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If we value the pursuit of knowledge, we must be free to follow wherever that search may lead us. ~ Adlai Stevenson

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Fine, I Give Up...

I have had one too many complaints that with all the studying we do together, the kids are missing out on following their own interests, which is unfortunately true. So we're back to this, plus a simplified-again Afternoon Basket.


Lest you should think that it is not demanding enough, here's a brief run-down of what they are up to!

The Girl
Learning about early American (and Native American) history with The History of US, volume one, and the American Girl books on Kaya, and documentaries (and a movie or two if I can find a good one!). And we're still reading Caddie Woodlawn (partly because it was misplaced for a while), so she is learning about interrelations between settlers and Native Americans.

Continued animal and zoology studies with Scientists in the Field, The Amateur Zoologist, and documentaries.

Cultural studies with Faces Magazine, cooking projects, and again documentaries.

The Boy
Conceptual physics with a Coursera class and Stop Faking It! Forces and Motion, along with a BIG stack of intro to physics books he brought home from the library.

He's starting, this week, to read through A Little History of Science The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way. I'll read it too, on my own time, so we can have conversations about it.

Still studying for the National Mythology Exam, with the Daulaires' books on Greek and Norse myths.

Still working on animation and soft-body physics with Blender.

And then together...
We have the Afternoon Basket reading to enjoy.

And we're loving Mankind: The Story of Us All. Which has given me the idea to sneak in more history through excellent documentaries AND well-made films... and the occasional really good piece of literature.

Almost forgot, we have a bunch of Valentines cards to get ready for our annual Park Day Valentine's Exchange. And, in honor of historical events, we're going to cover Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, and MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech.

So what are you up to this week in homeschooling?

2 comments:

  1. This week is exhausting. We spent today in The City for the boy, getting a test started. Friday is, of course, Valentine's, which means I'm supposed to be in four places at once… or at least three places back-to-back-to-back. Next week is our third interest-led week. The week after that will be 'normal,' and then the week after THAT is March. This year is flying.

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  2. Your school and life stuff always looks so interesting!

    It's been a while since I could get internet here long enough to post a comment (but I have been reading them all!). Your blog makeover looks great.

    ReplyDelete

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
Emerson

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