SL Core H Week 19 (1700's ish) May 15-21, 2017

SL Core H Week 19 (World History, Year 2 of 2)

 (1700's ish) 

May 15-21, 2017

Agnes, it is always funny finding her in her little spots!

Hello, Friends!

This was (finally) a week without much incident!  No major migraines, no dental strife, no attacks on the chickens, no illnesses, just a rare routine week.  Dd completed week 3 (of 4) Driver's Education classes.  She just has three classes and one 'drive session' left before it's completion.  

With having so much of our weekly time spent on  Driver's Education class; our assignments were down to the bare essentials. I'm still processing all that I heard at the 'Preparing for High School" lecture, and feel like we have so much to learn and accomplish.  Part of my hesitancy is that we spend SO much time on history, as is Sonlight's strength (Sonlight is the curriculum we have used since Dd started "Kindergarten," and it has guided and directed all we've done in homeschooling; our "spine.") and often fall behind in our other subjects.  I'm just not sure, for once, if we are scheduling our time correctly, and if not, how exactly to improve that!  

House/Renovation:

I've been working on the Rec Room (basement) floor this week.  I woke up early three mornings this week and painted the floor with a gloss polyurethane coat.  After six coats of polyurethane, the floor finally looks 'finished.'  We need to let it cure for at least three days before we can move anything in.  




Next, we will need to decide on the moldings to go around the space between the floor and the walls and around the sliding door.  I'm not loving the green that Dd chose for the walls...hoping it won't bother me too much and I can move on.  Then there is the stairway to the basement that still has to old wallpaper on it, and the hallway in the basement that still has old (plastic) wallpaper on it too!  We have YEARS of work ahead of us, trying to fix up this house.  Mind, we will enjoy every day of it, too!

The seeds we planted two weeks ago are coming up!

Garden:

Dh and I built two new raised beds and added the final two sides to one that we were using, but didn't have closed in yet.  Two weeks ago we had planted a few rows of seeds and some really sprouted and some rows were pitiful--guess we'll have to re-plant those lines.

Dh picked up about ten tomato plants of different varieties, and we planted those, along with 4 celery plants.  I used my wheelbarrow and got around 8 loads of that wonderful humus from out in the woods; from the spot where the old owners of this property must have dumped all their horse manure and dirty hay/straw.  This hummus is wonderful!  I'm so happy I found that area and noticed how great it was at first sight.  The typical soil here in Michigan, close to Lake Michigan, is lots of sand, sand, sand!  This area is perfect for growing blueberries and other fruits.

Dh and I both shopped for some herbs, for our new perennial bed--two oregano's, basil, and sage.  We already had 3 asparagus's, 4 strawberry, and 1 catnip.  The garden spot we used last year for our perennials was not a good spot--too wet, too shady, and the chickens kept finding their way into it and eating all the strawberry plants.  Hopefully, this new spot will be a good final spot for them to thrive.

Dd is a big herb garden fan and loves to find new ways to use them.  She has also found herself a little spot, in the front, for her own little garden for flowers.  She has taken some bulbs from around the yard to put in her spot; along with some flowers.

Chickens/Ducks:

All our critters are doing well this week!  The amount of eggs we collect each day has been dreadful, and the older chickens in the outbuildings coop have taken to eating an egg when the opportunity presents itself, which also cuts down on the amount of eggs we can eat, or that Sophie can eat!  To help keep the chickens from eating the eggs we've been trying to collect eggs throughout the day.

I dug up some ferns, out in the woods, and transplanted them here by my 'library' window.  I'd wanted to do that since we moved in, so happy I finally accomplished it!

Our lessons this week: limited what they were!

Bible:

Walking With Bilbo by Sarah Arthur

Monday and Tuesday: The Word on Getting Along: Ch. 17: Decent Companions:

Genesis 37:1-4, 45:12-15

Exodus 17:1-7, Mathew 5:38-42

Luke 6:37-38, Romans 15:5, 

Colossians 3:12-15

Colossians 3:12-15New International Version (NIV)

12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

1 John 4:20-21

 Matthew 18

 "We are called to love those whom he's given us as fellow travelers on the journey--and not only to love them, but to serve them as well."

Walking With Bilbo, pg 139

Some of our Peonies are getting close to blooming!  This plant is from the family farm in Indiana that Giz and Grampy brought up for us last summer.  

Wed. and Thur: Living Legends: The Word on the Return of the King:

Isaiah 9:6-7, Micah 1:3 and 5:2; Zechariah 9:9-10;  Matthew 24: 30-35 and 25: 13; Luke 17: 20-24; John 18:33-37; 2 Peter 3:8-10; Revelation 22: 12.

The Poppy plants are doing well and are preparing to bloom!  I brought these from our house near Indy.  I saw some poppy's blooming on our drive to church Sunday.

Fri: True Identity: The Word on True Identity: 

Genesis 17:1-6 and 35:9-15; Isaiah 62: 2-4, Ezekiel 18: 30-32

"Therefore turn and Live."

We had a great conversation about that sentence: "Therefore turn and live."  Basically saying how we have to not just ask forgiveness of our sins, repent, but also turn off that path and change, do not repeat those mistakes.  I have heard people say that they invite Jesus into their hearts, but they want to keep to the path they had been on before; with no change, no fruit.  I think that is a hard point for new Christians to fully grasp, that they must change, and get on the path that the Lord guides them to, and to follow His will in all areas.  That by our fruits, there is proof of us following His will.  This quote; "Therefore turn and Live." from the book of Ezekiel is interesting--as it was written before the birth of Jesus, Ezekiel is an Old Testament book where the Jews had lots of rules to follow and steps to go through for purification.  

Church, Sunday School, Olympians (Volunteer 1:30 hours), Youth Group--last meeting of the year, and they were taking all the kids to some party place, with go-carts, laser tag, etc.

Live Like a Jesus Freak: Spend Today As If It Were Your Last: by DC Talk

ch. 2-3

The BBC Manuel Turn Your Bedroom into a Bible College: by Gregg Johnson

pg's 84-95

SL Reader:

Betsy and the Emperor by Staton Rabin: Completed

SL Read Aloud: 

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

I can't seem to keep up with the pace that SL has us reading this book.  I think they had it scheduled to be completed in 3 weeks!!!  I'm not sure if we will get it done in 5?!!  We are really enjoying our deep dive into dissecting this book.  I've found there are some good online guides and plan on looking there for future book guides.



Christian Guides to the Classics: Dickens's Great Expectations
Ch 11-19
This guide is really aiding us in getting a lot more out of this book than we would if we didn't have it.  It does add more time to reading each chapter, but time well spent.

Online Guide for Great Expectations:
http://www.gradesaver.com/great-expectations/study-guide/summary-part-iii-chapters-11-20-50-59

Dickens DVD:
We are watching the 2008 version of Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens, made by BBC
*I liked it so well I bought it a few years ago!



SL Read Aloud:

A Heart Strangely Warmed by Louise Vernon: Completed

I'm not Methodist, so I learned a lot from reading this book.  It was very interesting hearing the story of John Wesley.

SL History:

Abraham Lincoln's World by Foster

pg. 36-74

History Audio:

Story of the World: Early Modern Times: Ch 2-6

Two: THeThe Dutch RevolTheQueen Without a Country

Three: James, King of Two Countries, James and His Enemies, King James's Town

Four: Searching For the Northwest Passage, The French in the New World, Henry Hudson's Quest

Five: Warlords of Japan, Hideyoshi, Japan's Great Ruler, The First Tokugawa Ruler

Six: New Colonies in the New World, Strangers and Saints in Plymouth, The Dutch in the New World

Fun Audio:

The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

In Process (20 hour audio!)

Math:

With things so busy right now, we are taking a time-out on our MUS Geometry and instead having Dd do Khan Academy for 30 minutes per day for now.

Fun Book:
I Like Him, He Likes Her by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor: Completed

Driver's Education:

Class: M,T, Th : 4-6 pm

Drive time: Tues 2-4 pm

Music Lessons:

Violin: 2-2:30 

Music Practices:

violin, sax, piano, ukulele...

Science:

Fixed the two questions she got wrong on test from Module 5

Garden:
1 hour on her new garden

This garden always seems a bit too wet, so I've added more soil and figured it would be perfect for growing celery.  Last year I didn't do a great job with celery, hoping this spot will do better.  I also planted the four plants in 100% manure/straw.

Judy from church gave me a bucket of some flowers she had.  They have beautiful blue flowers.  I had planted them in a spot that was getting taken over by weeds, so I moved them here hoping they would do better.

Home Economics:

Mowed yard, chicken care, dishes, working on cleaning her bedroom and boxing up her winter clothes for the season, and laundry.

Next week is her last week of Driver's Education and Giz and Grampy are coming for a visit!!!  So, it will be another week of light lessons as she finishes her Driver's Ed.  I don't think I want to take the whole week off Great Expectations, so I hope we can fit in a little of that, but I think we will take the rest of the subjects off.

.........

Lecture Notes: Homeschooling High School May 9th 2017 (Transcript Info too)

Lecture Notes: Homeschooling High School

May 9th, 2017

at the Homeschool Building
(Transcript Info Too!)

Zeus's feathers are coming back in!  He is doing great now!

Hello, Friends!

I attended a free lecture on preparing for high school that covered some basic things we should know.  It was pretty basic information, but I thought I'd share my notes in case anyone might benefit from my sharing.

Typical high school (HS) Class requirements:(22-24 credits)

4  YearsMath

4 English (you can create your own study on books your student is interested in)

3 Years Science

3 years History

2 Years of a World Language

Electives: Typical "electives" are:

Communication, Computer, SAT Prep./Study Skills, Health, Music, Art, Financial Planning, Vocational classes, and/or anything that reflects your child's interests and/or future plans.

Agnes got her snuggly, 'Love,' and took a nap with her!

Accreditation:

As teachers of our homeschooling student, we are legally allowed to create our student's transcript and create their diploma.  If you don't want to make your own you can pay for one to be made, or go through an umbrella school; which would cost.

Michigan Merit Curriculum--our state's specific requirements:

4 Credits of Math--Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2...

4 Credits English

3 Credits Social Studies

1 Credit PE

1 Credit visual, performance, or applied arts

1 online learning experience (like an online class or course, or do study skills online)

World Language

SAT Prep/ Study Skills Online:

If you know which college they want to go to you can plan your student's classes according to meeting that colleges' specific requirements.  You can go to their website to see what they are looking for or want in potential students.

Personality/ Career Test Placement:
What are your student's long term plans?  These tests can help sort out potential avenues to pursue.

Nuthatch

Transcript Enhancement Ideas:
Honor Society /  Job Shadowing / Volunteering
Honor Society: you can contact your local Honor Society and see if your students grades/scores are high enough for them to be admitted into the group.  The Honor Society usually meet once per month.  The Honor Society's website:https://www.honorsociety.org/ 

Job Shadowing/Volunteering: 
Ask church members, relatives, etc for any job shadowing or volunteering opportunities as that may enhance your student's transcript.

What Determines a Credit:
1. Completing a high school credit =1 credit
2. Log the hours, 120-180 hours of work = 1 credit
3. You can take all four years to get 1 credit if you are only doing that subject sparingly.

Red Squirrel

Vocational School:
There is the Kent Career Technical Center in our area for students who aren't on the college path, but want to start learning a vocation...think electricians, plumbers, heating/cooling, car mechanics...

Teaching High School:
1. Many subjects are written for the student to do alone, text written to them and for them.
2. Use a home school tutoring organization.
3. Instructional DVD's
4. Form a co-op and hire a teacher for that subject.
5. Don't let fear keep you from your desire to educate your student at home.



Opportunities to Earn College Credits:
1. Dual Enrollment (taking classes at a college while in high school)
2. AP classes (advanced placement)
3. CLEP (College-Level Examination Program) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_Level_Examination_Program
4. Articulation Credit (This wasn't explained very well...)  I think this is referring to co-ops that  you don't set up, like GRACE Academy here in Grand Rapids...but, I could have misunderstood.

Community College: 
Chose classes that they (your student) will be successful taking and are mature enough to handle the pace.
For CLEP; they study online or with a book and then take the college level test for that subject.  They would "test out" of some subjects and "bank" some of these credits ahead of time; i.e. before they officially begin college (as high schoolers).

AP means Advanced Placement.  Some colleges prefer their students to do AP vs CLEP vs CC (Community College) vs Articulation.  This is another situation that if you knew which college your student was interested in going to you could ask them which they prefer.

Red Squirrel in our feeder

Transcript General Info:
1. Basic Student Information
2. Keep Accurate Records
3. Record Course Titles
4. Record Final Grades
5. Assign a GPA (grade point average) 
6. Provide your grade scale: what is your "A" vs "B"? and how do you grade?  What percent of the grade is for tests vs class participation?  Have a formula and keep that in your records.
7. Provide extracurricular activities
8. Organize by SUBJECT or YEAR, especially is senior year is 2 years long it might be a better idea to organize by subject instead of by year; especially if you are doing a "Super Senior" year--which is when you take two years for your twelve grade year.
9. Keep a list of the books read, and be prepared for this question when applying to colleges as it is a common question.  The student should be prepared to share what they favorite is and WHY, with details prepared ahead of time; well-thought-out answers.
10. Awards won.
11. Parents ALWAYS keep a copy of their 'official' transcript.  Some students re-enter college again later in life and you will always be responsible for sharing their high school transcript...for their entire life!  Keep a copy handy!

Grading:
How do you arrive at a grade?  Perhaps these are part of your formula? 
Attendance, Participation, Daily assignments, and Test scores....
One example may be: Daily work 35% and Tests 65% = grade



SAT: Standard Achievement Test
Contact your local high school's guidance counselor to schedule taking the SAT, for free.  Or you can go to their website and find the nearest location they are testing, find out when it is and pay their fee, if you don't want to involve the local high school.

College Entrance Exams:
1. When to Prepare?  Many public school students begin in the 8th grade!!!! Yikes!  Many students will have tutors to help them achieve higher scores.  The reason behind all the serious effort and commitment is that the score they get on the SAT or ACT will be how colleges determine if they might qualify for a scholarship.  Scholarships are very competitive!  In our seminar, the discussion on scholarships sounded like it would be near impossible to get a good scholarship.  I hope that isn't true!

PSAT
Like the SAT, you would need to contact your local high school's guidance counselor to schedule this test for your student.



SAT vs ACT
It 'used' to be that colleges wanted the ACT scores in determining if your student would be accepted into their college, but the people at SAT underbid the people at ACT and now it is cheaper for colleges to accept the SAT scores.  In preparing for either test you can look online for a lot of prep info and/or library books, or order or use book stores for the newest prep books for these tests.  You can look at which subjects are being tested in the SAT and make sure your student is ready to be tested on those specific subjects.

Work Permits:
Contact your local high school for work permits.

Scholarship Opportunities:
Scholarships are getting harder and harder to get.  Colleges are not only accepting American students, but also international students.  Perhaps you can find local scholarship opportunities.



Applying to Colleges:
Generally, students apply to colleges and take tours of those colleges in their Junior year, finalizing their college choices in their Senior year.

Well, that about wraps up the notes I took for our free lecture.  I didn't realize I would be contacting the local public high school for anything, so that was a complete surprise!  I hope this may be helpful to someone!

..........

SL Core H Week 18 May 8-14, 2017 (mid 1700-1800) Driver's Ed Week 2/4

SL Core H 

Week 18 May 8-14, 2017 
Time: Middle 1700-early 1800's

Driver's Ed Week 2/4

Hello Friends!

Another eventful week, a fox entered our lives, in a bad way!  Thursday morning I looked out the window and saw a scared, obese, new-to-me, obviously-not-homeless (wagging belly gave that away!), orange cat.  Hesitantly, the cat and I stared at each other for quite a while before it walked off.  Looking back, I understood why it looked so scared.  About ten minutes after the cat left, I looked out again and saw a young, small, also-orange, fox!  Oh my!  I was actually very excited to see it!  I don't think I've ever seen such a cute young fox.  I ran around the house, from window to window watching it.  If I only knew then what I know now...that that fox was going to wait all day for me to let my chickens out in the late afternoon for their 30-50 minutes of grass eating and foraging.  I use to let them out 'free-ranging' for hours, but after Zeus's attack I've started a more cautious approach. I stayed out with them for a bit, then came in to do a few dishes.  Dd yelled out, "fox! fox! fox!!!" and I went running! Panic, chaos as I opened the sunroom door, and literally ran into the screen door, pushing the whole door out and onto the deck without stopping until I was out in the yard, stomping in every direction looking for the offender.  I ran all the way off our yard to the road and never did see the fox, so I returned to our yard to gather all the chicks back to the coop.  There was one chicken that never moved, so I figured she was safe where she was and went after all the panicking chickens all over.  When I went back to her, I then noticed she was heaving for breath, and her eyes kept rolling back.  I knew then and there that she was dying.  I was sick thinking I was going to loose this wonderful chicken, all because I let the chickens out on the same day I saw that fox.  You would think I would have kept everyone, but I was naive.  I literally would have fired me, if I worked for me!  How could I leave those chickens out alone, even for a minute, when I had seen a fox that very morning?!?!  I was so exasperated with myself.  Later, Dd had the bright idea that we should call our injured chicken, "Foxy" after her run-in with the fox.  I put her in the garage, with food and water, and closed things down for the night as Dd and I had our "Strings Group" at church.  I know the members thought I was crazy as I included praying for my chicken in our opening prayer, but I was so worried and know the power of prayer.  Well, long story short...with TLC and time alone, our wonderful, "Foxy" has improved each day.  After 2 days I finally had the nerve to pick her up and look for any injuries, only to find one small area that the fox must have hit with a tooth.  I thought it was going to be a puncture wound.  I saw one drop of blood on her when I picked her up after the attack.  But, whatever the injury was, it must be healing with the Lord's help!  

Barred Owls:
The past three weeks the owls, a couple, have been hanging out around our house.  It never fails that as soon as I let the chickens out into our yard to forage I will hear one owl call out to it's mate.  Of course they had been quiet all day and I wrongly thought they were at someone else's house only to find out they are still with us.  This week I literally chased one out of a Mourning Dove's nest beside our house, and Dh chased one out that was trying to get into the Phoebe nest on our deck.  They are very active and trying hard to hunt lately; they must have a nest of their own that they are trying to satisfy.

Driver's Education:

Week two accomplished, and Dd is driving us around.  She is doing very well, but the extra driving required to get to the classes is very hard on me.  I feel like our days are just piece-meal and I'm not getting the normal things accomplished that we normally can.  I am SO glad that we don't normally keep this kind of hectic schedule!  Plus, I feel like all this hopping around hasn't help our morale either.

Book Making:

You just never know what new thing Dd is going to make, and this week it was making books.  She did the first one for herself, and then the second one was for her friend, Addy.  Addy's birthday is this week.  She found some video's on how to make books at YouTube.

Garden:

The seedlings we planted last week are starting to sprout!  This week we went out to the spot I found in the woods that had such good humus.  This time Dh drove our truck down there so I didn't have to use the wheelbarrow!  We figured that must be the spot where the previous owners, who owned horses, must have picked to dump their horse manure.  I'm so glad we found it, as it has had years to break down and become great planting soil for us to use.

http://fleurdelisacademy.blogspot.com/2017/05/lecture-notes-homeschooling-high-school.html

High School Prep class- that I attended this week:
In Indiana, there was a class you could pay for to hear great info on how to prep for high school---how to make transcripts, prepare for college, or work, or vocational schools, testing....  I never could get into one of those classes, so was SO happy to see the Homeschool Building (where we have our band classes, hs square dances, hs library, hs Resource Store...) hosting a class for just this purpose!  I will type up my notes in another specific post soon but wanted to share that I had attended.  These types of classes so a great job of aiding self-reflection and questioning how well we are doing at our home educating.  To be honest, I know we are NOT meeting our potential! Not at all!  I could go on and on about our weak areas, but I still think that no matter how poorly I would grade my teaching I still think I am providing a much better learning environment for my daughter than any high school.  I think we would still be having days where teen attitudes are making learning extremely difficult, but I know (mostly) on how to back up and try things at a different angle to work with our specific issues.  And I always come back to the fact that when I graduated high school I remembered so little, except for all the friends and athletic teams I enjoyed.  I hope Dd can remember her friends too but with hopefully more academic material and a LOT more biblical discernment than I did!  If all else fails, she will now her bible very well!



Driver's Education, and the transit there and back again three days this week, made our educational assignments difficult.  Even though I didn't assign a lot of our normal subjects, she still didn't get a few areas completed.  I didn't even put those other subjects on this post, but there were other things she was suppose to do and read that she didn't even get around to.

House:



I've been painting polyurethane on the Rec Room floor this week.  I think I managed three coats this week.

Henna, Week Two:

Dd bought some henna and has been going crazy decorating her feet, legs, hands, arms!  She's having fun!

Heather, do I prune the fig tree now?

Our lessons this week:

Church, Sunday School, Olympians Group (Volunteer 1 1/2 hours), Strings Group



Bible: Walking With Bilbo by Sarah Arthur
Chapter 13: Choose Your Own Adventure
Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Joshua 24:14-15; Psalm 119:26-32; Proverbs 19; John 14:15-23

Ch. 14: Stick to the Path
Quote from The Hobbit:
"Good-bye! Be good, take care of yourselves---and DON'T LEAVE THE PATH!"
Doesn't that sound so similar to what we say to our children all the time, to stay on God's path!

"The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose the easy way.  But the gateway to life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it."  Matthew 7:13-14

This is a Red-bellied Woodpecker

Bible verses:
Proverbs 3:5-8; Proverbs 4 (she listed a bunch of lines, so we just read the whole chapter)

Proverbs 22:6King James Version (KJV)

6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Check out this super small egg---not from one of our young chicks, but from one of our year old Buff Orpington's!!!! Weird!

Ch. 15: The Unlikely Hero
"So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and steady, always enthusiastic about the Lord's work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless."
1 Corinthians 15:58

The verses of this chapter:
Judges 6:11-16; Matthew 13: 53-58; Mark 12:41-44; John 6:3-13; Galatians 1:11-18

Can you see the chickens foraging in the background?

Audio/Audible:
The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
(20 hours audible, in-process)

This is a Phoebe, and she (and her husband) have a nest on our deck with babies in it.  The neat thing about Phoebe's is that they flit their tails up and down when they are sitting.  Their call sounds like they are saying, "Phee-bee."  

History Audio:
Story of the World: The Modern Age by SWB
Chapter One: Victoria's England



History Read Aloud:
A Heart Strangely Warmed by Louise Vernon (in-process)
Sonlight had this scheduled as a Reader in one version of my IG, and as a Read Aloud in the other.  Since it is on John Wesley, one of the founders of the Methodists, and church history, I wanted to read it along with Dd.  John Wesley was born 1703-1791, born in England.  This easy read covers our time in history as well as learning a bit about a branch of Christianity I didn't know well.  Our main character was asking Wesley about what was the 'method' behind the Methodists, and was told that the goal was:

"Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as you ever can."



History Reader:
Abraham Lincoln's World by Foster (in process)
Dd LOVES this Reader!



Literature:
GREAT EXPECTATIONS by Charles Dickens
Ch. 23-29
I am loving reading Dickens with Dd.  We are thoroughly appreciating every word!

Dickens Great Expectations (Christian Guides to the Classics) Item #: 056097

Besides this chapter by chapter guide, we are using the Sonlight vocabulary and questions with each chapter.  This guide has been extremely helpful.  I wish I had found more of these kinds of guides to help us dissect books more often, not that all books need to be examined this closely, but some, like Dickens, prove well worth the effort.  

This was the first book Dd made this week, she also made a second book as a birthday gift for Addy.

Dickens DVD: Little Dorrit

I'm making Dd wait to watch the newest BBC version of Great Expectations, but, I am allowing her to watch Little Dorrit (BBC, recently) that I love!  Such an awesome version 2008 Claire Foy.

Sonlight Reader:
Betsy and the Emperor by Staton Rabin (in process)

GoodReads summary: 

Fourteen-year-old English girl Betsy Balcombe and her family have an unusual houseguest: Napoleon Bonaparte, former emperor of France and the most feared man on earth. Once lord and master to eighty-two million souls, now, in 1815, Napoleon is a captive of the British people. Stripped of his empire and robbed of his young family and freedom, he is confined to the forbidding, rat-infested island of St. Helena. 

The one bright star in Napoleon's black sky is Betsy, a blazingly rebellious teenager whose family is reluctantly housing the notorious prisoner. Betsy is the only foreigner Napoleon's ever met who is not impressed by him -- and Napoleon is more than intrigued. 

An unexpected alliance is formed. And a remarkable friendship between emperor and girl spawns gossip and inspires Betsy to hatch a daring and dangerous scheme that could threaten both their lives and shake entire empires to their foundations.

Black-capped Chickadee

Math:

Khan Academy, 30 min per day

 Writing/English:

Wrote a book report, short, on her last Reader; The Broken Blade

Fun Reader:

I Like Him, He Likes Her by Phyllis Renolds Naylor

Art:

Bookmaking, Dd spent hours each day learning how to make books by sewing sections of folded paper together and then sewing those sections together.  She made two different kinds of book covers--unique to each book.

Home Economics:

Average week, dishes, vacuuming house, tuna sandwich, made a Mother's Day cake and icing, pasta and meat sauce, chicken care...

Music Lessons:

Piano lesson with Mrs. March: 1-hour lesson (next week off)

Violin lesson with Christie: 30 minutes

Strings Group: 1-hour lesson

Music Practice:

violin, piano, ukelele, 

(Her Alto Sax was in the shop getting a spruce-up)

Driver's Education Classes:

M,T, W : 4-6 pm (6 hours this week)

Driving with teacher: T & W: 2 hours each

Driving with parents: 2 hours (6 hours this week)

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