20 Ways to Spend Time with Your Teens and Tweens
2 weeks ago
Homeschooling Perk!
Thursday, August 20, 2020
First Day of School!
Monday, August 17, 2020
Zoey's first day of 11th grade was today! She started her day around 8:30am and ended at 2:30pm. The first day consisted of the following subjects: Health, Math, History, English/Lit/Poetry, Spanish, Music Theory, and Art. Extra things that made up her day included yoga and practicing guitar and piano.
11th Grade Questionnaire
Saturday, August 15, 2020
Sharing Zoey's 11th grade questionnaire Q+A's! It's always fun to look back at these and compare to previous years. We got a kick out of reading her 7th grade questionnaire tonight. Good memories! It's crazy to think that we're entering into her Junior year of high school!
11th Grade Questionnaire
My favorite food: pickles, avocados, quinoa risotto, veggie wild rice soup, and penne
Foods I'd rather avoid: baked beans, animal products, okra
My favorite things to learn: new songs on guitar and piano, health, science, different approaches to acting
My favorite color: blue, green, and tie-dye!
My best friends are: Gracie, Ava, Leah, and Madison
My favorite games to play: Wildcraft, Camp, and Monopoly
When I have free time I like to: do embroidery, play guitar, dance, ride my bike, read, write, do yoga, watch movies, enjoy the outdoors, jump around, draw, paint, listen to music, cook, bake, and more!
My favorite books are: Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, 1984 by George Orwell, A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger, and Moby Dick by Herman Melville.
My favorite movies and TV shows are: Marvin's Room, Blood Diamond, Dead Poets Society, Lady Bird, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Frances Ha, Stand by Me, East of Eden, Running on Empty, Pulp Fiction, Family Ties, Gilmore Girls, and The Office!
My favorite holiday(s) are: Christmas and Halloween.
Things I do well: Reading/Literature, Acting, Music
Things I need to practice more: my math skills and handstands
My favorite place to go: anyplace outside
My favorite family activities: hiking
My favorite things to do outside: walk down to the creek, bike, run, read, practice hitting the softball, skateboard, and take care of our garden
My favorite chore: making salads
My least favorite chore: putting sheets on my bed (haha!)
My favorite musicians/bands: Bob Dylan, The Beatles, David Bowie, Joan Baez, XTC, Bob Marley, Mozart, Pink Floyd, The Talking Heads, Lightnin' Hopkins, The Rolling Stones, Roxy Music, Fairport Convention, James Taylor, Beethoven, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, and many more.
What I want to be when I grow up: peace and an actor/musician
A place I want to visit: London, Liverpool, The Amazon Rainforest, Belize, and India
My favorite part of last year: narrating The Nutcracker dance performance
When I get up in the morning I like to: make breakfast right away
My favorite part of each day is: my yoga practice!
My favorite drink: tea
My favorite sport: dance, pilates, and yoga
Something new I'd like to learn this year: more songs on the piano and new embroidery stitches!
Getting Ready for the Start of the New School Year!
We enjoyed our annual viewing of the documentary Class Dismissed tonight. It has kind of become tradition now after five years! When we were trying to decide that first year (7th grade for Zoey) whether or not we were going to give homeschooling a try, this is what ultimately sealed the deal for us to say yes. There are absolutely no regrets. In fact, there are times that we are sad we didn't give it a go sooner. We are so excited for the year ahead!
"Learning is not the result of teaching, learning is the result of the activity of learners."
Homeschool: Day in the Life
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
We’re going to do a little impromptu homeschool #dayinthelife photo project today. The goal is to share photos throughout the day of what it is we’re doing to create a snapshot diary of sorts of this particular moment in time.
Our day starts with Zoey heating up water for tea and getting her breakfast ready. This morning it’s granola and almond milk.
After breakfast Zoey decided to start with chemistry. (She knows the work that’s due for the week at the start of each week so has the freedom of choosing what she works on and when). Today she is is starting a unit touching on the following topics: trans fatty acids, double bonds, rancidity, hydrolysis, free radicals, osmosis as well as reverse osmosis.
Today’s work consists of readings from three different texts, watching a short video and listening to a podcast.
After chemistry today is yoga. Zoey loves the videos on YouTube, Yoga with Adriene. She does yoga or pilates everyday or sometimes will do both. Depending on what I’ve got going on and when she decides to do this, I’ll sometimes join in.
Whenever we roll out the yoga mats our dog Leo thinks it’s meant for him to lay down on. He’s a huge part of the homeschool day.
After yoga Zoey took a little break and hydrated, changed clothes, and you could say - officially got ready for the day.
Now she’s working on her history which today entails some reading (Magna Carta), questions and vocab.
Finally...done with history! Moving on to prep something for lunch and look ahead at what’s in store for Lit & Comp.
Making avocado toast.
Lunch!
Right now Zoey’s working on her favorite, Lit & Comp II. She’s prepping for a biographical research paper that’s coming up by creating notecards and bibliography cards.
Working now on math...Zoey’s least favorite subject. We used to do it first thing in the morning to get it over with but we found it then started our day off on the wrong foot. Math is something that I do with her, if I didn’t I would quickly get lost. Thankful that the math curriculum that we use has lesson instruction via video and teacher help if we need it!
Practicing guitar is something she does at least five times a week, 15-30 minutes.
After guitar she’s going over her lines for the play she’s in at her homeschool co-op. She’s the president of the United States in the play Panda-monium. (Woot! Woot!) She was super excited to get this role! The students in her multi-age classroom are writing the play as well as helping to choreograph/block scenes and then will act in the final performance. They get to try their hand at all of the different aspects of putting a performance together. Pretty cool experience.
This is a pretty accurate snapshot of what a typical homeschooling day looks like for us. That said, this is not how every day pans out. For example, when there are labs for science or art projects or bigger projects for other classes, time might be spent differently to allow for those things to happen. The one thing we perhaps love most about homeschooling is the flexibility that it allows. On days that I work at the library for example, Zoey will either stay at home and work independently, or if I work a long day she'll stay home for half the day and then I'll come home on my lunch break and bring her back to the library with me. She has ballet/pointe two evenings a week, guitar lessons one afternoon a week and attends her homeschool co-op for drama class once a week as well. Lately she's been doing school on Saturdays since I'm working Saturdays at the library. We then have Sundays and Mondays off for our "weekend".
This is our 4th year homeschooling and when I look back and think back to when she was in the fourth grade and was coming home begging to be homeschooled I wish that I would have been confident and brave enough at that time to have said yes. We ended up not starting this homeschool journey until she was in the seventh grade. There are so many things that both Zoey and I don't want to miss out on experiencing and learning/covering in her schooling! It's kind of scary looking ahead and realizing we really only have two and a half years left. When you have control over what and how you learn, the possibilities are truly endless and it's hard not to feel that there is so much time that we could have had to do more, learn more and experience more.
The blessings have far outweighed any struggles (there have been many!) that we may have encountered while on this journey. I love knowing that Zoey will walk away from this experience with the knowledge that she has it in her to be disciplined to do whatever may come her way and that she has the drive and wherewithall to ask and learn when she has questions and most of all that she's simply just an interested and awake individual. It's because of her that this even works at all. If I had to fight her on this we wouldn't be choosing this educational path. She's the one that's waking up every day and is eager and ready. So proud!
North State Mycological Club Foray - Star Lake Nature Trail
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Zoey and I are a part of the North State Mycological Club which meets at an area trail head every Monday throughout the late summer months through fall. This will be our third year of being active participants in this group. We LOVE being a part of this group for so many different reasons. Getting to spend time outdoors with friends is one. Being active, learning and meeting new people are just a few more reasons.
Last week we were able to meet up with the club at the Star Lake Nature Trail and despite a little rain, we enjoyed ourselves and found some fun finds.
It was a trail that was new to Zoey and I both. One that I hadn't heard of which is always kind of cool since we were getting to explore a new place AND got to look for some fun fungi finds.
10th Grade Curriculum Selections
We are excited to be revamping the homeschool blog this year! We started out strong last year but the blog ended up taking a backseat towards the latter part of the year as things got busier and more routine. Both Zoey and I agree however that we appreciate sharing on the blog as it not only is a way for us to stay organized and reflect on what it is that we're doing (and why) but also serves as a way to keep us on track throughout the year. At the end of the year it's also fun to look back and see all that we've accomplished.
We are all set with Zoey's curriculum selections for her 10th grade year and she's excited to get started, asking if we can start early even! Here's what we've got planned...
For English we'll be using Oak Meadow's Literature & Composition II coursebook and selections. She loves Oak Meadow for English and Language Arts. It's a thorough and comprehensive program which is perfect for Zoey since her strengths are reading and writing. English/1 Credit
We are trying something new this year for History (a subject that we've yet been able to find something that we are in love with!). We're trying out Beautiful Feet's Medieval Times for Senior High. This is meant to be a History and Literature course in one so we will be able to award multiple credits for this course. British Literature/1 Credit and Old World History/1 Credit
Science is something that Zoey is always usually pretty excited about. This year is no exception! This year we will be using Guest Hollow's Chemistry in the Kitchen in conjunction with Ellen McHenry's Introduction to Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry as well as utilizing this Thames and Kosmo Chemistry set and lab manual that my mom and step-dad so awesomely gifted to us! Chemistry/1 Credit and Culinary Arts/0.5 Credit
This will be Zoey's second year of Spanish. Last year she used an online program for Spanish but she and I both weren't that pleased with it. This year she will be using Abeka for Spanish and looking through it Zoey seems to like the layout of it better so we're hoping this is a better fit. Spanish/1 Credit
Math will again be Math-U-See from Demme Learning. We've been so happy using Math-U-See. Math is one of Zoey's more challenging subjects and I'm so thankful that right off the bat in our homeschooling journey we lucked out with selecting this curriculum. It's been amazing to see her go through these books! We initially had backed up a bit so she would have the opportunity to have a stronger foundation in math moving forward and it's been amazing to see the progress that she's made. In three years time she's gone through 4 1/2 years/books of this math program. I can't say enough good things about Math-U-See and Mr. Demme! Math/1 Credit
For health this year we will be piecing materials together to create our own health/mental health and mindfulness course. I'm excited about this. Some of the resources for this will be books/written material, videos (TedTalks, Yoga with Adrienne, Meditation videos) and learning about nutritional and holistic approaches to health and mental health. We will be doing this throughout the whole year incorporating physical activity in with the study as well. Health/0.5 Credit Physical Education/0.5
Zoey's got a pretty heavy course load with the above listed courses so our electives are still a bit up in the air until we get a feel for how things will actually look throughout the week and how much time the courses will actually take. That said, we have Art on the list as one elective that's for sure. We are pulling project ideas and will be learning about different uses of materials and techniques when it comes to both drawing and painting using both the Drawing Lab and Paint Lab books. I like how the author shares about different artists too and attaches samples of their work throughout when it applies to different methods or techniques that are being taught. I am still working on getting all the art supplies needed for this course as those supplies tend to be somewhat expensive! Depending on whether we do this for a full year or half a year it will either be a full credit course and a half a credit. Art/0.5 or 1 Credit
This brings us to a total of 8 or 8.5 Credits for her Sophomore year.
Her extra-curricular activities include the following:
Classical Guitar Lessons
Ballet
Drama Club (Theatre and Musical)
North State Mycological Club (late summer/fall)
This is what we have so far...and as always, things are bound to change or be somewhat tweaked here and there. It always seems too that fun opportunities often present themselves as the year goes on. That's the beauty of homeschooling!
For English we'll be using Oak Meadow's Literature & Composition II coursebook and selections. She loves Oak Meadow for English and Language Arts. It's a thorough and comprehensive program which is perfect for Zoey since her strengths are reading and writing. English/1 Credit
We are trying something new this year for History (a subject that we've yet been able to find something that we are in love with!). We're trying out Beautiful Feet's Medieval Times for Senior High. This is meant to be a History and Literature course in one so we will be able to award multiple credits for this course. British Literature/1 Credit and Old World History/1 Credit
Science is something that Zoey is always usually pretty excited about. This year is no exception! This year we will be using Guest Hollow's Chemistry in the Kitchen in conjunction with Ellen McHenry's Introduction to Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry as well as utilizing this Thames and Kosmo Chemistry set and lab manual that my mom and step-dad so awesomely gifted to us! Chemistry/1 Credit and Culinary Arts/0.5 Credit
This will be Zoey's second year of Spanish. Last year she used an online program for Spanish but she and I both weren't that pleased with it. This year she will be using Abeka for Spanish and looking through it Zoey seems to like the layout of it better so we're hoping this is a better fit. Spanish/1 Credit
Math will again be Math-U-See from Demme Learning. We've been so happy using Math-U-See. Math is one of Zoey's more challenging subjects and I'm so thankful that right off the bat in our homeschooling journey we lucked out with selecting this curriculum. It's been amazing to see her go through these books! We initially had backed up a bit so she would have the opportunity to have a stronger foundation in math moving forward and it's been amazing to see the progress that she's made. In three years time she's gone through 4 1/2 years/books of this math program. I can't say enough good things about Math-U-See and Mr. Demme! Math/1 Credit
For health this year we will be piecing materials together to create our own health/mental health and mindfulness course. I'm excited about this. Some of the resources for this will be books/written material, videos (TedTalks, Yoga with Adrienne, Meditation videos) and learning about nutritional and holistic approaches to health and mental health. We will be doing this throughout the whole year incorporating physical activity in with the study as well. Health/0.5 Credit Physical Education/0.5
Zoey's got a pretty heavy course load with the above listed courses so our electives are still a bit up in the air until we get a feel for how things will actually look throughout the week and how much time the courses will actually take. That said, we have Art on the list as one elective that's for sure. We are pulling project ideas and will be learning about different uses of materials and techniques when it comes to both drawing and painting using both the Drawing Lab and Paint Lab books. I like how the author shares about different artists too and attaches samples of their work throughout when it applies to different methods or techniques that are being taught. I am still working on getting all the art supplies needed for this course as those supplies tend to be somewhat expensive! Depending on whether we do this for a full year or half a year it will either be a full credit course and a half a credit. Art/0.5 or 1 Credit
This brings us to a total of 8 or 8.5 Credits for her Sophomore year.
Her extra-curricular activities include the following:
Classical Guitar Lessons
Ballet
Drama Club (Theatre and Musical)
North State Mycological Club (late summer/fall)
This is what we have so far...and as always, things are bound to change or be somewhat tweaked here and there. It always seems too that fun opportunities often present themselves as the year goes on. That's the beauty of homeschooling!
A Day in the Life
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Wednesdays are a favorite around here. It's the one day a week that we can dedicate time for special projects, activities, additional lessons, reading, etc. since the only planned thing for the day is youth group and that doesn't take place until evening.
Today started out with a leisurely breakfast over which we listened to a podcast from Brave Writer (our favorite new podcast to listen to!) and then we started a new lesson in math which meant we watched Mr. Demme present the topic via video. Zoey got it right away and finished her work in math and then moved on to science. In physical science for the next few weeks she is covering content surrounding the periodic table, and since she loves the periodic table (and has studied it on her own quite a bit already), I thought it would be fun to make it a bit more meaningful. In addition to the Oak Meadow lessons she will be working on and completing an Elemental Journal, watching videos on the elements and even creating little elemental tiles using modeling clay and doing little mini breakout experiments here and there. Ethan helped us hook up my laptop to our TV using a HDMI cord and we now can watch our school videos on a big screen which may sound funny, but is making things even more fun.
After science we took a break for lunch and then Zoey practiced guitar for close to an hour. Her guitar teacher is giving her more and more challenging pieces to tackle which means there is a bit of frustration here and there, but she keeps on working through it and the pay-off has been great. Probably watching her progress in guitar this year has been the most rewarding thing for me to observe as a parent. She went from not even knowing how to read sheet music to playing actual music and chords. So amazing.
The rest of the afternoon will be for free reading, free time and just plain enjoying the afternoon sun that has decided to make an appearance today. Like I said earlier, her youth group meets this evening for three hours so a bit of free time is nice before heading to that.
Thursday and Friday are library days, which means she has work time scheduled in for working on her literature and writing assignments, vocab, etc. This week Thursday also starts her additional dance class which is her Modern/Contemporary class that meets before her Ballet/Pointe class.
Slowly we are getting things finalized for next year's studies and we are so excited! We've already changed some things up from our original pre-planning blog posts. Ha ha! You shouldn't be surprised.
Enjoy your afternoon!
Freshman Year Thoughts | Language Arts
Tuesday, February 6, 2018
Our selection for Language Arts for next year was a pretty simple one...this year we have absolutely loved everything about Oak Meadow's 8th grade English course that it just makes sense for us to continue on the OM path. It's very rigorous when it comes to the writing portion (which Zoey loves) and the books that were selected for the literature selections were amazing.
Resources we are thinking about and/or interested in for 9th grade language arts:
- The Hero's Journey Literature and Composition Coursebook (hoping to purchase the syllabus during Oak Meadow's online sale)
The following books I am planning to look for on Thrift Books or to check out from the library as they are needed.
- The House of the Scorpion, by Nancy Farmer
- Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson
- The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank
- Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer
- Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston
- House of Light, by Mary Oliver
These will be purchased through Oak Meadow during their online sale...
- A Pocket Style Manual, by Diana Hacker and Nancy Sommers
- Write It Right: A Handbook for Student Writers (Oak Meadow Books)
- Two blank journals (one for each semester)
Freshman Year Thoughts | Art
Monday, February 5, 2018
Zoey is really excited about what we have planned for art next year. She took charge of this coursework selection herself and we've actually already picked up the necessary books (through Thrift Books) and have most of the actual art supplies on hand already from my years of collecting art stuff...helps that my dad is an artist and much of my stuff has come from him over the years.
Resources we are thinking about and/or interested in for 9th grade art:
- Oak Meadow's Drawing and Design Fine Arts Study
- Oak Meadow's Drawing and Design Syllabus (planning on picking this up during OM's sale)
- The Art of Seeing (I was able to pick up an older publication of this at Thrift Books for super cheap!)
- Art supplies needed for this course which we already own:
drawing pencils (any type, ebony pencils are excellent)
drawing paper, two sizes, notebook size and larger
watercolor paper or a textured paper
kneaded eraser
charcoal sticks or pencils
black, white, and gray construction paper
color pencils
soft pastels (any number of colors)
oil pastels (any number of colors)
painter's tape
Optional
watercolors
watercolors
If our budget allows, I also thought it would be fun for Zoey to participate in some of Jane Davenport's online workshops. It's an artist that she admires and it's something that she could do at her own pace. Perfect for homeschooling!
I'm so happy that Zoey gets to participate in figuring out what we will be working on when it comes to homeschooling. It's great for her to own the experience and she's already mentioned how excited she is about art "next year" more than once since we've decided.
Freshman Year Thoughts | Science
Sunday, February 4, 2018
I'm planning on blogging a series with thoughts on resources and curriculum for
courses for Zoey's 9th grade year. We are starting to think about what it is that we want our year ahead to look like and I'm hoping to create a running list of those ideas that are of interest to Zoey here. This will help us with our planning and budgeting and help me to feel a bit more organized while looking at the year ahead.
There is a homeschooling high school group that I belong to on Facebook and I asked for thoughts and recommendations for a biology course that was at the high school level, that was secular and had lots of hands on labs. Zoey loves hands on when it comes to science. Labs are especially important now that we are talking high school.
Right now I have requested several high school biology textbooks from area colleges through our library loan system so that we can look through them in person and see which ones we think may be the best fit. Once we find one that we like, I'm planning on purchasing the text(s) used. These books all align themselves with the biology lab kits available through Quality Science Labs. When Zoey saw the labs, she was adamant that this is what she wanted. She LOVES labs and especially dissections! Knowing that this is something she is interested in will give me the time to budget and plan, as we will also want to ensure we are able to get our hands on a better quality microscope than the one we currently have.
In combination with the biology textbook, biology lab manual and lab kit, and microscope it was brought to my attention that a subscription to The Great Courses Plus program would be beneficial, not just for biology, but for many other subjects/interests as well. Last year we had a subscription to BrainPop! which we have since canceled. It was interesting and we used it a lot for science and health during Zoey's 7th grade year, but I think Zoey is aging out of the content and the way that it is presented.
Recap...
Resources we are thinking about and/or interested in learning more about for 9th grade science/biology:
- Holt Biology Textbook (Oak Meadow uses this AND our local high school uses the 2010 version of this text)
- Subscription to The Great Courses Plus lectures
Library books to request throughout the year:
- The Hot Zone by Richard Preston
- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
- The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
- The gene : an intimate history / Siddhartha Mukherjee
- Evolution Vs. Creationism by Eugenie C. Scott
- Science, Evolution and Creationism by Institute of Medicine
These are the ideas and resources that we are currently thinking about. This list will be added to and tweaked between now and next year, I am sure!
8th Grade Updates
Friday, February 2, 2018
Wow, this year has been keeping us busy! I thought it would be a good thing to write up a post of where it is that we're at here this year, what's been working and what hasn't, etc.
We are still LOVING Oak Meadow's English 8 coursework. So far Zoey has read The Giver, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Lord of the Flies, A Wrinkle in Time (this was a review as she had read it already) and is currently finishing up reading Call of the Wild. She has loved every single book that has been assigned with the exception of Call of the Wild (UPDATE: She finished the book and she has changed her mind, and likes it!). She loves writing and the books Strunk & White and Writing for 100 Days have proven to be amazing resources for her. We will be keeping both of these books for our homeschool collection well after this year is through. I can't express just how happy we are with this program for English. The writing assignments that she's had throughout the year are meaningful and I'm so proud of what Zoey has taken on and mastered, just in her writing alone. Looking ahead for literature, it's hard to believe that there are only two books left, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Hobbit.
We are also using Oak Meadow's Civics coursework for Social Studies this year. Again, we are enjoying it. The connections that are made throughout are intentional and meaningful and allow for the student to take on responsibility for how it is that they are thinking about a certain concept and then creates an environment for them to research and make the case for their stance. It's a great Civics course. Very thorough and thoughtful and I love that it is written to the student. Right now, one of her assignments for this particular week, was to journal daily from the position of being either a status offender or juvenile delinquent. We are learning about criminal justice currently and will be moving into local government next week.
Physical Science this year has been just okay. Zoey is a science kid, so much of what we have been covering this year has been a bit of a review of things she's already been exposed to. Review is good, but sometimes isn't very fun or interesting. She has been wanting more hands on, which is actually a bit difficult too with Physical Science as the subject matter. There were a handful of lessons where we did have to slow down a bit to really get inside of different equations that we needed to master before moving forward. Since math has been a struggle for Zoey in the past, I was expecting these weeks to be more challenging but was surprised that we were able to get through them with the understanding that we would just take it slow until we got what needed mastering. I think that next year we will be trying something else for science. Oak Meadow's Physical Science is really well written and thorough, it's just that we need something a bit more in depth and hands on when it comes to this subject matter.
We are still trucking along on Math using Math-U-See and it's still working well for Zoey and since this is the one subject that she struggles in, we're not going to rock the boat and switch things up any time soon! The thing I love about this curriculum is that she has her workbook, I have the teacher book and if she's struggling, there are DVD's where the teacher (Mr. Demme) goes through the lessons thoroughly. We are always able to grasp what it is that is needed to be taught via the lessons. There is also teacher support though, if we ever happen upon something that we just can't figure out. I am so appreciative of how this curriculum is laid out. It's created for success for the student for sure. Looking back to when Zoey was in public school, there is no way that you could have told me that the first thing that Zoey would choose to work on at the beginning of her school day would be math, but now it is!
We are using a textbook from Holt for health class this year. Health is required every year for homeschoolers in the state of Wisconsin which I kind of find funny since while in public school (at her charter) she didn't have a health class at all her 6th grade year, which in my opinion, seems a pivotal year when it comes to body changes, puberty, peer pressure, etc.! We are using Lifetime Health and while it's geared for grades 9-12 we're finding it's just fine. It was actually one of the books that was recommended through Oak Meadow awhile ago so I was able to buy this book used for cheap on Thrift Books. Much of it is review, but looking ahead I can see that we'll get to the more meaty stuff here shortly.
For fulfilling her Physical Education requirement she is still taking dance twice a week which is quite intense and she works out at home doing exercises and stretches from class on off days. This is in addition to group physical activities once a week with her youth group that meets and then of course activities that she and I do outdoors or that we take part in as a family.
Zoey started taking guitar lessons back in October of this past year. At that time she didn't (confidently) know how to read sheet music. She takes lessons once a week with an older gentleman at our local Center for the Arts which is downtown and she is progressing amazingly well for where it is that she started from. Out of everything that we've been pursuing this year, this is the thing that I am most excited and proud of her for. She has been practicing diligently and daily, and it shows! She is mastering chords and has several songs that she can play and is almost finished with her first lesson book for this season. I can't wait to see what's in store for her when it comes to music and guitar! This was unexpected and such a very embraced interest on her behalf. So thankful that we figured out a way to make the lessons happen financially and logistically, as it's been so worth it!!
Also new this year is Fusion. Zoey's been attending a youth group on Wednesday nights that is comprised of students from the area middle schools and high schools as well as area homeschoolers. It's been awesome! They meet for three hours each Wednesday evening. Their meetings start with all the kids together for a dinner, then they meet in the chapel for a message and large group discussion which is followed by a large group (often physical) activity in the gym. After this they break into smaller groups by age and sex for a small group, more intimate discussion. It's been so great for Zoey to meet other kids and for it to be a mixed bag of sorts when it comes to the kids attending. Because they may not be surrounded by their immediate peer group from school, the kids are more able to be themselves and foster friendships based on solely the relationship at hand. Another thing that I am enjoying, is the car rides home from when I pick her up. We talk about the topic of discussion each week...sometimes there are things we disagree with (maybe in how something was presented) and we dissect it, think critically and then try to figure out how to move forward with whatever was discussed at the meeting. It's truly one of my favorite moments of the week. I love hearing Zoey's thoughts and getting to get a peek at how it is she is forming her thoughts on faith.
Reading is still a huge part of Zoey's days. I have not kept track of a running book list for her this year. With high school on the horizon though, next year we will definitely be keeping a book list again. One thing though that I have noticed this year is that she is picking up more adult non-fiction books and really devouring them. Most have been biographies on scientists and musicians. She has a healthy diet of YA fiction though, but is very picky about what kinds of books she will devote her time and attention to. She safely has 3-5 books going on at a time.
Speaking of reading, we are actually starting up again with our teen book club at the library, (I am the teen librarian). We will be meeting once a month on a Saturday morning and discussing our monthly read in addition to participating in activities and having treats, etc.
There is so much more that I am missing...independent art projects, field trips and other random happenings but if I am indeed going to get this posted as an update, then I have to stop somewhere! I'm hoping to post what it is that we are looking at for the upcoming year...we're been really struggling with what it is that we were hoping to use for science next year but I think we've found something!! Can't wait to share! Until then, have a great weekend!
We are still LOVING Oak Meadow's English 8 coursework. So far Zoey has read The Giver, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Lord of the Flies, A Wrinkle in Time (this was a review as she had read it already) and is currently finishing up reading Call of the Wild. She has loved every single book that has been assigned with the exception of Call of the Wild (UPDATE: She finished the book and she has changed her mind, and likes it!). She loves writing and the books Strunk & White and Writing for 100 Days have proven to be amazing resources for her. We will be keeping both of these books for our homeschool collection well after this year is through. I can't express just how happy we are with this program for English. The writing assignments that she's had throughout the year are meaningful and I'm so proud of what Zoey has taken on and mastered, just in her writing alone. Looking ahead for literature, it's hard to believe that there are only two books left, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Hobbit.
(Working on some sketching for art.)
We are also using Oak Meadow's Civics coursework for Social Studies this year. Again, we are enjoying it. The connections that are made throughout are intentional and meaningful and allow for the student to take on responsibility for how it is that they are thinking about a certain concept and then creates an environment for them to research and make the case for their stance. It's a great Civics course. Very thorough and thoughtful and I love that it is written to the student. Right now, one of her assignments for this particular week, was to journal daily from the position of being either a status offender or juvenile delinquent. We are learning about criminal justice currently and will be moving into local government next week.
Physical Science this year has been just okay. Zoey is a science kid, so much of what we have been covering this year has been a bit of a review of things she's already been exposed to. Review is good, but sometimes isn't very fun or interesting. She has been wanting more hands on, which is actually a bit difficult too with Physical Science as the subject matter. There were a handful of lessons where we did have to slow down a bit to really get inside of different equations that we needed to master before moving forward. Since math has been a struggle for Zoey in the past, I was expecting these weeks to be more challenging but was surprised that we were able to get through them with the understanding that we would just take it slow until we got what needed mastering. I think that next year we will be trying something else for science. Oak Meadow's Physical Science is really well written and thorough, it's just that we need something a bit more in depth and hands on when it comes to this subject matter.
(Making lip balm - a "just for fun" project.)
We are still trucking along on Math using Math-U-See and it's still working well for Zoey and since this is the one subject that she struggles in, we're not going to rock the boat and switch things up any time soon! The thing I love about this curriculum is that she has her workbook, I have the teacher book and if she's struggling, there are DVD's where the teacher (Mr. Demme) goes through the lessons thoroughly. We are always able to grasp what it is that is needed to be taught via the lessons. There is also teacher support though, if we ever happen upon something that we just can't figure out. I am so appreciative of how this curriculum is laid out. It's created for success for the student for sure. Looking back to when Zoey was in public school, there is no way that you could have told me that the first thing that Zoey would choose to work on at the beginning of her school day would be math, but now it is!
We are using a textbook from Holt for health class this year. Health is required every year for homeschoolers in the state of Wisconsin which I kind of find funny since while in public school (at her charter) she didn't have a health class at all her 6th grade year, which in my opinion, seems a pivotal year when it comes to body changes, puberty, peer pressure, etc.! We are using Lifetime Health and while it's geared for grades 9-12 we're finding it's just fine. It was actually one of the books that was recommended through Oak Meadow awhile ago so I was able to buy this book used for cheap on Thrift Books. Much of it is review, but looking ahead I can see that we'll get to the more meaty stuff here shortly.
For fulfilling her Physical Education requirement she is still taking dance twice a week which is quite intense and she works out at home doing exercises and stretches from class on off days. This is in addition to group physical activities once a week with her youth group that meets and then of course activities that she and I do outdoors or that we take part in as a family.
(Zoey is in the middle-front at her Winter Dance Recital.)
(Volunteering at a library program with members of her dance group.)
Zoey started taking guitar lessons back in October of this past year. At that time she didn't (confidently) know how to read sheet music. She takes lessons once a week with an older gentleman at our local Center for the Arts which is downtown and she is progressing amazingly well for where it is that she started from. Out of everything that we've been pursuing this year, this is the thing that I am most excited and proud of her for. She has been practicing diligently and daily, and it shows! She is mastering chords and has several songs that she can play and is almost finished with her first lesson book for this season. I can't wait to see what's in store for her when it comes to music and guitar! This was unexpected and such a very embraced interest on her behalf. So thankful that we figured out a way to make the lessons happen financially and logistically, as it's been so worth it!!
(Attending a Beatles Tribute concert w/friends at the Ames Center in Minnesota.)
Also new this year is Fusion. Zoey's been attending a youth group on Wednesday nights that is comprised of students from the area middle schools and high schools as well as area homeschoolers. It's been awesome! They meet for three hours each Wednesday evening. Their meetings start with all the kids together for a dinner, then they meet in the chapel for a message and large group discussion which is followed by a large group (often physical) activity in the gym. After this they break into smaller groups by age and sex for a small group, more intimate discussion. It's been so great for Zoey to meet other kids and for it to be a mixed bag of sorts when it comes to the kids attending. Because they may not be surrounded by their immediate peer group from school, the kids are more able to be themselves and foster friendships based on solely the relationship at hand. Another thing that I am enjoying, is the car rides home from when I pick her up. We talk about the topic of discussion each week...sometimes there are things we disagree with (maybe in how something was presented) and we dissect it, think critically and then try to figure out how to move forward with whatever was discussed at the meeting. It's truly one of my favorite moments of the week. I love hearing Zoey's thoughts and getting to get a peek at how it is she is forming her thoughts on faith.
Reading is still a huge part of Zoey's days. I have not kept track of a running book list for her this year. With high school on the horizon though, next year we will definitely be keeping a book list again. One thing though that I have noticed this year is that she is picking up more adult non-fiction books and really devouring them. Most have been biographies on scientists and musicians. She has a healthy diet of YA fiction though, but is very picky about what kinds of books she will devote her time and attention to. She safely has 3-5 books going on at a time.
Speaking of reading, we are actually starting up again with our teen book club at the library, (I am the teen librarian). We will be meeting once a month on a Saturday morning and discussing our monthly read in addition to participating in activities and having treats, etc.
There is so much more that I am missing...independent art projects, field trips and other random happenings but if I am indeed going to get this posted as an update, then I have to stop somewhere! I'm hoping to post what it is that we are looking at for the upcoming year...we're been really struggling with what it is that we were hoping to use for science next year but I think we've found something!! Can't wait to share! Until then, have a great weekend!
