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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

Monday, August 31, 2015

And Another Week Starts...

The Boy is...

...doing pretty well at keeping up with his [junior] college reading load, all for his Machine Tools Technology class (aka Metal Shop)

...starting back up this week with some writing work in Thinking in Threes

...reading more of Animal Farm and the two or three other books he has going

...editing and finalizing a series of homemade films he plans to release around Halloween

...moving right along in his Three Dimensional art class -- they are working on a series of geometric shapes made from Bristol paper... the shapes are supposed to be extremely concise. Since he has had a long love affair with paper crafting, this has been right up his alley! His most frequent work partner in class is an older woman (The Boy says maybe 60+?)

...and on his ability to get along well with people of all ages, etc., I heard that the stage hands are still talking about what a great kid he was when he shadowed at the San Francisco Opera!

...playing Minecraft and a skateboard game on the XBox when he gets a chance, which isn't often these days, though tonight he has Skyping/Minecraft playing plans with his best buddy.

...fencing!


The Girl is...

...moving through her big stack of library books on various sea creatures and the like. I think we'll have to go to the library again shortly for more!

...starting up with Math Mammoth again this week, reviewing telling time, which it turns out can be troublesome for dyslexic kids.

...working on a series of colorful art projects with crayon, pen, and colored pencil, now that she located her previously missing sketchbook.

...writing a really intriguing short story based loosely off the game Odd Planet.

...making a set of shadow box cubes/shelves for her bedroom, with the help of her Nonna (my mom), since she is spending time there twice a week right now. Similar to this picture, but with several different colors.
They have other projects lining up too... some sewing, some jam making, etc.

...practicing her derby skills!


We are...

...actually starting our Afternoon Basket readings today, with history and literature (i.e. The Time Traveler's Guide to Elizabethan England and The Shakespeare Stealer). Geography (The Royal Road to Romance) and science (The Dark Side of the Universe: A Scientist Explores the Mysteries of the Cosmos and Once Upon a Starry Night: A Book of Constellations) will follow later this week.

...likely watching some more of Once Upon a Time, season 3, this week. And maybe some Human Planet... and or ??

...waiting on The Boy's math set, and The Girl's writing book, to get here!


I am...

...finishing up The Castle of Otranto for my class

...getting ready for my first office hours this week, and my first set of papers to grade

...working out the kinks in our scheduling for the week, and upcoming weeks

...working harder on meal planning, since time is so precious right now, and I need to be thinking ahead!

Enjoying the moments of fun we have here and there -- visiting the coast on Saturday, and then watching my kids (especially The Girl) play with a homeschooled girl I tutor on Sundays.


Here's  to a good, and busy/productive week!

Friday, August 28, 2015

Wrapping up the Week...

August is almost over!?! Seriously, where does it go?

We had a decent week. The Boy is settling nicely into his junior college classes, and is getting used to the homework load. I got to see my work space at the same junior college this week, inside this imposing brick library...


I am stopping by the library today to pick up a few books, before we head off to our weekly park day, so that we can start our [loose/relaxed] studies of the Renaissance and astronomy....

     


Plus I ordered this book to round out astronomy.
We'll get going with our history, astronomy, and geography read-alouds this weekend/next week, then add in math for The Girl in the next week (for some reason, she is still having trouble with telling time, so we'll work on that first, before moving into a review of multiplication and division), and writing for both and math for The Boy the first full week of September. Thankfully, I did find a good deal on The Boy's math -- Teaching Textbooks Algebra 1, v2.0 -- on homeschoolclassifieds.

As to what else we have been up to... the kids found season 8 of Dr. Who on Netflix. We also found a period drama (mini-series) called Dancing on the Edge, set in early 1930s London, and beautifully made. It has led to some good discussions so far too! We've been working on cleaning and other schedules for the household, especially since it looks like M will be working 6 days a week for some time. The kids are stepping up to the challenge of taking on more responsibility very nicely... at least so far! The Girl's been working on clay and paper sculptures, The Boy on 3D art with heavy paper, lots of reading going on.

I'm working on a list of cook-ahead breakfasts and dinners for busy days. And a list of documentaries that I think we would enjoy, and that would add to our educations fairly painlessly. I also have this book to read by Tuesday night!

And our last butterfly hatched! We had almost given up on the third chrysalis...


Have a good weekend!