Xan's December Report...

Okay it was Christmas so our monthy report isn't terribly exciting.. And it's late, so apologies to all my other monthly reporters for being flakey.

Math:
Saxon Lessons through Lesson 41
Test: #6 16/20 ; #7 15/20
Daily Timed Math Drills: (addition, subtraction, & multiplication) 64-100 problems in fewer than 5m; Daily Word Problems
Life of Fred: Through Chapter 29

Language Arts:
Word Study:
SWO G: 12-14
Writing:
Saxon Writing: Lesson 7-9
Outlining
Summarizing
Descriptive Paragraph- Write a descriptive paragraph about damage caused earthquakes
Grammar:
Saxon Grammar: Lessons 28-33
Literature:
When the Earth Dragon Awakes by Laurence Yep
Reading Comprehension –pg. 52


History:
History Odyssey: Lessons 4

Science:
PH Science Explorer Chapter 1-2
Review Questions for each section and Chapter Review
King fisher Science Encyclopedia: 24-25 choose one section to outline.

Art:
Cartooning
Polymer Clay

P.E.:
60 minutes of outside play 3-4x per week. Activities include bike riding, playing catch, playing fetch with the dog, walking. 2 x baseball rules and fundamentals.

Life Skills:
Cooking: Cooked dinner several nights with Dad and continued yard care.

I'll Take It Any Way I Can Get It...

I don't know about the rest of the world, but I have a hard time communicating with my teenager. Don't get me wrong, it's not like we don't get along and she's a good kid, but sometimes, okay a lot of times, there is a breakdown in the verbal communication department. And that makes homeschooling her a little difficult. However, there is hope, and I have Facebook to thank for it. I have just spent the last 20 minutes instant messaging my daughter (who is in the next room) about her essay on Huck Finn. Scoff if you want, roll your eyes, stick your tongue out...whatever...It worked. It was a true homeschool moment-there was real learning and understanding going on with those little IM bloops. If you homeschool, you know what I mean and chances are you know that these moments don't always come around as often as we'd like so I'll take it how I can get it, thank you very much.

Xan's November Report

This is so much easier to do in monthly format...


Math-
Saxon Lessons through Lesson 31
Test: #4 17/20 ; #5 16/20
Daily Timed Math Drills: (addition, subtraction, & multiplication) 64-100 problems in fewer than 5m & Daily Word Problems
Life of Fred: Through Chapter 20 + Bridge 1 & 2

Language Arts-
Word Study:
SWO G: 9-11
Writing:
Saxon Writing: Lesson 5-6
Outlining
Summarizing
Expository Essay
Expository Paragraph- The Divine Right of Kings
Descriptive Paragraph- Write a descriptive paragraph about the layers of the earth.
Creative Writing: Journal Prompt from Prentice Hall pg. 9: Imagine you are on an a Journey to the Center of the Earth: Write a Journal Entry describing your trip so far.
Grammar:
Saxon Grammar: Lessons 21-27
Literature:
Journey to the Center of the Earth: Author Background, Characterization, Summarizing Reading


Latin-
Latin for Children: Chapters 9-12;

History-
History Odyssey: Lessons 1-4

Science-
Astronomy: Completed Lapbook
History of the Earth: Fossil Timeline
Prentice Hall Focus on Earth Science Chapter 1: Answered Review Questions & Vocabulary
Discovery Streaming: Continents Adrift; Our Changing Earth; World’s Best: Nature’s Fury
Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia: pgs 1, 8-9 & 16-17 choose one section to outline. Copy the pie graph of the Earth’s components and compounds on pg. 8 in KF.
Made fossils with Plaster of Paris
Lego Mindstorms: Weekly Class

Art-
Weekly Waldorf watercolor class-discussed color and tied projects into Science & Social Studies: Forests,Caves & Advent.

P.E.-
60 minutes of outside play 2-4x per week. Activities include bike riding, playing catch, playing fetch with the dog, walking. 2 x baseball rules and fundementals.

Life Skills-
Cooking: Cooked dinner several nights with Dad and continued yard care.

Pictures to follow in a few days...

Yearly Writing Sample

Below is Xan's yearly writing sample-sorry it's not formatted correctly, I still haven't figured out how to do this on blogger... He is required (not that it's a bad thing) to produce an essay once a year in response to a prompt. This year his prompt was to think of something science related and explain the steps involved.

Lego Mindstorms: Building a Robot of Your Very Own

Are you a kid and ever wanted to make a robot? Well, Lego Mindstorms is a set of special legos that can help you make your robot building fantasies come to life. By making a robot frame, programming a robot “brain”, and testing the creation to see if it works properly, you can make a little robot that can serve you. These steps in building your creation require patience, listening to instructions (if you’re taking a class), and asking for help occasionally. The instructions are simple yet tricky to do.

First, you must think of your robots frame. After you think of the frame, get your pieces together and build the frame. Then make a few more bodies and see which body works better than the other. If you see one of the frames working better than all of them, then that’s your Lego structure.
After the frame is constructed, get a few power packs and connect them to your computer. If you only have one USB port, connect them one at a time. Then you have to program what you want your robot to do, such as turning on the T.V. Next download the instructions to your power packs. Wait for it to load then disconnect the USB port from your packs from your computer. Put the power pack on the frame.
Finally connect the power pack to the frame, and it’s time test out your robot. Testing your robot for faults is important because checking for errors will prevent you from having a robot that doesn’t work. If it does not work, you must find your mistakes and fix them. If it works, you have done science by building a technological wonder.
You have used Lego Mindstorms for the first time by building, programming, and testing a robot of your very own. Now, it is time to have fun with the creation. Show your friends and family what it does and how you made it so they can get Mindstorms and build their own robot.

We Need More People Like This In the World...

I say people, not just teacher's because this kind of out of the box and creative thinking is so desperately needed everywhere, not just in schools.