Homeschool Review: March 2014

Monday, March 31, 2014

Whose "Choice" Anyway?

Wow, just wow! Wanted to share this one:

CAPTIVATED - A TOS Homeschool Crew Review

There is a difficult balance we try to strike when making decisions for our children about how much media-time to allow into their days. This is why I was pleased, in February, when the TOS Homechool Crew was offered the opportunity to review the Captivated DVD, by Media Talk 101.

The "sub-caption" of the movie "Captivated" (which is actually a documentary) is "finding freedom in a media captive culture". I would have to say... that is where I live. My life is full of media

http://orgjunkie.com/2014/03/menu-plan-monday-march-1714.html

Here are my vegan/carnivore blend menu plans for this first week of April.

Saturday:
pizza (out)

Sunday:
barbecued chicken, rice, broccoli (faux chicken patty)

kitchari, salad, bread (p 261)

Monday:
paleo beef goulash (section with soy crumblies), salad, rolls

Tuesday:
black bean chili, salad, corn bread (228)

Wednesday:
chicken thighs, rice, Brussels sprouts (faux chicken patty, brown rice)

Thursday:

Hot dogs, beans, cole slaw, chips

Friday:
Salmon on the grill, asparagus, noodles (spaghetti squash with diced tomatoes, asparagus, white navy beans)

Saturday:
Dinner out (leftovers)

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Week 24 - Mother's Journal

Another week down.

This week, in our homeschool, was not stellar -- more like the tortoise, just plodding along. Non-homeschool priorities keep pushing at our home school time. Can you believe it snowed again on Monday (3/25/14)?

Bible - We're trying to read a chapter a day, right now it is a chapter in Numbers and a chapter in John. I'm not sure how it happened, but our daily planner has us two chapters ahead of where we actually are, which means we missed two days of reading somewhere. Now that's not unexpected or surprising, but what is disconcerting is that I can remember maybe one day that we missed, but not two. (I maybe missed one day last week and didn't take note of it...)

We have also been working our way through Mere Christianity.

Math - We have transitioned right now from Algebra I in Horizon's to Algebra I in CTC Math. In general Miner has done really well so far. But one day this week he reported to me that he got a 60 on his work for the day. He has his good days and his bad days. He might do that same lesson on a different day and ace it. So I haven't decided how to approach this day's work. Miner does not like doing stuff over. And chances are this particular material is review for him and he was having a bad day. I'll have to look it over. But what bothers me right now is his general apathy about everything academic right now. I am hoping he is going through a phase, and that I can just wait it out.

Science - We are currently using Supercharged Science. Again, Miner is not excited about this subject right now. Again, he has his ups and downs. I was able to hook onto a field trip that went to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum's Q'rius program this week. I'll write it up in a separate blog. Miner is all over gems and minerals right now, but not as much earth science. He sat through a class that I was very pleased with, because I'm certain he learned something (as opposed to you go on a field trip and your child is bored because they already know everything that is being presented). Mostly, though, I think he enjoyed the time after Q'rius when we got to go see the gems and minerals section of the museum. We weren't allowed to see the rest of the Q'rius section of the museum at that time, because there were other students doing programs. We could have gone back at 2:00, but we were already on our way home by then.

Our Supercharged Science studies have been supplemented by readings from The Lay of the Land, which falls into "Nature Studies". We have been supplementing our Science with episodes from Curiosity Quest" DVDs.

Language Arts - Miner is getting a little burned out on Mango Spanish right now, and I don't think he did it much this week. Other language arts skills are currently being hit in an "interdisciplinary" way through other subjects or areas of study, such as our current work on "Victus Study Skills" and Homeschool Adventures "Philosophy Adventure". We work on vocabulary as we go along, such as when we come across a word he doesn't know, when reading Winston Churchill's Birth of Britain for Social Studies, defining it on the spot. Next week we're going to start writing words like these down to define and review later.

In the literature department we are still working our way through Watership Down, Ivanhoe, The Once and Future King, and The Story of King Arthur and His Knights. We didn't make any progress on Loefwine the Monk, but I still want us to finish it. Ditto Martin Luther.

Social Studies - This week we continued our progress through Ambleside Online Year 7. We are, I think, currently mostly on Week 5. These studies have included, this week, The Birth of Brittain and The Book of Bede, which dove-tail nicely with the literature selections.

Miner announced this week, "I hate the Middle Ages." I had to remind him that I gave him his choice of era to study, and he conceded the truth of this. I think (remember above comment on "apathy") he would not currently enjoy any particular era.

In the area of Economics, we have been working our way through Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? I think this should be a "must read" on everyone's list.

Art - We received the book I ordered for the Ambleside Online rotation. We did the assignment in that this week. In addition, we received Artistic Pursuits: Sculpture Technology - Model, and as soon as we get the supplies in we will be doing work in that. Miner chose to start with the section working with clay. Miner also did a pencil drawing of our clock, and a pencil animation that moves when you flip through the pages.

Music - Nothing stellar this week. Listened to some classical music and some hymns.

Phys Ed - Again, just a little plodding along here, some walks, some Wii fit activities, that sort of thing. It was a very wet week outside here -- lots of mud in our territory.

Health - We did work this week in Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, as well as Charlotte Mason's Ourselves - readings on the "Kingdom of Mansoul".

What's Cooking? I am again pursuing my vegan diet to bring my cholesterol back under control. So, since I am a lonely vegan in a house of carnivores, I have to cook it all. I even regularly cook like white noodles/wheat noodles, white rice/brown rice. Some nights dinner is appealing enough that I cook only one main dish. Monday night it was vegetable/bean soup.

So that was our week. I'll write the field trip up separately soon. Tell us about your week.

This post is (or will be) linked at SoYouCallYourselfaHomeschooler.com, and at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Rule #36 - George Washington's Rules

George Washington's Rules for Civility and Decent Behavior, Rule #36, states:

36^th

Artificers & Persons of low Degree ought not to use many ceremonies to Lords, or Others of high Degree but Respect and highly Honor them, and those of high Degree ought to treat them with affability & Courtesy, without Arrogance.

In modern America we do no have "Persons of low Degree" or "Lords, or Others of High Degree". So, translating the meaning to present-day America, where we are all theoretically on an equal plain, this saying would mean that those in humble positions should not treat persons in positions of honor (I'm thinking President, Governor, Senator, etc.) with inappropriate ceremony, but with respect and honor. Those in positions of respected title should treat others with courtesy and without arrogance.

Monday, March 24, 2014

First Menu Plan for Spring

Here's my menu plan for 3/23-3/29/14:

Sunday:
Baked chicken, stuffing, broccoli (faux chicken, spaghetti squash)

Monday:
Vegetable/bean soup, salad, bread

Tuesday:
cheeseburgers (faux burger), green beans, potato chips

Wednesday:
cheese tortellini, salad, bread (gnocchi, sauce, salad)

Thursday:

lemon chicken, rice, Brussels sprouts (faux chicken patty, brown rice)

Friday:
baked stuffed potatoes (veg. chili)

Saturday:
Salmon on the grill, asparagus, orzo (leftover vegan food from other meals)

Friday, March 21, 2014

Week 23 (Fin!) - Mother's Journal

We had a pretty productive week this week, academically.

Sunday:
The snow drops were blooming! It was so sad that we never got the leaves up last fall, and that these sweet flowers have brown leaves under them, but at least they're up. They don't last long, so I photographed them.

Monday:

Can you believe it? So we took a partial snow day.

We still got done Math, Science, Spanish, some History/Literature, and some Geography. Monday was St. Patrick's Day. I'm not Irish, but my grandmother was born in Dublin... (RAF Base, British citizenship). So, we served corned beef and cabbage, with potatoes. We love that meal!

In our homeschool... I review products for The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew, and there are a lot of new products percolating in my home right now. We are working with CTC Math, Homeschool Adventure's Philosophy Adventure, Victus Study Skills System, SuperCharged Science, as well as a DVD called "Captivated", and an audio adventure series called "Brinkman Family Adventure". And on Friday, ARTistic Pursuits arrived. I finished the review period for Mango Languages, but we're still trying to keep up the Spanish.

In addition, I'm working on Ambleside Online's Year 7. We're working our way through so many, many books, mostly in the Middle Ages. We're working on Martin Luther, The Story of King Arthur and His Knights, Ivanhoe, The Once and Future King, Watership Down, Winston Churchill's Birth of Brittain from History of the English Speaking People, Loefwine the Monk, Charlotte Mason's Ourselves, ...and many more. I won't bore you... But we are keeping a busy schedule.

With only one student, much of our work is me reading aloud. That way we both enjoy the stories, and I know the work is done. Miner currently works independently on CTC Math, Spanish, and much of his PE (physical activities). Today he was doing Wii Fit.

Our favorite literature right now is Watership Down. I am really enjoying CTC Math right now. Miner is able to do it independently, and he is doing well. He's hitting a bit of a bump right now in Spanish (where he doesn't remember the words for the phrases they're asking him in English to say in Spanish), but we'll stick with it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, so you saw our 9-1/2" of snow on Monday. As it was melting, on Tuesday or Wednesday, I got this neat photo of the snow melting down the rail of our side stairs.

Can you believe that this is what my deck looked like today (Friday)?

In our county here in Maryland, the public schools have had so many snow days this year that they might not take their spring break in April. I was already leaning toward skipping the break, so it would be helpful to have the county do the same. Our home school was on break for six weeks this winter, and will have some break time this summer, so spring break is not in the cards.

So, what's going on in your home school this week?

This post is (or will be) linked at SoYouCallYourselfaHomeschooler.com, and at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Rule #35 - George Washington's Rules

George Washington's Rules for Civility and Decent Behavior, Rule #35 states:

35^th

Let your Discourse with Men of Business be Short and Comprehensive.

Which, in modern English means:

Let your conversation with businessmen be concise.

Monday, March 17, 2014

Mango Languages: Spanish

In January I was delighted to learn that we had been selected to review Mango Languages. We were given access to the Mango Homeschool Edition and had the amazing opportunity to select any of their 60 languages, and as many of them as we wanted to work on. Mango Languages are suitable for ages 6 and up, so this product was a great fit for our family! Mango Homeschool Edition is a new homeschool curriculum to help you teach your child a foreign language of choice.

Have you figured out how to homeschool your child in a language you do not speak? Have you considered using a program that would permit you to homeschool online for the foreign language your child chooses to pursue?

For many years my son has dabbled in French, Spanish and Latin. Earlier in this year we had been working primarily on French (which I am able to teach), and I thought we would be working on French in the Mango program as well. That is where Miner worked during our first week with Mango. Week 2 did not go as we had planned -- lots of snow, and sickness to boot. We got very little school work done, very little Mango. As we started Week 3, Miner decided to try Spanish instead, and he has parked there ever since. Now, many weeks later,

So here I am rolling into my first week back at the Carnivore/vegan menu plans. I am still weaning myself off of the meat, dairy and eggs, so be patient with me. I'm still having a bit of dairy, meat and whey (protein powder). I don't consider my cholesterol situation to be dire, and I'd rather use up the stuff I already bought than throw it away... That said, here are my plans for this week. I'll go ahead and list my breakfast and lunch this week, but not all my dinners will show the vegan options. I've got vegan meals frozen in individual packets, and I'll be eating vegan out of my freezer this week for dinner, except that I'm going to allow myself to eat meat on Monday. Love that corned beef...! You'll see a theme emerge on the breakfasts and lunches--I'm easiest to please when it is easy, and I don't have to think (as in, "I wonder what I'll have for lunch today...")

SATURDAY (3/15)