Quotes on Objects

The kids are remitting pix of their objects covered with their favorite quotes.  Below is another example.

 

Brit Lit: Shakespeare

 We are reading Hatrack Romeo and Juliet in class.  (Take a look at Hatrack Taming of the Shrew.). The kids take parts.  Remember our class is meeting remotely.  Acting out parts really brings the play to life.  Purists will disagree with my choice to use Orson Scott Card’s interpretations and No Fear Shakespeare for Brit Lit.  Fine.  I want the teen’s to both experience and understand Shakespeare with more modern language.  The kids are working independently to compile character analyses, Elizabethan timelines, a list of quotes, and another list of ten insults.  One on-going project is to write their favorite quotes on a found object.  See the quote pig below and examples below.  So far, we are having a ball.

Let’s start Shakespeare!

 The Brit Lit class just started Shakespeare.  Here is the slideshow with assignments.  Each kid was reading a different play.  I made a decision to read Romeo and Juliet in class.  I need to teach what I know.  I know Romeo and Juliet pretty well.  The class is creating timelines, writing Shakespearean insults, andnoting expression still commonly used today.  We’ll do character analyses, too.  The links are in the slideshow.  We’re reading Orson Scott Card’s script adaptation of Romeo and Juliet first and using this website, which has notes and definitions, to read the original play.  The class is acting out the play.  Hopefully, this process will help us tackle Shakespeare and still have some fun.  

Tech at the Library

 Have you checked out the tech available through your library?  Our library offers loads of tech materials: equipment loans, apps, online classes, etc.  Our family has trained on the digital drawing program and 3D printer.  The library lends Chromebooks in addition to the computer stations in the library. Our system offers free training.  Increasingly, staff are expert in a variety of media.   Additionally, there are a number of online courses, such as Great Courses.  Look here at the number of resources available at our library under ‘Learn at Home’.  Ask your librarian about the resources available at your local library.  Here is the latest newsletter with some of the apps, virtual groups, and tech available.  We make free copies of handouts.  A young friend with learning differences uses Talking Books all the time.  See what your library offers.

Chaucer: Character Charts and Social Media Profile

 The kids are working in Chaucer.  We’re reading the Prologue and Pardoner’s Tale.  Each teen was assigned to characters to chart. Here is a character chart or map based on the Wife of Bath.  Additionally, the kids are creating social media profiles, similar to this one.  I used a simple resume template to make this social media profile for the Wife of Bath.  The kids are including a playlist for their characters.  I added a number of wedding songs to the social media profile for the Wife of Bath, who was married five times.  Hey!  I’m trying to make this fun.

Family Science, Gifts, and Economics—All in One Lesson

 One of the lifestyle blogs, A Beautiful Mess, has a post about How to Make Statement Hair Clips, with a Resin Kit and liquid Sculpey, a polymer clay.  Better Homes and Garden, BHG, has resin barrettes instructions, too.  Here are hair clips instructions using E6000 Craft Adhesive.  Here are instructions using polymer clay.  Ask your kids to decide what make a good hair clip?  Would it be cheaper to just buy Resin Hair Clips?  Could you make and sell hair clips profitably? See all of the lessons—even if you decide to forego making hair clips at all!  My husband is teaching Personal Finance to the local Co-op.  He has issued a challenge for the teen’s to come up with a business idea: podcasts, chicken farming, dog breeding, etc.  Capitalizing on a fad might be an idea for your family.  What are the capital costs?  Fees to Etsy?  Marketing on social media?  Shipping?  Your kids might want to skip the Economics lesson and make hair clips as Christmas gifts.

Canterbury Tales

 We launched the Canterbury Tales today with Character Charts.  The kids each picked two characters.  I assigned some historical events, too: the Hundreds Years War, instances of Black Plague, the Crusades, and  the life of St. Thomas Becket.  Two students are comparing Beowulf to the Knight.  The kids researched the origins of their surnames; surnames first emerged in the Middle Ages.  I used this slideshow as an introduction.  So far, so good.

Beowulf’s Resume

 Brit Lit is creating resumes for Beowulf.  Here is a sample guide.  Here is the sample resume I made.  Below is a resume from one of the students.  We used the Project Gutenberg’s translation of Beowulf.  There is a Table of Contents with helpful links to specific sections of the poem, such as ‘Beowulf Receives Further Honor’ or ‘Beowulf Seeks the Dragon’ to help flesh out the resume.  I’m trying to make Brit Lit fun.  Take a look.

Concept Maps

  My teens in Co-op create concept maps.  Concept Maps promote higher levels of thinking.  The kids need to know the vocabulary before they can categorize or groups of like ideas or terms.  Here is the website, ihmc, free concept mapping software for Windows, OSX, iPad, and Linux.  Here are the downloads.  I start the kids with cards; they work in groups to create maps.  Here is a sample Jamboard concept map.  Here are instructions for Google Docs and here for Google Drawings.  Below are,several examples.  I start with simple concept maps, often giving kids sets of vocabulary cards to sort.  Take a look.

Sing or Rap!

 Do you rap or sing to learn?  My Co-op Biology class is going to rap the Cell Theory Rap, as an introduction to Cells.  My Chemistry kids rap the lyrics to Michael Offut’s song, Mendeleev.  Here are some Grammar, Punctuation, and Spelling songs.  Here are some Math songs.  My suggestion is to let your kids research a specific topic, say in History.  Brit Lit is immersed in Anglo Saxon History and might like a song about The Year of Three Kings, the Battle of Hastings 1066.  Challenge your child to locate a few song versions and review them.  Is the tune catchy or more of an ear worm?  Does it help to remember the grammar rule, math fact, or  significant event in  history?  Songs and raps are great tools to serve as mnemonics.  Try this tip!

Family Science and Art: Leaves

  You can combine some art and science with leaves.  Start by collecting a variety of leaves, especially a variety of colors.  Here are instructions from Scientific American explaining how to crush the leaves to extract pigment for Paper Chromatography.  (Below are several images from Co-op of the kids doing paper chromatography.)  Your family may like paper chromatography.  Younger kids will like leaf rubbings.  Try using chalk, pastels, and crayons.  Dick Blick, a popular art company, has a Curtain of Leaves Monoprint to use for inspiration.  While you have out the paint your family could experiment with Tempera Paint Pours.  Our family uses art for Christmas presents, even making humble notecards.  One more art idea: Paper Clay Leaves.  Use the lesson for inspiration.  You are pressing real leaves into clay and painting the clay.  Here are instructions to make paper clay.  Good luck.  The only time I tried making paper from scratch was a disaster.  Instead, make up different homemade clays.  Try embossing each clay with leaves.  Bonus points for distinctive dyes for the clay leaves.  Our family embossed shark teeth in Skulpey clay in the photo below.  Your whole family can spend Friday afternoon gathering leaves, making prints, embossing leaves, and creating rubbings.  Set aside the best products for presents.

All Saints Day Countdown!

 The blog, A Beautiful Mess just posted instructions for a Halloween Countdown Calendar.  Wouldn’t this be a fun way to count down to All Saint’s Day?  Instead of Halloween crafts, kids could do Saints’ crafts, like these from Catholic Icing.  Candy treats can be inspired by these All Saints Guessing Jars, such as a caramel for Our Lady of Mount Caramel.  Wow!  Think of all the anticipation surrounding All Saints Day!  Your kids could make sock dolls like the ones I made below.

Google Sheets for Data

On Tuesday, my husband, Rob, is going to give a lesson on spreadsheets.  I’ll record his lesson, upload the video to YouTube, and post it to the blog for reference.  The kids are loading data from the Apple Mummies lab into a Google spreadsheet.  (The photo with some of the data is below.)  I plan to have the kids collect data from osmosis and enzyme labs next month to summarize in spreadsheets.  My husband, Rob, feels strongly that the kids should be able to manipulate and manage data.  Google Sheets is another free tool to add a bit of tech into your lessons.

 

Lab Reports

 I teach a number of kids, some of whom have learning differences.  One trick I use is to help them write lab reports using Google Slides, such as this guide.  The teen can type and edit his or her report right in Slides.

Teach Lit

 Brit Lit uses British Literature by James Stobaugh.  I like the time-lines in the textbook.  I think a little understanding of the Anglo-Saxon culture and history helps.  I made this document available to the kids to help them create timelines.  There are examples below.  The kids are working on some follow-up discussion questions.  (There is a picture of the email with the questions assigned.). The Anglo-Saxon period was marked by repeated invasions from Jutes, Angles, Saxons, Frisians, Vikings, and Normans, all after several centuries of Roman rule.  One kids compared the situation in Afghanistan to the Anglo-Saxon period.  My chief goal is to get the kids thinking about the time period and its impact on literature.  Take a look at the time-lines and questions.

Learning Differences

Before I taught home-school Co-op classes, I taught at both private and public schools.  Guess what?  Students with learning differences abound in public schools, private schools, and among home-school students.  I have taught many kids with learning differences.  I am solution oriented.  How can be help the teen learn?  What are ways to help the teen demonstrate understanding?  I operate on the principle, if it works, we’re using that strategy.  If not, we’ll try something else.  Right now, a few of my kids in the Bio class struggle to write.  In one case, the ideas soar ahead of the teen’s ability to write them.  In another case, writing is slow and difficult.  So, I quiz orally, as often as possible.  Additionally, lab is performed in groups.  I enlist siblings and parents and allow them to act as scribes.  Here are a few tips.  First, quiz orally whenever possible.  Record the quiz and teen’s answers on video—even the promos and corrections.  Upload the video to YouTube and save the link in a digital portfolio.  Act as a scribe.  You might even read the question aloud before recording the answer.  Here is another opportunity to use video to document your teen’s understanding.  Another tip is to make out vocabulary word cards.  Ask your teen to sort the cards into a concept or mind map.  Have her explain the connections among the terms.  You can write the words on magnets with definitions and ask your teen to match up vocabulary and definitions.  I bought a magnetic whiteboard and magnetic labels just for this reason.  Remember, we want the teen to learn and demonstrate his understanding.  One last tip; try Grammarly.  Let your child write assignments digitally using Grammarly, much like using a Word or Google Doc.  Grammarly offers more suggestions.  See if it helps.  BTW I encourage all of my students to write and edit papers in Word or Google Docs.  Nearly everyone has to do some light editing.  When reading, writing, and processing are a struggle, use every tool to allow your teen to shine.

Brit Lit begins today!

 I started Brit Lit remotely this morning.  We read The Seafarer.  The kids are using different editions of Stobaugh’x British Literature.  I asked the kids to complete a concept map with motifs for The Seafarer.  It occurred to me it would be helpful to create a concept map with Google tools; they are free.  Google Slides has shapes to add to slides.  I added test to shapes, took a screen shot and added it to Jamboard.  Here is the Jamboard with concept maps and steps to use with Slides.  Hope this is helpful.

Illuminated Letters

 I made a few more examples.  I want the kids to play with markers, pens, colored pencils, or crayons.  Really, this is just for fun to make Brit alit more engaging.  I think simple letters work well.  It’s important for kids to get good results.

Illuminated Letter

 The Brit Lit kids are going to make their own Illuminated Letters.  This Art lesson fits into the Anglo Saxon era.  I want to add more art to Brit Lit.  I made a simple example for the kids, too.  I drew an ‘s’ with a sharpie, added a little water color and a few ink vines.  Take a look.

Intro to Brit Lit

Next Wednesday, Brit Lit begins.  Here is the introductory slideshow.  It is likely I’ll add a few more links before Wednesday.

Free Textbooks

 Have you heard of Open Textbooks?  These are free Canadien textbooks.  Here is a bit of background about Open Education.  Take a look at this Chemistry textbook.  Here is Brit Lit.

Illuminated Letters

Did you know Dick Blick has art lessons?  Here are the plans for Illuminated Initials. Here is the link for lesson plans from Dick Blick, a popular source of art supplies to schools.  

Medieval Art: CD Faux Stained Glass

 I am hunting down ideas to make Brit Lit fun.  Here are the instructions for faux stained glass CDs.  I am pretty excited to see what the kids produce.  Stand by!

Brit Lit: Rubbings

Update: Here are instructions from Dick Blick to make relief rubbings.

 I want more art in Brit Lit.  Brass Rubbings date back to the thirteenth century.  I want my kids to make rubbing plates.  Here and here are my inspiration projects.  Here are detailed instructions from the Monumental Brass Society if you can access brass inscriptions.   We will try black and gold crayons.  The traditional wax is heelball wax.  You might try Faber-Castell Bees Wax crayons.  Anything worth doing is worth over-doing.

Brit Lit: Leaf Prints

 I want to add more art to Brit Lit.  Artistic kids are much more engaged when I add art to the curriculum.    Let’s make Leaf Prints and Hammered Leaf prints.  One of my goals is to add art and artists to Brit Lit.  During the Victorian era, William Morris was famed for his leaf prints.  Let’s add some art to make Brit Lit even more fun.  I’m going to let my kids chose leaf prints, rubbings, or hammered art.

Late Summer Ideas

Do you need a few fun ideas?  Good Will online has a listing for KiWi Co Drawbot kits.  There are six identical kits.  You could invite cousins for an afternoon—likely a good idea.  Invite a cousin who can troubleshoot.  I find kits like these indecipherable.  My favorite kit is Edible Chemistry or Fizz Whiz and Jammin Jelly.  I buy a kit for the tiny containers.  The kids love to mix potions.  (Hint: add sugar.). The chemicals are sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), citric acid, sodium alginate, calcium acetate, and magic crystals or red cabbage powder.  I refill the tiny containers.  Here is a combo of sodium alginate and calcium lactate.  It’s hard to find food grade calcium acetate.  The calcium lactate works equally well.  Here is the type of red cabbage extract I use to refill the little bottles.  My last suggestion is to build catapults.  Set up targets in the basement.  Gather supplies and invite the cousins for an afternoon of fun.

TI Graphing Calculators

  This Fall, my husband is teaching Algebra II and Personal Finance.  Algebra II in particular has loads of calculator exercises.  I plan to have a few for Biology, too. We’ll do some calculator exercises.  We lend out calculators to our students.  I just bought two more TI 83 graphing calculators from Good Will online to have on hand during classes.  I paid $29.97 with shipping for two TI 83 plus calculators.  My target price is under $15 each including shipping for calculators which work.  My target price for a TI 84 calculator is $30–which is why I only have three.  Good Will online has a number of listings.  Don’t forget to check the shipping and handling fees, which vary widely among Good Will stores.

Vocabulary Hack

  Let me share a vocabulary hack.  At one time, I did SAT prep.  I had kids buy a shower curtain from the Dollar store and write vocabulary terms on it which were unfamiliar.  This can be useful for science vocabulary.  Keep a composition book with terms and definitions.  Write terms on to the shower curtain, especially words which might make good candidates for the SAT or ACT.  My Brit Lit is doing this, too.  The image is my sample for Brit Lit.

Quotes on Chairs

 After Mass today, a group of us sat around and talked.  My friend, Christine, shared photos of her sister’s new business painting custom chairs.  This gave me the idea of painting objects and writing quotes from Literature, such as Shakespeare.  Can’t you see a suitcase covered in quotes?  I issued a challenge to the kids taking Brit Lit with Co-op this Fall to find a free chair, side table, frame, pallet, box, etc to paint.  Below are inspiration images.  (The second shot is from Anthropologie.). I cannot wait to see what the kids produce.

Longman Classics

 I’m teaching Brit Lit again this Fall to the local Co-op.  I stumbled across Longman Classics.  (Here is an article with different series of graded Basal readers.)  The Longman Classics are easy to read and divided into four stages.  Here is a short explanation.  If I can finally dig up more background on Longman Classics, I’ll share it here.  I’m loaning copies to kids with learning differences and encouraging them to start with the Longman Classic.  This way the kids will have some background.  The kids are free to listen to the audio book rather than read the novels, or read along as they listen.  What is important is understanding and evaluating the story or play.  We use every available tool to help kids succeed.

Let’s Teach Brit Lit!

 I’m compiling links for a British Literature class I’m teaching the local home-school Co-op this fall.  I taught it once before two years ago.  We are using Stobaugh’s British Literature textbooks with a wide variety of activities.  I have two spreadsheets with links I am developing for class started: Teach Brit Lit and British Literature Websites.  The class is reading Robinson Crusoe, Frankenstein, any Shakespeare play, and Pride and Prejudice over the summer.  I’m in the throes of planning class.  So much fun!  Here is an older post with a sample post for Brit Lit.

Summer Science

 Friends have told me they like joint science projects for their families, especially large families.  Summer is a great time for hands-on family science.  I checked out “365 Simple Science Experiments” from the library.  (Used copies are available for $5-$6.  Start with a theme.  365 Simple Science has Slow Start-Fast Finish, Keeping Your Balance, Soap Suds, Adventures with a String, and World Travelers.  Read over the experiments to see if you have the materials on hand, and let the kids select several activities.  

I like this book.  Clutching at Straws begins with how to make a paper straw and use it as a medicine dropper, atomizer, oboe, and trombone.  My favorite in this section is spearing a potato with a straw.  Will a homemade straw work as well as a plastic straw?  Each section has a brief explanation.  For example, the straw through the potato demonstrates inertia.  The index in the book has other experiments which demonstrate inertia.  

Let your kids take the lead.  Pick an interesting topic, try three experiments, and reevaluate.  Take loads of photos.  Do video demonstrations with explanations.  I would encourage older kids to take charge and organize the experiments.  Have them research the topic and explanations.  Schedule one hour blocks of time.  Have the materials set aside and ready.  Give summer science a shot.

It’s Portfolio Season!

 It’s definitely portfolio season.  Here are a few tips.  First, take photos or videos of everything: graded work samples, tests, projects, and activities.  Make short videos of outdoor activities: basketball, soccer, bike riding, etc.  Save photos and videos in a slideshow.    Here is the basic slideshow I’m using for Paul’s fourth quarter graded work samples.  I organized each section with photos of the textbooks.  I can see where to insert slides of graded work at a glance.  Slideshow are easy to attach to emails to submit electronically.  Get in the habit of writing paper using Word or Google Docs.  I save pdf files of the original and revisions to add to the slideshow of graded work.  Document everything, including field trips and camps.  Get in the habit of inserting those samples, pdf files, photos, and screenshots into a slideshow every week.  The product is a robust portfolio ready for submission.

Graduation Gift Ideas

 This post is pretty random.  We have a number of home-school friends and former home-school students. I teach science Co-op classes.  I have a ‘go-to’ present for high school graduation: an electric kettle and a case of ramen noodles.  Close family friends get an alarm clock, too.  My favorite alarm clock is Clocky.  It rolls over the dresser screaming; you have to chase it.  Electric kettles are about $15 and a case of ramen is $2.27.  Trust me this combo makes a great gift.  (I just found electric kettles for $7 each.  I ordered three. This is the first time using the website.  I don’t know if the site is reliable.)

Gifts

Look at everyday activities for informal lessons.  For example, our little household makes loads of presents.  Does yours?  One gift is popcorn with seasoning for DIY microwave popcorn.  Have your kids do a little research.  Create a budget of $5 or less per gift.  Have the kids price small jars for seasoning, paper bags, and bulk popcorn prices.  Research recipes.  Which popcorn seasoning can you make with the kitchen supplies on hand?  Brainstorm ideas for labels or hand-written recipes.  These types of economic lessons don’t fit neatly into a school curriculum.  But, think about how practical it is for kids to learn how to budget.  Call these lessons Economics and take photos.

Digital Prep

 Now is the time to set up digital resources for next fall’s home-school year.  Take pix of the textbooks.  I put the images into a slideshow.  Take photos frequently of completed work, tests, and projects.  Upload the images both to the slideshow and to Google Classroom.  Think about keeping a blog.  Write about fun projects, a successful science experiment.  Load pix!  These digital documents will make it easy to submit a digital portfolio to an online home-school.  If your state or county requires an extensive portfolio, you will be ready.  Set up Google Classrooms and four quarters of slideshows.  Take loads of pix.  Your portfolio won’t induce stress at all.