Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Writing
Over the last week and a half the Jedi has been working on writing a personal narrative. He used a graphic organizer to brainstorm and 3 revisions later, we are excited to publish his work on our blog. Feel free to leave him a comment or ask him a question!
Personal Narrative
An Extraordinary Opportunity
by the Homeschool Jedi
I had no idea what a Snoogle-Fleejer was, but if it
had anything to do with the Springer, I wanted to be a part of it. In February 2011, Mr. Ron, the director of
the Springer Theatre Academy, invited me to try out for the play, The Little-Baby-Snoogle-Fleejer. Mr. Ron adapted the play based on the book by
former president Jimmy Carter. Six other
boys were competing for the part. First,
at the audition, Mr. Ron and Mr. Adam, a teacher at the Springer, started some
warm-up games such as Zip-Zap-Zop and
What Are You Doing. Then, we had to read a monologue to Mr. Ron,
and rehearse a scene with Mr. Adam. Mr.
Ron said that he would call us to tell us if we earned a part sometime in the
next two days. At the end of the
try-out, my dad came to pick me up. He
went to Dunkin Donut’s and bought donut holes while I was at the audition and
we ate them on the way home while we talked about the fun I had.
Two days later, on the way to my
sister’s dance practice, my mom got a call from the Springer. My mom gave me the phone and told me to
answer it. When I picked it up, Mr. Ron
asked, “Is this Joshua?” I responded,
yes, nervously. He asked me if I would
like to play the role of Jeremy. Jeremy
is the main character in the play, so it was an enormous opportunity to portray
him. I accepted the part and said thank-you. After I hung-up the phone, my mom asked what
part I was offered. I told her that I
was going to play the lead role of Jeremy.
Immediately, I called my dad and asked him to pick up my script at the
Springer.
I worked all day and night for two
weeks memorizing the script. By the
first rehearsal, I already had it completely memorized. My first rehearsals started the last week of
February with only Mr. Adam, who would play The Little-Baby-Snoogle-Fleejer,
and me. The two of us completed a lot of
blocking, and by the next week, we were ready to combine the entire cast. The majority of the cast was in the seventh
or eighth grade, but at the time I was only in fourth grade. My character, Jeremy, had a disability called
cerebral palsy and I had to wear a leg brace.
The leg brace covered my leg up to the knee and made it difficult to
walk. I fell a couple of times during
the practices, so the set designers had to put stairs on the side of the stage
so that I wouldn’t fall off when I walked during the show.
The first show for the cast was March
23, 2011. My paternal grandparents came
all the way from Colorado to see me on opening night. I was so excited to be in a play at the Springer. I felt like I was going to explode with
anxiety, excitement, and nervousness.
The play was excellent, and nobody messed up his or her lines! After we changed out of our costumes, Mr. Ron
met with the cast. He asked us, “What
did we do well, and what could we do better?”
The whole cast agreed that we could all be a little louder, but other
than that it was perfect. As soon as our
meeting was over, I dashed into the reception room where the audience was
mingling. My family told me I did a splendid
job. We went out to eat at an incredible
restaurant near the Springer called the Black Cow.
In addition to the evening shows, the
Springer hosted school performances. We
performed a dozen school shows, where over three thousand students were present
to see our performances. During one of
the school productions, my elementary school attended. It was neat seeing my sister and familiar
faces in the audience.
Unfortunately, the final show of the
Little-Baby-Snoogle-Fleejer caught up with us.
My maternal grandparents and aunt came to see me at the last show. After the production, Mr. Ron gave me a copy
of the original Little-Baby-Snoogle-Fleejer book with signatures from the whole
cast. It was very sad to end the show’s
run, but Mr. Ron said, “There will always be another show!” I couldn’t wait for that statement to come
true because I love the Springer and acting.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
A week in review
I didn't have much time to write last week what with having a 15 page paper due and all of the activities the kids are involved with back in full swing. Fortunately, my paper and coordinating PowerPoint presentation have been submitted and I have completed Strategic HR Management! It was by far the most labor intensive class I have taken in pursuit of my masters. While I learned an enormous amount and had ample opportunities to put my learning into practice through 16 papers, I am exhausted! Yet, no rest for the weary! Today I begin my final class for my degree. It's my Capstone course where I apply everything I've learned in the last 18 months towards a massive project. I just don't know how I'm going to do this, but I'm encouraged that I don't have to do it all on my own:
I've been clinging to Philippians 4:13 and many others for the last 18 months. God knew I'd be taking this class at precisely this time...even while homeschooling the Jedi. Praise God He's in control!
Last week I set some ambitious goals for the Jedi and told him that if he finished all of his assignments by noon on Friday we could watch Red Tales, the movie about the Tuskegee Airmen.
He met his goal and we enjoyed watching Red Tails during the middle of the day. It felt really weird, but it's one of the wonderful things I enjoy about homeschooling.
On top of the Jedi's regular work he also began his science lab class at the local university. We are really excited the university is offering this class because its an opportunity for their science education majors to practice teaching and for our local homeschool students to participate in lab projects. When I was selecting curriculum this summer I was completely intimidated by the science material. Not only is science not my specialty, but lab equipment is expensive! Thanks to some experienced local homeschool moms, this lab class started last week and is already off to a great start. It looks like the Jedi will be participating in a science fair this year so he should be blabbing about that soon.
Another exciting thing happened in our home this week. The Jedi is an avid thespian and attends an amazing theatre academy year round held by the official State Theatre of Georgia. He has been blessed with the opportunity to hone his skills in improve, classical & contemporary scene study, musical theatre, puppetry, and this fall he will begin stilt walking and parkour.
When the Jedi was invited to audition for the next children's theatre production, he jumped at the opportunity! There is no place on earth this kid would rather be than on a stage. He was born for it. I can say that because I'm a completely biased mother. On Monday evening he attended the cast call where over 60 students from 4th-7th grade anxiously were hoping for a role in the show. I love the Jedi's mindset as he always goes into these auditions with a serious attitude, but with the understanding that it is okay if he doesn't get a role and will gladly enjoy attending the performance and seeing his friends on stage. In the Jedi's eyes, he's just happy to get to spend 2+ hours in the theatre regardless of whether or not he is cast in the show.
On the other hand, I am a nervous wreck every time he has an audition. I'm praying God's favor over him and asking God to give the Jedi what is best for him. I'm always torn between really wanting him to get a part and preparing him for what will happen if he is rejected. At the same time, I never want to impress a lack of faith on him because I want him to believe God for big things.
Imagine my heartbreak when he called on his way home from the audition with my husband and is talking in a serious, downcast voice. Immediately I say, "How was the audition, Buddy?" He says, "It was okay Mommy." When I asked what happened he shouts, "I got in the show!" That little turkey. I was already in tears...I guess he is a pretty good little actor.
So, our next month or so will be spent with every other day at the theatre and 9 glorious shows where I will enjoy watching the Jedi do what he loves most, performing on stage. I can't wait!
I've been clinging to Philippians 4:13 and many others for the last 18 months. God knew I'd be taking this class at precisely this time...even while homeschooling the Jedi. Praise God He's in control!
Last week I set some ambitious goals for the Jedi and told him that if he finished all of his assignments by noon on Friday we could watch Red Tales, the movie about the Tuskegee Airmen.
On top of the Jedi's regular work he also began his science lab class at the local university. We are really excited the university is offering this class because its an opportunity for their science education majors to practice teaching and for our local homeschool students to participate in lab projects. When I was selecting curriculum this summer I was completely intimidated by the science material. Not only is science not my specialty, but lab equipment is expensive! Thanks to some experienced local homeschool moms, this lab class started last week and is already off to a great start. It looks like the Jedi will be participating in a science fair this year so he should be blabbing about that soon.
Another exciting thing happened in our home this week. The Jedi is an avid thespian and attends an amazing theatre academy year round held by the official State Theatre of Georgia. He has been blessed with the opportunity to hone his skills in improve, classical & contemporary scene study, musical theatre, puppetry, and this fall he will begin stilt walking and parkour.
When the Jedi was invited to audition for the next children's theatre production, he jumped at the opportunity! There is no place on earth this kid would rather be than on a stage. He was born for it. I can say that because I'm a completely biased mother. On Monday evening he attended the cast call where over 60 students from 4th-7th grade anxiously were hoping for a role in the show. I love the Jedi's mindset as he always goes into these auditions with a serious attitude, but with the understanding that it is okay if he doesn't get a role and will gladly enjoy attending the performance and seeing his friends on stage. In the Jedi's eyes, he's just happy to get to spend 2+ hours in the theatre regardless of whether or not he is cast in the show.
On the other hand, I am a nervous wreck every time he has an audition. I'm praying God's favor over him and asking God to give the Jedi what is best for him. I'm always torn between really wanting him to get a part and preparing him for what will happen if he is rejected. At the same time, I never want to impress a lack of faith on him because I want him to believe God for big things.
Imagine my heartbreak when he called on his way home from the audition with my husband and is talking in a serious, downcast voice. Immediately I say, "How was the audition, Buddy?" He says, "It was okay Mommy." When I asked what happened he shouts, "I got in the show!" That little turkey. I was already in tears...I guess he is a pretty good little actor.
So, our next month or so will be spent with every other day at the theatre and 9 glorious shows where I will enjoy watching the Jedi do what he loves most, performing on stage. I can't wait!
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Children of the Corn
Ok, so that was a creepy Steven King film, but we are quickly becoming the generation to consume the greatest amounts of corn. Not only that, but we may be the first generation to have a shorter life expectancy than the previous generation. Co-inky-dink? I don't think so.
The Jedi finished up his school work by lunch time today and I'd had enough of my research paper for a bit so we decided to watch something educational on Netflix.
If you subscribe to Netflix or can check this out at the library, it is very interesting and a surprisingly non-political documentary. King Corn.
Did you know that anywhere from 60%-90% of cattle feed is made up of corn. When you eat a burger you are, in essence, eating corn. The majority of corn grown is no longer for human consumption. It is for animals, ethanol, and processing into sweeteners.
Originally corn had 2x as much protein, but it has been refined and genetically modified to be easily processed and broken down cheaply. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE corn (on the cob)!
But I do not like High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) and my family makes pretty good efforts to avoid it. I don't profess perfection, and I certainly have a sugar addiction, but I try to keep it as close to natural as possible.
Today, every isle in the grocery store is lined with corn. It's found in juice, sodas, cookies, soups, spaghetti sauce, crackers, and even our meats! If anything, this movie made us aware of how much corn we are actually eating. In fact, the makers of the film had their hair tested and the majority of their carbon makeup is corn.
I guess mom was right, we really ARE what we eat.
The Jedi finished up his school work by lunch time today and I'd had enough of my research paper for a bit so we decided to watch something educational on Netflix.
If you subscribe to Netflix or can check this out at the library, it is very interesting and a surprisingly non-political documentary. King Corn.
Did you know that anywhere from 60%-90% of cattle feed is made up of corn. When you eat a burger you are, in essence, eating corn. The majority of corn grown is no longer for human consumption. It is for animals, ethanol, and processing into sweeteners.
How did we get from this?
To this?
Originally corn had 2x as much protein, but it has been refined and genetically modified to be easily processed and broken down cheaply. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE corn (on the cob)!
But I do not like High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) and my family makes pretty good efforts to avoid it. I don't profess perfection, and I certainly have a sugar addiction, but I try to keep it as close to natural as possible.
Today, every isle in the grocery store is lined with corn. It's found in juice, sodas, cookies, soups, spaghetti sauce, crackers, and even our meats! If anything, this movie made us aware of how much corn we are actually eating. In fact, the makers of the film had their hair tested and the majority of their carbon makeup is corn.
I guess mom was right, we really ARE what we eat.
Light as a Feather Stiff as a Board
Have you ever played Light as a Feather Stiff as a Board?
It was a silly game I used to play at sleepovers, but when the Jedi decided he wanted to do levitation all I could think of what that annoying chant from my childhood!
Well, what on earth am I talking about today? Magnets. We've been studying Earth Science and more specifically, natural resources. Magnets can be both natural and man made.
For this study we were using neodymium magnets which are a combination of iron, boron and neodymium. Because neodymium is a rare earth element it is much stronger than your average ferric refrigerator magnet.
If you've ever tried to levitate magnets, it's nearly impossible. Luckily for us, my mother-in-law bought the Jedi a magnet levitator.
By turning the lever at the top we lowered a magnet that was competing against gravity to levitate the square neodymium magnet between two pieces of pyrolytic graphite plates.
It's very hard to see, but there is daylight between the magnet and the bottom plate. It takes a lot of concentration and slow movement of the hand (everything a Jedi should be practicing anyway) to get the magnet to levitate. We never could get it centered, but it was fun trying out all of the different magnets included in the kit!
If you like magnets, here's the link for the kit:
K & J Magnetics
It was a silly game I used to play at sleepovers, but when the Jedi decided he wanted to do levitation all I could think of what that annoying chant from my childhood!
Well, what on earth am I talking about today? Magnets. We've been studying Earth Science and more specifically, natural resources. Magnets can be both natural and man made.
For this study we were using neodymium magnets which are a combination of iron, boron and neodymium. Because neodymium is a rare earth element it is much stronger than your average ferric refrigerator magnet.
If you've ever tried to levitate magnets, it's nearly impossible. Luckily for us, my mother-in-law bought the Jedi a magnet levitator.
By turning the lever at the top we lowered a magnet that was competing against gravity to levitate the square neodymium magnet between two pieces of pyrolytic graphite plates.
It's very hard to see, but there is daylight between the magnet and the bottom plate. It takes a lot of concentration and slow movement of the hand (everything a Jedi should be practicing anyway) to get the magnet to levitate. We never could get it centered, but it was fun trying out all of the different magnets included in the kit!
If you like magnets, here's the link for the kit:
K & J Magnetics
Chocolate Math
Chocolate and Math? Can it get any better than this?
(Yes, add coffee)
Of course, when the Jedi's Sis got word that chocolate was involved she insisted we wait to do this lesson until after she got home.
We've been working on fraction and today we were dividing them. I have to confess, everyone in our household loves math. I know that sounds strange. We were dividing fractions and I found this lesson in my teacher's guide for Horizon's Math 6.
We started with 2 chocolate bars. Supposing we were baking a pie that requires 2/3 of a chocolate bar, how many pies can we make out of 2 whole bars?
Understanding dividing fractions using reciprocals is a lot easier when food is involved...
So, we know we need 2/3 of a bar per pie so our equation is going to look something like this:
2 ÷ 2/3 = 2 x 3/2 (reciprocal) = 2/1 x 3/2 = 6/2 (now we reduce) = 3
We can make 3 pies out of these 2 chocolate bars! Woo-hoo! Who's mouth is watering??? I wish I had a recipe for a pie that only took 2/3 of a chocolate bar. Doesn't sound like it would have all that many calories, or all that much chocolate flavor now that I think about it.
Once our little math demo was complete we decided to pull out the old solar pizza box oven and fire up the grill...er sun.
Before:
After:
Mmmm, math never tasted so good!
(Yes, add coffee)
Of course, when the Jedi's Sis got word that chocolate was involved she insisted we wait to do this lesson until after she got home.
We've been working on fraction and today we were dividing them. I have to confess, everyone in our household loves math. I know that sounds strange. We were dividing fractions and I found this lesson in my teacher's guide for Horizon's Math 6.
We started with 2 chocolate bars. Supposing we were baking a pie that requires 2/3 of a chocolate bar, how many pies can we make out of 2 whole bars?
Understanding dividing fractions using reciprocals is a lot easier when food is involved...
So, we know we need 2/3 of a bar per pie so our equation is going to look something like this:
2 ÷ 2/3 = 2 x 3/2 (reciprocal) = 2/1 x 3/2 = 6/2 (now we reduce) = 3
We can make 3 pies out of these 2 chocolate bars! Woo-hoo! Who's mouth is watering??? I wish I had a recipe for a pie that only took 2/3 of a chocolate bar. Doesn't sound like it would have all that many calories, or all that much chocolate flavor now that I think about it.
Once our little math demo was complete we decided to pull out the old solar pizza box oven and fire up the grill...er sun.
Before:
After:
Mmmm, math never tasted so good!
Friday, August 10, 2012
Accidental Science Lesson
Yesterday we found some huge mushrooms growing in our yard. We decided to take some pictures and do some research on what makes mushrooms grow in the yard. As I went for my morning run, I noticed these little buggers are all over my neighborhood. I'm sure the gnomes are getting excited!
Nevertheless, we made a science lesson out of it and the Jedi wrote his first essay for this school year. He wanted to post it along with the pics we took.
Happy Friday!
Nevertheless, we made a science lesson out of it and the Jedi wrote his first essay for this school year. He wanted to post it along with the pics we took.
Happy Friday!
Meet the Fun-Guy (fungi)
Mushrooms
By: The Home School Jedi
 |
| Mushrooms from our yard |
Mushrooms grow in yards because of
their main source, underground mycelia. Mycelia
are made up of two fused hyphae, tiny threads, which come out of spores. The life cycle of mushrooms start with
spores. Spores drop from mushrooms and fly into other yards. The spores let out strands of hyphae that
must find other hyphae that are compatible.
When two compatible hyphae meet, they fuse together to form
mycelia. Then, after a while, a mushroom
gradually sprouts out of the ground and the life cycle starts over again.
Mushroom spores blow into yards from neighbors’
yards. No matter where it lands, it will
grow all over a yard. The main source, underground
mycelia, spreads out rapidly. The sooner
mushrooms are pulled out, the less chance spores will blow other places.
The best way to get rid of them is not to pull
them out of the ground, but to eliminate their food source. Mushrooms feed off of dead plants, animal
wastes, and old mulch. They do not cause
diseases in lawns, but do not make lawns look good either. In a way, mushrooms help lawns because they
are decomposers. Decomposers are plants
and animals that feed off of decaying material.
A way to eliminate mushrooms is to add nitrogen
fertilizer to the mushrooms. This helps
because the fertilizer also decomposes so the mushrooms won’t have any
food. Another way to reduce mushroom
growth is to pull them out before they can make more spores. Some people want to spray mushrooms with
fungicide, but it won’t work.
Mushrooms are classified in different
species. Some mushroom species are
edible, while others are not. It is best
not to eat any mushrooms found in yards for fear that they may be poisonous.
References:
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Solar Fudge
I was ready for the Jedi this morning and had his lessons re-planned and ready to go early again. We began with grammar. I'm using the Bob Jones University English grade 6. We've only done 3 lessons, but so far it's a great fit for the Jedi. While he's a wiz at Math, English is not his passion. Today we talked about diagramming sentences...they still teach that? Yes, and apparently it's still important. I actually enjoyed going over compound predicates and the Jedi seemed responsive. Although, I believe I forgot to mention we were eating left over birthday cake during the lesson.
We separated to do our work and I logged on to my class and responded to some discussion questions. I'm on my second to last class for my Masters and although the end is in sight, the fog has yet to clear. I can't believe I've made it this far, but I still feel like I have so far to go!
The Jedi had just the right amount of assignments today and no busy work. That is another reason I love home schooling. If he grasps a concept, we can move on! He finished just in time for us to run over to the allergist and get our allergy shots. (We live in the South and are allergic to just about everything. The only way we can breath is to be on shots.). Then, we had to make a quick run to the grocery store and Sams to pick up some food and supplies for our afternoon science project.
Last summer the kids made a solar oven out of a shoe box. They cooked s'mores in it and enjoyed learning the science behind it. I thought I'd take that lesson a step further and see what else we could make. We had a pizza box laying around (we'd just finished it at lunch) and I sent a text to another home schooling mom for ideas and recipes...
First we started with our pizza box...
The Jedi traced a sheet of paper on the lid and then cut three sides of the traced rectangle with a blade. (He was supervised, don't worry.) Then, we lined the inside bottom of the box with black construction paper. We covered the top flap with covered with aluminum foil. Then we rolled up newspaper and put in along the inside edges of the bottom of the box to create insulation. Finally, we taped plastic wrap (I was out so I had to use press 'n seal) to both sides of the lid to create a seal.
Then, we got out an umbrella...
(This was another idea I got from my friend too.) We lined the inside entirely with aluminum foil. I believe you're actually supposed to cut the metal out with wire cutters, but I wasn't about to ruin my ONLY umbrella. Well, there is that Dora umbrella my daughter still uses, but she would not have been happy if I disassembled that family heirloom.
Then, we mixed up our recipe for solar fudge...
1 1/2 cups Semi Sweet Chocolate chips
1 & 3/4 cans of Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 tsp vanilla
(That's it! - I didn't know what to think either)
We poured it into two brownie pans lined with non-stick foil. I hate to make a mess...
Then, we set up our solar ovens and put the brownie pans in each one...
Fifteen minutes later we stirred each pan. The fudge in the umbrella cooker still looked like it did when we set it in there, but it mixed well and we thought it might be fully cooked. It's hard to tell.
The one in the pizza box didn't stir as smooth and the chips hadn't fully melted. We gave it another 10 minutes before bringing it in.
As we brought each one in, we gave it another stir and then put it in the fridge. I suppose it could have hardened at room temperature, but we're not patient people when it comes to chocolate.
Here's the final product:
It's still a bit gooey and I'm not sure if it will ever cut like normal fudge, but it tastes super sweet!
We had a great time doing this and Jedi's Sis came home just in time to join in the fun. Tomorrow we'll discuss how it worked and why one oven cooked faster than the other.
We separated to do our work and I logged on to my class and responded to some discussion questions. I'm on my second to last class for my Masters and although the end is in sight, the fog has yet to clear. I can't believe I've made it this far, but I still feel like I have so far to go!
The Jedi had just the right amount of assignments today and no busy work. That is another reason I love home schooling. If he grasps a concept, we can move on! He finished just in time for us to run over to the allergist and get our allergy shots. (We live in the South and are allergic to just about everything. The only way we can breath is to be on shots.). Then, we had to make a quick run to the grocery store and Sams to pick up some food and supplies for our afternoon science project.
Last summer the kids made a solar oven out of a shoe box. They cooked s'mores in it and enjoyed learning the science behind it. I thought I'd take that lesson a step further and see what else we could make. We had a pizza box laying around (we'd just finished it at lunch) and I sent a text to another home schooling mom for ideas and recipes...
First we started with our pizza box...
Then, we got out an umbrella...
Then, we mixed up our recipe for solar fudge...
1 & 3/4 cans of Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 tsp vanilla
(That's it! - I didn't know what to think either)
We poured it into two brownie pans lined with non-stick foil. I hate to make a mess...
Then, we set up our solar ovens and put the brownie pans in each one...
Fifteen minutes later we stirred each pan. The fudge in the umbrella cooker still looked like it did when we set it in there, but it mixed well and we thought it might be fully cooked. It's hard to tell.
The one in the pizza box didn't stir as smooth and the chips hadn't fully melted. We gave it another 10 minutes before bringing it in.
Here's the final product:
It's still a bit gooey and I'm not sure if it will ever cut like normal fudge, but it tastes super sweet!
We had a great time doing this and Jedi's Sis came home just in time to join in the fun. Tomorrow we'll discuss how it worked and why one oven cooked faster than the other.
A Jedi Birthday
Day 2
Of course, since yesterday went so well, today was supposed to be the same, right? Wrong!
Today was entirely different, and for a person who thrives on routines, it was a bit of a challenge. Although, how much of a routine could we have established after one day of home schooling. Today was the home school Jedi's birthday! Of course that meant he couldn't sleep last night out of insane excitement and he was up at 6am ready to open his gifts. I was only just coming in from at run at 7:00 and everyone was waiting on me at the kitchen table. I thought I was the early riser in this family.
Swiftly, the Jedi opened his gifts and soon the Jedi Master and Jedi Sis were off to her school. Then, the Jedi began his work...washing the dog? What? When did this kid get so helpful. Sure, the dog stinks, but that's an ongoing issue...
One soaking dog and kitchen later...
The Jedi was back to his lessons. I've been writing out lesson plans (yes, I know, nerd alert!) and he knows what we'll be working on together and what he needs to complete individually. After we had our instructional time I let him work independently while I worked on my own school assignments.
Fortunately, I only have one paper this week - woo hoo! Last week I had three...and they were big 5-7 page papers each. Anyhow, as the Jedi worked he occasionally had a question, but since both of us are pretty well-behaved, we didn't distract one another too much. Then 10:30am hit. He was finished. Are you kidding me?
When I wrote those lesson I feared it was going to take him too long and that he'd hate home schooling. Well, he proved me wrong! Looks like I'm going to have to re-work those lesson plans. I'm sure we'll slow down when the work gets harder, but really, I was surprised how quickly he finished and still did an outstanding job. God is good.
I had the Jedi log on to the internet to work on a science curriculum I hadn't planned on starting until next week, but hey, he's supposed to do 4 1/2 hours of instructional time and I follow the rules. Meanwhile, I did get a little more work done on my paper, but in no time it was lunch time.
I think what I loved best about today was that the Jedi was really motivated. After lunch we were able to play the new board game we gave him for his birthday, Act Your Wage! Our family is on the Dave Ramsey plan and the Jedi actually really wanted this game. We had a great time playing it and laughed when the Jedi won screaming, "I'm debt free!"
The day wrapped up with youth group and the Jedi got to spend a couple of hours hanging out with his fellow padawans and hear about having a Bull's Eye faith. I'm still waiting to hear more details on what he learned, but he'll blab when he's ready.
Of course, since yesterday went so well, today was supposed to be the same, right? Wrong!
Today was entirely different, and for a person who thrives on routines, it was a bit of a challenge. Although, how much of a routine could we have established after one day of home schooling. Today was the home school Jedi's birthday! Of course that meant he couldn't sleep last night out of insane excitement and he was up at 6am ready to open his gifts. I was only just coming in from at run at 7:00 and everyone was waiting on me at the kitchen table. I thought I was the early riser in this family.
Swiftly, the Jedi opened his gifts and soon the Jedi Master and Jedi Sis were off to her school. Then, the Jedi began his work...washing the dog? What? When did this kid get so helpful. Sure, the dog stinks, but that's an ongoing issue...
The Jedi was back to his lessons. I've been writing out lesson plans (yes, I know, nerd alert!) and he knows what we'll be working on together and what he needs to complete individually. After we had our instructional time I let him work independently while I worked on my own school assignments.
Fortunately, I only have one paper this week - woo hoo! Last week I had three...and they were big 5-7 page papers each. Anyhow, as the Jedi worked he occasionally had a question, but since both of us are pretty well-behaved, we didn't distract one another too much. Then 10:30am hit. He was finished. Are you kidding me?
When I wrote those lesson I feared it was going to take him too long and that he'd hate home schooling. Well, he proved me wrong! Looks like I'm going to have to re-work those lesson plans. I'm sure we'll slow down when the work gets harder, but really, I was surprised how quickly he finished and still did an outstanding job. God is good.
I had the Jedi log on to the internet to work on a science curriculum I hadn't planned on starting until next week, but hey, he's supposed to do 4 1/2 hours of instructional time and I follow the rules. Meanwhile, I did get a little more work done on my paper, but in no time it was lunch time.
I think what I loved best about today was that the Jedi was really motivated. After lunch we were able to play the new board game we gave him for his birthday, Act Your Wage! Our family is on the Dave Ramsey plan and the Jedi actually really wanted this game. We had a great time playing it and laughed when the Jedi won screaming, "I'm debt free!"
The day wrapped up with youth group and the Jedi got to spend a couple of hours hanging out with his fellow padawans and hear about having a Bull's Eye faith. I'm still waiting to hear more details on what he learned, but he'll blab when he's ready.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
First Day
So much for the dog days of summer. School officially started yesterday.
Alarms were set according to the normal school day schedule and my daughter (The Jedi's Sis) was up at 6:30. She needs a few minutes (more like 30) to get going in the morning and does not like to talk for awhile. I was finishing up a Body Pump DVD in the family room when she came to ask me to pour some milk for her. I went into the kitchen to help her out and noticed she had a gigantic bowl of Ezekiel cereal. Just out of curiosity, I pulled out a measuring cup to see exactly how much this little girl had poured. It ended up being 3 servings! She is not a big eater and is generally a picky one too. I just think she was a little delirious. In her zombie-like state she watched me give her a new, more reasonable serving, pour her milk and then she stood at the counter and ate it. Again, that's a little strange, but she was a little out of it.
In contrast, the home school Jedi came bounding out of his room dressed and ready to be the leader of the free world. He was blabbing up a storm, as usual, and had devoured his breakfast in 60 seconds flat. Before I was even out of the shower at 7:15 he was 1/2 way through his math assignment. At that point I was thinking this home schooling thing is too good to be true.
By 7:30 I had both kids out front posing on the front stoop for the traditional "first day of school" cheesy pic. Usually I get choked up at this site, but it was rainy, my weeds were overgrown (it was like I had just noticed how bad my yard looked!) and they were bickering over whether or not the Jedi should be in the picture because he wasn't technically going to school.
Nevertheless, the little one was whizzed off to school by her Daddy (The Jedi Master) and I was left at home with the Jedi. He finished his math, I painted the barn (put some make-up on) and soon the two of us were out of the house and on the way to work. (I'm so thankful that I can bring him along to work with me!)
For the next 2 hours, the Jedi did his assignments and then I dragged him to a meeting with me. Ordinarily, I wouldn't bring him into a meeting full of adults, but yesterday was different. I had been given the opportunity to speak and I wanted the Jedi to hear it. I may post on the speech another day, but basically it was, "Are You an Effective Leader?" Our home school it titled The Academy for Arts and Leadership and I feel it is so important for students to learn leadership. We are raising up a future generation of leaders here and I plan on seizing any opportunity I can get for both of us to learn about leadership!
The Jedi finished his school work in my office and we were home in time to retrieve my daughter at the bus stop. All in all, I'd have to say it was a fun and unique first day of school. By no means do I have a grasp on what is to come, but God is so gracious and gave us both a great start!
As I went to bed (early) that night, I couldn't help but praise God! We did it! One down...179 to go!
Alarms were set according to the normal school day schedule and my daughter (The Jedi's Sis) was up at 6:30. She needs a few minutes (more like 30) to get going in the morning and does not like to talk for awhile. I was finishing up a Body Pump DVD in the family room when she came to ask me to pour some milk for her. I went into the kitchen to help her out and noticed she had a gigantic bowl of Ezekiel cereal. Just out of curiosity, I pulled out a measuring cup to see exactly how much this little girl had poured. It ended up being 3 servings! She is not a big eater and is generally a picky one too. I just think she was a little delirious. In her zombie-like state she watched me give her a new, more reasonable serving, pour her milk and then she stood at the counter and ate it. Again, that's a little strange, but she was a little out of it.
In contrast, the home school Jedi came bounding out of his room dressed and ready to be the leader of the free world. He was blabbing up a storm, as usual, and had devoured his breakfast in 60 seconds flat. Before I was even out of the shower at 7:15 he was 1/2 way through his math assignment. At that point I was thinking this home schooling thing is too good to be true.
By 7:30 I had both kids out front posing on the front stoop for the traditional "first day of school" cheesy pic. Usually I get choked up at this site, but it was rainy, my weeds were overgrown (it was like I had just noticed how bad my yard looked!) and they were bickering over whether or not the Jedi should be in the picture because he wasn't technically going to school.
Nevertheless, the little one was whizzed off to school by her Daddy (The Jedi Master) and I was left at home with the Jedi. He finished his math, I painted the barn (put some make-up on) and soon the two of us were out of the house and on the way to work. (I'm so thankful that I can bring him along to work with me!)
For the next 2 hours, the Jedi did his assignments and then I dragged him to a meeting with me. Ordinarily, I wouldn't bring him into a meeting full of adults, but yesterday was different. I had been given the opportunity to speak and I wanted the Jedi to hear it. I may post on the speech another day, but basically it was, "Are You an Effective Leader?" Our home school it titled The Academy for Arts and Leadership and I feel it is so important for students to learn leadership. We are raising up a future generation of leaders here and I plan on seizing any opportunity I can get for both of us to learn about leadership!
The Jedi finished his school work in my office and we were home in time to retrieve my daughter at the bus stop. All in all, I'd have to say it was a fun and unique first day of school. By no means do I have a grasp on what is to come, but God is so gracious and gave us both a great start!
As I went to bed (early) that night, I couldn't help but praise God! We did it! One down...179 to go!
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