Weekly Recap 5/23-5/27/11

It appears as if I missed the entire month of May for weekly recaps.  Oops!  In my defense, I spent 10 days traveling during the month and then the last week trying to get back to reality.  My parents were also here for part of that time.  Company always adds a level of complication, even if it's the most pleasant kind of distraction.  So for May, I think I'll just hit the highlights. 

During May we have been reading, writing and doing lots of math.  We finished several subjects early so we've pared our days down to the basics.  It's been nice to have more time for pleasure reading and math review. 

M6 comes to the end of this school year as a first-second grader.  She completed all of her First Language Lessons for first and second grades.  She's well into second grade math skills.  The only places that she's firmly in the first grade territory is with reading and writing.  Those subjects have been more challenging for her but she's made impressive progress.  M6 is becoming a true reader and I very rarely hear the words, "I don't feel like reading."  In all of her subjects I think she has a strong feeling of accomplishment but it's in reading that the progress is easy to see. 

S9 has changed from a reader into a voracious reader.  While we were in Europe, he read Big Red by Jim Kjelgaard and loved every page of it.  The book was one I hadn't heard of but H12 asked to read it because an excerpt from the book was used in her Analytical Grammar book.  She loved it and recommended it to S9 because it was a dog book that let the dog live at the end.  S9 refuses to be exposed to dead dogs in literature.  I can't blame him.  He's also fallen in love with the Redwall books by Brian Jacques.  We've listened to several of them on CD and he is now reading Lord Brocktree.  It's a pleasure to see him enjoying books so much.  His math skills have also continued to improve.  I'm debating whether I'll give him another year in pre-algebra activities or start him with H12 in algebra.  They are at about the same skill and knowledge level but there really is no reason to rush.  I'll be thinking about math more over the summer.

H12 is a writer.  She completed the NaNoWriMo challenge this year and has continued to write regularly.  She's currently working on historical fiction.  The challenge with H12 is to get her to do other things besides writing.  I think the biggest change this year for H12 has been in the attitude about math.  Last year it was a trial that had to be born.  This year, I've seen, her sparkle with pride in her ability and accomplishments.  She'd still tell you that she hates math but it's not because she feels stupid or unable.  It's because she would prefer to be reading or writing.  She knows that she has the ability and intelligence to do math she'd just rather not.  That confidence is huge for both of us.

Wow!  We've done it.  Another year is complete and we are looking forward to summer.  We are done with all our subjects and regular studies.  We are going to do our CAT testing next week.  I am hoping that being done with the daily routine of school will make testing less of a chore.  I am planning to test on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Thursday we'll plan something fun to celebrate.  We all deserve a celebration!

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Weekly Recap 4/18-4/22/11

This week was one of those weeks that just hummed with learning and connections.  While our focus was on the Renaissance, so much of our past learning came into play.  We spent time learning about the artists and scientists that flourished during this period of rebirth.  We talked about how art changed.  We talked about astronomy and how the teaching of the church put many scientists at risk. 

Last summer we were blessed to attend a lecture and learning series about Galileo at a local university and museum. We got to listen to an expert compare the view of the universe before Copernicus, by Copernicus and by Galileo and show us the various perspectives in a planetarium for a sky view like no other.  We also got to learn about how Galileo drew maps of the sun and sky by tracing shadows on paper.  And we got to make a replica of Galileo's early telescope and experiment with it on the roof top of the museum. 

So much of what we learned almost a year ago made even more sense as we recalled it this week. 

We reviewed all that we'd learned about the reformation and how that led to a rebirth of the church.  We talked about why people resist change.  We read the book Fine Print by Joann Burch and learned how the struggle of one inventor made much of the rebirth possible by giving the means to share ideas with many through printed books. 



S9 carving a letter for printing.





S9 is convinced Gutenberg would not find his printing acceptable.

In addition to all our reading, looking and talking, we did quite a bit of hands on learning. We made stamps out of potatoes and realized that Gutenberg would have had a difficult job if he'd had a quiet place to work and all the money he needed for materials. The challenges he faced made his success with printing even more impressive.

We became scientists and explored the characteristics of our materials while making playdough. Then we turned our playdough into works of art over and over again.




S9 using himself as a model for his Hercules sculpture.



H12 and I have been reading various books set during the Renaissance this week.  One story we enjoyed in particular was The Smile by Donna Jo Napoli.  H12 didn't like the way the story ended.  She still longs for a happily ever after in all of her stories.  She also finds the differences between classes and the limits placed on girls to be especially irritating.  She did like the storyline and the characters.  She also liked hearing familiar names from our history work and learning more about what life was like during the Renaissance. 

The rest of our learning went well this week too.  We are on track to finish required hours by the end of May and will finish most of our subjects before then.  It's a good feeling to get so close to the end and not feel overwhelmed, especially when we've had so much change this year, our own Renaissance.

Wordless Wednesday - Guest Photographer M6