Organizing the School Room

I found an idea I liked to organize our files and papers during the school day - a major source of disruption.  Identifying sources of disruption and solutions is one of my goals for this summer.  Organizing the school room so that we have easy access to items we use daily will help get us there.  I also liked this idea of using a see-through shoe organizer to put art and office supplies that the kids use.  This way they won't go rumaging through cabinets.  To keep books organized, I'd love this one - if only I had that much free space!  It could be a point of departure and used on a smaller scale.

Motivational Tools

Some of the new ideas I've found and will be using this coming year with the girls (3rd and 5th grades):
Reading Notebooks: From Scholastic's teacher board - free downloadable filler sheet.  Scholastic has a bunch of resources for teachers that are useful for homeschoolers as well.  I liked their Writing Center idea as well. Some of these things may not teach much in themselves, but I'm sure they will help keep the girls motivated, and motivation is an essential ingredient for learning.
State Research Report: A free worksheet to fill in about each state.  I like this site - Teachers Pay Teachers.  There are thousands of files for free on every subject.

2012-2013 10th Grade Curriculum - Michael

Algebra II  - Foerster

Chemistry - Apologia...  After examining this curriculum more closely, I decided it wasn't a good fit.  I think I'll be going with Bob Jones, as it is more in depth, which Michael will probably need for college.  I am also supplementing with a college textbook: Chemistry, by Steven S. Zumdahl.  The only reason why I've used Apologia science books for high school is that the experiments are homeschool friendly.  I've known for some time that the content is watered down.  I will still need to use Apologia for experiments and other hands-on activities, as they apply to the chapters in Bob Jones.  It's additional work for me, as I have to make the two three sink together in my plans.  I've been doing this with history, bible, art, philosophy, literature, and government...  as my mother would say, "What's another stripe on a tiger?"  I guess I should be thankful that for Math, I'm using ONE curriculum... till the end of the year, when we'll be prepping for the SAT!

American History, Government , Bible, Literature - Ommnibus & Gileskirk, with some Tapestry of Grace for Art, Philosophy and Geography

Writing - IEW (Institute for Excellence in Writing - The Elegant Essay)
Photography

I am almost done with his lesson plans for the year, then on to Emily and Michelle's.  Our first day of school will be August 6th.

Chemistry - The Periodic Table

I am working on Michael's chemistry lesson plans for next year, adding activities and projects to the regular Apologia Chemistry for an honors credit. I am using Donna Young's free coop lesson plans again this year.  We will use her free memory bookmarks for chemistry, like we did for biology last year.

I found a series of videos through our library about the history of the periodic table, a nice printable table, a blank one, and an interactive one from NOVA.

I may do an 'adopt an element' project like this one. He would do an element a week.  These links would be useful for this:

Interactive periodic table giving information about each element.

- How to calculate the number of protons, neutrons and electrons in an atom of an element

- How to make a model of an atom

- How to read an electron configuration chart

- A list of who discovered each element

And just for fun!

The element's song
Element hangman
Element word scramble
Element crossword puzzles
3D Labs Online
Element Quest
Mystery Powder Lab

2011 Convention

I received the FPEA homeschool convention catalog a few days ago and was going through it this morning.  I am really looking forward to going in two weeks.  There are several lectures I plan on attenting too.

Friday
Free College Can Happen to You
Bringing Computer Science to Your Classroom
Becoming an Author
Evolution Doesn't Work for Sea Creatures
Binding Books Beautifully
Experience Excellence in Writing
The Well-Planned Day: Yes, It is Possible
How to Teach Music and Art

Saturday
The Delightful Family
College De-Classified
The Apprentice: Getting High School Credit for Internships
Tips for Teaching a Houseful
Lapbooks: Hands-On Education Made Easy

Some of the lectures are at the same time, so I'll have to see if I can get some of the audio recordings.  I am particularly looking forward to going to the one about planning your day on Friday.  I need to start keeping Michael's high school records in order, and this vendor has some planners that look really great.

The kids love going to the convention.  They get to meet lots of other homeschoolers and often make friends, plus they get to stay at a nice hotel for the night and swim in the big pool. 

I was surprised to see some of the old speaker names missing from the roll this year.  There seems to be a new generation of young speakers that I need to become acquainted with.  It's surprising to not see all the pioneers of homeschooling there:  Doug Philips, Dr. Jay Wile, Little Bear, the Mc Donalds...  I know some of them still speak at homeschool conventions, but they aren't coming down to ours this year.  They will be missed, but I know their stories and what they teach well, so I'm looking forward to hearing what these new folks have to say.

Questions

This morning, Emily (6), asked, "Mom, how do we taste things in our mouth?"
I answered, "how do we hear things in our ears? How do we smell things in our nose?  How do we see things in our eyes?"
 
Her answer, "we have eye bulbs!" 

High School - Course Descriptions and Codes

 This year, since Michael is finishing 8th grade, we have to decide whether we want to enroll him in an umbrella school or simply continue enrolled as homeschoolers with the county.  If we chose to do it ourselves without the help of an umbrella school, there will be a transcript to work on and a list of high school requirements to fullfill for college admissions.

I think at this point, I'm leaning to just going forward as we did with Gabi.  The cost for the umbrella school (~$800/year) and the inconvenience of all the paperwork they require, plus the travel back and forth to Orlando, are the main reasons.

In order to put together a transcript to use for college applications, one of the most important things I need to do is record the Florida high school course codes for the classes he'll be taking in the next four years.  The course descriptions will help me pick which courses match the objectives of the courses we have chosen. 

For example, Michael will be taking an art class this summer which focuses on drawing.  Under Visual Arts, I found Drawing I.  The course description for Drawing I includes most of the topics that will be covered in our art class, but I notice a few that aren't.  I will print out the description and go through it, making the few additions to our class topics.  This course description will go along with all the work he does for the class in his high school portfolio.