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.