Scholarly Pursuits...

...or Why I Home School, Reason #238.
We are studying the Civil War this year here at The Gale Academy of Classical Education. We each chose an aspect of the war with the assignment to prepare a report and give a presentation on the chosen subject. Shane's topic was the weapons of the war (naturally). He likes to do the barest minimum and continually tries my soul by not being a cheerful and dedicated scholar. But I am relentless in my efforts to inspire him to greater heights of educational endeavor (I have taken away all video games and anything like unto it) in hopes of helping him attain his full potential.

Yesterday was spent in an ongoing debate with Shane trying to negotiate his way into a lazy and sloppy presentation and a one paragraph report. He was wearying me with his whining but I stuck to my guns (a little weaponry reference there hahaha). In the end, I quietly reminded him that he needed to do his best and left him to decide what that was.

This morning, I woke up and walked down the hall. Taped on the wall there where I couldn't miss it was Shane's presentation. And laid out nicely in front of it was his report. He had used one of our emergency flashlights to spotlight his work. Attached were two sticky notes:

 "Sorry about the typos" and 

         "I told you I'm capable of applying myself"

But the best part was the title page of his report:

Weapons of the Civil War

A fantastical report of the horrible, bloody and devastating weaponry of the Civil War by

the fantastically brilliant and cultured author, Shane Gale: the hero of the civilized world

and savior of the arts and culture.

In this touching and beautifully written report, you'll find the mysteries of the 

Civil War have been unlocked in a wonderful cultured masterpiece.

A Knight's Tale

The Gale Academy of Classical Education...

 ...took another FIELD TRIP!

 Even FURTHER back in time this time..

 To the time of KNIGHTS and LADIES.

 Bagpipe and drum

 Hand-forged weaponry

 Quill pens

 Interesting pants

Silly hats

And  horseback transportation

 But this brought us back to reality

As did this: Ye Olde Porta-potties

I thought the whole experience was interesting and amusing.

 Don't ask Shane what he thought about it.
(At least there was no up-chucking in the car this time.)

.

Time Travel

The Gale Academy of Classical Education...

went on a FIELD TRIP!

A trip back in time to the REVOLUTIONARY WAR!

But first we had to take a car trip--two hours on the road--a twisty, turny road.

One of our passengers got car-sick. The sound of car-sickness triggered the

same response in Shane...a case of Monkey See, Monkey Do.

Or Monkey See, Monkey Puke.

Just minutes before we left the house for this fateful trip, I threw a roll of paper towels and

a container of wipes in the car.

Good call.

I always keep spare bags in the glove box: Mom 101.

So the Barf Brothers felt better after that

and everyone else managed to keep their breakfast down so we

made it to Riley's Farm without further incident.

There we got to see how a blacksmith makes musket balls and toy soldiers.

This blacksmith was dressed as a British Redcoat--later in the day, he was

a casualty in the fight for Liberty.

This young lady was an American Colonist--she showed us some of the

toys and games of the time.

Here she is mixing up biscuits for the British soldiers who were quartered in her home.

She explained the Quartering Act and we got to see why that would

cause resentment toward the British Soldiers as they barged in and told

her she and her family would have to sleep in the barn.

The tension was building throughout the day as we learned

about the Stamp Act and other Intolerable Acts and took part in a trial.

One of our group was accused of smuggling!

At the end of the day, there was a battle with the British.

Shane and I were on the American side and used our musket handling skills

to fight for freedom and liberty.

Miraculously, all the Redcoats arose from the battlefield after the skirmish

and mingled cheerfully with the colonists who had just killed them.

I'm thinking we could use one of these now that the

youngsters have outgrown Time Out.

Why I Homeschool Reason # 38

Billy Shakes

I was just about to get after Shane for staying up late when he told me he had been reading

Macbeth and The Merchant of Venice.

Then we discussed The Merchant of Venice over breakfast:

Shane: That loophole was pretty awesome.

A pound of flesh but not one drop of blood.

Me: Yeah, that Portia's pretty clever.

Shane: I don't know why he didn't take the offer of two times the money.

I would have--that would have been 6,000 ducats.

Me: I know--it sounds like a lot of money.

Shane: He wanted the guy dead so bad--he could have just

taken the money and gone on with his life.

Me: Revenge makes people do crazy things.

Shane:  True that. I'm going to memorize that part--"The quality of mercy is not

strained..."

Me: Well, OK, if you insist.

Extra points if you can guess why I chose the number 38 for this homeschool post :)

Why I Homeschool Reason #387

Today I was explaining to Shane how to find out the surface area of a prism or a cylinder. We discussed how a cereal box would look all flattened out before it was turned into a box. Then I told him to imagine the cardboard salt container and how it would look with the circle ends cut off and the middle flattened, so he could figure out the area of a cylinder.
           Shane: "I used to think the salt container said 'idolized' salt."
               Me: "Oh, instead of 'iodized'?"
           Shane: "Yeah! I thought, what is this?! A false idol in our cupboard!"

You had to be there.
And I was.
Because I home school.

Family Matters

A favorite Christmas gift a few years back was a subscription to the Wall Street Journal. I like to peruse the headlines and get a feel for the state of affairs at home and abroad. It helps me plan ahead if I know there has been a crop failure or a government regulation that will affect my grocery bill. I like to know what the politicians are up to and what the DOW is down to.

So, yesterday a couple of articles in The Journal caught my eye. The first headline:

"SAT Scores Fall as Gap Widens; Asians Gain"

We here at The Gale Academy of Classical Education are always interested in matters of education, so I read on.

It seems the SAT scores last year fell for the third year in a row. The combined scores are the lowest this decade and the reading scores are the worst since 1994. The results came a week after the news that only one-fourth of 2009 high-school graduates who took the ACT, the other main college entrance exam, had the skills to succeed in college.

"Many observers Tuesday viewed the flat results of recent
years as discouraging in light of a more than 25-year effort to improve U.S.
education. 'This is a nearly unrelenting tale of woe and disappointment,' said
Chester E. Finn Jr., president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, 'If there's
any good news here, I can't find it.'"

Oh, Mr. Chester E. Finn, "woe and disappointment" were my thoughts exactly.

I continued to read, wondering what the prevailing thoughts would be on a possible solution to the downward spiral of our nation's brain trust: our youth.

You know they talked to the all-knowing NEA, which of course thinks we need to have more teachers and pay them more and then, we need more money and stacks of money, and in conclusion: money, money money.

They also talked to the current administration and they concluded that it was all the last administration's fault. Believe me, I'm familiar with that excuse:

"It wasn't me--it was my brother."

Then they discussed the social issues--students who are deprived of fancy schools and nice clothes can't focus on their test-taking skills.

So I looked amongst the statistics and the excuses for a possible solution. I noticed a little clue:

"Asian-American students showed the most dramatic gains.

College Board officials said that Asian-American students
appeared to do better at all income levels. "

I asked myself, "Why?"

It didn't matter if they had money, or the latest technology or cool clothes. They managed to do well whether they were deprived or not.

Here's what they said about those excelling Asian-Americans:

"Their families place a strong value on success in
education."

The word family was only used once in the entire article.

Field Trip!

Yesterday, the Gale Academy of Classical Education... Took a FIELD TRIP!

To the San Diego Wild Animal Park

The park is just a few minutes from our house...practically in our back yard!

(let's hope the animals don't get loose)

The wild animals were pretty amazing.

The butterflies were pretty wild too.

Here you see the elusive "Lepidoptra Ferocious"

Pink Flamingos!

Awesome Cheetah

There were many different animals and a huge

expanse of preserve.

Here you see the majestic Zebra in their natural habitat.

You may not be aware that chain link is actually a native

species of plant in the African Savannah.

We enjoyed our trip to the park and had a great time

looking at all the different animals ...

But this was our FAVORITE:

Bailius Humanus Adorablus

Why I Homeschool: Reason #672

Happy President's Day! Here is a view of

The Gale Academy of Classical Education

Writing Lab

A place where thoughts flow like the river just outside the window.

Where students kick back and put pen to paper.

I remind my boys that they aren't the first to

be educated in a log cabin.

That bar is set pretty high.

Why I Homeschool: Reason #1,347

Our homeschool year began yesterday. We take an extra week to get started just because we can. But, this year Seth and Shayla are taking a few classes at the high school. Because our district was overwhelmed with so many new move-ins this summer, we couldn't even get Shayla registered and signed up for her classes until last Friday--two weeks after we started the process. Because of that she missed the first few days of the school year. She wanted to learn French and she's passionate about art so I figured a few hours a day at the high school would help her accomplish her goals. Today was only her third day in public school since 2003-- FIVE YEARS AGO. And she got detention. How, you may ask, does a home schooled girl who is only there for a few hours a day manage to get into that much trouble in only the first few days of school? That's the question I was asking. What dastardly crime did she commit? What horror did she perpetrate? I'm sorry to have to say this but...she had the nerve to eat her lunch and then head to her class SIX MINUTES EARLY (gasp) and sit in the hall waiting for the teacher. That little trouble-maker! You know she's headed for a life of crime. Whatever shall we do with her? The worst part is, she was yelled at as though she were a scofflaw: "GET OUT OF HERE!" She was so shocked she didn't know how to respond.

Of course it's my fault for homeschooling her. She hasn't been properly socialized. We have this silly idea that being early is a good thing and that being anxious to learn is to be encouraged.

Why I Homeschool: Part II

This week in school --our home school which I like to think of as The Gale Academy of Classical Education, but more realistically it should be The Gale Institution of the Borderline Criminally Insane ... OK I'm exaggerating... just a little. Anyway, we have been reading the account of Helaman and his 2,000 stripling warriors in the Book of Mormon. A suggested assignment was "List 10 things your mother taught you". The boys need all the practice they can get with writing (fine motor skills are slow to develop for boys) so I gave them paper and pencil and the assignment. I sat back with a book and waited. They seemed to be struggling with what to write. I started to wonder if my whole life was just a sham...a waste of all that time and effort keeping them alive those first few years with food and bathing and nose-wiping and stepping between them and the street traffic. Really, they were drawing a blank! I pretended to be reading as they discussed the topic with each other (their older sister was down and out with a nasty flu virus so she was excused from school that day). Sam: "Well, I pretty much taught myself everything so I don't know." That's right honey, you changed your own diapers too. Then Shane: "Well, ummm she did potty-train us, that's something." SCORE ONE FOR MOM! I was about to give up and change the assignment to "List One Thing Your Mother Taught You, Anything...Anything at All", when Sam said: "Oh, I know" and began to scribble intently. Not to be outdone, Shane began to write. I held back the urge to look over their shoulders and kept my nose in my book. Even when Shane asked Sam how to spell alcohol. When they were finished, this is what I read:
10 Things My Mother Taught Me By: Sam
1. Don't lie.
2. A Faithful testimony is better than anything the world can offer.
3. God lives and hears our prayers.
4. When in doubt, PRAY! (yes he capitalized and exclaimed)
5. Roman and Medieval history
6. What ubiquitous means.
7. That school work is hard.
8. How to count.
9. The alphebet (I taught him the alphabet, but not how to SPELL alphabet)
10. To be kind even when no one's watching.

Shane's List (Of course he had to outdo his brother by volume)
1. She potty-trained me.
2. She taught me how to eat.
3. She taught me how to write.
4. She taught me how to pray.
5. She taught me how to peel potatoes (A skill he can always fall back on)
6. She taught me how important the temple is.
7. She taught me how to be brave.
8. She taught me how to serve others.
9. She taught me how to love one another.
10. She taught me to do what's right.
11She taught me to have a testimony.
12. She taught me not to drink alcohol.
13. She taught me not to smoke.
14. She taught me math.
15. She taught me history.
16. She taught me literature.
17. She taught me science.
18. She taught me the scriptures.
19. She taught me the way things work.
20. She taught me how to tell time.
21. She taught me about faith.
22. She taught me about Christ.
23. She taught me about the evils of the world. (Hopefully not by example!)
24. She taught me about the devil's work and the ways he tries to tempt us.
25. She taught me about life.

I guess I'll keep 'em!