Third Homeschool Report

The third report of the year went in last week--here it is for your reading pleasure. Only one more to go!

Report 3—1 February 2017-14 April 2017:

For Phoebe Salomon, 8^th Grade

Submitted on 13 April 2017

US History:

Phoebe has wrapped up her study of the Second World War.

We watched Children of the Camps, a documentary about the Japanese internment camps that were established during WWII, and a documentary about the bombing of Hiroshima. We also watched Midway, which is about that pivotal battle in the Pacific. We also watched parts of The Desert Fox, which is about Rommel, the German general, and The Longest Day, which is about the Normandy invasion.

She also read The Book Thief and Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, which are about the Holocaust. More information in the Literature section.

To supplement our discussion of code breaking during the war, we watched The Imitation Game.

As we move past WWII, Phoebe is studying the Cold War and the 1950s. When she read about Jackie Robinson and his breaking the color barrier in baseball, we watched the film 42. Although we haven’t gotten to the space race or the equality movements yet, we went to see Hidden Figures in the theater, and we will refer back to it when we get to those chapters in history.

To get better insight into segregation, we took a break from the History text to read A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry. We have discussed the play, and we watched a filmed version. She is also currently reading To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

The week of 10 April, we went back to our history textbook, and she learned about Kennedy’s inauguration, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the founding of the Peace Corps.

We are also continuing to watch Downton Abbey, which gives her more insight into gender roles and day-to-day life in the early 20^th century. Although we have moved past this time period in her study of history, there is still useful information to be gleaned. We have finished Seasons 1-4, which has brought us up to the 1920s. We have also finished watching Season 1 Agent Carter, which provides insight into mid-twentieth century gender roles and some aspects of mid-century American life, like the Automat.

Although a bit after the fact, we watched The Untouchables for a bit more insight into Prohibition, the gangsters of the 1920s, and the work done to bring them to justice.

We have also started watching Oliver Stone’s documentary series, The Untold History of the United States. We have watched the episodes “The Bomb,” “The Cold War: 1945-1950,” and “The ‘50s: Eisenhower, the Bomb, and the Third World.”

On 3 March, Phoebe had the chance to attend the Off the Sidelines luncheon where Senator Kirsten Gillibrand spoke. Off the Sidelines is a movement to get young women involved in activism and politics. She had an opportunity to ask a question of, and receive a personalized answer from, the Senator.  On 4 April, Phoebe had the opportunity to attend a talk given by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor at Russell Sage College.

We continue to watch CNN Student News, now CNN 10, every weekday for information about global events. CNN 10 also offers a weekly quiz on the events covered, and she has started taking those.

Literature and Writing:

Books/Stories Read:

·      The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, by Alan Bradley (book club)

·      Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare (now finished)

·      Greywalker, by Kat Richardson (now finished)

·      Magnus Chase: The Hammer of Thor, by Rick Riordan (now finished)

·      84, Charing Cross Road, by Helene Hanff

·      “Beauty and the Beast”

·      A Cat Abroad, by Peter Gethers

·      The Book Thief, by Marcus Zuzak

·      Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

·      1984, by George Orwell (book club)

·      The Incredible Journey, by Sheila Burnford (book club)

·      Uglies, by Scott Westerfeld (book club)

·      El Deafo, by Cece Bell (book club)

·      A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry

·      “The Adventure of the Empty House,” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

·      “The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist,” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

·      “The Adventure of the Speckled Band,” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

·      The Wishing Spell, by Chris Colfer (book club/currently reading)

·      I’d Tell You I Love You, but Then I’d Have to Kill You, by Ally Carter (currently reading)

·      Palace of Dreams, by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson (currently reading)

·      To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee (currently reading)

Book club books are discussed with the rest of the group on Fridays. We meet for an hour—I moderate the group—and have a round table discussion, exploring various aspects of the text.

After finishing Romeo and Juliet, Phoebe took an essay exam—and she received a B+

Phoebe took a class on Outschool about Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, and she is currently wrapping that up by writing an essay. On 23 March, she started a class on Sherlock Holmes through Athena’s Academy—they read and discuss a story a week. Thee will be writing involved, but she has not done any yet. She did choose and lead the discussion of the first story, where she had to come up with discussion questions and moderate the conversation between the students in the online classroom.

In addition to reading the fairy tale “Beauty and the Beast,” we watched the animated Disney film and then went to see the new live action film. All the versions were analyzed and discussed.

On 4 April, Phoebe attended a showing of the film adaptation of 1984 at the Sage College of Albany, which was followed by a panel discussion.

She writes reviews of many of the books she reads, which we post on a blog.

On 8 April, Phoebe attended Splash at Yale (https://yale.learningu.org/learn/splash.html), where she took two English/Literature classes—Introduction to Online Editorial Journalism and Comic Book History.

Algebra:

Phoebe is prepping to take the Regents Exam for Algebra in June, so we are spending time every day on Algebra, using her textbook and review guides for the exam. Each book has a slightly different order, so she is working on a variety of topics each week, some new and some review. When there is a weakness, I supplement with worksheets that I find online to provide more practice.

Science:

As part of her Disappearing Spoon class, Phoebe created her own Periodic Table of superheroes, constructed a spectroscope, and wrote out a decay chain for the element Neptunium. She also wrote an essay about Rosalind Franklin and did other virtual labs and experiments. Most recently, she tested the reaction of Mentos and other candies when put in a bottle of Coke.

On 9 March, Phoebe participated in the “Inside the Smithsonian’s Fossil Prep Lab” webcast, which is part of the Smithsonian Science How series. Michelle Pinsdorf, fossil preparatory at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, gave some insight into her job and answered questions. Since Phoebe wants to be an anthropologist, this was a good window into that.

Phoebe also took two Science classes at Yale Splash—CSI Fingerprinting and Aliens?

World Religions:

Phoebe wrapped up her section on Judaism, and then moved on to Christianity. She read the relevant chapter in Experiencing the World’s Religions, by Michael Molloy, and then read sections of the New Testament: Each week, she discusses the material, answers discussion questions, and takes reading quizzes. She recently took her test on Christianity, which has not yet been graded, and she has moved on to Islam, which is her final major religion of the year.

French:

We have gotten back into French, and Phoebe is using a variety of resources to study the language—her textbook, language websites and apps, and podcasts.

 

Physical Education:

Phoebe continues to take Modern Dance each week, both of which are rigorous. In total, she has spent a total of 9 hours in dance. Now that the weather is getting warmer, we have resumed our daily walks after lunch.

There are also other ways she is active. She has started babysitting a toddler once a week for 2-3 hours, and that keeps her moving. We do a lot of walking whilst we are out doing errands. When it snowed, she shoveled the neighbor’s driveway.

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 continues to be involved in weekly meal planning and working with me to make sure she has a balanced daily diet with ample fruits and vegetables. She understands the importance of exercise and sleep to good health as well. She has also started keeping track of her iron, calcium, and protein intake every day.

Since this is something we do everyday, it is difficult to give a total number of hours. It is just integrated into our life.

Art:

Phoebe continues to knit and make the models for the Home Depot Kids’ Workshop, which requires assembling and painting the project. She also does a lot of coloring, which incorporates color theory, and makes jewelry. She does other assorted crafts and artsy things as well, so this would a total of 20-25 hours. 

Library Skills:

Library work and research is incorporated into almost every subject that Phoebe studies. For example, her History discussion questions, she is required to find other sources to supplement her answers, and those sources need to be scholarly and cited. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. Since both her parents are academics, research is just what we do, so she looks up words and concepts that she doesn’t understand. She even researches things for fun because it is something she enjoys. Again, it is difficult to attach a total number of hours to this, since she does some kind of library work every day. 

Practical Arts:

Phoebe continues doing household chores. Currently, she irons her clothes, puts her clothes away, dusts, takes care of the recycling, scoops the litter box, collects the garbage, and keeps her room tidy. She continues to help with the weekly errands. The knitting and woodworking she does for Art also has practical applications. When we are cooking or working on a DIY project, she assists.

Now that she is babysitting, she is learning more about economics, and she is also putting into practice the childcare skills she learned at her babysitting class. Being around a toddler also helps her with patience.