Homeschool Day: 12/31

 9th and 11th Graders

Physics

• QSL Physics Lab Kit - we did the resistor/voltage experiment.  We used the breadboard to line resistors in a series, resistors in a parallel series and then used a battery to complete the circuit.  We measured the total voltage throughout the circuit - after the resistors in series and after the parallel resistors. 

1st Grader

• We worked on his Pinewood Derby car for Cub Scouts.

Homeschool Day 12/30

 1st Grader

• Easy reader (he read to me)
• Literature
• House on Pooh Corner
• Aesop's Fables
• The First Adventures of Spider (African folktales)
• Life of Fred Apples - we may stop this, because it is too abstract and he can't answer the questions
• He wrote a letter to his cousin and mailed it
• Story of the Orchestra
• The violin
• We are fishing in the afternoon

9th and 11th Graders

• Trout fishing in the afternoon
• Algebra 1 (9th) and Stewardship (11th)
• Chemistry
• Mystery of the Periodic Table
• The Elements
• Notebooking the Alkali Metals
• Characteristics
• Reactivity
• Francium + radioactivity
• Video: Reactivity of Alkali Metals with Water
• LAB: Chemiluminescence - we used Luminol + distilled water to create a solution which gave off light, but very little heat

• Physics
• The Way Things Work Now
• Physics Lab: Applying resistors in a series versus parallel on a breadboard (from the QSL Physics Kit)

Homeschool Day 12/29

1st Grader

• Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading
• First Language Lessons 1
• Explode the Code
• Miquon Orange Math
• Biology
• We finished Magic School Bus Presents The Human Body
• Bible
• The Legend of Saint Nicholas (Gruen/Ferri) - he loved this picture book
• Literature
• House on Pooh Corner
• Aesop's Fables for Children (we read two fables)
• He had a long playdate with a friend 

9th and 11th Graders

• Algebra 1 (9th) and Stewardship (11th)
• English
• The Little Prince (Saint Exupery)
• Windows to the World - literary essay
• The Elements of Style - we did some of the sentences together on the dry erase board
• American Government
• The Infographic American Government
• You Decide: Applying the Bill of Rights to Real Cases
• Fourth Amendment
• We covered about 4-5 Supreme Court cases covering search & seizure, probably cause, warrants, etc
• We ended up consulting a relative who is an attorney and asking questions about illegal police searches - very interesting
• They also had friends come over to visit

Homeschool Day 12/28

 1st Grader

• Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading
• First Language Lessons 1
• Miquon Math Orange
• Story of the World 1
• Aesop's Fables for Children (we read two fables)
• The Great Wall of China

9th and 11th Graders

• Algebra 1 (9th) and Stewardship (11th)
• English
• Windows to the World - literary essay
• The Little Prince
• American Government
• Infographic Guide to American Government
• You Decide: Applying the Bill of Rights to Real Cases
• Finished discussing 1st Amendment
• 2nd Amendment
• 3rd Amendment

Homeschool Day: 12/27 - Back in the Saddle Again...

 Our first day back after a 3 week break.

1st Grader

• Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading
• First Language Lessons 1
• Handwriting without Tears
• Miquon Math Orange
• We finished The Beginner's Bible
• Story of the World 1
• We read Pegasus by Mayer/Craft
• Magic School Bus' The Human Body
• P.E. - We are playing pickle ball in the afternoon

9th and 11th Graders

• Math
• Algebra 1 (9th) - she is at the end of this course
• Mathusee Stewardship (11th)
• English
• Started The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery
• Read small bio of the author
• Windows to the World - literary essay
• Bible
• Daily Bible reading
• Study of Revelations - we reviews chapters 1-4 and read 5-6
• American Government
• Read The Infographic Guide to American Government
• Researched:
• Texas state governor
• US Representatives for our district
• US Senators for our state
• You Decide: Applying the Bill of Rights to Supreme Court Cases
• Discussed First Amendment and two Supreme Court cases
• Wisconsin v Yoder (1972)
• Edwards v South Carolina (1963)
• P.E. - We are playing pickle ball in the afternoon

My Order from Home Science Tools

 I placed an order for our science kits/labs that should cover most of the winter/spring semester.  Because we have had such a science focus all year, I'm going to try to have STEM Thursdays.  So, we will spend most of Thursday on just science and math.  That will give us enough time to focus on all these labs and hands-on activities.

Here's what I bought:

Physics

Smithsonian Motorworks Engine Kit

Ultralight Airplanes Physics Kit

We bought a number of these rockets + extra engines: Estes Model Rockets  We bought around 6 rockets with different ranges, plus extra engines.  We also bought the kit that includes the launch pad.  The engines are between $6-10 for a two pack, depending on the size of the engine.

Chemistry

Instant Light Powder Kit - chemiluminescence lab

Clock Reaction Kit - rates of reactions lab

Acids, Bases and the Ph Scale - lab kit

Christmas Break

 We're resting until after Christmas.

Homeschool Day 12/9

 1st Grader

• Life of Fred Apples (math supplement)
• Easy Reader from the library (he read this to me)
• The Magic School Bus The Human Body
• Story of the World 1
• The Great Wall of China (Fisher)

9th and 11th Graders

• Algebra 1 (9th) and Stewardship (11th)
• Old Man and the Sea (Hemingway)
• Chemistry
• Mystery of the Periodic Table (9th grader)
• The Elements
• Nitrogen and Oxygen - notebooking - this sounds simple, but it's taking me about an hour each time to get through just two elements.  At this rate, there's no way I will be able to cover every single element.
• Bohr models
• Atomic numbers
• Characteristics
• Melting point. Boiling point
• Uses
• Atmospheric percentages
• When, by who and how they were discovered
• Theater class (9th grader - outsourced)

Winter/Spring 2022 Plans: High School

 Winter/Spring 2022 Plans for 9th and 11th Grades (English/Government Focus)

Math

• Finish Mathusee Stewardship (11th grader)
• Start Mathusee Geometry (9th grader)

English

• Windows to the World, Literary Analysis
• Strunk & White's Elements of Style
• Narrations
• Literature
• One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
• The Little Prince
• The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
• The Red Badge of Courage
• The Misanthrope
• Edgar Allan Poe (selected writings)
• The Turn of the Screw

German (continue)

Bible

• Continue daily Bible reading
• Study of Revelation

American Government

• Continue covering Texas and US Government
• The Complete Idiot's Guide to American Government
• You Decide: Applying the Bill of Rights to Real Cases
• Mock Trial

STEM Thursdays

• Finish The Elements and Mystery of the Periodic Table
• Subatomic particles unit study
• VEX IQ or Physics Pro lab kits
• Work on science fair projects
• Python Programming (continue projects)
• Some physics kits - like the "build an engine" kit and ultraglider kit

Outsourced/Extras

• Shakespearean Theater (11th grader)
• Reader's Theater (9th grader)
• Ballet
• Wednesday night church activities
• Voice lessons (11th grader)

Homeschool Day 12/8

 1st Grader

• Miquon Math Orange
• Ordinary Parents' Guide to Teaching Reading
• Explode the Code
• First Language Lessons 1
• Mary, Mother of Jesus 
• Library book on digestive system (finished)
• Magic School Bus' The Human Body
• Looked at onion cells through the microscope

9th and 11th Graders

• Algebra 1 (9th) and Stewardship (11th)
• The Old Man and the Sea (Hemingway)
• Gladys Aylward (read-aloud)
• Physics
• Crash Course Astronomy #24 LIGHT (excellent video explaining light, wavelength, frequency, the visible spectrum, where light comes from, etc)
• Mystbusters video: Can Christmas Tree Lights Spark a Fire? (Youtube)
• How Things Work Now
• Mad About Physics: Braintwisters, Paradoxes and Curiosities (we went through several of the puzzles from the light chapter together)
• Shakespearean Theater (outsourced class for 11th grader)

Homeschool Day 12/7

 1st Grader

• Miquon Math
• Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading
• Handwriting without Tears
• Biology
• We read a library book about the digestive system
• Story of the World 1
• The Librarian Who Measured the Earth (excellent book)
• Gymnastics (outsourced class)

9th and 11th Graders

• Algebra 1 (9th - she needed several problems worked on the dry erase board) and Stewardship (11th)
• Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea
• Gladys Aylward (read-aloud)
• Chemistry
• Mystery of the Periodic Table (9th grader)
• The Elements
• Notebooking together - BORON and CARBON
• Atomic numbers
• Bohr models
• Melting Points/Boiling Points
• Properties
• Metalloid characteristics
• Structures - we talked about Buckeyballs and Carbon Nanotubes
• Uses, etc
• Gymnastics (outsourced class)

Homeschool Day 12/6

 1st Grader

• Miquon Math
• Bananagrams - we did this for reading today, because - boy - he did NOT want to do school
• First Language Lessons 1
• Story of the World 1
• Read The Librarian Who Measured the Earth (Erathosthenes)
• We took a child-safe tape measure and practiced measuring things

9th and 11th Grader

• Algebra 1 (9th) and Stewardship (11th)
• Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea
• Read-aloud - Gladys Aylward
• Physics
• The Way Things Work Now (David Maccaulay)
• Mad About Physics: Braintwisters, Paradoxes and Curiosities
• We did half the chapter on light together
• We used mirrors and prisms from our science kit to solve the problems
• LAB: Refraction 
• Prisms and sunlight
• Acrylic lenses and sunlight
• Prisms, lenses and lasers
• Showing refraction of laser by prism and lens
• Science Projects
• We researched science projects some more and came up with solid ideas for projects
• The 11th grader is planning to do an experiment showing how magnetic fields affect plant growth
• The 9th grader is thinking of doing an experiment with either different types of glue and their strength or different building materials and their strength

Graduating Student To-Do Checklist

 We are 90% sure that the 11th grader is graduating in May.  Here is my to-do list:

1. Finalize transcripts on Word - mostly done - need to update with final grade
2. Print out 10 finished transcripts, sign them, seal about 3 in envelopes and sign the back
3. Put together graduation folder
1. Transcripts
2. List of sports/activities
3. List of awards
4. Volunteer work
5. Curriculum used/booklists
4. Finish and order Scrapbook from Snapfish - I started this already
5. Order diploma and tassel
6. Apply to the college in January
7. Update Meningitis vaccine and get paperwork signed off from pediatrician (required in Texas)
8. Review 5-paragraph essay with her
9. Schedule/take the TSI at the college
10. Put together her graduation gift bag

I need to get moving on at least the graduation folder and putting the scrapbook together.

Homeschool Day 12/2

 

We cancelled school and went fishing.  I caught a large-mouth bass.  Photo taken from my cell phone.  Texas in the winter is awesome.

Homeschool Day 12/1

 1st Grader

• Miquon Math Orange
• Reading
• Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading
• First Language Lessons 1
• He learned how to write his address
• Mary, Mother of Jesus (read-aloud)

9th and 11th Graders

• Algebra 1 (9th) and Stewardship (11th)
• Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea
• Mystery of the Periodic Table (9th grader)
• Chemistry Notebooking: Lithium and Beryllium
• Bohr model
• Atomic #/weight
• Classification, properties
• Reactivity
• Melting point/boiling points
• When the elements were discovered and how
• Uses, etc
• Where elements are found in nature
• Shakespearean Theater (11th grader - outsourced class)
• School was very light, because we have an important appointment in the afternoon