Week 2 & a bit of 3

I suspect these reports will gradually get further and further apart because doing home schooling is so much more fun than writing about it. Note that I integrate the subjects so when we study science we are also reading, writing and doing a lot of maths, art, drama etc... 


Science: We modelled the rain-cycle in a jar & watched how plant transpiration works. Then we made some splattery ink clouds to go on the art wall. We have done numerous trawls catching mostly glass shrimp (Paratya Australiensis), dragonfly nymphs and BSFs (bloody small fish). We've looked at the dragonfly life-cycle which differs from butterflies who have a pupation stage whereas dragonflies just go about their business and gradually transform inside their own skin.  We read, "Exploring Our Creek" and he knew a fair bit about all the animals mentioned so we added our own page on the Freshwater Mussel (Velesunia ambiguous) which he gathers regularly in the creek.

Freshwater Mussels: They live in creeks and dams. They eat algae and detritus. In drought they bury into the mud. (He dictated, I wrote & he copied.)

Socialisation: Plenty of opportunities with soccer, swimming, shopping & visiting friends.
Reading & Listening: We're still on Pobblebonks - he's really enjoying the book because he has discovered how to use expression in his reading. We also read Mem Fox's "Harriet You'll Drive Me Wild", Terry Pratchett, "The Unadulterated Cat" and more Andy Griffiths.
Handwriting: Meh...a little every day. Quality varies with his mood.
Maths: 6 weeks of holidays killed his speed equations so we're slowly building it again, mostly with games but our focus this week  is money. Kirk has made a shop from a cardboard box and we have been role playing the transactions between some very interesting characters. We giggled so much we needed a "Run Like Muppet" session to get the giggles out.  He also did some book work which looked at informal units of measurement. Sigh...he is still learning the months of the year - I need a song!
PE: We are taking every opportunity to go swimming and started soccer last Saturday.
LOTE: Kirk is experimenting with words and continually makes up his own words or asks if they exist in another language. This is great because he understands that language in itself is a creative process.
Practical stuff: Kirk made pizza, noodles and sandwiches. He discovered knives hurt and now prefers to use the little serrated knives. He's also independent enough to go alone to the public library and borrow appropriate stuff for Skye & himself.