heartofdakota.com

Ok Fellow HOD Homeschoolers,

What was YOUR week Like?

You can post:

a- A picture
b- A blog Link
c- A written synopsis
d- Your favorite memory
e- Anything you want that shares your HOD excitement!

Important Note: If you are linking us to your blog, please make sure it's not just a general link, but to your specific post of HOD. That way if someone reads through these a year from now they can find your share without needing to hunt!

Resurrection to Reformation:
For Storytime, Riley just finished listening to the the Storytime audio "The Legend of Squanto." He loved it so much that he exclaimed upon finishing, "That is the best book I have ever heard! Mom, it was sooooooo good!" The next day, while he was coloring his Shakespeare Student Notebook, he had his CD and headphones on, and I asked him what he was listening to, and he said, "I started Squanto all over again, and I am going to listen to it while I color my Shakespeare and my Draw and Write pictures! It's just sooooooo good, Mom, I have to hear it again!" I have bought quite a few books on tape/CD through the years, and Riley has had zero interest in listening to them. So, this was surprising!

The next book Riley has begun reading for Storytime is "A Piece of the Mountain." We both enjoy the follow-ups to Storytime. There are different assignments that follow a rotation, and each of the assessments teach different skills, but in such a way that the actual reading of the book is still thoroughly able to be enjoyed. I say this because some book studies have a student do so much with a book (worksheets, quizzes, writing prompts, vocabulary, fill-in-the-blank answers, etc., that by the time they are done they are so glad, and they didn't even enjoy the reading of the book ). This is sad. I like that Storytime recognizes the reading of the living books is the star of the show. As Charlotte Mason would say (I'm paraphrasing here) - don't get between the book and the student. So, rotating between orally narrating and looking for one specified element while reading are terrific follow-ups! I snapped a picture of Riley writing his 'Great Lines' element for "A Piece of the Mountain." You can also see his 'Life Lessons' entries as well, as the cards are on a ring.


As I said, Riley loved his Squanto audio, and part of the reason for that is the fact that he has been immersed in learning about Squanto. In Reading about History, Riley has been reading about Squanto in "Mystery of History." He has copied quotes about Squanto, and he has also enjoyed making a gourd rattle, to show the ceremonial rattles the Algonquian and Iroquis tribes made. Here is a picture of his rattle, which includes an "R" for Riley.


Here is a picture of his Student Notebook, which includes his written narration about Rene Descartes, his research about Amsterdam (where Separatists fled), and his timeline entries of the Thirty Years' War, the Pilgrims Land at Plymouth Rock, and Squanto Lives at Plymouth.


You can see Riley's bio info about William Bradford, his map labeling, his quote about Squanto, his labeling of Squanto's portrait, and the gourds he used to pattern his own after. We especially liked the beautiful picture of Squanto - it is easy to see why he is so well remembered and loved. He just seems to have such a commanding presence about him - a true leader.


In Christ,
Julie

World History High School:
The primary source document of Antonio Pigafetta's account of Magellan's death really seemed to pay homage to how well-respected and revered he was by the men traveling with him. Antonio was a tourist who actually paid fare to travel with Magellan, and his diary sheds light on how Magellan died. Reading this alongside "People, Places, and Events of World History" really helped Wyatt to see the essence of the man, rather than just memorizing (as I did in ps) facts about Magellan, like he was an explorer.

Next, Wyatt read about Queen Elizabeth, and taking notes on what he read in "People, Places, and Events of World History" he prepared for his Topic Narration. He chose his main topics and took notes in phrases in the sequence he wanted to share, and then he used them to give his Topic Narration to me. I love this! I turn on the fireplace, and sit with my cup of coffee with the history book open, so I can skim what he read quickly as he looks over his notes. Then, as he is narrating, I am glancing at the history book, but also listening intently to what he is sharing. This is such a GREAT way to journey through history together! He enjoys it, and I often hear him sort of giving the narration again to his younger brothers as they talk about their school day together (usually over lunch or supper).


Wyatt listened to the "Execution of Mary Queen of Scots" on his You Are There!... CD. He took notes in bulleted words/phrases about each person's point of view/actions. He then had to write his opinion about whom he agreed with and why. He had a tough time with this one, as Mary chose to allow herself to be beheaded so as not to disgrace her church - which seems a noble cause. However, she was a murderer, and she did conspire against the queen, which seems not so noble. Grappling with what is right and what is wrong in how events turned out is helping Wyatt see that often times the big happenings in history (and in life) have many complicated layers. It is not always so cut and dry, and often good and evil can be present in one event or person at the same time.


In Fine Arts, Wyatt has been learning about Vincent Van Gogh as a Postimpressionist. I really appreciate the way in which the art resources describe each artist's life. An accurate representation is given without delving into the sometimes less than desirable elements of their lives. Their art remains something lovely to behold, even if their lives were filled with difficulties (as in Van Gogh's case, mental instability and suicide ). This is why I especially love Pat Knepley's art projects being an integral part of the Fine Arts elective. She is an incredibly positive, encouraging, Christian lady, and Wyatt finds her demonstrations to be so cheerful. He jokes "Pat and I are friends - she tells me at the start of each segment when she says Hello, friends!" And he smiles. He's joking, but he finds her style of teaching to be clear, helpful, and joyful! For a kid who didn't love art, he sure loves his art study this year!


Wyatt finished reading "Caught in the Web" for his Living Library selection. This book truly showed the life and death consequences of taking a stand for one's beliefs. Hal was a wonderful main character, and his grappling with his faith, recanting when faced with imprisonment, being released from prison only to be persecuted again, and finally choosing not to recant his beliefs and face death bravely (I won't spoil the end for you) - truly made a lasting impression on Wyatt and on me. (I ended up reading most of the book because I HAD to know the details of what happened myself.) Wyatt did a good job of completing his Literary Synthesis Sheet, in part, due to the excellent training of how to complete it earlier on in the guide. I especially liked his connections/conclusions, for which he wrote: It is better to suffer for what we know is right than to not suffer knowing that we have lost our own confidence in what we uphold.


In Christ,
Julie

Bigger Hearts for His Glory:
Each day as we all clean up our breakfast dishes and kitchen together we all sing Emmett's Hymns for Kid's Heart song. It has become a special time, and we know "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing" well, even though the guide says to just begin practicing the last 3 verses now. This is because the boys would not hear of me shutting off the song before it played all 6 verses every time! I shut it off in the middle on one of the days Emmett was just to sing 3 verses, and there were many protests that we were 'missing the best part, the big finale.' So, ever since, we have sung the entire song. It is a stirring song that builds! I love starting our school day segment after breakfast like this.

In history, we have been enjoying reading about William Penn. Emmett is finding his way around the globe better and better. One of his geography activities had him 'walk' his fingers along the route William Penn took from important place to place. This really helps him 'see' better where in the world these things happened, especially in regard to where they happened geographically in comparison to where we live.

One of Emmett's favorite activities (and the rest of our sons') was reenacting the jumping games William Penn partook in. Penn and the Native Americans became good friends, and one day when he was visiting them, they were having a contest to see who could jump the farthest. Penn, then a governor, surprised them by joining in. He surprised them even more by winning! Apparently, Penn was an excellent jumper, as the Native Americans were well-known for their athleticism. The boys all had to join in on the jumping activity, seeing how far they could each jump. We made it a goal for them to better their own jump, rather than a goal to see who jumped the farthest (Wyatt is over 6 feet tall, so this seemed more fair. ). They begged to do this again and again, with socks, without socks, farthest foot marked, only feet together marked, farthest heel marked - they tried them all. What fun!


In Christ,
Julie