Results tagged “Lawrence Hall of Science” from Learn at Every Turn - Creative, Enriched Homeschooling

We began Day 3 with a Shasta Caverns tour. These tours involve a boat ride across Lake Shasta and a bus ride up an extremely narrow one-lane road to a cavern entrance, which is quite some distance up the side of the mountain you see across the lake.


View of Shasta Lake from the bus.



Entering the caverns.


Our tour guide explaining the geology of the cave.


Some more beautiful cave formations.


On completing the tour, we drove into the town of Shasta, which had a gorgeous view of Mt. Shasta, the next peak in the chain of volcanic mountains we visited on this trip.



If volcanic mountains were one unplanned theme of our road trip, science museums became a second. Thanks to our Lawrence Hall of Science membership, we could enter any of a long list of partner science centers free of charge. We took full advantage of this opportunity, and it added greatly to our vacation. Not only did the boys delight in each museum, the museums also made a great stopping points to permit the boys to wear off some energy during our long drives.

After leaving Shasta, we continued to drive north and crossed into Oregon in the afternoon. Once in Ashland, we found ScienceWorks, a terrific hands-on museum.

Galen loved these pulley chairs, and Jerry got a good workout.


By the end of the trip, we actually saw several of these elaborate ball runs, but this was the first, and the boys loved it.

Ah yes, do you feel that summer heat radiating off of every inch of your body? It must be time to plan next year's curriculum. I  should preface the next three posts with two remarks.

First, starting in mid-August, I will be acting as an editor for Moving Beyond the Page. In return, they will provide free curriculum to the boys.

Second, I am learning to approach curriculum in a more relaxed way. What follows would best be described as a list of resources from which I will draw, rather than a detailed plan for next year. I'm learning that an open-ended approach produces the better results for all.

Landry is nine years old and enrolled in fourth grade, but his curriculum will meet fifth grade standards.

Math: For the past year, Singapore Math has worked well for us. Landry will start with 5A and B in August. However, having seen these materials, I wonder if they will be enough. I suspect we will either have to go on to 6A and B, or find new materials at some point in the year.

As a homeschooling parent, my weakness is information that must be memorized. I just don't enjoy drilling on rote memorization. Landry has an excellent grasp of the concepts of multiplication and division. At the same time, Landry needs to memorize these facts. He will continue with Timez Attack, and I will continue to look for fun ways to accomplish this relatively monotonous task.

Science: Moving Beyond the Page includes a science curriculum, so that will provide a jumping off point. However, science proves challenging for me because the boys are advanced in this subject. I am looking into a private science class taught by a teacher familiar with gifted students. If that fails to prove a good fit for us, I will continue with homeschool classes twice a month at the Lawrence Hall of Science. I think I will also continue to use the Private Eye materials as time permits because the hands-on nature of these materials makes a nice change and because they provide a useful bridge to other subject areas for my science-oriented sons.

I am less concerned about planning science than other subjects because our lives naturally provide many opportunities to learn in this area. I'm more at ease with something akin to child-directed learning on this subject. We have ample resources lying about the house, and Jerry really enjoys watching documentaries and internet videos and them with the boys. 

Foreign Language: Landry will continue with Spanish through Rosetta Stone.

Social Studies/History:  Here again, Moving Beyond the Page provides a social studies curriculum. Still, I feel remiss without attempting to give Landry a sense of world history and also to try to bring history alive for him. We will continue to listen to Story of the World audiobooks in the car on long drives. When we finish that, I would like to take a closer look at Joy Hakim's Story of US. I'm also researching local history tours and living history days to add some variety. I will also be researching games like Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego to strength Landry's geographical knowledge.

Language Arts: I really like the literature units provided by Moving Beyond the Page. The literature he will read is first rate, and the activities are well designed. I don't feel the need to add anything to this aspect of Landry's curriculum. These units will also provide Landry ample opportunity for writing.

While MBtP does include grammar and spelling components, I think Landry needs more. For that reason, I'm returning to Spell Connections and Write Source. I'm not fond of workbooks, but I will say that Landry seemed to have a better grasp of these subjects when we were using these texts. As a side note, Landry does well when left to his own devices with workbooks. I'm hoping that will buy me one-on-one time to spend with the younger boys.

I'm adding something new to Landry's curriculum. Words on the Vine will introduce him to Latin and Greek word roots. I loved this sort of thing when I was in school. Landry seems to have my love of language and writing, so I'm hoping he will enjoy this. 

Art: Landry will get some art through the Moving Beyond the Page materials. However, I have a few more resources I would like to explore. The boys have done various projects listed on the Art Projects for Kids blog this summer, and I've been delighted to see how they are expanding their skills artistically. I would love to continue to incorporate those projects into our curriculum. On my shelf, I also have Discovering Great Artists and How to Teach Art to Children, Grades 1-6. The former gives biographical information about well known artists and art projects related to their style of work. The latter provides a more technical understanding of the elements of art. Finally, I am also curious about a website called Meet the Masters, which provides technical and historical online art instruction for a fee. Because it's online, I think the boys may take a greater interest in it.   

P.E.: Landry has earned his orange/yellow belt and will continue with bok fu in the fall.

Music: Landry will resume piano lessons in mid-September.

This seems like quite a lot. However, if I can, I would also like to find a fun way for Landry to improve his keyboarding skills. He really loves to write stories if he can type. I can't imagine how much he would enjoy it if he did not have to use the hunt-and-peck method.

I am also researching several short educational trips for the family about which I will post when they are definite. However, this is where we will start in August. Where Landry will go remains to be seen.

Jerry worked in downtown San Francisco on Friday, so he dropped Landry, Kipp and me at the Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley. As I've mentioned before, the boys take classes there during the school year. However, Bay Area traffic is just horrendous, so I have to drag them away from the exhibits to start our long commute home.

Now, my boys have always had unusual energy and intensity. I think it runs in my family. They have a certain electricity about them that just makes them stand out in a crowd. Indeed, I've come home from more than one trip to Costco almost ready to cry thanks to that electricity. And the last month of homeschooling was really frustrating for me.  And it seemed they were set on using that energy to thwart every attempt to educate them.

Friday, however, I had the chance to see what incredible young men they will become. Neither was rude or obnoxious. However, that boundless energy and intense curiosity found its proper place. For six hours, the boys literally ran from exhibit to exhibit and back again, utterly delighted to figure out whatever principles were at work. I kept thinking they would wear out or become bored. They did not. Indeed, when Jerry arrived for the last hour, they were completely delighted to give him a tour and explain everything to him. And the extent of their understanding of scientific principles surprised even me.

So, their intensity may drive me almost to tears some days, but today I can say that it isn't something I would change if I could. I can see that that same intensity and passion is going to make them amazing young men some day.

 Now, let's just hope my sanity survives intact to see it.

 

Yesterday afternoon, we met with our ES for the final time this year and turned in the last of the paperwork. In the evening, we attended our charter's promotion ceremony. Our official school year has come to a close, although the learning never stops.

I need to distance myself a bit from this past year to see it more clearly. At this point, I have some things that I need to think through before August. I have concerns about the logistics of homeschooling three students at once. (Galen will turn four at the end of September, and I want to make a conscious effort to give him something more structured.) I would like to encourage the boys to be more self motivated in their studies, although I have no idea how to accomplish that tonight. Of course, I continue to debate the best balance between book work and activities and field trips.

Fortunately, I can put those concerns aside for a bit. We reached a stopping point in our curriculum last Tuesday. Since then, the boys have not stopped. In the past week, they used their recently required library cards to check out huge stacks of books which they are plowing through. (The cards have also been great for instilling a sense of responsibility as well.) Landry has been helping more with the cooking. Jerry decided to invest in a state parks pass this year, and we enjoyed an amazing walk where the boys spent their time examining everything with such enthusiasm.

Each Christmas, I put aside a couple of Christmas presents for the boys to enjoy later in the year. This week, both boys became very interested in building with this hydrodynamics set. (And my dining room table sustained no major damage!!) Later, Kipp and I spent a fun morning, creating a cog train from this physics workshop. At the same time, Landry discovered the fun in attempting a planned art project from this endlessly creative blog by Kathy Barbro. As I hoped, the planned project spurred his own creativity. He went on to paint several more pictures that showed a change in his use of materials.

Saturday night, we packed a picnic and enjoyed a wonderful, open-air performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Sunday night, we finally finished watching Lewis and Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery.

This afternoon, we discovered a delightful little toy shop with a wonderful selection of board games. We ended up buying three new games: Quoridor, Squared Up!, and Katamino. The boys spent some time playing the two last games and really seemed to enjoy Squared Up! I know I enjoyed the relative peace and quiet!

Later this week, we intend to return to the Lawrence Hall of Science. Each time we have driven to the hall this past year for homeschool classes, I have been forced to drag the boys past the exhibits and into the car because of the complexities of traffic in the Bay Area. On this trip, however, we are going with the express purpose of letting the boys explore to their hearts' content. I think they will love it.

I signed Kipp and Landry up for a week-long theater camp this summer. I am also trying to get them back to chess lessons, and we have a pool pass. Other than that, we have made no definite plans this summer.

I can't wait to see where the summer takes us!

Spring has arrived, so we are outside every moment possible. I didn't realize how much time has passed since I last posted. Then again, that may be a good thing.

I am starting to organize my thoughts about next year's curriculum. Kipp will be enrolled in 2nd grade and Landry in 4th, so I got a copy of the state requirements for 3rd and 5th grade while at the charter last week.

I skimmed the requirements and found little, if anything, that will be new or challenging for the boys. Landry will need some American history, but that is about it. In particular, the science requirements are pitiful.

From my reading, I drew two conclusions. First, I am so thankful that I have the opportunity to home school my sons and go wherever they are ready to go, academically. What a shame to think that something as amazing as the human mind in its youngest stages may not be given every opportunity to be appropriately challenged and to grow. What a loss to the children, and what a loss to us.

Second, I feel a sense of almost complete freedom in setting up next year's curriculum. I will not look at the requirements a second time, but will be guided by what I think is best for each son. I suppose for those who are completely independent of the state, my feelings are pretty commonplace. However, I think it's a very positive step in our journey that I am able to feel this way.

Looking beyond the statement requirements, I have been thinking about what is working well currently. I'm delighted to write that several things should not change.

(1) Singapore Math - The boys respond well to this series. Singapore does not rely on endless repetition of new concepts. Instead, they move through a broad range of concepts quickly, but thoroughly review often. This suits the boys, and we will definitely continue.

(2) Rosetta Stone - I often use Rosetta Stone as a fill-in activity. If two boys need me at once, I ask one to work on Spanish for 15 to 20 minutes to buy me time to help the other son. And I leave the boys to their own devices with Rosetta Stone. I rarely interfere beyond checking to see that they are moving forward. Despite my lax attitude, I'm often shocked at the sentences the boys can now understand with ease. I took Spanish in elementary school, through all four years of high school, and in college, yet I suspect their comprehension is approaching what I had in high school or college. So, we will definitely continue with Rosetta Stone.

(3) Story of the World - We listen to these stories in the car as we drive to activities, and the boys just love them. More importantly, I hear them using information and ideas gained from the stories in other situations, which tells me that they are making the information their own. So, in one form or another, we will continue with this series.

(4) piano - The boys continue to progress with their piano and like it. I had the most amazing experience recently. Our piano is in the room that opens on to our patio. I was working in the ornamental bed next to the patio, when Landry's music came drifting through the open window. The moment was surreal. Not only was the sound beautiful, but so was the realization that a person that I brought into this world could make something so lovely. Wow! So, piano will remain part of our curriculum.  

(5) bok fu - The boys continue to love their martial arts class and are rapidly approaching their orange/yellow belts. I like that my very energetic sons get a short lesson in discipline each week and are learning to defend themselves. So, we will continue to make our weekly drive for their 45-minute lesson.

(6) Lawrence Hall of Science enrichment classes - The drive to the Bay Area is insanely long, but it is the one source for science classes I've found thus far that actually seem to challenge the boys. As long as they continue to enjoy the classes, I'll be making the twice-a-month trek to Berkeley.  

So, now that I've identified what must be accomplished next year (almost nothing!) and what is currently working, all I need to do is fill in a few gaps and I've got our curriculum planned for next year.

It's been some time since I've posted. All I can say is that I've been too busy living the life to write about it. Here's a recap of some of the highlights.

First, I think I've resolved my difficulties with Moving Beyond the Page. A more relaxed attitude toward the daily lesson plan lessens the tension and makes the work go better. Furthermore,  both Kipp and Landry finished a social studies unit and moved into  science units. As I posted at the beginning of the year (and apparently promptly forgot), I suspected that the science units would prove too simplistic for them. I was right, and they are burning through those in days rather than weeks.  Next year, I wont buy the science units from Moving Beyond the Page for Landry when they become a separate part of the curriculum. For now, however, I'm happy to work through them quickly while still enjoying the literature units that are tied to these science units.

As a result of the changes with Moving Beyond the Page, we've had the time to get back to our usual style of learning. Here are some examples.

With a local group that meets build projects, Landry and Kipp each designed a popsicle stick bridge, then tested it by seeing how many bricks each bridge would hold until it broke. Personally, although not one of our bridges, I had no idea that a popicle stick bridge could ever hold 13 bricks!

At the same time, Kipp has suddenly taken a renewed interest in our wild bird populations. For some time now, he has kept our feeder full and attempted to identify the different species who feed there from a stack of books we've moved to the window sill for him. Project Feederwatch just opened this past weekend, and I think he's really going to enjoy gathering data for Cornell this year.

We've also had the opportunity to go deeper with Moving Beyond the Page. For example, Kipp was studying sound and the human ear. Now, he explained the basic mechanics of how we hear before I could finish reading the lesson. However, Jerry just happened to hear a great podcast on Science Friday discussing the biochemistry involved in converting the sound waves into something the brain can understand. So, rather than missing an opportunity to take his understanding a bit further, Kipp curled up in my lap and we listened to the podcast together. It was amazing to hear what a six year old could comprehend from the discussion.

This past Sunday, we attended a robot rumble at our local state college. The boys got to control the battle robots and talk with the designers. I took copious notes and have a strange suspicion that a homemade battle bot looms in my future. In the meantime, we received some needed parts for our robotic arm, and Kipp and I are anxious to finish it soon. 

On a lighter note, a friend gave me a great recipe for pumpkin play dough with which we had great fun making and playing.

Nor will the fun stop any time soon. We have tickets for a local performance of Fiddler on the Roof this weekend. I am also purchasing tickets for the B Street Theatre's Family Series. If I can get tickets to each performance, we will see Pinocchio, a play about Harriet Tubman, and Beauty and the Beast. Over the next few months, the boys will be taking some science classes at the Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley and art classes at one of our local museums. By the end of the year, we will be going to Yosemite for a few days, and I'm already looking for books on Yosemite's geology, flora and fauna and any literature tie-in's I can find.

And yes, it is wonderful to be back to truly learning at every turn!

Having put out the fires in the other parts of my life, I'm happy to write that I can finally catch up on our educational happenings.

At our last charter meeting, my perfectionist self rather illogically whined that we "lost" over a week of school days each month to outside lessons, field trips and expeditionary learning activities at the charter. Those were the days, I explained, that were causing the boys to fall behind with Moving Beyond the Page. My ES kindly and correctly pointed out that those were not "lost" days. Instead, they were an integral part of an enriched curriculum that is obviously working for the boys, who were animatedly discussing what they had seen and learned that month with her. 

Her comment made me realize that my overachieving need to complete the curriculum by the end of the year was blinding me to my own homeschooling philosophy. While I think the boys need a well-rounded understanding of basic academic subjects, learning opportunities surround us if we seek them, and we should pursue them with vigor.

As if to drive this point home, fate seems to have thrown an unusual number of those opportunities my way recently.

A few weeks ago when the boys started LEGO engineering, I met another mother who mentioned that she drives at least two hours twice a month to take her children to homeschool classes at the Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley. While I was aware of the LHS unit studies, I did not realize that they had classes for homeschool students. We recently attended an amazing field trip at Explorit in Davis where among other activities, Landry and Kipp worked in teams to build from scraps, bridges that held 16 pounds before failing. Having seen their focus and enthusiasm, I'm seriously considering leaving our texts behind twice a month and making the drive to Berkeley to give them similar opportunities on a regular basis.

Continuing on the building theme, we recently discovered a local group of parents and children who meet once a week to "build things." Jerry and the older boys have spent the last few weeks helping to build a huge trebuchet to fling pumpkins. I love to see these kids working together by the light of car headlights to finish this project, and I'm excited to see how far the pumpkins fly.  

Last Friday, I went to dinner with my former writing instructor and now friend. Somehow, the conversation turned to my work with the boys. In encouraging me to publish my homeschooling experiences, my friend informed me that my local junior college has an elaborate planetarium and that her brother in law teaches art at a nearby high school. Who knew such resources were within ten minutes drive of my house in the middle of nowhere? My plan is to contact the astronomy department to see if we can get a tour for the boys and inquire whether my friend's brother in law might be willing to have some input on the boys' art curriculum.

Occasionally, I review books for the local newspaper and recently was fortunate enough to be chosen to review a book of fun science experiments to do at home. Of course, I could not review the book fully unless we performed several of the experiments to see if they were in fact fun and if they were successful. So, this past Sunday, the family perused the book together and chose several experiments to perform. After a short trip collecting supplies, Jerry, the boys and I spent a fun afternoon, testing out experiments.  We had a great time, having fun and learning as a family, all under the guise of my research.

These are the sort of experiences that I was willing to put aside to complete MBTP on time. I'm glad my ES brought my shortsightedness to my attention because I would have been making a serious mistake.

Strangely, though, it may all become a tempest in a teapot. I don't know if it is the quality of the MBTP materials or something else, but Landry has suddenly taken the reins of his own education. Several times in the past week, he has picked up two days' lessons, read through them and completed the activities with little to no input from me. Indeed, he sometimes decides to take the assignments further on his own initiative. This has given me more time with Kipp, who seems to thrive on the additional attention.

So, who knows? We may finish the curriculum on time, early or late this year. Of this, I am certain, though: they will gain a deep understanding of what they discover, and they will have enjoyed the process.