Science... something to love for everyone!

Science... something to love for everyone!

Science Experiment
(notice how Emmett has
made this a social
event by inviting his
brothers to join in)

Science 5 Comprehension
Questions (notice how Emmett 
has made this a social event 
as well as he read it
"For Cuddles" his hamster,
which you
can see he wrote at the top)

Science in Heart of Dakota is an adventure in itself!  It starts with reading amazing living books, and then it adds in a variety of ways to respond to that reading.  This variety appeals to all students, as there is always something a student will love best to do!  In Creation to Christ, creating a science notebook entry appeals to visual and solitary learning styles, giving an oral narration appeals to aural and verbal and social learning styles, answering 5 comprehension questions with scientific terms and Biblical application appeals to logical learning styles, and conducting an experiment and logging it in a science notebook uses physical and visual learning styles.

Of course our son Emmett's favorite way to respond to the reading is conducting an experiment.  He makes this physical response to his reading also into a social and verbal response (his other two favorite learning styles) by sharing the results with all of us at any and every opportunity.  I love that he is not only able to respond to his science with his favorite learning styles but also that he is able to respond to his science with his less than preferred learning styles!  Of course he is best at his favorites, and not quite as good at his less than favorites. So, by having all of these learning styles represented each week, he looks forward to his favorites, and he works on those he needs to improve upon.  This balance helps him become a well-rounded student, who can respond in a variety of ways to what he has learned.

Science Oral Narration
(notice he has made this
even more social, as he
not only orally narrates
for me, but also for his
Beanie Balz, Flash and Speedy)

                      

Science Lab Sheet
(the experiments
 are always
his favorite, but I 
snapped a picture 
of this as it
was one of his
best lab sheets)

Science Notebooking
(often times there is color
in these, but I loved 
this one as he learned
how to compare and contrast
using a Venn diagram)

So, no matter what learning style your entrepreneuring student loves best and has been gifted with by the Lord, Heart of Dakota's science has it covered!  And not only that, those less gifted styles... Heart of Dakota's got those covered too!  So, your kiddo will be the best at what God's intended and good at the rest!  Have a great week!

In Christ,
Julie

5 Tips to Fully Enjoying Creation to Christ's Notebooking Pages

CREATING A 'BEAUTIFUL' NOTEBOOK...

CTC is the first year kiddos get to write in those beautiful full-color notebooks!  As HOD moms, we eagerly await this rite of passage, and we just can't wait to begin a special keepsake of the year using those lovely notebooking pages!  And they ARE lovely.  But, the writing and pictures and entries kiddos make on those lovely pages can be... well, lovely and not-so-lovely.  So what should we expect as moms for first-time notebook users?  

1. EXPECT THE PLANS TO BE DONE... but give extra 'grace' as this is a training year!

So, when the CTC plans say for kiddos to draw, color, and label 3 timeline pictures; they need to strive to do that.  When the plans say a certain number of sentences for their written narration; they need to strive to write that number of sentences.  When the plans say for a certain passage to be copied in cursive; they need to strive to do that.  However, progress should be evident!  In other words, improvement from the start to the finish of the notebook should be visually obvious, with the first entries being less 'lovely' or 'complete' than the last. Remember to give grace, especially at the start of the year, knowing this is a training year for learning how to use the notebooks.

2. ENCOURAGE WRITING INSIDE THE BOXES... but understand this may be hard at first!

Learning to write inside the boxes is a skill in itself.  Often students just don't notice the edges of the boxes, and they could just write outside of them not knowing the goal is to try to stay inside them.  So, just pointing out the goal is to stay inside the boxes and the frames of the boxes are the stopping places is very helpful!  Students' writing is also often larger, especially if they are on the younger side of the target age range of CTC.  Learning to 'shrink' their writing is also a skill in itself.  It takes time, but little by little encouraging students to develop fine motor skills to write smaller within a defined area is well worth it!  

3. KNOW WHEN THE GOAL IS MET... and call it 'good enough' then!

Carrie makes clear in the guides the goals for each part of the plans.  The Introduction, the Appendix, and the daily plans of each guide help us know when a 'goal' is met.  So, for example, the goal of the timeline is to keep a chronological record of what has been studied.  It is not to have a beautiful artistic drawing - though some kiddos will be able to do that too!  The goal of the written narration is to retell the history reading using guided questions.  It is not to answer every question perfectly, as if it was a quiz to be mastered - creativity is allowed!  So, if the student wrote the designated number of sentences (even if it was the minimum suggested), if the student answered some/most of the questions, and if the answers make quite good sense... the goal is met, and it can be deemed 'good enough'!  

4. WRITING MUST BE LEGIBLE... but not perfect!

The 'loveliness' of students' writing will vary greatly, and that is alright.  What is not alright is if it just cannot be read at all!  One sure-fire way to help kiddos understand this is to have them read aloud their written narrations with pencil in hand.  As they read aloud to us, they can be encouraged to make changes they need to as they read.  Often times, they will catch missing words, misspelled words, missing punctuation, etc. themselves, and that only serves to help us have less to edit later with them!  If they cannot read their own writing, they will begin to understand that no one else will be able to read it either... and the real shame here is NOT that their writing is not perfect... it is that their ideas, their responses, their thoughts will not be able to be shared with others - and their ideas are what we LOVE... so writing must be legible, but it need not be perfect.

5. EDITING IS A SKILL TO BE LEARNED... one step at a time!  

Editing is a process, and slow but steady progress is the goal.  The best thing to do is to use the Written Narration Skills: Teacher's List and the Written Narration Skills: Student's List in the Appendix of CTC.  Step 1 should be taught first; then, move on to Step 2, and so forth.  Focusing on teaching ONE skill at a time in the order it is listed will help you avoid overwhelming your child with too many skills at once, and will give your child a manageable plan for editing writing. This slow and steady process helps students improve one step at a time, and ensures we as moms do not to tip over to expecting perfection by making a student erase and rewrite everything; or by making them write everything twice.  Written narrations are not to have a first, second, third draft, and making students do so will only cause them to dislike written narrations... intensely!

So, below you will see my son's CTC Student Notebook... and this is the halfway mark, as he is in Units 18-19!  Progress in many areas is evident, but more progress is expected as we move forward!  It is LOVELY in its own way, and I look forward to it becoming more and more so as he becomes better and better at each of these amazing skills, step-by-step!!!

Heart of Dakota Week-in-Review: Jan. 8-12

Heart of Dakota Week-in-Review:
Jan. 8-12

In Creation to Christ Emmett finished the last part of his unit on the Persian Empire, and began the first part of his unit on the geography and beginning of Greece.  Emmett made the yummiest Hamantashen's - we will be making these again and again!!!  This was part of our history project, where we read about Esther's story in the Bible and how the Jews celebrate Purim.  Emmett made a gragger too, and he shook it loudly every time Haman's name was mentioned in the reading, to blot out the name of evil, as is the custom.  And then of course, we ate our Hamantashen's (meaning Haman's pockets).  MMMM!  We all loved this history project!


Emmett also completed his Singapore Math 4A Review - whew!  It was a tough one, but I'm so amazed at all he is learning!  I stay nearby to help with these reviews, and I like how they parallel real life problems, as well as how they are similar to standardized testing problems, as they include many skills - not just one skill.  He likes to circle the numbers of the problems as he finishes them, just so you know he didn't miss all those!  He also learned about plural nouns in grammar, and he completed an assignment on the setting of his DITHOR book Iron Scouts of the Confederacy.  AND, on top of all that he helped his daddy redo his room, hanging insulation and sheet rock with him!  Whew, what a week!

In World Geography 9th grade high school, Riley completed his unit on Verrazzano and Cartier exploring North America's Atlantic coast.  He read the primary source document of Verrazanno's letter to King Francis I in France.  Isn't it amazing we can still read letters such as these - this was from July 8, 1524, and it was a letter in which he reported to the king on his voyage to the New World?!?  I love that we can still read the actual words of people from history in primary source documents!  What better way to learn about people and events than from reading their words precisely as they were written!  Riley also wrote a written narration about Cartier's explorations, and i think he took some inspiration from Verrazzano's letter.

Riley is already in Lesson 92 in Getting Started with Spanish!  He is doing such a good job of trying to stay on top of this.  He reads his answers to me, and then he also reads the odds aloud in Spanish to practice properly saying the words.  He listens to the audio for help too.  This is working well!  In grammar he worked on diagramming, and throughout the week he added special quotes, verses, etc. to his Common Place Book.  This is a continuation of last year, and it's neat to see it 'grow'!


In U.S. History II Wyatt has been learning about the Battle of the Bulge, the Yalta Conference, the War in the Pacific, and FDR's Death.  This time in history is filled with famous speeches, turbulent times, and critical decisions being made - it captivates his attention!  It's somewhat emotional - so many hard things.  However, Hitler's final days show how his mental health began to decline more and more, with a last minute wedding and his suicide shortly after.  Mussolini's execution, FDR's death, and Truman's taking over - oh my.  So much happening in such little time!

One of his favorite assignments comes from his resource Key Decisions in U.S. History.  The question "Should the U.S. drop the atomic bomb on Japan to end the war?" is asked, and Wyatt responded with his opinion.  Then, he gets to read what decision was made, by Truman in this case.  Commentary on all that went into the decision further supports the reasons the decision was made, but one is always left understanding how the decision was NOT easy to make, whether it was the 'right' or the 'wrong' one in the student's opinion.  What a powerful assignment that reminds us to pray for our leaders!!!  So many decisions they must make each day!!!

One thing I thought I'd share is a fun meal we've been doing for one of our homeschool lunches - we do a kind of charcuterie board with whatever we have on hand.  Usually, we have cold leftover rotisserie chicken, cut up fruit, different kinds of nuts/dried fruits, several kinds of crackers, bread or toast with butter, and cut up block cheese.  They love it!  Everyone chooses their favorites - though I do say they must have some chicken, and choose at lease some of the nuts/cheeses to try.  I just cover a bar pan with tinfoil for easy clean-up.  So easy, and such fun!  Hope you had a great week homeschooling too!

Heart of Dakota Week-in-Review: January 1-5

Heart of Dakota Week-in-Review:
January 1-5

In Creation to Christ, Emmett completed his Travel Log for Egypt.  He enjoys this read aloud we do together, and his travel logs are quite organized now - in 3 topics - hooray!  He also LOVED his science experiment, which had him experimenting with different kinds of 'beaks'.  In math, he has been learning to measure angles with a protractor.  I had to snap a  few pictures of Emmett's
                                                    Christmas gift - meet Cuddles the hamster!

In World Geography, Riley read about the Spice Route.  He had a blast making a game board for the Spice Islands Game.  He also really enjoyed his Art of Argument lessons this week.  He did well on his quiz/test for it too - hooray! 

In USII, Wyatt has been reading about the Battle of Normandy - D-Day, and he has been fascinated with it.  He high-lighted the main points and subpoints in his book to prepare for his narration.  He also completed a written narration in his USII Notebook.  I enjoyed hearing him share what he learned in this format! 

 Some other highlights - hunting coyotes for our neighbor who asked us to since his farm is over-run with them.  Spending New Year's Eve at my niece's wedding in Houston with my whole family!!!  My mom with 7 grandsons!!!

Heart of Dakota Week-in-Review Dec. 25-29, 2017

Heart of Dakota Week-in-Review
Dec. 25-29, 2017

 In Creation to Christ, Emmett is finishing Unit 16 and is learning about Judah falling to the Babylonians.  We are reading Esther from the Bible for Storytime - I love that the Bible is our Storytime reading this week!  What a neat way to show the Bible IS history!  In math he has been learning about ratios.  In poetry, he painted a lovely wintry scene - pretty perfect for our current weather!

In World Geography, Riley has been reading about Zheng He's Treasure Ships, Tibetan Buddhism, and Borobudur's Temple.  He wrote a written narration about Tibet, and I really enjoyed hearing him read it aloud to me.  In World Religions and Cultures, Riley has been learning about Buddhism.  He explained the 4 different kinds of Buddhism in his journal, using World Religions: An Indispensable Introduction as his resource.

In EIW Grade 10, Riley completed his essay about sports announcer Craig Saiger.  He enjoyed writing this essay, and the prewriting activities he did helped him make a solid structure for his essay prior to even beginning it.  I've learned it's important to meet with him and start him off on the right foot at the prewriting stage.  This saves much editing and redirecting later in the writing process, as he has a good structure for his essay to follow. 

In USII, Wyatt has been learning about the Bataan Death March, the Japanese-American Internment, and the Battle of the Midway.  For his talking points narration, he took notes on an index card, listing the main headings from his reading.  He then listed brief phrases under each heading and referred to his card as he gave his oral narration.  This is a very effective way to plan for an oral narration of this kind.  It is also a great way to practice another version of giving a 'speech' somewhat. 

Wyatt has also been moving along in his Latin (pictured above and right).  He is truly enjoying The Myth of the Robber Barons, for Economics.  Here are my 3 sons with their Christmas stockings!  What a wonderful Christmas we had!!! Hope you did too!