Home Learning Blog

March 30 – April 3 Week in Review

kgillsblog — Tue, 05 May 2009 17:16:54 +0000

Math: Single-digit by double-digit multiplication review. “Fractured Fairy Tales: Multiplication and Division”
Science: Forces. “All About Forces” DVD
French: Rosetta Stone Level One, Lesson One, Exercise One
Critical Thinking: “Wild Ride On Gemini 8″ from “Disaster! Critical Thinking Skills” book
Language: Idioms worksheet, journaling
Fine Arts: Music Ace software; create hockey DVD using Vegas Pro software

extras: Walked from Granville Island to Science World; visited Science World; saw OmniMax film about VanGogh

April 20 – 24 Week in Review

kgillsblog — Tue, 05 May 2009 17:16:07 +0000

Math: Single-digit division, fractions
Science: Gravity review
French: Rosetta Stone level one, lesson one, exercise two
Critical Thinking: none
Language: Journal about our trip to the Royal BC Museum
Social Studies: trip to Royal BC Museum
Fine Arts: Piano lessons

Extras:
- Mad Science on Monday
- Went to see “Secret World of Og” at Carousel Theater on Granville Island
- went to the Royal BC Museum in Victoria, focused on First People exhibit

April 27 – May 1 Week in review

kgillsblog — Tue, 05 May 2009 17:15:18 +0000

Math: Equivalent fractions and decimals, decimal place values
Science: Magnetism. “All About Magnetism” and “Magnetism” DVDs, review questions
French: Rosetta Stone level one, lesson one, exercise three
Critical Thinking: What in the World? Helicopter crash article
Language: Wrote action plan for stop-motion video assignment
Social Studies: watched sections 9 – 12 for episode one of Canada: A People’s History. Followed plan for Lesson Three: Cartier and Donnacona from the TRP. Read “Raven Goes Berry Picking”, answered questions in Social Studied journal.
Fine Arts: Piano lessons, film production class

Extras:
Mad Science session 1 hr
Film Production class 2 hrs

May 4 – May 8 Week in Review

kgillsblog — Tue, 05 May 2009 17:09:21 +0000

Math: corrections on equivalent fractions and decimals. Waiting for Saxon Math materials.
Science: Magnetism – make an electromagnet using Thames and Kosmos Core Science kit.
French: Rosetta Stone level one, lesson one, exercise three
Critical Thinking: What in the World? Helicopter crash article – complete questions
Language: Journal Mad Science class
Social Studies: watched sections 1 – 3 for episode two of Canada: A People’s History. Followed plan for Lesson Four: The Fur Trade from the TRP.
Fine Arts: Piano lessons, film production class

Extras:
Mad Science 1 hr
Track meet all day Wednesday
Film Production class hrs
Mad Science session 1 hr
Film Production class 2 hrs

April 12 – April 16 Week in Review

kgillsblog — Tue, 05 May 2009 16:57:22 +0000

Math: Multiplication and division. Double-digit multiplication, single-digit division (with and without remainders)
Science: Gravity. “Gravity” DVD, potato drop experiment from the Thames and Kosmos kit, experimented with dropping objects of varying weights from the top of a ladder
French: Rosetta Stone level one, lesson one, exercise two
Critical Thinking: “Pompeii”
Language: nothing
Social Studies: nothing
Fine Arts: Piano lessons

Extras: none. Monday was a holiday.

April 6 – April 10 Week in review

kgillsblog — Tue, 05 May 2009 16:52:50 +0000

Math: Multiplication and division. Estimating answers, using mental math, started double-digit multiplication
Science: Friction. “Friction” DVD, friction experiments, review questions
French: Rosetta Stone level one, lesson one, exercise one
Critical Thinking: “Hindenburg: The Last of the Great Dirigibles”
Language: writing to retell assignment
Social Studies: watched sections 1 – 4 for episode one of Canada: A People’s History
Fine Arts: Started piano lessons

Extras: Attended the “High Tech High Touch” presentation and lab about simple machines
Went geocaching in the watershed

Teaching math

kgillsblog — Tue, 05 May 2009 16:32:52 +0000

Well, I’ve tried a couple different school math textbooks, and they just aren’t working for us. Firstly, they try so hard to make math non-threatening that it is sometimes hard to decipher the actual point of the unit. Secondly, many of the activities are designed for groups, which isn’t suitable in a home learning environment. Thirdly, they often teach the same topic in several different ways, which is great for a classroom that has students with different learning styles, but it tends to just add to the confusion for us at home. I’m now looking for materials that are designed specifically for a home learning environment. The Saxon math series looks good – I like the way that each lesson builds logically on the previous one, and that each lesson’s review questions include questions from topics in previous lessons. I’ve ordered the 6/5 set (intended for grade five), and we’ll try it for the remaining 6 weeks of this school year.

Learning to think

kgillsblog — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 01:50:17 +0000

I’m beginning to realize that, with teaching, half the battle is getting students to use the information they’ve learned to answer questions and solve problems. Getting the information into their heads in the first place is only the first step; showing them how to apply that knowledge is another. I seem to spend quite a bit of time extoling J to “Think!” I know the raw tools, the knowledge, is in there – but how do I coax him to use that knowledge in a logical way to reach a conclusion?

I need to look into this. Is early primary education so heavily weighted towards memorization (sight words, vocabulary lists, math tables) that kids never practice applying their newfound knowledge? Are memorized facts the sort of ‘testable’ knowledge the US education system in particular is focused on, for the sake of achieving good test results? Or is this a quirk of my particular learner, that he hasn’t seen the inherent connection between demonstrated facts and theoretical questions?

I recall reading in newspapers/magazines that employers are constantly dismayed at the poor “real-life” skills of their younger employees – people who can program in their sleep, or explain math theories, but who can’t calculate basic percentages, or write a legible report (or, apparently, understand the implications of carrying a balance on their credit cards). So perhaps it isn’t just J.