Week 17

I was sick for about half the week so I didn’t get as much done as I usually do. 


Language Arts: I finished my essay on how optimism benefits health. I finished reading The Art of Racing in the Rain. I reviewed coordinating conjunctions and subordinating conjunctions. 

Math: Our math tutor couldn’t make it this week because he had food poisoning. I kept working on lessons from the math book.

Science: We got our MEL Chemistry starter kit. It has a 360 degree viewer so we played around with that a bit. 


History: I didn’t do history this week.  


Makerspace (Tech):  We did some more sewing. We are making blocks for a quilt. 

Programming (Elective): At Lego League we worked on finishing up some missions. We also decided on our mascot for this year. It’s a unicorn platypus. 

Other: I had a basketball game. I also had a guitar recital that was a Christmas singalong. It was kind of crazy with so many guitars but it was fun. 

Week 16

Language Arts: I did the language arts lessons in my program. I wrote the first body paragraph for the essay on how optimism affects our physical health. I am still reading The Art of Racing in the Rain. I did some TTRS typing/spelling practice. I am currently memorizing the poem Trees. 

Math: I finished the unit 2 tests. I got through chapter 20 in the textbook. With Mr. Rosa we went over a lot of different things but one of them we covered again was solving a set of equations using the substitution method or the elimination method. 

Science: I am working on a gear box made from Legos. I have made a couple of different versions so far. There is a boomerang video below of it but it doesn’t show how you can switch between gears. 

History: In my co-op history class we learned about Davy Crockett. In the We Didn’t Start the Fire song it mentions the name but doesn’t specify whether it is talking about the person or the tiny nuclear missile. We learned about the Davy Crockett show and listened to the theme song from the show. 

Makerspace (Tech):  We did machine sewing. We sewed some designs on pieces of fabric and I also made a very tiny pillow just to practice with the machine. 

Programming (Elective): This week at First Lego League I worked on making one of the tools we we already created be able to complete two missions at once. One of them is Escape Velocity and we made the run for that also complete the mission Observatory. 

Other: I am working with a basketball trainer named Coach Buddha and we met this week and worked on shooting and fine-tuning different aspects of my shots to improve them. For guitar we are working on Christmas songs some more because we have a recital coming up. I also taught myself how to play (with a video) Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes. 

Gear Box (version 1)

Sewing from Maker Space

Weeks 14 & 15

Language Arts: I did some lessons in my Language Arts program. One of the assignments was to research points about how being optimistic improves our lives. I am reading The Art of Racing in the Rain. It is written from the dog’s perspective and it is an interesting book. I finished Marley & Me and I really liked it.

Math: We worked on exponents and square roots and how to convert between the two. I did two of the Unit 2 tests and some of the lessons from the textbook.

Science: We did an experiment where we observed reactions. Everyone had different reactions and some got hotter than others. We measured the temperature every minute for 5 minutes. Some people’s got cold and some got hot. We watched the Mars Insight landing at home with the family. A few years ago my dad took us to a Curiosity rover viewing party at the University of Utah and some of the stuff was similar to this one. We also went to the BYU Paleontology museum for a field trip.

History: In my co-op history class we learned about polyester and how it was introduced as a sort of magical wonder fabric that doesn’t need ironing and doesn’t get wrinkled, but it wasn’t very comfortable so now it is used more for things like boat sales and less for clothes.

Makerspace (Tech):  This week I didn’t really get to do anything because I am still trying to get my thing cut out. I mostly helped my friend with their project.

Programming (Elective): During the break we didn’t have Lego League so my brother and Dad and I went and worked on stuff by ourselves for a few hours. It was really nice because some of the kids on the team are mostly just distractions who get into stuff and cause problems. We got one mission to work really well. I also did a custom paint job on one of my nerf guns. I painted it silver and then did the dipping technique to add black.

Other: We had our first basketball game of Winter League and we won. I am doing some private training with a coach from one of the high schools who happens to be a good friend of my uncle Adam. Our co-op teen group went to an escape room for our monthly activity and we beat the room with 5 minutes to spare. Then we went to The Chocolate dessert cafe for treats. It was fun.

Short video clip from my basketball game, I get the rebound after the free throw

Sometimes my cat Bandit gets really interested in my school work

Not helpful, Bandit

At the BYU Paleontology Museum

It was CS Lewis's 120th birthday this week. My parents named me after him.

We had a little CS Lewis feast, including Turkish Delight

Utahraptor at the BYU Paleontology Museum

Watching the Mars Insight Landing

Mars Insight Landing

First photo of Mars broadcast from Insight

My cat Bandit relaxing on my bed

I did a custom paint job on my Nerf Gun

Week 13

Language Arts: I did my dyslexia workbook lessons. I learned 8 ways to start an introductory paragraph. I did some editing practice on a couple of passages with mistakes. I am reading Marley & Me.

Math: In our math class we went over powers and how to switch back and forth between roots and powers. We also worked on the Unit 2 packet so we could see if we had any trouble areas. We reviewed Order of Operations and saw how switching the order can change the answer.

Science: In chemistry class we learned about balancing equations. For our science lesson at home we learned about center of gravity, did some experiments/activities and watched some videos that talked about it. One fun thing we did was figure out how to balance a potato on a glass edge by using two forks as the counterbalances.

History: In my We Didn’t Start the Fire class we talked about Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein who was the second president of Egypt and how he worked to modernize Egypt. Last week in that class we talked about Stalin.

Makerspace (Tech):  We did woodcutting this week. I made a batman charm for a necklace. My wooden puzzle didn’t work so I am going to try it again.

Programming (Elective): I didn’t work on this this week. I need to figure out what projects to work on.  A couple weeks ago I painted my ripstik silver. It turned out really good. I put a topcoat on it so it will hopefully stay nice looking for a while.

Videos we watched to go along with our science lesson

A balanced potato

Week 12

Language Arts: I reviewed commas in a series. I finished reading Wednesday Wars. I wrote a paragraph about why I like homeschooling. I learned about personification and had to write some examples of personification about a nature scene. I also wrote a paragraph about how I would not want to spend a summer with any of the characters from books I have read lately.

Math: I worked on chapters from the textbook. In our class we went over exponents and how to rewrite negative exponents as positive exponents. 

Science: In my chemistry class we made slime. We talked about different polymers and non-newtonian fluids. At home for science we finished up our discussion on flight and learned about birds and how they fly, and how it wouldn’t be possible for humans to fly with self-powered flight. We weight too much and don’t have the right kinds of muscles (big enough) in the right places. Birds have other adaptations for flight as well, including a keel (breastbone) to attach big muscles to, a fused backbone area, hollow bones, and no teeth.

History: We listened to the next podcast. It was about Sargon and how he created the first empire that we know of. He wrote an autobiography that said how great he was. The story goes that he was put into a basket as a baby, a lot like the Moses story.

Makerspace (Tech):  This week I designed some things that I am going to laser cut. They will be keychains or little trinket things. They will be made out of a thin wood, I can’t remember the name of it right now.

Programming (Elective): I am trying to drill a hole in metal but am not having any luck. I looked up info online but none of the different techniques have worked. I am not sure if I just don’t have the right drill bit or if I am doing something else wrong. I also had First Lego League this week. We are working on rebuilding a mission that some kid broke. My friend Heber and I worked on another mission finalizing the attachment parts to accomplish the task.

Week 11

Language Arts: I learned about mood and tone in poetry. I finished the third Star Man’s Son book. There is a fourth one coming out sometime soon, I think, but I wish it was already out. I did more lessons in my dyslexia workbook. I did some sentence diagramming.

Math: I worked on the Unit 1 packet and took the test. In class we went over calculating surface area on 3D rectangular shapes.

Science: I learned about solutes and solvents. A solvent is a substance that dissolves another substance and a solute is something that dissolves in a solvent.

History: We didn’t have a history lesson this week.

Makerspace (Tech):  In class we just had a party while people could work on their costumes if they wanted to. I didn’t dress up this year so I didn’t have a costume to work on.

Programming (Elective): We didn’t have First Lego League this week because the Rec Center was booked with their Halloween party. It was a busy week so I didn’t work on any extra projects at home either.

Other: I’ve been figuring out how to play the Super Mario Bros theme song on the guitar.

Week 10

Language Arts: I wrote a book summary on the book we have been reading as part of my language arts lessons, Gabriel and the Hour Book. Part of the assignment was to make a fancy initial letter and a border since the booked talked a lot about the art of illumination. I finished reading Star Man’s Son and started on the second book. I did a TTRS lesson and also some lessons in my Dyslexia Workbook. 

Math: In math class this week we had a test over some of the material. We also learned about  the different sorts of questions you can be asked from a graph, including equation, slope, y-intercept, area of the triangle formed by the line & the y/x-axis, perimeter of that triangle, and if two lines are parallel or perpendicular.  

Science: In my chemistry class we learned about surface area and cohesion. We did the activity where you see how many drops you can fit on a penny, which demonstrates the ability of surface tension to hold water molecules together. 

History: We listened to the next episode of the Podcast History of Our World. It was about Lagash vs Umma. One interesting thing is that they know some facts about this battle because they found historical carvings called the Stele of the Vultures that show vultures carrying off people’s heads as well as other scenes and there is also writing on some of the fragments. 

Makerspace (Tech):  We did vinyl stickers again. I made a Flash symbol. 

Programming (Elective): I have been having fun making PVC/pool noodle weapons. I have made quite a few but there is a picture of some of them. My siblings and my friend Heber and I like to have battles with them. 

Other: My mom ordered an inflatable dinosaur costume and she let me be the first to try it out. 

Dinosaur rampage

The Stele of Vultures 

Vinyl sticker

PVC/pool noodle weapons

Book summary

Week 9

Language Arts: I finished reading Unbroken. I started reading a book called Star Man’s Son. I was able to read the first two chapters for free on Kindle preview so I knew I would like it. I like reading on the Kindle because I can read at night in my bed without having to turn a light on. I also had a lesson on poetry and went over the keys to writing an effective paragraph. Reviewed the proper usage of the homophones petal/pedal, there/their/they’re and sail/sale, as well as when to drop or keep the E when adding the suffix “-able”.

Math: We didn’t have our class this week but I did work on the homework assignments. Fractions (add/subtract/multiply/divide), unit conversion, and solving equations with one variable.

Science: My brother and I made a density jar. We also watched videos on a couple of different topics and finished up our discussion on how things fly. I also made some mini rockets with match heads and aluminum foil. I did my science homework for my chemistry co-op class.

History: No history lesson this week.

Makerspace (Tech):  I made a vinyl sticker for my laptop. See picture below.

Programming (Elective): We had first lego league this week. I also did some hydrodipping at my home workbench. I dipped a christmas tree ornament and a water bottle. We got a new rotary tool (a Dremel but it isn’t dremel brand) with a lot of attachment tools. I am excited to do some projects with it. We ordered some special bits to use to etch/drill holes in rocks. It comes with some diamond bits but you only need those for very hard rocks.

Other: We went swimming. We went to the How I Became a Pirate play.

Rocket launch (in slow motion)

My vinyl sticker

Mini rockets. I can fit my supplies to make more inside the matchbox.

At the play

Density jar

Week 8

Language Arts: My L. Arts program has some other stuff along with it, so this week I learned about the color wheel and painted a color wheel with watercolors (see below). I did sentence diagramming with adjectives and adverbs (see example below). I also reviewed capitalization rules for titles. I am still reading Unbroken. I also did lessons in my Dyslexia Workbook.

Math: We worked on unit conversion problems. We also did solving equations with a single variable and also some more fraction add/subtract review.

Science: We learned about covalent (sharing) and ionic bonds. We did Lewis Dot models for some of the different compounds.

History: We listened to the Podcast History of the World episode on the Epic of Gilgamesh. It is about Gilgamesh and his friend Enkidu, and they go on adventures and fight monsters. It is interesting that this is a 4000 year old story. We talked about how it is a hero’s journey sort of story and how it has similarities with Star Wars and the Marvel superhero stories. We also watched the Crash Course Mythology episode about Gilgamesh.

Makerspace (Tech):  We got to bring home our concrete planters. I am not sure what plant I will get that can fit in there, maybe an air plant or a little cactus. We have been using it as a tea light candle holder for now.

Elective: This week I built a shelf for my longboard to hang on in the garage. You can see it in the picture below. I used some of the scrap wood I got from one of our neighbors. 

Other: I made a Rubiks Cube out of perler beads. It has been so cold and wet I haven’t been able to ride my new longboard very much.

Perler bead Rubiks cube

Rubiks cube

I really liked the way the red looked so I made this little sign

Color wheel

Sentence diagramming

My longboard shelf

My concrete planter/candle holder

Week 7 Report

Language Arts: I did lessons in my Dyslexia Workbook. I read more of Unbreakable. Went over differences between THEY’RE/THERE/THEIR and MERRY/MARY/MARRY. Went over independent and dependent clauses and practiced identifying them. Reviewed the 4 types of sentences.Went over words to use in writing instead of “said”. 

Math: We weren’t able to have math class with our tutor because he was in an accident. So I worked mostly on assignments from the textbook. We did get some assignments finally on Friday. One is on unit conversion and the other is solving for a single variable. 

Science: In my co-op chemistry class we had a guest who came in and talked to us about chemicals that were used in bombs and also chemical warfare. He told us about how you check to see if something is really a bomb or not--there are certain chemicals you can check for. 

History: We listened to the next episode of the podcast. The Sumerians had these clay balls that they would put tokens into that represented amounts of different things like crops and flocks. They used these for trade to make sure that everyone knew what the amount was supposed to be. But you had to break the clay envelopes to know what was inside, which kind of voided the trade contract, so they started stamping things on the outside. This was the earliest sort of writing that we know about. 

Makerspace (Tech):  We poured our cement for our planters. We also took our molds that we made last week out of the mold. I made two Lego bricks. They are made out of a clear casting material, I’m not sure what it is called. 

Programming (Elective): This week I practiced a painting technique on plastic. You spray some spray paint onto the water surface and then dip the plastic object into it. It looks pretty cool. I also had First Lego League. We worked on building a second duplicate robot of the robot I designed so we could work faster and we did a bit of programming as well. 

Other: We ended up playing four basketball games at our tournament last Saturday. The tournament schedule wasn’t very well done so that was kind of frustrating. But it was good to get lots of game time. I got a new longboard this week. 

Two of our cats came and walked and laid all over my lesson books on morning

The painting method 

I made this emoji pixel art while we listened to our history podcast