I've been pleasantly surprised at how much I'm enjoying having a highschooler who is still homeschooling. If you notice, I did not say a highschooler that *I* am homeschooling. Honestly, he's self-educating. During the summer, we discussed what time period he would like to study this year, then I had him read samples of a few of the books from AO's House of Education year 11 (lite) to make sure these would be enjoyable reads for the most part for him.
Tuesday and Thursday are the craziest days of the week for him, but also the most enjoyable. He participates in two of his favorite activities, which is the homeschool PE class at a local gym and volunteering with an urban ministry afterschool tutoring at our church.
Here's how his day looked yesterday...(The times are estimates, since I do not watch the clock for him, although I do give him verbal reminders to "stay on task")...
-Wakes around 7:30 or 8:00. Has some sweet tea to get himself awake, gets on the computer for a bit, eats something, then starts math about an hour after waking.
-Works on math for 45 min., then checks his work and makes corrections. He writes his math score (before corrections) on his school checklist so I can see it at a glance. Total time on math is from 1 to 1 1/2 hours at the most.
-Brain break...checks fb or watches some video on youtube just for a few minutes.
-He always reads his bible after math and a brain break. Usually he takes a shower after bible reading.
-Once he's out of the shower, he will read something on his weekly checklist (broken down into daily assignments...I use a planner page from Donna Young's website). I *think* most days he reads his history/gov/econ. reading assignment at this time.
-Now it's lunch time. He *always* makes his own lunch and usually *finally* makes his bed ('cuz I tell him too!:) while his lunch is heating. (I have a "thing" about unmade beds. He's a neat and tidy guy, but could care less about a made bed!:)
-On Tuesday and Thursday we have to leave the house by 12:45 to be at the homeschool PE classes at 1pm. The PE class is from 1-3pm.
-He then has about 50 minutes until he needs to be at the church for his volunteering responsibilites with the afterschool tutoring. He and I get a drink at Sonic and wait there. I always have him choose a school book to bring and read during that time. Also, during this time while we are waiting at Sonic, I ask him to update me on what he's been reading and learning, which always leads to a great conversation.
-I drop him at church a bit before 4pm and then one of the tutors drops him home for us a little after 6pm. He then has dinner and rests for a bit (usually doing something on the computer or playing a video game with his brother).
-By 8pm I ask him if he's finished his school work for the day knowing he hasn't, but this gets him to thinking again about what he needs to do.
-Lately, he's going to bed around midnight. Between 8pm and midnight, he gets his school work done (reading literture and science...no writing assignment on Tuesday and Thursday), talks to us (me, dad and brother...my boys are TALKATIVE at night) does some chores (folding his clean clothes, scooping the kitty litter, etc...), works-out with a punching bag that's in his room, gets a shower and watches some tv.
He has more school work on Monday, Wednesday and Friday (writing, geography, studying for driver's permit) since he doesn't have the PE classes or volunteering. The chore list is also a bit longer on those three days. The PE classes are not all year long. He has a *full* day of school on Tuesday and Thursday when the PE classes are not in session.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Sunday, February 6, 2011
My Current Reading List
Here's my current reading list...
-The One Year Bible and/or ESV Study Bible
-The Holiness of God by Sproul
-A History of the American People by Johnson
-Norhtanger Abbey by Jane Austen
-Napoleon's Button's How 17 Molecules Changed History
-The Count of Monte Cristo
-How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
-Are You a Liberal, Conservative or Confused?
My surprise favorite in this list is The Count of Monte Cristo and the Holiness of God. I hate "preachy" books, so I often avoid spiritual books (other than the bible, of course:). The Holiness of God is a delightful surprise!
The Count of Monte Cristo is, well, so dog-gone THICK. I also thought it was one of those "boy books" that appeal to men more than women. Not true, at least at this early point in the book. Oh, and I'm *trying* to set a good example for my boys and pick up THICK books, NOT see exactly how pages are in the book nor in the chapter I'm reading. Surprise what we can find enjoyable when we stop letting stuff like that get in the way:)
-The One Year Bible and/or ESV Study Bible
-The Holiness of God by Sproul
-A History of the American People by Johnson
-Norhtanger Abbey by Jane Austen
-Napoleon's Button's How 17 Molecules Changed History
-The Count of Monte Cristo
-How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
-Are You a Liberal, Conservative or Confused?
My surprise favorite in this list is The Count of Monte Cristo and the Holiness of God. I hate "preachy" books, so I often avoid spiritual books (other than the bible, of course:). The Holiness of God is a delightful surprise!
The Count of Monte Cristo is, well, so dog-gone THICK. I also thought it was one of those "boy books" that appeal to men more than women. Not true, at least at this early point in the book. Oh, and I'm *trying* to set a good example for my boys and pick up THICK books, NOT see exactly how pages are in the book nor in the chapter I'm reading. Surprise what we can find enjoyable when we stop letting stuff like that get in the way:)
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Easy One-Skillet Chicken Parmesan
Here's another recipe that all my picky men folk enjoyed. I did too, but *I* am not the picky eater around these parts!:)
Easy One-Skillet Chicken Parmesan
-1 ½ Tbsp. oil
-4 small boneless chicken breast halves (1lb.)
-1 ½ cups frozen chopped green bell peppers
-1 can diced tomatoes with basal, garlic & oregano
-1 cup water
-2 cups MINUTE White Rice, uncooked
-1 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded
½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1.Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken and peppers, cover. Cook 4-5 min. on each side or until chicken is cooked through, stirring peppers occasionally. Remove chicken from skilled, cover to keep warm.
2.Add the can of diced tomatoes and water to skillet; stir. Brind to boil.
3.Stir in rice, top with chicken. Sprinkle with cheese; cover. Reduce heat to low; cook 5 min. or until cheese are melted.
I modified this from a recipe I found on the back of the Minute Rice box. I only made garlic bread to go with this dish. Next time I serve it, I will either have to make *2* skillets of this dish or add a salad and maybe some green beans for a side dish. All my men said they'd rather have just 2 skillets of this next time. They really loved it. A rare thing for all for all of them and for ME to also love the same dish so much.
Easy One-Skillet Chicken Parmesan
-1 ½ Tbsp. oil
-4 small boneless chicken breast halves (1lb.)
-1 ½ cups frozen chopped green bell peppers
-1 can diced tomatoes with basal, garlic & oregano
-1 cup water
-2 cups MINUTE White Rice, uncooked
-1 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded
½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1.Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken and peppers, cover. Cook 4-5 min. on each side or until chicken is cooked through, stirring peppers occasionally. Remove chicken from skilled, cover to keep warm.
2.Add the can of diced tomatoes and water to skillet; stir. Brind to boil.
3.Stir in rice, top with chicken. Sprinkle with cheese; cover. Reduce heat to low; cook 5 min. or until cheese are melted.
I modified this from a recipe I found on the back of the Minute Rice box. I only made garlic bread to go with this dish. Next time I serve it, I will either have to make *2* skillets of this dish or add a salad and maybe some green beans for a side dish. All my men said they'd rather have just 2 skillets of this next time. They really loved it. A rare thing for all for all of them and for ME to also love the same dish so much.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Living books for science...more info about what we do...
Below is a response I wrote to a friend on our local homeschool email loop about living books for science in the middle and highschool years.
Last year, when Zach was in 9th grade, we started the year using Apologia Biology. He hated it (couldn't stay awake...literally...while reading it each day). Zach was starting to hate science, so I wanted to do something to help him enjoy it as much as possible. Honestly, I know that if *I* am not enjoying something, I'm really not learning much. I figure that the college years will have plenty of those type classes, so why not make the most of the years we have at home.
A month or so into the school year last year, I found a website created by a mom who is into Charlotte Mason's teachings. She had listed all the living books that her highschool aged children had used to cover credits in your basic highschool science classes, biology, chemistry, physic and I think she's got earth science on there too.
http://charlottemason.tripod.com/
Some of the books she has listed have evolutionary content. Don't let that scare you away right now. By the time your kids are in highschool, they will be prepared to read this stuff, discuss it with you and think/agrue it for themselves. Also, we are finding that often times some of the best scientific authors believe in the evolution theory, BUT these same authors have the better info and better writing skills on other areas in their field of expertise.
Since Zach was working on a biology credit, I had him read from a few books from her list for biology and then one that I found on my own by the same author of one book from her list. By the end of the school year he had read...
-a few chapters in Apologia biology
-select chapters from The Way Life Works (the most textbookish in her list of books)
-Life of Mammals
-Life of Birds
-Of Wolves and Men
At the end of the school year, I called Homelife Academy to talk to their highschool counselor (I think her name is Lynn). She was SO helpful and reassuring in the path we are taking with science. She advised me to call his 9th grade year of science "Zoology I" instead of biology since he did so much reading about animals.
Zach *really* struggles in math. He is 10th grade this year, but after a year of pre-Alg. that was a FLOP last year, *he* wanted to go back and review fractions, decimals and percents. SO, this year he's been working through the Key To Fractions, Decimals and just this week started on the Percents books. When he finishes these books, he'll move on to the Key To Algebra. HE wants to continue with the Key To Algebra even though I've been advised that it is really only a pre-Alg with about 1/2 a year's worth of Alg. I in the book. BUT, he *really* understands the way the Key To books presents concepts, so that's what we are gonna go with. I had rather (and he feels the same) him fully understand a small amount of higher math than to be exposed to a lot of higher math, but barely understand any of it.
Next year he'll work through the Key To Alg. then in 12th grade he'll work through the Key To Geometry. Most kids are taking Chemistry in 11th grade, but he would be lost as a goose with a traditional Chemistry textbook since you need Alg. II in order to do the math in Chemistry. The math skills he needs for the upper level science is just NOT there and aren't gonna be there in time to get these credits in with your traditional textbooks.
I explained all this to Lynn at HLA. She agreed that this was the best route for him. Zach understands that he will not have enough math credits to go straight to a 4-year university and will have to go to a CC for at least a year because of his math. He's OK with that and we are too. He works VERY hard on his math and is doing all he can do. God made him this way and we are not fretting over it (anymore...used to fret over it!:)
Also, I feel that Zach is doing ALL he can in math. He's utilizing the brain God gave him to his best ability in math. I don't think this goes unnoticed by God. If God chooses for Zach to attend a 4-year universtiy right after highschool instead of 1 or 2 years at a CC, then GOD will work that out. Of course, God's plan may very well be for Zach to be at a CC for 1 or 2 years, but He also *might* want to show how HE can work things out the way He wants to no matter the circumstances. AND, of course, God may have a tee-totally different plan than college right away or at all. Right now, we (including zach) feel that God does plan for him to go to college, so we are planning accordingly as much as possible.
This year, he's read about 6-8 chapters in Abeka Biology and a book titled Microbe Hunters.
Here are the books that he'll be choosing from to read for the rest of this year (10th) and over his last two highschool years:
-Napoleon's Buttons How 17 Molecules Saved History (chemistry)
-The Double Helix (biology) (There's a PBS documentary that tells the other side of this story that we'll watch, but I can't find it in my favorites right now. UGH!)
-The Origin of Species (biology)
-Darwin's Black Box (chemistry/biochemistry)
-Darwin on Trial (biology)
-Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics explained by it's Most Brilliant Teacher (Physics)
-A Brief History of Time (Physics)
-The Mystery of the Periodic Table (chemistry)
-A Short Hisdtory of Nearly Everything (a little bio, chem and physics)
2 of the books listed there are from Ambleside Online's House of Education upper level years. Also, here's a link to a list that a gal posted on TWTM message board...
http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1804511&highlight=Double+Helix#post1804511
I'm also not using formal science programs with my 7th grader, Jake, either (he doesn't like Apologia Elem...I think she writes as to a younger crowd and he can hear that in some of her writing, although it is full of some new and interesting info!). He's my struggling reader and as you know, science is the LAST area our struggling readers are able to really comprehend when reading. Also, he struggles in math too (God love this child...no part of school comes easy to him), so there is NO reason to push, push, push to get to those higher sciences. I want him to ENJOY science. Science is about God's creation. I want him to have a love of what God created.
This year (7th) he did read a bit of one of the Abeka science books (not the 7th grade book, but I can't remember which grade). I decided to have him read CLP Nature Reader book 4 instead. It's an *easy* read for him, but he has to orally narrate everyday and then one day a week, he has to key word outline what he reads, then write a paragraph about it.
He's almost finished with this book. Here's the plan I have (so far) for the rest of this year and next year (8th grade):
-It Couldn’t Just Happen
-The Story of Inventions McHugh and Bachman (CLP)
-CLP Nature Reader book 5
-biography of Alexander Graham Bell, like Always Inventing by Tom L. Matthews, or Talking Wire by O.J. Stevenson
-Food and Nutrition for Every Kid
-Albert Einstein and the Theory of Relativity by Robert Cwiklik OR Ordinary Genius by Stephanie McPherson
-Archimedes and the Door of Science by Jeanne Bendick
-Galileo and the Magic Numbers
All of those books, except the Food and Nutrition for Every Kid book, are books listed on Ambleside Online's years 3-6. We might not get to all of these, but it's a good list to choose from for Jake.
I want to point out that just because we don't use textbooks for science doesn't mean my boys are just JUMPING for JOY everyday when they get to "science" on their daily check list:) They had much rather be watching wrestling (Zach) or shooting hoops (Jake).
I will say that when Zach complains about reading his science, I'll sometimes ask, "Do you want to go back to using a textbook like Apoloia or Abeka?" His response is always, "No, those are boring."
The upper level Apologia text DO have end of chapter questions that make the student really think. Abeka's upper level science books do also. The problem comes for some students who are overwhelmed with the amount of scientific info crammed into each day's reading of a traditional text, then having to apply this huge amount of info. With the living books approach, we have found that *most* of the books we've used so far give you easier to digest amounts of info, which is in turn easier to apply.
Also, sometimes (about twice this year) pull out the textbook and find a section that pertains to what Zach's reading in his living book. I'll have him read it, then take notes using the Cornell Note Taking System....
http://coe.jmu.edu/learningtoolbox/cornellnotes.html
Since he has done key-word outlining, this system of note-taking was not hard to pick up.
Jake, my 7th grader, will complain about his science reading in a different way. He doesn't appreciate learning the way Zach does (I like to say "yet" about this:), so for school he wants to do things the quickest, easist, most non-thinking way. Reading a living book usually takes longer than the time you spend reading a section in a textbook. Then organzing your thoughts for an oral narration on what you just read takes more time than just giving short answers to end of section ?s and of course, key word outlining and writing a paragraph really takes more time and thought.
He often asks if he can go back to using the textbook. At first he didn't feel this way, because his reading skills were not to the point of being able to *scan* a page. But once he got to the point where he could scan the page for the answers to the end of section questions, then he prefered the textbook.
Last year, when Zach was in 9th grade, we started the year using Apologia Biology. He hated it (couldn't stay awake...literally...while reading it each day). Zach was starting to hate science, so I wanted to do something to help him enjoy it as much as possible. Honestly, I know that if *I* am not enjoying something, I'm really not learning much. I figure that the college years will have plenty of those type classes, so why not make the most of the years we have at home.
A month or so into the school year last year, I found a website created by a mom who is into Charlotte Mason's teachings. She had listed all the living books that her highschool aged children had used to cover credits in your basic highschool science classes, biology, chemistry, physic and I think she's got earth science on there too.
http://charlottemason.tripod.com/
Some of the books she has listed have evolutionary content. Don't let that scare you away right now. By the time your kids are in highschool, they will be prepared to read this stuff, discuss it with you and think/agrue it for themselves. Also, we are finding that often times some of the best scientific authors believe in the evolution theory, BUT these same authors have the better info and better writing skills on other areas in their field of expertise.
Since Zach was working on a biology credit, I had him read from a few books from her list for biology and then one that I found on my own by the same author of one book from her list. By the end of the school year he had read...
-a few chapters in Apologia biology
-select chapters from The Way Life Works (the most textbookish in her list of books)
-Life of Mammals
-Life of Birds
-Of Wolves and Men
At the end of the school year, I called Homelife Academy to talk to their highschool counselor (I think her name is Lynn). She was SO helpful and reassuring in the path we are taking with science. She advised me to call his 9th grade year of science "Zoology I" instead of biology since he did so much reading about animals.
Zach *really* struggles in math. He is 10th grade this year, but after a year of pre-Alg. that was a FLOP last year, *he* wanted to go back and review fractions, decimals and percents. SO, this year he's been working through the Key To Fractions, Decimals and just this week started on the Percents books. When he finishes these books, he'll move on to the Key To Algebra. HE wants to continue with the Key To Algebra even though I've been advised that it is really only a pre-Alg with about 1/2 a year's worth of Alg. I in the book. BUT, he *really* understands the way the Key To books presents concepts, so that's what we are gonna go with. I had rather (and he feels the same) him fully understand a small amount of higher math than to be exposed to a lot of higher math, but barely understand any of it.
Next year he'll work through the Key To Alg. then in 12th grade he'll work through the Key To Geometry. Most kids are taking Chemistry in 11th grade, but he would be lost as a goose with a traditional Chemistry textbook since you need Alg. II in order to do the math in Chemistry. The math skills he needs for the upper level science is just NOT there and aren't gonna be there in time to get these credits in with your traditional textbooks.
I explained all this to Lynn at HLA. She agreed that this was the best route for him. Zach understands that he will not have enough math credits to go straight to a 4-year university and will have to go to a CC for at least a year because of his math. He's OK with that and we are too. He works VERY hard on his math and is doing all he can do. God made him this way and we are not fretting over it (anymore...used to fret over it!:)
Also, I feel that Zach is doing ALL he can in math. He's utilizing the brain God gave him to his best ability in math. I don't think this goes unnoticed by God. If God chooses for Zach to attend a 4-year universtiy right after highschool instead of 1 or 2 years at a CC, then GOD will work that out. Of course, God's plan may very well be for Zach to be at a CC for 1 or 2 years, but He also *might* want to show how HE can work things out the way He wants to no matter the circumstances. AND, of course, God may have a tee-totally different plan than college right away or at all. Right now, we (including zach) feel that God does plan for him to go to college, so we are planning accordingly as much as possible.
This year, he's read about 6-8 chapters in Abeka Biology and a book titled Microbe Hunters.
Here are the books that he'll be choosing from to read for the rest of this year (10th) and over his last two highschool years:
-Napoleon's Buttons How 17 Molecules Saved History (chemistry)
-The Double Helix (biology) (There's a PBS documentary that tells the other side of this story that we'll watch, but I can't find it in my favorites right now. UGH!)
-The Origin of Species (biology)
-Darwin's Black Box (chemistry/biochemistry)
-Darwin on Trial (biology)
-Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics explained by it's Most Brilliant Teacher (Physics)
-A Brief History of Time (Physics)
-The Mystery of the Periodic Table (chemistry)
-A Short Hisdtory of Nearly Everything (a little bio, chem and physics)
2 of the books listed there are from Ambleside Online's House of Education upper level years. Also, here's a link to a list that a gal posted on TWTM message board...
http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1804511&highlight=Double+Helix#post1804511
I'm also not using formal science programs with my 7th grader, Jake, either (he doesn't like Apologia Elem...I think she writes as to a younger crowd and he can hear that in some of her writing, although it is full of some new and interesting info!). He's my struggling reader and as you know, science is the LAST area our struggling readers are able to really comprehend when reading. Also, he struggles in math too (God love this child...no part of school comes easy to him), so there is NO reason to push, push, push to get to those higher sciences. I want him to ENJOY science. Science is about God's creation. I want him to have a love of what God created.
This year (7th) he did read a bit of one of the Abeka science books (not the 7th grade book, but I can't remember which grade). I decided to have him read CLP Nature Reader book 4 instead. It's an *easy* read for him, but he has to orally narrate everyday and then one day a week, he has to key word outline what he reads, then write a paragraph about it.
He's almost finished with this book. Here's the plan I have (so far) for the rest of this year and next year (8th grade):
-It Couldn’t Just Happen
-The Story of Inventions McHugh and Bachman (CLP)
-CLP Nature Reader book 5
-biography of Alexander Graham Bell, like Always Inventing by Tom L. Matthews, or Talking Wire by O.J. Stevenson
-Food and Nutrition for Every Kid
-Albert Einstein and the Theory of Relativity by Robert Cwiklik OR Ordinary Genius by Stephanie McPherson
-Archimedes and the Door of Science by Jeanne Bendick
-Galileo and the Magic Numbers
All of those books, except the Food and Nutrition for Every Kid book, are books listed on Ambleside Online's years 3-6. We might not get to all of these, but it's a good list to choose from for Jake.
I want to point out that just because we don't use textbooks for science doesn't mean my boys are just JUMPING for JOY everyday when they get to "science" on their daily check list:) They had much rather be watching wrestling (Zach) or shooting hoops (Jake).
I will say that when Zach complains about reading his science, I'll sometimes ask, "Do you want to go back to using a textbook like Apoloia or Abeka?" His response is always, "No, those are boring."
The upper level Apologia text DO have end of chapter questions that make the student really think. Abeka's upper level science books do also. The problem comes for some students who are overwhelmed with the amount of scientific info crammed into each day's reading of a traditional text, then having to apply this huge amount of info. With the living books approach, we have found that *most* of the books we've used so far give you easier to digest amounts of info, which is in turn easier to apply.
Also, sometimes (about twice this year) pull out the textbook and find a section that pertains to what Zach's reading in his living book. I'll have him read it, then take notes using the Cornell Note Taking System....
http://coe.jmu.edu/learningtoolbox/cornellnotes.html
Since he has done key-word outlining, this system of note-taking was not hard to pick up.
Jake, my 7th grader, will complain about his science reading in a different way. He doesn't appreciate learning the way Zach does (I like to say "yet" about this:), so for school he wants to do things the quickest, easist, most non-thinking way. Reading a living book usually takes longer than the time you spend reading a section in a textbook. Then organzing your thoughts for an oral narration on what you just read takes more time than just giving short answers to end of section ?s and of course, key word outlining and writing a paragraph really takes more time and thought.
He often asks if he can go back to using the textbook. At first he didn't feel this way, because his reading skills were not to the point of being able to *scan* a page. But once he got to the point where he could scan the page for the answers to the end of section questions, then he prefered the textbook.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Living Books for Highschool Science
Last night at our local homeschool support group meeting, I shared about how I'd been having my 10th grade son read living books, which are non-textbooks that are written by one author who is passionate about his subject, instead of using textbooks for highschool science.
My son's math learning difference is the reason I first began using a living books approach to science. Traditional science textbooks are full of upper level math, which my son has not studied as of yet. I decided that since I was not going to have him just wade through the upper level maths just to say we'd done them (and barely pass them), there was also no reason to just wade through the upper level traditional science texts that are more math heavy.
We are a history loving family, so it made sense to try to tie his love of history to his science studies. My older son also is an animal lover, which is the reason I chose higher level books for him to read last year on the topic of animals (zoology for those who want to sound official:).
This is how we got started on this living books for science path. Now I will share why I feel this method of learning science is creating some life-long *learning* skills in my son.
He is currently a little more than 1/2 way through the book Microbe Hunters. I read almost all of this book last year. I am a lot like my son in that I struggle with math and science, but this book captivated me. He's been enjoying it, but for the past couple of days has voiced that he's "not getting this book" anymore.
After I had arrived home from my homeschool mom's support group meeting last night, he shared with me that the last chapter was "over his head."
This morning, I pulled Micorbe Hunters off his shelf and reread about 1/2 the last chapter that he had read. Once he was awake this monring, I asked him if he was looking up any scientific terms that he came to in the readings. I know for a fact that he looks up terms, people, places and events when reading history and literature. He loves history and literature and desires to really understand what he reads in those areas, so HE *chose* to begin looking up things he came to that he didn't understand to help him comprehend his history and literature readings.
He had not been doing this while reading Microbe Hunter. Knowing scienctific terms is not important to him, but I told him that if he's going to fully understand what he's reading in this book and other's like it that are scientific in nature, he was going to have to keep his online dictionary open while reading or keep the hand-held electronic dictionary we have by his side while reading this book and other's like it.
I shared that this is a skill that I knew he used in other readings, but that he will need to use this skill of looking up things to help you better understand what your reading for the rest of his life in collge and in his job and sometimes as a spouce and a parent even.
He has used some formal science texts in the past. I explained that most of life's learning does not come in this textbook format where all the supposedly new and important terms are in bold print with a definition in the back of the book. Also, most of life's learning does not come from sources that have questions at the end of a certain amount of reading to supposedly made you think about what you just read. In life, you ask the questions yourself, then you find the anweres to those questions and you are in charge of making sure you thinking about what you are learning. In life, you most often do not have a formal/traditional teacher or textbook to guide you and force you to do this.
Thankfully, he understood this. Now, he's only a 17yo boy who finds pro-wrestling, loud rock music and chatting on face book tremendously more interesting than anything we are reading or doing for school. I do not expect him to FULLY grasp this concept of how important it is to develop skills that will make him a life-long learner. I'm just confident in the fact that this seed has been planted and with maturing and also having parents who set an example by using this skill openly with their children, he will eventually take hold of this for himself and embrace it fully.
My son's math learning difference is the reason I first began using a living books approach to science. Traditional science textbooks are full of upper level math, which my son has not studied as of yet. I decided that since I was not going to have him just wade through the upper level maths just to say we'd done them (and barely pass them), there was also no reason to just wade through the upper level traditional science texts that are more math heavy.
We are a history loving family, so it made sense to try to tie his love of history to his science studies. My older son also is an animal lover, which is the reason I chose higher level books for him to read last year on the topic of animals (zoology for those who want to sound official:).
This is how we got started on this living books for science path. Now I will share why I feel this method of learning science is creating some life-long *learning* skills in my son.
He is currently a little more than 1/2 way through the book Microbe Hunters. I read almost all of this book last year. I am a lot like my son in that I struggle with math and science, but this book captivated me. He's been enjoying it, but for the past couple of days has voiced that he's "not getting this book" anymore.
After I had arrived home from my homeschool mom's support group meeting last night, he shared with me that the last chapter was "over his head."
This morning, I pulled Micorbe Hunters off his shelf and reread about 1/2 the last chapter that he had read. Once he was awake this monring, I asked him if he was looking up any scientific terms that he came to in the readings. I know for a fact that he looks up terms, people, places and events when reading history and literature. He loves history and literature and desires to really understand what he reads in those areas, so HE *chose* to begin looking up things he came to that he didn't understand to help him comprehend his history and literature readings.
He had not been doing this while reading Microbe Hunter. Knowing scienctific terms is not important to him, but I told him that if he's going to fully understand what he's reading in this book and other's like it that are scientific in nature, he was going to have to keep his online dictionary open while reading or keep the hand-held electronic dictionary we have by his side while reading this book and other's like it.
I shared that this is a skill that I knew he used in other readings, but that he will need to use this skill of looking up things to help you better understand what your reading for the rest of his life in collge and in his job and sometimes as a spouce and a parent even.
He has used some formal science texts in the past. I explained that most of life's learning does not come in this textbook format where all the supposedly new and important terms are in bold print with a definition in the back of the book. Also, most of life's learning does not come from sources that have questions at the end of a certain amount of reading to supposedly made you think about what you just read. In life, you ask the questions yourself, then you find the anweres to those questions and you are in charge of making sure you thinking about what you are learning. In life, you most often do not have a formal/traditional teacher or textbook to guide you and force you to do this.
Thankfully, he understood this. Now, he's only a 17yo boy who finds pro-wrestling, loud rock music and chatting on face book tremendously more interesting than anything we are reading or doing for school. I do not expect him to FULLY grasp this concept of how important it is to develop skills that will make him a life-long learner. I'm just confident in the fact that this seed has been planted and with maturing and also having parents who set an example by using this skill openly with their children, he will eventually take hold of this for himself and embrace it fully.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Crockpot Swiss Steak
My best friend and I have been swapping recipes lately. Running kids from different afternoon activities that seem to end *right* at supper time when everyone is starving as soon as the activity is over, has caused me to need more quick and easy recipes. Of course, cheap recipes are also a plus too!
Crock Pot Swiss Steak from the Betty Crocker website
-1 1/2 lbs, boneless beef steak of your choosing (I used beef stew meat, already cut up).
-3 T flour (to make GF, use corn starch...which I did and it worked!)
-1 tsp. ground mustard
-1/2 tsp salt
-2 TBS olive oil
-1 can stewed tomatoes (I used 1 can chopped tomatoes with success)
-2 garlic cloves, minced (The can of chopped tomatoes had garlic in it, so I skipped this).
-1 large onion, sliced (Substituted one cup of frozen chopped onion).
-1 large green bell pepper, sliced (Substituted one cup of frozen chopped green bell pepper).
Cut beef into 6 servings pieces (or use beef stew meat like I did, which will make the dish kind of "stewish" since some of the meat will fall apart while cooking...yummy!). In small bowl, combine flour or corn starch, mustard and salt. Coat the beef in the flour mix.
In a 10-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Cook beef in oil for about 15 minutes, turning once until brown. Place beef in a 3.5-6 quart slow cooker. Top with onion and bell pepper. Mix tomatoes with garlic and pour over the beef and veggies. Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours.
I served this with mashed potatoes. My hubby said it would be equally tasty over rice or egg noodles. My boys prefer mashed potatoes over rice and I can't eat egg noodles, so it was mashed 'tators for us.
Yesterday morning, I got this in the crock pot, then peeled and chopped my potatoes in small pieces. After that, I put them into the pot, covered with a lid and set it on the stove top. While hubby and I were out shopping (I *really* think I'm needing a cute scarf for a t-shirt I have:), I called the boys to remove the lid and turn the potatoes on med-high. About 20 or so minutes later, we arrived home and the potatoes were almost ready to be mashed. *Easy* and delicious, especially if you have a teen at home to help out a little ahead of time while you are out looking for the perfect scarf to dress up an ordinary ole black t-shirt.
If anyone decides to make this with mashed 'tators, we prefer the Gold potatoes. They have a buttery taste before you add any butter, which is even yummier when the butter is added.
Crock Pot Swiss Steak from the Betty Crocker website
-1 1/2 lbs, boneless beef steak of your choosing (I used beef stew meat, already cut up).
-3 T flour (to make GF, use corn starch...which I did and it worked!)
-1 tsp. ground mustard
-1/2 tsp salt
-2 TBS olive oil
-1 can stewed tomatoes (I used 1 can chopped tomatoes with success)
-2 garlic cloves, minced (The can of chopped tomatoes had garlic in it, so I skipped this).
-1 large onion, sliced (Substituted one cup of frozen chopped onion).
-1 large green bell pepper, sliced (Substituted one cup of frozen chopped green bell pepper).
Cut beef into 6 servings pieces (or use beef stew meat like I did, which will make the dish kind of "stewish" since some of the meat will fall apart while cooking...yummy!). In small bowl, combine flour or corn starch, mustard and salt. Coat the beef in the flour mix.
In a 10-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Cook beef in oil for about 15 minutes, turning once until brown. Place beef in a 3.5-6 quart slow cooker. Top with onion and bell pepper. Mix tomatoes with garlic and pour over the beef and veggies. Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours.
I served this with mashed potatoes. My hubby said it would be equally tasty over rice or egg noodles. My boys prefer mashed potatoes over rice and I can't eat egg noodles, so it was mashed 'tators for us.
Yesterday morning, I got this in the crock pot, then peeled and chopped my potatoes in small pieces. After that, I put them into the pot, covered with a lid and set it on the stove top. While hubby and I were out shopping (I *really* think I'm needing a cute scarf for a t-shirt I have:), I called the boys to remove the lid and turn the potatoes on med-high. About 20 or so minutes later, we arrived home and the potatoes were almost ready to be mashed. *Easy* and delicious, especially if you have a teen at home to help out a little ahead of time while you are out looking for the perfect scarf to dress up an ordinary ole black t-shirt.
If anyone decides to make this with mashed 'tators, we prefer the Gold potatoes. They have a buttery taste before you add any butter, which is even yummier when the butter is added.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
10th Grade 2010
My 16yo son asked to study 20th century/modern history this year. He read a small amount of the SL 300 (Modern History) Core's main spines and also one of the spines suggested by Ambleside Online's Year 11, which is their modern history year. He chose the main book that AO suggests for a spine, which is 20th Century History by Gilbert. Modern history is NOT for the faint of heart. He's enjoying history and literature this year, but has found that some of his modern history readings are best done at any time other than right at bedtime.
Before I share what he's been learning this year, I want to mention that this is my son who has Asperger Syndrome and many of the learning differences that come along with AS, like dysgraphia, dyscalculia (not an official dx, but very obvious), focusing issues and auditory processing issues (dxed and recieved therapy...not very helpful therapy). Joyously I can share that he has NO trouble with reading or comprehension. What a wonderful blessing that has been for him (and me:). Also, he doesn't have trouble putting words on paper if he's allowed to type those words. He's been typing many years now.
Here's what he's used and learned up to the mid-year point:
Bible: NIV Student Bible: following AO's year 11 reading plan
Math: Sigh...the thorn in his side...After completing TT Pre-Alg. last year, he came to me asking to please review fractions, percents and decimals before moving on in math. This summer he started working through the Key To...books for review with great success. By the early spring he will be ready to begin the Key To Algebra (his choice). He's using the Key To Tracker program that this company offers for a minimal yearly fee of $5.95 . This online program does pre-testing for each Key To book, periodical spot check quizzes, which then tell you which page the concept is on in the book that you need to go back and review. It also has end of book tests. We highly recommend this for anyone using the Key To books.
History: We are following AO's year 11 reading schedule for Gilbert's 20th Century History. At this point, he's mostly just read and orally narrated. He's a wonderful narrator. One of my favorite things in the world is to listen to him talk about something he's read. He ties in things he's learned from the bible, what he's read in literature and even current events. It just comes naturally to him.
Literature: Mostly tied with the modern history readings. So far this year he's read, All Quiet on the Western Front, Lord of the Flies, Call of the Wild, The Chosen, Metamorphosis and is currently reading Black Boy (not listed in the order he's read them).
Writing: He's had end of book writting assignments for almost all of the literature selections and also completed most of the assignments in the first half of Writing Strands level 5 (we've dropped that now). Since the first week of November until now, he's had free writing time each day. He is working on a novel and some short stories. I think he's also got some story lines going that he would like to see turned into a video game one day. This is one of his passions, as you can tell.
Driver's Ed: He's been studying the drivers ed handbook, taking online quizes a few times a week and playing some simulated driving game online. He's not spent much time actually driving, but will after Christmas.
Current Events: He reads from World Magazine instead of regular history readings each Friday. Also on Friday, instead of regular bible readings, he reads from Voice of the Martyrs.
Biology: Some readings from Abeka Biology and also Rainbow Science biology section. Is currently reading Microbe Hunters. Usually for science, he reads, then orally narrates. Although he doesn't love science, he still has some excellent science narrations.
Exercise is a also a huge part of his weekly activities. He doesn't need a much exercise as my 13yo does to help him stay focused. He particiapted in homeschool PE classes at a local gym from September until November. When the classes were over, he began to do some workouts at home or at the gym about every other day.
He has had a passion for inner city/urban ministries for the past couple of years after participating in a local one week program for area youth groups called Project Acts. This fall, he began helping with the after school tutoring program that the church we are attending has had going there for 11 years! Although it's been a challenge for him, he's enjoyed it and grown a lot while serving with this ministry.
Like his younger brother, he also volunteers with the lower elementary aged Awana group on Wednesday evenings. This is the highlight of his week! He loves kids and serving.
I think I lied in the previous paragraph when I said that volunteering with Awana is the highlight of his week. No, I must admit that watching professional wrestling is the highlight of his week! This is his current obsession (obsessions are a key part of the AS dx). If there was only a way to give highschool credit for all the watching and READING (He has *2* pro-wrestling encyclopedia type books) about pro-wrestling!
There you have it...a Beechick and CM imspired highschool education that my son actually ENJOYS.
Before I share what he's been learning this year, I want to mention that this is my son who has Asperger Syndrome and many of the learning differences that come along with AS, like dysgraphia, dyscalculia (not an official dx, but very obvious), focusing issues and auditory processing issues (dxed and recieved therapy...not very helpful therapy). Joyously I can share that he has NO trouble with reading or comprehension. What a wonderful blessing that has been for him (and me:). Also, he doesn't have trouble putting words on paper if he's allowed to type those words. He's been typing many years now.
Here's what he's used and learned up to the mid-year point:
Bible: NIV Student Bible: following AO's year 11 reading plan
Math: Sigh...the thorn in his side...After completing TT Pre-Alg. last year, he came to me asking to please review fractions, percents and decimals before moving on in math. This summer he started working through the Key To...books for review with great success. By the early spring he will be ready to begin the Key To Algebra (his choice). He's using the Key To Tracker program that this company offers for a minimal yearly fee of $5.95 . This online program does pre-testing for each Key To book, periodical spot check quizzes, which then tell you which page the concept is on in the book that you need to go back and review. It also has end of book tests. We highly recommend this for anyone using the Key To books.
History: We are following AO's year 11 reading schedule for Gilbert's 20th Century History. At this point, he's mostly just read and orally narrated. He's a wonderful narrator. One of my favorite things in the world is to listen to him talk about something he's read. He ties in things he's learned from the bible, what he's read in literature and even current events. It just comes naturally to him.
Literature: Mostly tied with the modern history readings. So far this year he's read, All Quiet on the Western Front, Lord of the Flies, Call of the Wild, The Chosen, Metamorphosis and is currently reading Black Boy (not listed in the order he's read them).
Writing: He's had end of book writting assignments for almost all of the literature selections and also completed most of the assignments in the first half of Writing Strands level 5 (we've dropped that now). Since the first week of November until now, he's had free writing time each day. He is working on a novel and some short stories. I think he's also got some story lines going that he would like to see turned into a video game one day. This is one of his passions, as you can tell.
Driver's Ed: He's been studying the drivers ed handbook, taking online quizes a few times a week and playing some simulated driving game online. He's not spent much time actually driving, but will after Christmas.
Current Events: He reads from World Magazine instead of regular history readings each Friday. Also on Friday, instead of regular bible readings, he reads from Voice of the Martyrs.
Biology: Some readings from Abeka Biology and also Rainbow Science biology section. Is currently reading Microbe Hunters. Usually for science, he reads, then orally narrates. Although he doesn't love science, he still has some excellent science narrations.
Exercise is a also a huge part of his weekly activities. He doesn't need a much exercise as my 13yo does to help him stay focused. He particiapted in homeschool PE classes at a local gym from September until November. When the classes were over, he began to do some workouts at home or at the gym about every other day.
He has had a passion for inner city/urban ministries for the past couple of years after participating in a local one week program for area youth groups called Project Acts. This fall, he began helping with the after school tutoring program that the church we are attending has had going there for 11 years! Although it's been a challenge for him, he's enjoyed it and grown a lot while serving with this ministry.
Like his younger brother, he also volunteers with the lower elementary aged Awana group on Wednesday evenings. This is the highlight of his week! He loves kids and serving.
I think I lied in the previous paragraph when I said that volunteering with Awana is the highlight of his week. No, I must admit that watching professional wrestling is the highlight of his week! This is his current obsession (obsessions are a key part of the AS dx). If there was only a way to give highschool credit for all the watching and READING (He has *2* pro-wrestling encyclopedia type books) about pro-wrestling!
There you have it...a Beechick and CM imspired highschool education that my son actually ENJOYS.
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