Jessica And JP Have Had A Great Year
Reading: Jessica has read volumes of literature including many classics such as Jules Verne's
unabridged Mysterous Island, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, and Journey To The Center
Of The Earth. She read other classics like War of the Worlds, The Little Princess, Treasure
Island and The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. Jesi read nearly the entire Cat Who..
. Series! Jesi read several biographies and also much of the Bible including an in-depth
study of Hebrews. She also read many subject related books, some of which are listed below.
Speech: Jesi had several opportunities to speak publicly over this year. She did an oral
presentation of her 4-H project to the club. She had a presidency position in 4-H with the
responsibility of opening and conducting meetings, and a secretary position in her youth
group having the responsibility of keeping and retelling meeting minutes.
Writing: Jessica wrote several compositions, poems (haiku), letters and e-mail to family and
friends. She also keeps a personal journal.
Jesi has corrospondance going with relatives in Norway. They write back and forth in the
Norweigen language. Jesi's Nannie and Tante' Evelyn translate for her. She then uses an
internet translator to write back. Jesi has been able to learn about Norway and some of her
Norweigen cousins this way. She has also gleaned a bit of the language and some
understanding of differences in sentance structure.
Her biggest writing accomplishment this year was to win first place for the second year in a
row in the Write And Illustrate Your Own Picture Book Contest sponsored by the
County Library. Two copies of the book will be bound. One will be given to
Jessica at an awards ceremony and the other will be kept and circulated at the
library. She accepted her first book at the Awards Ceremony this past year.
Reading and spelling: The Saxon program offers thorough phonics comprehension, reading
comprehension, and spelling. We want to get the most from this program so JP will develop
a strong foundation in the language arts. We are going through it slowly and thoroughly,
and will continue with the second half of the program this coming year.
John Paul's reading skills are developing at a steady rate. He has begun to see the value of
good books and enjoys listening as well as reading. JP has read many subject related books
as well as reading for pleasure. John Paul got his very own library card this year! (at his
request!)
Grammer: We are using the Simply Grammer Workbook and Learning English Through the
Bible. Both books focus on grammer as well as good moral values. Games like Mad Libs
and Rummy Roots allow him to practice parts of speech and learn word origins in an
interesting way.
Writing: Draw Write Now has been a fun way for JP to practice writing. Pencil Playground
has been a wonderful way for him to express his own thoughts in a structured way. We will
use this again next year. It is a very good program for the reluctant writer. John Paul also
wrote a haiku poem, letters, cards, thank you notes, and typed e-mail notes to friends and
family. We toured a print shop and asked many questions. JP has begun a cursive
handwriting book this year.
Summary: Jesi began the year with reviewing algebra 1/2 and continued to lesson 67. Since
we could see no
use for algebra in the career field which interests Jesi, we decided to switch to math that
would be essential to her adult life. We plan to continue using the Mathematics For
Everyday Living Series as we have found it to be a joy to work with as well as practical.
Jesi started a new bank account this year. She also enjoys earning, spending and saving
money.
John Paul continues to thrive in math doing 3-4 lessons at a clip. He has an
easy understanding of the subject. He enjoys finding math problems in everyday situations
and figuring them out. John Paul started a new bank account this year. He has also enjoyed
earning, saving and spending money.
Summary: Jesi has continued to explore the heavens this year. We focused on human
anatomy learning about muscles, bones and the brain for part of the year. Jesi traveled with
her youth group to Penn's Cave a second time. Jessica researched and did a report on the
Eurotunnel. Jesi's biggest accomplishment in science this year was winning Grand Champion
at the 4-H Roundup for her Cats III Project.
JP continues to maintain his official position as the rain gauge keeper for our Township, with
responsibility for monthly reporting of rain and snowfall to NOAA and The Emergency
Management Agency, as well as infrequent phone calls to alert the agencies of acute
downpours or heavy snow. I arranged for a large group to tour The Emergency Management
Agency in Montrose this year.
I also arranged for a large group to meet at the home of Irene Lewis for a soapmaking
demonstration and also a tour of the the recycling center. Other field
trips included a nearby State Park and when Dad took us to the Lakeside Maple Festiva
l for a fun day. We learned more about maple syrup production, got to watch a saw mill in
operation, and had a great chicken dinner at the church.
We have all continued to go on nature hikes and have seen much wildlife, observed the
changing seasons, and wrote in our nature journals. John Paul accompanied his Dad
hunting for the very first time this year Our family works together in our large
garden.
Summary:Jesi continued to learn about the world around her. Some of her self-led focuses
were Egypt, Napoleon and Africa.
One neat accomplishment for JP was being voted in for vice president of his 4-H Club. This had a special impact with 2000 being an election year. Our family actively discussed politics at election time and both children accompanied us right into the polling booths to witness how votes are cast.
We studied about the Revolutionary War through books, learning about George Washington,
Paul Revere, Thomas Jefferson, Sam Adams, Ben Franklin, and others. We read the
Declaration of Independance, designed a family crest, watched programs on the History
Channel and movies like The Patriot. We made a trip to Old Mill Village for the 18th
Century Day where we saw reenactments of battles, got to make felt balls and talked with
people about that period in history.
We also studied about the Wright Brothers through reading, The History Channel, a kit called
My American Journey and made a trip to the Edward Link Museum.
We continued with our ongoing interest in slavery with a trip to The Center For Anti-Slavery
Studies. It was interesting to learn about the role our town played in the Underground
Railroad. We read books , saw the film Roots, and watched an Assignment Discovery Series
on racism.
I arranged for 29 of our HS friends to tour WBNG Television Station in Binghamton. The
children got to sit in on a live broadcast, to ask questions and to explore the station after the
broadcast. We also toured the local Courthouse and old jail with our HS friends. We
visited Roberson Museum twice and learned about medieval times, inventions and local
history. Dad took us for our Christmas visit and we got to see the Christmas Forest, visit the
mansion and stay for a show in the Planetarium.
Jesi went to Niagra Falls for a second trip with one Youth Group and then to Darian
Lake. They also went to Lancaster again this year for the Corn Maze and Wax Museum.
One neat accomplishment for JP was being voted in for vice president of his 4-H Club.
This had a special impact with 2000 being an election year. Jesi was elected to be both
secretary of her youth group and president of her 4-H group. Our family actively discussed
politics at election time and both children accompanied us right into the polling booths to
witness how votes are cast.
Summary: Jesi has been encouraged to continue growing in the Lord through church
activities and home Bible study as well as personal devotional time. She worked at the
Good News Camp as a counselor, at Vacation Bible School and at the Senior Saints Dinner
. Jesi also worked in the nursery at church and did some babysitting too. She finds
Introductory Logic to be "challanging, fun and mind expanding".
John Paul is encouraged to continue growing in the Lord through many programs and home
Bible study. He attended Good News Camp and Vacation Bible School over the summer.
He went to weekly meetings for Patch Club and Awana and performed in skits and singing
with Patch before the congregation many times during the school year.
John Paul went to Camp Happy Watt at our church for an overnighter. They toured the
courthouse, Historical Museum and had a fun time. There was also a magician and JP was
picked to help him with a trick.
Jessica went with her current Youth Group to Breesport NY for an overnight visit and
seminars entitled "Stay on the Rock: Don't Get Shook" She did three workshops.
She continues to enjoy the self expression that cartooning offers and is absorbed in her Art
Workbook. As a family we have begun to learn French. We practiced art appreciation by
learning about the works of Monet, Michealango, Redoute', Van Gogh, Rodin, CM Russell.
Music appreciation included learning about and listening to Mozart, Beethovan and
Tschaikowsky, Peter and the Wolf, Handell, Shubert and STOMP!.
Jesi enjoys contemporary Christian Music from groups like Jaci Velasquez, Rebecca
St. James, Twila Paris.
Jesi and her dad built a butterfly house for her garden. Dad and John Paul built a treasure
chest,
Dad and the children continue to
work on their treehouse.
At Christmas time Jesi and JP sewed a beautiful advent calendar, and we made up
packages for the Samaritan's Purse. Jesi went caroling with her friends.
Summary: Jesi and JP continue to focus on and learn about personal fitness and
nutrition through everyday discussion and activities. We read labels at the supermarket. J
es and JP were involved in a weekly gym class for 4 months. They were also involved with a physically
active youth group for most of the year and learned many team sports.
We have on going discussions about safety and fire prevention. Our children know the Stop
Drop and Roll procedure. They also know the basics about getting out of a burning building.
They know to run cold water over a minor burn. We cover many other important safety issues
as well. We invited many fellow homeschoolers to tour The Emergency Management
Agency with us and they were taught how to use 911.
