Thursday, July 29, 2010

Fine Arts Curriculum.... (Did I miss something?!)

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The "Arts" have always been a struggle in our home school.  Out of 3 students, only 1 enjoys the "hands-on" approach to art. 

We have attempted Barry Stebbing's Feed My Sheep curriculum using his DVD's to enhance our learning.  Yet, for some inexplicable reason, we just never found the time to continue on a weekly basis.  I'm thinking it is the fault of the teacher and her scheduling!

With 1 teenage son into community theater, we see a lot of theatrical performances.  They may not be professionally done, but the plays open the family up to another aspect of Fine Arts.

We make time to go to art museums.  The Hunter Museum of Art is our local art destination.  Chatttanooga has a lot to offer us in "Fine Arts."  There are many brick, metal, and eclectic sculptors throughout the city. 

We also enjoy the Chattanooga Symphony and Orchestra who not only play in the theater but also free, open performances during the year including the 4th of July.  We have listened to Bach, Beethoven, Handel and others as we learn about them and the time periods in which they composed their music.

I guess, in a very relaxed atmosphere, we have learned about the "arts." 

This year 2 of my high schoolers will taking Art History with Christian World View at a local church.  This class will satisfy their Fine Arts credit for High School.  Per the instructor, "This class is more than art, more than history and more than worldview.  We will study cultures and the art they produced and discuss how it is relevant to us today.  Materials are based on college art texts and we will read Francis Scheaffer's How Shall We Then Live as well as C.S. Lewis's God in the Dock. Two field trips are planned and there will be a research paper project. This class is an unforgettable experience."

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Driving, driving, driving...

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God is so good! 

How many times do we sing or think this but live like it isn't true?  Or, we add stipulations to His goodness.  God needs absolutely nothing from us.  Everything we have is from Him including our ability to love Him.   I need to always remember..."We love, because He first loved us." ~ 1 John 4.19.

The family drove to Kansas City, Missouri, yesterday with no mishaps at all.  This is a true blessing since our van is over 6 years old and has over 128,000 miles on it.  Also, we enjoyed each other's company during the 12 hour trek.  Think about it..... 3 teenagers and 2 parents (sorry, no pets!) laughing, joking, singing with the songs on the radio, and having fun.

During the drive, Melissa decided to take pictures as we went.  Literally, she took pictures from the back seat of the van as we drove by water towers, corn fields, and more corn fields.  I'll try to get some posted to this link later today.

Have a blessed day!

Robert's Wedding ~ July 24, 2010

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Robert and Mallorie enjoyed a simple wedding surrounded by family and friends.  Their theme was "Western," hence Robert in blue jeans and a cowboy hat.  Mallorie surprised him with the long dress!

wedding vows


sealed with a kiss


The newly wed Mr. and Mrs. Robert and Mallorie Dellipaoli


Rod and I with the happy couple

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Scenic Drive to Kansas City, MO

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rolling farmlands..



St. Louis Arch to the West

Home of Superman???

A scenic drive to Kansas City

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rolling farmlands..

St. Louis Arch to the West
Home of Superman???

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Under renovation...

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Please be patient as I navigate the unknown world of blogging and templates, etc.  Hopefully, I will have a redesigned site by Thursday!

Homekeeper's Journal ~ July 20, 2010

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This week’s Homekeeper’s Journal is all about Beginnings ……..

Something new I would like to attempt in my kitchen ... cooking one month at a time.  I'm not sure of the name, but you shop/cook/bake all the dinner meals for one month and freeze them.  By doing this, you spend less time daily making dinner and save money.  Click here for more information.  My main problem... I don't have a separate stand alone freezer, and my side-by-side can't handle the amount of food.

When the newness wears off a relationship, you find … out who your true friends are.  Who will truly accept you for who you are, not what they want you to be/do.

The new school year starts around here on ... August 3rd or 10th.  I haven't bought all the curriculum yet, so I don't have the lesson plans ready.  I normally don't work around the public school schedule.  We like to build in time off and vacations while still finishing the bulk of our school by the middle of May.

I need to start … my science lesson plans.  I think these will take the longest to set-up.  I need to restart my Bible study which I let slide over the summer.  This is probably why I haven't been myself most of the summer.

God’s mercies are new every morning so … I need to believe this and start each day with a clean slate.  I'm horrible about carrying over the problems from the previous days.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

High School Portfolios.... DONE!

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This past week has seen a flurry of activity both on the computer and off.  I have finally finished the 3-ring binder High School Portfolios.  Now, keeping them current should be a breeze.  This binder portfolio was made following Kathleen Duncan's Homeschool for High School Seminar.

Start with a 3-ring binder, add dividers (5 large tab) for the main subjects including Records, Language Arts, Social Studies, Mathematics, Science, Foreign Language, Fine Arts, PE/Health, and Electives.  I also added an Awards section.


Behind each main tab, use dividers (8 large tab) for the actual classes such as 9th grade Grammar/Composition, US History, Spanish I, etc.  For each class, I am using Donna Young's Grade and Attendance sheets to show the student's grades and information for each class/book/description, etc.  If this was an outside class (not taken at home), I'm puttting the grading sheet from that teacher.  Below is a picture of Matthew's French I grade sheet taken at Hilger Higher Learning.  Also behind each class tab, I add 1-2 examples of the the student's work.  Now, if a college wants to know which curriculum we used or the level of work, we can show them all in one place!




In the Awards Section, I am placing the original certificates in a plastic sheet protectors.  Matthew currently has 2 Honor Roll certificates, 4 certificates for paging in the GA House and Senate, and his Presidential Volunteer Service Awards.  I will also put any awards earned through theater and other activities he is involved in. 


I have also begun typing a high school transcript.  I have the main page done, but still have a ways to go.  I have also set up our Grades and Attendance forms for the new school year.  I'm still undecided on our American History curriculum for this year.  I'm down to 2 weeks to decide and have it ready to go.

Other than portfolios, we have managed to clean the entire house and keep the vegetable garden growing.  We are enjoying way too many tomatoes and zucchini.

Life is good; God is better!

Monday, July 12, 2010

Curriculum for 2010-2011

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I love planning each new school year.  I love the smell and feel of new books even though I buy as many as possible "gently used!"  Due to many circumstances, this is the first year of homeschooling that I haven't been able to attend a Curriculum Fair.  And to be totally truthful, I just pulled together the Literature for both grade levels this weekend!

Matthew and Melissa - 11th graders:

Modern Chemistry (Hilger Higher Learning)

American Literature using real books and book studies.   Some of the books will be: The Scarlet Letter, Billy Budd, Adventures of Huck Finn, Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, To Kill a Mockingbird, Uncle Tom's Cabin, and Old Man and the Sea.  We will also be completing Intro to Poetry by Progeny Press.  We will continue with Vocabulary from Classical Roots D-E.

Grammar    A Beka 11th grade Grammar V for use with their Handbook for Grammar and Composition.  This will be a refresher course for them.  After 2 months of trying to make the A Beka program work, we finally put it aside.  We will be reviewing grammar through their writing and a computer-based program Grammarlogues.  Since they have a very firm foundation in grammar already, I'm not overly stressed!  Next year they will be (most likely) dual enrolling at a local college and will be taking College Freshman Grammar and Composition.  (Updated 11/8/10)

Saxon Advanced Math - Saxon (Matthew) 

Saxon Algebra II - My daughter would prefer continuing with Teaching Textbooks, but we already own the Saxon Algebra II curriculum.  Anyone have a Teaching Textbooks Algebra 2 we can borrow?  PRAISE Report... a good friend had Teaching Textbook's Algebra 2 for sale, so I was able to buy it and stay in our budget!  Thanks Theresa!

ACT Prep course (Hilger Higher Learning) and take test in the fall.  This includes English, Reading, Math and some Science.  ACT Prep course was completed on October 23 and the ACT test taken on October 25.  Now, we are awaiting scores.

SAT Prep course and take test in the spring.  We will be completing this prep course at home and take the SAT in May.

Art History with Christian World View.  This class is more than art, more than history and more than worldview. We will study cultures and the art they produced and discuss how it is relevant to us today. Materials are based on college art texts and we will read Francis Scheaffer's How Shall We Then Live as well as C.S. Lewis's God in the Dock. Two field trips are planned and there will be a research paper project.

US History  We will be using the newly revised US History - Heritage of Freedom  for 11th graders from A Beka.  I know they will receive comprehensive information with this program.  This newly revised edition goes through the inauguration of President Obama.  After purchasing the A Beka program, we found that it didn't work well for independent learners.  It is written and set-up to be taught in a classroom with the teacher "teaching" something!  We are entering some new curriculum territory now.  I am putting together our own US History curriculum now called "US History through our Country's Presidents."  It is more work for me, but the students are learning a lot of our great history.  They are looking up some simple facts, quotes from the presidents, and researching US History through the years as they learn about the presidents.  I will let you know how it goes!  (updated 11/8/10)
 
Physical Education   We will be logging the hours we work out this year.  Also, the whole family is working through the Boy Scout's Personal Fitness Badge which includes a 12-week fitness program.  Hoping to accumulate enough for one full high school credit.

Total Health   If we have the time, I would like Matthew and Melissa to complete their health curriculum for high school.  I have purchased the program through My Father's World along with their lesson plans.  The students will also read I Kissed Dating Goodbye for this course.

Varsity Sports:  Melissa tried out for and became a starter for our homeschool Varsity Soccer team.  She chose to continue with soccer through the winter and is now playing for a select soccer team.
 
Theater:  Matthew continues to audition and receive parts at both the Colonnade theater and now, at the Choo Choo Centenial Theater.

Michael - 9th grader:

Writing program: The Write Foundation.  This program teaches organization skills along with writing skills.  I'm excited to see how well it works.  I was even able to speak with the author of the program for about an hour.  She was able to give me insight into the program and answered my many questions.  How cool is that!

Introduction to Literature.  We will be reading books and doing a couple book studies.  He will also be joining his siblings and completing an Intro to Poetry unit by Progeny Press.

Grammar.  A Beka 9th Grade Grammar and Composition III.  We will not be utilizing the composition part since we will be knee-deep in The Write Foundation writing program.  We will continue with Spelling Power and Vocabulary from Classical Roots.

Apologia Physical Science

Around the World in 180 Days.  This is a student-led curriculum which covers all 7 continents.  The students are guided in their research.  They learn vocabulary, geography and history of the continent, the culture and people, plants and animals, religion and current events.  I'm learning alongside Michael!

Algebra 1     Saxon Algebra I or Teaching Textbook Algebra I   Why two choices you ask?  We own both of these programs.  Remember, my daughter refused to use Saxon math!  And the WINNER is.... Saxon Algebra 1!

Physical Education   We will be logging the hours we work out this year. Also, the whole family is working through the Boy Scout's Personal Fitness Badge which includes a 12-week fitness program. Hoping to accumulate enough for one full high school credit.

Electives       Undecided for now.


Add a link to your blog highlighting the curriculum you will be using this year.  A link back here is nice but not required.  If you don't have a blog, leave a comment.  I am looking forward to seeing what everyone else is using!


Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Homekeeper's Journal ~ July 6, 2010

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This week the Homekeeper’s Journal is all about SUMMER………


In my summer kitchen …….. pork bbq with fresh corn on the cob and sliced tomatoes with cucumbers, fresh honey wheat bread, fresh home-made strawberry jam on our toast, grilled chicken, bbq ribs with coleslaw.... this has been a good week!

In my summer yard ………. morning glories snaking up the mailbox, sunflowers just about to bloom, a vegetable garden that is supplying us with zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, and soon watermelon, carrots, and yellow squash!

On my summer reading list ….. I love to read, but I don't have a reading list.

In my summer plans ……. working through school paperwork and a quick vacation trip to Kansas City, MO, for my son's wedding later this month.

On my summer To-Do List ……… 1) get high school homeschool records in order, 2) get curriculum ordered and set-up, 3) work on some simple home repairs, esp 2 new bath fans and strip wallpaper and repaint both bathrooms... mildew issues, 4) spend fun quality time with my kids, and 5) clean out the garage... again!  I'm sure there is more on the to-do list....
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