Connection By Design

This is a portfolio blog for both Caleb and Luke.
Caleb is in 6th grade this year.
Luke is in 3rd grade.

This year has been one of tremendous change for our family. At the turn of the year we listed the house for sale feeling that a local move was in order. We got rid of many things and listed the house. At the end of April the house had not sold, but we unexpectedly found my husband out of a job. Within two weeks a new job had been secured - in Flagstaff, Arizona. A hasty move was arranged, massive amounts of possessions were given away and a much smaller selection were packed into a trailer, a relocation "cube," and the back of a pick up truck. So here we find ourselves, less than a week before the end of the school year. It has been a whirlwind and an adventure.

From here.....

....to here.

First things first: Here's Luke's test results for 3rd grade:

English

Caleb and Luke both spend much time reading independently. They love reading - Caleb prefers fiction about animals and minecraft, and Luke prefers non-fiction about tanks, and planes and such. We are frequent library visitors and no one here finds reading to be a chore. They are also avid gamers who get a lot of practice communicating with their friends through games. This is where most of their writing and spelling practice happens.

Materials:

Luke: First Language Lessons for the Well-trained Mind (Level 4) - FLL4

Arithmetic

Caleb is unenthusiastic about math. He finds it arduous and has difficulty keeping numbers straight in his head. Therefore we continue to plug away at the basic functions, focusing most of this year on multi-digit multiplication and long division. He didn't like using the computer so I sat down with him at the table and would explain and work through problems with him. We eventually found that putting a single problem on a small piece of paper so he wasn't distracted by the content and number of the other problems worked best for him. The crumpling of the single sheet shown above was a result of his frustration and dislike of math. He made progress slowly but surely.

text book: Growth in Arithmetic 5

Luke had little issue with math. He worked through the Khan Academy sequences for 3rd and 4th grade independently and seemed to understand and remember the material.

webstie: khanacademy.org 4th grade math sequence

Science

This year we of course experienced the solar eclipse with much of the rest of the country. We went to Grove City College where their physics department did a great job of hosting a community event.

Video games again have been surprisingly full of science learning. They have learned about the hardness of different elements and materials in Minecraft, Subnautica taught them element names and abbreviations and draws parallels between the game and the Mars rovers (and created a lot of interest in the mars rovers which led to watching some documentaries on the subject), Scrap Mechanic teaches them physics and how things work - bearings and pistons and how they work.

Our trip across the county has led us to learn much about the world outside of our normal. We saw and discussed wind turbines in Oklahoma and Texas, ancient lava flows in New Mexico, and talked about the relation between altitude and temperature.

Geography

Our trip across the country was obviously a boon to our understanding of US Geography. We traveled through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. This trip really helped us to better understand the breadth and diversity of the US.

History

We started the year with a field trip to Bushy Run Battlefield to learn about the French and Indian War and PA history. We continued learning about the vikings and Columbus and the discovery of North America. We also learned some world history through the Story of the World.

curriculum: Paths of Exploration, Unit 1
textbook: Story of the World, Volume 2

Safety Education, including regular and continuous instruction in the dangers and prevention of fires

Fire safety education at the campground.

Numerous opportunities to start camping fires have also led to discussions about fire safety - how to keep yourself and your environment safe from fire. In addition, their love of collaborative video games has led to many discussions about online safety - what it is, why it's necessary, and how to stay safe online.

Health and Physiology

Both boys desire to be healthy so we have discussions about food choices and their benefits and consequences. Last summer we were members of a farmer's coop and were actually the drop off/pick up location for the city of New Castle. We learned how eating local food helps local farmers and the benefits of organic foods to the body.

Physical Education

We camp often which gives the boys a chance to bike around. These boys also love to swim. They wish they could go more often. Playing Nerf wars with their friends in Pennsylvania also kept them active this past year.

Foreign Language - Hebrew

Making Hebrew fun - say a line of Hebrew, get a spin.

Broken Vav in the torah scroll - there's one in every scroll.

Hannukah surprise cake.

Lighting the candles on the hannukiah (menorah).

We follow Judaism and as an extension of that, we choose to learn Hebrew.

website: Mango Languages through the local library: Modern Hebrew
curriculum: Time to Pray: workbooks 1 and 2

We have fun.