Homeschool Day 2/10

 1st Grader

• Miquon Orange Math
• Bananagrams - we made words for animals with the letter tiles
• Ancient Greeks and Romans Unit Study
• Usborne Greek Myths
• Jason and the Argonauts
• The Trojan horse (Step into Reading series)
• Random House Book of Bible Stories
• The Dragons of Blueland

9th and 11th Graders

• Algebra 1 (9th) and Stewardship (11th)
• English
• Windows to the World
• They finished their characterization essays
• The Outsiders (T.S. Hinton) - read-aloud
• Bible readings
• German
• German Demystified
• Chemistry/Physics - Subatomic Particle Study
• Video: "Exploring Other Dimensions - TED Talk"
• Video: "How We Might Be Living in Other Dimensions without Knowing - Neil DeGrasse Tyson"
• Theater class - 9th grader - outsourced

Homeschool Day 2/9

 1st Grader

• Miquon Math Orange
• He read a BOB Book to me - he is doing GREAT with reading lately
• Handwriting on the dry erase board - we practiced writing numbers correctly
• Ancient Greeks and Romans Unit Study
• Usborne Greek Myths
• Jason and the Argonauts
• The Trojan horse (from the Step into Reading series)
• He played outside
• Wednesday night church activities

9th and 11th Graders

• Stewardship (11th) and Algebra 1 (9th) - this is the last lesson for Algebra 1
• English
• Windows to the World
• The worked on their characterization essays
• The Outsiders (T.S. Hinton) - read-aloud
• Bible reading
• Chemistry/Physics Subatomic Particle Study
• Video: "The Basics of the Higgs-Boson (TED Talk)"
• Video: "The Higgs Field, explained- Don Lincoln"
• News article: "X particle from the dawn of time detected inside the Large Hadron Collider" - from the Live Science website
• Shakespearean Theater - outsourced class (11th grader)
• Wednesday night church activities
• College Prep - the 11th grader took the TSI pre-assessment through the college.  She didn't miss any questions on the English.  Missed 3 math questions.  She got approval to take the TSI.  We printed out all the paperwork and started a folder for her to keep her stuff in.

Homeschool Day 2/8

 1st Grader

• Ok, this was not a very productive day.  All he wanted to do was pretend to be an alien.
• We threw the math dice in the yard and added them up.
• We read:
• Usborne Greek Myths
• The Dragons of Blueland
• Gymnastics - outsourced 

9th and 11th Graders

• Algebra 1 (9th) and Stewardship (11th)
• English
• The Outsiders (T.S. Hinton) - read-aloud
• Windows to the World 
• They started writing the characterization essay
• Chemistry/Physics
• Subatomic Particles Study
• Compared sizes of subatomic particles using the site Scale of the Universe
• Scale of the Universe
• Read about each subatomic particle that is known/theorized to exist
• Gymnastics - outsourced
• They did some cooking together
• Trip to the college to turn in the 11th grader's transcripts and see the advisor

Homeschool Day 2/7

 1st Grader

• Miquon Orange Math
• Reading
• Explode the Code
• He read two BOB books to me
• Ancient Greeks and Romans Unit Study
• Usborne Greek Myths
• Romulus and Remus (Rockwell)
• He made a book of the planets using construction paper and markers.  On each page, he drew a picture of a planet from our solar system and then wrote its name.  
• The Dragons of Blueland
• Random House Book of Bible Stories

9th and 11th Graders

• Algebra 1 (9th) and Stewardship (11th)
• English
• Windows to the World - literary analysis curriculum
• The Outsiders (T.S. Hinton) - read-aloud
• Bible readings
• German
• German Demystified
• We listened to Matthew Chapter 3 in German
• Subatomic Particles Study (for Chem/Physics)
• Video: "What's the Smallest Thing in the Universe - TED Talk"
• Video: "Step Inside the Hadron Collider - BBC" - this video has a 360 degree feature, where you can move the camera around and see the tunnels of the Hadron Collider, etc.
• We had a loooong discussion on everything Particle Physics - the safety of experimenting with these particles, what kinds of things could go wrong with the Hadron Collider, recreating the conditions for the "beginning of the universe", ethics when experimenting, etc.  The teens were fascinated by these videos and kept pausing them to talk about it.

Homeschool Day 2/3

 1st Grader

• Miquon Math Orange
• Reading
• He read a BOB Book to me
• Explode the Code
• Handwriting
• We practiced the lowercase letters on the Whiteboard app on the iPad
• Ancient Greek and Roman Unit Study
• Using Smithsonian: The Planets, we looked at pictures of each planet in the solar system
• We looked at comets, the asteroid belt and the dwarf planets
• We simulated earth rotating and orbiting the sun, simultaneously - me being the sun and him being the Earth
• The Dragons of Blueland (read-aloud)
• He played out in the snow twice (it actually snowed here in Texas)

9th and 11th Graders

• Mathusee Stewardship (11th) and Algebra 1 (9th) 
• 9th grader is one lesson away from being finished, so we looked at a couple of other math programs and she decided that she wants to continue Mathusee, because of the videos where Steve Demme is teaching - she says those are helpful
• English
• The Outsiders (T.S. Hinton) - read-aloud
• Windows to the World - literary analysis
• Bible reading
• German
• German Demystified
• They took a quiz
• Chemistry
• 9th grader finished Mystery of the Periodic Table
• Clock Reaction Experiment Kit (from Home Science Tools)
• We did almost all of the labs in one session
• They were fun!  I was worried this kit would be a dud, but we had a great time doing the experiments
• They also played out in the snow

Homeschool Day 1/31

 1st Grader

• We did all of his schoolwork outside, because it was very pretty out.  We used the sidewalk chalk on the driveway to do his math and reading.
• Miquon Math Orange
• Reading
• Explode the Code
• Ordinary Parents' Guide to Teaching Reading
• Ancient Greek and Roman Unit Study
• Usborne Greek Myths
• Pompeii: Buried Alive
• National Geographic Kids: Planets
• Activity: He told me a monster myth story and I wrote it on paper.  He decorated it with markers.
• The Dragons of Blueland (read-aloud at bedtime)
• He played outside at the park

9th and 11th Graders

• Stewardship (11th) and Algebra 1 (9th)
• TSI Reading practice test - the 11th grader and I did it together
• English
• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
• Discussion of the author and how we came up with the idea of the book
• Windows to the World - literary analysis
• The Outsiders (T.S. Hinton) - read-aloud
• Bible reading
• German (together)
• German Demystified
• Vocabulary - parts of the body
• Chemistry
• Mystery of the Periodic Table (9th grader)
• LAB: Acids, Bases and Ph
• The had 4 unknown solutions and had to identify them as acids, bases, water or phenolthalien

Homeschool Day 1/27

 1st Grader

• He didn't get much done, because he wanted to watch Winnie the Pooh.
• He read a BOB book
• Dragonbox Numbers
• Ancient Greece and Rome Unit Study
• Usborne Greek Myths
• Heracles

9th and 11th Graders

• Algebra 1 (9th) and Stewardship (11th)
• English
• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde
• Windows to the World - literary analysis
• Bible
• Individual reading
• Study of Book of Revelation
• Chapters 21-22 (we finished)
• German
• German Demystified
• Names of countries in Europe
• Chemistry
• The Mystery of the Periodic Table (9th)
• LAB: Acids and Bases - learning to use Ph paper
• Theater (9th grader - outsourced)

Homeschool Day 1/26

 1st Grader

• Math
• Miquon Math Orange
• Adding dice x2s
• Reading
• Explode the Code
• Ordinary Parents' Guide to Teaching Reading
• Random House Book of Bible Stories
• Ancient Greek and Roman Unit Study
• Usborne Greek Myths
• Arachne
• King Midas, the Golden Touch
• You Wouldn't Want to Be a Slave in Ancient Greece
• Activity: We looked at weapons and shields from Ancient Greece
• Project: He made and painted a shield from cardboard

9th and 11th Graders

• Algebra 1 (9th) and Stewardship (11th)
• English
• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
• Windows to the World - literary analysis
• Bible
• Individual reading
• Study of Book of Revelation
• Chapter 20
• German
• German Demystified (together)
• Chemistry
• LAB: Acids and Bases
• Shakespearean Theater (11th grader - outsourced)

Homeschool Day 1/25

 1st Grader

• Math
• Adding 2's to the cuisinaire rods
• Miquon Math Orange
• Handwriting without Tears
• Elmer and the Dragon (read-aloud)
• Ancient Greek and Rome Study
• You Wouldn't Want to Be a Slave in Ancient Greece
• Usborne Greek Myths
• Persephone
• Gymnastics

9th and 11th Graders

• Algebra 1 (9th) and Stewardship (11th)
• English
• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
• Bible
• Study of Book of Revelation
• Chapter 19 (group discussion)
• Chemistry
• Notebooking through the Periodic Table
• The Noble Gases
• The Elements
• Properties, atomic model, valence electrons, melting point/boiling point, states, reactivity, uses, radioactivity, etc
• Gymnastics
• Piano practice (11th grader - I always forget to add that)

Homeschool Day 1/24

 1st Grader

• Math
• Miquon Math Orange
• We went through adding 1's (which was too easy for him)
• Reading
• Ordinary Parents' Guide to Teaching Reading
• Explode the Code
• Elmer and the Dragon (read-aloud)
• Random House Book of Bible Stories
• Ancient Greece and Rome Unit Study
• Located Greece and Italy on the atlas
• Activity: We made play dough maps of Italy, Greece and the Mediterranean
• Read
• You Wouldn't Want to Be a Slave in Ancient Greece
• Usborne Greek Myths
• Nature walk in the afternoon at the park

9th and 11th Graders

• Algebra 1 (9th) and Stewardship (11th)
• English
• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
• Windows to the World - literary analysis
• Bible
• Individual reading
• Study of Revelation (together)
• Chapter 18
• German (together)
• German Demystified
• Vocabulary 
• Gospel of Matthew in German
• From Youtube's German Picture Bible Matthew chapter 2
• Chemistry
• Notebooking through the Nonmetals
• Characteristics
• Rutherford model of Silicon
• Conductivity, boiling points, melting points, valence electrons, etc
• The Elements - Bromine, Iodine, Silicon, Tellurium
• Voice lesson - outsourced (11th grader)
• Nature walk in the afternoon at the park (9th grader)

STEM Thursday 1/13

 1st Grader

• Dragonbox's Numbers (math app)
• Teach Your Monster to Read (reading app)
• Elmer and the Dragon
• The Random House Book of Bible Stories
• Zometools - he played with these for a long time.  He even built a two-story vehicle for his plastic animal guys

• We went to the park and built ultra-gliders and flew them
• We played pickleball again at the park

9th and 11th Graders

• 11th grader wrote an SAT practice essay
• 9th grader finished the literary analysis essay from Windows to the World
• Chemistry
• Notebooking through the periodic table (properties, atomic structure, melting points, boiling points, etc)
• Metals
• Metalloids
• Lanthanides
• Actinides
• Mystery of the Periodic Table (9th grader)
• Physics
• How Things Work Now
• QSL Physics Lab Kit
• Magnetism lab - we explored magnets, how they're made and how they affect magnetic compasses
• This was our final lab for that kit
• Ultraglider Lab - we set a blanket down in the grass at the park and made a few different ultra-glider designs from the Thames & Kosmos Ultraglider Kit and flew them to see which ones flew the best
• We played pickleball at the park again

Homeschool Day 1/6

 9th and 11th Graders

• Algebra 1 (9th) and Stewardship (11th)
• The Way Things Work Now
• Chemistry
• The Mystery of the Periodic Table
• Notebooking through the periodic table
• Alkaline Earth Metals
• The Elements
• Characteristics
• Electron orbitals
• Rutherford Models
• Boiling point, melting point
• Density
• Reactivity
• Radioactivity
• The Little Prince (deSaint Exupery)

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)

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

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)

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 12/1

 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

Homeschool Day 11/29

 1st Grader

• Miquon Math Orange
• Reading
• My Father's Dragon (read-aloud)
• Explode the Code
• Ordinary Parents' Guide to Teaching Reading
• First Language Lessons 1
• Story of the World 1
• Tut's Mummy, Lost and Found
• Science (biology)
• Library books about the human body
• For Cub Scouts, he collected blankets for the homeless and turned them in today
• He learned how to ride his bike without training wheels over the weekend

9th and 11th Graders

• This was actually one of the best homeschool days ever.  The teens were very excited to do school today.
• Algebra 1 (9th) and Stewardship (11th)
• Finished reading Steinbeck's The Pearl
• We had a great, excited group discussion about the book.  
• We discussed Steinbeck's background 
• Introduced Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea (their next book) and talked about his biography
• Physics
• Lab: Reflections from Curved Mirrors from QSL Physics Kit
• Calculated the focal length of lenses of different thicknesses
• Inverted image using a laser, concave lens and note card
• Chemistry
• Mystery of the Periodic Table (9th grader reading)
• Started our notebook of the elements.  We're going through each element of the periodic table and covering Rutherford models, atomic number/mass, properties, boiling point/melting point, classification, when the element was discovered, what the element is used for, etc.
• Hydrogen and Helium - notebooking 
• Watched footage of the Hindenburg airship explosion and talked about why hydrogen is so flammable
• 11th Grader had a private voice lesson
• We are going to walk to the cookie store to buy cookies

Homeschool Day 11/15

 1st Grader

• Miquon Math - this was his first day with it and it went very well
• Reading
• My Father's Dragon (read-aloud)
• Explode the Code
• McGuffey Reader Primer (he read the story to me)
• First Language Lessons 1
• Story of the World 1
• King Tut's Mummy, Lost and Found
• Play It! Piano
• Played outside

9th and 11th Graders

• Algebra 1 (9th) - we did the problems on the dry erase board together - it's multi-step factoring equations and she really doesn't like them
• Stewardship (11th grader) - home ownership
• English
• Steinbeck's The Pearl
• Windows to the World
• Bible
• Gladys Aylward
• Study of Revelation of St. John - we located Patmos on the map and read the first 5 chapters
• Government and Economics
• Read about the Texas State Legislature
• Researched who our Texas State Representative is
• Researched who our Texas State Senator is
• Looked at the "Who Represents Me" website www.wrm.capitol.texas.gov
• Apologia Chemistry
• Read textbook Module 7
• Lab 7.1 - Electricity
• Voice Lesson (11th grader)

Homeschool Day 11/3

1st Grader

• Math
• He played with Picasso Tiles (magnetic tiles)
• Reading
• Explode the Code
• I taught him "silent e" with refrigerator magnet letters
• He read "I Like My Car" to me
• First Language Lessons 1
• Story of the World 1
• The Beginnner's Bible - stories of Paul

9th and 11th Graders

• Algebra 1 (9th) and Stewardship (11th)
• Kafka's Metamorphosis - they finished the book and we had a long group discussion about the allegories, themes, etc in the book
• Windows to the World Literary Analysis (Plot and Conflict)
• German
• Komm Mit 1 (9th)
• "Frau Holle" Grimm fairy tale (11th)
• Apologia Chemistry
• Kinetic Theory of Matter
• LAB 4.4 - comparing rate of diffusion in cold water versus boiling water
• Shakespearean Theater (outsourced class - 11th grader)