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Ok Girls,

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!

Bigger Hearts Unit 25

http://wonderfilleddays.com/bigger-hear ... y-unit-25/

World History guide week 28, and a few pics from the weeks before that also. http://graceandfur.blogspot.com/2016/03 ... 82016.html

United States 1 - High School:
Running through all of the HOD guides from year to year is a steadily building repertoire of language arts skills that can soon be applied cross-curricularly to practically any written assignment. One of the most dependable and integral tools in this language arts arsenal of skills remains R & S English. From R & S English, Wyatt has learned far too many language arts skills to attempt to list here, but in general, they have worked together to build a strong writer. The clear, step-by-step instructions given for writing paragraphs with supporting details is one skill that comes to mind. This skill becomes the foundation for writing 3-4 paragraph narrations or for writing lengthy essays. It is one of the 'nuts and bolts' of writing that is taught well in R & S English. This short little assignment of quickly writing a descriptive paragraph about a storm is just one of many mini-assignments that help with writing skills. We had one sentence we fixed after this I snapped this picture, you can probably see which one as it doesn't quite make sense, but the overall writing captures the essence of a storm in a creative, accurate way...


These writing skills are then applied to the course of history within an opinion narration about the states struggling to unify...



Or, they may be applied more succinctly in the course of government within a short summation of the principles of government...


Or, they may be applied in a more reflective way in the course of American literature within a journal entry for The Man Without a Country....


Or, they may be applied more creatively by using a double-entry journal format to respond to the reading of a narrative book...


Or, they may be applied in a more concrete way by answering science questions in Chemistry...


I am so thankful for the way language arts skills have been taught in HOD. It has helped Wyatt learn how to respond well in writing to virtually every subject in school. Thanks, HOD!

In Christ,
Julie

Revival to Revolution:
This week in history we have been learning about The Emancipation Proclamation, the end of the Civil War, and Lincoln being assassinated. The Worthy Words assignment of reading the primary source document of the Gettysburg Address was made that much more 'real' by being able to listen to the audio Abraham Lincoln and the Heart of America. I'd venture to say all students at some point read the Gettysburg Address, but I'd also venture to say most have no inkling of the historical context in which that address was given - which is really what must be understood to truly see the greatness of that timeless speech. Another reason to love HOD. The detailed artwork that matches the chronological time period of each unit further makes this event 'come to life.' Add in some readings from amazing living books like "Gabriel's Horses" and "The Story of the Great Republic," as well as classical poetry about Lincoln by Walt Whitman entitled "O Captain! My Captain!" - and one cannot help by be moved by this time in American history. It all works together to make a visual and intellectual imprint in one's memory that we educators like to call 'retention.' Whatever one chooses to call it, Riley will remember what he learned this week in history. It has made an impact on him and will now be part of the 'fabric' of his being an American citizen himself. History begs to be taught this way - thanks HOD for doing so!


In physical science for Exploration Education, Riley has been have SO MUCH FUN building his uno guitar! Step-by-step he built it, all the while completing science experiments that explained the principles behind the inner workings of the uno guitar. When the guitar was finally completed, Riley was able to play "Old McDonald Had a Farm" on it, and it actually worked! He played it at supper, and the second time he played it we all joined in and sang along - even my husband. Such fun! He has not stopped playing it since. I actually had to make a rule that he could not play it during school anymore. I know that seems mean - but the 100th time of hearing "Old McDonald Had a Farm" during helping Wyatt with the pythagorean theorem in high school Algebra II put me over. Riley now plays it in the late afternoon and evening, and he is into trying different songs too now, such as "Jingle Bells." He also truly enjoyed reading about the inventor Baird, and his written narration is about Baird's invention that was the precursor to the invention of the television...


In R & S English, Riley has been working on writing paragraphs clearly (a skill I mentioned above in Wyatt's post as well). I love that R & S English is Christian. I cannot overstate that. After having looked at some other grammar programs that had sentences about dating, prom, arguing with siblings, the annoyance of parents in general (yes, these were the subjects of sentences in a grammar program I once looked at at a book fair), and I run with a bleating heart back to R & S English. For this writing assignment, Riley pulled out his Bible and read the historical account of the venomous snakes with Moses in the desert. He answered some questions orally after reading the account, and then he formed a paragraph summarizing it...


In Christ,
Julie

Bigger Hearts for His Glory:
This week in history Emmett has been learning about the Wright brothers "Gliding on Air." He is loving the book "The Wright Brothers and Their Sister" so much! There is so much to learn from these resourceful brothers and their supportive parents and sister. It was not as if they easily discovered how to fly! Many failed attempts year after year, with the background of a laughing, scoffing crowd of onlookers 'cheering them on' was not enough to stop these men from doing the 'impossible' - flying! It began with a simple box kite experiment - so, who knows what HOD's science plans may spark for ideas in our little future inventors?!? Great things - I hope! We did our own activities that made it clear why Will and Orv chose Kitty Hawk as their destination for gliding. Of course science-loving big brother Riley could not stay away!


Emmett finished his timeline chronology of the Wright brothers this week - whew! Good job, buddy! He also enjoyed adding to his timeline entries about the Wright brothers. I can actually walk away during the timeline activity now, by the way. He can do this assignment all by himself - way to go, Emmett! I so love to be at the end of a guide - progress, success, independence, completion of goals being met - love this!


Or course he especially loved the history activity involving air pressure and how high-pressure areas naturally attempt to move to low-pressure areas. He loved this because it allowed him to use his Beanie Balz collection, but I loved it because it helped him understand air pressure in a practical, memorable way.


In Christ,
Julie

CTC: We are finishing our 17th week of CtC and The Story of the Ancient World this week. I'm so happy to have read this entire book through with my second child. I wasn't entirely convinced that I loved it until I read it. I have grown in knowledge and she has really enjoyed the stories.
Our final project of this book was a meaningful and *fun* finale. Here is the pre-baked statue that I photographed and then had G place in her notebook alongside what each section of the statue represented.

You'll have to forgive my sideways photos (I can't figure out how to upload them vertically).

World History:

We are only two weeks into WH, but L is enjoying the work and loving this year's spine. The Fine Arts study is a big hit. I am very thankful for the inclusion of this elective, which probably wouldn't have been done to the same degree without a scheduled program. We have chosen to watch movies related to art in lieu of the studio arts project. L all ready goes to an art class once a week. This week, she chose Monument's Men as the movie based around art history and it was an incredible pick. Here is an example of her Notes while watching the Fine Arts DVD. I love that she is beginning to learn this skill of note taking from a lecture.
She jumped into written narrations seamlessly with WH. I have noticed, however, that L writes better when I spend the time to really talk with her about her narration. I am taking the time this year to really slow down and read aloud each section of her notebook.
R&S Grammar 7 is really gathering steam. It can sometimes be a struggle but just as Algebra can be a struggle, this encourages her to work through tough problems and feel accomplished with the hard work. Foerster's Algebra is such a fantastic text. It reminds me of Singapore quite a bit. We have had to stop and look at Khan Academy videos this week in Chapter 7 with graphing slope-line-intercept formulas. It is the first lesson where we just couldn't understand the content based on the text lesson alone. I hope it is a temporary issue and we pick up the pace again after this section.

We are very thankful for the step by step and bite sized approach to homeschooling though high school. It is the only way we could tackle the mental calisthenics of rigorous texts and books. Thank you HOD!