Union Square Greenmarket!

On Friday we met up with the homeschool group for a class all about the Union Square Greenmarket.  This is a huge outdoor farmer's market with tons of fresh produce, meats, cheeses, honey, juices, homemade breads, desserts, and snacks, organic flours, wines, and even t-shirts and artwork.  Our instructor talked

about what a farmer's market is and how it differs from a supermarket.  She went over the broad varieties of foods coming straight from the local farms.  There are so many farms all around the city - in Long Island, Upstate NY, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Connecticut.  We saw stands from all those places.

The instructor took us on a little tour around the square and we stopped at one stand to ask questions.  This stand had lots of different fresh goat milk cheeses.  The kids were generally interested in how they milk goats and how the cheese is made.  I loved it.  I learned a lot.

We finished up the class by tasting some fresh goat cheese on homemade pretzels.  W loved it, J thought it was interesting, and I needed another couple of tastes before I knew if I liked it or not, lol.

For about an hour or so afterward, W played in the Union Square playground with his friends.  I got to relax and chat with some moms.  Then W, J, and I headed to the Forever 21 across the street and picked up the dress K wanted, then across the park to Barnes & Noble.  A few days earlier I decided to cash in all my Amex points for some B&N gift cards and buy myself a NOOK.  That's right.  I bought something for ME.  So, that day at B&N I played with the Nooks on display, knew it's exactly what I wanted and bought a cute cover for $40.  (Later that evening, my B&N gift cards were delivered!  B had to drive K to a semi-formal dance at her school, so I told him to swing around to the bookstore to get my NOOK!!!).

The kids and I then had a quick lunch and I had the ridiculous idea that it would be no problem to walk the 30 blocks to Times Square.  I did it all the time as a teen.  Ok, that was dumb and we should have taken the subway, lol.  But we got there in about 25 minutes anyway.  We went back there because J wanted to meet up with a friend of hers who lives over there.  We ended up visiting the Toys R Us store again and the Hershey Store.  It's Fleet Week in the city and uniformed military were all over the place.  We thanked every one of them we passed for their service to our country.  Then we got on the subway and were home in 20 minutes.

King Tut!

Today we met up with a bunch of homeschooling friends to go see the King Tut exhibit in Times Square.  It was a beautiful, unbelievable display of over 100 pieces.  The Discovery Times Square Exposition was a darkened, dramatic maze of about 10 rooms that began with Tut's great-grandparents, then his father, then the rooms dedicated to the boy king himself.  Black-and-white photos from the 1920s were enlarged and showed the original excavations.  It was so cool to see the piece in the photo was the one that you were looking right at.  We saw many shabti (small statues that were to do labor in the afterlife), jewelry, small chairs, alabaster containers where innards were kept, makeup and fragrance jars, and the crown, necklaces, and dagger that was placed with King Tut when he was mummified. 

Afterwards, we all walked around Times Square and visited the new M&Ms Store.  It's a huge store with 3 floors of everything M&Ms.  On our way to go eat, we happened upon The Naked Cowboy and took a bunch of pictures with him.  He's a NYC busker who wears only white briefs, cowboy boots, and a guitar.  10,000 people a day stop to take a picture.  Then we had a fantastic lunch at Bubba Gump's right on Broadway.  We 7 adults were at one table and our 15 kids were at 2 other tables.  I had a blast with everyone and the prices were really reasonable - not bad for Times Square. 

We said our goodbyes and the kids and I headed across the street to the big Toys R Us.  Almost every time we're in Times Square, we just have to visit that store.  There were a lot of toy demonstrations going on - everything from a motion-detecting hover craft to Squirmle.  A guy dressed up as Iron Man was there and the new Candyland section was all redone.  J found her way into the big Barbie Dreamhouse again and W was floored at the number of Nerf guns they had, lol. 

The subway home was quick and we are all exhausted from a really great day.

I've Gone and Done It

I created a new IHIP. After 5 years of using the info from the worldbook site, I created an IHIP based on a more specific breakdown of what we will actually be using. I figured, since now we do use a curriculum that we love, the IHIP doesn't need to be so general. I would still recommend the general format to anyone who isn't sure what they may use or who just wants something easy that's in compliance. I'm just in the mood to try something new. It will be for 4th grade for W starting in September and is based on Ambleside Online Year 3 for 2010-2011. I've always kept an outline like this for my own records, along with a calendar listing what we actually accomplished each day. It won't be as easy to just copy and paste with this one, but it may give you ideas on how to create a more tailored outline for yourself. I've kept the overall format the same, but I'm listing specific books and programs from the AO3 curriculum. So in a sense, I did do a copy and paste - just from a different website. The outline for Health is kept from worldbook.com.  It is also still all on 1 page. I streamlined the methods/tools paragraph (at the end) to fit us better as well. From the beginning, I've always been firm on doing what's easy for me, as far as the homeschool correspondence. Matching up my own outlines and learning logs with what I send to the district is, in fact, easier.


I've left the general 4th-grade IHIP in the sidebar. I've added a general 8th-grade IHIP as well, since 7th & 8th grade reporting are a bit different than what's required for 1st-6th grades. I've added my new AO-based IHIP into the sidebar. The rest of the paperwork stays the same for now. I'm still sending the same quarterlies, annuals, and LOIs. The new AO-specific IHIP is still detailed enough to allow for the rest of the paperwork to be minimal - which is how I like it.

Sample IHIP (AO Specific) 4th-grade

INDIVIDUAL HOME INSTRUCTION PLAN


NAME OF CHILD:   W
DOB: ______   GRADE LEVEL: 4   SCHOOL YEAR: 2010-2011

ADDRESS: _____________   DATE MAILED: ___________


QUARTERLY REPORTS WILL BE MAILED ON: 11/15/10, 1/30/11, 4/15/11, 6/30/11

W will be using various methods/tools for 4th-grade instruction in all the subjects specified in Sect. 100.10 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education. The corresponding subtopics may include and shall not be limited to:

ARITHMETIC
Teaching Textbooks 5 (Sabouri) & Life of Fred Fractions (Schmidt)

THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Writing, Phonics, Spelling, Grammar: Transcribe favorite lines from the Shakespeare play and scheduled poetry we are reading. Two perfectly written lines every week (in cursive). Written narration chosen from literature (1-2 per week, may be in cursive or manuscript). Draw a narration chosen from literature. Start Dictation, work up to one paragraph by end of year. Writing Strands 3 (Marks): two pgs weekly. Online typing tutorials. Simply Grammar (Andreola)
Poetry: William Blake, Sara Teasdale, Hilda Conkling, & Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 1 or 2 poems per day, discussed and may be used as copywork.
Literature Read-Alouds and Independent Reads: Tales from Shakespeare (Lamb), American Tall Tales (Stoutenburg), The Heroes (Kingsley), The Princess & the Goblin (MacDonald), Children of the New Forest (Marryat), The Jungle Book (Kipling), A Little Princess (Burnett), The Water Babies (Kingsley), At the Back of the North Wind (MacDonald), Men of Iron (Pyle), Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland (Carroll), Through the Looking Glass (Carroll), The Bears of Blue River (Major), Swallows and Amazons (Ransome), Unknown to History: Captivity of Mary of Scotland (Yonge), Caddie Woodlawn (Brink), On the Banks of Plum Creek (Wilder), The Little White Horse (Goudge), The Saturdays (Enright), English Fairy Tales - and more (Jacobs), King of the Wind (Henry), The Four Story Mistake (Enright), Then There Were Five (Enright), The Wheel on the School (De Jong)
Foreign Language: Greek Alphabet, Sign Language

SOCIAL STUDIES
World & American History: Our Island Story (Marshall), This Country of Ours (Marshall), A Child’s History of the World (Hillyer). All history readings will be narrated. We will also correspond history readings with a timeline or century book and map.
Biographies: DaVinci (Landmark), Bard of Avon: the Story of William Shakespeare (Vennema & Stanley), Squanto (Ziner) or Landing of the Pilgrims (Daugherty)
Geography: A study of Marco Polo

SCIENCE
Natural History and Science: Handbook of Nature Study (Comstock), Secrets of the Woods (Long), Science Lab in a Supermarket (Friedhoffer), The Story of Inventions (McHugh) or All About Famous Inventors & Their Inventions (Pratt) or War Inventions (Gibson). We will do various science experiments and go on weekly nature walks, keeping a Nature Notebook. The Nature Study schedule is as follows: Summer/Fall Term - reptiles. Winter Term - flowerless plants/crops. Spring Term - fish and amphibians

HEALTH/SAFETY
Personal and mental hygiene, Dental health, The body and its functions, Skeletal and muscular systems, Care and proper use of the body, Principles of digestion, Basic food groups, Good nutrition habits, Diseases, Safety, Substance abuse

MUSIC/VISUAL ARTS
Art:  Picture Studies focusing on 1 artist per 12 wk. term and reading his life story from biographies found at the local library. . We will be studying: Term 1 - Albrecht Durer (Italian Renaissance). Term 2 - Caravaggio (Italian Baroque). Term 3 - not sure yet. Drawing from nature and narrating tales with drawings. Drawing with Children by Mona Brooks
Music Appreciation:  Listen to 1 composer (specifically) per term and reading his life story from biographies found at the local library. We will be studying: Term 1 - Beethoven (Classical/Romantic). Term 2 - Vivaldi (Baroque). Term 3 - Chopin (Romantic)

Instruction methods/tools may include and shall not be limited to: reference materials (atlas, dictionary, thesaurus, globe, maps, videos, the internet), hands-on activities, projects, newspapers, magazines, frequent field trips, group classes, activities, & workshops, research, games, creative thinking, predicting/forecasting, gathering facts, CD ROMs, abundant art/craft supplies (clay, paints, crayons, pencils, sketch pads, chalk, charcoal, pastels, animation software, building materials, etc.), free play, structured sports, conversations, and real life.

Primary instruction to W will be provided by ______________________, his parents. Supplemental instruction will be provided by others, as necessary.

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I borrowed some of the wording from another AO mom's lesson plan.  I like the way she describes what they do.  You can find her blog post HERE.  And here's a few words about this specific AO-based IHIP.

Sample IHIP 8th Grade

INDIVIDUAL HOME INSTRUCTION PLAN



NAME OF CHILD: ____________

NYC Student ID: (optional)   DOB: ______  GRADE LEVEL: ___   SCHOOL YEAR: __________

ADDRESS: ___________________________

DATE SUBMITTED: _________________



QUARTERLY REPORTS WILL BE MAILED ON: 11/15/__, 1/30/__, 4/15/__, 6/30/__

_____ will be using various methods/tools for 8th-grade instruction in all the subjects specified in Section 100.10 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education. The corresponding subtopics may include and shall not be limited to:

Mathematics

* Maintaining skills in fundamental operations* Factoring and products* Sets and simple sentences* Numeration systems* Using fractions and decimals* Ratio, proportion, and percent* Equalities and inequalities* Simple formulas and equations* Graphing an equation* Powers and roots of rational numbers* Polynomials* Metric and nonmetric geometry* Pythagorean Theorem* Scale drawing* Right-triangle trigonometry* Customary and metric measurement* Permutations* Probability statistics* Statistical terms* Mathematics of insurance, banking, and taxes

English

* Independent reading, * Literal, inferential, and evaluative reading skills, * Literary terms, * Novel, short story, narrative poetry, * Nonfiction, * Biographies of great Americans, * American poets and storytellers, * Creative dramatics, * Listening and speech activities, * Advanced dictionary work, * Extended vocabulary, * Figures of speech* Spelling* Infinitive, participle, gerund, predicate nominative, predicate adjective, direct and indirect object* Kinds of sentences and their parts* Functions of sentence elements* Writing simple business letters* Report-writing skills* Improving skills in using basic reference sources* Inductive and deductive reasoning

History and Geography

* Our African, Asian, and European backgrounds* Exploration and discovery* Growth and development of the United States- Colonial life* Struggle for independence* U. S. Constitution and Bill of Rights- Westward movement in America* American Civil War* Reconstruction* U. S. as a world power * Meaning of democracy* Our American culture* U. S. political system* U. S. economic system* U. S. government* U. S. geography* Advanced map and globe skills

Science

* Scientific method* Scientific nomenclature* Scientific measurement* Ecology and environment* Conservation* Composition of the earth* Ocean, atmosphere* Weather* Water and its uses* Weathering and erosion* Recycling of resources* Magnetism and electricity* Heat and light* Forces in liquids and gases* Wave, mechanical, electrical, and nuclear energy* The earth's movement* Newton's three laws of motion* Machines* The atom* Periodic table of elements* Compounds and mixtures* Chemical changes* Astronomy* The universe and Milky Way* Space and space travel

Health

* Grooming* Functions of the body* The body's utilization of food* Types and functions of foods* Environmental hazards* Community sanitation and health * Health care services* Sexually transmitted diseases* Accident prevention, safety, and first aid* Mental hygiene* Substance abuse

Music/Visual Arts/Phys. Ed./Practical Arts

* Wide exposure to all forms of music* In-depth studies of composers and artists* Private vocal lessons* Arts and crafts* Art technique* Structured group dance lessons (tap, jazz, lyrical) 8+ hrs. per week* Free play indoors and outdoors* Practical arts* Library skills* Sewing* Knitting* Cooking* Banking* Budgeting* Running a household* Entrepreneurship


Instruction methods/tools/resources may include and shall not be limited to: reference materials (atlas, dictionaries, globe, maps, encyclopedias, non-fiction books, videos, the internet), workbooks, worksheets, hands-on activities, experiments, science lab, projects, newspapers, magazines, frequent field trips, group activities, classic/contemporary literature, research, journal/narrative/essay/poetry writing, games, creative thinking, predicting/forecasting, gathering facts, written peer correspondence (pen pals), music CDs, CD ROMs, piano keyboard, abundant art supplies (clay, paint, crayons, pencils, sketchpads, felt, chalk, charcoal, pastels, etc.), structured group dance classes and competitions, free play, conversations, and real life.

Primary instruction to _____ will be provided by ________________, her parents. Supplemental instruction will be provided by others, as necessary.

PLATINUM Lining to an Early Black Cloud

This weekend was the last dance competition of the season.  J had all 8 of her numbers in one day.  It moved along well and there was plenty of costume change time.  There was 1 awards ceremony in the evening.  All of J's numbers scored a Platinum or X-Treme Platinum - which are the highest given.  Our studio had at least one number in the top 10 (most in the top 5!) in every category.  It was a great day and a lot of awards were won.  J's solo placed in the top 10 and she won a scholarship to one of their fall dance workshops! 

The day didn't start out so well, though.  We woke up to find my car's front side window was smashed in.  B went out to check and noticed nothing was taken (EZ Pass, GPS, airbags, etc), so we were ok.  Then J reminded us her dance shoe bag was on the front seat.  Yep.  That's what was taken.  What are the odds that her dance shoe bag would be stolen on the day of her competition?!  It certainly doesn't look like a purse,  but I guess desperate people don't care.  In a matter of 1 minute I thought up a few plans to get us through the day - Which friend has the same size feet, who is not in a certain number, who else could she borrow from, how far is the dance shop and can we make it there and back in time.  As I'm trying to figure out how to keep my cool in the process, B came back in stating that he found the shoe bag down the block with all the shoes throw into someone's yard.  W had hopped the fence and B called out where each shoe was.  W retrieved them (they were everywhere)  and B matched them all up.  Every shoe was accounted for.  Stupid thieves.  I hope that bag stunk up to high heaven when he opened it -10 pairs of a teenager's dance shoes, after a whole dance season, are not a bed of roses, lol.  The window is being replaced on Tuesday morning at no charge.  Except for that little bit of panic and inconvenience, all is well. 

Dance, Stereotypes, & High School

J had an early dance call this morning - 9am.  The studio owner is not messing around anymore and will do what it takes to get everyone there at the same time.  We're doing another competition next weekend.  We do this particular one every year.   J won TITLE  (Junior Miss ----)  there last year for her vocal solo.  I'm hoping it's just on Saturday (like it was last year) because Sunday is my goddaughter's First Holy Communion and I really don't want to miss that.  The studio recital is also coming up soon.  The big recital rehearsal is on May 27th and then the actual recital is Friday night on June 4th.  Once again, J will be in way too many numbers to count - plus leading her little ones from the pit again for 2 or 3 numbers - which is great, but really hectic when you have to squeeze everything into 3 hours.   J went to a school dance last night with a bunch of her friends.  She had a really great time and was home before 11pm.  I was worried about her getting home late and not being able to wake up for dance, but she got right up on her own and was dressed in 10 minutes. 

J pretty much smashes many homeschool stereotypes.  "Homeschoolers are socially awkward and don't really know how to make friends".  All I have to say to that is, HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.   "Homeschoolers don't understand responsibility or having to do things even when they don't want to like they'll have to in THE REAL WORLD."  Ok, this is another huge crock of garbage.  Unlike her walled-up schooled friends, J has actually been IN and PART OF the real world every day, all day.  Waking up early for competitions and performances are no problem.  She has never missed a week of teaching her class of little ballerinas - and will start a workstudy next season (4hrs/week) for free dance tuition.  My 13y/o is more responsible than many adults I know.   "Homeschoolers are weird".   No, they're just real.   J has never been clouded by constant peer pressure, conformity rules, or following the crowd.  Kids are drawn to her because of her realness and loyal friendship.  She has more true best friends than anyone I've ever known and makes new friends constantly.  "Homeschoolers are super-smart." Ok, this one has some truth to it.  LOL. But it makes sense since there's so much individialized attention and extras.  We also go on dozens of field trips during the school year.  No school can say that.  "Homeschoolers miss out on so many things, like being around other kids, group activities, and school dances"  Umm...don't think so, lol.  I honestly believe that school administrators and school parents were so shocked that homeschoolers outperformed schooled kids on standardized tests that they had to go and create other reasons not to homeschool in order to dissuade people thinking about it. 

It really isn't hard to understand.  You either homeschool 1. because your child has special needs and won't be able to handle the rigors of school, 2. because you, as a parent, are just fed up with the ridiculous school system and know you can do a better job yourself, 3. because your child is so ahead of where she "should" be and is totally bored and uninspired by anything in school, or 4. because of  religion, 5. bullying, 6. celebrity matters, or 7. a combination of these.  We all want what is best for our children and unless you're in an unescapable situation, we follow our instincts and make any necessary changes to what is obviously not working.  I love that we have choices in this country.

I'm ok with high school, though.  Maybe just some NYC high schools.  There are 400 high schools to choose from in NYC's 305.8 square land miles.  About 100 of those are amazing and focused on particular subjects with lots of competition to get in.   My feelings about high schools differ a lot from elementary and middle schools.  High schools come with a certain level of freedom and independence, maturity and understanding, and in J's case, readiness, excitedness, and perfectness.  And most of all it's a school J hand-picked and put everything she had into being chosen for it.  That makes a difference.  Of course we have yet to see how it all goes, but I can usually trust my instincts when it comes to my kids' choices.  It's a big change, but I have no worries.  :)

Pleased

Reflecting on what we use for W's academics, I have to say, I'm more than pleased. Then again, if I weren't pleased, we'd use something else. But really, I just like everything. A major factor in determining what I like is what W likes. I love the math program. Teaching Textbooks is hugely effective for him. The short lectures and lots of review just...work. We'll probably continue to use it up to October. TT5 starts off at around a 3rd grade level, but does eventually cover to the end of standard 5th grade math.  After that, we may switch to Life of Fred Fractions.  I have all the LoF books, so I'd like to see how well W takes to it.  It's worth a shot. 

W reads aloud to me every day. He has to or else he slides backwards in his ability. He can read. It's just that words look like other words (e.g. pirate looks like picture). W is a whole language reader. This means he has to recognize entire words instantly in order to read fluently. Adults do this, but I feel that children who are still learning need to use phonics and whole language together. He won't sound a word out unless he's reminded. Any word longer than 7 letters makes him nervous (except compound words - he gets those). I don't know if this is part of his dyslexia or not, but I know it's frustrating for him.  Right now, a chapter of Doctor Dolittle (an AO "free reading") each day is working well. It's a perfect book for him, with short chapters and just challenging enough. I'm sad to see it ending soon. But there are other books on the free reading list for Year 2 that look like W could use for his readalouds.  These include: Chanticleer and the Fox andAlong came a Dog.  We may also revisit Farmer Boy and Mr. Poppers Penguins since we didn't finish them the first time.

W also uses Hooked on Phonics Master Reader a couple of times a week. This CD Rom program is a great help with larger words. It teaches how to break up words for easier sounding out. After the lesson, he reads a couple of stories on large cards that are provided. Since he already reads Doctor Dolittle to me during our
morning academics, he's not in the mood to read again so soon. I understand. It's draining. So, every few hours throughout the day I'll have him read one of the story cards to me. On the days we don't use HoP, I'll have him read something else to me thoughout the day. Usually it's If I Lived in Colonial Times. This is another great book for him and he asks to read it.

Poetry and Copywork are also done daily. We use a book called A Year of Poems which sorts poems into months and seasons. We will read one poem together and W writes out the first 2 lines. He knows this is to be done in his best handwriting, following all the right capitalilzation and punctuation. Sometimes he'll use cursive and sometimes print. It doesn't matter to me. The AO poetry schedule has us reading poems by Christina Rosetti this term. The AO website has a great page with 55 of her poems. We read one every day together.

Then we have the Ambleside Online schedule. A couple of the books like The Little Duke and Lamb's Shakespeare are very tough, but I love that they're there.  I read these aloud to W and I'll ask for one or 2 things he remembers. Sometimes if he gets stuck, I'll mention a certain part and then he tells me the rest. The other readings: Our Island Story, A Child's History of the World, This Country of Ours, The Burgess Animal Book, Understood Betsy, and Tree in the Trail tend to flow a little better. W gives much longer narrations with these. I read all of the selections to him. He listens intently, probably because he knows he has to narrate at the end. The older language used in many of the readings is such a great way to learn new words and meanings (and he has almost gotten over snickering at those older words that our current society has given new meaning to, lol).  Starting next year, he will read a few things by himself. He will also begin a few written narrations.

We also use various workbooks during the day. W (just like the girls) has always loved workbooks. We currently use them for language arts, geography, vocabulary, science, and some math. They are cheap, fun, quick, and very effective. He'll do a page or 2 in a workbook or 2 each day. I consider them purely supplemental.  I'm sure we don't really need them, but W enjoys them and I like saving pages for his folder (which is for me, not the district, btw).  We'll probably always use those. 

The things we have the hardest time getting to are the "extras". Artist study, composer study, nature study, wall timeline/book of centuries, and foreign language are more infrequent than I'd like. I mean it should be pretty easy to look at paintings, listen to music, and take a walk outside. Maybe because it seems so easy, I feel we can just get to it another time. When it comes to the history timeline, we both love that, but we just forget, lol. W is to write down a name or event with a few facts and the year(s) and we add it to the book. He definitely remembers facts this way. With foreign language, we dabble in French, some Spanish, even Latin. It's fun and definitely educational, but I wonder what he's really getting out of it? It's not like he'll become fluent with what we currently use. I took 5 years of high school and college Italian and can barely say more than "hello" - even though I got As and Bs. I may shelve that for a while until he's older. I'll see what he wants to do. But overall, I'm working on making these "extras" more a part of our week.

Two other aspects of the Charlotte Mason method (that are emphasized in AO) are art and handicrafts. W does enough of these on his own so I never really have to schedule it in. The only times would be for holiday crafts. He is still plugging away at his cartooning, claymation, weapon-making, and cooking. Now his new thing is the Diabolo. My sister bought him one for Christmas and W is determined to nail all the tricks. He watches endless youtube videos on how it's done and practices for hours. It's cool to see what can be done with that thing.

We have gotten into a nice groove with the daily academics. We incorporate many of Charlotte Mason's methods that are also reinforced via Ambleside Online: short lessons, a minimal amount of "twaddle", whole and living books, narrations, copywork, art/music/nature appreciation, and free afternoons. The whole CM philosophy just resonates with me. It fits so well into our lives.

Yeah. I have to say, I am definitely pleased.

Freshman Orientation

LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts had their freshman orientation the other evening.  J and I took the subway there.  It takes less than 30 minutes from our house.  This is great - lots of kids who go there spend over an hour each way on public transportation.  B met us there after work.  When we arrived J had to go and get a folder full of paperwork.  She gave them her last name and they handed her the folder.  That's the first time I started getting teary-eyed.  They had a folder with her name on it.  omg she is really going here.

In the concert hall, we must have heard "congratulations" a dozen times.  This school knows it's special and has no problem letting everyone else know, too.  One speaker said there were thousands of kids who weren't accepted and that they only accept the "best of the best" and how in awe they are of them.  I was getting teary again.  Then when the principal said "Welcome, class of 2014!", that was it - I was a mess. 

We watched a slide show of lots of famous alumni (to the tune of Irene Cara's "Fame", lol), went over curriculum and procedures, filled out a bunch of paperwork, and J got her school ID picture taken.  We got a summer reading list and she'll take a math placement test in June.  She recognized a few kids from auditions and made friends with a bunch of other kids just on the line for ID pictures.  This is probably the 4th or 5th time I've been to the school and each time I've taken note of the wonderful staff and students.  They are kind, helpful, and funny, and they really appreciate what this school is.  If I had to describe in one word how the school feels, it would be:  comfortable.  It just feels...right.  That's weird for me since I usually dislike something before I like it, lol. 

The best part of all is that J is giddy-excited about going there.  She loves everything she's seen so far (B & I have, too).  I'm so proud I can't stand it. 

Dance!

Another dance competition behind us.  This one was in Long Island and J's studio did GREAT!  J was in 8 numbers over 2 days and got all HIGH GOLD AND PLATINUM awards.  her solo, duet, and 2 group numbers won the Judges Choice "Intensity" award.  They also placed in the top 5.  I bought 2 videos and the whoe CD of photos from her solo.  Here's a couple of shots from Saturday.  I guess they are pretty "intense", lol:

Weekly Academic Recap

This week readings and narrations were from:

A Child's History of the World
The Story of Mankind
Understood Betsy
The Little Duke
Abraham Lincoln (D'Aulaire)
The Burgess Animal Book
Tree in the Trail
Doctor DoLittle

We also read, discussed, and W copied:

"April Rain Song" by Langston Hughes
"Early Spring" by Alfred Lord Tennyson
"The Four Sweet Months" by  Robert Herrick

We did 3 Lessons in TT5,  2 pages in The Complete Book of Maps and Geography, 2 pages on helping verbs in Learning at Home Grade 4, and 1 lesson in the HoP Master Reader program.

We looked at lots of Claude Monet's paintings and learned about Impressionism.

And we went to the playground a lot.

This Week

My 17th wedding anniversary was the other day. B and I went out for dinner on Friday and I came home to a dozen roses on Monday. We should always have days like that.

This week we're focusing on the academics (I try and avoid the word "schoolwork" since nothing we do resembles school at all). I haven't planned too many daytime outings over the next few months because I'd like to catch up some more on W's schedule. At the rate we're going, we'll finish AO Yr 2 by the end of September, lol.

He's doing great, though, narrating like a pro and whizzing through math. Now that he can reel off the whole times table (the 12s are still tricky, though) and the corresponding division without hesitation, I think any new math concept we encounter will be a piece of cake. As long as he's enjoying it, he's learning.

I found this online calendar (30boxes.com) that seems perfect to use as a daily log of what W and I cover each day. It's very simply laid out. I just enter the info (broken into subjects) and I can print out a day, week, or month. I find it way easier and faster to use than the google calendar or other ones I've tried.  Even though we don't NEED to keep records like this, I enjoy doing it and have always kept some sort of academic log.

J has a dance competition coming up this weekend. She has 3 small groups, 3 large groups, 1 duet, and 1 solo. We'll be staying at my mom's for the weekend since she lives close to the comp venue. Today and tomorrow I'll be pulling everything out of the trunk and garment bag, going over all 8 costumes and making sure all accessories, shoes, makeup, jewelry, and toiletries are packed. That's the nerve-wracking part - making sure we don't forget anything. There's nothing worse than knowing your daughter has to be on stage in 3 minutes and her left tap shoe is no where to be found.

Glassblowing Workshop

First I want you all to check out the new book carousels I made in the blog sidebar. I'm so excited about how cool they are. The first one has some great books on using a Charlotte Mason approach to homeschooling. Further down I made one using many of the Ambleside Online Year 2 selections (that one is a ferris wheel - not a carousel, lol). We are currently using every one of those. Under that is a carousel of supplemental workbooks and stuff that we use and that W likes. Take a look!!

J and W has a great glassblowing class yesterday in Long Island.  After a brief overview, J chose to make a bowl and W, a glass.  The glass is liquid and is kept hot in a 2000 degree oven.  It is swirled onto the end of a long pole, and then you blow into the tube for the far end to created a small bubble of air in the liquid glass on the other end.  Then the glass is dipped into some finely crushed colored glass - to give your piece some color.  The pole frequently goes back into the oven to keep the glass soft and liquidy and also has to keep spinning or it will drip right off onto the floor.  Various metal tool are used for shaping and cooling.  This was one of the more interesting workshops we've ever taken and the kids enjoyed it a lot.  Today we're going back to pick up the bowl and glass they made!

Blasting Back into AO

School vacation is keeping all my kids very busy.  K went back yesterday, J's Catholic school friends go back Monday.   K went to the beach after school (it was 90 degrees!) and J went to an early premiere of Glee in Manhattan with her friend last night.  I finally caught up with all of last season's episodes and I can't wait for the new season (next week, yay).  She said it was fun - a glee club from NJ came to sing for them.

3rd quarterlies are going out next week.  No testing this year - J's done and W will do his in 5th grade.

We're jumping back into AO with both feet.  He was satisfied with the break we took from it, but he's ready for it again.  I'm glad.  I know it was a major factor in helping him overcome his reading block - all that great literature can cure anything.  Dyslexia doesn't really go away, but the progress he's made just since the beginning of the school year is remarkable.  And I know AO is the reason why W has such a sharp memory now.  It requires (and thus, creates) such good listening skills, and that spills into great narration skills, which is supposed to create great writing/composition skills.  Now that W is 9, we'll be starting some written narrations in a month or so.  We plan on keeping the AO schedule the same as we did before (pretty much).  We also incorporated a few more workbooks on our hiatus, and we're keeping those.  So, for example, today's schedule (for W) looks like this:

• 1 AO Reading (me reading aloud 1 chapter of An Island Story, w/narration).  We use an atlas during the reading and then add people, events, and dates to our timeline.  It's fun.
• 1 or 2 chapters (me reading aloud) of a Free Reading book (we're continuing with Abraham Lincoln by d'Aulaire.  No narrations with the free readings)
• Finishing up the rest of Times Tales (Part 2 - 1 page of multiplication and review of division)
• I read a poem out loud (from a Year of Poems), we discuss it, and he does some of it as copywork
• A page or 2 from Learn at Home Grade 4.
• W reads 1 chapter of Tree in the Trail aloud then narrates back. (we used an atlas with this book, too)
• 1 page of the Maps/Geography workbook. 
• Another readloud from me if we feel like it (Understood Betsy)

It is now Term 3 of AmblesideOnline and we will be learning about garden flowers & weeds in Nature Study, Maurice Ravel in Composer Study, and Claude Monet in Artist Study. Monet is one of W's favorites. He picked "The Waterlily Pond" to do a reinterpretation of a few years ago at a homeschool art class. We visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art a few months later and saw that painting right up close. My 6-year-old yelling out, "Look Ma! There's the Monet!" brought on a few stares our way, lol.

J is plugging away with her academics as well (see post on March 9th).  Things are smoothly sailing along here.  W has a couple of homeschool group trips coming up and we're planning on hitting some museums soon.  We're ready for the Met again, actually.  Now that the weather is really beautiful, I just wanna get out a LOT.   I'll have my camera ready!

Schoolin'

We've moved on to Part 2 of Times Tales and again after about 30 minutes W had the rest of the 6,7,8 & 9 times tables learned.  He shocked himself, actually.  His favorite thing is when it's turned around and a division problem is made out of it.  The book has flash cards that you punch out - and W is a flash-card person.  He's still reading "If You Lived in Colonial Times" aloud to me almost every day.  I like the way the book is laid out - one chapter per page or 2.  We're using The Complete Book of English Language Arts a couple of times a week.  Yesterday we went over personification, hyperbole, similes, and metaphors.    I also purchased a book called "Learn at Home Grade 4", which is full of great ideas for what to do each week.  W likes it, and I like this kind of outline.

J's friends (and just about all NYC 8th-graders) finally got their school results.  Some of J's friends are going to Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, 2 got into Talent Unlimited, some weren't matched at all or only matched to their zoned school, and some who didn't like their option will go to the Catholic schools they reserved spots in.  J was glad she wasn't one of the ones waiting for a letter.  She's just so excited to be going to LaGuardia High School.  Watching the demo dance classes at the open house and checking out a few youtube dance videos has almost overwhelmed her with the level of talent there.   Freshman Orientation is this month, but September can't come soon enough for her. 

This has been a nice week off for all the schoolkids.  J has been out every day with her friends having a blast.  W's been to the park most days (the non-rainy ones, lol) and I'm planning on getting him together with his homeschooled friends more often.  Now that the weather is nicer, I want to get us all outside more during the daytime.  I can't believe it's April already.

Super Saturday

W:  Cub Scout sleepover at the Hall of Science complete with Bubblemania show and ice cream.  (And a great birthday party on Friday for best friend in Brooklyn)

J:  A surprise "Alice in Wonderland"-themed birthday party at Jekyll & Hyde's in Manhattan followed by same-themed house party in Queens.

K:  A surprise 17th birthday bash on a party bus for best friend. 

I'd say it was a fabulous weekend.

High School Hullaballoo

In NYC, the 8th-graders who didn't get into a specialized high school (there are only 8 or 9 of those schools) are supposed to get their "main-round" school match-ups this week. It was supposed to be yesterday, but because the NAACP is annoyed that a few extremely underperforming schools in terrible neighborhoods are closing (?!), everyone's letters are delayed. I don't get the big rally for keeping schools open where kids don't learn. I don't care if it's the only school in your neighborhood. If it's a bad school, you should be doing whatever you can to find something better. It's your job as a parent. I think it's heartless to make the entire city's 8th-grade kids (and their parents) wait any longer to know what high school they'll be going to.

Thankfully, J got her results in the specialized round, but all her friends are so anxious. Most of them put Frank Sinatra School of the Arts as the main-round first choice, then other performing arts schools like PPAS & Talent Unlimited. Then they put some good academic schools like Bard Early College, Townsend Harris, Academy of American Studies, and Cardozo. You may list the top 12 high schools you'd like to attend - most children only list 5-7, though - and you get matched to only one of them. K didn't try for any specialized schools when she was in 8th grade, and her main-round sheet listed only her 3 top choices. She got into her first-choice pick - but the wait was still nerve-wracking. Out of the 400 high schools in NYC, only about 30 are worth going to. So you can understand the anxiety for both the kids and the parents.

Many of J's friends took the test to get into the good Catholic High Schools. There, you list your top 3 choices and you can get accepted to all of them and choose which one you'll attend. The thing about Catholic schools is that they send their results in February and you have about 2 weeks to make a choice and then send them a (non-refundable) $600 payment to hold your spot - this, if you notice, is a whole month before your public school results arrive. Sneaky, isn't it. A good number of J's friends' parents paid the $600 - just to ensure their kids have a seat in a good school - but have no problem losing that money if they're happier with the main-round public school result. This is another reason for all the anger and anxiety over the delayed main-round letters.


It's crazy in NYC. I love that we have so much school choice. The process is nutty, but usually worth it in the end. Hopefully this other nonsense will end soon and these kids will finally know where they're going to high school.

Spring Things

This week was nice and relaxing. We decided to forego all scheduled outings and just hang out enjoying the beautiful weather. We brought the kids' Christmas bikes home from my mom's and W was riding his all over the park yesterday. We bought a cool bike rack for the car at Walmart, too, and we'll be going to the park often (they'll ride, I'll walk). Since there are no Walmarts in NYC (thanks, Sam), I visit one maybe once a year. I find it a real treat because they have everything.

I bought something called "Times Tales" for W. I heard good things about it and figured, why not. It's weird and he didn't get it and wondered what the point was - until the end of Part 1 when he realized that not only did he memorize every story in proper order, but knew the entire first half if the 6, 7, 8, & 9 times tables - in 2 days! We're doing Part 2 this week, which covers the second half of those times tables. Then we'll resume TT5.

W had CCD this morning and will spend his afternoon at the park. K got her hair cut and highlighted. J is going to her friend A's house to ride bikes. And I'm going to use my "alone time" to clean this house, then I have work in the evening.

Competition Weekend

This weekend's dance competition was great. J's solo and duet were Saturday. She won High Gold for both and 2nd place overall duet/trio. On Sunday she was in 5 (senior division) group numbers - sm. group jazz, sm. group contemporary, lg. group contemporary, lg. group hip-hop, & lg. group tap. They scored 1 High Gold and 4 Platinums. The hip-hop number won first in it's category and Best Technique of the whole weekend. The sm. group jazz won Best Musicality. J's old dance studio was there - that she started out with from age 3 to age 6 (we see them often now since they started a competition team a few years ago). The owners are the sweetest people and came right over to J and me hearing "through the grapevine" that J made it into LaGuardia. They were so proud of her. Lots of hugs there.

Birthday Boy and Academic Updates

My baby boy is NINE years old. We went out for dinner and saw Alice in Wonderland and it was perfect. Along with a very cool Nerf gun, B & I got him a huge bag of "supplies". Everything he needs for his claymation, cartooning, & shooter-making are in there. We also got him some acrylic paints, brushes, canvases, and balloon-animal-making balloons (with pump). He was shocked and overwhelmed and it was so adorable. The next day he didn't know what he wanted to do first.

J has another competition this weekend. First time for her duet. Can't wait to see that on the stage. And W's Pinewood Derby race with the Cub Scouts was on Friday. He came in second AGAIN. His car beat more than 15 others but it's always down to that final 2 at the end. Grrrrr. We'll get 'em next year.

So, I want to finally try and keep up with a "What did we do this week" blog post about W's academics. I've tried in the past, but I either forget to do it, or forget what we did, lol. So, I'm trying to write things down daily so I'll have it all together by the weekend. We're trying some new things, getting rid of what isn't working (or enjoyed), experimenting with different ideas, and attempting to stuff all of these ideas into a weekly schedule. It's not as easy as it looks, lol. I've jumped some of the subjects (like language arts, science, and social studies) to a 4th grade level. Math is still TT5 (but I wouldn't really say it's 5th grade, probably more like 4th). The literature readalouds and poetry for copywork are advanced - the narrations and discussions we have are extremely helpful with those (I may start him on written narrations later this year). His decoding skills are just about on 3rd grade level and no matter what we read, his comprehension is excellent (I swear the narrations got him to pay attention better, lol).

J is currently working on algebra, life science, US & world history, writing, and some good literature. She's going at it strongly and I haven't heard any complaints. We do a few things together (like math), but she does most of it on her own. She's getting very excited for high school - she asked to go school shopping already, lol.