Castle Construction

I haven't posted much about it so far, but E13 has been using WinterPromise Quest for the Middle Ages this year. We have finally seen the end of the Roman Empire and have really begun the Middle Ages portion of the curriculum. We've found that we've had to modify some of the projects for various reasons, but we are moving along. Recently, we have been discussing how and why castles were made. So, E13 has been working on a castle model.

This is an Usborne paper castle kit- I'm letting him do it all on his own and if something goes wrong I have a few spare kits. Not sure where I picked some up, but they are in our collection.

The gate house with the drawbridge and portcullis

E13 loves all the reading that goes with this program. We have selections for read alouds as well as sections of various books along the way. It's following Mystery of History Volume 2. We do a lot of reading aloud, along with reading on his own plus written assignments, projects and a timeline. This has been a great study for transitioning from a unit study approach to a more traditional schooling approach. As much as we are enjoying the curriculum, I think most of its value is in the reading schedule with the resources it pulls together. It has inspired me to continue to put together my own materials for even high school courses. I will share some of the other work that E13 has done with WinterPromise. It's been really nice to have that independent study list for him as well as reading and working together on chronological history of the Middle Ages.

Contest Winner!

The winner of Homeschooling Gifted and Advanced Learners is Shirley!

Please email me within two days using the Contact Me in my right hand sidebar and I'll get that right out to you. If I don't hear from our winner by then, we'll choose another.

Thank you for participating!

Contraptions...

Is it any wonder my house looks like a major project is going on? Everywhere. All the time. This is what I'm up against...

This run made possible by the purchase of two marble runs from Discount School Supply.

I'm certain that one day too soon my house will be neat as a pin and I'll wonder where all the messes went. For now...just near my feet in another room upstairs from that one is a pile of Snap Circuits and a half built circuit with an instruction booklet open to just the right page.

That table with the doll house light project is still up and full of items waiting for further inspiration...

And the table in front of me is stacked high with the best loved books. Actually, there are stacks of well loved books everywhere.

Maybe I need to be more mindful about having the children put their messes away. But I prefer to think of our home as a print rich environment with just the right equipment to invite questioning and to inspire investigation. Everywhere. All the time.

Review: Homeschooling Gifted and Advanced Learners & a Give Away

A few months ago Cindy West asked if I would review her new book, Homeschooling Gifted and Advanced Learners. I gratefully accepted the offer to look it over and I'm so glad I did!

Cindy has done a terrific job of lining up resources for homeschooling parents to equip them for working effectively with their gifted kids. The book peaked my curiosity because meeting a gifted learner where he was is the reason we began homeschooling in the first place. It's the reason we began and it's the reason we continue to press on in this endeavor.

There are chapters on just starting out with homeschooling all the way to how to work with individual learners in your home. The chapter on "Teaching All Learners" details out the signs of giftedness for each subject area as well as how to recognize and work with those who struggle in a particular area.

The book covers working with your children's passions and preparing for college. Cindy gives us ideas on how to use technology with a gifted child and for each chapter there are multiple "Real Life Examples" to go with the points she is making. Through out the book, she lists out book and website resources for parents to use for more information specific to a topic of interest within the chapter.

This is an excellent homeschool resource for beginners and seasoned homeschoolers alike and works with children who are exceptional by any definition.

I'm excited to say that Cindy has graciously given me a copy to share with an interested Blog, She Wrote reader. Leave a comment to enter the drawing. Leave two if you are a follower. If you aren't a follower already, feel free to let me know you signed up and leave a second comment. The contest will close Monday, January 23rd at midnight EST. Good luck!

Geometry and Measurement

Still following the path of individualized math learning using Math on the Level (and other resources like Life of Fred), we have begun a unit on Geometry and Measurement. The first day we had some fun with shapes using pattern blocks and tangrams.

The kids could choose a blank pattern or one with the shapes outlined.

R11 tried out some Tangram cards- these are difficult!

Not surprisingly, things turn to free play and elaborate pretend games begin. Do you see the elegant table with chairs all around? R11 and J6 were entertaining kings and queens!

Another good use of trays- there in the background more free shape play for J6- after he completed the pattern page underneath.

This time around we are hitting lines, rays, angles, etc and tomorrow we'll be using a protractor to measure and draw angles. Today I had the kids make a notebook page on some of the math terms we've been reading about and using this week. Stay tuned for the results on that. This set of goals is on R11's list of geometry objectives in my planner.

The Meter

The boy with the brain that never turns off (aka J6) asked for a multi-meter this Christmas. You may remember it was featured in the doll house light post. He has enjoyed it immensely and for those who are worried, he is strictly forbidden from certain uses that shall remain nameless. He can use it with his Snap Circuits and to test batteries (now that he has learned the proper procedure for that).

This battery is dead...not worth recharging.

We can charge this one- it lives!

All in an effort, by the way, to replace the batteries in his Nerf weapon. These are important things in life.

What sort of engineer will J6 be? Right now he is thinking the triple threat- chemical, electrical, and most definitely mechanical.

Fun Little Book...

Tsh Oxenreider's book Organized Simplicity is free today for the Kindle (and rumor has it for the Nook as well). Great book with some great ideas for organizing. I've implemented some things but not all of them. I'm about to look over some of it again as we think about hoeing out our basement. I grabbed up the Kindle version even though I own the bound book. I mean...you never know.

If you've never seen Tsh's website, go on over to Simple Mom and check it out. You might also enjoy One Bite at a Time which breaks her ideas down into 52 projects.

Do I have a Kindle? Nope...but I am the proud owner of a Droid Bionic (my birthday present back a few months ago) and I have the sweet Kindle app for it. R11 bought a Kindle this fall with some money she's been saving. She wrote the best persuasive piece on why Dan should let her have it and he declined (as in she was asking for it for Christmas), but he did allow her to buy it herself (and in turn we added to her American Girl doll collection this holiday which is what she she had been saving for since last Christmas). She's had it since just before Thanksgiving and she adores it! It's been fun to have around and very fun to see her enjoy. She's gotten a few gift books and she has loads of free classics on there.

This makes me think it might be fun to do a "What's on My Reading Shelf" post. Stay tuned and in the meantime, grab up that free book!