Literature and Writing:
Over the summer, she read Jane Eyre, The Strange Case
of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Etiquette
and Espionage, Magnus Chase and the
Gods of Asgard: The Sword of Summer, The
Hollow City, and The Girl Who Could
Fly. She wrote book reports on all of these for CapCom’s Summer Reading
Challenge.
Once school officially began, her first text was Beowulf, and we also talked about the
Sutton Hoo ship burial, and how that gave us more insight into the text. When
we were in NYC, we went to the Vikings exhibit at Discovery Times Square, and
she was able to learn more about the time, how Vikings lived, and see artifacts
up close. She also listened to me read some of the text in the original Old
English, which gave her a feel for how the poem sounded in its original form.
We also talked about that there is only one MS of this poem, so we are lucky to
have it, and I showed her some images of the original at the British Museum. She
finished the poem, and spent time discussing and analyzing it.
On her own, she read an ARC of Our Chemical Hearts, by Krystal Sutherland, and wrote a review. She
re-read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s
Stone for an online read-along, and, this time, she read the British
version. Lastly, she finished The Trials
of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle, by Rick Riordan, and she wrote a review of
that as well.
At the end of September, she started participating in a
Tween/Teen Book Club at a local homeschool co-op. For that, she read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the
Night-time, by Mark Haddon, Splendors
and Glooms, by Laura Amy Schlitz, I,
Robot, by Isaac Asimov, and Yellow
Star, by Jennifer Roy. Harry Potter
and the Sorcerer’s Stone was also discussed, but since she had just read
it, she didn’t need to read it again. The books are discussed for one or two
weeks, depending on the book, and the discussion entails both general and
critical thinking questions. Phoebe is also writing reports and/or reviews in
addition to the discussion.
In October, she read Frankenstein,
by Mary Shelley. At the end of the month, we went to see the encore showing of
the National Theatre’s performance of the stage version of the story, starring
Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller. Afterwards, we discussed the
differences between the play and the novel and the actors’ performances.
Also in late October, she started reading Greek and Roman
mythology in preparation for the National Mythology Exam next year. Other
homeschool kids are reading the myths with her, and they discuss the stories
both in person and online.
In addition to writing reviews of the books she read, she
took quizzes on several of them to test her knowledge. Her writing gives her a
chance to work on grammar, punctuation, and structure. She has also worked on
writing in most of her other classes, either by answering discussion questions
or writing papers.
Currently, she is reading The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott
Fitzgerald.
Algebra:
Since Phoebe was in 8th Grade Math, Pre-Algebra,
last year, she is taking 9th Grade Math, Algebra, this year. She has
been working her way through her book, Algebra
I Concepts, and has completed the following chapters:
-Equations and Functions: Evaluate algebraic expressions,
write equations and inequalities, check solutions of equations and
inequalities, and write and graph functions.
-Real
Numbers: Compare and graph integers, find absolute values, order and perform
basic operations with rational numbers, and apply the commutative, associative,
and distributive properties.
-Equations
of Lines: Solve one-step, two-step, and multi-step equations, use ratios and
proportions, solve problems using scale drawings, use similar figures to
measure, and find the percent of a number.
-Graphs
of Equations and Functions: Plot points in a coordinate plane, graph functions
given a table or rule, graph linear equations, graph using intercepts and slope-intercept
form, and solve real-world problems using direct variation.
In addition to the textbook and exercises on the CK-12
website, she also uses PurpleMath and Khan Academy to supplement her book. She
also has an Algebra workbook from the Dummies
series, for extra problems, and she also use The Humongous Book of Algebra Problems for extra help with
concepts.
Science:
Phoebe
is taking Physical Science this year, and she has completed the following
chapters in her book, Physical Science for
Middle School—
-The
World of Science: An introduction to scientific investigation and the scope of
physical science.
-Scientific
Research and Technology: An explanation about how scientific investigation is
performed, as well as how technology and science go hand in hand.
-Introduction
to Matter: Explanation of matter, including its properties, states, and types
of changes.
-States
of Matter: Description of the states of matter, behavior of gases, and changes
of state.
-Atoms:
Explanation of the structure of an atom, including its parts, historical
discovery process, and modern atomic theory.
We
have started the next chapter, which focuses on the Periodic Table.
In
addition to her work in Physical Science, she started, the week of 12
September, an online class called Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,
based on the book and upcoming movie by J.K. Rowling. This class focused on
animal science and taxonomy, learning the taxonomic ranks for real world
animals, and then speculating where magical creatures, largely from the Harry
Potter universe, would fit in.
Over
the course of the class, you designed habitats for magical creates, watched and
performed virtual dissections online, studied objects under the microscope,
studied the day-to-day activities of our pets, gathered information about
specific real world creatures, like snakes, and worked through the taxonomic
rank system for specific animals.
World Religions:
This
semester, after some introductory materials on ancient religions and the
concept of religion in general, Phoebe has been studying non-Western religions:
Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism. Each week, she reads two textbooks—Experiencing the World’s Religions, by
Michael Molloy, and Religions of the
World, by Niels C. Nielsen, et al. She answers discussion questions, takes
quizzes, and has written a paper for Hinduism.
Physical
Education:
Dance class started 12
September, and that is an hour every Monday. At the end of the month, she also
started an eight-week tumbling class at her dance studio, and that is also an
hour every Friday for the duration of the class. The tumbling class ended last
week, but a new session will be starting on 2 December.
Music:
She has either a clarinet or
a piano lesson every week, and she practices her instruments everyday for about
15 minutes each.
Health:
Phoebe has read through the
first three chapters of her book Teen
Health Literacy. The book is based on a program developed by Stanford
University. It is intended to teach teenagers about their bodies and ways to maintain
a healthy lifestyle. The first chapter is an Introduction, and the second and
third chapters focus on Nutrition and Exercise. For each section, she reads the
text, watches companion videos, and answers questions.
In addition, Phoebe is
involved in weekly meal planning. Since we are vegan, we spend a lot of time
reading labels and exploring recipes that are healthy and tasty. We work
together to make sure she has a balanced daily diet with ample fruits and
vegetables. Currently, we are working on planning Thanksgiving dinner.
Art:
Phoebe has completed one
knitting project and has started a second. She also does a lot of coloring,
which incorporates color theory. Once a month she does a woodworking project
for Home Depot, assembling and painting the model for the Kids’ Workshop for
the following month. She does other assorted crafts and artsy things as well.
Library
Skills:
Library work and research is
incorporated into almost every subject that Phoebe studies. For History, she
has researched Frank Lloyd Wright, the sinking of the Lusitania, the cost of living at the turn of the 20th
century, and various components of the presidential election. For Religion, she
used the Siena library as well as our own scholarly library to research her
paper on Hinduism. And those examples are just the tip of the iceberg.
Practical
Arts:
Phoebe helps with shopping,
learning how to compare prices and calculate sales. She knows how to iron and
is learning the basics of cooking. We have also talked about how bills get paid
and interest rates on credit cards. She learned some basic sewing when she had
to replace a button on one of her shirts. The knitting and woodworking she does
for Art also has practical applications. Occasionally, Phoebe will also help
her dad or I with DIY projects around the house.
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