Week 16 - 12/15/2017 - Weekly Report

Language Arts - This week I did some spelling review and a new lesson. I also did another
key word outline and paragraph from my Student Writing Intensive program. This passage
was about characteristics of cephalopods. I read more in the Death Cure. I did some TTRS.

Math - I worked on Math Mammoth 7-A and did assignments about positive and negative
integers and adding and subtracting them.

Makerspace - We finished up our tee shirts and got to bring them home. I didn’t have a
chance to take a picture of mine yet though.

Art - I worked more on my painting project that I started last week.

Science - We did an activity where you write with a dry erase marker on the bottom of a
glass dish and then pour warm water over it. The ink will come off the bottom and float
around. You can even put your hand in it and the ink will go on your hand. It’s cool. We
also watched a Brain Games video on how your brain perceives 3D and also a couple
videos of Magic School Bus Rides Again. One of them was about ecosystems and how
everything has a role to play. We did the tablecloth experiment from our Steve Spangler
box (see video below, in slow motion). I also did some Uzinggo but I can’t remember which
specific ones I did this week because I did them at the beginning of the week. I usually write
them down on my notebook but I forgot to this week.

Other - I had some basketball practice this week but no game. We went night skiing with my
Dad Saturday night up at Sundance. Hopefully they get some snow soon. All the snow was manmade and so it wasn’t that great. I still had fun though.

Week 15 - 12/8/2017 - Weekly Report

Language Arts - I did a spelling lesson and spelling review. I also did the first assignment in Institute for Excellence in Writing Student Writing Intensive Level B. It was about finding key words and doing a key word based summary of a passage. I did the lesson and summary one day, then wrote the paragraph the next day, then typed it up the next day. I still need to do a final review of it and print it off for my notebook. The passage was about the jellyfish called the sea wasp. I also did TTRS and read more in the Death Cure.

Math - I did some more Hands On Equations Level 2. I also did more Math Mammoth Grade 7-A. I learned about the Distributive Property and did a review of the chapter.  Also did some Xtra Math.

Makerspace - We worked more on our tee shirt designs this week.

Art - I started working on my next project. It is a painting.

Science - We did another activity from our Steve Spangler box. This one had us use static electricity on a straw to pick up salt off the table. We also watched some educational videos about static electricity on YouTube. I also did Uzinggo and learned about space science and boiling.  

Other - Last week of our co-op for the semester. My favorite class was my class on Hamilton. The teacher was so good. I was sad this week because it was the last class and also because we learned about Hamilton dying. I also got to go to a Jazz game with my dad and my Jr Jazz coach and some of my teammates. The Jazz lost to the Rockets but it was still fun. It was so late, though. We didn't get home until 1 am! We took Frontrunner up which was nice. The train was really warm but it was so cold outside.

Static Electricity Straw "Vacuum"

Week 14 - 12/1/2017 - Weekly Report

Language Arts - For my speech and poetry class at co-op I memorized and recited the English Folk Verse The Fifth of November. I think it is the longest poem I have ever memorized. I also made my demonstration speech of How to Make a Monkey Fist into a video and presented that to the class. I wrote a journal entry about Thanksgiving. I read more in Death Cure and reread a Diary of a Wimpy Kid book that I like. I also did two spelling lessons and my TTRS lessons.

The Fifth of November
(English folk verse)

   Remember, remember!

   The fifth of November,

   The Gunpowder treason and plot;

   I know of no reason

   Why the Gunpowder treason

   Should ever be forgot!

   Guy Fawkes and his companions

   Did the scheme contrive,

   To blow the King and Parliament

   All up alive.

   Threescore barrels, laid below,

   To prove old England's overthrow.

   But, by God's providence, him they catch,

   With a dark lantern, lighting a match!

   A stick and a stake

   For King James's sake!

   If you won't give me one,

   I'll take two,

   The better for me,

   And the worse for you.

   A rope, a rope, to hang the Pope,

   A penn'orth of cheese to choke him,

   A pint of beer to wash it down,

   And a jolly good fire to burn him.

   Holloa, boys! holloa, boys! make the bells ring!

   Holloa, boys! holloa boys! God save the King!

   Hip, hip, hooor-r-r-ray!

Math - I am doing Math Mammoth 7 now and I learned about Growing Patterns and expressions/equations, as well as the commutative and associative properties. I also did Hands On

Equations 2 and some Khan and XtraMath.

Makerspace - We worked on designing our tee shirts.  I’m excited about mine.

Art - I finished my pistol drawing and brought it home.

Science - We did some more experiments from our Steve Spangler kit. One where you try and stab a straw into a potato and you can’t do it unless you put a thumb over the top of the straw to keep the air in. A couple of other ones you can see in the videos below. I also did some Uzinggo lessons.  

Other - We had a good Thanksgiving. We got together with my mom’s family up at my aunt’s house in Kaysville. Quite a few of my cousins were there.

This is just the first part of my demo speech

"Sticky" Rice experiment--both containers are just regular rice!

This one was really fun. We did it outside in case we made a mess. My littlest brother's attempt didn't work and it spilled. 

Weekly Report - Week 13 - 11/17/2017

Language Arts - I worked on my demonstration speech for my Speech and Poetry class. I also wrote in my journal about things I am grateful for. I read some of a Nathan Hale book that I’ve already read before but really like it. I need to finished Death Cure before it is due back to the library.

Math - I did quite a bit of Khan Academy Pre Algebra this week. I also did some lessons on expressions and equations in Math Mammoth 7. I also did more Hands On Equations 2.

Makerspace - We got to try out different wood cutting machines and had to make a shape with them. I made something that looks like a monster face.

Art - I am back to working on my pistol in colored pencils since I finished my dragon last week.

Science -We did some experiments from our Steve Spangler science box. We floated some Total cereal flakes on water and were able to pull them with a magnet. We also crushed up a bunch of cereal and put it in a bag of water and after 20 minutes used the magnet to pull the little iron bits out of the “cereal soup”. We learned how iron is important for our bodies because our red blood cells need it for hemoglobin to carry oxygen. We have enough iron in our bodies to make about two small nails. We cook with cast iron all the time which is a good way to get iron.

I also did Uzinggo lessons on work and force.

Other - My Junior Jazz basketball team started practice this week. We were able to have two practices. My coach seems really interested in having us practice a lot and do a good job, so I am excited about that. I have really liked my Hamilton class at the co-op we go to. Last week the teacher got to go see Hamilton on Broadway and she made me want to go see it, too.

The bits of dark are the iron extracted from the cereal

You can see the iron inside this water droplet

My woodcutting practice monster guy

Weekly Report - Week 11 - 11/3/2017

Language Arts - In my Writing Skills assignment I learned about reason paragraphs and came up with some examples reasons for some different topics. I also wrote a journal entry about Halloween. In my Speech & Poetry co-op class I had to write a quick demonstration/instruction paragraph about how to tie shoes. I did TTRS and also started All About Spelling Level 4. The first lesson was a review of stuff we had covered before.

Math - I did several lessons in Hands On Equations 2 this week. I also did Xtra math. The day after Halloween we made bar graphs of the different candies we got. I decided to sort mine by wrapper color.

Makerspace - We had a Halloween party and got to eat food. We also had a 3D pen we could play around with and I made a little tree, a watering can, and a trophy.

Art - I am still painting my paper mache dragon.

Science - We didn’t have a group science lesson this week but in Uzinggo I learned about space technology. For example how they have to pack all their food with them. Their toilets have a suction so it doesn’t make a mess or get everywhere. I also learned about lab safety and how you should always throw chemical waste in the correct bin. You need to make sure you turn lab equipment off when finished and keep windows closed so the wind doesn’t mess with your project.

Other - We went to see Captain Louie at the SCERA. It is a musical. I also had fun trick or treating and got about three pounds of candy.

Weekly Report - Week 12 - 11/11/2017

Language Arts - I turned some of my reasons from last week into a paragraph. I did more TTRS lessons and also did lesson 2 in All About Spelling Level 4. I read the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Getaway book and also the new Nathan Hale Hazardous Tales book, A Raid of No Return. We also watched the movie of A Monster Calls, which is a book my mom read to us last year. The movie was pretty close to the book. Both were good.   

Math - I did more Hands On Equations 2 this week. I also did lessons 5 and 6 in Learn Math Fast: Prealgebra. The lessons were on Solving for X with Division and What is Y.

Makerspace - We are learning how to use Inkscape. In class we watched a tutorial and then practiced using it. I practiced some more on my own at home this week.

Art - I finished my paper mache dragon and got to bring it home. See picture below.

Science - We learned about hot air expanding and did a couple of hot air balloon experiments. One we filled a garbage can liner with hot air from a blow dryer and it floated up a few feat. The other we tried to build a simple hot air balloon with half birthday candles, foil, and straws (see video). It kind of worked but didn’t really go up in the air, just was kind of floaty. It was 52 degrees so we are going to try again in December when it is colder. We also are maybe going to get some balsa wood to use in place of the straws because it would be lighter and more sturdy.

In my Uzinggo lessons I learned about heat transfer as well as light and heat. We had already learned about heat transfer in our family science lessons so I knew about that already but it was a good review.

Other - I went to the draft for Provo Jr Jazz basketball and got selected for a team. We start practice next week and games start in December.

My paper mache dragon

Weekly Report -- Week 10 - 10/27/2017

Language Arts - I wrote a short story about two boys in my journal entry for the week. One was The Chosen One and the other was the Dark Ninja. In my Speech & Poetry class I made some notes about what supplies I needed for my Demonstration Speech. I am going to demonstrate how to make a soda can camping stove. I made a prototype. I read a little bit of The Death Cure. I watched the second movie in The Maze Runner series. It was completely different from the book.

Math - This week for math I finished Hands On Equations Level 1. I also did some more Xtra Math Facts.

Makerspace - I finished my cardboard sword. It turned out really good. I also made a sheath for it.

Art - I am still working on my paper mache dragon. Painting it is taking forever because it is so freaking big.

Science - In my Uzinggo lessons I learned about joints. There are two types of joints: immovable and moveable. The types of moveable joints are ball & socket joints, hinge joints, pivot joints, and gliding joints. We also went to the Chemistry Magic Show at BYU and it was awesome. I loved all the explosions and the fire.

Other - Nothing else really to report this week.

My cardboard sword and sheath

Weekly Report - Week 9 - 10/20/2017

Language Arts - I am still reading The Death Cure. I did my TTRS lessons and also wrote my Writing Skills assignment on Demonstration Paragraphs.

Math - I did some more in Volume 3 of Learn Math Fast. I worked on more Hands On Equations level 1. I did XtraMath math facts. I also played Knock-Out and Muggins Math with my mom and brother.  I also did some Khan Academy practice of concepts I have been working on.

Makerspace - I started over on my cardboard sword because mine had kind of gotten messed up since last week. My new one turned out better but I couldn’t bring it home because they wanted to keep it to show other classes. I hope it doesn’t get banged up again like my last one!

Art - I worked more on my paper mache dragon. I didn’t finish yet.

Science - We made slime for science. Three batches. I also did Uzinggo lessons on velocity.

Other - We went to Hee Haws for a field trip with one of our homeschool co-ops. For part of the time, there were hardly any people there so we got to go down the slides a lot without having to wait in line.

Me in the corn pit

Going down the slide

On the big slide

On the wagon ride

On the swings

Weekly Report - Week 8 - 10/13/2017

Language Arts - This week I wrote a paragraph about the differences between the Maze Runner movie and the book. I also did my TTRS lessons and some spelling review. I did a Friday Freewrite about how much I hate Friday Freewrites. I read more chapters in The Death Cure.

Math - This week I finished up Volume II of Learn Math Fast and started Volume 3, Pre-Algebra. I started working on Hands On Equations level 1. I worked on math facts on XtraMath. I am SO CLOSE to having all of my times tables green.

Makerspace - I worked on my giant cardboard sword some more. I worked on the blade and making the edges of the sword. I wasn’t able to finish it this week because we ran out of tape.

Art - We worked on our halloween art projects some more. I am making a dragon out of something that is kind of like paper mache but it is more clay like. It’s something my teacher mixed up herself.

Science - We learned about elements and compounds and how you can take a compound apart into its individual elements but elements can’t be taken apart or turned into different elements. This is called The Law of Conservation of Matter. We watched Ted-Ed and BrainPop videos about the Law of Conservation of Matter and some other videos about making and breaking up water molecules. And we made gold! Ha ha, just kidding. That’s impossible. In my Uzinggo lessons, I learned about DNA structure and how there are four nitrogenous bases. I learned about the double helix shape and how DNA is in chromosomes and how chromosomes are in the center of cells in the nuclei. We also learned about what makes leaves change color in the fall. It is because they stop producing chlorophyll since the days get shorter and it isn't worth it to the tree to try and photosynthesize during the shorter days, so they stop putting energy into the leaves. As the chlorophyll breaks down, we can see the other pigments that the leaves have in them.

Other - In my co-op cooking class we decorated cupcakes. In Survival Skills we practiced using compasses. I have to write a 3-5 minute demonstration speech for my Speech & Poetry class. I am going to demonstrate how to make a can stove. We went on a walk along the river trail up Provo Canyon to see all the fall leaves.

Week 7 - 10/7/2017

Language Arts - This week I got to have a day where my only school was to read! I am reading The Death Cure (3rd book in the Maze Runner series). I also got to watch the Maze Runner movie. It was quite a bit different from the book. I wrote a journal entry about getting to spend time with my aunts when they were in town last weekend. I also wrote an example paragraph.

Math - This week I finished percentages and did a review of Negative Numbers. I also practiced math facts on XtraMath.

Makerspace - I got to bring home my FrankenToy and my notebook. My FrankenToy has a bear head on a dog body, with an extra leg sewn on top of its head kind of like a unicorn horn. It has a light that flashes in the middle of its forehead. There are the parts of a toy phone inside so it makes lots of weird noises when you squeeze it. It turned out cuter than I meant for it to. For our next project, we started making stuff out of cardboard. My first project is a big cardboard sword.

Art - We started working on a halloween art project. I will post a picture of it when we bring it home, probably next week or the week after.

Science - We didn’t have time for a group science lesson, but on Uzinggo I learned about orbits and how the size, velocity and angle of the objects determine how the orbit will go. I also learned about energy sources and renewable vs nonrenewable resources.

Other - I recited the poem Skeleton Parade for my co-op Speech & Poetry class. We made zucchini muffins in my co-op cooking class.

Weekly Report - Week 6 9/29/2017

Language Arts - I wrote a short summary of The Maze Runner. I finished up All About Spelling level 3 and am just doing review until we are ready to get the next one to start. I was finally able to get Death Cure from the library (book 3 in the Maze Runner series) to read and so I am reading that. I also was able to get the movies for the first two books and am excited to watch those.  I also did a paragraph and supporting details assignment from my Writing Skills A book.

Math - I did lessons on calculating percentages in Learn Math Fast. I also practiced my XtraMath math facts.

Makerspace - This week we took apart toys and put them back together in different ways to make FrankenToys.

Art - I am still working on the colored pencil project of a pistol.

Science - This week we read some from The Story of Science and we also learned about the three methods of heat transfer--convection, conduction, and radiation. We watched a Bill Nye about Heat and also some other Youtube videos about heat. We drew a diagram that showed the different methods of heat transfer.

Other - In my cooking class at co-op we made stir fry. It turned out good but I like it better when we make treats! In my speech and poetry class we had to write poems about an item that mentioned all of our senses. I did a poem about a cracker.

In my diagram:

Radiation is the heat coming up from the fire through the air

Convection is the heat in the water molecules, causing the hotter molecules to rise

Conduction is the heat traveling through the pan and into the handle. I made my handle look wood, so it isn't a very good conductor, but if it was metal, it would get really hot!

Weekly Report - Week 5- 9/22/2017

Week 5 9/22/2017

Language Arts - I worked on my biography project a little. I also did a Writing Skills lesson on Giving Conditions using “if” and “unless” sentences. I finished The Scorched Trials and we put the next book on hold at the library. We also put holds on the movies of The Maze Runner and The Scorched Trials.

Math - I did Division of Fractions on Math Antics this week, as well as practiced my multiplication facts on XtraMath. One day I did some math activities on Uzinggo about statistics and representing data with picture graphics.

Makerspace - We brought toys that had some electronic or mechanical components and took them apart. I took apart a little noisemaking toy telephone for little kids.

Art - I am still working on my colored pencil pistol project.

Science - We did a lab where we calculated the density of different items using a kitchen scale to measure mass and a graduated cylinder to measure volume. Even though the density of water is stated to be 1 g/mL, that is only under certain conditions. Our water density was closer to 0.64 g/mL. We also made boats out of aluminum foil and had fun figuring out good shapes and designed and seeing how much they could hold. We learned that something will float if it can displace water equal in weight to its own weight. We watched a Bill Nye on Buoyance and a How Things Work on Floating, as well as a couple other videos on YouTube. We watched a Density video on BrainPop as well.

Other - We had a park day with one of our co-ops this week. My other co-op was fun. In Speech and Poetry we did an activity where we pulled an item out of a bag and had to try and talk about it for one whole minute. It was harder than it seemed. My climbing class at Momentum was really fun again. And my Hamilton class was interesting. We learned about George Washington.

Here are some of the boats we made.

Weekly Report - Week 4

Week 4 9/15/2017

Language Arts - I read quite a bit of Scorched Trials. I also did spelling lessons. I did TTRS. I did some assignments about telling when in my Writing Skills book. I read a book about Houdini for a biography project I am going to work on next week. I marked interesting facts about him in the book to include. I don’t see how he did his tricks. They obviously have to be fake but it is tricky to see what he did. How could he get out of a sealed milk jug full of water when he was tied up inside and it was welded shut?

Math - I did more fractions with MathAntics including Easiest Common Denominator and Least Common Denominator. I also practiced my multiplication facts on Xtra Math.

Makerspace - I cut wood and drilled holes in it for a cover to my sketchbook. I got to use a table saw and a drill press.

Art - I used colored pencils to color my pistol.

Science - We learned about how evaporating water molecules absorb heat energy, while condensating water vapor releases heat. We demonstrated this by boiling a pan of water and holding a pan of ice above it. The water vapor condensed on the bottom of the pan and it transferred heat to the pan of ice and caused it to melt much quicker than just a dry pan heated underneath. In Uzinggo this week I learned about batteries and circuits and how you can have resistors in a series and in parallel. If they are in a series and you remove one, the other one will not work. If they are parallel, one can be removed or not working and the other one will still work.

Other - In my co-op Foods class we made puppy chow. I had to stay home from my other co-op because I had a really bad kink in my neck. I also started the Own It curriculum. I learned to play Oh Susanna on the piano.

Weekly Report - Weeks 1-3

9/8/2017

Language Arts - I did lessons from Writing Skills Book A about Compound Sentences and telling why and when. I also did a couple of Free Writing assignments, as well as a couple of journal entries. I did some spelling review lessons and a couple new lesson. I am reading The Scorched Trials, the second book in the Mazerunner series.  

Math - I have been working on Fractions with lessons from MathAntics and the worksheets. Fractions have been kind of hard for me so my mom and I are spending time reviewing the concepts. I am understanding them better now. We also played Pizza Fraction Fun.

Makerspace - I had to miss one class because there was a really bad accident that closed the freeway. In the first class, we did introductions and worked on designing our notebooks.

Art - I am working on my pencil drawing of a pistol.

Science - We learned about Brownian Motion and how molecules and how atoms are always moving. We did some experiments of putting food coloring in waters that were different temperatures. The hot water became one color fastest. This is because the molecules are moving faster and can push the dye molecules around more quickly.

Other - We have gone swimming at the Rec Center a couple times since school started and it is so nice because almost noone is there. I am doing piano again this year.  We started our two homeschool co-ops this past week. My classes are Survival Skills, Cooking, Speech & Poetry, Climbing at Momentum/Funtopia, and Hamilton: The Man and What Made Him. I really liked the climbing at Funtopia. They have some really cool obstacles/activities. I might take some pictures of them to show my mom so if I do I’ll post them on my blog.