Term Two Review

 

ENGLISH:

Reading:

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 the boys read throughout each term. For those of you who wonder why I do this it is because writing down all the titles of the MANY books Munchkin (especially) reads in a term, is too time consuming. You will notice this term that I'm no longer photographing all the books Munchkin reads (independently) and sharing them on the blog. I have decided I will instead "highlight" now and then when he reads NEW books that he has never read before. He spent term two reading and re-reading his favourites as well as finding new books that sparked his interest.

Monkey: Monkey is finished with Premier's Reading Challenge completely as of last year. He earned his medal which is the highest level of the challenge. I still encourage him to read daily and periodically bring home library books that I think he will enjoy, but he is at the age now where he has to take more ownership of his independent reading. 

In Term Two Monkey discovered the Fablehaven series thanks to a suggestion from a dear friend of mine. He read all the books in that series (there are five books in total) and then quickly moved on to a sequel series. The library only had the first two books in that series (total of five books again) so Monkey put in a purchase request and is now enjoying reading all the books as the library ordered them straight away for him.

Munchkin: I am being a bit more purposeful with Premier's Reading Challenge now that Munchkin has reached the final reading level (7-9). I am trying to get it so that all his choices for this year are from the 7-9 list even though he IS allowed to read 5-6 books as well. His reading ability is so high that I don't want him reading lower level books for the challenge unless their content is exceptional. He is capable of reading the higher level books and can often handle the more mature content as well.

Additional Note: As the PRC rules state that five of the books for the year can be "free choice" books, I have told Munchkin that those five books CAN be 5-6 level books if necessary. I don't always agree with the chosen levels for books and there are plenty of 5-6 books that could easily be considered 7-9 level as well. Or there are books that USED to be 7-9 level and have mysteriously been dropped to 5-6 level. So I'm being a bit more flexible than I originally planned.

Writing:

Both boys continue to use the Institute for Excellence in Writing: Teaching Writing Structure and Style curriculum. It allows them 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 Two.

Monkey: Women in World War I (Unit 4/6) and Nursery Rhymes (Unit 8 - Essay)

Munchkin: Ancient Egyptian Society (Unit 4/6), Hatshepsut (Unit 4/6), and Cleopatra (Unit 4/6).

Term Two is historically and notoriously our most difficult term. This year was no different and was definitely not helped with illness for all of April school holidays (both boys and myself) and then a relapse for both boys in the beginning weeks of the term. Writing suffered the most this term. In the past I used to worry and have all the thoughts of "what if they get behind". Thankfully our AP reassured me continually and reminded me that forward motion (even if it is slow) is always the goal. No, this term wasn't our best, and no, the boys didn't do a lot of writing, but they are ALWAYS learning and we will continue to improve.

 

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: We continued with the Ozspeller lists from the website. If you are interested in having a closer look at the website click on Ozspeller to be taken directly to the site.

Literature:

Below are the books I selected to read to the boys for their literature this term. Sometimes both boys listen to the literature selections, and other times I read their literature to them individually. This is a change from how we used to read literature, but it suits Monkey and Munchkin so it is a good change.

Combined Reading: "We Are All Australians Now" and "The Man From Snowy River" by Banjo Paterson, "This is Banjo Paterson" by Tania McCartney, "The Banjo's Best Loved Poems" - chosen by his granddaughters, "Poems of Henry Lawson", and "The Stories Behind the Stories" by Daniell Higley

Munchkin: In Term Two we read: "The Borrowers Avenged" by Mary Norton and "The Wind in the Willows" by Kenneth Grahame. I also read "A Journey Through Greek Myths" by Marchella Ward which has crossover curriculum teaching with his history studies.

Monkey: In Term Two we began reading: "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens. We will finish this book sometime early in Term Three as Dickens requires slower reading than some other literature titles.

I am also reading him "The Arabian Nights' Entertainments ~ of The Thousand and One Nights" - The Complete, Original Translation of Edward William Lane 

Monkey found this book in the free little library up the road from our house and asked me to read it aloud to him. This will take us all year - possibly two years! 

 

Grammar:

Monkey: I am nearly 100% certain that I will not do any further grammar studies with him. As he will be applying for his Year 10 certificate at the end of 2025 our focus is on the work he needs to do to satisfy those requirements. I may consider grammar as part of his curriculum in Year 11 and 12

Munchkin: This year we are working through Targeting Grammar Year 3 and he is having great success with it so far. I will continue with these workbooks until he finishes the Yr 6 workbook.

MATHS:

Monkey: Continued 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 17-20 covering the following topics: Trigonometry, Simultaneous Equations, Proportion, and Quadratic Equations. This leaves ONE chapter of the Year 9 textbook for us to finish and we will likely choose to move on to the Year 10 book straight away, rather than waiting until next year, to give us extra time should we need it.

Munchkin: Continued working through his Year 7 Haese Mathematics textbook, working through chapters 5-7 of the book, and covering the following topics: Fractions, Decimal Numbers, and Algebra: Expressions and Formulae

 

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY:

For the remaining school subjects I try to teach both boys together as much as I possibly can. So I will now start listing Munchkin’s work first followed by Monkey's so I'm not repeating myself too much.

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 Monkey.

 Munchkin and Monkey: 

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

• "A Focus on Urban Habitats" by Jane Hinchey
• "A Focus on Antarctic Tundra" by Jane Hinchey
• "A Focus on Alpine Habitats" by Jane Hinchey
• "A Focus on Coasts and Oceans" by Jane Hinchey
• "A Focus on Deserts and Grasslands" by Jane Hinchey
• "A Focus on Rainforests" by Jane Hinchey
• "A Focus on Dry Forest and Woodlands" by Jane Hinchey
• "Electricity and Modern Technology" by John Lesley
• "Surrounded by Chemicals" by John Lesley
• "Marvellous Magnets" by John Lesley
• "Invisible Forces" by John Lesley
• "Turn Up the Heat" by John Lesley
• "It's Alive" by John Lesley
• "What's That Sound" by John Lesley
• "Earth is My Home" by John Lesley
• "The Solar System" by John Lesley
• "Weather and Climate" by John Lesley
• "Light, Rainbows and Lasers" by John Lesley
• "A World of Materials" by John Lesley
• "Health and Disease From Birth to Old Age" - Your Body For Life Series (this book I read to Monkey)
• "Flow Chart Science: Electricity" by Louise Spilsbury
• "Flow Chart Science: Forces" by Mary Colson
• "Flow Chart Science: Sound" by Louise Spilsbury
• "Core and Crust" by Annabel Griffin
• "Rocks and Fossils" by Annabel Griffin
• "Ecosystems" by Annabel Griffin
• "Weather and Climate" by Annabel Griffin
• "Natural Resources" by Annabel Griffin
• "The Big Bang and Beyond" by Michael Bright
• "How the Borks Became" by Jonathan Emmett
• "The Secret Life of Genes: Decoding the Blueprint of Life" by Derek Harvey (this book I read to Monkey)

Munchkin: These books were read individually to him as part of his water cycle unit study which Monkey already studied when he was in Year 7

• "Water Cycles: The Source of Life From Start to Finish by DK Publishing
• "Amazing Rivers" by Julie Vosburgh Arione

HISTORY:

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

• "Egyptworld" by Stella Caldwell
• "The Legend of Tutankhamun" by Sally Morgan
• "Mangy Mummies, Menacing Pharaohs and the Awful Afterlife" by Kay Barnham
• "Horrible Jobs in Ancient Egypt" by Robyn Hardyman
• "Female Pharaohs Wore False Beards" by Kay Barnham
• "The Story of Tutankhamun" by Isabel Greenberg
• "Schools and Education" by Rachel Dixon
• "Transport: From Walking to Space Travel" by Rachel Dixon
• "Toys and Games" by Rachel Dixon
• "Food and Cooking" by Rachel Dixon
• "Explore Ancient Greeks" by Jane Bingham
• "The Greeks are Coming" by Paul Mason
• "Discover Ancient Civilisations: Ancient Greece" by Anita Ganeri
• "Ancient Greece"
• "Technology in Ancient Greece" by Charlie Samuels
• "Horrible Jobs in Ancient Greece and Rome" by Robyn Hardyman
• "Spartans" by Rupert Matthews

Monkey: We focused primarily on World War I during Term Two. We have a couple of other short history units to study besides the world wars, so we will likely tackle one of those smaller units in term three or term four as we begin to wrap up our studies of World War I. This term I chose to focus on two aspects of our WWI studies... a specific battle (I cheated and chose two) and also a quick look at prisoners of war, and the book I chose highlighted more wars than just the first world war but I'll have to be satisfied with that. We'll focus more on POWs in WWII anyway. You will see one book title at the end of this list that isn't war focused... that is the start of a mini unit on internal Australian exploration in colonial days which we'll continue in Term Three.

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

• "Australia and the First World War, 1914-1918" by A.K. Macdougall
• "Australia at War" by John & Jennifer Barwick
• "World War I: the Australian Experience" by Michael Andrews
• "Another Mouth to Feed: Children in War and The Depression 1900-1945"
• "My Gallipoli" by Ruth Starke
• "Anzacs at Gallipoli: Creating a Legend" by Jane Pearson
• "Gallipoli: Reckless Valor" by Nicolas Brasch
• "The Anzacs at Gallipoli: Scarecrow Army" by Leon Davidson
• "Endurance: Stories of Australians in Wartime Captivity" by Karen Huckstepp
• "Victory at Villers-Bretonneux: Why the French Town Will Never Forget the ANZACS" by Peter Fitzsimons
• "Armistice" by Ruth Starke
• "Exploring Australia" by Joel Weston

GEOGRAPHY:

Munchkin and Monkey:

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

• "Migrations: A History of Where We All Come From" by DK Publishing
• Jackie French picture book natural disaster series titles including: "Flood", "Fire", "Drought", "Cyclone", "Pandemic", "Earthquake", "Plague", "Tornado"
• "Secrets of the Saltmarsh" by Clair Saxby
• I'm a Global Citizen series - titles including: "Caring For the Environment", "Rules for Everyone", "Human Rights", "We're All Equal", and "Culture and Diversity"
• "Unequal Planet" by Anna Claybourne
• Australian Geographic Geography Series by Ellen Rykers - titles including: "Indigenous Cultures", "Custodians of the Land", "Places and Spaces", "Importance of the Environment", "Human Influence", "Flood and Bushfires", "Around the Globe", "Global Connections", and "Resources and Waste"
• "Earth" by Anthony William (Elemental Earth Series)
• "Water" by Anthony William
• "Air" by Anthony William
• "Fire" by Anthony William

Monkey: 

Ultimately Monkey will have separate books for his geography units, but at the moment I'm enjoying that there is a fair bit of overlap and crossover for the two boys.

 

ELECTIVES:

German: (Monkey)

Monkey is finished with "Getting Started with German". He is using the Duolingo app on his phone as well as a German language course on YouTube to further his German language learning. I need to do some further research to find more suitable resources for him later this year and into next year.

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 respect his privacy where his drawing in concerned and will ask him to select a few of his recent projects that he would be willing to showcase on the blog.

Spanish: (Munchkin)

Munchkin chose to learn Spanish as one of his electives this year as he is not allowed to study two different Technology subjects at the same time (see further explanation below). This was a great choice as I am also working on improving my Spanish skills so I am working with him. We are using "Getting Started with Spanish" (workbook) and also using the Duolingo app on our respective phones. This will suit Munchkin for now and if he chooses to continue Spanish further into his high school years I will find more difficult curriculum for him.

Food Technology: (Munchkin)

I am so excited about this choice. It isn't just cooking and baking, but ever so much more to do with all things food related. I am really enjoying sourcing and reading books about the history and cultural aspects of food. This is going to be a fun elective for him - especially since he LOVES to cook and bake. 

We read the following books as part of his Food Technology Elective:

• "A Timeline of Australian Food: From Mutton to Masterchef" by Jan O'Connell
• "Foraging to Supermarkets: A Timeline of Food" by  Cath Senker
• "Food and Farming" by Steve Parker
• "From Farm to Table" by Richard & Louise Spilsbury
• "The Food We Eat" by Georgia Amson-Bradshaw
• "Food and Farming" by John Baines
• "Jobs in Food Production" by Peter Turner
• "The Story of Food" by DK Publishing

He also wanted to do the Agricultural Technology elective (all about farming) but as I mentioned before they aren't allowed to study two technologies simultaneously. So Munchkin will either need to alternate these two electives each year, or study and EXTRA elective that doesn't technically "count" for school as far as the Department of Education is concerned. For now, Munchkin has decided to put the Agriculture Technology on hold.

Term One Review

ENGLISH:

Reading:

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 the boys read throughout each term. For those of you who wonder why I do this it is because writing down all the titles of the MANY books Munchkin (especially) reads in a term, is too time consuming. You will notice this term that I'm no longer photographing all the books Munchkin reads (independently) and sharing them on the blog. I have decided I will instead do "highlight" now and then when he reads NEW books that he has never read before. He spent term one reading and re-reading his favourites as we eased back into our school schedule after the summer of change.

Monkey: Monkey is finished with Premier's Reading Challenge completely as of last year. He earned his medal which is the highest level of the challenge. I still encourage him to read daily and periodically bring home library books that I think he will enjoy, but he is at the age now where he has to take more ownership of his independent reading.

Munchkin: I am being a bit more purposeful with Premier's Reading Challenge now that Munchkin has reached the final reading level (7-9). I am trying to get it so that all his choices for this year are from the 7-9 list even though he IS allowed to read 5-6 books as well. His reading ability is so high that I don't want him reading lower level books for the challenge unless their content is exceptional. He is capable of reading the higher level books and can often handle the more mature content as well.

Writing:

Both boys continue to use the Institute for Excellence in Writing: Teaching Writing Structure and Style curriculum. It allows them 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.

Monkey: The Wisdom of Solomon (Unit 3 Narrative Rewrite), The Healing of the Paralytic (Unit 3), Causes of WWI (Unit 4/6), Living Conditions During the Industrial Revolution (Unit 4/6), and Daniel in the Lions Den (Unit 3).

Munchkin: The Wisdom of Solomon (Unit 3), Untitled (Unit 5 Writing With Pictures), The Water Cycle (Unit 4/6 Research/Writing From Multiple Resources), Food Chains and Webs (Unit 4/6) and Daniel in the Lions Den (Unit 3).

You will notice that both boys wrote two identical papers. The Wisdom of Solomon and Daniel in the Lions Den, both narrative rewrites. The first one was a purposeful choice as they know that story well and it eased them back into the habit of writing after the long summer break. Again, at the end of the term, I wanted them to write but gave them a story they knew SO well they could recite it in their sleep, so that they would simply work on the added elements that the IEW curriculum teaches them to use. Also, it is fun to see how differently the two of them choose to write the same story - as they are very different writers.

 

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: We continued with the Ozspeller lists from the website. If you are interested in having a closer look at the website click on Ozspeller to be taken directly to the site.

Literature:

Below are the books I selected to read to the boys for their literature this term. Sometimes both boys listen to the literature selections, and other times I read their literature to them individually. This is a change from how we used to read literature, but it suits Monkey and Munchkin so it is a good change.

The only book I read aloud to both of them was: "This is Home: Essential Australian Poems for Children" compiled by Jackie French - both boys need to study poetry so we will be doing that aspect of their English curriculum together although I will expand it a bit for Monkey as he is older.

Munchkin: In Term One we read the following books: "The Indian in the Cupboard" and "Return of the Indian" by Lynne Reid Banks, "The Borrowers", "The Borrowers Afield" and "The Borrowers Afloat" by Mary Norton    

Monkey: In Term One we read the following book: "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain.

I am also reading him "The Arabian Nights' Entertainments ~ of The Thousand and One Nights" - The Complete, Original Translation of Edward William Lane

Monkey found this book in the free little library up the road from our house and asked me to read it aloud to him. This will take us all year - possibly two years! 

 

Grammar:

Monkey: I am no longer doing a grammar curriculum with Monkey. I am letting him take a break while I decide if I want to use a different grammar curriculum, or just consider him finished with grammar for his homeschool career. Stay tuned...

Munchkin: The Junior Analytical and Analytical Grammar curriculum that worked so well for the two older boys was NOT a good fit for Munchkin, so I've changed to a different program for him. I'm also taking the opportunity to work below his grade level and do some review. This year we are working through Targeting Grammar Year 3 and he is having great success with it so far. I will continue with these workbooks until he finishes the Yr 6 workbook.

MATHS:

Monkey: Continued 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 13-16 covering the following topics: Formulae, Statistics, Probability, and Similarity and Congruence

Munchkin: Began working through his Year 7 Haese Mathematics textbook, working through chapters 1-4 of the book, and covering the following topics: Whole Numbers, Angles, Lines and Parallelism, Properties of Numbers, and Positive and Negative Numbers. Munchkin was a bit nervous about starting high school level maths but soon discovered that it isn't all that bad, and did quite well through the term.

 

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY:

For the remaining school subjects I try to teach both boys together as much as I possibly can. So I will now start listing Munchkin’s work first followed by Monkey's so I'm not repeating myself too much.

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 Monkey.

 Munchkin and Monkey: 

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

• "THUD! Wile E. Coyote Experiments With Forces and Motion" by Mark Weakland
• "The Gripping Truth About Forces and Motion" by Agnieska Biskup
• "Exerting Forces" Australian Geographic Science series
• "ZAP! Wile E. Coyote Experiments With Energy" by Suzanne Slade
• "Future Energy" by Emily Kington
• "The Energy We Use" by Georgia Amson-Bradshaw
• "How a Solar-Powered Home Works" by Robyn Hardyman
• "Freshwater Environments" by Jane Hinchey
• "The Secret Life of the Human Body" by John Clancy
• "Grassland Food Chains", "Rainforest Food Chains", "Desert Food Chains", and "River Food Chains" all by Angela Royston
• "Ocean Food Chains" by Emma Lynch
• "The Wondrous Workings of Planet Earth" by Rachel Ignotofsky
• "Fire Country: How Indigenous Fire Management Could Help Save Australia" by Victor Steffensen
• "The Way We Work" by David Macaulay

Munchkin: These books were read individually to him as part of his water cycle unit study which Monkey already studied when he was in Year 7

• "Water" by Trevor Day
• "Water: Elemental Earth" by William Anthony
• "One Planet: The Water Cycle" by Annabel Griffin
• "Water in Australia" by Rachel Dixon
• "Australia's Environmental Issues: Water" by Peter Turner
• "Water in Australia" by Greg Pyers

HISTORY:

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

• "So You Think You've Got it Bad? A Kid's Life in Egypt" by Chae Strathie
• "Explore! Ancient Egyptians" by Jane Bingham
• "Ancient Egypt" by Tamra Orr
• "Ancient Egypt in 30 Seconds" by Cath Senker
• "Technology in Ancient Egypt" by Charlie Samuels
• "The Genius of the Ancient Egyptians" by Sonya Newland
• "Egyptian Myths" by Jean Menzies
• "Hatshepsut: The First Woman Pharaoh" by Susanna Thomas
• "Cleopatra: Powerful Leader or Ruthless Pharaoh" by Peggy Caravantes
• "Cleopatra Tells All" by Chris Naunton
• "Pharaoh: the Boy Who Conquered the Nile" by Jackie French

Monkey: We are studying two units of history at the moment. One on World War I which will continue for the entire school year, and a smaller unit on The Industrial Revolution which will be a one term unit study.

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

• "A Brief History of How the Industrial Revolution Changed the World" by Thomas Crump
• "The Industrial Revolution and Its Impact on Australia" by Joseph Harding
• "The Industrial Revolution Events and Outcomes" by Nigel Smith
• "Industrial Revolution: Key Events, Famous People, Essential Dates" by Peter Hepplewhite
• "Sweat and Inspiration: Pioneers of the Industrial Age by Martin Worth

• "An Overview of World War I" by Jim Whiting
• "True Stories of the First World War" by Paul Dowswell
• "The Stories of the First World War For Children 1914-1918"
• "The Causes of World War I" by Stewart Ross
• "The Making of the ANZAC Legend: Gallipoli" by Robert Gott
• "Women Heroes of World War I" by Kathryn J. Atwood
• "Remembering World War I: Women in World War I" by Nick Hunter
• "Rachel's War: the Story of an Australian WWI Nurse" by Mark Wilson
• "Bessie's War" by Krista Bell
• "Charlie's War" by Vicki Bennett
• "Alfred's War" by Rachel Bin Salleh 

GEOGRAPHY:

Munchkin and Monkey:

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

• "The Wondrous Workings of Planet Earth" by RAchel Ignotofsky
• "Young Dark Emu: A Truer History" by Bruce Pascoe
• "Fire Country: How Indigenous Fire Management Could Help Save Australia" by Victor Steffensen
• "Australia's First Naturalists" by Penny Olsen & Lynette Russell
• "Deserts & Savannahs", "Forests in Australia" and "Mountains in Australia" by Rachel Dixon
• "Freshwater Environments: Australia's Endangered Animals and Their Habitats" by Jane Hinchey

Monkey: 

Ultimately Monkey will have separate books for his geography units, but at the moment I'm enjoying that there is a fair bit of overlap and crossover for the two boys.

 

ELECTIVES:

German: (Monkey)

Monkey is finished with "Getting Started with German". He is using the Duolingo app on his phone as well as a German language course on YouTube to further his German language learning. I need to do some further research to find more suitable resources for him later this year and into next year.

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. In Term One Monkey completed a beautiful pencil drawing of a scene from "Daniel in the Lions Den" per request from our pastor's wife. It took him two weeks to complete and it now on display in the fellowship hall at our church. Photos of his completed drawing are in earlier blog posts.

Spanish: (Munchkin)

Munchkin chose to learn Spanish as one of his electives this year as he is not allowed to study two different Technology subjects at the same time (see further explanation below). This was a great choice as I am also working on improving my Spanish skills so I am working with him. We are using "Getting Started with Spanish" (workbook) and also using the Duolingo app on our respective phones. This will suit Munchkin for now and if he chooses to continue Spanish further into his high school years I will find more difficult curriculum for him.

Food Technology: (Munchkin)

I am so excited about this choice. It isn't just cooking and baking, but ever so much more to do with all things food related. I am really enjoying sourcing and reading books about the history and cultural aspects of food. This is going to be a fun elective for him - especially since he LOVES to cook and bake. 

He also wanted to do the Agricultural Technology elective (all about farming) but as I mentioned before they aren't allowed to study two technologies simultaneously. So Munchkin will either need to alternate these two electives each year, or study and EXTRA elective that doesn't technically "count" for school as far as the Department of Education is concerned. For now, Munchkin has decided to put the Agriculture Technology on hold.

Term Three 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: Monkey has finished Premier's Reading Challenge for this year. Neither one of us can remember if he receives his gold medal this year, or at the end of next year. We are working on the assumption that he will earn it next year and therefore he plans to participate in the challenge next year. Given that he reads slower than the other two boys, and is much more particular about the types of books he will read, I will gently encourage him to be reading a PRC book at all times. As soon as one challenge finishes, any PRC books you read immediately count for the following year. 

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. 

Further Update: We seem to have found a series of books that takes Munchkin longer than one day to read (one book). The series is The Mysterious Benedict Society. However, the library only has two books, (there are five in the series) and one of the books is WEEKS overdue which means it is highly unlikely that it will be returned. I am seriously considering putting in purchase requests - for the overdue book as well as the others in the series. Now to find other series that keep him happy for longer.

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 Three.

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 October.

Monkey: The Fox and The Crow (Unit 9 Formal Critique), The Samurai (Unit 4/6)

Munchkin: Blue Footed Booby (Unit 4/6)

I am much happier with the boys writing this term, even though they only produced a small number of written documents. Munchkin's report on Blue Footed Booby was long and detailed. It could use some further polishing, but because it was of extreme interest to him, he put in excellent effort, and that was my focus for him this term. I'm also happy with Monkey because I introduced a new unit to him, and although he didn't write as serious a paper as I would have liked, he also put excellent effort and focus into the assignment. I will continue to push them where writing is concerned during Term 4.

 

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 Three 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 Three we read the following books: "Peter Pan in Scarlet" by Gerarldine McMaughrean, "Gathering Blue", "Messenger" and "Son" all by Lois Lowry    

Monkey: In Term Three we read the following books: "The Call of the Wild" and "White Fang" by Jack London. Monkey liked "White Fang" MUCH more than "Call of the Wild".    

Monster:  In Term Three we read the following books: "David Copperfield" by Charles Dickens

Update for Monster: Even though he is effectively done with school as of the end of Term 3, I am going to try to read aloud a couple more books to him. After some discussion, we have chosen "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck and "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley.

 

Grammar:

Monkey: I continued Season Two of Analytical Grammar with Monkey during term three. We worked through the program together and completed the following units: Unit 7 - Pattern 3, Unit 8 - Patterns 4 & 5, and Unit 9 - Helping Verbs

Munchkin: 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: Completed his Year 12 Haese Mathematics textbook, finishing chapters 7-9 covering the following topics: Discreet Random Variables, Continuous Random Variables, and Sampling and Confidence Intervals

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 5-8 covering the following topics: Algebraic Expansion and Simplification, Interpreting Tables and Graphs, Linear Equations, and Radicals & Pythagoras.

Munchkin: Continued working through his Year 6 Haese Mathematics textbook, working through chapters 9-13 of the book, and covering the following topics: Percentage, Positive & Negative Numbers, Sequences & Patterns, Probability and Location.

Update: Munchkin will easily finish his Year 6 textbook in the first few weeks of Term 4 (most definitely by week 5). I do not like starting a new textbook at the end of the year because of the long 6 week break for summer. Therefore, Munchkin will review Year 6 math concepts using the Khan Academy website for the remainder of this school year and will start his Year 7 Haese Mathematics textbook in February 2024.

 

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/technology books over the course of the term:

Robots Series by World Book Inc. The series included the following titles:

"Robot Basics", "Robots Sensing & Doing", "Robots Thinking & Learning", "Robots on the Move", "Robots at Work", "Robots at Play", "Robots in Action", "Robots Helping Out", "Robots and People" and "Weird Robots" 

- written by William D Adams and Jeff De la Rosa

HISTORY:

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

"The Kelly Gang: The Last of the Bushrangers" by Geoff Hocking, "Stories From Australia's History: Ned Kelly and the Kelly Gang" by Melanie Guile, "Wanted: Famous Outlaws Ned Kelly" by Tim Cooke, "Ned Kelly and the Green Sash" by Mark Greenwood, "Australia's Most Notorious Bushrangers" by Anna Sheppard, "Bushrangers: A History of Australia's Outlaws" by Anna Purcell, "Meet Ned Kelly" by Janeen Brian, "The Secret of the Black Bushranger" by Jackie French, and "The Night They Stormed Eureka" by Jackie French

Separate to Munchkin's unit study on Australian Bushrangers and Ned Kelly we read an additional history book.

"3-Minute Einstein" by Paul Parsons

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

"Samurai Castle" by Fiona McDonald, "Samurai" by Rupert Matthews, "Samurai" by World Book Inc, and "The Japanese Samurai" by Louise Park & Timothy Love 

 Monster: 

I read the following book aloud to all three boys:

"The First of Everything" by Stewart Ross

GEOGRAPHY:

Munchkin, Monkey, Monster:

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

We took a break from studying Geography topics this term.

Monkey: 

"When the Rivers Run Dry" by Fred Pearce, this book more or less wrapped up Monkey's long term unit study on Water in Australia and Around the World

Addition: I read the following books to Munchkin as part of his government unit study that is a requirement of upper primary age students.

"Government in Australia: How Our Democracy Works" by Melissa Kennedy, "Federal Government", "State and Territory Government", and "Local Government" all written by Stella Tarakson 

PDHPE:

We took a break from this subject for Term 3  

 

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)

Monster is now 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. 

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.