Nurture Creek

(Very) Tentative High School Plan

2016-08-21T22:10:00.002-05:00

8th grade
1 Government & Economics (+Civics tutorial class?)
1    Fine Arts

9th grade
1    Algebra I
1    World History/Geography
1    Elective: General Science ?
       (Big History Project + The Story of Science)
1    English I
.5    PE/Wellness

10th grade
1    Algebra II
1    Lab Science: Biology (+ labs)
1    English II
1    American History/Geography
.5    Elective: American Literature
1    Elective: Logic

11th grade (will consider dual enrollment options)
1    Geometry
1    Lab Science: Chemistry
1    English III
1    PE/Wellness
1    Foreign Language
.5    Elective: ACT Prep
.5    Personal Finance

12th grade (will consider dual enrollment options)
1    Trigonometry/Pre-Calculus
1    Lab Science: Physics
1    English IV
1    Foreign Language

Year 7

2016-03-05T12:18:00.000-06:00

(July 2016-June 2017)

Math & Science

Life of Fred (Fractions, Decimals and Percents, Pre-Algebra 1 with Biology)
Math Essentials, continued
Chemistry of Living Things (tutorial class)
Math & Science Olympiads (tutorial class)
STEM Scouts
games (Clumsy Thief, Albert's Insomnia, Sumoku, Set, Ninety-Nine or Bust, Prime Climb...)
Nature walks/hikes

History & Social Justice
We will continue our chronological study of American history (with additional focus on WWII, per his request).

Read-Aloud & Picture Books

Independent Reading (historical fiction)

Independent Reading (non-fiction)

50 Things You Should Know About the Second World War

Films

Prohibition
Iron Jawed Angels (women's suffrage)
Fatman and Little Boy (The Manhattan Project)
Midway (WWII)
Flags of Our Fathers (WWII)
The Tuskegee Airmen (WWII)
Twelve O'clock High (WWII)
Irena Sendler: In the Names of their Mothers (WWII)
A Force More Powerful (Peacemakers)
Citizen King
The Loving Story
Ghosts of Mississippi
Last Days in Vietnam
Prom Night in Mississippi

Other Resources

Civil Rights Activity Book (free PDF)
Teaching Tolerance: Confronting Unjust Practices
Teaching Tolerance: School Integration 55 Years Later

Field Trips

TN Suffrage Monument at Centennial Park

Birmingham (Civil Rights Institute, Kelly Ingram Park, 16th Street Baptist Church)
Nashville Civil Rights Walking Tour

Language Arts

Literature and the Art of Writing (tutorial class)

The Great Gatsby & literary analysis
Fahrenheit 451 & research
Tuesdays with Morrie & personal narrative
Interpreter of Maladies & creative short stories

Read-Aloud or Audio Books

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (family/weekends)
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Watership Down
A Christmas Carol (audio)
The Lost Prince
Little Women (audio)
Little Men

Bedtime Read-Aloud Suggestions (with Dad)

Poetry Teatimes

Read-Aloud Poems for Young People, continued
Aesop's Fables, continued
Lots of Jack Prelutsky & other fun poetry books
Inside Out and Back Again
Brown Girl Dreaming
Full Cicada Moon

Other

touch typing
English from the Roots Up (Latin/Greek)
Elegy for a Dead World (creative writing)

word games (Word on the Street, Bananagrams, Quiddler...)

Current Events
CNN Student News

Art
Meet the Masters (Cassatt, Mondrian, Picasso, Monet, Homer, Remington, O'Keefe, Hokusai, Matisse, Degas, Kahlo, Gaugin, Toulouse-Lautrec, Escher)

Physical Activity

daily walks and/or Trikke riding
light weight training with dumbbells
weekly hikes

Life/Work Skills

household chores & yard work
weekly visits to StudioNPL & dedicated project time

_______________

He will continue to update his Library Thing, adding all independently read books.

Year 6

2015-03-01T11:19:00.000-06:00

Sept 2015-June 2016

This list will evolve through the year--things will be added, things will be deleted. As usual, we like to have a solid plan to get us going, yet we always feel free to step off the main path to follow other interests as they arise or change things up if they aren't working.

Science

STEM Scouts
nature walks & hikes
books & documentaries of interest

Math

Life of Fred (Honey-Mineshaft )
Math Essentials
games (tri-FACTa, Zoom!, Who's Counting?, Clumsy Thief, Albert's Insomnia, Sumoku, Set, Ninety-Nine or Bust...)

US History
We will continue our chronological study of American history.

Read-Alouds

Independent Reading
This list indicates assigned books. Upon completion, these and all other books he chooses to read will be listed on his Library Thing.

Videos

Language Arts

Poetry teatimes with Read-Aloud Poems for Young People and a wide variety of other books
games (Word on the Street, Bananagrams, Word Monkeys, Quiddler...)
Spelling Works

Independent Reading
This list indicates assigned books that I think he will enjoy. Upon completion, these and all other books he chooses to read will be listed on his Library Thing.

Daytime Read-Aloud or Audio Books

Rip Van Winkle
The Railway Children
The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural
Tuck Everlasting
Animal Farm
Oliver Twist (audio & movie)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (family/weekends)

Bedtime Read-Alouds (Dad)

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place (Books 1-5)
Inkheart
Redwall series, continued (The Bellmaker, The Outcast of Redwall, The Pearls of Lutra, The Long Patrol...)
Matilda (again)
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (annual tradition)
The Search for Wondla
A Hero for Wondla
The Battle for Wondla
Cabin on Trouble Creek

Miscellaneous

CNN Student News
dedicated project time
Meet the Masters (Van Gogh)
gymnastics (fall), yoga (spring)
fencing camp (one week)
various classes/field trips of interest

Year 5

2014-05-25T12:47:00.001-05:00

This list will evolve through the year--things will be added, things will be deleted. As usual, we like to have a solid plan to get us going, yet we always feel free to step off the main path to follow other interests as they arise.

Science

various classes/field trips of interest
various books/videos of interest

Math

US History
Revolution & Independence, Slavery, Westward Expansion

Read-Alouds

A His tory of Us (Books 3-5)
The Boston Tea Party✓

Paul Revere's Ride✓

George vs George: The American Revolution as Seen from Both Sides✓

Woods Runner (Dad/bedtime)✓(did not like)
How We Crossed the West: The Adventures of Lewis & Clark✓
The Birchbark House✓
Chains✓
Forge✓
Nightjohn✓

Assigned Independent Reading

Daniel Boone: Frontiersman (Heroes of History) ✓

Mr. Revere and I ✓

Toliver's Secret ✓
Davy Crockett: Young Rifleman ✓
The Captain's Dog: My Journey with the Lewis and Clark Tribe ✓
Tucket's Travels (Books 1-5) (He enjoyed book 1, but not 2 or 3, so I didn't have him continue with 4 & 5.)
Only the Names Remain: The Cherokees and the Trail of Tears✓

Other

Liberty's Kids (DVDs)✓

National Geographic: Lewis and Clark: Great Journey West (Netflix) ✓
homeschool history club (monthly)

Reading, Poetry, & Literature

All books he reads will continue to be listed on his LibraryThing. In addition to the historical fiction listed above as independent reading, he will also be assigned The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (unabridged) and he reads much of his own choosing.

Poetry

Incredible Inventions✓

The Tree That Time Built: A Celebration of Nature, Science, and Imagination
Jack Prelutsky
other old favorites

Daytime Read-Alouds

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (family)✓
Pagoo ✓
The Wheel on the School✓
The Halloween Tree✓
A Little Princess✓
Black Beauty ✓
The Jungle Book✓
Bambi ✓

Bedtime Read-Alouds (Dad)

The Witch of Blackbird Pond ✓(did not like)

Calico Captive ✓(did not like)

The Animal Family ✓

The Fantastic Flying Journey✓

The Twenty-One Balloons✓

The Great Brain✓

Bunnicula Meets Edgar Allen Crow✓
Woods Runner✓(did not like)
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (annual tradition) ✓
The Incredible Journey ✓
The Midnight Fox ✓
Caddie Woodlawn ✓
Captain Grey✓
Humbug Mountain✓
Jason's Gold✓
A Stranger Came Ashore✓
Redwall ✓
Mossflower✓
Mattimeo ✓
Mariel of Redwall✓
Salamandastron✓

Spelling

Miscellaneous

dedicated project time (majority of the day on Mondays)
parkour or gymnastics class (weekly)
pottery classes, continued (as requested)
park days and playdates (usually at least 1x/week)
nature walks (at least weekly)
nightly Bible read-aloud with Dad
speech therapy (weekly class/daily practice, spring semester)

I found most of the history book choices through The Best Children's Books.org, a great website that has books sorted by subject and age range. Most of the read-aloud literature selections are Ambleside Online suggestions for Year 4 and Year 5, and many of the bedtime books were found in Jim Trelease's The Read-Aloud Handbook.

Year 4

2013-08-01T10:00:00.000-05:00

Science/Technology/Engineering/Arts/Math (STEAM)

Engineering for Kids homeschool classes (weekly)
Camp Invention (one week)

pottery classes (4 sessions--12 Saturdays)

Teaching Textbooks Math 4 (Update: After he completed the first half of this, we decided to drop TT. Though he scored well on every lesson, it just felt like he was going through the motions without really thinking much.)

Life of Fred Elementary Series, continued

fact practice using Xtra Math, Pollywogs to Polygons: The Metamorphosis of Numbers to Art, games like Zeus on the Loose, and various apps such as Math Fact Master, Math Bingo, Sums Stacker.

History

homeschool history club (monthly)
continued chronological reading of A History of Us

Kaya: An American Girl audio series
The Buffalo and the Indian: A Shared Destiny

independent reading:

Pedro's Journal: A Voyage with Christopher Columbus
The Sign of the Beaver
The Double Life of Pocohontas
Blood on the River: Jamestown, 1607
The Matchlock Gun
How Ben Franklin Stole the Lightning
Now & Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin
Ben and Me
The Matchlock Gun

Poetry, Reading & Literature

In addition to assigned history readings, the books he chooses to read during free time will continue to be listed on his LibraryThing.

Poetry

The Oxford Book of Story Poems, continued
Poetry Speaks to Children

Daytime Read-Alouds (Mom)

A Wrinkle in Time (and NCT play in Sept)
The Secret Garden
Little Town on the Prairie
These Happy Golden Years
Strawberry Girl
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (family)

Bedtime Read-Alouds (Dad)

Holes
Tumtum and Nutmeg: The Rose Cottage Tales
Island of the Blue Dolphins
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
The Moffats
The Middle Moffat
Tanglewood Tales
Dragon Rider
Julie of the Wolves
Hatchet
Brian's Winter
The River
Brian's Return
Brian's Hunt
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
The Haymeadow
From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
Jack the Conquerer

Spelling

Second Grade Spelling Games & Activities

Misc. Wellness

Changing You: A Guide to Body Changes and Sexuality
parkour class at local gymnastics center (weekly)
swimming lessons (two weeks)

Creek Exploring

2013-05-21T13:03:00.000-05:00

(We've been reading about invertebrates and arthropods.)

How Animals Move I: The Skeleton and Muscle System (BFSU B-6)

2013-04-12T18:55:00.001-05:00

As an introduction to the skeletal and muscular systems, we read and discussed two great library books by Seymour Simon this week: Bones and Muscles. After reading these, I surprised Gerrick with our own new copy of DK The Complete Human Body. It has fantastic illustrations and I'm sure we will refer to it often.

He also enjoyed building a skeleton in Build a Body on Spongelab. This is a free site; however, it does require registration with an email address. He liked that it was realistic/non-cartoonish, so for us it was definitely worth the extra effort to register. (Build a Body is also available as a free iPad app. We don't have an iPad yet, but for those of you who do, check it out!)

You can find more of our BFSU-inspired science activities here.

Seven Snippets (3.23.13)

2013-03-23T14:07:00.001-05:00

-1-

We don't focus on labels around here, but sometimes they can aid in finding help when you need it. Gerrick has OCD tendencies. Although dietary changes have helped a lot, last Saturday he went to Cheekwood with friends and some things happened while he was there that made me realize he still needed some tools to assist him, particularly when I'm not around to help him through obsessions. On Monday I pulled out a book that I bought over a year ago and set it on the coffee table. When he saw it, he asked what it was. I paraphrased this quote from the book:

Did you know that people have brain sorters that keep their brains from getting cluttered with unnecessary thoughts? Sometimes these brain sorters get mixed up, though, and brains get clogged with thoughts that really bother kids. If this has happened to you, if it's hard for you to feel safe or sure of yourself because certain thoughts have gotten stuck, this book is for you.

He practically yelled, "I need this!"

I asked him if he'd like to read it alone or if he'd like us to read it together. He said together, so I started reading aloud, thinking I'd just read a chapter or two a day. He really, really enjoyed it, though, and I ended up reading the whole book in one sitting. We had amazing discussion and the information in this book really empowered him. There were a lot of things mentioned in the book that he used to do, but has already overcome. Seeing those things in print made him feel really good. When we finished reading, he wanted to make a poster to remind himself of the six ways to show OCD who's boss.

We highly recommend What to Do When Your Brain Gets Stuck: A Kid's Guide to Overcoming OCD to any family who needs help with OCD-like behavior.

"Emotional Regulation and the Gifted Child", an article shared by Gifted Homeschoolers Forum on facebook this week, mentions some similar strategies for coping with intense emotions.

-2-

Since going to a birthday party at a My Gym location a few months ago, he has been asking to go again. Since speech therapy is over, the time has finally come! He tried a free-trial class this week. He had a great time (and sore muscles the next couple of days!). We signed him up for the weekly class for ages 6-13. The timing is perfect so that Rick will be able to take him while I'm home making dinner. He'll also have the option to go to Open Play times, which will be nice on our grocery-shopping days when the weather isn't nice enough for a park.

-3-

He created his first LEGO stop-motion movie: Clone Battle Tank Ambush. The explosions were made with tissues!

-4-

He made an awesome coat of arms that matches the flag on the bedroom door sign he made last week. He hung the coat of arms on the playroom door.

-5-

He and his daddy discovered Robin Hood on Netflix and have watched an episode just about every night this week. Gerrick says it has good battle scenes. They read the novel last year, so he was already familiar with Robin Hood, but he said that suddenly Robin Hood is showing up everywhere! He found references to him this week in his stop-motion animation book and in Wildwood.

-6-

Rick has been reading aloud Wildwood by Colin Meloy at bedtime. They both say it is a strange book. Gerrick seems to be enjoying it, but has also been discussing some ways that the author could have made it better.

-7-

He has been poring over his Weaponry book, marking pages with orange sticky tabs, and talking, talking, talking about various weapons within it.

Have a great week!

Seven Snippets (3.15.13)

2013-03-15T19:59:00.001-05:00

-1-

Gerrick made this sign for his bedroom door. The men are "guards of the peace" and, though he told me, he won't let me share with you the meaning of the flag symbols. He said, "That's classified. I'll only tell my friends in person."

-2-

He went to his last speech therapy session this week! We're still working on the r sounds at home, but finally we have our Tuesday afternoons back and more money in the budget to allocate for things he really wants to do.

-3-

We talked about sound this week, and he made a straw flute. (More on that here.)

-4-

He wrote a few thank-you notes (for Christmas & birthday gifts)--better late than never! The free printable cat note he used was found at mrprintables.com.

-5-

He asked to print Star Wars masks. Rick helped him cut out the eyes and tie elastic bands on them.

-6-

He's been playing a lot of LEGO Harry Potter on the Wii. He told Rick he needed a map of Hogwarts, and they found one online and printed a copy. He was so excited to have it; apparently it has been very helpful.

-7-

He got to spend all afternoon today playing with one of his good friends on his family's farm. The weather was sunny and 75!

Have a great week!

Sounds, Vibrations, & Energy (BFSU C-2)

2013-03-13T20:13:00.000-05:00

We read and discussed Sound by Sally M. Walker. This book inspired Gerrick to do several sound-related activities; below are two examples.

1. He experimented with with rubber bands and discovered that fast vibrations (high frequencies) have a high pitch and slow vibrations (low frequencies) have a low pitch.

2. He made a straw flute. The pitch of each straw is different because the air blown in each one vibrates at a different speed.

Later we watch the The Magic School Bus in the Haunted House on youtube.

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You can find more of our BFSU-inspired science activities here.

Food Chains & Adaptations (BFSU B-5)

2013-03-13T19:15:00.002-05:00

For this lesson, Gerrick read aloud the book
Who Eats What?: Food Chains and Food Webs.

He then explored Sheppard Software's food chain page.

Another day we read about animal adaptations on this website.

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You can find more of our BFSU-inspired science activities here.

Land Forms & Major Biomes of the Earth (BFSU D-4)

2013-03-13T18:50:00.000-05:00

For this lesson, we took turns reading aloud from the book What is a Biome?

After reading it, Gerrick added "Tour the Florida Everglades" to his bucket list.

He also explored the following sites:

Kids Do Ecology World Biome Page

Interactive Landform Regions USA Map

In the past we have enjoyed:

One Small Square book series

Planet Earth BBC series

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You can find more of our BFSU-inspired science activities here.

Our Paleo Dinner Menu

2013-03-11T07:51:00.000-05:00

Monday: Beef

Green Sliders

Mini Meatloaf

Lettuce Wrap Tacos

Mini burgers

Tuesday: Fish/Seafood
Fish Sticks

Ginger Garlic Cod*

Pecan Crusted Flounder*

Crab Cakes*

Salmon & Crab Cakes with Avocado*

Spicy Tuna Cakes (full recipe on Nom Nom Paleo app)*

Creamy Coconut Shrimp over Zucchini Pasta*

Speedy Shrimp & Broccoli*

Wednesday: Crock Pot

Onion Pulled Pork
Hawaiian Pulled Pork*
(I'll use fresh pineapple.)
Whole Chicken
Pot Roast
Italian Meatballs*

Thursday: Pork

Zoodles & Meatballs

Apple Cinnamon Pork Loin*

Super Porktastic Meatloaf*
Pork Chops with Ginger Pear Sauce*
(sub coconut oil /veg oil & butter)

Friday: Chicken
Lemon Pepper Chicken

Chicken Sausage & Roasted Root Veggies

Chicken Bacon Burgers

Sweet Potato & Kale Chicken Patties

(Chicken mixture needs to sit in fridge for 4+ hours.)

Saturday: Hearty Soup or Salad

Chicken Soup with Kale, Garlic & Sweet Potatoes

Sweet Potato Cauliflower Soup & Sausage Kale Muffins

Hearty Beef Stew
Sausage & Kale Soup
Beef and Butternut Stew with Pear and Thyme *

Chicken & Brussel Sprouts Salad*

Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps*

Zesty Lime Shrimp & Avocado Salad*

Sunday: Day of Rest

Leftovers, raw veggies, fruits & nuts

Smoothies

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Favorite Sides

Cauliflower Rice

Roasted Cauliflower with Bacon & Garlic

(sub coconut oil/olive oil)

Garlic & Herb Mashed Cauliflower

Sweet Potato Cauliflower Soup

Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Roasted Okra

Baby Spinach Salad

Lightly Steamed or Roasted Broccoli

Broccoli Apple Salad (minus dressing)

Green Beans sautéed in bacon grease

Brussel Sprouts with Bacon & Apple
Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Lemon

Brussel Sprouts Slaw

Asian Slaw

Roasted Cabbage with Lemon*
Oven-Roasted Garlic Cabbage*

Stir Fried Kale & Bacon

(sub apple cider vinegar/Banyuls vinegar)

Kale Chips

(sub coconut oil/olive oil)
Coconut Flour Biscuits

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Sweets for Special Occasions

Chocolate Cake

(sub palm shortening/butter, almond butter/peanut butter, cold canned coconut milk/cream)

Breakfast Bread

(sub additional T honey/stevia)

Brownies

Chocolate Chip Cookies*

(sub palm shortening/butter)

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Raspberry Chocolate Chip Muffins

Orange Vanilla Cupcakes

Pumpkin Pucks

Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake
Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cake Cookies

Gingerbread Men

* haven’t tried yet

Seven Snippets (3.08.13)

2013-03-08T20:29:00.000-06:00

-1-

Saturday was Gerrick's 9th birthday!

-2-

He was thrilled with his LEGO gifts! Rick and I gave him the Orc Forge (shown above). His uncle and aunt gave him the Uruk-hai Army. And thanks to generous contributions from Nana and one of Rick's co-workers, he found himself with enough money to buy The Mines of Moria. He put together all three sets this week and has the entire table in his playroom set up with Lord of the Rings-inspired LEGO creations.

-3-

History club met this week. He came home talking about discovering that a kid whom he had thought he might befriend was actually a liar and a thief. There apparently was some controversy about whether or not this child had stolen LEGO minifigs from a kindergartener. Dealing with this kind of junk falls in the "socialization" folder, I suppose.

-4-

We saw The Wind in the Willows with friends at the Nashville Children's Theater. The above video shows Rona Carter transforming herself into Badger.

-5-

He read and enjoyed four books from the Dinosaur Cove series.

-6-

We went to Circus World on Saturday for Gerrick's birthday because he has always insisted that his birthday be celebrated on his birthday. I knew it would be super crowded, but we went anyway...for about 60 seconds. It was insane! Not only could you barely move for the crowds, but wristbands cost twice as much as on weekdays! YIKES! I told him I would pay him the $30 difference in cost for the three of us if we could just leave and come back later in the week. He was good with that. So Rick took a day off work and we went back today--with no lines, no waiting! We had a lot fun: bowling, bumper cars, laser tag, roller skating, and the bungee trampoline.

-7-

We're excited about the possibility of joining Hacker Scouts, a new scouting organization focused on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics). This week I learned that a guild is forming in Nashville! If you are local and interested in being involved, join the Nashville Hacker Scouts facebook group and/or the email list.

Have a great week!

Seven Snippets (3.01.13)

2013-03-01T15:14:00.000-06:00

-1-

We had another family hike Sunday afternoon.

This time we saw two Northern water snakes!

-2-

He pulled out his Snap Circuits and did some independent experimenting. I love hearing him talk to himself.

Hmm...no difference...except it's a little dimmer.

OH! So that's why the alarm wouldn't work! I didn't put the speaker on.

-3-

From our windows, we watched the laying of foundations for two houses and the installation of electric poles.

-4-

I've been reading a good bit aloud from The Long Winter this week. He thinks it's so cool that Almonzo built a wall to hide his wheat seed and has been pretending to do the same with sofa pillows. He has had a problem of a big rat (our kitten Momo) getting into his seed.

-5-

He read the fourth and fifth books of The Spiderwick Chronicles.

-6-

He's been "making some improvements" to his bedroom, including adding liftable doors to some shelves for privacy. Later, he took them down because he didn't like how they looked. He's also thinking about a new paint color for his walls--possibly light blue with white at the top so that "it would look like you were in the sky." He told me not to make any plans yet, though, because he's still thinking and "maybe we could paint for next Christmas."

-7-

He's super excited about his (9th!) birthday tomorrow. He has high hopes that he's going to get some LEGO Uruk-hai that he can add to his Amon Hen setup that he's still creating.

Have a great weekend!

Seven Snippets (2.22.13)

2013-02-22T22:20:00.002-06:00

-1-

Along with lots of original LEGO creations, Gerrick also completed Kit 3 of Master Builder Academy. It'll take him four months to save enough allowance to buy the next box that includes Kits 4-6, but he is looking forward to advancing to Level 2.

-2-

One day during our project work time, he asked me to help him search for images online of Amon Hen. (This is a place related to Lord of the Rings, in case you are like me and had no idea.) He had been building it with LEGO bricks and wanted to get some more ideas. Though he wasn't expecting actual LEGO images, we happened upon the blog Tolkien Bricks, which completely put him over the moon. Earlier in the week I noticed him looking through one of his movie visual companions, and later he re-watched some scenes from The Fellowship of the Ring for more ideas. He doesn't want me to take any pics until it's done, but he has been working on it diligently.

-3-

I've printed addition fact mini flash cards and addition/subtraction fact family cards and we've been going through them to help increase speed. He was starting to get frustrated with Teaching Textbooks a couple of weeks ago and it was because he needed to be more comfortable with the basic facts. So we've put TT on hold and are spending time drilling these basics. There is absolutely nothing fun about it, but he prefers verbally calling out answers over written practice sheets and timed computer games. (Yes, I am well aware that if he were in public school he would be working on multiplication facts by now, and I thank God we can move at a pace custom designed just for him!)

-4-

He's been working hard practicing sounds and blends for speech. (Having homework is no fun!) Hopefully he will meet all his goals and be able to quit going to weekly therapy soon! The r is still tricky for him, but I found some ideas here that are really helping.

-5-

We had a family hike on President's Day. You can see more pics from that outing here.

-6-

Between errands on Friday afternoon, Gerrick and I went walking at another park.

-7-

In order to help some friends who are looking for ideas for gluten-free and/or dairy-free food for their children, I've decided to start posting pics of Gerrick's lunches from time to time in a facebook album I made: Grain-Free, Dairy-Free Kid Lunches. Be sure to follow me on facebook by clicking the follow button on my timeline if you'd like to get those updates! (If we are already facebook friends, you will automatically see all my public posts and you don't need to click anything.) The photo above is the first one I've posted: bacon, frozen green beans sauteed in bacon grease, baby spinach with olive oil & hemp seeds, apple.

Have a great week!

Family Nature Walk: Bledsoe Creek State Park

2013-02-18T16:53:00.000-06:00

Seven Snippets (2.15.13)

2013-02-15T19:31:00.002-06:00

Another week has already passed?!

-1-

Gerrick started Monday morning by bringing a couple of his books to the family room. He got comfortable on the couch and read The Story of Ships, which Rick read aloud to him years ago. After that one, he flipped through the reader The Trojan Horse: How the Greeks Won the War and reread bits and pieces of it. Somehow from there he decided to draw a castle. He spent hours over several days working on it.

-2-

On Tuesday he had a doctor appointment and while out, we stopped at a favorite used bookstore. He chose The Great Castle Search, The Story of Flying, and the first two books of The Spiderwick Chronicles. On Wednesday he read both of the Spiderwick books, which he thoroughly enjoyed, and requested the next three in the series.

-3-

One of the many things we discussed with his doctor Tuesday was the need for more physical activity. I am determined to get him outside and active! This week we started walking and running around the neighborhood together. We'll walk down the sidewalk for a while and then one of us will say "Run to the stop sign!" or "Run to the second light pole!" or "Run to the fancy mailbox!" and we run together. And of course, once we're outside, we often end up doing other active things like climbing the rock wall on the neighborhood playground and jumping on our trampoline. This all comes down to me. I simply have to initiate physical activity. Now that I'm physically feeling better and am no longer overwhelmed by what to feed him, I'm ready to take this next step with him toward overall wellness.

-4-

He spent a lot of time this week working through his LEGO Master Builder Academy kits. He completed the final build of Kit 1 and all three builds of Kit 2. Additionally, he made the above shown original mini goblin ship (and probably a few other things I never saw).

-5-

He also was excited to figure out the members-only website for Master Builder Academy and set up his profile. Now he can earn badges by doing things like uploading pics of his original creations and rating and commenting on others'. He can also find more builder tips and plans, etc.

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On Valentine's Day over breakfast, he told me, "Mama, I'm so glad you're learning how to cook because now you make the best food!" Hearing that statement was pretty much a dream come true and would be for any parent of an extremely picky eater with food sensitivities.

We rarely have desserts, but for Valentine's night I made a grain-free, dairy-free chocolate cake. I made one for Christmas and again on Rick's birthday last week, and the guys loved them so much that they requested another for Valentine's Day. I adapt this recipe to meet our dietary needs by substituting almond butter for peanut butter, organic palm shortening for butter, and canned coconut milk for cream.

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This week we never got around to a single Mom-planned activity (unless you count the running). That's okay, because he's hacking his own education! I'm just here to help when needed. If you don't understand that or think it sounds crazy, please watch this Ted Talk given by 13-year-old Logan LaPlante.

Have a great weekend!

Seven Snippets (2.08.13)

2013-02-08T15:31:00.001-06:00

I haven't made a snippets post since December 16. Rick was on vacation for the last part of December and we spent a quiet Christmas at home. Then in January we had the flu--all three of us! After we had (mostly) recovered, my mother came to visit for a couple of days. This past week I've finally felt like we're getting our groove back.

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This is Gerrick busy at work in his playroom, where he spends a lot of time building/making/creating. These days that mostly involves LEGO toys, random materials, and LEGO Club magazines.

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He still enjoys spending time with the cats and browsing the LEGO website.

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For Christmas, he got two Wii games--LEGO Lord of the Rings and LEGO Harry Potter. In early January, he bought another with his allowance--LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean. Needless to say, he has spent a lot of evenings and weekends video gaming.

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We're keeping the scooter in the car so that we can stop by parks for a quick spin before/after errands.

Gerrick is not one of those kids who runs outside upon waking. In fact, he pretty much never steps foot out of the house unless I make him (and go with him). Even though he doesn't choose to go outside, he is almost always very happy to be there once he is, and the more time we spend outdoors, the better we both feel. With all the construction going on behind our house (unbearable noise!) and having only one car, getting out has been a challenge. We need much more time outdoors! It is going to require more planning on my part, but this is something I really need to make a priority. I know it is worth the effort!

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Sometimes he prefers to stand while doing a Teaching Textbooks math lesson. This makes it easier to do a little dance between each problem. I recently stopped making him write his answers in the workbook in addition to entering them on the computer. He's much happier with this arrangement, and I'm shocked at how much more focused he is and how much more quickly he completes the lessons. Putting pencil to paper was just redundant drudgery to him apparently. I knew that. But for some reason I had it stuck in my head that it was important for him to write the answers. Not anymore.

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Sometimes I feel like I don't fully express how large a role books play in our family culture. Gerrick has actually only read one book (Viking Adventure) since Christmas (and I assigned it), but we've taken turns reading aloud about biomes and stopmotion animation, and I've been reading aloud about vikings, too. I've also been reading daily poems, The Long Winter, and, for our family read-aloud, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I just finished reading aloud Seabird and started Minn of the Mississippi. Rick still reads to him every night before bed. They recently enjoyed the My Side of the Mountain trilogy and have now started Nanny Piggins. We love books, and Gerrick shows no signs of wanting us to read aloud less.

Children between six and eight must for the most part have their books read to them (Charlotte Mason: Vol. 3, p. 214).

As he is approaching the age of nine, I'm pondering this quote as I consider a transition of him reading more for himself (Note I said "pondering"--that doesn't mean I have decided whether I agree with it or not):

It is a delight to older people to read aloud to children, but this should be only an occasional treat and indulgence, allowed before bedtime, for example. We must remember the natural inertness of a child's mind; give him the habit of being read to, and he will steadily shirk the labour of reading for himself; indeed, we all like to be spoon-fed with our intellectual meat, or we should read and think more for ourselves and be less eager to run after lectures (Vol 1, page 228).

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Buy this book. Seriously.

I read my copy a few months ago, then I loaned it out to several friends. Now I have it back and I am going to start reading it again. Over and over and over. Sorry, but no one else is borrowing it. Get your own copy; you won't regret it.

Allowing children to learn about what interests them is good, but helping them do it in a meaningful, rigorous way is better. Freedom and choice are good, but a life steeped in thinking, learning, and doing is better. It’s not enough to say, "Go, do whatever you like." To help children become skilled thinkers and learners, to help them become people who make and do, we need a life centered around those experiences. We need to show them how to accomplish the things they want to do. We need to prepare them to make the life they want.” — Project-Based Homeschooling: Mentoring Self-Directed Learners

I was lucky enough to land upon Lori's blog in the early days of our homeschooling and have been gleaning great insight there ever since. I love having so many of her great ideas in one handy book!

I recently talked to Gerrick about the idea of projects, and he was thrilled when I suggested we start planning time in some of our days for "project work"--a time when I'm available to help in any way he needs or wants. (Yes, I've generally tried to do this all along, but this is intentional time that he knows he can count on!) So far he's had me reading aloud with him from Stopmotion Explosion and doing related animation research online. He requested and received the Stopmotion Explosion animation kit for Christmas. Interestingly, he hasn't tried the camera or software yet. But I'm not saying a word about it...just following his lead.

Have a great weekend!

Identification of Living Things: Discerning Similarities and Differences (BFSU B-4A)

2013-02-07T18:01:00.000-06:00

Over the past couple of years, we've read The Burgess Animal Book for Children and The Burgess Bird Book for Children. These books are excellent living books about similarities & differences of living things. Before our next beach trip, we plan to read The Burgess Seashore Book for Children.

Specifically for this lesson, Gerrick explored the Sheppard Software Animal Classification page & played the characteristics game.

We also played with these Tree Leaf Bingo Cards.

You can find more of our science activities here.

Life Cycles (BFSU B-4)

2013-02-07T17:16:00.000-06:00

The Life Cycle of a Frog--a nature journal entry made by Gerrick at age five.

You just can't spend time in nature and not learn about life cycles! A few of our past relevant resources/experiences:

Specifically for this lesson, we watched this video of the monarch life cycle:

Gerrick also explored these sites:

The Life Cycle of Plants
Sheppard Software Life Cycle video and games

You can find more of our science activities here.

Distinguishing Between Plants & Animals: The Plant & Animal Kingdoms (BFSU B-3)

2013-02-07T15:37:00.001-06:00

We spread lesson B-3 out over many weeks, but basically, like much of the Life Science thread, we've been preparing for it for as long as we've been taking nature walks and it will continue to be ongoing.

Main Objective:

To understand that plants and animals are both living things, but that they get their energy in different ways. Plants make food and animals consume food.

DAY 1

We took turns reading aloud from the library book What Is A Plant? (We broke it into three sections and divided the readings with other lessons.)

DAY 2

(Warning: Gerrick says that this song is creepy!)

We discussed this printable photosynthesis infographic and added a copy to his science notebook.

I read aloud half of Seed Babies and we went on a nature walk in search of seeds.

DAY 3

We started the process for sprouting an avocado seed and a sweet potato to grow houseplants. Two months later, the avocado hasn't done anything, but look at the sweet potato!

I finished reading aloud Seed Babies.

We played Wildcraft, a cooperative board game that teaches edible and medicinal herbs.

DAYS 4 & 5

I read aloud about half of Little Wanderers.

We played Wildcraft again, per his request. (He really likes this game and has requested to play it several more times since this week.)

DAYS 6 & 7

We read together the library book How Do Animals Find Food?

Day 8

We viewed Scholastic's Kingdoms of Life video and added a copy of The Five Kingdoms of Life Page to his science notebook.

You can find more of our ongoing science activities here.

Favorite Books of an 8-Year-Old Boy

2012-12-30T16:08:00.000-06:00

The following books were rated 5-star (or excellent) by Gerrick during 2012:

Read Aloud by Mama

The Burgess Bird Book
The Burgess Animal Book
Farmer Boy (Little House #3)
On the Banks of Plum Creek (Little House #4)
By the Shores of Silver Lake (Little House #5)
The Princess and the Goblin
Harry Potter, books 1-3
A Child's History of the World

Read Aloud by Daddy

Readers Read to Himself

Chapter Books Read to Himself

Other Favorites

Star Wars Complete Cross-Sections: The Spacecraft and Vehicles of the Entire Star Wars Saga
Light Sabers: A Guide to Weapons of the Force
The Lord of the Rings Visual Companions (1, 2, 3)
The Truth About Poop

Do you have suggestions for reading in 2013? We're always looking for great books, so please leave a comment below.

Our Paleo Breakfast Menu

2012-12-29T15:54:00.001-06:00

(paleo, gluten free, dairy free, GFCF, grain free, soy free, artificial dye free)

A few of my friends have been curious about our eating habits, so I thought I'd share a little about them, beginning with our current breakfast plans. This menu is the result of months of research and trial and error and is constantly evolving. Gerrick and I both have health issues that have greatly improved through dietary changes. We've been dairy free for several years. We've also been gluten free since February 2012. In September, after watching this video and reading articles like this one, I decided to start moving towards completely grain-free eating and began researching the paleo diet. I currently eat real foods that are grain-free, dairy-free, legume-free, and refined sugar-free. The oils I currently use in cooking are organic coconut oil, organic palm shortening, and bacon grease. (If you still use canola oil, please read this.) Gerrick's current diet consists mostly of paleo-friendly foods. From time to time he still chooses to eat organic tortilla chips, refried beans, black beans, and edamame (though he is asking for them less & less), and he enjoys organic popcorn occasionally. However, our breakfast menu does not include any of those items, and I believe it would be considered paleo by most. I still try new things regularly, but below is our go-to menu of foods I know he will eat and about which I can feel relatively good. (Items we haven't tried yet are marked *.) He also has organic applesauce every morning mixed with his probiotic supplement, gelatin powder, and hemp seeds, and I have organic green tea with gelatin powder, coconut oil, and lemon.

-pumpkin pucks arranged on a serving plate by Gerrick-

Monday
sausage/egg scramble
(Brown sausage with some coconut oil. Add eggs. Scramble together and cook 'til done.)

Tuesday
bacon & scrambled or baked hard-cooked eggs or
hard-cooked eggs mashed with avocado or
bacon & avocado sandwiches

Wednesday
sweet potato hash
(This is good leftover, so I make enough to have with lunch the next day.)

Thursday
pumpkin coconut flour waffles & oven-baked bacon
(I double the waffle recipe and freeze half for later; I omit the honey.)

Friday
sausage links and muffins
I rotate (and try to double or triple) the following recipes:

blueberry almond crumb muffins
pumpkin walnut muffins
cranberry pepita muffins
lemon poppyseed muffins
breakfast bread (I omit stevia.)
pumpkin pucks (These are really good made mini in a brownie-squares mold and are also nice treats to take to fall/winter potlucks/parties.)
banana cardamom bread
sausage and kale muffins
coconut flour biscuits

Saturday
sweet potato latkes & s ausage balls or
paleo-style rice pudding* & s ausage balls or
spaghetti squash breakfast bake* or
bacon and maple meatballs* & fruit

Sunday
leftovers

Just for Me
I don't usually eat waffles; instead I have something from the list below, which Gerrick currently won't eat.

bacon & egg sandwich, using waffles as bread
egg baked in avocado
scrambled eggs with diced bacon and/or avocado
scrambled eggs with onion and mushrooms
paleo "cereal" with coconut milk

On mornings that we are in a hurry or that I don't feel like cooking, we usually have sausage links and fruit or leftovers.

This free printable menu & grocery list planner has been a very helpful tool for me. I try not to be militant about the menu, but I have found that when I'm actually preparing three meals a day versus pulling processed foods from the pantry, organization is imperative. I plan to update this post as we find more breakfast recipes we would like to try.

You can find more paleo recipes on my pinterest boards and our dinner menu here.

Seven Snippets (12.16.12)

2012-12-16T11:05:00.000-06:00

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I caught a rare moment of peace between the cats!

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He played around in Picasa, altering a photo of Momo.

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When asked about the, he said,
"I couldn't find an H so I just used something else."

There was much play with Bananagram tiles this week.

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He really likes Wildcraft and says it's second only to Battleship as his favorite board game.

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We started the process of growing sweet potato and avocado house plants. We're also reading about plants; I'll post more about our BFSU-inspired lessons later.

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We went to the Global Education Center to hear a "Festivals of Light" presentation. Afterward, we had lunch with friends and went to McKay Used Books.

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Finally, like all of you, I have a heavy heart concerning all the tragic news of the week. Gerrick is very, very sensitive. I'm grateful that I am able to shield him from much of what goes on in the world, and I will continue to do so for as long as it's possible. Not having TV service helps. Not having a radio-listening habit helps. Avoiding restaurants that have TVs helps. I try hard to be prepared and available to talk should he hear something. You can find some great helpful hints for talking to children about tragic events in the news at The Fred Rogers Company.

Nurture Creek

(Very) Tentative High School Plan

Year 7

Year 6

Year 5

Year 4

Creek Exploring

How Animals Move I: The Skeleton and Muscle System (BFSU B-6)

Seven Snippets (3.23.13)

Seven Snippets (3.15.13)

Sounds, Vibrations, & Energy (BFSU C-2)

Food Chains & Adaptations (BFSU B-5)

Land Forms & Major Biomes of the Earth (BFSU D-4)

Our Paleo Dinner Menu

Tuesday: Fish/Seafood Fish Sticks

Ginger Garlic Cod*

Pecan Crusted Flounder*

Crab Cakes*

Salmon & Crab Cakes with Avocado*

Spicy Tuna Cakes (full recipe on Nom Nom Paleo app)*

Creamy Coconut Shrimp over Zucchini Pasta*

Speedy Shrimp & Broccoli*

Seven Snippets (3.08.13)

Seven Snippets (3.01.13)

Seven Snippets (2.22.13)

Family Nature Walk: Bledsoe Creek State Park

Seven Snippets (2.15.13)

Seven Snippets (2.08.13)

Identification of Living Things: Discerning Similarities and Differences (BFSU B-4A)

Life Cycles (BFSU B-4)

Distinguishing Between Plants & Animals: The Plant & Animal Kingdoms (BFSU B-3)

Favorite Books of an 8-Year-Old Boy

Our Paleo Breakfast Menu

Seven Snippets (12.16.12)

Tuesday: Fish/Seafood
Fish Sticks