Summer has kicked off with summer swim team. They had their first meet this past Monday. I am proud to say Mister B and Little Miss M did very well. The town we were swimming against is a serious swim town. The majority of the kids on their summer rec team swim for the highly competitive Y team in the winter. Suffice it to say I was one super proud mom when Mister B came in 1st in the backstroke, 3rd in the breast stroke, and his relay team placed 2nd. Little Miss M came very close to placing (4th) in backstroke and freestyle and her relay team also placed 2nd.
It was a great way to settle into summer.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Friday, June 29, 2012
End of Year Wrap Up
The school year is officially over.
It has been quite a year. We have done some interesting things and some not so interesting things. Overall a solid year.
I woke up this morning and thought "Wow, I am really going to teach 9th grade next year. Yikes! A highschooler! I am some kind of nut! What am I doing? Why am I doing it? There is a perfectly fine high school down the street."
After I got over my mild panic attack I remembered why. Because we can. Because we like learning at home. Because we realize all the opportunities we can take advantage of by not being tied to the public school system. Because our family goals for education are not the same as the public schools. As long as I remember why we do this I know it will be okay. I am blocking out the naysayers and following my instincts.
I spent a good portion of the second half of our school year figuring out curriculum for next year. In the exact opposite move of many homeschoolers, instead of morphing into doing our own thing and putting it all together myself I am using a boxed curriculum. Over the past 2 years I have fallen in love with Oak Meadow curriculum and have been using more and more of it. Next year for high school Mister B will be using Oak Meadow for English, Science, and History. Math-U-See for math - a lot of people do not think MUS is rigorous enough for high school. The program has been working for us and I see no reason to switch. If I had a budding engineer I might but I don't have one. For Foreign language he will take Spanish online with Oklahoma State University. Finally, he will continue with Discussion Group, Philosophy, and Music Class.
Little Miss M is officially a 7th grader. She is maturing into a lovely young woman. She is also making the switch to Oak Meadow for English, Science, and History. She was already using them for science and now I am adding the other courses. Math-U-See for math. And the continuation of Discussion Group, Philosophy, and Music Class.
I also want to somehow fit in The Great Courses-Museum Masterpieces-The Louvre and A Nutrition course.
Next year is shaping up to be a full year and I think a good one.
And now----off to summer swim team.....Happy Summer!
It has been quite a year. We have done some interesting things and some not so interesting things. Overall a solid year.
I woke up this morning and thought "Wow, I am really going to teach 9th grade next year. Yikes! A highschooler! I am some kind of nut! What am I doing? Why am I doing it? There is a perfectly fine high school down the street."
After I got over my mild panic attack I remembered why. Because we can. Because we like learning at home. Because we realize all the opportunities we can take advantage of by not being tied to the public school system. Because our family goals for education are not the same as the public schools. As long as I remember why we do this I know it will be okay. I am blocking out the naysayers and following my instincts.
I spent a good portion of the second half of our school year figuring out curriculum for next year. In the exact opposite move of many homeschoolers, instead of morphing into doing our own thing and putting it all together myself I am using a boxed curriculum. Over the past 2 years I have fallen in love with Oak Meadow curriculum and have been using more and more of it. Next year for high school Mister B will be using Oak Meadow for English, Science, and History. Math-U-See for math - a lot of people do not think MUS is rigorous enough for high school. The program has been working for us and I see no reason to switch. If I had a budding engineer I might but I don't have one. For Foreign language he will take Spanish online with Oklahoma State University. Finally, he will continue with Discussion Group, Philosophy, and Music Class.
Little Miss M is officially a 7th grader. She is maturing into a lovely young woman. She is also making the switch to Oak Meadow for English, Science, and History. She was already using them for science and now I am adding the other courses. Math-U-See for math. And the continuation of Discussion Group, Philosophy, and Music Class.
I also want to somehow fit in The Great Courses-Museum Masterpieces-The Louvre and A Nutrition course.
Next year is shaping up to be a full year and I think a good one.
And now----off to summer swim team.....Happy Summer!
Last Early Europe Class
The school year is officially over. Today we had our last class in ancient history. We met at The Cloisters (http://www.metmuseum.org/visit/visit-the-cloisters) One of my favorite spots in the city. We looked for ancient symbols in the early christian symbols. They are there. One of the knights who went on crusade-His sarcophagus shows him with a Chinese sword. Where did that come from? The Crusades were nowhere near China. A mystery whose answer has been lost in time. We saw a fountain with a mystical beast and crosses. Items used in churches with fanciful forest men in green as toppers. Chapels with mythical beasts painted on the walls. So much still to learn.
After the class we all sat outside and enjoyed a meal together. It was a nice way to end the class.
After the class we all sat outside and enjoyed a meal together. It was a nice way to end the class.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Essex County Court House
Today we took a 4 hour tour of the Essex County Court House with some friends. It was an amazing experience. They really do a great job.
It started with a general overview of the different courts and what they do. Then we went to an empty courtroom in The Veterans Court House. The kids got to sit in the Jury Box, the Judge's chair, and the lawyer's tables. The ombudsman walked them through the court set-up. Where everyone sits and why. How the jurors are called. They also got to see the jury room where they wait when they have to leave the courtroom.
Then we went across the hall and sat in on a real trial. That was the highlight for Mister B. It was a Robbery trial. When we came in the Prosecutor was questioning the man who was shot by the defendant. He was going over the night he was shot. Submitting photos into evidence and having the witness tell his story. Then the Defendant's attorney took his turn. I have to admit, the defendant's attorney had much better courtroom presence. There were sidebars (and unlike TV, you don't get to hear what they say). At one point the jurors were sent out of the courtroom for 10 minutes while the judge mulled over a legal matter.
When the court adjourned for lunch we had to wait until the jurors were cleared from the floor before we could leave the court. While we were waiting the judge talked to the kids a bit about the trial procedures and thanked them for coming in and taking an interest in our court system.
After the trial and a short break for lunch we went to the juror room. They have 3 waiting rooms for potential jurors. They actually cleared one for us so they could go over the different types of juries and give an overview of the system. They talked about Grand Juries. I was unaware that most states have eliminated The Grand Jury. Grand Jurors serve one day a week for up to 2 years. They talked about changes to the system because it used to be you served 4 days a week for 6 weeks and people were losing their jobs when called for Jury Duty. After The Grand Jury talk they moved on to Petit Jurors. We saw the short film they show potential jurors about what they can expect to happen. Voire Dire and how it works, what they may experience during the trial, and the types of instructions the judge will give at the end.
Our final stop was the Historic Courthouse. That is an amazing building. Construction started in 1902 and was completed in 1906. The glass domes were donated by Tiffany's. All the glass was donated by Tiffany's. The water fountains in each courtroom had 24k gold dolphin spigots. The building eventually fell into disrepair and was closed. The Bar Association set money aside to restore the building. It was restored at the cost of 49.5 million dollars in the 1990s. The artwork is beautiful. Unfortunately, when the building was closed someone stole the dolphins and the brass doorknobs that had the Essex County Seal on them. When they renovated the building they did not enable the water fountains again Turns out the original pipes are iron. We now know that is not good.
We were able to go into The Ceremonial Courtroom. This one shows where the defendant had to stand during the trial (Yep, you Stood trial-and amazingly enough the kids actually remembered this from our Philadelphia trip). In this courtroom the accused stood and stared at a quote from Job about the wicked not reigning for long. The jury sat across from the accused staring at a quote from St. Paul (I think) about remembering the good. We were also able to go into one other courtroom which has an unusual set up. A semi-circle. The judge who presided over this courtroom took some time to talk to us about it. He told us how the lawyers hate it because the jurors are very close to their table and can see what they are looking at/writing. We also learned that the courtroom is featured in the movie Presumed Innocent with Harrison Ford.
It was a really good day and a great ending to our unit on the court system.
It started with a general overview of the different courts and what they do. Then we went to an empty courtroom in The Veterans Court House. The kids got to sit in the Jury Box, the Judge's chair, and the lawyer's tables. The ombudsman walked them through the court set-up. Where everyone sits and why. How the jurors are called. They also got to see the jury room where they wait when they have to leave the courtroom.
Then we went across the hall and sat in on a real trial. That was the highlight for Mister B. It was a Robbery trial. When we came in the Prosecutor was questioning the man who was shot by the defendant. He was going over the night he was shot. Submitting photos into evidence and having the witness tell his story. Then the Defendant's attorney took his turn. I have to admit, the defendant's attorney had much better courtroom presence. There were sidebars (and unlike TV, you don't get to hear what they say). At one point the jurors were sent out of the courtroom for 10 minutes while the judge mulled over a legal matter.
When the court adjourned for lunch we had to wait until the jurors were cleared from the floor before we could leave the court. While we were waiting the judge talked to the kids a bit about the trial procedures and thanked them for coming in and taking an interest in our court system.
After the trial and a short break for lunch we went to the juror room. They have 3 waiting rooms for potential jurors. They actually cleared one for us so they could go over the different types of juries and give an overview of the system. They talked about Grand Juries. I was unaware that most states have eliminated The Grand Jury. Grand Jurors serve one day a week for up to 2 years. They talked about changes to the system because it used to be you served 4 days a week for 6 weeks and people were losing their jobs when called for Jury Duty. After The Grand Jury talk they moved on to Petit Jurors. We saw the short film they show potential jurors about what they can expect to happen. Voire Dire and how it works, what they may experience during the trial, and the types of instructions the judge will give at the end.
Our final stop was the Historic Courthouse. That is an amazing building. Construction started in 1902 and was completed in 1906. The glass domes were donated by Tiffany's. All the glass was donated by Tiffany's. The water fountains in each courtroom had 24k gold dolphin spigots. The building eventually fell into disrepair and was closed. The Bar Association set money aside to restore the building. It was restored at the cost of 49.5 million dollars in the 1990s. The artwork is beautiful. Unfortunately, when the building was closed someone stole the dolphins and the brass doorknobs that had the Essex County Seal on them. When they renovated the building they did not enable the water fountains again Turns out the original pipes are iron. We now know that is not good.
We were able to go into The Ceremonial Courtroom. This one shows where the defendant had to stand during the trial (Yep, you Stood trial-and amazingly enough the kids actually remembered this from our Philadelphia trip). In this courtroom the accused stood and stared at a quote from Job about the wicked not reigning for long. The jury sat across from the accused staring at a quote from St. Paul (I think) about remembering the good. We were also able to go into one other courtroom which has an unusual set up. A semi-circle. The judge who presided over this courtroom took some time to talk to us about it. He told us how the lawyers hate it because the jurors are very close to their table and can see what they are looking at/writing. We also learned that the courtroom is featured in the movie Presumed Innocent with Harrison Ford.
It was a really good day and a great ending to our unit on the court system.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Little Miss M is 12!
My baby celebrated her birthday over the weekend. I can't believe I really don't have a baby anymore. She is 12. To celebrate she had a few friends sleep over and then the next day we had some family over to celebrate. A real party weekend.
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| This years birthday breakfast. Ice cream w/gummi bears |
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| Fun with friends and whip cream in a can. |
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| Isn't she charming. |
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| Nothing is as fun as the m & m game |
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| Opening gifts with the family. One of her favorites-Duct Tape! |
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| Happy Birthday! |
Friday History Class, Philosophy, & More
Things have been moving right along as we start wrapping up the school year. The Friday History class we have been taking is progressing nicely. Last week they continued talking about the Greek Gods, The Norse Gods, and The Roman Gods. Seeing where storied overlapped and why.
In Philosophy we shook things up a bit. We tied it in to our Discussion Group. In Group we did a unit on the Appellate Court and how it works. Then they performed a brief play-The Big Bad Wolf sues The 3 Little Pigs for attempted murder. It was a lot of fun. We decided that the kids should watch 12 Angry Men (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050083/) and the philosophy teacher would discuss all the philosophical issues in the movie. Mister B enjoyed the film. Little Miss M found parts of it to be quite dull. There were a lot of philosophical questions in the film. From standing alone with your convictions to issues of prejudice. There was a lot to talk about. We are wrapping up our court unit with a trip to the courthouse this week.
And the more.....Music class. Kids had a great time. They learned about base clef and another kind of clef whose name is escaping me at the moment and how they are different.
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| As you can see, the novelty of the train ride has worn off. |
In Philosophy we shook things up a bit. We tied it in to our Discussion Group. In Group we did a unit on the Appellate Court and how it works. Then they performed a brief play-The Big Bad Wolf sues The 3 Little Pigs for attempted murder. It was a lot of fun. We decided that the kids should watch 12 Angry Men (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050083/) and the philosophy teacher would discuss all the philosophical issues in the movie. Mister B enjoyed the film. Little Miss M found parts of it to be quite dull. There were a lot of philosophical questions in the film. From standing alone with your convictions to issues of prejudice. There was a lot to talk about. We are wrapping up our court unit with a trip to the courthouse this week.
And the more.....Music class. Kids had a great time. They learned about base clef and another kind of clef whose name is escaping me at the moment and how they are different.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Early Europe Class #2
Today was our second Early Europe Class. We went to 2 places today to discuss ancient art from Asia across Europe and to question if one can or can not count Asia as part of Europe from the artwork. We were at the NYU Center of Ancient Studies (http://ancientstudies.fas.nyu.edu/page/home) and The Met (http://www.metmuseum.org).
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| Before class-had to get a hot dog all the way. Yum! |
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| Enjoying them at the fountain outside The Met. |
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| Sibling Love outside the NYU Library of Ancient Studies. |
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| Okay, now we are ready to learn. |
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| The exhibit they saw at the Center. |
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| Then off to The Met-Asia Galleries |
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| Large Map of Asia and the Middle East |
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| After class we headed to our favorite Egypt and Medieval Galleries |
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| Look through the blog and you will see them grow as they run from the horses. |
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| Superstar! |
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| I am so cool in front of this arch! |
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| We are part of the exhibit. |
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