Week Three Lessons

We started the Chemistry Co-op class today.  In Chemistry, we introduced graphing calculators and a brief review of graphing in general: title, axes labeled with units of measure, appropriate scale, etc.  I have another high school student who is doing British Literature right after Chemistry.  My husband and I are teaching Chemistry and Statistics simultaneously; after he teaches Physics.  I start working on other lessons with Lacie.  I just added Angel as a student for British Literature.  We are using British Literature by Stobaugh.  I bought an older set on eBay.  For now, we're reading each lesson and answering questions.  My goal is to complete four essays each term with a final term paper.  My goal is one lesson per week.  Today we started The Seafarer and went over questions.  I did teach Junior Literature one year.  I'm not an English teacher.  My goal is to expose Angel to a wide, traditional range of British Literature, in chronological order.  Boring?  Yes.  It won't hurt to read the classics.

Lacie is still working through the introductory Theology and History questions.  My son, Fr. Josh, was visiting.  Lacie received a thorough explanation of why the Catholic Church rejects Sola Scriptura.  She's still young.  This year, we'll work on critical thinking skills.  I did some editing again today.  For literature, Lacie is making lists of Robinson Crusoe's characteristics before and after a lengthy stay on the island in preparation for a composition, "How did the stay on the island make Robinson Crusoe a better man?"  First she's making a list and next an outline.

My husband, Rob, is working through Algebra 1; she's on Lesson 2.  Our goal each week is four lessons to complete the book by June.  That may be too ambitious.  We're not moving ahead until she understands each lesson.  We did extra work in metric measure conversions.  This is important for Chemistry all year.  I wanted her to have a head start.

In History, I reviewed questions from Chapter 1, assigned more questions, and encouraged Lacie to find a good time to work.

In Latin, she's learning terra, terrae, porta, portae, first declension nouns.   So, truthfully, we have not started Latin.  Instead, we're working on grammar.

Lacie had a guitar lesson and did more grammar work in 5/6 Easy Grammar with diagramming.  I know diagramming is old fashioned.  I'm a believer!  Diagramming, parsing verbs, and understanding mood, etc. will help her to understand Latin.  The reason people struggle with foreign and ancient languages is understanding the grammar, such as the subjunctive mood.

We think Lacie needs to spend three days at our house and do all of her work then.  She can read at home independently.  It's hard with little ones to concentrate.  If we work 20 hours a week, she can spend several hours at home reading, which is easier to work in during the course of the day.

It's a work in progress!