Term Two Review

ENGLISH:

Reading:

All three boys read lots of books for their independent reading time. I do not dictate what books they choose for their “free” independent reading time. I keep a folder on the desktop of my computer with a photograph of each and every book all three boys read throughout each term.

Monster: Is no longer participating in Premiere’s Reading Challenge this year as he completed it in Year 9. However, if he finds PRC books in the library that look interesting to him, I’m certain he will pick them up and read them. He is also enjoying reading e-books on his phone - the trick is for him to remember to tell me that he has read them!!

Monster is currently reading the following books: "12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos" by Jordan Peterson, "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu, and "Whisper" by Lynette Noni

Monkey: Monkey is working hard on his independent reading - with a focus on books that count towards the Premiere's Reading Challenge. He is very specific about the type of books he likes to read (he prefers books about animals) so I often spend time pouring over titles IN the actual library rather than checking the PRC website to ensure that I can get the books that sound interesting to him.

Update: The biggest issue with Monkey's reading is finding the time when he can read. He is very much like me and finds it difficult to read when there is noise or activity around him, so the best time for him to read is late at night after he has gone to bed. Allowing him to read past his official bedtime is making it easier for him to have adequate reading time to complete the Premier's Reading Challenge.  

Munchkin: I am working hard to stick with my rule of no "fluff" reading during the term. Munchkin well and truly finished his required books for the Premier's Reading Challenge and so now I'm focusing on introducing him to new genres that he might not try on his own. Munchkin is a voracious reader AND a fast reader so he is incredibly hard to keep happy with enough books to read. Thankfully he will happily read and re-read his favourite books.

Update: Munchkin has thoroughly enjoyed some of the new (higher quality) books that I have introduced him to this year (with some help from a dear friend up in Queensland who recommends excellent books to me all the time). Still our biggest issue is that he reads really fast, but as he gets older he'll be able to read longer and longer books with more complex story lines and more mature content and hopefully that will help.

General Thoughts about the Premier's Reading Challenge: I am continuing to have Monkey and Munchkin participate in the challenge because both boys want to earn their medal (which is awarded at the end of Year 9 or Year 10) but I am pretty disappointed in the challenge in general. During the COVID lockdowns they relaxed the number of PRC list books you had to read and increased the number of free choice books you could include because they were aware that children would not have access to libraries and bookstores. However, they did not return to the old rules after COVID lockdowns ceased and this irritates me. It feels like a general dumbing down of the whole challenge. I recently noticed they have increased the number of books from a series that can be included. Originally the purpose of the challenge (as I understand it anyway) is for students to be stretched out of their comfort zones and reading ruts and try new things. However, the relaxation of these two rules (in my humble opinion) allows students to simply keep reading what is comfortable and/or easy for them.

Writing:

All three boys continue to use the Institute for Excellence in Writing: Teaching Writing Structure and Style curriculum. It allows each boy to work at a level appropriate for their age and ability. It “grows” with the child so to speak. See below for a list of the types of writing each individual boy did during Term One.

Monster: Monster did not do any writing this term. He is concentrating on finishing his math and Latin. Once he has those finished he will focus on writing. I have assigned him three more research papers to write before he completes high school in September.

Monkey: Shang Dynasty (Unit 4/6), and Narrative Rewrite (Unit 2)

Munchkin: Blue Ringed Octopus (Unit 1), Blue Tongued Lizard (Unit 1), and Narrative Rewrite on The Tortoise and the Hare (Unit 2) 

I am not particularly happy with our writing this term and the blame for the slackness sits squarely on me for not being organised enough and consistent enough. But, now I know what we (me) need to work harder on next term and throughout the remainder of the year. 

** This paragraph above here that I wrote at the end of Term 1 holds true for Term 2 as well so I will be working EXTRA hard on their writing for the remainder of the year. **

 

Spelling:

Monkey:  

Update: Monkey has finished all the spelling lists on the Ozspeller website so he is finished with spelling for his school career. I will now simply keep an eye on his spelling in his writing assignments and if he gets sloppy we'll do a "spelling review".

Munchkin: Term Two saw Munchkin continuing the Targeting Spelling Yr 3 workbook. We also continued with the Ozspeller lists, alternating weekly with the unit in the workbook, or a word list from the website. Munchkin's spelling has improved a lot. I think once he finishes the Yr 3 spelling workbook we can go back to just using Ozspeller with a lot more success. Spelling is SO important and I'm glad I took a step backward with Munchkin and worked on his spelling skills instead of just pushing him through and assuming he would "catch up" on his own eventually.

Literature:

Below are the books I selected to read to the boys for their literature this term. Munchkin’s books were read to all three boys, Monkey’s books were read to Monster as well, and Monster’s books were read only to him.

Munchkin: In Term Two we read the following books: "The Magicians Elephant" by Kate DiCamillo, "The Secret of Nimh" by Robert C. O'Brian, "The Giver" by Lois Lowry, and "Peter Pan" by J.M. Barrie   

Monkey: In Term Two we read the following books: "The Fellowship of the Ring", "The Two Towers", and "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien    

Monster:  In Term Two we read the following books: "The Problem Of Pain" by C.S. Lewis and "The Pearl" by John Steinbeck

After we finished "The Pearl" we decided to tackle "David Copperfield" by Charles Dickens. This book is long and complex so will likely take us to the end of Term Three (or even longer) to finish and thus it will be the last literature book I read aloud to Monster.

 

Grammar:

Monkey: I continued Season Two of Analytical Grammar with Monkey during term two. We worked through the program together and completed the following units: Unit 4 - Subject and Verb, Unit 5 - Adverbs, and Unit 6 - Patterns 1&2

Munchkin: I continued the Junior Analytical Grammar curriculum with Munchkin during term two. He worked through the following units: Unit 4 - Prepositions and Unit 5 - Subject and Verb

Grammar is proving to be a much more difficult subject for Munchkin so I am re-thinking our approach. Similar to spelling I am looking at the Targeting Grammar workbooks to simplify the introduction to the concepts and if that goes well then I will continue with the Junior Analytical Grammar and Analytical Grammar curriculums. As I was re-reading my Term Reviews from 2022 I discovered that I had made the decision to hold off on grammar with Munchkin until he was in high school so my decision is now to remove grammar from his schoolwork for the remainder of this year and start fresh in 2024

MATHS:

Monster: Continued working through his Year 12 Haese Mathematics textbook, and has completed chapters 3-6 covering the following topics: Applications of Differential Calculus, Integration, Applications of Integration, and Statistics

Monkey: Began his Year 9 Haese Mathematics textbook this term. I do the work along with him and over the course of the term we completed chapters 1-4 covering the following topics: Algebra, Indices, Percentage, and Sets and Venn Diagrams.

Munchkin: Continued working through his Year 6 Haese Mathematics textbook, working through chapters 5-8 of the book, and covering the following topics: Fractions, Decimal Numbers, Time, and Measurement.

We continued reading books in the Its a Mathematical World series - completing the remaining books - "Maths in Art and Sport", "Maths in Science", and "Maths in Space"

 

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY:

For the remaining school subjects I try to teach all three boys together as a group as much as I possibly can. So I will now start listing Munchkin’s work first and work from youngest to eldest boy rather than repeatedly recording the same things.

I rely heavily on our library for quality books to cover the content we study in the remaining subjects. When I am planning a unit study I do a subject search for books and reserve any and all that look like they will be suitable for the boys. I include picture books, junior non-fiction, and I’ve just started including adult non-fiction for both Monkey AND Monster.

 

Munchkin, Monkey, Monster:

 Munchkin, Monkey and Monster: We began the following book this term for their Science Content:

"Eureka! Mind Blowing Science Every Day of the Year" by Jim Al-Khalili

Reminder - the above book will be read throughout the entire year.

We read the following science books over the course of the term:

"Phenomenal Plants", "Incredible Living Things", "Magnificent Habitats", "Powerful Forces", and "Awesome Matter and Materials" - Extreme Science Series

"The First Scientists: Deadly Inventions and Innovations From Australia's Frist Peoples by Corey Tutt

HISTORY:

Munchkin: I read the following books aloud to Munchkin for History this term:

"The Story of Australia 1933-1946", "The Story of Australia 1947-1964", "The Story of Australia 1965-1983", "The Story of Australia 1984-2002", and "The Story of Australia 2003-2021" 

"On the Goldfields", "How Gold Changed Australia" and "Gold Rushes" by Melanie Guile

Monkey: I read the following books aloud to Monkey for History this term:

"Ancient China" - Travel Through Time Series, "Ancient China" - China Focus Series, "China A History", "30-Second Ancient China", and "Traditional Stories from Ancient China" by Saviour Pirotta 

We also read "Let the Land Speak" by Jackie French which is an EXCELLENT book about the TRUE history of Australia  

 Monster: "Nancy Wake: A Biography of Our Greatest War Heroine" by Peter Fitzsimons

For ANZAC Day we read the following books: "The Last ANZAC" by Gordon Winch, "ANZAC Ted" by Belinda Landsberry, "The ANZAC Violin" by Jennifer Beck, "Simpson and His Donkey" by Mark Greenwood, and "ANZAC Biscuits" by Phil Cummings

GEOGRAPHY:

Munchkin, Monkey, Monster:

We read the following books as part of their Geography studies this term:

"Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need to Know About Global Politics" by Tim Marshall

This is a fascinating book and will take probably half of Term Two to finish. The book is excellently written and gives good insight into some of the current issues in the world through the geographical constraints of the particular areas.

This book did indeed take a good amount of Term Two to finish and it was an exceptional read. The author has written another book that I hope to read aloud to Monkey during Term Three.

Monkey: 

"Dry: Life Without Water" by Ehsan Masood

PDHPE:

We took a break from this subject for Term 2  

 

Creative Arts:

   Munchkin does a LOT of creative arts in his free time so I rarely have to "assign" or schedule the work for him. He loves drawing, painting, papercraft, collage, clay, and pretty much any kind of craft he can get his hands on.

Latin: (Monster)

Monster is currently working through two Latin textbooks independently. They are Lingua Latina Familia Romana and Lingua Latina Exercitia Latina 1.

Monster is also reading the following book in Latin: "Death Note"

 

Marine and Aquaculture Technology: (Monster)

Term Two saw Monster completely in charge of the care and upkeep of the six foot freshwater fish tank that he built with his father. He does fortnightly water changes and is responsible for feeding and caring for all the fish. It is also his responsibility to monitor the filter system and watch for any problems or issues with the tank in general. Over the course of the term we had a cat fish somehow jump out of the tank and sadly we didn't discover his body for some weeks - though we knew he was "missing" from the tank and just assumed he had found a good hiding place. Two fish also contracted bacterial infections and despite proper care and treatment, have died. On a happier note, as friend from church gifted Monster with 11 baby angel fish that are currently living in a small tank until they are big enough to be incorporated into the big tank. Angel fish are a favourite of Monster's and I have a dear memory of his whispering through the glass to a beautiful angel fish we had when he was about two years old.

German: (Monkey)

Monkey is working through "Getting Started with German" completing ten lessons per week. Monkey is also using the Duolingo app on his phone to further his German language learning. There are two German language courses available through our library that we will access through the year as needed. 

Creative Arts ~ Drawing: (Monkey)

Monkey has chosen creative arts for his second elective with an obvious focus on drawing and painting. I don't direct much work for him with this elective, he simply draws or paints when the mood hits him. As I find videos or books that I think will interest him in these areas I point them in his direction. I photograph the artwork that he creates and include it in our reporting on the blog. He has also begun his own sketchbook for this year that he will draw/paint in and be prepared to show to our AP when she returns for our next registration at the end of this year.