Our Homeschooling Newsletter

What a busy school year!!!!

2009-09-27T07:11:00.000-07:00

Well, gotta say. I haven't done well in keeping up with this at all. We have been so busy this year! I decided to get my degree in commercial photography, so with me being the teacher and the student, it's been incredibly busy!

This year in school is a bit different since there isn't a pre-k little guy coming in 3 days a week! We miss him and hope he has a GREAT kindergarten year!!!!!

Some similarities are that we still do drum lessons...we still do science labs once a week, and we still love the joy of learning all that we can!

We have added "Odyssey of the Mind" group and that should be fun! We've implemented "Field Trip Fridays" if we get the week's worth of work done Mon-Thurs....that's a pretty cool incentive.

Football and baseball are still big deals here and each season has gone or is going strong! I will try and do better with keeping up and keeping ya informed about what we're doing! Just bear with me on it!!! Thanks!

Wow...haven't been good at keeping up!

2009-01-27T14:45:00.001-08:00

Well, it's been a good while since I updated. We started off 2009 with Camo breaking his arm (literally on Jan 1st) while snowboarding! He is doing well, after having to be put under a week later to break what had healed and get it re-set. He did get a short cast today, which was a relief to him!

Nonetheless,

we haven't missed any school! He is re-reading "The

Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe"

and also reading "The Magical Worlds of Narnia: A Treasury of Myths, Legends, and Fascinating Facts" to supplement the story. We have learned a lot about why certain things are written the way they are. Makes it very interesting!

We also ordered Turkish Delight so we could completely understand what Edmund was eating from the White Witch. Some of it we liked, some was

pretty nasty...but fun to learn what it is! (Note, one photo is Camo with the book, doing the workbook and sitting surrounded by boxes of Turkish Delight...other photo is of his first taste!)

We've also worked on prepositions, finding subjects and verbs of sentences and memorizing 40 of the most used prepositions, and locating prepositional phrases and the object of a preposition. (So exciting!)

In math, it's been finding circumference, radius, diameter...working on multiplying with 2 and 3 digit numbers...and also some probability. He is still not really a fan of math.

We did have one day of "fun" and took off for the day to the zoo. The zoo. I mean, what m

ore can you say? A zoo is always fun and you always learn SOMETHING about different species, right?

We've been studying music. Learning about the time signature, clefs, reading what notes are where (every good boy does fine, etc) and basic reading of music. We will be starting history of composers in Feb. and also piano (using "A Chronological History of Music and its Composers" and "The Gift of Music" and "Usborne Story of Music" and "Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers") and I will be teaching him to read music and play piano. However, we will also be continuing his favorite. drums. Camo's had a time playing drums with a cast up to his armpit, but he's been bangin' away. Music is big to him and we spend a lot of time on this one. Plus, you know. It's fractions. Can't beat the reinforcing of that one!

We are finishing up our unit on Egypt. He has really enjoyed this one and we have prolonged it since he was fascinated by it. If he likes it...might as well spoon feed it when he's hungry for it!

I think, think, think that catches us up for January! We're still havin' fun...still workin' hard and I am still feeling SO FORTUNATE every single day that I get to stay home and watch my lil son learn and grow!

Happy Birthday my sweet boy!

2008-12-05T06:25:00.001-08:00

Well, it's been another really fun week that ended with my baby turning 11!

We began the week with an incredibly fun preteen boy day. The boys got together and dressed up in camo and had a military appreciation day! They played games, they shot, they did relays and rode go karts. They had an absolute blast and the moms had fun, too!

We also had a science day at the Museum of Science. The kids had a class where they made ice cream, but, each table had a different type of salt. One table had no salt...each table had a thermometer to record the temp changes and did so every two minutes. Very interesting the temp differences with different salts! Two tables had salt that actually made ice cream!

After the ice cream class, we went ahead and toured the museum, dug for dinosaur bones, played in huge bubbles and had a great day! He learned about plasma, electricity and lightening...for some reason, that was his favorite thing to learn about while strolling the museum.

We finished the book, "The Cay" and he says THIS ONE is his favorite book now! He's also still reading his western book, "The Copelands" and is enjoying that as well.

The new grammar curriculum should be in soon...and we also borrowed a new writing curriculum. It looks promising...I'll keep ya posted.

Well, it's Friday and we're going to enjoy the heck out of the day and celebrate the dude being another year older!

Catchin' up before Thanksgiving!

2008-11-26T06:34:00.001-08:00

Since it is a slow school week...I thought I'd go ahead and just share this week.

We went to

Adventure Camp and absolutely had so much fun!

Camo raced in canoes with his friends. (It's very hard to get pictures where there aren't a bunch of kids in them, this time!) The canoes were a hit, so were the paddle boats!

Then, they went fishing and three kids caught fish! They caught blue gill, but we threw them back in to swim and live.

Also, a GPS scavenger hunt. The paper had the coordinates and using a GPS, the kids had to find the place and write down the clues. Really funny and more difficult than it sounds! ha!

Then it was off to build a fire. Since Camo is in boy scouts, he thought he was the master! HA! However, all the kids had to work together to build a fire that would also allow them to set a "coffee can" of water on it...to make tea! It was great watching the communication between the kids...they did fantastic! They went to the female cedar trees and picked the leaves and berries and put it in the water to boil, a bit of sugar and VOILA! Cedar Tea!!! (It was actually really good!) And the kids made toast over the fire and had a snack of toast and tea!

All in all, it was a fantastic Monday! Yesterday and today we did a lot of math and reading. We have begun the book "The Cay" which is a real turn from "Where the Red Fern Grows"! But we're enjoying it so far!

We'll see you after Thanksgiving...have a fantastic holiday...enjoy the food and friends and family and stay safe!

Back to the school stuff!

2008-11-23T12:55:00.001-08:00

Well, we've finished the book "Where The Red Fern Grows". This book was a HIT and the first pic is Camo painting his favorite scene from the book. We really enjoyed this book! He's also read, "The Pharaoh's of Ancient Egypt", "Truth or Dare", and "Fantastic Mr. Fox" this month. He's about 3/4 of the way through "The Copelands", too, which is a western that he's enjoying!

We've continued to work on his pyramid for Egypt and have decided to also put the inner workings into it. Chambers, etc. will be added to the inside, thanks to my genius friend, Heather, giving me the idea!

We still have the tadpoles and this week, we did an experiment to see how they breathe underwater. We put food coloring right in front of the face of one and watched as he breathed it in, and then it came out his gills! FASCINATING! If you look in the photo of the tadpole, you can see the ripples of color coming out his sides.

In math, we've been working on lines, angles, segments, polygons, and fractions. Math is really coming along and Camo is growing in leaps and bounds in math!

I did just order a new grammar curriculum after spotting one too many mistakes in the last one. ugh. So that should be in soon and we'll continue with the parts of speech and diagramming sentences!

In OTHER news...(ha)...basketball season has begun AND Camo had his first campout with the scouts! SO MUCH FUN! Except for those 27 degree nights... sorry, Camo!

A RANT...for Joy on "The View"

2008-11-22T12:06:00.000-08:00

So Joy said on "The View" that homeschoolers were demented, didn't know how to talk to people, and never left their homes.

I can only speak for what WE do at home...but want to educate mouthy Joy on what it's like to learn from home.

We do learn here. We sit and do grammar, writing and math here. We build models and do projects here. We read and discuss...all right here. We grow tadpoles here and learn the life-cycle of frogs here. Here is where we talk, learn, bond and grow.

However; once a week, we leave to take a homeschool art class. He learns about an artist and recreates that artist's style. He left to take an oil painting class for a day.

He left once a week to get with a group of 11 kids to dissect, one "thing" a week, a heart, lungs, kidney, brain, eyeball, long bone (femur) and knuckle. He also did a weekly oral presentation and either showcased a model he'd made, or did a report on a related topic to that week. For example: he did an oral report on alzheimer's when he learned about the brain; presented clay models of 4 types of joints; and showcased a DNA model when learning about cells.

He plays basketball, baseball and football. (So depending on the sport, we leave 2-4 times a week.) He is a boyscout. (another at least once a week that he leaves the house) He has friends from public schools, private schools and homeschools. He has learned that all people are not the same. He's become more accepting of all people.

We're learning world religions. He can tell you about several already. He's learned tolerance for all beliefs. He's learning how they all connect and that all faiths are good at the core. We have scheduled field trips for each religion we study.

Is he too sheltered? Maybe so. I am with him to teach everything. I'm with him on boy outings and field trips to adventure camp, museums and co-op classes. When he plays sports, my husband coaches. When he camps out or goes to boy scouts, my husband is with him. He isn't turned loose. After things, we all talk about them. We're all involved. The entire family.

Too sheltered? Sheltered from what, I ask. He'll be 11 soon and is more interested in how to build a fire, make a shelter, make a touchdown or score a home run than he is in who's making fun of him at school. More interested in learning and experiencing all life has to offer than who's cool and who's a geek. More interested in LEARNING about Egypt and being able to see King Tut with his family and friends than being concerned about his grade or who he'll sit by on the bus.

Can he talk to people? Well, he talks sports with his sports buddies. He talks rock music, drums, bass and guitar with his music buddies. He talks survival skills with his boy scout buddies. He talks skateboarding and BMX with those friends. Pretty normal, huh?

My child DID go to public school. From 1st grade until 4th grade. This year at home, I had to teach him his multiplication facts. I taught him what a complete sentence was. I taught him prepositional phrases and adverbs and how to know what part of speech words are. I teach him to think. I teach him that opinions and "what do you think about this?" questions are valid, too. I teach him about people. He's written reports on Gandhi, Mother Teresa, George Washington, King Tut and several others. His biography reports reflect what HE FELT these people contributed to the world. These things had not been done effectively for him in "normal" school.

His confidence is soaring now. He is free to inquire, make suggestions, ask questions, be stuck on a lesson until it's learned, or shoot ahead if it's easy.

So, I go back. Demented? Really? Not here. Locked in the house? Really? Not here. Can't talk to people? Well, he can talk about more subjects now than before. He's broadened his friendships. He's made new friends, gained new interests, and is more confident in who he is and what he likes.

I am absolutely not anti-public school. I think there are great teachers out there. We've had some of them. I think that there are inspirational teachers that cannot inspire because of the laws and curriculums that don't give them the freedom. I think there is good and bad in everything...even homeschooling. I think each kid needs to be where it's best for them. Be open. Be accepting. This is the smart way to be. You cannot make sweeping generalizations about home schools any more than you can about public schools.

So, Joy...my answer to you is this:

Come on over. Spend a week here. Bring your cameras and all of your gusto and arguments. Talk to me, my husband and my son. Watch what we do and follow us for a week. Gain some perspective and THEN...if you still believe your statements, then and only then, are they a valid opinion. Right now, it's ignorance.

November. So far...

2008-11-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

We continued in November with the unit on Egypt. We've begun building a big model of a pyramid! The only photo so far is the base and the pieces in the floor, so bear with us! HA!

We also took a fantastic field trip to a museum in McKinney that let the kids touch artifacts and do a scavenger hunt while learning about Texas history. They also had everything set up to see what a general store was like, a house was like, it really showed what the early pioneers to Texas lived like! It was so well done! Camo had a blast and learned a lot!

In math, we're continuing with fractions, angles, lines, segments, etc. Adding fractions with uncommon denominators is always tricky, but we're getting there!

He is continuing with creative drawing class...begins boy scouts today (fingers crossed on that one!!!! We hope he loves it!) and basketball starts in another week. I've also been in contact with the local 4H clubs to begin work with that! The other exciting thing is that he's THIS CLOSE to getting a new drum set, which will mean DRUM LESSONS!!!! WOO HOOO!!!!!!

End of October...and all is well!

2008-10-31T06:00:00.001-07:00

Well, Well, Well...the little Bobcats are superbowl champions!!! It was a really hard fought game and with a very last second touchdown, they won! 12-6 so it was close! The boys worked so hard and did such a great job this season and we all had SO much fun!!! So congrats to the 5th grade bobcats!!!

We have also started our unit on Egypt that has included the play "The Mummy's Claw" which was really fun! We've learned about mummies and pyramids and have lots of projects lined up for that! We're making a papyrus boat out of drinking straws right now! HA!

So in the past couple of weeks, we've been to a play, we also went to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and learned about the pipe organ and the percussion instruments and how they became a part of the symphony. Very interesting, actually! And we've had a "hoe down" party with the homeschool friends! This brought a lot of laughs as the boys were learning to square dance...um...sort of!

We've also started a unit on World Religions that Camo thinks is incredibly interesting. It's a fun time to teach that one...and there is so much to be learned! Stay tuned as we'll have updates from Halloween...and we have a couple of really fun field trips coming up!!! So as of tomorrow...HAPPY NOVEMBER!!!

Football playoffs and a chalkboard table!!!

2008-10-22T13:33:00.001-07:00

Well, what a fun time for us! We are loving the unit on Egypt. Fascinating! Camo loves it! He is doing fabulous in math, which is really good! He's come a long way! Everything in school is great. Nothing really NEWS worthy, just all good!

Now...let's talk football. Little thing's team is undefeated. Also, nobody has scored on them! The entire season and the playoff game...this coming Saturday is the superbowl...so of course, we hope the trend continues!!!!!!! Camo is starting defense and offense, so he gets some MAJOR exercise on Saturdays! HA! Of course, then comes home and celebrates by doing bike tricks in football gear...sigh...

The other fun thing is that we finally painted our table. I was asked if I'd document it, so I did. So this week's blog is kinda lame in the school part, but fun in the other parts! HA HA
Alright, here's the deal. I've been DYING to have a table painted in chalkboard, so when the boys are doing school, they can just jot things down on the table. Figure out math problems, work on art, diagrams, there's so much to do on the table!!!! So...here was the journey:

So this is what it began as.

Then we did THREE COATS of primer...

Then, we did 2 coats of chalkboard paint, (waiting 24 hrs between each coat...and 24 hrs before we drew on it) and now...this is it! All I have left to do is to cover the seats on the chairs! We love it!

Fall is here!

2008-10-09T11:35:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been almost a month since I updated! Sorry about that! We have been so busy since getting home from our trip. (excuses, excuses!)
Alright...here's the update:
We have discovered this month that Camo actually LIKES math. He's doing so much better and says this is the first time since 2nd grade that he understands what he's doing...YAAAAAY!!!!!

The fun, photo worthy things we've done since getting back are:

Going to the dairy farm and learning and seeing the milking process. I took both boys. Mine, and the little 5 yr old that I teach 3 days a week. They both learned a lot, and so did I!

We are also wrapping up our "Human Body" unit. We have some more at home studying to do, but the labs are complete. We ended on a brain and eyeball note and the eyeball ended up being Camo's favorite thing! The one photo is him holding the lens of the eye. Very interesting! So the photos show the brain, the eyeball, the presentation that Camo did on Alzheimer's Disease...the boys at the dairy farm...we really have had a lot of fun! Once we completely finish the Human Body unit, we'll be moving onto The Solar System. We'll also be doing Environmental Science, and might still stay with our group of kids we've been with for the Human Body labs. There's 11 kids in that group and we might scale it down to about 6 or so for the Environmental labs...that's in the works!

One thing I have learned since teaching Camo, is that hands on is the way to go. Also, going outside is good, too. I can see him open up when we go outside to do math...no stress...just nature. He really loves that, too. I wish there was a way to teach everything I need to teach him with some great experiment...and sitting outside. How great would THAT be?

We've also been doing yoga. He's in a pre-teen yoga class and as much as he was worried about it being "girly"...he loves it! He does yoga and then works out afterwards and I think it's really great! So does he!

Alright...Just wanted to share and update since I hadn't in a while and I usually get great feedback on the dissecting photos! HA!...I did miss posting the dissecting the kidney pictures, but you get the idea. All in all, he ended up dissecting: a long bone, knuckle, kidney, brain, eyeball, lungs and heart. He has enjoyed this more than anything I've ever seen him do in school. Absolutely fantastic!!!!

More later...Thanks for checkin' this out!

Coolest week so far this year!

2008-09-17T21:56:00.000-07:00

What a fantastic week! We hiked the Grand Canyon. Went down Bright Angel Trail and did the rim trail from Yavapai Point. We saw wildlife and learned so much about geology! AMAZING!

We also went to Las Vegas and saw the sights and also saw the Shark Exhibit at Mandalay Bay. Incredibly interesting and educational...so much sea life! We also got to pet a sting ray!

We rented a documentary on the building of the Hoover Dam, then went and took the DAM TOUR which is priceless info on the building. We got to walk into and through the dam and also learn about the electricity that the dam provides to a huge area. Amazing to see...

We went through the Petrified Forest and the Painted Deserts which are just stunning to observe and learn about the different geology and simply awesome sights. Also, we passed the Continental Divide and learned what that was!

In New Mexico, we also took a Mining Tour and learned about uranium, what it is and how they mined for it. Then, you CAN'T pass Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, TX and lettin' the kiddo do his graffiti art on a set of cars in the dirt! ha ha!

Then we came home and after a presentation on the muscular system...and telling everyone how when hiking, it was a prime educational time to learn what lactic acid is and how it feels when your muscles are full of it! HA HA....We then learned about the heart and lungs...and then dissected a heart and lungs (and trachea) and Camo said this was the first dissection that actually kinda grossed him out. (ha!)

Absolutely such a fun filled week of learning! After this week, the next ones are going to seem a bit mundane for a while, but there's nothing better than learning out in the world and we both had an EXCELLENT time while doing that this week!!!!! And I hate that this is linking to the photos, but just ignore that. It won't let me fix it. DANG IT!

Another week in school...

2008-09-10T18:06:00.001-07:00

We had another really fun week! This week in science, which seems to be his favorite, we were working on the skeletal system. More specifically, joints. He made a model of the 4 main types of joints and presented it to his class.

(First photos are him waiting patiently to present, then his presentation)

Then so began the fun of learning about ligaments and tendons. We start the muscles next. This week will be making a model of a muscle or writing a report on something related to muscles and making that presentation.

(The next two photos are him dissecting a chicken). Looking for bones, joints, tendons, etc, within that chicken. MUCH fun was had and he even kept dissecting for about half an hour after class was OVER! ha ha

We also finished "Call of the Wild" and all of the study questions. Good book. In the end he liked it.

Still pluggin' away at math...still not his favorite but we're working on it!

We also signed up at the YMCA and he took a fitness training course and he can't wait to start working out! HA HA

We'll update you next week...because this upcoming week holds some surprises and incredibly cool new lessons!!! Stay tuned... (ha!)

The Skeletal System

2008-09-03T19:37:00.000-07:00

The skeletal system was never as fascinating when I was in school!

Let me back up, first. Today we presented our model of DNA. We had drawn a cell and all of its parts...so Camo chose to make a model of a DNA strand. Lots of work, lots of learning...and it was finally done. I'll remember this model for a LONG time since parts of it are still super glued to my breakfast table! (sigh...)

We took it to science "class" and he
presented all of the facts that he knew about DNA and it went GREAT!

Then, the good parts. Models were done, cells and DNA were done, presentations were done. No more nucleus talk, no more cell membrane, sugar, posphate...all that crap, done.

It was SKELETAL SYSTEM TIME!!! Which, to Camo, meant one thing. Dissecting and cutting things.

Yep. Bones. We got the kids all paired off and gave each pair a big ole cow leg to see the parts of the bone and to dig the marrow out and to find how blood got in and out of it. I've never seen kids so fascinated by a bone before in my LIFE!

Fantastic day...we ended it by joining the YMCA so we can workout and do even MORE! (yes, because we have so darned much time!) However; I did have to share some bone photos before we did too much to share! I told you that September was gonna be fun!

The Last Week of August

2008-09-01T13:17:00.000-07:00

Photos:

Camo and me

Tadpole about to go under the scope.

Paramecium in microscope and on the computer

Skateboard presentation

Tackling in football

We rounded out our first month of school with a really fun last week!

We're ending our "cell" unit and making a model of a cell which will be presented the beginning of Sept. in the science class. The science class is fantastic and also prompted us to buy a microscope! After looking at cheek cells under the scope, we bought one, and have looked at a tadpole, salt, baking soda, paramecium, pollen, leaves, flower petals, yogurt, EVERYTHING! Incredibly fun!

Camo also did a presentation on his favorite skill or hobby to a group of boys around his same age. He did a GREAT job and presented skateboarding tricks, along with photos of the ones he can do. The coolest part? He hooked up with these two kids (also in our homeschool group) that play bass and guitar and skateboard and rollerblade, etc...yep, he found two more guys just like him! HA!

He's got two football games under his belt now and both games have been won! Both games were older kids, but our guys prevailed and even have yet to be scored on! (GO DEFENSE!)

So, it's September 1st...and this month will hold more fun, more education and a field trip to two! So I'll check back, keep ya updated on our fun...

Peace!

What we did in August

2008-08-24T14:38:00.000-07:00

Photos:

Being Artistic,

Being Studious,

At the Texas Tech Museum,

Tadpoles,

Camo and his cousin collecting toad eggs.

What a fantastic journey! We started homeschooling on August 1st and made quite a lot of discoveries about what the little guy had learned and had failed to learn. Where he's on a 9th grade spelling level, grammar is tough, creative writing is tough and math has many lessons that, I guess, were skipped for the benefit of the TAKS test?

So here's what we've focused on this month:

Saxon Math 6/5: One lesson a day, one timed test a day and all is going really well! Some things have been a worthwhile review, while some things are completely new concepts and some are simply a lesson that was never understood, but is now!

Spelling Power: Spelling is something that comes easily to him, and he started leaps and bounds above his age. This led me to alternate spelling and vocabulary (240 Vocabulary Words Every 6th Grader Should Know) on each day. The vocabulary has lead to creative writing using the words and has been a GREAT addition to the week!

For Grammar, we're using two books: Basic First Grammar and Basic First Capitalization and Punctuation which are fantastic for us. This one has been a tougher subject than I would have thought, but he's catching on FAST!

We've done a unit on the Election Process using "Meet the Presidents" and have begun the process of Learning about George Washington. We will be going through each President and learning about each one, and what was going on in the US at the time. (Mixing US History and Government).

Every Friday, we use "The Everything Kids Environment Book" to learn about Environmental Science. This is one of the favorites, because each lesson comes with an experiment. So far, we've made a cloud in a bottle, smog in a jar and a terrarium to learn about the water cycle. This completed Unit one, which was "How our Planet Works" and when coupled with the experiments, even the reading of the information is exciting!

In literature, our first book was/is "The Call of the Wild" and after every chapter, we learn vocabulary words and answer questions about the story. There was some initial problems with reading comprehension, but even that has started to even out and get better! So far, he's enjoying this book!

To help with reading comprehension, we're picking out interesting people in the world, and he reads all about them and then writes a biography report. The first person chosen was Mohandas Gandhi. He read books and biographies and we also watched the movie, Gandhi. I can tell having people of interest to write about helps him comprehend what he has read. This has been a great exercise. (Joan of Arc is next on the biography list!)

Some of the things that we're most excited about this month:

We went to a music class at The House of Blues. It was a concert/presentation on the history of blues music, through slavery, Jim Crow law and up...and also showed how blues music has influenced all music of today. It was INCREDIBLE!

We are also doing a class with some other moms, which has 11 kids in the "class" that meets once a week to do science labs. We will learn the lessons here at home, then get together to "lab" with the other kids. What we do and will do in the labs is: looking at cheek cells under a microscope. Dissecting: long bone, knuckle, brain, heart, kidney, eyeball and a lung. There is one lab (dissection) per week. I think this is the most anticipated thing thus far!

We also collected toad eggs from a creek and have put them in a frog habitat, watched them hatch and become tadpoles! He's documenting and researching every stage of their lives and has drawings and descriptions of every thing that happens every day. (For example, did you know when they hatch, tadpoles do not have mouths? EXACTLY! interesting, right?)

September looks to be even more fun than August, with more plans, football in full swing, and we are having the time of our lives! I'll check back in with new updates!