My Tech High - Learning Logs 7

Miriam's Learning Log:

Math
I practiced multiplication word problems and learned to multiply more than two numbers.  I also worked on division facts.

Language Arts
I reviewed adverbs in my grammar lesson.  I started reading a new novel.  I worked on my handwriting workbook.  I wrote in my journal.

History
I learned about the Taiping rebellion.  I read about Thomas Jefferson.  I started learning about the Civil War.

Tech - Photography
I read about good body positions for taking pictures in my photography book.  I did an exercise to help me learn about composition.

Elective - Music
I went to choir practice and worked on the songs and dances we are going to perform in December. I went to my ukulele class where we practiced Scarborough Fair and Life's a Happy Song. I also read some more about Beethoven in a library book.

Josie's Learning Log

Math

I learned about line graphs and how to make them.  I also learned about long addition and did some addition puzzles

Language Arts

I continued working on nouns and articles.  I wrote in my journal and practiced my cursive handwriting.  I started reading a new book called Serafina and the Black Cloak.

Science

I listened to my sister's science lesson and learned about the continental shelf.  I did an experiment with alka-seltzer and vinegar.

Tech - Minecraft

I turned in my escape plan for my room.  Then I started on my scaled drawing.

Elective - LEGO Movies

I read about positioning LEGO minifigures.  Then I practiced what I learned by making another video clip.

My Tech High: Learning Logs 6

Miri's Learning Log (see below for Josie's)

Math:
I learned that long subtraction - you're supposed to do on paper - but I always do it in my head.  I started long multiplication and practiced my multiplication facts.

Language Arts:
I practiced my handwriting and learned how to make some new cursive letters.  I reviewed some of the parts of speech with my mom.  I finished reading The Land of Stories.  I wrote a page in my journal.

History and Geography:
I learned that Italy used to be a bunch of small territories but in the 1870's it was united into one kingdom.  I read about Arkansas and listened to some Scott Joplin music - he grew up there.  I also learned a little about Thomas Jefferson.

Tech/Photography:
I read some pages in my photography books.  I did a lab where I went on a walk and took 30 pictures in 30 minutes.

Elective/Music:
I went to ukulele class and choir practice.  I listened to some Scott Joplin music and read some more about Beethoven and listened to some of his music.

Josie's Learning Log

Math:

I worked on my addition facts and learned some harder addition skills.  I also played 3-13 with my family and helped add up scores.

Language Arts:

I learned about nouns and articles.  We went to the children's museum and I learned about different methods of communication.

Science:

I listened in on my sister's science lesson and learned about ocean currents.  There are surface currents that are caused by the wind and deep currents that are caused by the temperature and saltiness of the water.  I also learned that the Salt Lake is so salty because it has no outlet to the ocean.  

Tech/Minecraft:

I worked on my Minecraft lesson.  I learned about emergency preparedness.  I talked to my mom about 72-hour kits and started on my emergency escape plan.

Elective/LEGO Movies:

My brother helped me set up my studio for photographing LEGOs.  I did the pictures for a short movie clip.  I will put them together in a movie this week.

My Tech High - Learning Logs 5

Miriam's Learning Log

Math - I practiced multiplication facts. Helped Mom at the grocery store and practiced doing cost comparisons.

Language Arts - I did some reading in "The Land of Stories." I also went to Yearbook class and was assigned to interview the preschoolers at our co-op.

History - I read about David Livingstone and his travels in Africa.  I also read about John Adams, the second president of the United States.

Tech/Photography - I took some candid pictures for the yearbook at co-op.  I am having trouble with my camera so I used my mom's. I will start my proper photography lessons next week.

Elective/Music - I went to my ukulele class at co-op and learned some new chords. I went to choir practice and got better at the choreography we are doing.  I also listened to some classical music at home and learned a bit about Beethoven.

Josie's Learning Log

Math - My sister taught me about fractions.  She also started teaching me about multiplication.  I helped my dad measure boards for his building project.

Language Arts - I wrote a letter to my penpal.  She lives in Ohio.  I took notes in my writing class at co-op.  I didn't do any reading this week like I usually do.

Science - I learned about magnetism in my science book.  I soaked an egg in vinegar until the shell dissolved.  I also learned about speed in my co-op class.

Tech/Minecraft - I finished my rocket.  I played a puzzle map with my brother and my sister.  It was a lot of fun.

Elective/LEGO Movies - I read some in my LEGO book.  I learned about framing and lighting. I also started thinking about a story for my first movie.

Getting Started on the School Year

So here's my weekly report for our second week of school for the year:

Monday - OWLS was cancelled this week 'cause the church was holding another event that trumped us, so they held a park day instead.  We didn't go - several of us came down with a bad cold on Saturday that we are still trying to get over today (Saturday).  We did, however do some school work and a few of the chores.

Tuesday - More of the same.  Trying to get over colds, catch up on chores and do some school work.  Oh, and we've been getting one or more packages of school supplies in the mail every day for the past week or so.

Wednesday - Grocery day.  I sent Dad, since I was still feeling rotten.  We managed to do some more chores and school work.

Thursday - We managed to actually do most of a day's worth of school work.  Josie had put an egg in vinegar on Monday and the shell was all dissolved by Thursday.  It was pretty cool until Eli picked it up to firmly and it broke.

Friday - Miri had choir in the morning and then we went to the library.  We got chores done in the afternoon...

Saturday - We spent the morning working on the basement.  We got another 8-foot section framed.  Slowly but surely we will get the job done.

It seems like it's taking us forever to get going this school year.  The colds didn't help.  Hopefully things will start to pick up this week.

What did you learn?

My Tech High - Learning Logs 4

Miriam Robinson:

Math
 I learned about tally marks and did some multiplication facts in my regular math.  I also worked on dividing my decimals and money math.

Language Arts
I read some more in my book club books and wrote some journal entries.  I went to my yearbook class at co-op and learned about the parts of a yearbook.

History/Geography
I read about the history of Arizona and did some mapwork about India.  I also watched a video about John Adams.

Tech - Photography
I started reading in my new book.  I learned that DSLR cameras are the same as SLR's but the D stands for digital.

Elective - Music
I went to choir practice and worked on the songs and dances we are learning.  I also went to ukulele class and got a bunch of new music from the teacher.  I also talked with mom about things I'd like to learn in my music class.

Josie Robinson

Math

I learned about graphs and started learning the multiplication tables.  I also started learning about fractions.

Language Arts

I learned some new compound words in my workbook. I also went to co-op classes and practiced parts of speech and took notes in my writing class.

Science

I did some more reading about density in my science book.  I also got my new snap circuits set and my brother taught me about how circuits and switches work.

Tech - Minecraft

I learned a bunch of stuff about Minecraft that I already knew.  I also learned a couple of new things.  I started building my rocket for the first assignment.

Elective - LEGO Movies

I got my new books and started reading through them.  I am excited to make more videos.

My Tech High - Learning Logs 1-3

(Note from Mom: We didn't get our Canvas accounts until after the due date for these learning logs, which means we also got a late start on school. Please take that into account when grading these.)

Miriam Robinson:

Math
I did some review of adding and subtracting big numbers.

Language Arts
I practiced parts of speech and read in my book club book.  I learned to play Scrabble.

History/Geography
I talked with Mom about the sorts of things I'd like to learn in history this year.  I want to know more about Edwardian England and World War II.  I also want to read more mythology.

Tech - Photography
Mom and I discussed what I'd like to learn about in my photography class.  I went to my yearbook class and learned about what makes a good candid photo.

Elective - Music
I went to choir practice and worked on the songs and dances we are learning.


Josie Robinson:

Math

We played some card games with math in them. 

Language Arts

I helped Mom choose a family read-aloud book (Harry Potter) and read part of my book club book. 

Science

I started reading in my science book and doing experiments.  My two favorite parts were buoyancy and density.  

Tech - Minecraft

I hadn't started the class yet.

Elective - LEGO Movies

My brother helped me set up a space to start making some videos and I made a really short one with his help. 

Trying Something New

So we are trying something new this year that will allow the kids to take some classes and do some activities that we previously couldn't have afforded.  I'm hoping it will have the added benefit of forcing us to keep a little more on track.

It's called My Tech High and it's pretty much a way for homeschoolers to use public education funds for their homeschool.  Technically they are enrolled in public school in order to use said funds and I'm really struggling with that idea.  We also have to report to the school on a regular basis and have our plans "approved" by the school.  I'm also struggling with those two things.  But, in spite of my misgivings, I decided to give the program a try.  I've enrolled Josie and Miri this year and next year plan to add Eli, Sarah and (possibly) Will.  We'll see how it goes.

So far, my plans haven't changed much other that adding "official" electives and planning to do much more hands on stuff that normal.  (That's the stuff that gets expensive.)  Eli, Miri and Josie are currently exploring the possibilities of the Snap Circuit set I got for Josie's science and are learning all sorts of things on their own.  I think the extra supplies and activities will be worth the hassle of reporting and the dislike of being connected with the public school system.

Anyway, so Josie's and Miri's reports will be shared here on my blog and we will send a link to the appropriate post to the "powers that be" each week.  I hope to continue blogging here at least once a week to share the stuff that doesn't end up in their learning logs, including stuff the other kids are doing as well as the not-so-successful attempts at various endeavors.

After I finish this post, we are going to create our first two learning logs (we got into the program after school had started so we are already behind) that we can share with the school.

For now, I'd like to report that our first week of school has been off to an okay start.  We started OWLS on Monday and the kids seem to like their classes.  Miri is doing a local homeschool choir, Eli is continuing to work on his Minecraft videos that he hopes to someday make a living at, and Josie has already done about 20 pages in her science book and is excited about the chemistry lab kit and aforementioned Snap Circuits set I got her.  Sarah and Will haven't done much yet but we plan to get them going a little more next week.  I'm excited to start a new year with new supplies and fresh minds.  Hopefully we'll have a more successful year than we've had in a few.

What did you learn this week?

Why I Homeschool

Many how-to-homeschool books and articles suggest writing down why we chose to homeschool (our philosophy of homeschooling) in order to make our efforts more focused and effective.  I did many years ago and it helped me tremendously.  Now that I feel like I've sort of lost some of our focus, I figure it's a good time to do it again.  So here goes:

I want my kids to be confident in who they are and what they are capable of.  By validating their feelings, emotions and desires, I can instill that confidence in them.  They never have to wonder if their clothes are the right style because, in the real world, no one cares!  My 15 year old son doesn't have to feel embarrassed because he still likes to play LEGO.  My 18 year old daughter isn't mocked for not wearing makeup.  None of them have to feel the need to "follow the crowd" because their crowd is going in a million different directions.

I want them to be intelligent - truly intelligent.  Not 4.0 gpa intelligence.  I want them to know what they know and not need a test to prove that they know it.  I want them to be allowed to forget information that is not important to them and to retain what they find useful.  I don't want them to be forced to learn arbitrary facts about things that are not of eternal importance to them.  I want them to own their educations.

I want them to grow up knowing that they are loved - unconditionally and eternally.  I want their first teachers to be people who love them and want what's best for them.

I want them to have time to pursue their own interests.  Lots of time.

I want them to learn on their own timetable.  When they are ready.

I want them to be able to explore many subjects and ideas and pick the ones they want to pursue.  I want them to have time to find direction in their lives long before they are pushed out into the world.
I want them to read great literature.  But it also needs to be good literature.  Worthy literature.  Literature I wouldn't feel the need to hide if the Savior visited my home.

I want them to love life and to not have to wait for graduation for life to start.  I always felt that way.  Life was just school until I graduated from high school.  I want graduation to just be another step in the road for them.

I want them to live in the real world, not a contrived one full of bells and asking permission to talk or get a drink or go to the bathroom.  The real world, where you interact with people in your community, or people with similar interests or situations in life, of all ages and colors and beliefs.  Where they learn to stand in line at the grocery store and are allowed to chat with the person in front of them and are not lined up alphabetically.  Where they have time to relax in nature and revel in God's creation.  Where park days last until it's too cold to play outside and nature walks rarely have to cater to the weather.  Where we learn about bugs and birds and trees by being outside with them.

I want them to know and love God.  I want them to see His hand in everything around us, in science and history and even math.  I want them to have time to study the scriptures and learn the gospel and learn wisdom to apply what they learn to their lives.

I want my children's first and best friends to be each other.  I want them to be sad when one leaves home, to miss each other when they are apart.  I want them to be able to share their secrets, their joys and their sorrows.  I want them to be able to turn to each other for support when I am gone.

I want them to always know that they can come to me with absolutely anything.  I won't judge them.  I'll do whatever it takes to help.  I want to know them as well as any parent knows their child.

I want them to be able to take care of themselves when they leave home.  I want them to be able to plan meals, shop, cook, do laundry and dishes, take care of their cars, homes and other belongings, apply for and effectively interview for a job, rent or buy an apartment or a house, read a map, plan a vacation, hire a plumber, save money, spend money wisely, mow the lawn, sew a button, bake a cake and myriad other things.

I want them to be grateful for what they have and not expect things to come to them because they "deserve" it.  I want them to work hard for the things they want and need.  And I want them to be happy for the opportunity to do so.

I want them to be loving and giving and to think of others. I want them to not see a dog-eat-dog world but a world full of our brothers and sisters who have the same desires and dreams but maybe not the same opportunities as us.  I want them to want to help those around them and to have the courage to do so.

And, while we're at it, I want them to have the courage to follow their own dreams - to not be held back by their own fears and inhibitions.

I want them to be happy.

Could they get all of this and still go to public school?  Maybe.  But it'll be a lot easier from home.  (At least for us.)

Random Thoughts on "Rebooting" Our Homeschool

At the beginning of the 2014-2015 school year, I had the year all planned.  I had created lapbooks and activities and scheduled out all of our reading and worksheets and everything we were going to do for the year.  A week or so before we were to start, I had the distinct impression that we were to put all of that aside and unschool for a year.

Yeah, that was hard.

I prayed about the impression and it still felt right so that's what I did. It was a good year.  I had Amelia in October at home and it took a long time to recover, so that was good.  We were involved in park days and field trips and I had my mom's nights and things, so we weren't completely bored.  Everyone spent time doing things they were excited about.

The next year came and we got involved in our homeschool co-op.  We did school 2-3 days per week that year, but it never felt quite right.  It felt off to me and I still don't know what was wrong.  We did finish our history book, but not much else.  

Then came last year.  We had put the house on the market in June, planning to move during the summer.  School shouldn't have been affected.  It was a sellers' market and the house was expected to sell within a matter of days.  It took six months.  We finally moved in the beginning of December.  Problem was, I had packed all of the nonessentials and put them in a storage unit back in June - only for a month or so - to make the house easier to keep clean and to sell.  That included our school books.  I was able to do some planning before everything was packed, but not all of it.  By the time the books were unpacked and I had finished the planning of the school year, it just seemed pointless to start before the holidays - especially when it was such a busy time of year anyway.

We had a couple of false starts in the spring.  I tried to use the plans I had so carefully made, but they never seemed to fit quite right.  Some of the things we were doing needed to change and I tried to just tweak things but it didn't work.  Then I broke my leg and that was the end of trying to do school for the year and for summer.

I'm finally getting around to where I can walk a little again - on crutches anyway - and I can do more around the house, so I've been thinking a lot about school this year.  It's supposed to start a week from tomorrow and I don't have any idea what I'm doing.  I keep telling myself that I can just use the plans I set up six months ago, but I know they won't work.  It seems like such a waste to not use them.  

Anyway, I know I need to completely "reboot" our homeschool and I'm a little lost as to what needs to change.  Eli's a sophomore this year and I am so scared of failing him.  Miri will be a freshman next and I want to start her high school out right.  I've had the feeling that what I need is a reminder of why I'm homeschooling.  I've been doing this for so long, that it's no longer a question of whether I will homeschool the kids or not, but I think I need to keep hold of the why.  I wrote down my philosophy of homeschooling several years ago and I wonder if I can find it again.  I know it helped tremendously back then, so I think I'm going to do that again.  Hopefully I will be able to find my direction again.

Life Happens

So, I posted back in August that we were trying to sell our house and it had been two months and things were still in storage and I was getting discouraged.  Well, it took about four more months before we were able to move - at the beginning of December!  It was super freezing weather the weekend we moved and we didn't have near as much help doing so as we would have liked but we managed to get all of the stuff out of the old house into the new one in a relatively timely manner.

But. We were so sick of all of the work it took to get moved that we balked at the idea of getting our stuff out of storage - and Christmas was coming.  So, we continued living with just the bare necessities and planned Christmas and all of the stuff that comes with the holidays.  We did fish a few things out of the storage units but it took a lot of digging and we didn't want to damage stuff.

When Christmas was finally over and we were ready to really work on bringing stuff home, it snowed.  And snowed. And snowed. Our "driveway" (for lack of a better word) is very long and we didn't have a way to plow it and my twelve-passenger van is great for hauling things (like kids) but it's not great in snow.  So we were snowed in for days at a time; until we could get it shoveled.  Finally we took to parking in the church parking lot across the street.  Unfortunately, the trailer we use to haul things (like furniture and moving boxes) was snowed in pretty much all of January.

At the end of January one day, we were all out shoveling the driveway (it takes all of us 2-3 hours to do) and I decided I needed pictures of the kids all out there working hard.  I was looking at my tablet instead of where I was walking, slipped on the ice and landed firmly (that's an understatement!) on my tailbone.  99% sure I broke it.

In spite of my injury, we managed to empty one of the storage units and unpack all of the boxes, including the school books!  But since I had planned the school year so long ago, many of my plans needed to be updated and/or changed.  We also had to find room in the new house for schooling, since we will ultimately be having school in the as-yet unfinished basement when it is finished.

And we got colds.  Not a big deal, right?  Wait a few days and people will be feeling better and we will be back in business.  Nope.  I was sick for at least a month.  It was all I could do to get the absolute necessities done, so school was put on a back burner - again.

A week or so after I finally got over this monster cold (it was probably flu in hindsight), and I was starting to feel normal again from the broken tailbone, I fell in the kitchen and sprained my knee!  So now I was on crutches for about a week, and not able to stand or walk for more than a few minutes at a time for a couple more weeks.

Knee feeling better, I scheduled some dental work that I had been putting off for a couple of years and had three molars pulled.  Four days later, before I was done healing from that, I got another cold.  This one wasn't nearly as bad as the previous, but with the sore jaw, and the fact that this cold decided to settle in my sinuses, it's been a rough week.  Add in all of the other stuff and 2017 has been a rough year!

I guess the point of all of the information above is that we got zero formal schoolwork done since I last posted that I was going to try really hard to do something.  But we still learned a lot:

~ We learned how to clean the entire house really quickly when someone was coming for a showing.  (And that keeping it clean is easier than cleaning when it gets bad - although it takes a lot more self-discipline.)
~ We learned what stuff we really need in our house and what we can live without.  (Now to actually get rid of the latter.)
~ We worked hard as a family to pack, fill the storage units with boxes and furniture, load and unload the Uhaul, deep clean after moving out of the old house, and empty one of the storage units.  The lessons we learn from hard work as a family are invaluable.
~ I learned a lot about tailbone and knee injuries when I was trying to decide whether to go to the doctor for each of them.  And I shared what I learned with the older kids.
~ The kids learned some major life skills when they had to, not only help take care of me for a few days at a time, but also to take over some of my responsibilities.
~ I have been really terrible about working with Josie on math for several years, so, at age ten, she still had only had a couple of formal math lessons.  (About which I have felt guilty to no end.)  She decided a couple of months ago that she wanted to do Teaching Textbooks but I didn't think she was ready.  Teaching Textbooks starts at about a third grade level and I knew she couldn't possibly start with third grade math when she hadn't done any formal math so far.  She insisted on trying so I reluctantly printed out the placement test and, with a warning that there would be things on there that she didn't know and not to get discouraged about it, gave it to her.  She sat down at the desk with it and worked for about 20 minutes

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Update 8/27/2017: I stopped typing right there because it was time to get ready for my weekly date night with my hubby.  I never got back to it because, on our way out the door, I slipped on the kitchen floor and broke both bones in my lower leg.  Chaos ensued and by the time I got home from the hospital 4 days later, having gone through 2 surgeries and a lot of pain-killers, I had completely forgotten the unfinished blog post.

I don't remember what else I was going to add to the post but I figure I should at least finish Josie's story...

When she was done with the test, she gave it back to me and requested that I check her work immediately.  To my surprise, she passed!  There were only two concepts on the test she didn't know, and I was able to quickly explain them.