lesson plans

All posts tagged lesson plans

Homeschooling Hamlet

Published April 20, 2016 by Angela

Yes; I am doing it. I have not picked up anything Shakespeare since I was in high school. I am about to have my 9th grader begin working on this, and I thought it only fair that I read it as well. 

I am reading a “made easy” version that has the original play on the left side of the pages, and an updated version, i.e. easier to understand modern words, on the right hand side. I am hoping to really get an understanding of this so I can help Erin along the way.

How do you feel about Shakespeare? I am open to any advice on lesson plans with this type of reading!

a day off from work to get ahead on homeschooling lessons and some of my own reading for enjoyment; I hope!

Winging It; Homeschool-Style

Published January 5, 2016 by Angela

7th grade consisted of buying $500.00 worth of books, writing my own lesson plan and schedule, with minimum success. 

8th grade consisted of registering at an online academy; again with minimal success.

9th grade has me rethinking this whole situation. Although I know what the basic requirements are for each high school grade in Michigan in order for my daughter to get a diploma, the emphasis will be on the things that interest her. The things she is passionate about, as well as the things that challenge her.

So she is starting French, working through some pre-test SAT books, reading about Joan of Ark, and practicing math skills.

I have no idea what the coming weeks will bring, but I certainly feel much better about this method than the previous ones I have tried.

More to come!

One Homeschooling Semester Down; One To Go!

Published January 17, 2015 by Angela

I have been beyond frustrated with my daughter and her homeschooling efforts this week. It has been a trying week for me anyways with very little sleep, and terrible headaches.

Sunflowers 9-22-14 005

I swear to goodness I have no idea what I am going to do next year if she does not go to the public high school 😦

She will be spending many hours this weekend, as well as Monday and Tuesday when she is actually off from homeschool, getting ahead.

What she doesn’t know, won’t hurt her.

And it will certainly help me!

Hoping tonight brings me some sleep, and tomorrow brings me some smiles and peace of mind.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend full of joy, warmth, and wonderful memories!

Day One of Back To Reality; Here We Go!

Published January 6, 2015 by Angela

I wish I could say I had a spectacular day at work, but it was rather boring. Things tend to be a bit slow at the beginning of the year. My girls got home Sunday afternoon, and were home about 10 minutes before the bickering began. Or should I say continued, from the bickering they had been doing the whole time they were gone.

Christmas 2014 and Dads 1-2-2015 009

I was very happy to have them home, and it is nice to be back on schedule. I was very sad that my 10 year old could not stop crying last night because she missed her dad. All I could do was hug her. I had no answers for her when she kept asking “When are we going to see dad again?” I certainly could not tell her next Christmas, which is more than likely true.

Erin is on track with her home schooling, and I already made it very clear to her that we will not be going to bed on any given night until all assessments are turned in that are due that day.

Weather 1-5-2015

We are still under a Winter Storm Warning here in Michigan. That is supposed to expire Tuesday at noon, and then they will just issue the next one. There is no stop in the snow before Saturday, and with highs of 9 degrees, the wind chill temperature is horrible. The doors on my Mini Cooper were frozen shut this morning and there was no chance of me getting them open to get my safety glasses for work. Thank goodness I have a different car to drive in the Winter!

I hope you are all getting settled into your 2015, working on any resolutions you made, and getting the year started off with a bang!

Online Schooling…

Published October 2, 2014 by Angela

…is definitely a big improvement for me than last year when I was setting all of the lesson plans, schedules, checking all of the homework, and then helping her with all of it. Now I just have to help her with all of it. And remind her to stay on task. And answer questions she should probably know the answers to. And remind her to stay on task. And explain to her why it is important to at least move her books from the exact location they were in that morning, so it at least looks like she opened them. And remind her to stay on task. And sit with her through her entire Algebra lessons to help her understand. And remind her to stay on task.

Okay, I think you got my point. I am liking this online environment for Erin (I am working on my 3rd college degree online, so it is definitely familiar territory). The one thing I do not like is the assessments are 4 or 5 questions. If she even gets one wrong, her grade drops by a large amount.

We are still working through the bugs, but she is improving from where she was the first week. Hopefully she is finding her rhythm, and we can keep her caught up. She has one huge writing project that gets shared with the social studies assignments as well, and it does get a bit confusing as to what is due when, and which class they want it submitted to.

I am still hoping she will be ready for public high school next year; she is working towards that goal as much as I am. If she is not, I will definitely go this route next year as well.

We made it past Hump Day, on to the weekend!

Smooth Moves and Switching Over

Published September 25, 2014 by Angela

I Hope This Goes Better Than I Am Expecting! Probably not what you expected either, from the title!

I am moving my blogs to a self-hosted website, so I can have more control over how my pages look, as well as what add-ins are displayed. I am hoping for the best, but expecting the worst. So, I will be absolutely devastated if my followers don’t get redirected to my new website as it states it will do.

I know several of you are following two of my blogs, and one of you is following all 3 ( J ). I do not know how long this transition may take, but I will definitely keep them open where they are at until I know I can export everything over.

So, if I disappear for a while, I apologize, I will just be sitting in front of my laptop, crying because I messed something up!

This Is Going On My Wall!

Published September 13, 2014 by Angela

It seems I have been asking the “Did you get your assessments done today?” Several times a day, only to go and check anyways, and then spend more hours getting said 8th grader caught up.

The plan is to be back on track by Sunday night, with all grades going up a level. It is way too early in the school year to start getting behind 🙂 How do you keep your homeschoolers on task?

So True!

So True!

Anyone Else Feel Like This?

Published March 25, 2014 by Angela

http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/common-core-parent-facebook-post-indiana-school-181841158.html  

I have been dealing with this common core math teaching issue for a couple years. My 9 year old is doing basic math problems in such a manner that I cannot help her. I literally cannot help her. I have taken numerous math-based college classes, I have 2 college degrees, working on my 3rd, and I cannot help her.

Honestly, it pisses me off a bit. OK, a lot. She is not going to be taught how to write in cursive (other than by me), and she is processing a basic math problem that can be done in a couple steps in 20+ steps.

How exactly are we helping our children’s education? How are they learning to be successful? Much like the father in the above link points out, if anyone tried to do their job by completing math in this manner, they would be fired. No employer wants you doing a 3-step process in 108 steps. 108 steps!

Check out the link, and let me know what kind of ridiculous public school teaching/learning situations you are dealing with!

 

I have to do What to a chicken??

Published September 30, 2013 by Angela

“Mummify it.”

 

Whaaaaat?

OK, I am sure this is going to be great fun for the kids to watch as the weeks go by, I am just not sure how comfortable I am having it in my refrigerator (or wherever in my house I may need to store it).

Being a bit of a germaphobe (There, I said it out loud!) I am not thrilled about having a rotting chicken next to my grapes in the fridge.

Other than that, the teacher for the Co-op classes is going to get me started, which I am grateful for, and I will post pictures of this incredible experiment as it moves along.

Has anyone done this before? What did you think? It is a surprise for the kids for their ancient artifacts class, but I am going to be the most surprised that I will actually allow this in my house LOL. The things I do for my girls 🙂