Weekly Wrap-up Week 5: Spanish, Pens, and Whiteboards

We finally started Spanish this week (Yippee).  Even though they have done some Spanish in the past, I'm starting from the very beginning (a very good place to start!)  We are using Getting Started with Spanish as our main program.  Each day, I write the lesson(s) on a chalkboard, go over the vocabulary with the kids, discuss pronunciation and spelling (especially the unusual things like tildes ~), and they copy everything into their notebooks.  I'm hoping the combination of looking, reading and writing will help retention.  In addition, they are playing on Duolingo for 10 minutes each day and we will be watching episodes of Spongebob and Pokemon in Spanish on Hulu.  

I have them set up as my "friends" on Duolingo so I can see their progress.  I'm still trying to decide if I want to set them up to be friends with each other.  On the one hand, the competitiveness may have them working harder.  On the other hand, they already compete about EVERYTHING and I'm not sure I want to encourage that with school.

We had a meeting of our 4-H STEM club this week.  The kids did a catapult/trebuchet challenge.  We had some amazing designs that can be seen here.

The kids have been taking swim lessons at our local Y for the past few years, but of course until now I haven't really had the opportunity to be there during their lessons.  We don't do lessons over the summer and last spring was a little chaotic.  So, I was very interested to see how lessons were going this year, especially for Vicki after her amazing summer on swim team.  And I wasn't happy.  Both of their classes were very full (9-10 kids), they spent a lot of time waiting for their turn to start laps or waiting for the rest of the group to finish, and there wasn't a lot of instruction.  Vicki's class was better than Squidy's, but not by much.

We decided to try lessons through a local aquatic club.  They were less expensive and promised smaller classes.  Plus instead of 30 minutes like the Y, they were 60 minute lessons - 30 minutes as a group and 30 minutes of individualized help.   The main thing we asked them to work on was Vicki's diving (because this is the main thing holding her back on team), and Squidy's comfort and strokes.  It's been two weeks and it's been going really well.  They were even able to get Squidy to give diving a try!

The rest of Vicki's week:

As I mentioned previously, I decided let Vicki do her spelling test on the whiteboard this week instead of orally.  It definitely went much better and she enjoyed it.

She only had two more units left in the Grade 5 Evan Moor Spell & Write.  Once she finishes, we'll start right in with the Grade 6 book.  When she finishes that, we are done with spelling except for corrections in other work.

I let her switch from pencil to pen for all her schoolwork.  I originally offered her a pen because she broke the point off her pencil twice in five minutes.  Then she couldn't find the sharpener that she had just used.  Then the pencil didn't have an eraser (because she basically eats them off).   Then she didn't have another pencil.   She decided she liked using pen - "I like writing with a pen.  It gives it more official meaning."   I like that we won't be going through 10 pencils a week.

Neither of the kids is struggling at all with Vocabulary from Classical Roots.  Vicki is doing the 4th grade book and so far all the words have been familiar to her.  We are alternating this with Spectrum Writing since neither program will take all year.  I'm not sure if we will start the next levels if they finish early or just move on to other activities.  I am hoping to incorporate some Brave Writer this year.

Vicki just started the 4th grade book for Math Mammoth and keeps complaining that it's "soooooo HARD!".  She seems to have trouble mainly with the mental math "tricks" and with reading the instructions carefully.  When we sit together, she is able to do it without any problem.

She is still really enjoying the stories in Mosdos Press Ruby but isn't appreciating the workbook assignments quite as much.  ;-)

She spent this week reading Redwall.

Squidy's week:

Unlike his sister, Squidy does NOT want to use pen.  The idea of making a mistake and not being able to erase it bothers him a LOT.  :-)

He is finding Math Mammoth 6 easy so far.   It's mainly been a review of the four operations and place value.   He made up his own mnemonic for the order of operations - Pete Eats Many Daisies At Supper.

Zacarro Challenge and Jousting Armadillos have been a little bit more challenging.  He's finding Zacarro the easier of the two and actually corrected me on the Venn Diagram questions (I was thinking the "only" was implied, as in "there are only 4 kids who like dogs".

He has hit the Logic chapter in Beast Academy 4B and LOVES it.  He has always loved logic puzzles, so this chapter should go fairly quickly.   This is the last chapter in 4B and we'll start right up with 4C.  I like working with Beast Academy behind their main program (Math Mammoth) because it's such a different approach, but he also hasn't used it that much in the past couple of years.  I'm not sure if we'll continue once he finishes 4D since we may be fully into Algebra at that point.

He finished reading Caddie Woodlawn ("eh, it was okay"), started and finished Homer Price (took him one day), and started The Secret Garden.

Next week we are taking a field trip to the American Museum of Natural History in NYC to finish up our Prehistory/Evolution study.   By the end of October, I'm hoping to start Ancient History and Microscopy.

4-H STEM: What is the difference between a catapult and a trebuchet anyway?

My original plan for this meeting was Squishy Circuits.  Unfortunately, my test-run didn't work.  At all.  I'm pretty sure I know what the problem is, but fixing the problem requires ordering some items from Amazon.  Since I was basically testing out the circuits the day of our meeting, we had to go with Plan B - a catapult engineering challenge.

Since it was Plan B, I was rushing around quite a bit trying to gather the materials and make some samples, and forgot to do some of the background research I wanted to do - such as, what's the difference between a catapult and a trebuchet.  And of course, one of the kids asked that very question.  Way back when Steph was taking physics in high school, I actually knew the answer to that question off the top of my head.  

In short, a catapult is any mechanical device, that is not a firearm, that is used to throw a projectile a long distance.  A slingshot is a type of catapult.   A trebuchet is another type of catapult, specifically one that utilizes a counterweight to create tension that when released, propels a load a large distance. 

A trebuchet utilizes gravity, while a catapult may utilize tension.  

(source: wikipedia, differencebetween.com, differencebetween.net,  physics.stashexchange.com)

I did manage to make up two samples for the group, as well as a labsheet showing different designs.

We provided popsicle sticks, plastic spoons, rubber bands, tape, dixie cups, index cards, and a variety of pompoms, spikey balls and ping pong balls to use as projectiles.

They had about 45 minutes to build, test, and modify their designs.   Some of the designs used the tension in stretched out rubber bands to build up energy, others utilized a push on the swinging arm to launch.

Our next meeting is in a couple of weeks and I will definitely have figured out the Squishy Circuits problem by then.  ;-)

Weekly Wrap-Up 4: swim trophy, answer keys, and coughs

This was a bit of a short week because Vicki wasn't feeling well on Monday.  Nothing awful, just a sore throat, sneezing and coughing.   Allergies are kicking up strong this fall, but she's never shown any particular sign of having hayfever, so we took it easy and skipped swimming and choir.  I also let her go light on school since it was "hard to think about anything".  ;-)

Vicki finished The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate.  It took her quite a while and she was reluctant to even start but once she finished, she said she really enjoyed it and it was "amazing".   Unlike her brother though, she had no desire to read the next book in the series.   While she is a strong reader, this book was a little rough for her.  She's definitely out of the habit of stretching herself when reading, whether it's length, grade/lexile level, or content.   Scholastic and Junior Library Guild give the book a grade level of 5.3/5.4 so not too much above her current grade level, but she's been reading mainly Thea Stilton, Rainbow Fairy, and Garfield comic books lately.

I will be assigning more books for their hour of required reading and then encouraging them to read their choices at bedtime or during screen free time.

Both kids have now started their current grades in math.

We have hit a milestone with Squidy...  I am now using the answer keys when checking over his math.  It's not that I can't solve the problems, it's that they would take longer than it's worth to figure them all out by hand.  I will sit with him to go through the steps if he gets any wrong.

This week the lake had the swim team dinner and awards meeting. Vicki was unable to attend because Daddy took them to visit his parents, but I went because I was running for a board position.  I didn't get the position, but Vicki got a trophy!  She won Most Improved Girl (she had taken 11 seconds off her time for 25 yard free-style) and also received a 4th place ribbon for the relay she swam as a 9 year old.   Considering we had to underage girls running that relay (only the 2nd time Vicki swam 50 yards instead of 25 yards), that's not too shabby.

We still haven't started our content subjects, other than some reading and it's all my fault.  I've been sleeping very poorly lately, which means I get up late, which means we don't start school until after lunch (the kids eat early), and then with all the extra-curricular activities, we just aren't accomplishing as much as I would like.   So, I'm taking some steps to remedy the situation.

The biggest problem is  that I was setting up their schoolwork for the day AFTER I woke up in the morning.  I'm still getting up by 9 am, but I'm not what anyone would describe as a morning person, so I need my tea (CAFFEINE!!)  to be functional.  This meant that the kids weren't able to start school until 10, 10:30 am, when 11 am is lunch time.

My solution was to set up a modification of the crate system that was really popular a year or so ago. There was no way I was setting up 36 weekly folders for our entire year, but I did set up packets with all the work for a day for about 4 weeks.   I even wrote these lessons into their planners.  Each morning (I'm really going to try for the day before) all I have to do is pull out the next packet, check which books they need (since the Mosdos textbooks and assigned reading won't fit), and circle the current day in their planners with a yellow highlighter.  When I check each days work, I'll cross out that day with a yellow highlighter to show it was completed.  Hopefully this will keep them from being confused by all the stuff being written in already.  Honestly, they are barely using their planners unless I tell them to look, so I don't see it being a problem. :-/

Despite them barely using them, I'm going to continue with the planners.  It serves as a record for me of what they've done (I don't have any mandatory reporting so any records are only for me), and I'm hoping the habit will take hold one of these days.

Weekly Wrap-Up Week 3: 4-H STEM, Percentages, and Green Belts

We had our first 4-H meeting of the new year this week.  Since I wasn't sure how many kids we'd have in attendance or how long the business portion of the meeting would take, I had to plan a fairly flexible activity.  We had to pick officers and I was ready to go over all the safety rules and basics of 4-H if we had a bunch of new kids.  

I decided to go with Balloon Towers!  This STEM challenge involved building the largest tower using balloons and masking tape.  I had a TON of green balloons left over from Fair (since we ended up not doing the vinegar/baking soda balloons after the first day) and multiple rolls of tape from last year.  The only prep was blowing up a LOT of balloons, but Daddy was a big help with that.

Each group was given a dozen balloons and a roll of tape to start with.  As they used up the available balloons (or popped them), we blew up more.    Prior to starting, we had discussed what the sturdiest shapes were for towers (pyramids), what issues they would have with balloons that they might  not have with other materials (they are so light that a breeze would cause them to move around).  They were allowed to tape the balloons to the floor and to each other but not to any furniture or walls.

Each team worked with a different strategy - setting up grids or wide bases or just starting to pile balloons on top of each other in a straight line.  Surprisingly, the team with the tallest tower - 76 inches - was Vicki's and they were the ones who just started stacking balloons in a straight line, then went back and built a base around it.   I was very surprised by how high they were able to get their straight tower of balloons.

Sorry for the crappy pictures, I forgot my camera and my phone is the WORST for taking pictures.

The winning tower....

 

 

Squidy's team's tower....

 

 

And the second place tower, only a couple inches shorter than Vicki's group.

Also happening this week - the kids had a belt  test in Tai Kwan Do and received their Green belts.  They've been enjoying TKD and it's great exercise.  We can go up to 6 times a week when it fits into our schedule.

 

 

We also did some school this week. :-)

 

Vicki finished up the last of Math Mammoth 3B and started 4A.  

 

Squidy is struggling a little bit with figuring out percentages so I pulled out some manipulatives I bought over the summer and he sat playing with them for a little while.  I also wrote out some hints on how to tell what word problems are asking:

What is x% of y - you want to multiple x times y

x is what % of y - you want to divide x by y

 

Having it spelled out helped but we'll continue to go over it as we move on. 

 

Once he goes through ratios (which he finds "super easy" so far), he'll be ready to move onto 6A.



Weekly Wrap-Up: Week 2 and Renaissance Fair

This week we continued with just our 3R’s since it was the first week of extra-curriculars.    I’m trying hard to have the kids get in at least an hour of exercise a day, so that’s where a lot of the extras are focused.   So far they are doing outside swimming, yoga, and Tai Kwan Do classes.  We also do yoga at home each morning, take walks, and will be working on biking and skating.

These extra-curricular classes are the only part of our day with set start times.  We’ve always done better with more of a routine, rather than a strict schedule and this year is turning out to be no different.  In fact, I’ve had to loosen up my original plans for a semi-defined routine. 

My initial routine for this year included an hour of independent work, an hour of work with me, content subjects after lunch, etc.  Now that we’ve actually started, I’ve discovered that’s not going to work.  Basically I’ve found I’m not the best judge of what the kids will need help with, and what they can do on their own (at least not yet!).   They also might need more or less than an hour to do their work.

Our new routine includes the kids doing everything from their “binder” work on their own, putting aside anything they feel they need help with to do with me later.  The kids no longer have binders, instead they are using storage clipboards:

And those clipboards don’t even hold all their “binder” work, they only contain workbook pages that can be removed from the books.  The Mosdos Press textbooks don’t fit in there, and neither does the Zacarro Challenge book for Squidy.  But the kids like to refer to any of the 3R’s work that way regardless.

In order to encourage working independently, I did start them using planners. Because I wasn’t sure how well this would work or if we were going to stick with it, I went inexpensive and bought a couple of planners from Target dollar spot.  It’s only been two weeks so I guess it’s too soon to declare them a success, but I like them.

I think they are going to start appreciating them more after this week.  They were working with the old assumption that anything that was in their binder/clipboard was what they were supposed to do.  But workbook pages have two sides, and some workbooks aren’t being separated.   Squidy did MORE work than he had to in three different subjects this week.  Once I pointed it out, he decided that actually looking at his planner was a good idea.  ;-)

So, the kids get started on their binder work at whatever time I rouse them out of their rooms.  I don’t need to wake them up, they are both up before I am most days.  Whoever is done first comes and sits with to go over what they needed help with.   For both of them, this is pretty much math right now.  Surprisingly, Squidy is doing great with Jousting Armadillos and Zacarro Challenge, and struggling a little with Math Mammoth. 

If the other finishes while I’m still helping, they start their hour of assigned reading.   An hour of assigned reading and an hour of screen-free, quiet time are the only parts of our day besides outside classes that have a set length.  Because they are often starting and finishing these at different times, they each have their own timer.  I recently bought new timers for them that are magnetically attached to the lamp at the side of my chair.  This way we can clearly see how much time they have left and there’s no confusion.

 

One last note about our set-up.  Because we are dealing with a lot more books this year, each of the kids has a crate holding all their materials.  That way if they need to look back at something (like reread the story in Mosdos in order to answer comprehension questions), they have it right there.  I also have a selection of literature for them in each crate, so if they unexpectedly finish a book, it won’t take me long to find them something else to read.

 

So, how did week number two go?

Vicki - 9 years old/4th Grade

Vicki is starting to get the hang of Beast Academy.  While we still sat together to work on it, she was able to find the answers much quicker and with less coaxing. 

She is still working on fractions in Math Mammoth and seems to understand the concepts fairly well, although she has a lot of trouble drawing diagrams (especially circles divided into 5^th’s or 6^th’s).  She also is being a little lazy and not writing the denominators when she is adding and subtracting fractions.

Vicki is really enjoying the stories in Mosdos Press Ruby.  I’m going to give it a few more weeks and then write a full review, but so far I really like it.  Each story includes comprehension questions, graphic organizers, vocabulary, literary terms, and some writing assignments.

Spellling is getting a little bit harder for her now.  She’s about half-way through the Evan Moor Spell & Write Grade 5 book.  We’ve been doing the tests orally and I think having her write the words on a whiteboard or chalkboard will make a huge difference.  I’m much better at spelling when I write something out.

 
Squidy - 11 years old/6th Grade

Backing up in Math Mammoth to restart percentages has made a huge difference.  He’s having much less trouble now and even mentioned that it was pretty easy and we probably didn’t have to back up quite that far.  We only “redid” about 10 pages so I think it was probably the right amount.

He is enjoying Jousting Armadillos and Zaccaro Challenge Math.  He’s getting a kick out of a lot of the questions (there was one about a slug….) and so far isn’t struggling with either of them.  Of course, he’s only done about one lesson in each, so we’ll see.

Vocabulary from Classical Roots 6th Grade is one of the subjects he ended up doing too much work at once.  I haven’t pulled the pages out of this workbook and I’m only having them do one exercise a day (there are around 3 exercises for each lesson) since the book doesn’t have a lot of lessons.  Squidy ended up doing an entire lesson each time instead of just one exercise. 

Both kids received Kindle Fire’s for their birthdays and I set them up for the Epic reading site (getepic.com).  I receive a report of what they’ve read and so far Squidy has read 26 books, for 351 minutes.  I haven’t assigned any reading from there yet (they do have quite a few of the books I will be assigning, just haven’t done it yet) so most of what he’s read has been Garfield comic books and Big Nate. 

For assigned reading he read Redwall and started The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate this week.

 Together

We’re still easing into our full schedule and this week we added a bunch of PE stuff, so we didn’t do any of the others.

Although we did finish up the week with a trip to the New York Renaissance Fair.

 

Linked up to Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers and Hip Homeschool Moms. 

See buttons on Left for links.

Weekly Wrap-Up: Week 1 Done

I'm glad that our first week was a short one.  Not that it went badly, it was just exhausting.  Between the holiday Monday, a power outage Tuesday night (that kept us all up late playing The Game of Life), and an attempt at a Not Back to School movie trip Friday, it was even shorter than I had planned.

We are starting our days with a little yoga/meditation, in the hopes this will help us start calmly.   The kids enjoyed it and wanted to suggest poses to do (from when they did yoga at the Y or the Wii Fit, I assume).   We are starting simple and building up from there.

I didn't plan any history, science, etc this week and I'm glad I didn't.  We had a couple of days where just getting through the core stuff took all day.  Since we are using so much new stuff, I figured it would take some time to judge how much they could get through each day.

I already adjusted my schedule.  I was planning to start the day with George doing his independent work while I work with Vicki, then switch after an hour.  But it turns out I'm not the best judge of what they can do independently and what they will need help with.  And I'm slower to get going in the morning than they are, so we can start earlier if they begin while I'm still waking up with my tea.

Anyone who has been a reader here for a while knows that I was always looking for the right set-up and best way to organize so our days would go smoothly.  The kids are older now and I've pretty much given up on that.  They prefer to work sitting on the couch or lying on the floor so I'm just going to go with it (only opening up the big folding table when we really need it).  Both kids have storage clipboards to write on and to hold their "binder" work (they still call it that despite the lack of an actual binder), and can sit at their computer table if they want a flatter surface.

Squidy:

Squidy had a little trouble with math this week.  Not with his Jousting Armadillos, which he liked, but with his Math Mammoth.  It was too many weeks since he started the Percentages chapter and he was forgetting too much.  I reprinted the chapter and we are going to start over from the beginning.  It's really important that he has a good understanding of the basic concepts before we get too far into Pre-Algebra. 

He liked Mosdos Press and really appreciated that any of the longer assignments from the workbook I was letting him type on the computer.  I may start letting him type them right in an email window so he can send them to my computer, where I can print them if I want or just review them.  I found that idea in a blog I was reading this week, but I don't remember where.

Beast Academy went well.  He is still working on the Division chapter and he's finding it pretty easy.

Spectrum Writing and Vocabulary from Classical Roots were both new but he found them easy (at least so far).

He did NOT appreciate having to do handwriting again.  I pulled out the Scholastic Practice Jokes & Riddles so he can work on handwriting at least occasionally.

He is currently reading Redwall as his assigned book, and lots of Big Nate on his tablet at night.  I signed up for a trial of Epic (getepic.com), which is an ebook borrowing service.  They have many of the literature books I'm planning to assign this year, plus non-fiction and fun reading. 

Vicki

Vicki had a little bit more trouble getting back into the swing of things than Squidy did.  She gets easily frustrated when things are even a little difficult.

Her comments this week:
"it looks scary" - about reading The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
"Awww crap" - when looking at the triangles in Beast Academy
"my brain hurts" - the logic puzzles
"It was Amazing!" - the story Leah's Pony from Mosdos Ruby.  So at least one thing went well. :-/

She didn't have any trouble with Spectrum Writing once she was sent back to read the page more carefully, Vocabulary from Classical Roots was easy, Spelling went fine, and she seems to understand fractions in Math Mammoth.

Mosdos Press uses cursive for the vocabulary words in their workbook.  Vicki did have trouble reading the words, so I had to write them out in print underneath.   She does okay writing in cursive and has finished her Handwriting without Tears book, but evidently we will need to work more on reading it. 

She did end up enjoying The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate once she started it.  It's going slowly and it's longer than what she's used to reading so I'm sure it's going to take her time to finish it.

Next week starts swimming lessons and yoga at the Y, and we're going to work on finishing up US History so our days will be a little longer.

2016-2017 Curriculum - 4th Grade, 6th Grade

Tomorrow is our first day of the new school year!    I'm very excited about checking out some of our new programs, while also using some old favorites.  Not everything is going to be done everyday (cause that would be ridiculous!).  We will be using a kind of quirky loop schedule, to go along with my quirky kids. ;-)

Vicki - 9 years old/4th Grade

Math Mammoth - She has a few pages to finish up MM3B and we will be jumping right into 4A

Beast Academy - Vicki is ready to give BA a try!  She likes to read through the Guide books we have from when Squidy started so I thought it was time.  We are starting with 3A since this is such a different, more intense presentation of Math than she's used to.

Evan Moor Skill Sharpeners Math 4 - We will continue using Skill Sharpeners Math as a spiral review of concepts already covered.  We will wait about a month to start the 4th grade book

Mosdos Press Ruby -  This program is new for us and will cover reading comprehension, vocabulary, literature and some writing.

Evan Moor Spell & Write - Vicki is about halfway through the 5th grade book. We will finish through the end of 6th grade and then stop spelling except for watching for mistakes in writing.

Vocabulary from Classical Roots 4th Grade - Another new program.  I think Vicki is ready to learn about Greek and Latin word roots and this program can take us through 11th grade if we like it.

Spectrum Writing 4th Grade - I wanted to go back to a very basics, step-by-step writing program.  I feel they need more explicit instruction than they've been getting.

Scholastic Logic Posters, Problems & Puzzles - one of the many Scholastic books I bought at Dollar Days over the years.  Squidy did these a few years ago and I think Vicki's more than ready to give them a try.

Handwriting - Vicki has about 4 pages to finish up Handwriting Without Tears Cursive.  Once she finishes, I'm going to have her do another Scholastic book - Cursive Practice Jokes & Riddles.   I will also expect her to do small writing assignments in her best cursive handwriting, but longer assignments I will allow her to type.

Reading - In addition to selections for History and Science, I am having the kids work through the Mensa Excellence in Reading Lists.    Vicki is going to work with both the K-3rd list and the 4-6th list.  The K-3rd list has quite a few books rated for 9 year olds that she hasn't read yet.  Some of them she's already read but doesn't remember and some will be super-easy, but there are many books on the 4th-6th grade list that I know she isn't ready for yet.

Squidy - 11 years old/6th Grade

Math Mammoth - Squidy has one Chapter left in MM5B - Intro to Percentages.  He will be doing one page from that chapter each day, as well as one or two pages from 6A.  We are using the "old" version of MM so he is done with it after 6B.

Beast Academy - Squidy really enjoys BA so we will continue using it as a fun supplement.  He wasn't doing it that often the last few years and I don't want to skip any, so he is still working through 4C.

Jousting Armadillos - Another one of our new programs AND a new subject - Pre-Algebra!  It's hard to believe we are at this point.  JA looks to be a fun and quirky introduction to Pre-Algebra and I think Squidy is going to love it.

Zaccaro Challenge Math - Another non-traditional math program that I think Squidy will enjoy.

Mosdos Press Pearl - New program that will cover comprehension, some vocabulary, literature, and some writing

Vocabulary from Classical Roots 6th Grade - Another new program.  George finished Words on the Vine last year so I needed something new for Greek/Latin roots.  I also wanted something that Vicki could do, so we are giving this a try.  After the 6th grade book, books A through E cover 7th through 11th grade so we'll be able to use this for a while if it works well.

Spectrum Writing 6th Grade

Scholastic Logic Posters, Problems & Puzzles - I'm going to pull out some of the harder of these and let Squidy give them a try.  I don't think he did all of them when we last worked on them since some of them required math beyond what he knew (squares, primes, percentages, etc.)

Handwriting - Squidy is also going to use pages from the Scholastic book - Cursive Practice Jokes & Riddles.  

Reading - Squidy will be working through the Mensa Excellence in Reading List for 4th to 6th grade.   He actually read his first book as part of our Science - The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate.  He really liked it but felt the ending didn't wrap things up enough.  I did some research and found out there is a sequel so I have that one on hold from the library.

 Together

Science - We will be finishing up our Evolution/Prehistory study, then doing units on Microscopes, Botany, Zoology and Habitats.  We will be using REAL Science Odyssey, and lots and lots of books and Pinterest ideas.

We are also continuing with our 4-H STEM Club.

History - We will be finishing up the last two units of US History - Westward Expansion and Civil War, and then starting Ancients.  We will be using History Odyssey Level 2 and Story of the World.

Art - Art is mostly going to be done along with History but we will also do some general exercises using How to Teach Art to Children.  We will also do some drawing using Mark Kistler's Draw Squad.

Foreign Language - We will continue to learn Spanish (I probably shouldn't say "continue" since I doubt they remember anything).  We will use Duolingo, First Step Espanol, and lots of videos

Health  - Harcourt Health & Fitness Grade 5.  I want them to do it together so I split the difference in their grades.  I found the Activity Book online for free and bought a used textbook cheap from Amazon.

Music - in addition to doing choir, I'll be teaching the kids to read music and some keyboarding using a variety of resources.  Vicki will also work on learning guitar as she wants to.

Internet Safety - we will be working through the Internet Responsibility program from Commonsense Education.   My kids spend a lot of time online so I want to make sure we cover this well.

Physical Education - Swimming lessons, Tai Kwan Do and Yoga are our outside classes.  We also plan to do hiking, geocaching, biking and Vicki just got a pair of Heely's.  We are also going to start each day with some Yoga (using the Kid's Yoga Deck) and meditation.

Extras - we may do some BraveWriter activities as we have time.