Homeschooling Monthly Memories - Oct 2012

This month has been totally dominated by Peter Pan - with rehearsals 2-3 times / week.  The performance has started - they had 3 successful performances last week, with 3 more to finish it off this week.  It's been fantastic, and while part of me will be thankful to get back into routine, a big part of me will miss it!

Cubs 'Curriculum':

• Billy has only made it along to one Cubs night this month due to rehearsals.  One of the dads brought along some 3 and 4 day old chickens for the kids to hold.

Intentional Learning:

Creative Arts

• Rehearsals, drama class and Peter Pan performance.  Need I say more!  They've been performing to about 180 people per night..
• Wrote a Minecraft parody song to the tune of Moves Like Jagger

Some of the Lost Boys back stage - Billy is in the furry orange vest.  More photos coming once I get them from my niece.

HSIE

• Australian history
• We're reading Daughter of the Regiment by Jackie French
• We went to the Murrurrundi Frontier Day - we caught an old train there, dressed in period costume (B was a bushranger) and watched a 'robbery' of a Cobb & Co coach








• We attended an excursion to the Morpeth Museum where they took part in a mock trial and looked at (and in some cases could interact with) historical exhibits
  

• Watching Behind the News for current affairs information.
• Watched a BTN special on Animals and the Environment
• He's been keeping up with information about Hurricane Sandy as he has friends in that part of America

• He watched Brain Pop movies on the Beatles, Mayans, Aztecs, Eleanor Roosevelt, Conquistadors (that's just what I know of - he's been watching them by himself)

Maths

• He watched a Cyberchase episodes on predicting from data, interpreting changes in line graphs and time/distance/speed
• He's been playing a computer game called 5th grade adventures with maths puzzles
• He learnt to play chequers

Science & Technology

• We watched Backyard Science TV shows
• Played the Totally Gross science board game with a friend
• He got the circuit kit out for another run
• He watched a BTN Special on Innovations
• He's been helping me in the garden
• BrainPop - videos he's watched have included - dyslexia, fire, Ada Lovelace, Hurricane Sandy, invertebrates, ecosystems (plus more - I've lost track!)

English

• He watched a BrainPop movie about dialogue 
• Learnt about indefinite articles
• Did an exercise on exposition - including pronouns, adjectival phrases and verbs

Italian

• He's learning Italian with some other homeschoolers - so far they've learnt greetings, asking and answering how are you, numbers and how old are you.  He's really enjoying the lessons.

PDHPE

• He's taken part in archery and martial arts, as well as a game of ten-pin bowling with friends
  

As well as plenty of time spent hanging out with friends and family, cooking etc.