Our Homeschool Week

I figured I might as well keep a log of what we do weekly here on my blog, that way I have something else to show (besides written work and pictures of projects) when we have our portfolio evaluated at the end of the school year.

This past week was nothing very exciting. Matt worked on his math, science and language arts through Easy Peasy online. He doesn't complain much about doing these subjects this way. He seems to enjoy them and it is easier on me. I do have to have him do the work with me right next to him or he will lie about doing it. I caught him in this lie yesterday when I asked him what he learned about in science and asked about his language arts.

Matt chose what he wanted to learn about in history this year. What I had planned for him to use did not work out. It ended up being very dry and boring. So, we scrapped the curriculum and let him choose some topics. He has been working on a Cold War note pack and reading about the Cuban Missile Crisis. All I remember from the Cold War was the Berlin Wall coming down, but had no idea why or what the wall was for. We never learned about it in school. So I am learning along with Matt. Something I enjoy about homeschooling. We start WWII in two weeks. Again, a topic he choose.

 This past Monday would have been Edgar Allan Poe's birthday. I have always enjoyed his works and figured Matt and I would read some of his short stories and poems. We read A Valentine and figured out who the poem was addressed to. Clues are in the poem itself. We also listened to The Raven. My all time favorite. I had it memorized at one time but now all I can remember is the first paragraph. Here is the video that we listened to for the Raven. I love Christopher Lee's voice.

We also read A Tell Tale Heart. Again, another one of my favorites. I also found a video on Youtube that acts out the story. I remember seeing a play at a high school that had A Tell Tale Heart in it and loved it. This is the video we watched:

I love Youtube and have been using it more and more in our studies. It makes learning easier for me and seems to make things stick for Matt.

Matt also had an archery class, something he enjoys. I just need to talk him into competing like a few of the other kids have been. Matt is good and can do well in competitions.

I had a doctor's appointment and some physical therapy as well as some errands to run this week. Matt decided to stay home so I got things done relatively quick. The errand day was also the day Matt said he did his work when he didn't. He will be in a world of hurt next year when he is dual enrolled in some online classes if he doesn't do his work. He is only going to take math online, other subjects will be done by me.