Week 5

And I-

I took the one less traveled by.

-The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost 

Week 4- Life Hit Hard

Quote of the Week

When we say yes to Christ, we are saying yes to the most abundant life possible.

Steven D. Shumway

An experiment gone right

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I was going to title this section "Core Subjects" but, to me, knowing history, knowing how to create art and music, knowing how to formulate and sit with ones own thoughts, these, too, should make up our core. For some reason, as a nation, we have decided these 3 things- math, language arts, and science- are what matter above all other knowledge. However, the nation's "report card" recently came out and the number of 12th grade seniors proficient in the these subject has been decreasing for decades. For example, in 2013, those proficient in math was 26 percent while those below basic understanding was 35 percent. As of 2024, only 22 percent of seniors were found to be proficient in math, 33% had a basic understanding, and 45% fell below basic understand- that's a 10 percent increase in the wrong direction. The tests show our current educational system is failing our students. We know how to better educate our students, the research is there, now we just need someone who has the power to change it on national level, with enough courage to do so. In the meantime, I'm going to keep trying to give my kids an awesome education, even when I fall short of the ideal.

 Now, I'll admit, when it came to homeschooling, this week was pretty rough. I reflected on a lot of things, which I will share at the end. But first, to fulfill requirements, the 3 subjects OpenEd asks I report on...

3rd Week- Family History

God rejoices in our progress, and so should we.

Steven D. Shumway

We're still doing math and Language arts on Exact Path, but will no longer be using it for reading. A1 loves to read. His sister introduced him to Fable Haven this week and he finishes the first book in two days. He is sad he has to wait until we can get ahold of book two.

Language Arts- We worked more on homophones, handwriting, creative writing, and his mindfulness journal.

Math- We worked on rounding decimals and reviewed previous learning.

Science- We watched a zoology video and, because it was A1's turn to be sick this week, we watched a lot of Crocodile Hunter. A1 loves reptiles and was thrilled to be introduced to a "new" show that focuses heavily on reptiles of all kinds. 

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2nd week-

 

Knowledge is not power. 

Knowledge put into action is power.

Dale Carnegie idea

Cinnamon Rolls in the making

Math: We are continue with Edmentum (Exact Path) as well as Singapore Math. A1 practiced more decimals and fractions. We also reviewed multiplication and learned this cool multiplication trick shown to us by OpenEd. 

It's fun for small numbers but wouldn't be so great for something like 99x78.  Hence, we will continue working on regular multiplication.

Language Arts: In addition to Edmentum, A1 worked on better handwriting. We focused on not capitalizing letters in the middle of words. We reviewed contractions and commonly confused words (ie: their, there). 

And we do read aloud every morning and he silent reads in the afternoon. We also are focusing on correct spelling of the 1,000 most common words.

Science: We started The Good and the Beautiful reptile, amphibian, and fish unit- 2 lessons in.

We also learned about the science behind popcorn! We got some locally grown popcorn from Robert's Family Farm, dried right on the cob. We stuck it in a brown paper bag and popped it in the microwave. It was the best popcorn. No salt or butter was even required to make it a tasty treat. 

https://robertsfamilyfarms.net/collections/popcorn

Pull the cob out and you're good to go.

We've been enjoying the food from our own garden, too. During the summer, A1 planted and weeded the corn, now we get to enjoy it. He helped with watering the fruit trees, too. (Apples coming soon)

Not for cats

A1 also played with electrical circuits, making lights and sirens. He showed his siblings fun tricks with the circuits, too.

We forgot to add in from last week, the kids built structures out of marshmallows and toothpicks.

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History: We started with fun facts about different states. Looking a PBS videos on different states, we learned a little history about the game of Dungeons and Dragons. It was created in Wisconsin.

We learned weird facts about Utah. A1 was impressed astronauts can see Kennecott copper mine from space. We enjoyed learning about Pando- the one of the oldest and largest living organisms on earth. And we learned Salt Lake City is the only US state capital that is three words long.  Salt Lake City is also home to the largest (and only) manufacture of rubber chickens in America.

Fun facts about the US: it is the 3rd largest country in the world and 3rd in population as well. And, we took it over again. It's such a fun way for A1 to learn the state names.

Extras: A1 has been filling out a mindfulness journal, learning to make treats, and when his younger brother was sick, he created a get well bag with all the things he would need to hang out on the couch and relax. A1 is so kind and thoughtful like that.

At story hour, the kids made paper puppets.

Here is A2's updated 1000 books before kindergarten reading chart. We didn't read as much as we hoped this week. Hopefully next week we'll be able to catch up.

We also took her to meet her preschool teachers.

She quickly found the toy ponies

And since K was home for a day, he got to join us for school.

Open Ed: The Beginning

 

Education is yours to obtain. No one else can gain it for you. Wherever you are, develop a deep desire to learn.

Russell M. Nelson

After a year homeschooling with a different program, we are excited to be back with OpenEd. As mentioned in our last post, only one of our kids is using OpenEd this year, while two of them are back in public school. I also have preschooler at home that I am teaching.  As such, these blogs are going to look a little different this year. I will first report on the required classed for OpenEd- math, language arts, and science so that A1's supervising teacher does not need to read the entire blog. (But you are more than welcome to!) I will then report on the rest of his schooling- music, history, PE, etc. My preschoolers work will come next as well as family learning activities. 

Without further ado: Our First Week!

Every Kid, Every Year

When my youngest was a baby, my neighbor who told me, when it came to schooling, they decided every year what would be best for each individual child. At the time, I thought it was overwhelming that she had 3 kids in three different schools. Fast-forward 12+ years and here we are at the beginning of the school year, with four kids planning on attending four different schools. 

Last year we used the UFA scholarship and had a heavy emphasis on traveling our state while we studied the state's history. This year, with a couple kids in public school, we can no longer travel as freely. We also switched from UFA to OpenEd. I love OpenEd's philosophy on how education should be tailored to each individual child. I feel they are open to helping children explore their interest and supporting homeschoolers in the best way.

OpenEd requires elementary students do Math, Language Arts, and Science every week. For math we will be continuing with Singapore Primary Mathematics US Edition. For language arts, we will be trying out the Good and the Beautiful, with an emphasis on creative writing as well as penmanship. For science, we will be doing various experiments, and also have an emphasis on animal science.

We will be studying US history through various means, such a Mia Academy, books, and The Good and the Beautiful curriculum.

We will continue with piano lessons for our homeschooler, and have lots of time to read good books. 

Going back to what we did a few years ago, we will begin again to have a quote of the week and positive affirmations.

We're excited for this new adventure of schooling in multiple ways as we've never done before.

Off we go to another great year!

School Year in Review

“I love sunrises and sunsets. But what I really love is the space I have in-between them to do something incredible.”

 Craig D. Lounsbrough

And what a magnificent year it was.