Wordy Wednesday... Either/Or... And a Prodigy review...

It's that time of year again, when I start thinking "well, what if we did this?" or "we could do this...". So I've basically come up with an Option A and an Option B+.

For both options, regardless:

• Math
• Language Arts
• Literature

Then, Option A would simply be to continue as is... basically unschooling all other subjects, following interests, etc.

Pros:

• The kids get to figure out what they are interested in, and explore it
• Flexibility
• Empowerment

Cons:

• They tend to jump around from subject to subject sometimes, which can make getting resources in a timely fashion hard
• Lack of follow-through
• Sometimes even they feel they're not "doing" or "learning" enough!

Option B is a little more "schooly". We would use The Big History Project for history*, and this awesome science book (biology) that I found, called Life on Earth**.

Pros:

• More organized
• Might get around to more projects in science, as they are part of the text
• Would introduce The Boy to a good study of biology (he's always been the physics guy here), and would introduce The Girl to more biology than animals
• Could develop a better understanding of history as a whole

Cons:

• Having to follow through!
• Less room for rabbit trails

*Other options for history that are under consideration would include Hakim's Story of Science series, OR K12's World History: Our Human Story, the latter of which we could read from just once a week, leaving room for rabbit trails the rest of the time.

**I think we're most likely to use the biology text mentioned if we do formal science, but I'm also considering science tied in with history, if we use The Big History Project or Hakim's Story of Science

Anyhow, I obviously need to think on this some more! In the meantime, let's talk about Prodigy, the free interactive math game I found through a message board recently. The Girl took the placement test a few days ago (which is within the framework of the game, so she didn't even realize it was a placement test!), and then she's worked with it twice since. For hours, literally. The first day after the placement test, she spent about two or three hours doing math, and yesterday, another 2 hours, roughly. Maybe a little more, maybe a little less....

She's worked on multiplication, division, mode, median, angles, addition, subtraction, perimeter, and more during those hours. Yesterday, I found I could give her assignments too, to focus on a skill area I think she needs help with! And, when I login, I can see how well she did on the assignment, and exactly which problems she struggled with. After she completes the assignment, she can move into free play, and that's where she's getting an intro to geometry, fraction work, and a lot more. She has to answer math questions to move ahead through the game, defeating various creatures with math, and collecting new "pets" along the way.

I think we'll finish out our year with her working on this, and she can play it over the summer. In the fall.. well, we'll see!

I feel like I'm on one of these!

Weekly Wrap-Up... Rain, Gardening, Books, & More!

It is pouring outside! And we might have a thunderstorm mid-day! Since we seem to be living in a "state" (pun intended) of perpetual drought these days, I don't mind the rain. And that means we have an afternoon at home, rather than the park, to play a little catch-up!

From one of my morning walks this week

...Homeschooling This Week...

The Boy is making progress with one and two step equations in algebra, while The Girl and I played Totally Tut yesterday. I think we may play it again today, and I want her to work on multiplication and division facts with Circles & Stars (up to four dice). Remedial work, yes, but once she's really got this stuff down, I know (from experience teaching her addition and subtraction) that she'll make a big leap, mathematically speaking. And I found something that looks awesome for a little later on... the Interactive Mathematics Program (samples here). In the meantime, I think she might try Prodigy (online free math-wizarding game).

The Girl is making great progress through her spelling book too.

We did some reading from Outbreak! Plagues That Changed History, learning about the Black Death, and how it shifted the balance of power in feudal society. I'd definitely recommend this book for a different view of world history—lots of interesting tidbits, and a good, conversational writing tone.

And of course we watched some Downton Abbey, which led to a discussion on mourning practices. 

The Boy has been reading lots of recent articles on Hawking Radiation, Planet X, and other space phenomena. He keeps me up to date on what he's learned! The Girl has cycled back to her sea creature fascination, and at the same time, very sadly pointed out to  me this week that she does not remember ever visiting a zoo. I plan to remedy that in a couple of weeks, when M's day off cycles back to a Saturday.

Today's agenda includes math, spelling, nailing down The Boy's essay topic, A Wind in the Door, and the first chapter of DNA. And possibly an early evening trip to the indoor trampoline park! The Boy and I are also planning on watching Contact tonight, while The Girl and M watch Drop Dead Fred. We'll do a family movie tomorrow!

...Everything Else This Week...

The Boy misplaced The Martian, so he's working on finishing Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, book 1. The Girl is deep in Harry Potter. I am reading The Longest Night, a novel centered around the 1961 nuclear disaster in Idaho Falls, and The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family, which is just fascinating!

The Boy had parkour last night, and has decided he needs to strength train more at home. The Girl had derby practice, and said it was really tough, as they were (finally) learning some new skills this week. I tried out kickboxing, did a HIIT workout, and worked on my running.

My plantings/transplantings from last Sunday seem to be doing well, and I am sure the rain will help! Tomorrow, we're picking up a few tomato plants, herbs, and pepper plants... at last. It turns out it is just as well that we did not get them sooner, as we had a freak late frost last week that killed a lot of people's veggie starts. We're not doing a big veggie garden right off the bat. Instead, we're starting slowly and adding things in over time. I'm hoping to get a lot more done in the front yard too!


...Goals for Next Week...

Math, of course. And spelling for The Girl, and some writing/grammar for her. Some light essay work for The Boy, and I think I'll have him try out Excavating English with the two-week free sample, as I bet he'd really enjoy it. I'm hoping during our Sunday lessons, that we can either finally watch another episode of Human Planet, or work in Mapping the World with Art (or both?!?). And we need to get going next week with The Private Eye! All this means a trip to the store for spiral bound sketchbooks.

My other goal: more of our Afternoon Basket read-alouds!

Hope you all had a good week, and that you have a great weekend!

linked up over at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers

Monday Musings...

...Outside My Window...

It's been gorgeous here lately, though quite warm, with the last few days in the 80s! It is supposed to cool back down to the 70s tomorrow, and there might be some rain by the weekend. The dryness, and high pollen counts, have got The Boy in constant allergy agony, so we're going to try switching allergy meds, and taking him in for allergy testing. Poor kid.

With such clear skies though, we have seen plenty of these!

...In My Yard...

I spent the late morning/early afternoon yesterday weeding, and relocating some lamb's ear. I also finally got a gift of daylilies situated too, as well as the tiny euphorbia my mom found next to her big one, and gave to me.. M's been trying to keep up with rapidly growing grass in both the front and backyards, but with the rain, then warmth, then rain, then warmth... the stuff is growing like crazy!

...In the House and Kitchen...

I've been getting bits of the house deeply (spring) cleaned... a little at a time. I'll get it done yet! And the kids are working on choosing paint colors for their rooms for this summer's big project (besides the bathroom plumbing).

I'm getting better at planning ahead food-wise. I cook several breakfast items ahead for the kids to pick and choose from, and then they add fruit, tea, etc., and I pack my own snacks/lunch the night before. On the dinner menu this week are: turkey burgers; roasted chicken; quesadillas made with leftover roasted chicken; and probably this awesome casserole from Kalyn's Kitchen.

...In Our Homeschooling...

The Boy is starting chapter three in algebra this week, after doing very well on his end-of-chapter 2 test last week. The Girl is working on multiplication more in-depth, because fluency with it will only help her as she moves along.

In language arts, I really need to get The Boy working on his expository essay! The Girl did another 3 lessons in Spelling Workout, and will do more this week. I am also hoping to have each of them memorize a poem by the end of April (free choice of poets and pieces), and maybe do a freewrite this week.

...Reading and Watching...

A Wind in the Door is going well, though we're only a couple of chapters in so far. The Afternoon Basket is high up on my to-do list this week! On their own, they are continuing with The Martian and Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone. I just finished a very odd and intriguing page-turner.. The Children's Home. The Boy wants to read it when he finishes his current book, so we'll switch at that point.

We watched another few episodes of Downton Abbey, and will watch another couple this week. I'd really like to get in another episode of Human Planet as well. And we've been enjoying the end of Once Upon a Time's season three!

...On the Agenda...

For me, running and weight training, plus introductory karate tomorrow night. I tried, and loved, TRX resistance training over the weekend, so I really want to do more of that!

The kids have parkour/roller derby, afternoon skating tomorrow, and maybe (just maybe) a fencing session this week.

Other than that, my class was cancelled today (phew!). I do have tutoring tomorrow, and office hours at the junior college on Wednesday. So altogether, it is a lighter week than usual!

I'll leave you with The Girl's last puppy petting session for the "R" litter. The "S" litter is due in early May, so we should be playing with puppies by mid-late May!

Have a great week!!!

Sundries...

...Some random notes for Wednesday...

The Boy started studying physics again, this time through Khan Academy. So, inspired, I went ahead and had him add me as a coach, then I added The Girl in there too, so I can have her work on math and science through the site.

If you haven't checked it out, Khan Academy is FANTASTIC! I use it regularly with the two girls I tutor, and am hoping to make far better use of it with my own kids.

M and I put the Duolingo app on our phones, so we can start learning Spanish. I know some, and can understand a lot more than I can speak, but there's a lot left to learn!

Learning is, and should be, a lifelong process, as far as I am concerned.

image courtesy of patheos.com

I took the CBEST yesterday. Thankfully, I never will have to take it again! Anyone in California who wants to teach has to take it at some point though. One more hurdle out of the way! I got my math and reading scores right away, and those are just fine. I'll get the essay results in another week and a half. I've applied for a few positions teaching English in the fall, but haven't heard anything back... yet. Some of our districts are notoriously slow to hire.

The Boy is teaching The Girl his newly-accomplished parkour skills. She loves spending the time with him, and they're being active. It's a win-win situation! I've also been taking both of them roller skating once a week, when the rink has its $2 days. And when they are at my mom's, the often take the basketball down to the local park to shoot some hoops.

As for my own physical activity, I've recently begun working on running. Right now, I go back and forth between a fast walk, and a relatively slow jog. But, my distance is increasing regularly, and I'm really enjoying it, much to my own surprise!

A Wind in the Door hooked both kids in right away. We're actually reading most of the books from our Afternoon Basket! And we've been doing math and language arts regularly!

M found a dead butterfly that I think we'll be checking out with our jeweler's loupes. I'm thumbing through The Private Eye, and need to get some sketchbooks!

This Saturday, The Girl and I have our last puppy petting session for a month and a half. This litter will be moving on, now that they are bigger and have mastered basic commands, and the new litter isn't due until early-mid May. We'll get to meet them around the two-three week mark.

Just for fun, here is what happens when the kids get a hold of my phone while I'm driving them around...

Hope your week is going well!

Bookish Thoughts...

We finally finished A Wrinkle In Time, and of course, the first thought to cross our minds was, what do we read next? The obvious answer for now is A Wind in the Door, since Wrinkle was so thoroughly liked by all.

But then, what about after that?

This morning, on my way to work, I saw a couple of hot air balloons, and immediately decided that after our adventures with the Murry family (I think the 3rd in the series, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, is more enjoyable for older kids even than mine), we should revisit one of my all-time favorite books... The Twenty-One Balloons. My husband then said, "After that, you should read Around the World in 80 Days. They'd love that book!"

So I think we're in for a summer of adventurous travel (yes, we keep up with read-alouds all year)!

Other titles that then came to mind include:
Journey to the Center of the Earth
The Time Machine
and The Phantom Tollbooth.

I know there are plenty more of this genre out there, but I am only looking at summer!

This will actually transition very nicely into our fall lit plans—books/stories referenced to in the series Once Upon a Time.

I think we'll start with Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, as that also fits with adventure travel, and then (shown here in no particular order), I hope to read:

Grimm's Fairy Tales (selected stories)
The Red Fairy Book, and The Blue Fairy book (selected stories)
Pinocchio
Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales (selected stories)
One Thousand and One Arabian Nights (selected stories)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Peter Pan
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Through the Looking Glass
The Lady of Shallot 
The Story of Mulan 
Beowulf: A New Telling
King Arthur & His Knights of the Round Table  
Rip Van Winkle

I think that's at least sufficient to start with! 

I love book planning.

And of course, there is our own reading that is always going on...

I am currently reading The Help, on our librarian's recommendation, while waiting for The Boy to finish The Martian. The Girl is three quarters of the way through Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone! She still reads a little slowly, but hey, she reads! We're also reading The Cloud Collector's Handbook (me); Spaceflight: A Smithsonian Guide and Black Holes: A Traveler's Guide (The Boy); and Eyewitness: Mammal and Slither & Crawl (The Girl).

Other books we're thinking about, for the Afternoon Basket, include:
Frost Hollows & Other Microclimates
The Plant Hunters: True Stories of Their Daring Adventures to the Far Corners of the Earth
DNA
Random titles (and to-be-added titles) from our selection of Intriguing/Unusual History Books, such as one we have on hand right now: Outbreak! Plagues That Changed History
Death by Black Hole & Other Cosmic Quandaries 
Coville's version of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, which we plan to see on stage in May!

I'm sure I'll come up with more... more is never the problem when it comes to me and books!

Monday Musings... A Weekend Hike & More...

Yesterday, we added another name to our list of local mountain peaks conquered... Mount Tamalpais. Tamalpais, by the way is a combination of Coast Miwok words, meaning "coast [or sea] mountain". And I believe we have one Miwok ancestor, so visiting what was once theirs is an interesting experience. 

We ended up hiking just over 7 miles during the afternoon, and of course, I took plenty of pictures, as did the kids!

On top of the world

Photographing wildflowers

The view

Above the fog

Amazing views that stretch out seemingly forever

After the fog cleared

Wildflowers 1

Wildflowers 2

Wildflowers 3 (and more)

It was beautiful weather, and we could see so much from the top—San Francisco, the East Bay, bridges, the ocean, lakes, boats, the clouds... We enjoyed a picnic at the top, and spent the rest of the afternoon exploring.

...On the Agenda This Week...

Math, of course

Language Arts: 4 spelling lessons for The Girl (all review work); the beginnings of an expository essay for The Boy

Reading, to include the book on the Romanovs, and A Wrinkle in Time (no, we haven't quite finished it yet)

Then, I am trying to decide between a couple of books... either The Plant Hunters: True Stories of Their Daring Adenvtures to the Far Corners of the Earth, or Frost Hollows & Other Microclimates. The Boy was commenting a lot yesterday on all the microclimates he noticed during the hike, so that one might be good. 

The Girl and I plan to work on identifying all the wildflowers we found, hence all the pictures. We know a few already, but there are some we're not sure about.

More Downton Abbey, naturally. We're in season three now!

Parkour (The Boy); derby (The Girl); roller skating for both (recreational); workouts for me, including a karate class.

We're also getting this book this week, and I already got these supplies to go with it (thanks, Erin!). I'm going to pick up a spiral-bound sketchbook for each of us too.

...Around the Home, Garden, & Kitchen...

The front yard, and backyard, look so much better with all the crazy-tall grass cut down! This week, I'm hoping we can move the Spanish lavender we had planned to move last week. My hyacinth beans, a gift from a friend, are coming up nicely—I'm hoping in time they will cover the chain link fence. My artichoke plants are ginormous, and have already given me two very tasty artichokes. The apple and cherry tree have bloomed, and there are the beginnings of tiny green cherries already!

I've decided against Monday as a slow-cooker day, because I'm gone for too long—the food overcooks. Instead, it is quick, pre-prepared foods on Mondays (like stir fry, which I can prep the night before!), or tonight's chicken burgers (again, prepped and waiting in the fridge). Wednesdays, when I can stop at home briefly on my lunch break, are better crockpot days.

And we're going to try to finish reorganizing and rearranging the family room this week.

...Random Thoughts...

Years ago, I purchased the book for Mapping the World With Art. I think it might be fun to break it out once a week, and draw the maps in a sketchbook. Maybe do some of the activities too. The Girl has been playing more of her virus game and is learning some geography, but since both enjoy drawing, making their own geography books might be fun!

And I've decided, since we primarily learn history and science through interest-led activities and readings, that I won't wait for "next year" (fall) to start things, like the map book. Strike while the iron is hot! There's my new motto for you.

Have a great week, and happy trails ahead!

Wrapping Up Another Week...

image courtesy of empower-u-academy.com

Seriously, where did the week go?

At the same time though, I'm glad it is Friday, and while I don't get to sleep in tomorrow (have to drive M to work), I still get a day to catch up on some stuff... housework, marking essays, puppy petting, etc., etc., etc. I won't be sleeping in Sunday either, nor will anyone else in the house, because we'll be doing a mud run! And then, I'll have an afternoon to receiver, and finish catching up on stuff... and homeschool.


I can't really say, in all honesty, that we did a lot of formal homeschooling this week, but the kids certainly continued learning a lot on their own!

The Girl...

• Volunteer work (puppy petting)
• Sewed two dresses, by hand, for dolls
• Learned to propagate hens & chicks succulents (M taught her), and then she's been out in the greenhouse each morning, checking the plants and watering as needed
• Read more of Harry Potter
• Read an interesting article with me about another possible reason for the demise of the dinosaurs
• Started watching Anne Frank: The Whole Story with The Boy and I—she's been asking to watch this for a while; and we watched some Downton Abbey, plus the first episode of Mercy Street
• Helped my mom with a church baking project
• Derby practice, worked out with me several times 
• Created a few new pieces of art

The Boy...

• Worked on the 1940s Ford he is helping restore—this week, they took out the engine, and the drive shaft for rebuilding
• Designed a rocket in a physics game he's been playing on the computer... he also worked on a few cars in a mechanic simulation game
• Spent happy hours devouring The Martian, which I'll be reading when he's done
• Read more about black holes and other space phenomena, including several articles I sent to him
• Watched Anne Frank, Downton Abbey, and Mercy Street with The Girl and I
• Attended another parkour class
• Worked on a few sketches, this time of buildings that had been long abandoned
• Worked on his notebook, into which he enters conversions, runic alphabets, and any other tidbits that interest him

Goals for Next Week...
I'm all about keeping it simple for next week, and only have three homeschooling goals:

•  Math, 4-5 lessons each
• Language Arts, 4-5 lessons/work sessions each
• Afternoon Basket (which I'll update later today)

And that's really about it for now! Have a great weekend!

linked up over at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers!