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!!
Throughout all of Term Three, Monster has been working his way through The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes. This will take him well into Term Four and possibly all the way to the end of the school year. I don't really worry about sourcing independent reading material for him anymore, other than to make suggestions, as he has shown himself mature enough and capable enough to choose quality reading material.
Update: Towards the end of Term Four Monster did indeed finish "The Celebrated Cases of Sherlock Homes" and the titles of the books within the collection are as follows:
"The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes", "The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes", "The Return of Sherlock Holmes", "A Study in Scarlet", "The Sign of Four" and "The Hound of the Baskervilles"
Monkey: Monkey completed Premier's Reading Challenge for 2022 with a couple of weeks to spare. Any books on the Premier's Reading Challenge list that a student reads from 1st September 2022, will count towards the challenge in 2023, so Monkey is already starting on his reading for next year. By giving himself a full calendar year to read for the challenge, Monkey will be able to tackle appropriate books and give himself the time he needs.
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 returning to my rule of "fluff" reading being primarily for school holidays. During the terms I will work harder to provide challenging and quality reading material for Munchkin. I already have several books in mind for Term Four and I'm looking forward to seeing what he thinks of them when he reads them.
Update: The rule of "fluff" being reserved for holiday time worked pretty well for term four, except for the fact that Munchkin finished his structured written work just about midway through the term (well most of it anyway) so then for the second half of the term he did a modified half "fluff" reading and half quality independent reading. He did really enjoy some of the excellent quality books I sourced from the library so I'll continue to work hard to find more books for him in the 2023 school year.
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 wrote only one paper this term, a research paper on the planet Mars and the current plan to colonise the planet. He read through several sources from the library and also used online sources to write the paper.
Monkey: Luxembourg (Unit 4/6), The Emperor's New Clothes (Unit 3), Ancient Mesopotamia (Unit 1)
Munchkin: Aboriginal Water Management (Unit 1), Frogs (Unit 4/6), Water Holding Frogs (Unit 4/6) and Tiddalick (Unit 3)
I was happier with their effort and achievement with writing this term. I stuck with less total assignments and focused on their effort and work on those assignments. It worked well and I'm pleased with the outcome so I have some new ideas for the 2023 school year.
Spelling:
Monkey: I use the Ozspeller website to choose and create weekly word lists for him. I quiz him orally Monday – Thursday and then he takes a written test on Friday morning. In Term 1 Monkey decided he would like to review the Advanced spelling lists again. Spelling is an optional subject for him and I'm pleased that he is continuing to review this year. In Term 3 Monkey continued to progress through the Advanced spelling lists and he will finish weekly spelling work for his school career when he completes all the lists in the Advanced group.
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 second Targeting Spelling 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 so far this year.
Update: Munchkin finished the Targeting Spelling Year 2 book and got started on the Targeting Spelling Year 3 book and nearly finished "term one" in that book. I also reviewed all the Ozspeller words from the Kindergarten through to Year 3 lists to see how his spelling had improved and I'm happy with his progress. I will do some thinking as to what to plan for spelling for Munchkin in the 2023 school year. I may start with Year 6 words (which is the level he should be doing next year) and if he struggles too much go back to review as needed.
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 Four we read the following books: "The End" by Lemony Snicket, "The Mouse and the Motorcycle", "Runaway Ralph" and "Ralph S. Mouse" all by Beverly Cleary, "The Swiss Family Robinson" by Johann David Weiss, "Andersen's Fairy Tales", "The Complete Grimm's Fairy Tales" and "Tiddalick: The Frog Who Caused a Flood"
Monkey: In Term Four we read the following books: "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", "Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
Comment: It took us all year to read the Harry Potter series and I'm glad I planned to read aloud all the books. I am already looking forward to the time when I will read them aloud again to Munchkin in a couple years time.
Monster: In Term Three we read the following books: "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson, "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens, and "The Three Musketeers" by Alexander Dumas
Monster and I both agree that "The Three Musketeers" was our favourite book this year.
Grammar:
Monkey: I started Season Two of Analytical Grammar with Monkey this term and quickly discovered that I need to brush up on the curriculum before we continue. So we have paused Monkey's grammar curriculum for the time being, and likely won't pick it up again until next year. This will give me ample time to familiarize myself with Seasons 2 and 3 of the program before then.
Munchkin: is not doing any grammar curriculum this year. I have learned that (for our family) grammar is best introduced in the late primary grades or early high school grades. Given that I have had to review spelling rules with Munchkin, I have decided to hold off starting formal grammar lessons with him until he starts high school (Year 7/7th grade).
** For Term 3 I have decided to read "The Word Spy" and "The Return of the Word Spy" both by Ursula Dubosarsky. This was a review for both Monster and Monkey, but not Munchkin. It was a great introduction to grammar for Munchkin and I feel confident that he will be ready for a soft/slow start to our Junior Analytical Grammar curriculum next year. **
Update: After reading "The Word Spy" and "The Return of the Word Spy" in Term Three we took another break from grammar. Both Munchkin and Monkey will be returning to the Analytical Grammar curriculum in the 2023 school year. This means I need to review the curriculum over the summer holidays and make sure I'm fully prepared so we are successful with it next year.
MATHS:
Monster: Completed his Haese Mathematics Year 11 textbook - Mathematical Methods. Over the course of the term he completed chapters thirteen through fifteen of the textbook covering the following topics: Logarithms, Introduction to Differential Calculus, and Properties and Applications of Derivatives. He will begin the Haese Mathematics Year 12 book (Mathematical Methods)
Monkey: Continued working through his Year 8 Haese Mathematics book, completing chapters eight through thirteen covering the following topics: The Geometry of Polygons, Measurement: Length and Area, Algebra: Patterns and Formulae, Further Measurement, Coordinate Geometry, and Ratio and Proportion. Monkey will continue with the Year 8 textbook in Term One of 2023 and then move on to the Year 9 textbook.
Munchkin: Completed his Year 5 Haese Mathematics textbook by the midway point of the year. He reviewed some Year 5 content on the Khan Academy website through the remainder of the term and will begin the Haese Year 6 Mathematics textbook in 2023.
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 read the following books this term for their Science Content:
"The Sun and Solar System" by Shawn Brennan, "Earth Our Home Planet" by Nick Kilzer, "The Moon - Earth's Companion" by Shawn Brennan, "Mercury and Venus" by Mellonee Carrigan, "Mars the Red Planet" by Mellonee Carrigan, "Jupiter and Saturn" by Nick Kilzer, "Uranus and Neptune" by Nick Kilzer, "Pluto and the Dwarf Planets" by Mellonee Carrigan, "Asteroids, Comets and Meteors" by Nick Kilzer, "Exploring Space" by Shawn Brennan
"Deadly Science: Renewable Resources" by Naomi Foxall, and "Deadly Science: How Plants Thrive" by Karen Sommerville
"Thunderstorms" and "Earthquakes" by Jen Green
"Reusable Rockets and Other Space Tech" by Adam D Williams and "CRISPR and Other Biotech" by Kris Frankhouser - these books doubled as part of their Technology content as well as science - I love crossover content.
HISTORY:
Munchkin: I read the following books aloud to Munchkin for History this term:
"Meet Pearlie", "Pearlie's Pet Rescue", "Pearlie the Spy", and "Pearlie's Ghost" by Gabrielle Wang
"Meet Lina", "Lina's Many Lives", "Lina at the Games" and "A Lesson For Lina" by Sally Rippin
"Meet Marly", "Marly's Business", "Marly and the Goat", and "Marly Walks on the Moon" by Alice Pung
Monkey: I read the following books aloud to Monkey for History this term:
"Ancient Roman Homes"
"So You Think You've Got it Bad: A Kid's Life in Ancient Rome"
"Ancient Mesopotamia", "The Indus Valley", "The Ancient Incas", and "The Ancient Maya" by Madeline Tyler
Monster: I did not read any non-fiction history book to Monster this term as we focused our attention on his literature books this term
GEOGRAPHY:
Munchkin, Monkey, Monster:
We read the following books as part of their Geography studies this term:
We took a break from geography this term.
Note: Public schools do NOT study BOTH history and geography the entire year... instead they alternate either every other term through the two year stage, or they study one subject one year and the other subject the other year of the two year stage. We generally study history and geography ALL THE TIME because both subjects are well loved by the boys, so I do not feel the least bit guilty when we take a short break to concentrate on other subjects.
PDHPE:
Creative Arts:
Latin: (Monster)
Monster is currently working through two Latin textbooks independently. They are Lingua Latina Familia Romana and Lingua Latina Exercitia Latina 1.
Marine and Aquaculture Technology: (Monster)
In Term Four Monster began a hands-on project with his father. They are building a six foot freshwater fish tank together. This project kept them busy throughout term four and they will finish sometime during the summer school holidays. Then the care and maintenance of the six foot tank will be Monster's "job" in the 2023 school year and beyond.
German: (Monkey)
Monkey took a break from "Getting Started With German" through term four as it got difficult for him and we feel he needs some additional support. Monkey continued to practice his German daily on the DuoLingo phone app while I researched ways to continue studying German in the 2023 school 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 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 in two years for our registration process.
Monkey has taken a particular interest this year in portraiture. Since January he has drawn a portrait of Steve Irwin, a portrait of President Barack Obama, a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and is currently working on a portrait of Julius Caesar.
Update: Monkey was asked to draw a portrait of a dog for friends of our from church who are moving overseas. They provided him with a photograph of the dog as well as a frame to put the drawing in when he finished. This project stretched Monkey in two ways. First, he had a set time frame (one week) in which to finish the work, and second, he had to enlarge the photo as he drew it on the paper. I gave him three days with NO written schoolwork to focus on the drawing and he finished it in the necessary time. The couple were extremely pleased with the completed drawing and gifted him monetarily for his time and effort.
