I have not been great about documenting our middle school journey. I spend a lot of my time with my 3rd grade and kindergarten sons, boys are just more demanding. I know, I know not everyone is going to agree with me, but my boys are way more demanding than my daughter ever has been. I can rely on my daughter to work independently, which is a huge help for me. This year we have been doing a few new things, so it has taken us (and still is) some experimentation with time and schedules. That is the thing I love most about homeschooling, it is totally flexible.
I posted about the unit study we are doing, on my third grade page. We are also doing the same unit study with my daughter. It is a unit study on the ocean by Amanda Bennett, I highly recommend her unit studies, they are awesome. There are two levels of difficulty, so obviously my daughter is working on the upper level. These unit studies have vocabulary, history, science and since they have to read and write, I consider it language arts. You can make them as simple or complex as you want to. We added a lapbook to this one, and so far there has been no complaints. Lapbooks make studies a lot more interesting, it is not just a blank piece of paper and your pen. There are shaped booklets, pockets, facts...there are all kinds of goodies, it is almost like crafting while learning.
Today is a snow day, all the public schools have cancelled, we are still learning. Snow days are more relaxed, even for us. We are watching YouTube videos that have to do with our current unit study, videos that I decided to add in because the kids really enjoy them. We started with the videos below, about the Grunion fish, or the Sai Sai, as called in the book Island of the Blue Dolphins. Very interesting.
Today is a snow day, all the public schools have cancelled, we are still learning. Snow days are more relaxed, even for us. We are watching YouTube videos that have to do with our current unit study, videos that I decided to add in because the kids really enjoy them. We started with the videos below, about the Grunion fish, or the Sai Sai, as called in the book Island of the Blue Dolphins. Very interesting.
We then moved on to a video about a Killer Whale vs. a Great White, which I had promised my 9-yr-old son we would watch last week. Things came up, and flexibility had to come into play. Flexibility is a great lesson for kids to learn, especially now days when we have almost instant gratification at the touch of a button. The below video is captivating, with a twist I never expected. My two boys are also attempting to build/engineer a better structure for Karana, from Island of the Blue Dolphins, out of Lincoln Logs.
Of course, my daughter is a few days behind my son on the unit study, but she has more work. She also takes a Junior High English Class outside of our home, once-a-week, and has daily homework that goes with that class. We love the class, they are reading 12-13 books, all classics, and it covers grammar, writing, and literary analysis. It is a lot of work, but it is well worth it. Then she has math, we are using Saxon for her this year. It works for her, as there is a lot of extra explanation, which she needs, for my son it would not work. The beauty of homeschooling, customizing each child's curriculum to fit the way they learn best!
Check out unit studies, we really like Amanda Bennett's unit studies. They are reasonably priced and great for when you just need a break from what you have been doing. You can find her unit studies at UnitStudy.com. I am not getting anything from referring you, it is just something we have recently found that the kids like, and I wanted to share.
Check out unit studies, we really like Amanda Bennett's unit studies. They are reasonably priced and great for when you just need a break from what you have been doing. You can find her unit studies at UnitStudy.com. I am not getting anything from referring you, it is just something we have recently found that the kids like, and I wanted to share.
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