The days continue to fly on by. We are busy as bees. School work, swim, sleep. Repeat.
Lessons are progressing. Some days I take a deep breath and say "Wow, they are learning." Other days the thought is "Holy Moly, I am messing them up for life!" I try to keep those to a minimum.
Today I was working with Little Miss on her note taking skills. She was reading about India (side note-I think the only thing I learned about India when I was in school is that there is a country called India and they think cows are Holy) and The Golden Age of the Gupta Dynasty. I said to her "Golden Age is in italics. That means it is probably important and you should write it down." She wrote down Golden Age of India and moved on. So then I said "What about the Golden Age?' And she said " That is the only part in italics." You can see why sometimes I think I am messing them up for life. Then came the lengthy explanation about how 1 week from now when she looks over her notes will just seeing "The Golden Age" be enough for her to remember facts about it? Would you believe she actually tried to argue with me?
Note taking disaster aside, the kids had music class. They do love that class. The teacher was happy that they remembered a lot of the stuff they learned last year. Today they started learning about the 3 minor scales. They already know more than I because I had no idea there was more than 1 minor scale. Someone in the family will know how to appreciate music.
After music I dropped Mister B off at the high school for some pre-season swim team endurance training. He really enjoys working with the weights. Here is something I never thought I would ever say, but, I think I may end up purchasing some sort of weights/weight machine one of these days.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Happy October
Since my last post time has run away from me. We are now well into October. We have been quite busy here.
Besides the usual schooling, swim team has started. We are at the Y most nights for swim practice. This year Mister B is also swimming for the high school. This was not easy to achieve but achieve it I did. Practice for the high school has not started yet but Mister B is participating in a swim clinic that they are offering so he can get to know members of the team and benefit from fresh coaching eyes. Needless to say, he is pretty busy.
School work is moving along at a steady pace.
In History Little Miss M is learning about the Huguenots. In Math she is continuing her work with converting fractions to percentages. For English she read The Summer of Monkeys. Science she continues to observe the world around her. She enjoyed the ever popular food coloring and celery experiment.
Mister B is learning about the colonies and why the English really did not push for colonization while they were allies with Spain. He has also been learning about how awful the Spaniards treated the locals when they got here and stole their gold. In Math he is finding the volume of cylinders (that is loads of fun). In science he is learning in depth details about cells and how we are all connected. For English he is still reading The Wizard of Earth Sea (a little behind there) and working on his 5 paragraph essay about himself. In Spanish he has mastered greetings and counting to 100. Now he is working on the days of the week and the months.
For Discussion Group tomorrow we will be talking about the debate, the different political parties, and perceptions. It should be interesting.
Besides the usual schooling, swim team has started. We are at the Y most nights for swim practice. This year Mister B is also swimming for the high school. This was not easy to achieve but achieve it I did. Practice for the high school has not started yet but Mister B is participating in a swim clinic that they are offering so he can get to know members of the team and benefit from fresh coaching eyes. Needless to say, he is pretty busy.
School work is moving along at a steady pace.
In History Little Miss M is learning about the Huguenots. In Math she is continuing her work with converting fractions to percentages. For English she read The Summer of Monkeys. Science she continues to observe the world around her. She enjoyed the ever popular food coloring and celery experiment.
Mister B is learning about the colonies and why the English really did not push for colonization while they were allies with Spain. He has also been learning about how awful the Spaniards treated the locals when they got here and stole their gold. In Math he is finding the volume of cylinders (that is loads of fun). In science he is learning in depth details about cells and how we are all connected. For English he is still reading The Wizard of Earth Sea (a little behind there) and working on his 5 paragraph essay about himself. In Spanish he has mastered greetings and counting to 100. Now he is working on the days of the week and the months.
For Discussion Group tomorrow we will be talking about the debate, the different political parties, and perceptions. It should be interesting.
Friday, September 21, 2012
L'Shanah Tovah!
Rosh Hashana was this week. We wish you and your families a Sweet and Happy New Year. May you be inscribed in the Book of Life.
No school on Mon. & Tues. of this week for Holiday celebrating. We saw family on the first night and friends on the second night. Apples dipped in honey, brisket, and other assorted traditional foods were enjoyed.
Wednesday was a philosophy day. The kids finished up the first book on Logic and are ready to move onto the next book which deals with Ethics. Lots of thought provoking conversation on Reason vs. Excuse. How are they different? Is violence against another person ever justifiable? Is lying ever acceptable? One instantly wants to say no, but, if someone is threatening you if you don't tell them where someone else is do you lie about their location? So much to think about.
The kids are plodding ahead in their studies. Little Miss M completed a paper on Henry the VIII's wives. Mister B has been working on an essay about himself for a writing course he is taking. Little Miss is learning about percentages and pie charts while Mister B is reviewing Greatest/Lowest Common Factors & Greatest/Lowest Common Multiples. Mister B is also busy with Spanish-learning to count to 100 and the days of the week. And of course, some science for both of them.
Some days really make my head spin.
No school on Mon. & Tues. of this week for Holiday celebrating. We saw family on the first night and friends on the second night. Apples dipped in honey, brisket, and other assorted traditional foods were enjoyed.
Wednesday was a philosophy day. The kids finished up the first book on Logic and are ready to move onto the next book which deals with Ethics. Lots of thought provoking conversation on Reason vs. Excuse. How are they different? Is violence against another person ever justifiable? Is lying ever acceptable? One instantly wants to say no, but, if someone is threatening you if you don't tell them where someone else is do you lie about their location? So much to think about.
The kids are plodding ahead in their studies. Little Miss M completed a paper on Henry the VIII's wives. Mister B has been working on an essay about himself for a writing course he is taking. Little Miss is learning about percentages and pie charts while Mister B is reviewing Greatest/Lowest Common Factors & Greatest/Lowest Common Multiples. Mister B is also busy with Spanish-learning to count to 100 and the days of the week. And of course, some science for both of them.
Some days really make my head spin.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Week 2
Little Miss M is starting to get a handle on her workload. So far, this week has been a little easier with her. Mister B on the other hand, well lets just say I have had moments when I have been prouder of myself.
Everything with him has been a battle. Part of that is normal teen envelope pushing and part of it the fact that I am still not feeling 100%. I really miss my sweet toddler. I am hoping this sullen, everything is a battle stage passes soon or one of us may not survive.
On the upside swim practice for the club team they swim on started last night. They both got a solid nights sleep.
Everything with him has been a battle. Part of that is normal teen envelope pushing and part of it the fact that I am still not feeling 100%. I really miss my sweet toddler. I am hoping this sullen, everything is a battle stage passes soon or one of us may not survive.
On the upside swim practice for the club team they swim on started last night. They both got a solid nights sleep.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Day 2 of the new school year
Day 2 was off to a slightly better start then day 1. No slurpees at 9:00 the night before (Thanks dad for the sugar crash on the first day of school).
I have to say, neither one is enjoying the majorly increased work load. Mister B is especially feeling it. My answer: Too bad. That is life. Deal with it. Then I also explained that since this is a short week I have been cramming in the information and that over the next few weeks he will be able to start figuring out how many days each week he will need to work on each subject to meet his deadlines. He may decide to do a little each day or block his day with intense focus on a couple of subjects.
Today he had his first Spanish Class through http://spanishonline.okstate.edu/. He seemed to enjoy it. And like all good classes, it started with an easy lesson. Today was all about greetings. Hola! Que tal? Muy bien, y tu? Adios! Buenos dias, buenos tardes, bueno noches. I also like that the textbook is available as an ebook so I did not have to shell out over $100 for it. Mister B liked using it, too since it is interactive. This is the first ebook we have used because I am old school and like holding a book.
Little Miss M also complained about her work load. This is the first year where she will not normally be done by lunchtime. She had to continue her school work after lunch.
I am confident they will adjust.
What I see as an upcoming source of possible strife...Mister B's friends whispering (loudly) that he should go to high school with them. They want to see him and hang with him. I get that. He gets that, however, the siren song of friends can be very appealing. Then we talked about how he will be swimming for the high school team (Yay, me-major victory since the school district originally said no) and he will be involved in going to football games with friends and other social events. 9th grade should be an interesting ride.
I have to say, neither one is enjoying the majorly increased work load. Mister B is especially feeling it. My answer: Too bad. That is life. Deal with it. Then I also explained that since this is a short week I have been cramming in the information and that over the next few weeks he will be able to start figuring out how many days each week he will need to work on each subject to meet his deadlines. He may decide to do a little each day or block his day with intense focus on a couple of subjects.
Today he had his first Spanish Class through http://spanishonline.okstate.edu/. He seemed to enjoy it. And like all good classes, it started with an easy lesson. Today was all about greetings. Hola! Que tal? Muy bien, y tu? Adios! Buenos dias, buenos tardes, bueno noches. I also like that the textbook is available as an ebook so I did not have to shell out over $100 for it. Mister B liked using it, too since it is interactive. This is the first ebook we have used because I am old school and like holding a book.
Little Miss M also complained about her work load. This is the first year where she will not normally be done by lunchtime. She had to continue her school work after lunch.
I am confident they will adjust.
What I see as an upcoming source of possible strife...Mister B's friends whispering (loudly) that he should go to high school with them. They want to see him and hang with him. I get that. He gets that, however, the siren song of friends can be very appealing. Then we talked about how he will be swimming for the high school team (Yay, me-major victory since the school district originally said no) and he will be involved in going to football games with friends and other social events. 9th grade should be an interesting ride.
The School Year Has Begun!
We officially started our school year yesterday. It was a rainy, dreary day so no outdoor pics. Then the battery in the camera died so I was only able to get these 3 shots.
It was a bit of a challenging morning. Getting back into the routine after summer fun is an adjustment. Fortunately, they had philosophy class and that broke up the day. For the first day of school Little Miss M worked on Math, English, Science, & History. Mister B focused on Math & English.
When I was getting the pics off the camera I discovered a whole bunch of pictures that I never downloaded. Oops. Here are a few shots from the summer.
 |
| Little Miss M is in 7th Grade |
 |
| Mister B is a High School Freshman! |
 |
| Don't they look thrilled! |
It was a bit of a challenging morning. Getting back into the routine after summer fun is an adjustment. Fortunately, they had philosophy class and that broke up the day. For the first day of school Little Miss M worked on Math, English, Science, & History. Mister B focused on Math & English.
When I was getting the pics off the camera I discovered a whole bunch of pictures that I never downloaded. Oops. Here are a few shots from the summer.
 |
| Outside The Met. |
 |
| Street entertainers. A very good Capella group. |
 |
| Getting ready for the Ballroom Dancing showcase. |
 |
| Waiting for her race at summer swim meet. |
 |
| I don't know what he was looking at. |
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Gearing up for the new school year
This summer has gone by in the blink of an eye. Summer swim team kept us busy for the month of July. Kids had a great season. They placed in the majority of their events. A couple of first place ribbons, a bunch of second place ribbons, and a few third place ribbons. It was very exciting and exhausting. At championships our team came in 4th out of 6 teams. Which was a step up from the year before and 2 steps up from the year before that.
I spent the beginning of August finalizing and purchasing the last of the curriculum. Then I spent 2 weeks in bed with a virus that then allowed a strep infection to settle in. That was not so fun but it did give m a much needed rest. And now I am scrambling to get the school books in order and get everything ready. The last 2 weeks is normally when I would have done all of the set up. Such is life.
I still can't believe I am embarking on homeschooling high school. Some mornings I wake up and think "I am some kind of nut! What am I thinking? There is a perfectly good high school right down the road with clubs, and activities, and lots of kids my kid could be friends with, and seasoned high school teachers who at least think they know what they are doing." Mister B's friends are all talking about all the cool stuff they will be doing. They all sound so hopeful and excited. I think I have high school social envy.
But then I talk myself off the cliff by remembering why we homeschool in the first place. Yes, the social stuff is definitely harder and Mister B does find it kind of frustrating at times. There are not a lot of teen homeschoolers in my area. The teens are busy with homework and after school activities. The reality is, during the school year swim team takes up a lot of our time but that is not the same as hanging out with friends. The fact that none of his schooler friends are free for hanging out because they are busy with their sports is not the point. I do struggle with this. But, if you ask Mister B what he wants to do he does want to continue homeschooling because he knows a good thing when he has got it. As much as he wants the social aspect of school in the same degree he does not want the wasted time, the large class that doesn't allow you to dig deep into a subject because you have to move on, the waiting for others or the sinking feeling of trying to catch up.
This will be an exciting year, I am sure. I think the key for me will be not to let my fears and doubts rule my decisions. Curriculum has been researched and chosen and we are going to leap in and move forward.
Little Miss M has all the benefits of following her Big Brother. The fears and doubts that I am experiencing with him I already went through for middle school. I am confident in those decisions and since I have already done 7th grade with Mister B it will be a little bit easier for me to teach it for Little Miss M. Mister B is my guinea pig and Little Miss gets the benefits from the experiments.
I spent the beginning of August finalizing and purchasing the last of the curriculum. Then I spent 2 weeks in bed with a virus that then allowed a strep infection to settle in. That was not so fun but it did give m a much needed rest. And now I am scrambling to get the school books in order and get everything ready. The last 2 weeks is normally when I would have done all of the set up. Such is life.
I still can't believe I am embarking on homeschooling high school. Some mornings I wake up and think "I am some kind of nut! What am I thinking? There is a perfectly good high school right down the road with clubs, and activities, and lots of kids my kid could be friends with, and seasoned high school teachers who at least think they know what they are doing." Mister B's friends are all talking about all the cool stuff they will be doing. They all sound so hopeful and excited. I think I have high school social envy.
But then I talk myself off the cliff by remembering why we homeschool in the first place. Yes, the social stuff is definitely harder and Mister B does find it kind of frustrating at times. There are not a lot of teen homeschoolers in my area. The teens are busy with homework and after school activities. The reality is, during the school year swim team takes up a lot of our time but that is not the same as hanging out with friends. The fact that none of his schooler friends are free for hanging out because they are busy with their sports is not the point. I do struggle with this. But, if you ask Mister B what he wants to do he does want to continue homeschooling because he knows a good thing when he has got it. As much as he wants the social aspect of school in the same degree he does not want the wasted time, the large class that doesn't allow you to dig deep into a subject because you have to move on, the waiting for others or the sinking feeling of trying to catch up.
This will be an exciting year, I am sure. I think the key for me will be not to let my fears and doubts rule my decisions. Curriculum has been researched and chosen and we are going to leap in and move forward.
Little Miss M has all the benefits of following her Big Brother. The fears and doubts that I am experiencing with him I already went through for middle school. I am confident in those decisions and since I have already done 7th grade with Mister B it will be a little bit easier for me to teach it for Little Miss M. Mister B is my guinea pig and Little Miss gets the benefits from the experiments.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
