Choose Your Own Science Project 09

Our favorite part of the school year has arrived!  It’s time for the annual Choose Your Own Science Project!

The kids love it because:

1- They love science.

2- They get to pick something they want to learn more about.

3- They get to be creative in making visual aids, experiments and demonstrations to accompany their presentation.

4- They get to do an oral presentation.  This bunch of extroverts live for the chance to talk.

I love it because they love it.  It’s a great way to end our school year on a high note. This year Gee will be working on computers and  Bee will be covering snakes. 

Zee isn’t even technically in kindergarten yet but he doesn’t want to miss out on all the fun.  Last year, he did a speech of his own on plants just from what he’d learned from his sisters about the subject.  This year I’m kicking it up a notch and helping him develop his own presentation on his topic – polar bears.  He takes it seriously and wants to cover all the information in the books, take notes and know everything there is to know so he can shine on presentation day.

A Long Stretch of Winter

After 3 years of homeschooling, I can start to see patterns in how our homeschool goes throughout the year.  This is that long stretch of winter where I tend to settle into, shall we say, ’less inspired teaching’. 

There’s not much to write about because we’re not doing anything terribly interesting or fun.  The girls are doing math worksheets, some practice standardized testing (to prepare for the test they must take in a few months) and reading daily.

The girls have both learned to type about 30 WPM so we’ve swapped daily typing practice for daily music practice instead.  Gee has begun piano lessons and Bee is learning to play the guitar.  Both are excited about what they’re learning so the 30 minutes of practice time is something they look forward to.

That pretty much sums it up.  There are no cool projects, no interesting lessons, no inspired assignments…..  just the daily grind.  Keeping up …but not really moving forward.

In years past, this same thing happened this time of year.   I think it’s partly due to the weather in our climate.  This is when the novelty of snow has worn off and the constant cold starts to wear on you.  It begins to feel like you’re just killing time, counting down the days till spring arrives.

I’ve accepted that this is just how it is.   Next year I’ll be sure to consider this pattern when drawing up the homeschool plan.  Maybe we’ll try taking some time off during this period.

Spring will soon be here and with it will come new energy in our homeschool routines.  Until then, the girls will just do the daily grind so they can get outside and enjoy the snow while it lasts.

Changes

Last week was a busy one for us. 

Tuesday was the big day – the girls both started their 30 month orthodontic treatments.  They’re still getting used to having metal in their mouths a week later.

Thursday was the day of a routine eye exam.  It’s been 2 years since they’ve had an exam but they had no problems last time around so I expected the same this time as well.  Instead, we discovered that both girls need glasses full time.

Braces.  Glasses.  With two huge changes in the same week I decided we should simply complete the makeover…. I took them both to get their hair cut. 

They look great! 

Retreat to The Teacher’s Lounge!

It’s that kind of day.

It’s our first real day back at homeschool since before Christmas.  We started out with some review math worksheets.  Just about every answer on the page was wrong.  They couldn’t remember how to subtract or compare fractions.  They don’t remember how to divide fractions or solve for an unknown.  They added 8 and 7 and got 18.  They divided 15 by 3 and got 3.  How is this possible?

I suppose since our breaks are less ‘official’ I somehow expected we’d simply slide back into academic work without a hitch.  I couldn’t have been more wrong. 

I suspect they’re feeling the need for a bit more vacation…. and they’re not the only ones.

I gave the old “I can’t believe you guys don’t remember how to do these simple things!”  speech, packed up the math materials for the day and sent them off to read books on oceanography.   I’ve retreated to the teacher’s lounge to try to put everything in perspective. 

I’m frustrated with myself that my expectations were a bit unrealistic and disappointed that I let my frustration get the better of me.  I remember how it felt to slowly get those gears turning again after an extended break.   I should have been a bit more understanding. 

So where do I go from here?  I think we’ll spend our afternoon doing some art lessons and playing educational games.  I think I’ll make some fresh copies of the math worksheets for tomorrow – so we can do them together, reviewing how to do them all.  I think I’ll make a plan for the rest of the week that will ease them back into using all those brain cells at the same time. 

But right now, I’m going to go make them some hot chocolate and apologize for my part in this whole mess….

Where’d December Go?

Here we are.  Two days till Christmas and I’m trying to figure out…. Where did December go? 

Once again, the time for submitting my quarterly paperwork to the school has caught me by surprise.  No doubt, I would not be doing it if it wasn’t required.  But it always has an upside for me as I’m forced to pause and consider what has been accomplished.

The study on Germany wasn’t the most comprehensive or the most fun one we’ve done.  But I think the girls walked away with valuable knowledge about important aspects of WWII.  Weeks later they’re still sharing with anyone who will listen what they learned about Anne Frank and Hitler in their individual studies.  It’s given them both a solid place from which we can continue to explore the history as the opportunity arises.  It’s wet their appetite to learn more. 

The girls read several plays and books about how to put on a play.  Just in time for Christmas, they’re preparing their own play to put on for the family.  They’ve learned about how plays are written, about the roles of actors, directors and producers.  They’ve worked on their creative writing and cooperation skills.  And they’ve had a ball doing it.

They’ve discovered a couple of new book series which they’ve been zooming through.  They love them and they’re talking about them every chance they get.  I’m mainly a non-fiction reader myself so it’s a relief to see them enjoy their fiction without it being forced on them.

Zee is reading quite a few sight words, trying to read books to us and constantly asking, “What does that say?”  He knows all the letters and sounds and can sound out simple words. He loves to ‘do math’ and has already memorized some basic addition and subtraction facts.  He can count to 100 and beyond with ease.  He’s slowly practicing his writing skills and is producing simple drawings for us to enjoy.  Best of all, he loves – LOVES learning. About everything.  He’s learned all this over the course of what we do day in and day out…. no formal instruction. At all.  It’s really quite amazing.

In math, the girls are so far ahead of where we need to be in the Math-U-See curriculum that we’ve got time.  Ah, sweet time.  We’re slowly going over all the topics we’ve covered in the past, improving accuracy and keeping those skill sharp.  Occasionally we toss in something new, most often brought in by some real life situation where we need to solve a math problem.

Ok, ok.  You’re all sick of me bragging on about my kids.  I just can’t help it.  I’m proud of the work they’ve done, the effort they put into it and the progress they’ve made. The longer this homeschooling thing goes on, the better it gets.

More Christmas

It’s that time of year again!  We love Christmas time around here.

As we jump into the season the thought occured to me that this is yet another perk of the homeschooling lifestyle.  For music today we broke out the Guitar Hero and the girls sang and played along to Christmas carols.  We’ve got a few Christmas art projects planned already and as part of our studies the girls are learning about how to put on a Christmas play.

Now I’m sure that they’d do similar stuff if they were in school.  But because they’re here with me I get to do it all with them.  It’s not just music time or art time or drama class or creative writing practice.  It’s all family time.  And that’s really the best part of Christmas.

Sure we could try to squeeze some of this in even if the kids were in school….  But this way, there’s more of it.  More Christmas.  More time to enjoy the season together as a family.

Success…. Before the End

When we started our unit on Germany I filled the table with library books on various aspects.  As I expected, Bee was drawn to the story of Anne Frank.  Gee was interested in learning more about WWII.

I asked them both for a report on the topic of their choice.  Gee tends to be stronger in writing factual reports, persuasive pieces and speeches.  Bee is our creative writer and tends to struggle with the organization of reports.

So I was shocked when her rough draft was the first to cross my desk.  Then I read it.  Wow.  Just WOW! It was the best first draft ever.  She did an awesome job.  She still is.  As her revisions go on I’m just astounded by the thought and effort she’s putting into it.  It seems just yesterday she was writing like a little girl.  Today a young woman emerges without warning.  How’d that happen?!

And then there’s Gee.  The one who normal spits out well organized reports faster than I can assign them has yet to give me a rough draft.  No, she’s not slacking.  She’s been so engrossed in all the information she just can’t seem to narrow herself down to one topic.  She started with all the wars Germany fought in.  She read several books about Germany’s history, took notes and made a go at an outline.  The topic was simply too big.  She would have had a book if she’d tried to cover everything she wanted to. 

So I suggested she try to write about only one war and choose one aspect of that war to write on.  Making the choice wasn’t easy.  She really did want to write about it all. LOL  Finally she narrowed it down to World War II.  But her outline for that alone was still too much.  I asked her to narrow it down again.  So now she’s writing about Hitler. She’s only written notes about his childhood so far ….. and she’s already got 3 pages of notes – typed!

I am encouraging her to move along and get that rough draft done.  But I’m also watching her read a biography of Hitler with interest and trying to remind myself that she’s learning… and you know, that’s really the point, isn’t it.

So here we are, a week or two before the end of our unit on Germany…. but as far as I’m concerned, it’s already been a success.

Amazing

I sit here with my afternoon cup of hot chocolate in peace and quiet.  No.  I’m not alone.  There are 5 children in this house.  Yes, five – I’ve borrowed a few from a friend for the afternoon.  And yes, I’m the only adult around.

So I was sitting here sipping my cocoa and reading blogs when I think to myself…

Wow.  You’re good!  Five kids here and you’ve got time for blogs and a relaxing cup of cocoa.  You’re just amazing!

But then I look around.  Yes, it’s quiet and peaceful.  But that’s because the two older girls are busy working on their Germany reports – in separate rooms.  And of the three boys who are playing downstairs, two of them aren’t mine – thus the calming influence on Zee. 

So in the end, I must admit the truth to myself and instead think….

Wow.  They’re good.  Five kids here today.  The girls are working so hard on their reports.  I’m so glad Zee has such good examples to follow in the other boys.  They’re all just amazing! 

Advertising Savvy

So as we explore the cost of living the girls are seeing a lot of ads.  They’re decoding the help wanted ads in the newspaper, the apartment ads in the renter’s guide, ads for cars and car insurance, ads for various utilities packages, etc.

It’s a perfect time to do a little tangent study about advertising.  The Federal Trade Commission has a site directed at kids on this very topic.  You Are Here is cute and has some good activities and information.  But I wonder if the kids will pick up on the fact that the site is, in some ways, just an ad for the FTC.

Did I Say Our Election Study Was Over?

One of the great things about homeschooling is the ability to continue on a topic even when we’ve covered all that was planned.  As soon as we ‘finished’ our election studies I found this great game on the Cable in the Classroom site.   I don’t know how long they’ll keep the site up, but for now if you want to know what my girls are doing when the ’school work’ is done for the day….you’ll find them running for President over and over and over…..