Monthly Home Learning Wrap~Up September 2013

What we read:

·      The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

·      Finished Venom and Song by Batson & Hopper

• Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

·      Mystery of History covering

o   Ice Age, dinosaurs, Gilgamesh, Stonehenge, early Egypt, the Minoans

·      Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

What we did:

·      Lots if nail art.  Lorelei started a nail polish swatch & design notebook

·      Researched acrylic nails – pros, cons, how-to

·      Lorelei did her own acrylic manicure

·      Doodling & tangling

·      Played around with photo editing

·      Worked on drawing realistic cats

·      Made banana bread

·      Worked on Life of Fred, Kidneys – Chapters 1 -  5

·      Made lots of flexahexagons

·      Designing outfits on Polyvore app

·      Disappearing egg shell experiment

·      Helicopter tour of Oahu

·      Ivory soap experiment – states of matter, heat, expanding gases

·      Cool Math 4 Kids strategy games

·      Pinterest for design inspiration

·      Researched Vietnamese flying fox – actually a bat, lives in newly discovered Son Doong Cave in Vietnam

·      Journaling, poem writing

·      Iphone upgrade and playing around with it

·      Seterra geography, memorizing North American countries & US States

·      Writing emoji stories

·      Upcycled a jean jacket into a jean vest – ombre dyed in bleach

·      Made Lembas bread for Hobbit week!

·      Made clay props for Halloween costume

·      Learned about diabetes now that our cat has high glucose

What we watched:

·      Vihart video on parabola doodling. Covered how parabolas, dots, lines, cones & cone sections are all related.

·      Latest VSauce videos

·      Vihart videos about flexahexagons.

·      Observed an ant colony invading our mint plant

·      Observed a mud wasp making a hive

Where we went:

·      Sally’s Beauty supply for info about acrylic nails. Had to ask for help by herself. Big step.

·      Tok cat to the Vet. 

·      Trampoline House

·      BIG ISLAND WEEKEND TRIP!

o   Volcanoes National Park

o   Southern most point in the US!

o   Black & green sand beach

o   Top of Mauna Kea

o   Keck Observatory, got a nice mini tour from a scientist there

o   Found a locals beach full of old glass.  Decades old, broken soda & beer bottles. La’s favorite part!

o   Swam with Manta Rays! Incredible!

What we talked about:

·      Government shutdown, how the Congress is designed to function vs. how it functions today.

·      Issues of mind control in government.

·      Facism vs. Communism

·      Idioms and their historical origins

Monthly Home Learning Wrap-Up ~ August 2013

What we read:

·      Swiss Family Robinson

·      Rereading Sea of Monsters

What we did:

·      Clothes shopping

·      Designing original outfits

·      Started Instagram for our 2 cats – A Tale of 2 Kitties

·      Lots of Nail Art

·      Attempted some cardboard construction

·      Grew hydroponic lettuce

·      Mulan lead to looking up the legend and China history. Research on the Hunnic Empire. Evolution of civilizations. 

·      Went to see Cats – the musical, her first on stage professional musical

What we watched:

·      Outrageous Acts of Science, Vsauce, CutePolish

·      PercyJackson: The Sea of Monsters movie

·      Perseid Meteor Shower – which we learned does not originate from Perseus  

·      RL Stien’s Haunting Hour

·      Disney’s Mulan

·      Disney’s Swiss Family Robinson

·       

Where we went:

·      Youth group – sundae party

·      Hiking on Pupukea

·      Trip to AZ & NY – NY State Fair, Canyon Climb, time with cousins, swimming, acrylic nails, shopping, etc. … So many experiences, too much to keep track of!

What we talked about:

·      Narrated to me, plot of Percy Jackson and how they compare and contrast to the movies and the original Greek myths

·      Anxiety about growing up, adult responsibilities

·      Discussed the difference in intelligent horror vs. slasher films and social/political commentary

Monthly Home Learning Wrap Up ~ July 2013

What we read:

·      The Giver, Messenger, Gathering Blue & Son by Lois Lowry

·      Son of Neptune & Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan

·      After about 6 months of Lorelei feeling like she just did not want to read, she has caught the reading bug again.  She read The Mark of Athena in one week. It is almost 600 pages.

What we did:

·      We did lots of snorkeling this month. We even had the opportunity to sea an eagle spotted ray!

·      Long paddle board trip Sunset to Waimea

·      Lorelei has continued do explore design through original nail art designs and starting a fashion notebook.  She is sketching original designs and putting together outfits for different occasions.

·      Lorelei has been gaining inspiration through exploring ideas on Pinterest.

·      Lorelei has had to make consumer decisions based on her wish list of things to buy and her budget. Lots of real math in this.

·      Played games on Cool Math 4 Kids – mostly strategy, problem solving games

·      Jewelry making with friend on a sleepover

·      Caught a gecko & cane spider and trapped then together to see what would happen – nothing.

·      Water proofed a paper boat

What we watched:

·      Outrageous Acts of Science, Vsauce, CutePolish

·      Crash Course video on the Cold War & The 4th of July

Where we went:

·      This month La spent 2 weeks a camp.  She did lots of outdoor activities and memorized many Bible verses.  She loved both week and had a ball.

·      Graphic Art Supply store for sketch books, pencils, other supplies

·      Ice skating, Waterpark & Podium cart racing (she’s a wild driver!)

What we talked about:

·      Security features on money

·      Actual dates of adoption & signing of the Declaration of Independence

·      Puberty & development

·      Plans for this Fall