WELCOME!

WELCOME! I used this blog to share our family's homeschooling thoughts and experiences. Our oldest child, EL, finished her formal education in May 2017, and we graduated our son, JJ, from High School in May 2021. I will leave this blog up for anyone who wishes to read our curriculum reviews or see what types of field trips and/or activities we participated in.

Monday, May 11, 2020

JJ's JUNIOR YEAR - What Our Spring Semester Looked Like

This school year, (JJ's Junior Year) is definitely a year to remember. It was completed earlier than our years in the past, but it wasn't really by choice. You see, we were all looking forward to taking a 2-week Spring Break in April and go on a family vacation to Florida; but, then, the COVID-19 Pandemic broke out, and our vacation plans came to a halt. With nothing else to do but stay home, we decided to continue working through our Spring Break, and that allowed us to officially finish our school year at the end of April.

Many parents have been forced into schooling their children at home these past couple of months, and I can imagine how hard that must be for them. For us, it hasn't been as much of a shock to our family dynamic because we were already homeschooling. However, the Pandemic has certainly changed the way we have done things, has "messed up" our plans, and has produced lonely and stressful situations for all of us. I can say for certain, schooling at home during a stay-at-home order is not a typical way of homeschooling, and we are hoping/praying that next school year will allow us do things the way we are used to doing them.

Here's a brief update on our
Spring Semester:

NUTRITION CLASS:  JJ and CV were almost finished with Nutrition class before they could no longer meet together for lessons. For their final project, they were supposed to plan a menu, shop for ingredients, and cook a meal for both of our families. They got as far as planning the menu but, unfortunately, were unable to shop and cook as a team. The boys enjoyed learning together while it lasted.

Comparing nutrition labels on cereal boxes

CAREER EXPLORATION:  During 1st Semester, we finished our book-work and visited a Funeral Home, a charcoal artist, and the local Post Office. We had planned on visiting several more businesses in the 2nd semester, but plans changed big time once the Pandemic broke out. We did manage to get a Career Fair in that was held at the High School, and JJ was able to get some new ideas about potential jobs from there. He also visited a friend at the local Subway, then filled out and turned in his first job application. Again, the Pandemic stopped that job possibility from happening. He will try applying for a job again at a later date.

Career/Job Fair
 
STRENGTH & FITNESS CLASS:  The gym where JJ has his classes, of course, closed its doors during the Pandemic, which was sad. But, JJ has been able to continue with his class via Zoom meetings. He is very dedicated to getting and staying fit, and does not want to miss a class if possible. I'm glad the Zoom meetings became an option for him.

MODERN WORLD HISTORY:   This is one of the classes the Pandemic did not change. After finishing Ancient World History in 1st semester, JJ used a history textbook to get a good overview of Modern World History. He read a portion each day, wrote a brief summary, and watched a topic-related video.

ALGEBRA I:  Again, no change in this class, but whew! We made it through it, and JJ passed with a C grade. That's really about all I have to say about that! Then, with the few weeks we had left over, he moved on into an introduction of Geometry.

JUMP IN (WRITING):  No big changes with this class either. JJ completed all his writing assignments. Honestly, he didn't enjoy writing them, but at least he got through the course and learned a little more about how to organize his thoughts. The final assignment was to do a book report. JJ chose the 3rd book in the Michael Vey series which I read aloud for us both to hear. Because of our time at home, we were able to get in some extra reading time and finished the book quicker than we normally would have.

Typing a Book Report

OTHER MISC. PHOTOS FROM
OUR SEMESTER:

Volunteering at a local food distribution

Helping Dad change the kitchen faucet

EL taking part in a Zoom "show and tell"

Church at Home

Mom wearing a mask at a doctor appointment

Mowing the lawn

Assembling one of 4 Star Wars puzzles


Wednesday, January 15, 2020

JJ's JUNIOR YEAR - FALL 2019 Field Trips

Here's a quick peek at some of the interesting places we visited during JJ's first Semester of Junior year. . . .

September 16, 2019 - We stopped at a local cafe' to watch charcoal artist, Mack Leighty, in action. It was interesting to have our questions answered and to watch him work. His charcoal drawings are so incredibly detailed that they look like black and white photographs. 

One of the finished drawings.

September 18, 2019 - A fun trip to Casey, IL, to see all the BIG things, many of which are in the Guinness Book of World Records. JJ is pictured here in a big bird cage with two of his cousins.

November 16, 2019 - JJ took his first college trip with a group of friends/family to visit the campus of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago.

Post Office

November 21, 2019 - We took a visit to the local Post Office to see how things are run behind the counter.

We are still exploring job/career options this year, and hope to be visiting several more businesses during this final Semester of Junior year.