Goals for the Next Six Weeks

Thomas (Age 15)

Maths – Conquer maths –

• Complete Linear Functions II
• Quadratic Equations
• Simultaneous Equations
• Loci
• Linear Equalities

Chemistry

Thomas has covered everything on the IGCSE Chemistry syllabus, so it is revision from here on out:

• Book to take IGCSE in the summer
• SAM learning – go over entire syllabus again to source any weak areas
• Watch through the rest of the Chemistry DVDs

History

Thomas will be joining in some family learning to finish off world history.  This term we will be covering the early 1800’s (from 1800 to 1850), focusing in on one particular subject for each decade.

• 1800-1810: Slavery
• 1810-1820: Jane Austin
• 1820-1830: Composers of the 19th century
• 1830-1840: Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
• 1840-1850: Charles Dickens and the Poor

We will be learning as a family for an hour during our normal morning meeting, during their quiet time reading and they have each agreed to give up their Fridays for a hands on practical based history lesson (in addition to their 1-2-1 meetings with me)

English – Thomas will not be taking his IGCSE in English this summer.  We both believe he will benefit from an extra year of learning.  Writing is still the thing he finds the hardest.  So to this end, I have decided to give him some 1-2-1 tutoring, simply going through past papers at a snail’s pace.

Engineering – Thomas will continue with his day release at college once a week.  He is still enjoying this and it will hopefully give him an extra level 2 qualification equal to an IGCSE

Music Production

As this is now what he wants to pursue we will focus any extra funds on this area.

• He has already made a bass guitar which he regularly plays at church in the worship band.  This term he will be making his own cajon (a type of music box/drum thing).
• He has already attended an open day at the college he wishes to attend in 18 months time.  The man he chatted to advised him to get as much hands on experience as he could.  He already works on sound in church for both main and youth church events.  We have some other ideas up our sleeves which I will share if they work out
• He was also advised to start recording his own music and putting it on YouTube.  He has opted to open a Face Book page, as he is very familiar with how Face Book works, and he plans to put his recordings up on that page.  He is currently looking for an inexpensive recording option and I think may have settled on Garage Band, which he can download to his Ipad (he inherited Gary’s old one)
• One of his new year’s goals is to form a band.

Thomas needs to obtain at least five IGCSEs/level two qualifications in order to attend his college of choice to do a Level Three in Music Production (worth three A levels).  We will just chip away at this goal which feels very manageable whilst also giving him as much hands on experience as possible.

Lillie (Age 14)

Maths: Conquer maths

Although she still dislikes maths intensely she is slightly ahead, so she will be working for half and hour a day

Art

Level Two BTEC in Art and Design – Lillie will begin this at home.  She is not allowed to finish it before she turns 16 so she will be moving slowly through the lessons, and I will be working alongside her 🙂

• Lesson 1: Upside Down Drawing
• Lesson 2: Tonal Scales
• Lesson 2: Sketching Universal forms using a graphite pencil
• Lesson 3: Sketching Universal forms using charcoal
• Lesson 3: Sketching a still life using charcoal

History

Lillie will be joining in some family learning to finish off world history.  This term we will be covering the early 1800’s (from 1800 to 1850), focusing in on one particular subject for each decade.

• 1800-1810: Slavery
• 1810-1820: Jane Austin
• 1820-1830: Composers of the 19th century
• 1830-1840: Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
• 1840-1850: Charles Dickens and the Poor

We will be learning as a family for an hour during our normal morning meeting, during their quiet time reading and they have each agreed to give up their Fridays for a hands on practical based history lesson (in addition to their 1-2-1 meetings with me)

English Language IGCSE

Lillie is due to take her IGCSE in English Language in June of this year.  She has almost completed the online course and once she has she will be working her way through some past papers

Extra Arty Things

This term she wants to carry on with her Artist Studies focusing a whole six weeks of project work on Vincent Van Gogh.  She will be doing this on a Tuesday with one of her friends.  Her second goal is to begin making hand-made cards.  I’m guessing she will do this in her spare time or any time she has finished work early.

Charlotte (Age 14)

Maths: Conquer Maths

Charlotte really doesn’t like maths, and if she didn’t need it she would opt out.  She is right where she needs to be and will be doing a lesson each day (at least that is what I want her to do.  She has other ideas and says she has only agreed to do half an hour 🙂  )

English Language IGCSE 

Like Lillie she has almost finished the course we bought in, and as soon as she does she will be doing past papers.  She is hoping to take the exam in June.

English Literature IGCSE

Granny blessed Charlotte by gifting her with an English Literature IGCSE course.  She has only just begun it and is loving it!  She goes round to mums at 230 each day, after our afternoon walk, does her English Lit and then spends 20 minutes or so chatting with Granny about her writing aspirations.  She hopes to take the exam next January.

Writing, Writing and more Writing…

Letting Charlotte spend her spare school time (and every other single minute she has free) writing has been one of the best decisions I have ever made.  Honestly, her writing in terms of hand writing and grammar has already improved hugely.  She belongs to lots of young writer’s associations and is learning to critique other people’s work, as well as listen to others critiquing her work.  She is reading books about writing, publishing options and everything in between with undiminished enthusiasm and spends most of her Saturdays holed up in the local town’s library.  I do not need to organise anything.  She does it all, and is passionate enough about it that she seems forever to be seeking new (writing) avenues to explore.

Twin Collaboration 

As both Lillie’s and Charlotte’s interests complement each other, I thought maybe a collaborative project was in order.  So I shared an idea I’d been toying about with for a couple of years.  During our second week, the little ones will be doing a week-long study on the Grimm Brother’s fairy tales.  I thought it might be interesting for Lillie and Charlotte to do a project on the Brothers Grimm with the final goal of coming up with their own fairy tale which Charlotte would write and Lillie would illustrate.  We would then learn how to have it self published on Amazon and create a unit study from that self penned fairy tale to be offered free here on angelicscalliwags.

As this is so unlike anything else they have done before, I am going to give them a few months to do it in rather than six weeks 🙂

A (Age 8) and B (Age 5)

Maths – Conquer maths

A8 will continue with Year 3 maths.  She does this mostly independently. B5 will continue with year 1 maths as well as completing a maths text-book for her age.  She does this with me

English

Each day, Granny listens to A8 and B5 read, reads aloud to them and helps A8 write a short letter.  Writing and especially spelling is A’s weak area.  A8 will also be doing lots of short writing exercises for me, incorporating narration, dictation and copywork.  I haven’t figured out what I want to use for spelling yet.

B5 is using an excellent phonics program called Ultimate Phonics (for a review see here).  The lessons are short and logical and I never have any complaints or moans about doing it.

Grimm’s Fairy Tales

The little ones and I will be spending a week or so learning about the fairy tales written by the Brothers Grimm.

Around the World with FIAR

As well as covering slavery using a couple of the FIAR books (Follow the Drinking Gourd and Who Owns the Sun?), we will also be learning about Asia this term using the following books:

• Introduction to the world: How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World
• India: Babar
• China: A Story about Ping and The Red Clogs
• Japan: Grandfather’s Journey and Grass Sandals
• Russia: Another Celebrated Dancing Bear
• Israel: Mrs Katz

Project Based Learning

A8 will be continuing with her Endangered Animal Project.  This term we will be focusing on the Giant Panda.  B5 will join in whenever she wishes 🙂

We have just finished our first week and have all benefited from being busy and back at school.  I have organised a lot of work this term and we are all excited by the possibilities.