Friday, October 30, 2015

Weekly Wrap-up: Week 8 & 9 - Welcoming in November

CORE WORK
Cate continued to work on verbs (section 3) with English Grammar 101. She wasn't satisfied with her 5 paragraph essay on medieval music, deciding to rework parts of the essay. (I'm thrilled that SHE took the initiate to polish the essay up.) She's on list 8 of her vocab building. She's reading Little Women (Alcott).

She's completed 70% of pre-algebra on Khan Academy.

Sam motored on in his Grammar and Writing Handbook. We created a list of areas we've worked on for writing a "perfect paragraph", which included one main idea, supporting sentences, a concluding sentence, capitals and punctuation, using adjectives, self-editing, and varied types of sentences. He continues to work on Grammar with Grammar Ninja  and Spelling with Grade Spelling. He conquered spelling week 4 list and is now on 5, but with each week being a challenge I've had him start making flashcards. He finished reading The Great Brain(Fitzgerald) and started Diary of a Wimpy: The Last Straw (Kinney).

He's completed 47% of math 4 on Khan Academy.

MODELING RADAR
Using a box, Plaster of Paris, crumbled scrap paper, a skewer, a ruler, and a pencil, Sam learned how radar works. I created "mountains" inside the box with scrap paper and Plaster of Paris, then closed it up. A grid was roughly drawn on the top. Using the skewer, he gently pierced the top of the box until it hit resistance, measuring the distance on the skewer with a ruler. Using 48 measurements he could roughly sketch out the "mountains" inside the box without seeing them.


INTO THE WOODS

Waiting for Cate at band practice can be tough on Sam and I. We bring along his book work, and (if THE parking spot is available closest to the school) we watch some on-line videos to go with our studies, but sometimes we just need to get out of the van and stretch our legs. I discovered a short trail through the woods a few weeks ago when Sam wasn't with us, so I brought him along for a walk this time.



BACK IN HISTORY
Cate studied medieval music last week with Easy Peasy, then finished polishing up a 5 paragraph essay to summarize what she had learned. This week she reviewed the basics of note reading and delved into early Japanese music (week 25).

Sam watched "America the Story of Us: Revolution" and  "America the Story of Us: Westward". We skipped "Revolution" somehow and had to go back in history to catch up. He watched "How the States Got Their Shapes: West Best?". He named 50/50 states on Level 1 in Sheppardsoftware US Geography, moving onto Level 2 then Level 3 quickly.

BRICK-BY-BRICK

I joined a carpool to get Jake (and 2 other boys) to STEM in late September, and Jake's dad is helping out with transportation some afternoons. It's opened up some free time for other activities. Sam joined up with the Library Lego Club this week. (And I finally picked up a book to read...) He also enjoyed some dizzy fun on the playground behind the library.


COOL COLORING
Cate discovered adult coloring pages. She enjoys coloring ones with inspirational or uplifting sayings, and has started to create a wall of her finished pages. Unfortunately the page corners are curling, so we're going to pick up thick paper to mount them on when we're in town again.


DAYS COMPLETED: CATE - 69 | SAM - 67

SHOULD WE?
In a typical year we don't usually complete this many days until around Christmas break, but our summer studies have put us ahead of schedule. If you don't see a wrap-up post next week, it might be because I surprised the kids with a week off...

As always, special thanks to these bloggers for their weekly homeschool blog link-ups. Click on over to see what other homeschoolers are doing!

 photo 337a3ef2-b881-48f4-8a2c-9c69e457cb5b_zps8b6152cf.pngHomegrown LearnersWeird Unsocialized Homeschoolers

Happy Homeschooling!

18 comments:

  1. Gosh Jessy, Sam has grown so tall! (And why am I constantly surprised how kids do this?!) Autumn looks beautiful in your part of the world.

    I love the colouring pages. My parents-in-law got me an adult colouring scene for my birthday but I haven't felt inspired to start it. I think uplifting sayings would make the difference for me - like a meditation as you colour.

    Well done being ahead of schedule. Enjoy your week off, if you take it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He has, hasn't he? He's no longer my LITTLE boy! It won't be too long before he's taller than me! Cate loves coloring her pages. She's found most of these on-line for free, but I recently purchased her a book of inspirational pages from Amazon. They were inexpensive and it's something she enjoys. Looks like we're not taking off THIS week...

      Delete
  2. I absolutely love the modeling radar idea. I think my boys would really enjoy that!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was super simple with our Apologia Astronomy kit! You can make a smaller grid with more boxes for a more refined study of radar, but he quickly understood the concept of radar and how it worked, and he was done pushing the skewer through the cardboard and measuring. LOL

      Delete
  3. What a great nature walk. Have a blessed week.
    Blessings, Dawn

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was! Just a short one, but sometimes getting out of the van and stretching our legs in the fresh air and sunshine is fun. Sam spends a number of hours "van schooling" and a change sometimes is a must!

      Delete
  4. What a great week. You guys certainly have accomplished a lot so far this year. You deserve a break!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Phyllis! You guys always seem to do a lot too!

      Delete
  5. Very cool radar modeling project. Enjoy the week, if you take it off or not!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Christy! We're enjoying science much more this year with the Apologia kits. I never wanted to spend the money on them before, but they're definitely worth the convenience and ability to do experiments with ease.

      Delete
  6. My daughter is using Khan Academy, and she loves it! And Little Women...such a great book!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I never thought I would like Khan Academy (and there are aspects that I don't), but it's working for math this year. Perhaps we'll try another subject or area next year!

      Delete
  7. Sam's radar model sounds quite interesting and the walk in the woods looks like it was a lovely way to while away the waiting time! I love those coloring pages. I hope you all get your break next week! Have fun!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I decided NOT to take the week off. The kids might be off to visit family next week so...

      Delete
  8. Great post! Looks like you all have been quite busy :-) Hope you have a wonderful week

    Blessings,
    Jill

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm going to check into Grammar Ninja... You've got me intrigued!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a simple on-line game, Emily, but it's great for review. The ? in the corner explains what the grammar concept means.

      Delete

Thanks for reading! Please share your thoughts in the comment box. We love hearing from our visitors!