The Start of May

W went to a wonderful class at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Long Island last week.  It was a 2-hour class for ages 11+ on Nanotechnology.  The idea is that materials at the nanoscale, measured in billionths of a meter, behave differently than at the macroscale.  Through several experiments, the kids could tell that nanotechnology is important in future products and technology.  One experiment involved exploding a film canister with alka-seltzer.  They also made a diamond molecule out of connectors and used a solar-panel and an LED to make light.  W really liked that class.  The instructor was great  - she kept his interest for the whole 2 hours.

J is looking so forward to summer.  The music video she is in is shooting next weekend (finally!) and she just got a 285 out of 300 at a dance competition last weekend.  She is competing again in a few weeks as an independent and will be choreographing yet another solo for it.  Over the next few weeks she will be figuring out studio practice time (she has several options for various studio to use) and costume.  Her Junior Project for school is also coming along nicely.  She finished the choreography and just needs to practice practice practice.  We get to view all of the junior class's routines in June.  I can't wait.

W and I are speeding through Saxon 76.  We love the book, but I can see how some families hate it.  There are a LOT of practice problems.  Each chapter has you do a 60-100 problem basic arithmetic drill, then about 10 problems they call "mental math", then you go over the 2-3-page new lesson, then do about 10 problems solidifying that new lesson, then 30 problems that are a mix of the last 10-15 lessons (the spiral).  Whew.  W and I are getting a bit worn out with all of that, so now we only do the new lesson, the 10 practice problems, and maybe 10-15 from the spiral.  It's because of that spiral that W has gotten so good at math and remembers everything, so I don't want to cut out too much of it.  I'll just pick and choose the examples he should do.  We'll move through the book much quicker this way and he'll still retain his love of math.  Any kind of busywork/tedium will kill a love of learning so quickly.  It has to be strategically planned to have the intended effect, but keep the kids engaged at the same time.  Thankfully, we are able to do that!

At theater class last week, W did a lot of cold readings.  He called me when the class was over and was so proud of himself.  He did it and wasn't even that nervous.  He said he hardly stumbled at all.  The other kids and the teachers complimented him on his delivery, too.  This is just what he needs to build his confidence and believe he is great reader.  He has come so far in only a few years - from even last summer!  He's like a different kid.  I am so grateful to be able to homeschool.

Some More Science...

The past 2 weeks of  homeschool group science classes have been great.  I think W is learning a lot.  This week his group was all about lights and lenses.  He's also happy to reconnect with friends he hasn't seen in a few years.  It's interesting to see a new dynamic where they have moved out of being little kids and into being teens and almost-teens.  I'm not seeing the exploring, running, and manhunt games W would partake in endlessly.  This interaction is more subdued and they mainly stand around together chatting.  There's some silliness, some more consciousness about how they look, and a lot more communication.  I like it - it's very cool to watch (from a long distance away, of course, lol).

At the science class

The week was also full of academics.  In science we did an experiment that explained about variables and how an egg floats in salt water.  I notice that a lot of the science experiments we do are pretty simple, but now W is at an age where it's more than just fun to do.  He gets it and writes out nice lab reports (on paper! - but if he'd rather use the white board sometimes, then I'll just take a picture, lol). Math was more stuff with decimals, percents, and fractions, grammar was verbs' present & past tense and present & past participles.  

W is doing lots of out-loud reading at his theater class.  His confidence is growing and thankfully, he's not as self-conscious as he used to be.  Having to "cold read" and memorize for this class is fun and doesn't seem like a chore.  I can't wait to see him in the June performance.  

Wow, this school year is almost over already.

Science Classes

It's springtime, and we're getting our science on in full force.  W has 1-2 classes each week at various places from now until June.   The other day's class was all about the microscope.  The kids put in a slide, manipulated the knobs and powers to adjust focus, and drew what they saw.  They also learned what all the parts of the microscope are called, labeling them on their worksheets.  This was a nice 90-minute class of all 6th-graders and up.  Several of W's friends were in the class as well.  He said he enjoyed it and is looking forward to next week.

W and the microscope

Academics are going well.  Saxon math is great - he is still doing the problems on his white board and it goes so fast.  I love the Saxon spiral with all the review.  W retains the math so much better and is so confident zipping through it.  He's doing lots of decimals, fractions, and percents now.  Sequential Spelling:  this is his favorite.  I write it, he reads it (twice), and every day is a test where he writes the words on the whiteboard.  I realize I only need the teacher guide, rather than any of the student books.  I'll remember that for 7th grade.  His test is on 25 words and he rarely gets any wrong.  This is a spiral program, too.  Every day's list of words are variations of the previous words with a few new ones thrown in.  Some are really simple, like "bats" and others are more difficult, like "splitting" - and both are in the same word list.  It works amazingly well for him.  I'm glad, too, because I keep researching his type of dyslexia and Sequential Spelling seems like the best program for him.  The more I research, the more specific a label I can get.  Dyslexia - Visual Dyslexia - Orthographic Dyslexia - Orthographic Dyslexia/Orthographic Processing Difficulties.  A label helps me find what others have done and various things I can try.

W is also doing very well with Wordly Wise 6 vocabulary.  I had no idea.  He remembers word meanings after one read-through and gets everything correct in the workbook.  I hate that I underestimate what he knows.  Today he read an entire 2-page passage out loud.  He read quickly with hardly any stumbles and had full comprehension.  It was wonderful.  Hake Grammar 6 we just zip through a couple of chapters a week.  He finds it easy, so he neither loves it nor hates it.  It's just there.

Right now he's getting his writing in with History, Science, and Poetry.  With the former 2 he jots things down as we read.  He is keeping a history timeline and is using the student book in science again.  With the Evan-Moor poetry workbook he writes out the answers to the comprehension questions.

New things are going on with my job.  I think I prayed too hard that I wouldn't have to work evenings anymore.  The idea was to switch my shift to the morning (8am-12pm) so W will be able to go back to scouts and start basketball or soccer - all of which include weekday evenings.  Instead, I'm getting laid off in 3 months - along with 120 other people.  It seems my entire department is relocating to North Carolina and Albany.  I'm checking around for other part-time morning work, but my company isn't hiring part-timers anymore, even though it would be an internal move.  If I don't get something else within the next 3 months, I'll be fine with my nice severance package.  I've been there for 7 years.  I love my job.  It will be sad come July, but hey, I'll have my evenings free.

Planning

I'm already planning for 7th grade.  I have been doing so much research and I'm so excited about these new things.  The ordering has begun and hopefully I'll have all of next year's curriculum before the summer.  Here's what we're using currently for 6th grade:

• Literature:  Read & Understand Poetry
• Spelling:  Sequential Spelling 1
• Vocabulary:  Wordly Wise 6
• Grammar:  Hake Grammar & Writing 6
• Writing:  Wordsmith Apprentice
• Math:  Saxon 7/6
• History:  Story of Mankind
• Science:  Apologia General Science
• Art:  Artistic Pursuits Junior High Book 1

And 7th grade will look like this:

Literature:  Lightning Lit 7
We're ready to get back into some good literature.  After putting it aside for a while to focus more on W's ability to read, spell, and write, I think it's time.  This program has lots of comprehension questions (which W enjoys and is really good at - thank you Charlotte Mason), composition exercises (which W needs to start doing more of), and it uses only 4 books per year (well, 5 if you count the stories & poems book).


Spelling:  Sequential Spelling 2
He loved Sequential Spelling 1, so we might just continue with the series.  It definitely improved his spelling and reading.  He really enjoys using the whiteboard to go over the words and for the daily spelling test.








Vocabulary:   Wordly Wise 7
We got into a better groove with book 6 in the 2nd half of 6th grade.  We like it a lot.  I was looking at various other vocab programs, but they looked so dry and boring.  Wordly Wise also has online pages full of games that go along with the book you're using.







Grammar:  Killgallon Elementary Story Grammar
This is a program I just found out about from one of the homeschool message board I visit.  A mom raved about it after using it with her dyslexic son.  I figured why not give it a try.  Hake Grammar was fine, but we'd both like to try something new with a different flair to it.







Writing:  Killgallon Elementary Sentence Composing
This is something we'll use together with the grammar book.  It's supposed to be a different way of getting kids to like writing.  Anything that could do that, I'll try.  W is a very reluctant writer, but this looks fun and engaging and I've read many great things about it.  I think starting with the Elementary books would be a perfect step into better writing for W.  If he does well with this, we'll use the middle school books next year.





Math:  Art of Problem Solving PreAlgebra
As much as we love Saxon, I'm dying to try this program.  W and I looked at a bunch of sample pages together and he loved what he saw.  This is a program for kids who are good at math.  W is good at math and will do well with a new, more in-depth approach. The AoPS website also has tons of videos aligned to the book.






History:  K12 Human Odyssey 1
I have heard such good things about this history book that I couldn't wait to get a copy.  I just got it in the mail today, as a matter of fact  We will start using it in 6th grade then into 7th, Then part-way through 7th we may be ready for book 2.  It's big and colorful and looks a lot more interesting than what we've used in the past.  For history W and I just read and discuss.  Sometimes he'll jot down names and events so he'll remember them.  I think we'll start a new notebooked timeline with this since it starts at pre-history.  So reading, discussing, timeline, documentaries, and field trips should make for a nice 7th grade history program.



Geography:  Runkle's World Physical Geography
Someone somewhere mentioned this set of books and I fell in love with them after seeing excerpts.  We probably don't need a geography program, since we do mapwork during history (and other) readings, but this goes in-depth and looks really enjoyable.  I plan on using these books over the course of several years.  Our geography has been choppy and scattered and I think this will bring it all together.  Check out this mom's review.





Science:  Apologia General Science (continued)
I know I said we weren't feeling the Apologia so much, but after revamping the way we use the book, we're starting to like it again.  We do science much like we do history - reading and discussing.  We enjoy the experiments and try to really get into understanding what's going on here.  We also supplement with lots of documentaries and field trips and plan on continuing this method throughout 7th grade.  The young earth thing doesn't bother me so much since I keep reading that this is one of the best programs out there.  We'll stick with it for now.



Art:  Artistic Pursuits Junior High Book 1 (continued)
We crack this book open maybe a couple of times a month.  It's fun and W likes it, so I plan on using it more in 7th grade.









OK, since I was on a roll this weekend, 8th grade may look like this (Hey, gotta plan ahead)

Literature:  Lightning Lit 8
Spelling:  Sequential Spelling 3
Vocabulary:   Wordly Wise 8
Grammar:
-  Killgallon Grammar for Middle School OR
-  Painless Grammar
Writing:
-  Killgallon Sentence Composing & Paragraphs for Middle School OR
-  Writeshop 1 w/Copywork & Dictation book OR
-  Jump-In OR
-  Wordsmith
Math:
-  Foerster's Algebra 1 OR
-  Art of Problem Solving Intro to Algebra OR
-  Saxon Algebra 1
History:  K12 Human Odyssey 2 into 3
Geography:  Runkle Geography (continued)
Science:  Apologia Physical Science - maybe - if we're not tired of it by then, lol.

The Girls

What a great week.  Ever since J left her dance studio, so many great things have happened.  First, she was chosen to dance in her school's gospel show.  It is such a huge honor to be chosen for ANY performance at this school.  This is no ordinary high school.  Second, she was so excited to get to work the school's open house.  She sold sweatshirts and greeted the accepted 8th & 9th graders with an overly-cheerful, "Welcome to LaGuardia!!".  She had a blast.  Third, she has been acing her choreography class at school.  The dance chairperson loves everything she choreographs.  J's grades have been well into the 90s for all dances.  This week, the assignment was to go to the school's art gallery, choose a piece, interview the artist, and choreograph a dance based on the art piece.   J did really well with this.  And finally, J will be dancing in a new music video.  This is an awesome opportunity for her.  She's in rehearsals for the next few weeks and it's being shot sometime in April.  She's looking forward to the all-day shoot along with the hair, makeup, and costuming!

J's solo 2012

It is times like this when I know her guardian angel has stepped in.  It was the right time for her to part with the studio in order to be able to move forward in her life.

K in Florida

K just got home from Florida on Monday.  She spent a week down in Fort Lauderdale and Miami.  She had a great time on the beach, at different clubs, and being with 3 of her friends all week.  It's weird to think of her as a grown-up.  She booked and planned everything herself -no help from me at all.  She worked tons of extra hours during the weeks prior to her trip so she'd have plenty of spending money.  She said she had the best time.

I miss being young.

Wetlands

After doing some serious hibernating for the last few months we decided to get back into doing some group classes.  This week W went to a great class at the Alley Pond Environmental Center on Wetlands.  There were about 8 middle/high school aged kids there - all intently focused and fully participating.  I can imagine the nonsense these people have to go through with chatty, unfocused school kids who are just happy to get out of their building for a few hours.  A group of homeschoolers must be so refreshing for them.  The class was all about marshes and the various plants and animals that inhabit them.  The kids tested the brackish water in the creek:  temperature, pH level, turbidity, and oxygen levels.  W really enjoyed the class (the instructor was fantastic) and was happy to be with friends he hasn't seen in a while.

Inside the APEC classroom

Info on how to test the creek water

Out on the marsh

Academics:
Math:  (Saxon) Angles & lines, multiplying & reducing fractions.  Review of percent, measurement, multiples, mixed numbers, average, GCF, perimeter, diameter/radius
English:  (Hake) Future tense, capitalization in sentences, "I", and poetry, & irregular plural nouns.  Review of sentence types, compound nouns, simple subjects, verb phrases, vocabulary words, abstract & concrete nouns, possessives, fragments & run-ons, past/present tense.  (Seq Spelling) Days 13-16.  (Wordsmith Apprentice)  Introduction to writing
History:  (Story of Mankind) Hieroglyphics
Science:  APEC field trip:  Wetland Ecology & Water Testing,  (Apologia) The Scientific Method

And I just have to throw one more of these out there:

50 reasons why NYC is the greatest city in the world

Best City in the World

I've been saying it since forever.  It's nice that many others feel this way, too.  Check out these great articles from this week:

Notable parents on why NYC is the best city in the world

AND

25 reasons why NYC is the best city in the world to raise kids

Doin' It Our Way

W is 12 years old today!  When I started this blog he was 3.  I can't believe how fast that went.

So, academics are fun once again.  I decided that we don't need to do things the way anyone else does them.  We have our own awesome way of learning and we love it.

Saxon Math:  W does the mental math problems before each lesson as fast as he can.  Then we go over the new lesson.  I use a 1.5'x2' dry-erase board with lots of colored markers.  W then does all the practice and regular problems on the dry-erase board.  He zips through the whole lesson so fast this way.  He doesn't even bother writing in the workbook - we just check off the page.  He's mastered the word problem, too.  I love Saxon.

Sequential Spelling:  This is perfect to use a dry-erase board with.  I write all the spelling words out, using a different color for the inside root sound.  He reads them all and then takes a spelling test - again right on the dry-erase board.  His handwriting is neat and I don't think he's spelled any words wrong yet.  In the workbook, he does the exercise that goes with that day's list.  This program is noticeably helping with W's reading.  Love this, too.

Hake Grammar & Writing:   There hasn't been any significant writing with this book yet, so we just fly through a chapter verbally.  I point to each exercise and he tells me the answers.  Without the tedium of writing things down, he is enjoying and retaining almost all of it so far.  I love Hake since it's set up the same way as Saxon Math is.  It has the same repetitive vibe to it that W does well with.  Heavier writing assignments will certainly be written out when they come up.

The Story of Mankind:  This is just fun to read aloud together.  He writes key terms, names, and events down on the dry-erase board.  I believe writing things down helps you remember them.  Then he narrates back the whole chapter.  He remembers everything, in order, and makes his own connections.  Whatever we read about in history we like to watch a documentary, do a project, and/or go to a museum to see things up close and get a better understanding.

Apologia General Science:  We're trying to make this a lot more interactive and interesting.  I'm using it as a readaloud and W (just like with history) writes down key terms, names, dates, etc.  We spend a lot of time doing the experiment and this involves more writing, drawing conclusions, and opening ourselves up to further investigation.  Again we'll use documentaries and field trips with the lessons.

We have other workbooks we use here and there, too.  These are more for variety, though, and include art, Spanish, vocabulary, poetry, editing, and puzzles.  He's starting a few computer programming courses as well.  I'm feeling so good about his academics.  We're in a good flow and we're both enjoying ourselves and getting things done quickly.

I did some reading on the Common Core and how everyone is up in a panic about it.  It pretty much looks like what we've been doing as homeschoolers anyway.  I mean, it's natural for our lessons (and lives) to contain a lot of critical reading/thinking, conceptual understandings, broadened worldviews, cogent reasoning, use of evidence, mathematical understanding and coherence, mathematical reasoning, and thinking statistically.  There's nothing in our way, like endless testing, nor do we need to do any accommodating for a classroom of kids - with all the varying abilities, needs, learning rates, and achievement levels.  I honestly believe homeschoolers may have the advantage here.  In NYC the 7th grade tests at the public schools that are needed for entry to most public high schools will soon conform to Common Core.  The SATs will as well.  I'm not worried at all.

J has decided to part ways with her dance studio.  It was a good 8.5-year run.  She learned a lot, experienced a lot, won a lot, and had a lot of fun.  She'll miss teaching her babies, but the world holds a lot more out there for her. First and foremost is focusing on her studies at school.  History, Science, English, & Math are key right now.  She is also in the advanced tap class, learning to choreograph, and taking tons of ballet and modern in her 15 hours of dance at school each week.  She is working on a project with another girl (and a new one with a boy) before and after school for her choreography class.  Her Junior Project is coming up soon, too, where she has to choreograph and perform an original dance worth half her grade.  Summer can now be filled with dance intensives and advanced classes, and she will start going on auditions and making career choices in senior year.  She went out on a high note, though, as last week she competed in NJ and came away with 6 High Platinum awards (the highest) and several overalls.  One High Platinum was for her new solo she choreographed completely by herself (just as she did last year).  Competitions are always great and it's so fun having a high award to validate all your hard work, but she's ready for the next stage of life.  I can't be more proud of her dedication and the fact that she knows exactly what she wants and is taking the steps to get there.  

Some New Things

W started going to a media lab in a museum once a week for stop-motion animation instruction.  It's for 6th-9th graders, there's a couple of instructors, and the kids get to use the equipment.  He likes it so far and I'm glad he's making movies again.  He is making them at home, too, using some new clay, the video camera he got for Christmas, and some free software he downloaded on his computer.  I love coming across these kinds of educational and fun opportunities around town.  

I went to the Scholastic Store the other day to get W a couple of bridge workbooks (we love these and the Scholastic ones are wonderful).  I found a 6th-7th grade one and a 7th-8th grade one.  I also grabbed a couple of books for W to read:  War Horse & Farm Boy (which is the sequel to War Horse).  W loved the movie, so I figured he'd try reading the book.  Scholastic gave me a FIFTY PERCENT educator discount on the workbooks and a 25% discount on the novels.  I couldn't believe it.  I am so going back there for more stuff soon.

I'm not crazy about Story of the World at all.  It's boring.  We started using The Story of Mankind instead (from our Ambleside stash) and we like it a whole lot more.  We just read it together and he narrates.  It's fun to use the chapters as starting points for further study, too.  We're also getting a bit tired of Apologia.  It's ok and the experiments are great, but we're just falling asleep reading it.  I think it would be better if we use our own books/websites/documentaries/trips that pertain to each subject in order from the Apologia book and do the corresponding experiments.  So we'll still be using the book and experiment supplies mainly because I really hate wasting money.  We do love Sequential Spelling (although I'm also thinking about trying All About Spelling since it's much more multi-sensory).  I've pulled out a few of our Basic Series books as well.  These are for the "middle grades".  The pages look terrible, but the activities are actually fun and thorough.  We have one for World Geography, one for Government-Economics-&-Citizenship, and one for Map Skills.

I was doing some research on the Common Core curriculum that NY state will now be using in all the public elementary and middle schools. It seems a lot more advanced than what they used to use.  The tests that W will have to take at a school in 7th grade will be using this new format.  I checked out some samples and I really think that many kids are going to have a hard time with this.  The ELA part is not so bad.  It uses a lot of critical thinking skills rather than black & white answers.  That's what W and I have been doing since he was in 2nd grade via the CM method, Ambleside books and creative narrations.  The 7th grade math samples looked a bit overwhelming.  It's not that they are particularly difficult, but they take so many steps to get the answer.  The 6th grade samples looked a lot more reasonable and pretty much align with where W is right now.  If we keep on the way we are with math, W should do ok on the test next year.  I don't like this kind of stressful testing at all, but if W chooses public high school, he needs these grades.  I swear, as I discover more and more of the amazing things NYC has for teens, and what a wonderful education W would get outside school walls, I truly wonder why we would even consider anything else.

Academics:
Math:  Adding & subtracting mixed numbers, Review of ratio, percent, fractions, average, perimeter, GCF.
English:  Helping verbs, Sequential Spelling, Independent reading (War Horse)
Social Studies:  Story of Mankind chapter 1, Hemispheres, Continents, Oceans
Science:  Review of scientists (names, years, beliefs, findings, etc) from Ancient Egypt to the Renaissance.

February

We've incorporated some of the big, yellow, 6th-grade Complete Curriculum book into our week.  One thing we're using it for is some gentle math review.  After months of only Saxon, this is like a little reprieve from the plain pages.  The yellow book is a bit more colorful and the problems are nicely spread out on the page.  This week we spent some time reviewing fractions:  equivalent, reducing, adding, subtracting, multiplying, & dividing.  In Saxon, he's up to percent & ratio.

The big, yellow book was also used for the reading comprehension section.  W read some passages and answered questions.  This is keeping him on his toes and is a nice break from narrating.  The other thing we focused on this week was reading aloud.  Since his acting class started in full force this past weekend, he wants to be confident in his reading skills - especially in front of others.  So, we found the old Aesop's Fables book (Milo Winter) and he read to me.  The trick was to use a story-telling tone and create the voices and personalities for each character.  His first attempt was choppy - he skipped words, stumbled through it, and nothing made sense.  Then I remembered the blue overlay.  Once he read the words through the blue colored plastic, it was close to perfect.  He only hesitated at 1 or 2 large, unfamiliar words.  He decided to bring it to the acting class and use it with his scripts.  Thankfully, he's not shy about things like that.

The acting class was fantastic.  He got there a little early and decided to go up to the instructor he had for the  past trial four weeks to tell her he has dyslexia.  I guess he just wanted to get it out in the open so no one would wonder why he reads so stumbly for his age.  She listened to him and then told him she had dyslexia too.  She said that words get all mixed up and she reads slowly.  W was so happy someone actually understood.  I got all teary-eyed when I heard this.  He'll be fine.

We got Sequential Spelling the other day.  We're starting with the first book like the website says since it doesn't correspond with grade level.  I like the multi-sensory way it's done.  I might go pick up another dry erase board and markers - but crayons/colored pencils/markers and white looseleaf work fine, too.  It looks like a good program and I've heard a lot of great things about it.  He seems to like it so far, too.  The daily spelling tests and various writing assignments in the Student Workbook are just what he needs.

I keep reading and researching everything I can about dyslexia and visual processing disorder and one thing that stood out to me was that these kids need a break every 15 minutes or so while doing academic work.  I haven't been doing that, so I guess it explains W's eye-rubbing and yawning and glazed look sometimes.  I certainly will be taking short breaks with him from now on, though.  The article suggest he get up and walk around during the break. This is another reason I believe homeschooling through high school would be so much better for him.  I keep going back and forth.  He still has no idea what he'd rather do.  Like I said, I'll go through the motions of applying to everything and whatever he's accepted to, he can decide then.  

J started tap classes at her high school and is in the advanced group.  Yay!  Being in advanced anything in this school means a lot.  She's also in a choreography class this semester.  Soon they start their Junior Projects.  These are student choreographed numbers that the kids perform and count as a huge part of their grade.  I can't wait to see these.  At the dance studio, she is still teaching and keeping busy getting ready for all the competitions coming up.  As one of the teachers, she went with the studio owner to another dance teacher convention.  She spent a whole day at various classes that teach how to teach.

K's internship is more than she could have imagined it would be.  It's a small office and she fits right in.  They even invited her out with them for after-work drinks (no she won't be drinking, lol).  She is already corresponding with clients, tagging along on face-to-face meetings, writing dozens of promo spots for social media sites, and she landed 3 new clients for them on her first attempt!  Needless to say they are impressed with her - she got claps and congratulations from everyone there.  She loves being in Manhattan 3 days a week, too.  

It's All Good

I have a love-hate relationship with things going well.  I can never shake the thought that the ball is going to drop any minute.

W has formed the beginning thoughts of what he'd like his future to look like.  It all revolves around technology & computer programming.  He is already getting a great head start.  He's teaching himself things I can't begin to understand.  We're having fun finding various online classes and programs.  It's simply amazing how kids are like sponges when it comes to learning what they're interested in (but shut down almost completely when forced to study things that have no context and meaning in their lives).

He's all ready for the new semester to begin at his drama class.  We watched a production today of the 12+ group doing improv games, monologues, and dramatic scenes.  It was really really good.  The kids were like little professionals - very confident, funny, and engaging.  If that's what they teach there, then I'm over the moon ecstatic for W to join them.  His class was a 4-week trial with about 8 other kids in a different part of the building.  When the new semester starts, he will join those talented teens.  He's a little worried about the scenes and monologues, since they require a lot of reading - and some cold reading - but it's not scaring him away.  I think some out-loud character readings as a part of our week will help with that fear.

J has been working on her new dance solo like crazy, teaching her classes (3 classes - 3-4 y/os, 4-6 y/os, and 9-10y/os), and helping out with a brand new competition team at the studio.  These kids are 8-11 years old and need to learn the ropes!  J has been competing since she was 7, so she knows what she's doing.  She's also really excited for her senior year.  The studio owner has some great things lined up for her.  We were also looking at some different things like professional companies, conservatories, musical theater groups, choreographing opportunities, etc.  NYC has every kind of opportunity imaginable, especially once she's done with high school.

K went on an interview last week for an internship and they called her the other day to say she got it!  It's right in the heart of Manhattan's Fashion District and she can't be more excited.  She will intern there part-time (the hours are perfect) while still working her regular part-time job.  She was so nervous before, during and after the interview, but feels she is so right for this.  The fact that she went to a high school for journalism helped a LOT, majoring in marketing and management really impressed them, and her extensive experience with programs like InDesign and Photoshop blew them away.  I have to say, her resume is fantastic.  She did the research, found the listing, sent the email, got an interview, and nailed it.  She's grown up, she's responsible, and she's ambitious.  I can't ask for more.  This is the field she wants to be in forever.  I hope it's everything she wants it to be.

Reawakened to Relaxing

It is going to be freezing cold this week.  W and I will be enjoying a week inside.  We'll get to the gym as often as we can, but it's so fun being wrapped up in blankets on the couch, drinking tea, and watching movies.  At home, he's been keeping pretty busy:  cooking, making videos, training his parrot, and learning more and more things about gaming, research, and computer programming with the gaming laptop he got for Christmas.  He is learning about new programs, watching tutorials, and creating his own sites.  He created his own Minecraft server yesterday.  It's so great to see him so focused.

He's doing great with academics, too.  We've been trying only 2-3 subjects a day only for the last couple of weeks and it's seems to work out better.  We get to stick with something a little bit longer each day and this has meant that more chapters are getting done each week.

He does 10-minutes of reading each day, gym is 3x a week, library is once a week, field trips are once or twice a month, and of course there's choir, theater, and CCD on the weekends.  Keeping things simple is the best way for W.  I will always believe in afternoons free, facilitating interests, and getting out and seeing the town as often as we can.  I so wish I got this kind of wonderful education as a child.  I almost feel like an unschooler again.  :)

Last week's academics:  Greatest Common Factor, Large number divisibility short cuts, Fractions, Past & present tense verbs, Hieroglyphics, Cuneiform, Papyrus, Science during the Dark Ages - up to 1500AD.

J went to her (hopefully) last Sweet 16 this past weekend.  I think she's gone to 2 every month since last January.   Dance competition season is in full swing.  She's doing about 5 or 6 of them this year.  It's a Nationals year, too.   She will be finishing up her solo this week, all her own choreography once again.  She also will be doing a duet, maybe a trio, a few small group numbers, and a few large group/production numbers.  These include tap, contemporary, musical theater, jazz, and lyrical.  I love competition season!

Staying Active

Going to the gym with W is really fun.  He's so into it.  We're spending a good 90 minutes there each day.  The routine so far is 30 minutes on cardio (we use the treadmill, elliptical, stationary bike, etc - whatever we feel like that day) and 60 minutes on strength training.  We work out the "push muscles" (triceps, quadriceps, chest) and the "pull muscles" (biceps, hamstrings, back) on alternating MWF days.  Three days a week is what we're starting with for now.

The theater class W started going to is wonderful.  It's run by all professionals and the kids are really serious about it.  W and the other beginners went to their own space.  B & I went for some breakfast while he was there.  At the end of class, the instructor said the kids did very well and told me it's obvious that "W is much farther along" than the others.  Hmmm.  He hasn't acted since that summer workshop when he was 8 and he's only been in choir for a few months.  I wonder why she said that.  He did tell me he answered a bunch of questions.  I feel weird asking for specifics, lol.  I'm just glad he gets to spend his Saturdays doing what he loves.

I'm trying to coax him into doing some daily independent reading.  He hates all the books we have so he's agreed to go with me to the library once a week and pick out a couple.  SOTW is nice and easy and relaxed.  We read it together and W answers all the questions in the activity book.  I like that the activity book has maps to go along with the chapters.  I usually have to figure out which one of our atlases has the best map of what we're talking about.  Then we take what we've learned and look up different things online about it throughout the week.  So simple and so effective.  Since the first part of the book deals a lot with Egypt, I think a trip to the Egyptian section of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in a month or so is a great idea.

That's the way I'm doing everything lately.  Relaxed and stress-free.  Life's too short for worrying.  Homeschooling gives us the freedom to live and learn as we like.  I plan on enjoying this wonderful and very fleeting childhood time with my son.  Having older teens has showed me how fast it all goes by.  

Happy New Year!

It was a great Christmas.  The kids made out very well and I'm proud of myself for not going into any debt.  B and I exchanged presents too - he got me a Kindle Fire and I got him (us, lol) 2 tickets to dinner and off-Broadway show.  So excited to have a date night!

We're staying home for New Year's Eve.  J and a bunch of friends are having a sleepover party, so she won't be home.  K usually goes to a big, swanky, New Year's Eve gala with the boyf,  but they're not going this year.  B and I enjoy being home.  We get a whole bunch of pickin' snacks, some wine, sparkling red grape juice for W, and just veg out.

Wednesday it's back to the grind.  J has school, W and I will start back on the academics, and I'm going to get back into the field trips again.  W starts a new drama/musical theater class on Saturdays before show choir.  They're both within a 10-minute drive of each other so it works out well.

If I can get my work hours changed from evenings to mornings he will also do basketball or soccer 2-3 times a week.

Almost Christmas 12/17-12/23

Christmas cards were mailed on Thursday, presents will all be wrapped today, and I'm looking forward to a wonderful, relaxing week.  We're having Christmas Eve (and Christmas Day) dinner at my mom's house.  She decided on something other than the fish we've been having ever since I married into an Italian family.  I get it - it can be a huge mess and cleaning up that kind of dinner is the last thing we want to do on Christmas Eve.  But B couldn't imagine not having that, so he made it all himself last night instead.  K's boyfriend, J's best friend, and W's friend from next door all came over to eat.  B made crab-stuffed mushrooms, shrimp parmigiana, fried calamari, & stuffed flounder.  K's boyf brought over a red velvet cake from Martha's Bakery (my absolute fave) and a gift for me (a really nice wrought-iron hanging decoration that holds 5 photos).  He's certainly scoring some brownie points with me.

On Thursday, some of W's show choir and a bunch of other kids and adults got together for some street caroling.  We also ventured into some restaurants to sing to the patrons.  A burger place gave us a huge clam-shell of half-moon cookies, a pizzeria gave us all free pizza and soda, and an upscale Italian restaurant gave us a generous donation to help fund a new piano.  We didn't expect anything from anyone, but it certainly reaffirmed my belief in humankind - and that NYC is a friggin awesome place.

So, since I'm anxiously waiting for the day when I can switch my work hours to mornings rather than evenings - mainly so W can be a part of more activities and sports during the week - I decided to start going to the gym with him.  That's right.  They allowed him to take over K's membership (K will be joining a new place more easily accessible for her). The minimum age is 13, but they agreed to let him join since he does look like a teenager.  Eh, he'll be 12 soon.  I'm happy that he'll have a place to go to work out whenever he wants.  And it gets me there too!  I've been slacking lately because K has been so busy with school and work and I don't like going to the gym alone, leaving W at home.  So this seems like the ideal solution.  We'll see how it all works out.  (heh heh, works out...gym, get it?)
 
Academics

Math:  Rounding and estimating review
Language Arts:  Continuing with simple subject/predicate, types of sentences, run-ons, fragments, and another lesson in the dyslexia workbook
Science:  Another really cool experiment.  We put some vinegar into a 2-liter soda bottle.  Then boiled a few leaves of red cabbage until the cabbage water was a deep bluish purple color.  Then W poured that water into the vinegar.  Even though the cabbage water was a deep blue, the vinegar turned it to a bright pink.  He then took a balloon, funneled in about 2 Tbsp of baking soda, and secured the balloon over the top of the soda bottle.  He lifted up the balloon, pouring all the baking soda into the bottle.  This caused the balloon to inflate due to the vinegar reacting with the baking soda - but since the baking soda neutralized all the vinegar, the bright pink color turned back to blue.  It reminded me of how litmus paper works.  W wrote about it in his student notebook and we read about science at the time of the Roman Empire and about alchemy.

This Week 12/10-12/16

We had a nice week.  Christmas is almost here.  I'm done shopping, I'm sending out my cards in a day or 2, and I've been watching more Christmas movies than ever.   Now I have to magically find about 3 hours to wrap everything.

Here's the academic wrap-up:

Science is so much more fun now.  We did another experiment this week that showed the movement of atoms, this time using hot and cold water.  The drop of food coloring in hot water colored the water quickly, while the drop in cold water just kinda stayed there.  Doing these experiments while reading about what's happening is clicking well with W.  I've always wanted to be creative enough to come up with cool experiments to do that actually correspond with what we were learning.  Now I'm happy to say that someone else thought of it for me, lol.

SOTW went well.  W read the introduction silently.  He narrated back what he remembered and then I asked him the review questions in the activity book.  He still has excellent comprehension - whether it's me reading to him or if he reads independently.  Also, this seems like a good book for him to do written narrations with. We're still feeling it out, but I like it so far.  Next week we'll check out the activities that go with each chapter.

We're on Lesson 16 in Saxon Math and it's still review.  That's good, though.  I'm all about review.  IMO, it's the only way math concepts stick.

W is doing great with the Hake Grammar & Writing.  We have covered types of sentences (declarative, interrogative, imperative, exclamatory), subject & predicate (and simple subject, simple predicate, nouns, & verbs), and fragment & run-on sentences.  He gets it.  All the skills he learned from paragraph editing have carried over and he doesn't forget a thing.  This and the dyslexia workbook are improving his reading and writing so much.   The handwriting, well, it's ok.  It was actually better when he was 7, lol.  I think his thinking is that he knows he can write and focusing on being neat has become way less important than understanding the work.  Now I just ask for legible.  :) 

He started a new season of show choir this weekend, too.  They're doing lots of classic rock n roll stuff again - which W loves.  Eventually I'll see if he'd like to take private lessons there.  The other 5 kids in the choir do.  They are all 11-13 years old (one is a 9 y/o little brother) and are starting to prepare for performing arts high school auditions.  Still not sure what W wants to do.

Sweet Charity at LaGuardia High School was unbelievable, as usual.  That morning I watched J's dance classes at the school.  K and W took the train in with me since we were seeing the show that night.  They went for a nice lunch and then to FAO Schwarz while I was at the school with J.  The dancers there are beautiful.  It's amazing what they learn.  This year besides ballet and modern, they had a semester of jazz.  In January, jazz will be replaced by tap.  J is looking forward to that.  I met up with them around 4:30 in Columbus Circle.  I love how gorgeous the area is over there.  The Time Warner Bldg with the shops is always crazy decorated.  Outside, all the trees are completely wrapped in small, white lights.  Across the street is this awesome craft market.  There must be 100 booths with thousands of handmade items - from flattened glass wine-bottle art to beef jerky to jewelry to fur hats, they have it all.

Photo by Markets of New York City

I Love December

Yay!  I'm so excited we got the book shipment last week.  I normally wouldn't have ordered anything this close to Christmas, but I couldn't wait.  I was just so impressed with both SOTW and Apologia General Science - the samples, the reviews, and the love of science and history they seem to procure.

We started the science first.  On Wednesday we did 2 days worth of "Module 1" (according to the lesson plan) including the experiment.  It was a brief history of science, including what science is, ancient Egyptian medics in 3000 BC, ancient Greek scientists in 500 AD, and the first ideas of atoms.  When we did some questions, W remembered the smallest details of just about everything.  He didn't even mind writing out a several-sentence-long answer to a question in his Student Notebook.  He even wanted to look up more info about papyrus.

The experiment was fun.  I'm glad I bought the lab kit so I have all the major materials for the experiments.  I know I would never go out and buy the individual things we need.  You can't just go out and buy one small balloon, or 1/4 cup of corn syrup, or 5 thumb tacks.  I would end up spending a fortune on full packages if things.  And each module's materials come in it's own labeled ziplock baggie!  Fits my Type-A personality perfectly.  So, imo, the $75 was well worth it.   Anyway, the first experiment was called "Density in Nature".  W poured oil, water, and corn syrup in a tall, clear glass.  All 3 liquids separated right away.  I remember doing a similar experiment when I was little, but it still fascinates me to see it.  Then he dropped in a small rock, a peeled clove of garlic (we ran out of grapes, but this worked perfectly), an ice cube, and a cork.  Each item suspended itself in a different layer.  This demonstrated the density of each liquid, which told us how loosely or tightly their atoms are packed together.  W loved it.  Yay.

We are starting Story of the World 1 next week.

 Math is still going very well.  W is learning new concepts so quickly and his mental math skills are right on.  I owe a lot of that to the 4 function drills we did over the summer.  I believe mastering the basics has been the best thing we've done.  So far W has been reviewing things like fractions, lines perimeter, graphs, place value, inequalities, and negative numbers.  There are also a lot of word problems.  He is learning to take his time reading through it so he understands what it's asking.  This is a challenge.  He has a tendency to either skip or insert words or completely misread words when they look like other words.  Recent ones include "navigate" for "negative" and "ingredient" for "integer".  Word problems do force him to be more accurate, which in turn improves his reading skills overall.  We stretch 1 math lesson out over 2 days.  At the rate we're going we should finish Saxon 7/6 by next December.

We're taking the Hake Grammar just as slowly: 1 lesson over 2 days.  I refuse to rush.  It is way more important for W to fully understand everything rather than hurry him through a book just to be able to say it's completed.  For W (and my girls too), 30-minute bite-sized chunks chewed slowly and savored are much better retained than 1-2 hour cram and binge lessons.  And on that note, we've also started breaking the dyslexia workbook lessons into 2 days as well.  It's getting a little harder and the last thing W needs is to get frustrated about reading.

W had his show choir recital the other day.  There are 6 kids, they sang 5 songs, and W had a solo part!  He did 2 shows.   J's studio performed a reinvented "Nutcracker" show on Sunday.  They only practiced for about a month, but it was the cutest thing.  J played the Arabian dancer and was in 4 other parts as well (party-goer, soldier, snowflake, candy something).  All the costumes were from previous competition numbers.  I loved it and I want to watch it every year, lol.

I think we'll be taking some more breaks throughout December.  I want to get into Manhattan for the Christmas stuff:  Rockefeller Plaza, FAO Schwarz, Columbus Circle, store windows, etc.  Two other things I'm looking forward to this we are:   Parent Observation Week and "Sweet Charity" at Laguardia High School!   I can't wait!!

Time to Simplify

Now that we've pretty much gotten through the first third of the school year, I have a better idea as to what is working, what isn't working, and what new things I'd like to try with W.  If someone a few years ago would have told me I would be using Saxon, Hake, Apologia, and Story of the World one day, I'd say they were crazy.  But that's where we are now.  Like I said before, if W decides to attend public high school, he wants to be completely ready.  He's looking forward to some new stuff, and I'm looking forward to more structure.  The good thing about what we've chosen is that most of it continues through high school.  For now, though, here's our plan for the remainder of 6th grade.

6th Grade

• Hake Grammar & Writing 6
• Daily Paragraph Editing Gr. 6+
• A Workbook for Dyslexics
• Spelling Skills 5 and 6
• Read & Understand Poetry Gr. 5-6+
• Classic Literature (various) with oral and written narrations
• Saxon Math 7/6
• Story of the World 1 (This will be independent reading and we'll be using the activity book with it)
• Apologia General Science (along with the Student Notebook, the Daily Lesson Plans, the companion CD Rom, and the full lab kit.  We may stretch this into 7th grade)
• Artistic Pursuits Junior High Book 1 (1st half)

I'm excited to try these new things and I hope W likes them as well.  It's easier to stay with a program year after year rather than having to keep looking aimlessly for what might fit.  We may hate everything after a few weeks or we may love it and use it all the way through high school.  You never know what's in store for next year.  

In the meantime, W is doing very well academically.  He is doing a lot more creative and dictation writing, aces his 2x/week spelling tests, and is a natural at math.  He has always been great at reading silently - he is quick and has full comprehension.  And I have noticed recently that his out-loud reading has improved tremendously over the last couple of months.  This is huge.  It seems he has learned to "fix" most of the reading issues he was having.  He still does these things - but just a lot less often.  It's wonderful to see his confidence now.  That's one of the reasons I'm going to start with SOTW 1 - it's an easy independent read.  I may even use it for more readaloud practice.

We're really looking forward to Christmas!  I have about 75% of my shopping done and we'll be decorating the house this weekend.  I have already decided that the new year will be all about simplifying everything in my life.  I want to live as materially minimalist a lifestyle as possible.  I'll begin with a huge decluttering this weekend.  I'm so ready.

Writing, Schedules, & J

Ever since the storm, we've cut back on our field trips and have been spending more time on academics.  W is doing wonderfully with Saxon Math.  I still can't believe I didn't try it sooner.  As far as reading, it seems that persistence, a varied choice of resources, and one-on-one interaction is working wonders. We're using the dyslexia workbook, paragraph editing, the 6th-7th grade bridge book, websites, and tons of hands-on and life-skills learning experiences.  Reading is everywhere in everything and W has firmly refused to be an outsider looking in.

W has also started writing essays.  Up to now, his writing has been made up of simple narrations, lists, and workbook stuff.  Orally narrating back what we read together was (is) also a part of learning to write creatively.  This week I decided to go for more.  W's first essay was about why he thinks he should get a new laptop for Christmas.  Apart from some basic technical stuff, it was very good.  He hand-wrote that one.  The second essay he did this week was a more involved narration on a bio of Thomas Edison.  This one was typed out.  Again, some spelling and sentence structure need some work, but overall it was a great essay.  He seems to naturally know how to be continuous and creative with a defined beginning, middle, and end.  So, do I need to bust out the writing workbooks?  Do I need to teach him the 5-point essay?  He's doing great on his own.  J was never taught the mechanics of writing and she consistently gets As on papers.  I think I'll go with my gut on this one and let him develop his own writing style.  

I have also come up with a new schedule for science and social studies.  I've decided to just follow the Worldbook layout for 6th grade (like my IHIP says anyway) but we'll alternate science and social studies every 2-3 weeks.  We had just spent a few weeks on classification of living things and basic ecology.  Next week is social studies and we'll take a few weeks learning about some continents, countries and cultures.  Then, the next couple of weeks will be all about microbes, algae, and fungi (then 2 weeks on Native American culture, then 3 weeks on the Human Body, and so on until June).  We'll be using text books, workbooks, documentaries, field trips, websites, projects, etc.  I plan on making this as fun and interesting as possible.  We'll see how it goes.

I think for 7th grade I'd like to try Apologia Science.  Although I do prefer a more secular approach, I like how the series is set up.  We'll try their General Science and if we like it, we may use the rest of the years as well.  Since W is still unsure about public high school, I'm making sure to get all my ducks in a row just in case he opts out.

We went into Manhattan on Thursday to go to FAO Schwarz.  W loves that store.  We don't go to buy toys, it's just so fun to wander around and experience everything.  W hung out with the Myachi guy for a while, learning new tricks and getting some cool advice.  I love that the creators of this toy are the ones in the store demonstrating it for everyone.  After she got out of school, J walked over to FAO to meet us.  We hit the second floor of the store together (she loves it, too) and then we went for lunch at TGI Fridays.  This weekend J had 2 birthday parties:  a sweet 16 in Staten Island and a celebration in Bryant Park with ice skating.  She is working the dance auditions again tomorrow at her school.  The dance director said she did a great job last weekend and should return this weekend - and then 2 more weekends in December.  J enjoys it a lot.  She said all the 8th graders look so little and that she feels like it was just yesterday when she was auditioning. At the studio, she's still learning some new choreography for the season.  They're doing a brief version of The Nutcracker in a couple of weeks, too (J is the Arabian dancer).

I'm so excited for the holidays.

Halloween Sandy

Well OK then.  What a strange week.  NYC just had the biggest storm and most destruction...ever.  I'm lucky, though.  I live in a virtually unscathed part of Queens.  There were huge trees down everywhere, no public transportation, and closed roads, but we still had power.  By day 2, the downed trees were chopped up and either loaded onto trucks or moved off the roads.  The roads were clear to drive - I drove to work on Tuesday and Wednesday - no problem - not even one delay.  The lingering problems now are that no gas stations have gas and we are on empty.  Also, the subways are actually up and running already (although nothing below 34th St in Manhattan, which doesn't affect us) but there are delays.  We're also lucky that B had off from work all week, K & J are off from school (and dance) all week, and K works in walking distance.

J posing with the tree in the road

On the other hand, about 80% of people I know are still without power and/or flooded (including my mom & sister out in Long Island).  J and her friends plan on donating clothes and books to the folks in Breezy Point (Queens) who got hit pretty badly - 80 homes burned down and the whole neighborhood is just gone.  It's so great to see most neighborhoods come together and say they're grateful their families are safe and that they plan on rebuilding and getting their neighborhoods back together.  On the other hand, you see people in other neighborhoods who complain, loot, do nothing, and demand others help them.  It's a weird contrast to see on the news.  Most places in NYC are, thankfully, the grateful, get-things-done type and because of that, they will probably get the most donations and help.

Halloween was in full-force around here, despite being in this "aftermath".  We must have had over 100 kids trick-or-treat at my house.  W had a great time trick-or-treating with his friends.  His football player costume was just his jersey and black lines under his eyes, but it looked great (W has always kept his costumes low key - sometimes just a new mask every year worn with a hooded sweatshirt - scary and creepy is his usual Halloween tactic).  He then helped MIL give out her candy, sitting on her porch with the aforesaid mask and hooded sweatshirt and huge candy bowl in his lap.

J got together with some friends and they all dressed up as ninja turtles.  They went around trick-or-treating, too (lol).  K has been getting over a cold and fever all week.  She went to a big Halloween party at a club in Brooklyn last weekend dressed all in black with Dia de los Muertos face makeup.  She looked awesome.  She feels better today and went to work.

We laid off most of the academic bookwork this week.  The girls and B have been home, so we couldn't really get anything done.  Today we picked things up again, though.  W did some of his dyslexia workbook, some Saxon Math, some paragraph editing, and right now, B is reading a chapter of Prince Caspian to him.  W's Monday animation class was cancelled and will pick up next week.  I'm planning on driving out to my mom's tomorrow to see my aunt who's visiting from out of state (great week for her to come, lol), but with no gas, I'm not sure what to do.