2015 Third Quarter Music Work Sample

Clarity is still plugging along with violin.  We decided to take a break from the Suzuki group class this semester but Clarity seems to really enjoy playing now that she has a few songs under her belt.

2015 Third Quarter Writing Work Sample

Explode the Code Workbook

We have been trying to increase the amount of writing Clarity does this semester so I try to incorporate writing into every other subject we do.  Although Clarity doesn't love the "school" writing work, she independently does quite a bit of phonetic spelling and journaling.  We started a weekend journal this year (done every Monday morning), and the idea has really taken off.  She kept a vacation journal during our trip and is always trying to figure out how to spell things.  We will now start working on the exceptions to the phonetic rules as well as getting better at our spelling.

Shrek Journal Page

Copy Work From Story Summary

Cirque de Soleil Journal Page

2015 Third Quarter Spanish Work Sample

Reviewing Clothing and Colors

Working on the Calendar

Spanish this semester has continued with Debbie Palmer.  They have done a lot of review this semester (colors, clothing) and have started working on larger numbers and the yearly calendar.  Clarity really enjoys her spanish class and we will continue through fourth quarter and into the summer.

2015 Third Quarter Social Studies Work Sample

Use the Force.....To Survive San Francisco

This semester we started our "official" study of the continents.  Using the cultural stories in the Enki curriculum, along with a more Montessori based "continent box" idea, we started our semester with music, crafts, and tales from the African continent.  We read the story of Malidoma Some, a spiritual leader and healer from Africa, along with many Ananse trickster tales.  At the end of our Africa unit we made salt dough models of Africa.

Artwork by Clarity

Right before we left for vacation we started our unit on North America.  We have already read a number of books on Alaska (Minuk, A Year of Miss Agnus) and also a great book on Sacajawea and the Lewis and Clark expedition.  We'll continue this unit for the next several weeks. 

A Moment of Clarity

We always learn so much when we are lucky enough to travel, and I'm glad that Clarity has been an active traveler in her life so far.  She just gets more and more fun as she gets older, she is very adventurous and always up for trying something new.  On our last trip we visited the central California coast and saw amazing wonders of nature

Bright Lights, Big City

Adventures in Chinatown

Additionally we got to spend some time in San Francisco, staying right in the heart of the financial district.  We were all glad that we did not have to live there.

2015 Third Quarter Reading Work Sample

Clarity has finally taken an interest in learning to read.  She has made it through several of the Dr. Seuss books (Hop on Pop, Fox in Socks) as well as many of the level 1 readers at the library.  She also is doing most of the reading in her Math and Language Arts workbooks.  This semester we have also been fortunate to be involved with a book group.  We have been meeting twice per month and have so far gone through four books: Unicorn School, The Borrowers, Twig, and Minuk.  The group splits time between talking about elements of the book itself and doing projects related to the theme of the book.  Luckily the author of the book Minuk, Kirpatrick Hill, lives in Fairbanks and was gracious enough to host our group at her home to talk about her time teaching in the Alaskan bush.  Clarity was very inspired and has started her own book about Native Alaskans.

Recreated Scene From The Borrowers

Meeting Pat Hill

2015 Third Quarter Math Work Sample

Singapore Math Workbook

Main Lesson Book Work

Addition

Subtraction

 We have been in a Language Arts block lately so haven't tackled anything new in math.  We have been continuing our work with the four processes and making progress in our Singapore Math workbook.

2015 Third Quarter Art Work Samples

Weekly Craft Day with Friends

Homemade Thank You Cards

Frig Art Display

We are still doing a lot of art with all of our homeschool activities and Clarity loves to draw and journal.  We are still having a craft day once per week with a friend, sometimes we watercolor paint and sometimes we just do simple crafts with clay.