Weekly Wrap-up: Week 26 - 28 - The End is in Sight

It's been difficult  for me to keep up with blogging. With the warmer weather and the school year wrapping up, our focus hasn't been on school. We have lots of plans this summer, so I'm not sure how much blogging I'll be able to accomplish. Sometimes it's important to experience life rather than record it. But I'll certainly be around here and there, and definitely in the fall when another new year begins.

CORE CURRICULUM
Cate
My Life in a Post (blog)
Needful Things (King), Everblade (Messenger)
Khan Academy: Pre-Algebra (94%)
CNN Student News

Sam
MobyMax: Language, Reading, Reading Comprehension, Math Fluency
Wattpad: Capitals, Punctuation, Showing Spoken Words
Cursive Copywork: 
Eragon (Paolini)
Saxon 65: Test 7 (87.5%), Lesson 40 (Fractions), Lesson 41 (Fractions Using Number Lines), Lesson 42 (Comparing Fractions), Lesson 43 (Mixed Numbers), Lesson 44 (Adding and Subtracting Fractions), Lesson 45 (Short Division), Test 8 (905), Lesson 46 (Fractions), Lesson 47 (Divison with Remainders/Mixed Numbers), Lesson 48 (Metric Scale), Lesson 49 (Inch), Lesson 50 (Fraction Pictures), Test 9 (87.5%), Lesson 51 (Compass), Lesson 52 (Mixed Measures), Lesson 53 (Expanded Notation), Lesson 54 (Informational Problems), Lesson 55 (Word Problems), Test 10 ( %)
CNN Student News

ASTRONOMY
Sam finished on Lesson 13: Stars and Galaxies in Apologia Astronomy. He recorded information summaries and biographies on lined paper rather than printed notebooking pages. (I'm out of printer ink...) He's learned about: constellations, asterisms, star systems, black holes, supernovas and nebulae, variable stars, categorizing stars through temperature, size and brightness, light years, 4 types of galaxies, and God's design for the heavens. He completed a project making an astrometer and a constellation viewer. 

Then he finished his final lesson in Apologia Astronomy, Lesson 14 Space Travel where he learned about the "Space Race" between the US and Russia, Sputnik, the International Space Station, and built is own model of a space station from recycled materials.

Science? Complete!

GENERAL SCIENCE
Cate finished up Module 14: The Human Circulatory System with a 100% on her exam, and Module 15: The Lymphatic System with a 93.3%. She only has 1 more module to complete as well as a few previous experiments.

US HISTORY and GEOGRAPHY
I read aloud chapters 10-30 to Sam from A History of US: Making Thirteen Colonies 1600-1740 (Hakim). Our reading covered the creation of government in America with the House of Burgesses, King James of England, the Pilgrims and Puritans and Church of England, Henry Hudson and New York, Peter Stuyvesant and the Dutch in New York, the Duke of York James and New Jersey, Oliver Cromwell and King Charles I, William Penn and Pennsylvania, Ben Franklin, 

DAYS COMPLETED: CATE - 169 | SAM - 157

As always, special thanks to these bloggers for their weekly wrap-up blog hops. 

Have a WONDERFUL week! Happy homeschooling!

Weekly Wrap-up: Week 21 & 22 - Brief Peek Ahead

With some topsy-turvy news last Thursday, we decided to take that day and Friday off as Stress Relief Days. Isn't it awesome that we can do that? We were ready to get back to schooling this week with renewed focused!

CONGRATULATIONS TO CATE ON HER ACCEPTANCE TO STEAM (Science/Technology/Engineering/Art/Mathematics) HIGH SCHOOL NEXT YEAR! 

We've known for a couple of weeks now, but I thought I would finally share with you all. Next year will be the first time EVER that I will only have one student homeschooling. We will miss Cate, but she will be experiencing new adventures in learning! (Jake also attends the same school.)

CORE WORK

CATI

• English Grammar 101: Section 8 - Verbals and Phrases  (83%) and Section 11: Punctuation (95%)
• My Life in a Post: blog (She would love some followers and readers...)
• Vocab Test: List 9 (100%), List 10 (90%), List 11 (50%)
• Jungle Book (Kipling)
• Khan Academy: Pre-Algebra (90% Completed)
• CNN Student News

SAM

• English Grammar 101: Section 1 - Nouns - Lesson 3 (50%/87%), Lesson 4 (65%/65%)
• Writing: 5 Paragraph Essay - Finished Rough Draft, Edited, Final
• Cursive Copywork: Genesis 1:1, Psalms 4:8
• The Tale of Despereaux (DiCamillo), Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School (Kinney)
• Saxon 65 - Lesson 19 (Division Factors), Lesson 20 (Ways to Write Division), Test 3 (90%), Lesson 21 (Equal Parts Problems), Lesson 22 (Division with Remainders), Lesson 23 (Halves, Quarters, Tenths), Lesson 24 (Dollars and Parentheses) and Lesson 25 (Whole Number Factors)
• Timed Addition Facts - Starting Time/Correct 9:00:17/99, Current Best Time/Correct 4:47:11/100
• Timed Subtraction Facts - Starting Time/Correct 6:48:80/100, Current Best Time/Correct 
• CNN Student News

His handwriting has gotten oh-so-better this year. It's not perfect, and sometimes he mixes cursive letters with printed ones, but it's legible and not huge. But the biggest accomplishment? He doesn't dread writing quite as badly!

I also started Sam on math review at Prodigy (LINK). It's a free on-line math game that encourages kids to review math concepts. (NOTE: The game is based on wizards and magic, so if you are uncomfortable with that then this resource wouldn't work for you.) My plan is to use it as a 10 minute or so review AFTER he completes his Saxon math lesson and timed facts test 2-3 times a week or when he needs a break from "the usual" text work. 

(He also has Khan Academy Math 4 where he has completed 45%.)

He also spent some time designing and building a "wheel loader" with front end suspension (as the wheels stay on the ground no matter the "terrain") out of Legos.



ASTRONOMY

Sam and I finished Chapter 10: Saturn this week.

• Notebook and Project Page
• "Saturn: Crash Course Astronomy #18" (You Tube)
• Saturn's Tilt, Seasons, Gas Make-up, Rotation, Rings
• Cassini Mission
• Scientist Biography: Christian Huygens
• Make a Centaur Rocket Project

GENERAL SCIENCE

Cati finished Module 10: Classifying Life this week with a 100% on her test.

• Experiment: Factors that Affect Bacterial Growth
• Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cells
• Pathogens
• Decomposers
• 5 Kingdom System: Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae and Animalia

U.S. HISTORY and GEOGRAPHY

Sam and I read chapters 22-28 in  History of Us: The First Americans Prehistory-1600 (Hakim) these last 2 weeks.

• Hernando Cortez and the Spanish Conquistadors
• Aztecs, Quetzalcoatl and Moctezuma
• Rebus, Pictographic Writing, and Codices
• Mesoamerica: Olmecs, Zapotecs, Mitla, and Mayans
• Maize
• Esteban and Fray Marcos Search for Cibola
• Coronado, De Soto and Cabrillo
• Onate, Santa Fe and Missionaries

MUSIC HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY and CULTURES

Cati studies Music History with Easy Peasy Homeschool, and finished Year 3 Geography and Cultures last week, and started Year 4 Modern Music this week. Since the lessons are quick, she completes one week per day, sometimes more. This week she completed weeks 23-36 then 1-6.

• Jazz and Concert Band Practice
• Percussion, Brass and String Instruments
• San Francisco Orchestra Historical Music
• Listen to Identify Instruments Played in an Orchestra
• Play and Compose Music
• Hans Pfitzner
• Das Christ-Elflein
• Tchaikovsky and "The Nutcracker"

She went to Jazz and Concert band practices this week, and had her Jazz competition last Thursday. Later in March her jazz group will travel to play in the state competition!

DAYS COMPLETED: CATE - 130 | SAM - 121

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

Happy Homeschooling!

Weekly Wrap-up: Week 19 - The One with a Sick Bug and Snow Returns

Poor Cate started the week with ill with fever, in bed. She's a trooper though. She was determined to get in at least a half day of school on Monday and Tuesday. (Her goal is to finish up her year by mid-April.) Fortunately, whatever Cate, Jake and I had, it skipped over Sam. For now. 

And then the snow arrived. The predicted few inches are off by quite a bit. It continues to snow heavily this afternoon. A perfect day for PJs, movies, baking, reading, and shoveling.

CORE WORK

CATI

• English Grammar 101: Section 7 - Conjunctions and Interjections
• My Life in a Post: blog
• Vocab Test: List 3 (90%), List 4 (60%)
• Laddie (Stratton Potter)
• Khan Academy: Pre-Algebra (86% Completed)
• CNN Student News

SAM

• English Grammar 101: Lesson 1 - Nouns (88%)
• Writing: 5 Paragraph Essay - Opening and 2nd Paragraph
• The Tale of Despereaux (DiCamillo)
• Saxon 65 - Lesson 11 (Multiple Step Addition Word Problems), Lesson 12 (Number Lines/Tally Marks), Lesson 13 (Multiplying Repeated Addition), Lesson 14 (Missing Numbers in Subtraction)
• CNN Student News

ASTRONOMY

It was all about Jupiter this week as we studied Lesson 9 in Apologia. (Only 5 more lessons to go!)

• Notebook Page/Project Page
• Facts about Jupiter
• "Jupiter: Crash Course Astronomy #16"
• "Jupiter's Moons: Crash Course Astronomy #17"
• Jupiter's Structure, Moons, Rotation, Revolution, and Orbit

GENERAL SCIENCE

Cati started Module 8: Uniformitarianism and Castastrophism, a continued look into these two concepts from last module.

• Vocab: Index Fossils, Geological Column, Evolution
• Experiment: Simulation of Using Index Fossils

U.S. HISTORY and GEOGRAPHY

Sam and I didn't read History of Us: The First Americans Prehistory-1600 (Hakim) this week, but instead watched some documentaries on You Tube to reinforce last week's chapters.

• "Christopher Columbus (A&E)"
• "Ferdinand Magellan Voyages of Discovery - Circumnavigation Part 1/4 (BBC)"
• "Ferdinand Magellan Voyages of Discovery - Circumnavigation Part 2/4 (BBC)"

MUSIC HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY and CULTURES

Cati studies Music History with Easy Peasy Homeschool, and continued on with Year 3 Geography and Cultures. Since the lessons are quick, she completes one week per day, sometimes more. This week she completed weeks 13-19.

• Brass and Percussion Instruments
• Concert Band Practice

She went to Concert band practice this week, preparing for the Jazz competition coming up in a few weeks.

DAYS COMPLETED: CATE - 115 | SAM - 110

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

Happy Homeschooling!

Weekly Wrap-up: Week 18 - The One with Pet Pics (Because I Forgot Homeschool Ones)

Oops! I didn't take a single photo of homeschool this week, so how about some pet pics instead?

CORE WORK

CATI

• English Grammar 101: Section 6 - Prepositions (99%), Section 7 - Conjunctions and Interjections
• Writing - Started a Blog (Visit her here)
• Vocab Test List 2 (95%), List 3 (85%)
• Laddie (Stratton Potter)
• Khan Academy Pre-Algebra - 85% Completed

SAM

• Grammar and Writing Handbook: Unit 2 - Commas, Unit 3 - Verbs 
• Grammar Smart Junior: Nouns,  Pronouns
• English Grammar 101: Lesson 1 - Nouns (58%)
• Writing - Descriptive Writing 5 Essay Paragraph
• Grammar Ninja - Level 2 
• Rascal (North)
• Saxon 65 - Lesson 8 (Subtraction Facts), Lesson 9 (Subtraction Algorithm), Lesson 10 (Missing Addends), Test 1 (100%)

More changes for Sam and his curriculum. Math is moving ahead again with the change from Khan to Saxon, but we needed a change in Grammar as well. So, he started English Grammar 101 (online). He also started learning to write a 5 paragraph essay since he's finding "perfect paragraphs" boring. 

ASTRONOMY

Sam finished Lesson 8: Rocks, studying meteors and asteroids and creating a model of the solar system.

• Notebook Page/Project Page
• Asteroid Belt
• Solar System Model

GENERAL SCIENCE

Cati finished Module 7: The Fossil Record this week with a 90% on her exam.

• How Fossils are Formed
• Features of Fossil Records
• Petrifaction 
• Carbonate Residues and Impressions

U.S. HISTORY and GEOGRAPHY

I read aloud to Sam from History of Us: The First Americans Prehistory-1600 (Hakim). We covered chapters 16-19.

• Christopher Columbus
• Beginning of American Slavery
• Navigation
• Latitude and Longitude
• Taino
• Cartography
• Abraham Zacuto and Astronomical Charts
• Giovanni Caboto
• Vasco Nunez de Balboa
• Ferdinand Magellan 

MUSIC HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY and CULTURES

Cati studies Music History with Easy Peasy Homeschool, and continued on with Year 3 Geography and Cultures. Since the lessons are quick, she completes one week per day, sometimes more. This week she completed weeks 9-12.

• Woodwind and Brass Instruments

ENRICHMENT

Cati

• Jazz and Concert Band
• CNN Student News
• Walked miles

Sam

• CNN Student News

DAYS COMPLETED: CATE - 114 | SAM - 108

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

Happy Homeschooling!

Weekly Wrap-up: Week 17 - Focus, Focus, Focus!

It's been one of those weeks where *I*  just wanted to break from school and housework, and just read and crochet and stay warm in cozy PJs. What's a homeschool mom to do? I prodded on, knowing that we're aiming for wrapping up the year by the end of April and taking too many breaks won't get us there. The kids did great despite *my* lack of focus. Unfortunately, I didn't feel like taking photos either, so this post doesn't have many. The kids are off to spend some time with their Dad this weekend; a perfect time for THIS mom to reboot.

CORE WORK

CATI

• English Grammar 101: Section 5 Modifiers - Adjectives and Adverbs (100%), Section 6 - Prepositions
• Writing - Martin Luther King, Jr. 5 Paragraph Essay
• Vocab Test Grade 9 List 1 (89%)
• Laddie (Stratton Potter)
• Khan Academy Pre-Algebra - 83% Completed

SAM

• Grammar and Writing Handbook: Unit 2 - Commas, Unit 3 - Verbs 
• Grammar Smart Junior: Nouns
• Writing - Descriptive Writing 5 Essay Paragragh
• Grammar Ninja - Level 2
• Cursive Copywork - James 1:19
• Rascal (North)
• Khan Academy Math 4 - 45% Completed
• Saxon 65 - Lesson 4 (Equal To/Less Than/ Greater Than), Lesson 5 (Naming Whole Numbers), Lesson 6 (Addition Algorithm), Lesson 7 (Ordinal Numbers)

Sam's struggling a bit with the Grammar and Writing Handbook, so I found Grammar Smart Junior at the library and we're reviewing some concepts before moving on.

A slower, simpler way to review grammar with Sam.

ASTRONOMY

Sam continued on with Lesson 8: Rocks, studying meteors and asteroids and creating a model of the solar system.

• Notebook Page/Project Page
• Comets, Comas, and Orbits
• Halley's, Hale-Bopp and Shoemaker - Levy Comets
• Kuiper Belt, Oort Cloud and Asteroid Belt
• Meteorites, Meteoroids and Meteors
• Asteroids

GENERAL SCIENCE

Cati started Module 7: The Fossil Record this week. She made a fossil cast and model of the carbonization process as well as an experiment of mineral evaporation. 

• How Fossils are Formed
• Features of Fossil Records
• Petrifaction 
• Carbonate Residues and Impressions

Cate used Plaster of Paris to make a fossil model...with her colorful flair.

U.S. HISTORY and GEOGRAPHY

I read aloud to Sam from History of Us: The First Americans Prehistory-1600 (Hakim). We covered chapters 13-15.

• Vikings or Norseman
• Archaeology, Anthropology, Historians, and Zoology to Determine History
• Early Maps
• Johannes Gutenberg and the Printing Press
• Renaissance Period
• Improvements in the Compass and Cartography for Sea Navigation
• Henry the Navigator
• Christopher Columbus
• Ptolemy

MUSIC HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY and CULTURES

Cati studies Music History with Easy Peasy Homeschool, and continued on with Year 3 Geography and Cultures. Since the lessons are quick, she completes one week per day, sometimes more. This week she completed weeks 4-8.

• Double Bass
• Harp
• Woodwinds

ENRICHMENT

Cati

• Concert Band
• CNN Student News
• Walked miles
• Photography
• Baked Homemade Samoas Cookies

Cate made Girl Scout Samoas Copy Cat Cookies. They were delish!

Sam

• CNN Student News

DAYS COMPLETED: CATE - 109 | SAM - 104

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

Happy Homeschooling!