys in the Yard
Casey from Bumpin Along The Road Less Traveled
Alex from Canadian Home Learning
Sydni from Follow the Tumbleweed Road
Tricia at Hodgepodge Homeschool

I hope you have fun answering the questions and picking some more bloggers to tag.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Weekly Wrap-Up: Week Six Projects Finished

This week is our sixth week of school and many of our projects were six weeks in length. Finishing a project always feel so good! Here are the highlights of our week.


Robotics: Dragster Finished!
The assignment was to build the dragster as specified in the book, build the course, and test the dragster. After that he was able to go back and rebuild his dragster with any ideas he had to make it go faster and then run it down the course. He was able to improve the design and speed. Great job Mr. B.

Chemistry this week was sort of ho-hum but the boys sent me the link to this website that goes along with the book The Elements Visual Exploration.  Both my sons love this book and have learned so much from the pages....I know they are learning because they spontaneously narrate little tidbits not only during their school hours but all throughout the week. Did you know that aluminum rusts? I didn't.


Artist and Composer Study
Mr. A has been focusing on Matisse and Prokofiev for the first six weeks of school. He used my plans from my Autumn Ebook to learn more about Prokofiev and listen to lots of his music. He also completed his study of Matisse (his final project was featured in last week's wrap-up).

Mr. B has been enjoying Degas and Chopin. He found some wonderful Chopin pieces that we listened to over the six week period....my favorite ones were those that featured the cello. Mr. B also completed his study of Degas with a notebook page and a final essay on his thoughts and opinions about Chopin's music. Mr. B also has been working on Egyptian art in addition to his artist and composer study....lots of art for him this year.

Ancient History was centered around a study of the Code of Hammurabi. Mr. B researched so much great information about this topic, sharing orally as he gleaned interesting things. As part of his finishing project on the Code, he wrote a five paragraph essay using the steps of IEW. I love how we can build on what we learned in the past with IEW and apply it to our current areas of interest. It is always easier to write when you have lots to talk about....like ancient cultures and their punishments for various crimes, cutting off of ears and hands as well as the old sink or swim test for determining guilt.


I think it is great that so many are following our weekly cooking projects. This week Mr. B made gingerbread cookies, start to finish all by himself. I love his gaining confidence in the kitchen and his ability to plan and follow a recipe. As the youngest child, I sometimes forget to offer to let him help in the kitchen so this course is helping train me to turn things over a bit to him. He made dinner tonight completely by himself...nothing fancy of course but chicken, zucchini, and rice were served and enjoyed. :)

Literature continues to be a source of great conversation. It is also the springboard for short writing pieces. This week Mr. A wrote a summary of Our Town, a descriptive paragraph about the setting of The Cask of Amontillado, and he did a bit of analysis of his poetry unit featuring Edna St. Vincent Millay. We enjoy listening to audio recordings of poetry since it is so nice to hear how it should be read. Try this one on YouTube and see what I mean. We also had fun watching the Vincent Price rendition of the The Cask of Amontillado...highly recommend this version to other high schoolers.

I think that wraps up this Weekly Wrap-Up post from our little corner of the homeschooling world. It hardly seems possible that it is October 1st today...time is flying by this year!

Barb-Harmony Art Mom