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.