December 9th 2010

Okay - yup - me again! Life has been interesting! (LOL!) Anyhow, we're finally getting caught up on things. Here is a quick run-down:

1) Jessica had her surgery and is recovering well. She had to be seen twice more for pulling at her stitches/steristrips and now she might have an infection (we're watching it) but over all she is healing better/quicker than expected.

2) Joe got pneumonia but seems to be pretty much over it now. Now all he has to do is catch up on all the schoolwork he missed. However - he's finally bringing his grades up and is no longer failing ANY class. Which is at least a step in the right direction! He's also on the swim team now and is practicing every evening for 2 hours. And doing Science Olympiad still.... so he's real busy.

3) TJ's had a cough for almost a month now. I think it's the dryer air but I'm not sure. I may end up taking him in but the cough doesn't seem to be bothering him and he has NO other symptoms. Just the cough. Otherwise - he's been healthy, happy and BUSY. He's started the Time4Learning program and loves it. He's been writing his own story too. He has Japanese twice a week, gymnastics once a week, swimming once a week, etc. We're also continuing with the geography program, multiplication drills, and various other learning activities. Starting after the holidays some time he'll be doing drama as well.

I've been pretty busy too - I'm still doing the "Updates!" newsletter for the homeschooling group, maintaining their various websites and developing a webstore for them. I also recently accepted a position on the board of the Carnegie Museum in Houghton and am trying to still stay involved in the Celtic Quarter. Work has tapered off for the moments - so I'm bidding for more jobs and trying to keep the forward momentum going (we really need for my career to continue to progress). Trev and I have been going to cribbage tournaments still and working quite a bit on the house.

So there's my quick synopsis. I also have some pics:


Jessica at Shriners. I have lots of other pics (you can see them on my facebook page)

TJ at gymnastics. It's hard to get pics in the gymnasium as the lighting is goofy and there are many kids running around. There are many skills he is learning but for some reason the pics of him on the trampoline turned out a little better than the others. There is one of him on the bar practicing casting on and off (I think that's what they call it but it sounds like knitting to me!) :)

November 12th, 2010

Okay... yeah... not updating again. :(

Anyhow, things are going well for TJ. He's started tutoring in Japanese with an MTU student, twice a week. The tutor is great and TJ's friend is taking it with him. So far it is a lot of fun and TJ's actually seems to be learning! :) TJ's also been going swimming, participating in open gym and doing gymnastics once a week. He's also been attending various activities that get announced in the Updates! such as the Class Acts at the Rozsa (Tuesday he's going to go see a show there). So almost every day he is now participating in some sort of group activity or enriching activity.

As far as work at home - it's going well. TJ's still progressing in his math book. As usual the first few chapters are review of the previous year but TJ's doing a good job of relearning the skills and improving his speed and neatness - which will really help now that we're moving into newer concepts. We're going back and reviewing some writing skills. Doing lots of sentence modeling and diagramming. In social studies we're moving on to the Native American tribes and the first settlers. In geography, TJ's working on a booklet of information on Alaska. In science he is continuing to learn about plants while expanding his scientific vocabulary. Starting Monday TJ begins a new type of learning program too. It's called Time4Learning and uses the computer to teach the core subjects with videos, games, printables and quizzes. This will be used in addition to his current texts and working plans... we'll see how it works!

Joe had parent-teacher conferences and his first 1/4 grades came in. NOT GOOD! I won't publish them but we were not happy. Dad went to the conferences (a deal we made at the beginning of the school year) - so I'm not sure what all went on but I know that Joe's in deep doo-doo with his Dad right now.

Because of this and some other issues that have been going on (TJ's inattention, etc) - we've decided that there will be NO video games or computer for either boy Mon-Friday (EXCEPT when used as part of the educational process - ie research or Time4Learning for TJ). Joe's also grounded from friends and TV until his grades improve. This will let Jessica have an opportunity to play some games (she rarely gets to because even if we tell her she can, she ends up letting the boys take over).

As opposed to Joe's poor performance in school - Jessica's doing great (for her). Her teacher said she's really impressed with how much better her impulsiveness has become and the amount of stuff she's actually absorbing and able to later use to participate in class and answer questions. :)

Just in case I don't get more updates put up before the Thanksgiving break... Jessica has her surgery on November 23rd. Please keep her in your thoughts.

Thanks.

Catching Up October 27th

Once again I have fallen behind on my updates! Between work and a round of the stomach flu things have been a bit crazy. I've also been doing a LOT with the homeschool group to help get their websites/blogs organized which makes me reluctant to do much work on here. However, I have to take the bull by the horns next week and really work on my own web presence for work... but I digress -

TJ's homeschooling was spotty last week but this week finds us back on the path of knowledge! TJ's been going to open swim/gym every Thursday and went on a trip on the Ghost Train in Lake Linden on Saturday with a homeschooling friend. It was cute - the grim reaper (a LARGE mechanical creature with a speaker) pointed to TJ and said, "I see you TJ, in the first car." It totally freaked him out! He's still talking about it! TJ also attended his first gymnastics class (of the year) on Monday. He's doing a LOT better than when he was younger and there's actually quite a few boys in the class - so he's got some friends there and it's great exercise!

For academics, we've been taking advantage of our Netflix membership to order educational videos from Nova, the Discovery Channel and the History Channel on the Mayan, Incan and Aztec cultures - as well as on plants. TJ's also been exploring some online science games at http://classroom.jc-schools.net/basic/sciplants.html
These activities coincide with the chapters he's working on in Social Studies and Science. TJ's working on learning how to take notes, make an outline and what the difference is between a primary and secondary source. We've also been working on Poetry in language arts and he is continuing to read Roald Dahl books and do worksheets and activities associated with the books - due to the extra stuff I'm throwing in he's still working on finishing Matilda but I think it's worth it for the extra information (one of the worksheets is what made us take a closer look at poetry - for instance) and for thoroughly assessing his reading comprehension (which is a LOT better than I feared! LOL!). In geography we're moving on to Alaska and doing a bit with Google Earth - a program that lets you view the globe interactively. In Math, TJ's struggling with word problems but that seems to be normal at this age. He'd like to take the lazy way out and just have the problem put before him! But he's finally starting to get it. We continue to work on simple math drills too to keep up multiplication, addition, division and subtraction skills. Japanese has not been going very well but yesterday I finally got in touch with a student at Tech that may be willing to tutor him. Now all I have to do is come up with the money! LOL!

Guess that's about it for now! I'll try to get back to post pictures of Jessica's B-day from last Sunday and to give more updates...

October 4th

We've been so busy I haven't gotten around to updating much! Last tuesday we did go to the corn maze and it was a LOT of fun. Then on Thursday TJ went swimming. We did a lot of reading, math, geography and social studies. We also reviewed Japanese (but no - TJ still hasn't decided what he wants to ask his Japanese penpal - lol! I think he's being shy but we'll get there!). For science we did some experiments with toadstools and mushrooms that we found in Grandma's yard. We also used the microscope to view mold and fungus spores. On Friday was Joe's birthday and not much was accomplished due to Mom being busy getting stuff arranged for that.

This week is another crowded week. 1st, I have a looming deadline for a series of articles and have to get quite bit of work done during the day too. Then today we went and saw a presentation at MTU called Rainforest Reptiles. TJ really enjoyed the show and got to pet a Chinese alligator. He also got to see a large alligator snapping turtle, an African spur tortoise, a black necked monitor lizard, a Burmese Python, a venomous viper (of some sort - can't remember the name), Chinese alligator and American alligator. TJ says there was one more but neither of us can remember what it was. Either way it was a great science presentation! On Thursday TJ has swimming. On Friday there's no public school but TJ (and the other two kids) are going back out to the corn maze; then going to chess club and gym - with the homeschooling groups.

In between time he's going to finish Matilda and start another Roald Dahl book (which will complete his 3 needed for the Roald Dahl contest) plus he gets credit on the Book It! Program. He'll finish Alabama and start ALASKA (we're looking forward to that because it's Aunt Aimee's state!) in geography. We'll start the colonization of America in Social Studies and finish the Chapter 1 in science as we talk about the importance of plants and how the various parts work together to keep the plant alive. In math we'll continue to do multiplication drills and work on book theory - pattern recognition and mental math skills. In Japanese we're continuing to practice the hiragana alphabet while learning more common phrases. Whew... I just hope we get through it all!

Until next update: ittekimasu (roughly: see you later or I'll be back later)

September 27th - Monday

Short but sweet...

Today I'm still getting over being ill so after seen Joe and Jess off to school - I went back to bed for another hour and a half. So we got a late start. Today we finished up the work associated with the book Esio Trot. TJ rated the book 2 stars and it's up on our reading board, then he had a couple different evaluation sheets to fill out about it. We also finally got around to reviewing our Japanese - so hopefully we'll have some questions for TJ's Japanese pen pal (thanks Aunt Holly!). TJ now has an email account (if you want the address just let me know and I'll send it to you - I don't want to put it on the web for EVERYONE - lol). TJ also did multiplication drills, mental math work, geography, social studies (we read about the poem "The New Colossus" that's in the Statue of Liberty), and in science we prepared for the experiments we'll be doing tomorrow with wild mushrooms and toad stools (since many are poisonous - there were a few safety issues to go over). TJ also took a spelling test... he only got 1 wrong! YES!!! And he did some writing with his new words - I think he's finally getting COMPLETE sentences - :)

Anyhow - that's if for now. I'll try to post more tomorrow. Tomorrow we're going to pick some FUNGUS :)
We may also be going to Somero's farm to explore a corn maze and pick out some produce!

September 23rd

Yesterday, TJ and I spent the day at the office. TJ had a busy day covering all the subjects and some extra work as well. He had problems with motivation but he did get stuff done. He even helped with the filing which helps him improve his alphabetizing and organizational skills. He also learned how to use the copier.

Today was kind of an off day. TJ was suppose to go on a hike but the weather up Calumet way was even worse than the weather here. Therefore the hike was canceled. We did multiplication and spelling drills in the van, viewed the fall leaves and TJ read the rest of Esio Trot. Then we came back home and worked on Geography and TJ did math games on the computer. For Geography, TJ's started the Highlights' Which Way USA? program which uses a series of puzzle books and maps to explore each state in our union. The first puzzle book is Alabama. Each booklet should take about 2 weeks to complete.

Tomorrow should be a nice day for TJ with a Sibilius Festival concert at the Calumet Theater. There was suppose to be a science fieldtrip to the woods tomorrow but it's been canceled due to the forecasted bad weather but will be rescheduled for a later date. We've tentatively scheduled a trip to Somero's farm to go through their corn maze (supposed to be a 3 or 4 acre maze/scavenger hunt) for Tuesday with another homeschooling family (Max/Margo) and next Thursday swimming starts at Finlandia.

This week has been crazy. My joints hurt like heck - If they don't improve quickly I'm going to have to go see the doctor about steroids. :( I keep pushing, trying to get over the fatigue and pain but I've been absolutely miserable for the last 4 days or so. Trevor's been really busy and sounds like it will continue for the foreseeable future. Joe's in trouble because his grades are slipping again due to lack of effort/doing homework and Jessica has been a bit of a nuisance of late with getting into things and making messes! But at the same time, homeschooling has went well and my new job seems to be going well even if typing is hurting like heck! I enjoy the articles I'm writing, it's less hassle than my other job was and it pays better... so I can't complain too much.

Anyhow - that's it for now...

Sept 21st

Yesterday we didn't get around to updating our blog as we spent a good portion of the day running errands and another portion doing science experiments. TJ's starting to learn about plant and animal cells and how to classify plants and animals. So we collected plant samples, prepared slides and used the microscope to identify the cell wall and other plant structures. TJ had a lot of fun with it. Math and history were done on the road. Math with flash cards and Mom quizzing, history with Brain Quest cards on America. We also got some math in at the store.

Today we're catching up on "book work". TJ's done math drills, general math, spelling, science and are working on geography and history as I type. We haven't done much with Japanese yesterday or today but tomorrow we'll spend a bit of time on it. Aunt Holly's friend Hiromi has offered to be an online pen pal for TJ to give him someone to ask questions. We haven't gotten to email her yet - just been too crazy.

Later this week - Thur. Park/Hike with homeschool group?
Friday - 9am Sibelius Festival Concert at the Calumet Theater with the homeschool group.
Friday(also) - 1:30pm Science fieldtrip to the Lake Linden School Forest for plant/tree identification with homeschool group (led by a MTU grad-student)

Weekly swimming starts on the 30th of September.

On other news - Jessica seems to be doing well in school. I still think they are working below her level but it is much higher than last year's work was. She also seems to be doing well overall and is happy to go to school each morning. Joe.... is being Joe. His grades would be great but he lost the syllabus that I had to sign for science, starting him out with a zero in that class and is struggling in math. So right now his grades read: A, A, B, D+, D+ (other classes aren't reporting grades yet). We're staying on him about it and those grades will hopefully start coming up.

Trevor's been busy with meetings and "Honey Do's". He trimmed up the bushes from in front of the house and is going to be working on painting the trim before winter sets in. I've gotten another online job and it's one that may actually be steady enough for us to start paying down some of our debts and putting some money away... or at least one can dream!

So all in all - it's been a very busy last few days and will likely only get busier as time marches on!

Sept 16th

Today was an excellent day! In the morning we did Language Arts, Reading, Math & Spelling. Then we did Social Studies and multiplication review on the way to Canyon Falls where we went on a couple hour hike with members of the homeschooling group. It was beautiful and TJ had a lot of fun. The kids climbed, ran, jumped, splashed, collected water and plant samples and just really enjoyed the whole outing! I only got one photo with my phone (my camera's dead :( ) and it turned out fuzzy but a couple of the other Moms got some pictures so maybe I'll get copies to post on here.

Today TJ had his pictures taken at Wal-Mart. You can view them here:
http://www.myonlineportraits.com/ViewSharedAlbum.aspx?ShareID=233461a2-f872-47fc-a4b2-23e32052ac60
Then we went on a guided tour of the Quincy mine, steam hoist and shaft house with one of TJ's homeschooling friends - Max and his Mom. They'd never been there and TJ's memory of the last time we were there (several years ago) was a bit foggy. Besides being REALLY cold - it was a lot of fun and very educational. In between the picture taking and the tour, TJ and I reviewed multiplication flash cards and Brain Quest's America cards. So it was a pretty good day!

Info on the mine can be found here:
http://www.quincymine.com/

Yesterday was another busy day but it was one of those days where not much actually was accomplished. TJ spent the day working at a snail's pace as I was being picky about neatness. In math he's learning order of operations. In Social Studies he's reviewing basic geography concepts so I'm counting it in both his Social Studies and Geography classes and in Science we're reviewing the scientific method. He created a poster out of the scientific method yesterday. He also worked on learning crocheting which was an experience! I never realized how hard it can be to teach something that you normally just DO but by the end of it all he was getting the hang of tying on and chaining. For Japanese we're working primarily with the website: http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/language/index.html. We're still on Lesson 1 but TJ seems to be having a lot of fun and has picked up some of the vocabulary easily. He also understands that there are 4 Japanese writing systems and that one is based off of Chinese, one off of Latin (or English) and two are traditional to Japan.

For today, TJ has a lighter/funner load. I got some educational games for the computer that he'll be playing to help review concepts learned last year, he has one math exercise and a Geography/Social Studies worksheet to complete. He will continue to read on his Deltora Quest book for his book report next week. He also has a couple writing exercises, a movie to watch for Japanese and some Japanese culture websites to check out. I, in the mean time, have LOTS of housework to catch up on, stuff to organize for school and an evening out of the house to get ready for - lol!

In other news - Joe starts welding in metal shop. Trevor and I had to go buy him overalls, a work shirt and work boots. It was odd buying that stuff for my son! In fact, it feels odd that he started High School AND Jessica started Middle School this year....

Also, the Drive-In movie theater near where I grew up that the kids (and Trevor) visited whenever we went back to OK burned down... I always thought the screen was a concrete structure (it really looked like it!) but it wasn't. It was kinda one of those moments when you know a part of your childhood is gone for good. *sigh* Well, here's a few pics/info for memorial sake:






This drive-in was even once a scene for a major motion picture: The Outsiders
For those that aren't familiar with it here's a clip:

First Day

Day 1 -
Great day. Mostly review work but TJ fell into the work with enthusiasm. We started a couple new incentive programs and are still working at decorating the classroom - which we'll post pictures of when it's done. TJ really liked the Japanese course and the Social Studies textbook.

Joe went to Houghton Schools and seems happy with his classes; however, he's still looking into the ROTC program and the Swim Team. Jessica had her first day of school and is delighted to have Mrs. Gerard as an instructor.

I'll try to be more descriptive in further updates.

Last Minute Changes

Nothing like last minute changes! Joey will be attending Houghton Schools again. Over the last few weeks he's matured and he came up with compelling reasons why we should send him back. Also, Trevor and I talked about the benefits of him being able to participate in the swim team and TJ being able to participate in activities without me having to figure out what to do with Joe so that he's still learning. TJ really wants to do gymnastics, chess club, drama, swimming and other activities - some of which would not be age appropriate/interest appropriate for Joe. Sooooooo.... provided Joe maintains a C or better average and has no disciplinary issues and tries out for the swim team AND speaks to the school counselor about ROTC.... he'll be in public school.

So - once again - it will be a busy year for our family!

New Year - New Scope

Planning for the new year has almost come to an end....
First, Joe will be home again. He'll start out on our curriculum and then as a position opens with Connections Academy - he'll be transferred to their distance learning High School program. Until the position at Connections is available - Joe will be doing Saxon Algebra I, Advanced English I, and Japanese with me. His father will be teaching his World History and Science course in a survey of research topics type method. We are also exploring the possibilities of signing him up for JROTC.
TJ will have a more traditional schooling experience this year as I'm purchasing school supplies from McGraw-Hill, Harcourt, and Scott Foresman. He'll have mathematics, science, US History & Social Studies, and writing through major text books. For reading, I'm assembling a reading library from various reading lists found online (some examples are: Homecoming, Holes, Roald Dahl books, Shiloh, the Just So Stories, etc.). We'll be working through these books together - some in a question/answer type format and some in a book report fashion. I found some great curriculum for his writing that will hopefully improve it dramatically!
Both kids will be highly involved in the local homeschooling community as I'm now on the board and am their Updates! (e-newsletter) coordinator. And all three kids are going to have to learn to be more accountable for their own care and for helping around the house. Both boys will have HomeEc as an elective (well - I suppose it's not an elective if Mom is making them do it! LOL!). I also hope to be able to offer them one or two extra courses/learning experiences (i.e. Drama for TJ or Guitar for Joe).

So with the greatest of intentions.... :)

Busy, busy, busy.... but haven't totally forgotten the blog

Okay, I know I always say this but we really have been VERY busy. I haven't really gotten around to any sort of administration type thing, like this blog or the grade book, but TJ is learning in leaps and bounds. I'm not even sure where to start but I think, instead of recapping everything, I'll just give you a quick run down of where we are now.

Right now TJ is getting heavily involved in the Copper Country Home Educators Association. So much so that I'm now on their board of directors. He goes swimming once a week, has drama twice a week, and attends the chess club on some Fridays. In drama they've been working on writing their own stories and on creating puppets so it's been a lot of literature, language arts, and arts & crafts. As for chess club - TJ's not very good at the game yet - but they also play in a gym after an hour of chess. So TJ gets more physical exercise, a chance to play games with a large group and during the chess playing a chance to learn to work with distractions.

We've also pushed forward with TJ's other studies. Right now he's reading the Narnia series (starting with the Magician's Nephew) of books and is following a study guide that includes lot's of great activities. You can check out the package I bought here. I've also designed a spelling curriculum off of it with lots of hands on/fun activities - like using side walk chalk, shaving cream, window markers (on the Van windows!), bath crayons, refrigerator magnets, and worksheets that use secret codes and such. TJ's actually learning the words and loving it! We've moved onto American Geography for TJ. This includes learning a song for drama:

And playing a game the Grandma gave TJ quite a while ago called: The Scrambled States of America. He just loves the game! We are also using the geography text/workbook that I've previously mentioned. For Math we're working on multiplication with several place values (i.e. 4,520 x 35 = ) etc. While working on that we're continuing to do drill sheets and flashcard work. For science we're finishing off environmentalism and shortly we'll be doing "household" chemistry. In history we're learning about the fall of the Roman Empire.

Now that's all just the homeschooling stuff. We've also been enjoying the wonderful weather outdoors and have been running all over heck and back with brother & sister. Both Joey and Jessica are doing okay but Joey's been kinda "iffy" about his dedication to school and his math grades remain low. Not sure what we're going to do about that :(. Jessica's behavior has been an issue from time to time but otherwise not much has changed in her world.

Trevor continues to take more things on with the Masons/Shriners and is now preparing to drive our friend Merl down to Tennessee (where he's moving to) at the end of April. Meanwhile I'm working on putting together another camping trip with the kids for around the same time period. I'm also working with that Celtic Quarter group to start the museum for people of Celtic heritage in the local area. In fact the kids and I are going to be in the St. Patrick's Day parade - which is hilarious considering my opinion of that particular "saint" but... it's important exposure for the group.

Guess that's it for now!
Val

P.S. for those that are in, or are going to be in, the area around April 27th... TJ's drama club will be holding their play/skits. Let me know and I'll give you the information so you can attend.

Welcome

Welcome! I've decided to move our homeschooling blog here where there is more room for pictures and where I can purchase more space as needed!