School Notes: September 2011 -Part 3

And to conclude our review of September...

Together we:

*Watched all of the Demolishing Strongholds DVDs by AiG, which were absolutely excellent!  We LOVE AiG stuff over here!  The kids were begging for more.
*Learned some Geography songs for studying Asia
*Started memorizing some Westminster Shorter Catechism via Training Hearts, Teaching Minds
*Completed Lesson one of Apologia's Worldview book 2: Who Am I? And What am I Doing Here?

Baby Bach:

Doing oh so well with A Beka's Math Track online teaching!  Math started out as easy review for him, but I like that he's getting that, along with polishing up writing his numbers well and consistently.  The auditory aspect of this teaching is very good for him.  He's memorized John 3: 14-19 along with several new poems and songs with his "class." 

 He's currently in the process of learning the special sounds on the 3rd from the last chart in his A Beka phonics, while going back to the beginning charts to review via his Letters and Sounds workbook.  My goal is to get all of those "special sounds" introduced to him early on, because I know once they get reading, they can learn so much more.  He's already able to pretty much read most basic directions on his own, which is a plus. :) 

Once we get through all of the A Beka charts so that he's familiar with most of the special sounds/groupings, I plan to start him in spelling with All About Spelling level one. 

He also really enjoys his Draw, Write, Now book for art and writing, and he completed the first LU of CLE LA.

Miss Melody:

Bible/Worldview:  Completed 2 lessons in Apologia's Who is God? book (she listens to the CD while she reads along, and she also does some copy work from there)

Math:  Is zipping through CLE's level 400 math since much of it is review from her A Beka teaching from last year.  There's a little more geometry taught in CLE, though, which she likes.  I suspect we'll be ready to start the 500 level just after Christmas at this pace.  Actually, I could probably do that now, which I may just do because I have to order the next 5 Light Units soon anyways. I might just order that first LU in the 500 level and just fill in gaps that way with review.  Hmm...  She likes CLE math, though.

LA:  The CLE LA was not a good fit for her. She needs more of a mastery approach here.  She has just started using BJU's oline streaming 6th grade English course.  We have the online teaching available to us through next Dec. 2012, into her 6th grade year, so we'll just take our time working through this book.  She's so excited to have a turn using BJU DLO!  We are also doing some dictation with Simply Spelling, as well as some penmanship practice with A Reason for Handwriting book F. 

Science:  Loving her A Beka 5th grade book.  She completed chapters 1 & 2:  Investigating Nature and The Amazing Mammals.  We just started the 3rd chapter, which is about light.

History/Geography:  Completed 3 chapters so far:  An Intro to History/Geography, Fertile Crescent: The Cradle of Civilization, and Ancient Middle East.  She is currently studying chapter 4, which is about the Middle East today, and we both love all of the Bible connections.  The geography teaching is just excellent.  Not too overwhelming...Written with a 5th grader in mind. :)

Books Read: 
With Daring Faith:  A Biography of Amy Carmichael by Rebecca Henry Davis (BJU book)
Winter with the Moodys by Sarah Maxwell

Brother Brass:

Math:  Started A Beka Pre-Algebra, in the Algebra- unit 3, using the teaching DVD's that I purchased via ebay last year. (This is the old edition).  I think we'll continue with this for a while, as there is quite a bit of business and consumer math teaching as well as a unit on geometry and even some Trig.  He's not quite ready for Algebra full steam ahead yet.

English:  ACE PACES are going well.  He focused on the history of the English language along with lots of outlining in his first 9th grade English PACE, which he completed and will be tested in on Monday.  He's also working slowly through his Etymology PACES for both spelling and vocab.  They are working really well for him and his strongly visual learning style. I hope to get through half of these this year and the other half next year. 

History:  Got an A on his first World History test, covering chapters 1-3, and seems to be retaining well from his A Beka class.  The teacher is actually quite funny at times.  The constant reveiw and drill is very good for Brother Brass.  This course gets an A from me so far! :)

Science:  Got a B on his first Physical Science test and is really liking doing his science with Sister Strings this year.  Again, the video teaching is going well.  They are both learning and retaining.  The are studying atmosphere and weather right now, which is an interesting topic for both of them.  This will be a challenging course for Brother Brass.

Health:  Loves this!  I wrote my own lesson plans for him, using A Beka's 8th grade health text, Apologia's Human Anatomy/Physiology text, and this website with Anatomy games:  Anatomy Arcade

Books Read: 
A Father's Promise by Donnalynn Hess (BJU book) 
Adam and His Kin by Ruth Beechick  *He actually liked this book and afterwards commented, "That Ruth girl is a pretty good writer, Mom." LOL

Sister Strings:

Math:  Has completed 1/3 of Teaching Textbooks Algebra 2, but we've decided it doesn't offer enough explanation, thorough teaching, and examples for our taste.  She's going back to using Chalk Dust company's Algebra 1 book and CD's (which we already own) for review and to complete the final few chapters, which happen to overlap with TT Algebra 2 book.  Actually, it covers pretty much everything that you find in TT Algebra 2. Chalk Dust tends to be more advanced, while TT tends to lag behind in terms of scope and sequence.  After she completes this, she'll go on to Chalk Dust's Geometry course. At least, that's the plan for now.   

English:  Completed her first writing project using Apologia's Jump In Writing course, which turned out to be a very good essay.  I'll post a link once I figure out how to do that on this blog.  I like that this course is teaching her how to organize her writing.  Her content is very strong, but she needed some instruction on how to organize her brilliant thoughts better. She also just started BJU's American Lit course online.

History:  Completed her first PACE in U.S. History with a strong A.  Loves the stories she's reading out of For You They Signed (Boyer), and is liking that history doesn't take her forever to wade through each day.  I thought the History PACES might bore her a bit, but she doesn't mind them so much.  She's learning a lot, actually.

Science:  Got a strong A on her first test.  Really enjoys doing this course with her brother.  She was able to help him learn scientific notation.  Yes, she knows it better than I do.  She will make a great homeschool mom one day. :)

Books read: 
I Kissed Dating Good-bye (Harris)
Do Hard Things (Harris)
The Hiding Place (Corrie ten Boom)
More Than a Carpenter (McDowell)

Everyone also started back up with our homeschool music company, including the younger two this year, which is new.  They are all singing in choir, and Sister Strings continues to play her violin.  Brother Brass had to choose between choir and intermediate band this year, and he chose choir.  I'm not sure if he'll continue French horn or not.  Miss Melody and Baby Bach are thrilled to have their turn to participate in a group.