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1999- Year In Review





"And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." Deuteronomy 11:19



Our Philosophy

Children come into this world with their own God given talents and interests. They will be motivated to learn when they find the content interesting and they are permitted to persue their interests. We respect our childrens' talents, interests, learning styles, and rates of progress. We strive to preserve and promote their joy of learning.



Our Approach

At Snow Hollow Home School learning is a year round adventure, so our year begins and ends May 1. May through August have been full of outings in the field. Late August through early May has consisted of the academics and memberships in weekly meetings. We have covered far more than the required 180 days during this school year. This was our 10th year of homeschooling.

We take an eclectic approach to the materials we use, so they come from many sources. In this way we are able to tailor our curriculum to the needs of each child.



Science





We bagan our formal (academic) school year in The Allegheny National Forest. We camped in an area that was accessible only by boat, and it took two boat trips to get all our gear and books to the site! Since we all have an ongoing passion for God's creation this was a fantastic way to start out. Besides starting our math and English studies we learned about orienteering and used maps while hiking. We read about John Muir, and started our Nature Journals. Dad and the children did a lot of fishing. We are happy to pass on to our children the appreciation for wilderness that we have always felt ourselves.



John Paul is the family weather-man as well as the youngest rain-gauge keeper in our county. He makes regular recordings of precipitation and does monthly reporting to NOAA and EMA as well as reporting extreme fluctuations quickly by phone. I arranged for a group tour of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and we visited the Emergency Management Agency (911). We did some weather recording and tracked Hurricanes Floyd, Gert, Irene, and Jose.



To further enhance our study of nature I organized several field trips for groups of homeschoolers. These included a visit to an apiary with a large group where we learned about honey production. We also toured an organic milking farm where all the children were able to collect eggs to take home. I arranged a guided tour at a local zoo where Jesi also interviewed the zoo coordinator. Jesi went with her youth group to Niagra Falls for a few days, and they all had a great time at a camp-out at a nearby farm too. Our family hiked many times over the year. We also visited farmers' markets and garden centers. A Naturalist came to speak at Day Camp. We toured the Humane Society. Jesi was paid to garden-sit for a neighbor.



Other activities that helped us gain a better understanding of God's natural world included the following: Ongoing reporting in our Nature Journals. We set up and kept a fish tank through winter. A bird observation kit with homemade feeder. A crystal making kit with explanations about crystal formation. An electricity kit. We hatched triops eggs, and observed tadpoles become frogs. We did agar experiments. A chemistry set. A lightning machine. Slime Science kit. Earth Science Rock kit. Science of Scent kit. Know YourDog/Cat kits. Jesi used her telescope to observe the heavens.



Jesi and John Paul had their own gardens. We planned, dug, planted, tended and harvested our gardens, and a garden for our church. We shared the bounty from our gardens with our family and friends. John Paul concocted his own brand of bug spray too! We picked local blackberries and red raspberries and went blueberry picking at a pick-your-own blueberry farm. We invited the Horticultural Society to visit our gardens and talk with us. We invited the local forester to come to our mountain to speak to a group of homeschoolers about forest management. As a group of thirty-something, we visited a college greenhouse and explored the 4 climates and enviornments there. We visited a Maple Festival and learned about maple syrup production by interviewing the owner of a Maple Farm. Jesi and JP participated in a class at the library called 'Hands on Rocks' where they learned about different types of rocks and how they form.

All these experiences combined to give our children a rich and well rounded nature study.



Social Studies





History and Geography

Social Studies began much the same way as Science. While we were vacationing in the Allegheny we explored the Kinzua Dam and an Iriquois Museum and a Train Museum in Salamanca, on the Seneca Indian Reservation. We visited and had a picnic on Corn Planter Indian Grant Land. We stopped at the Newtown Battlement Reservation and learned about the Sullivan Campaign. We used maps to get to and from our destinations.



Some of the activities that we participated in and field trips we went on include: 3 Train Museums, Fourth of July Parade, Field Days, Bi-Centennial where we rode on a float in the parade. We learned about local history at the Post Office. Jesi took a trip to Lancaster with her youth group where they visited Lionel Train Museum, a Wax Museum, and walked a Corn Maze. We studied foriegn coins.



Civics

Jesi has been an active volunteer at Church this year. She has worked in the nursery several times per month caring for the infants and toddlers. She volunteered for working both the Senior Saints and Parents' Appreciation Dinners. She also worked with the Gleaners putting together care packages for local families. Jesi volunteered to work at the spring rummage sale. Jesi was the secretary for her youth group.

Jesi went for a weeks worth of missionary training to be an apprentice camp counselor. She also attended a missionary conference.

John Paul attended Camp and also Vacation Bible School. He performed in several Patch the Pirate Performances at church and rode the float in the Park Parade.



Current Events

A news reporter came to our home to interview us for a story on homeschooling. We also interviewed her on what it's like to be a reporter! We studied Y2K news and prepared for a possible emergency. I arranged a tour of the County Airport where we got to go inside the rescue vehicles and watch planes taking off. Both Jesi and JP keep journals.



Bible

Both Jessica and John Paul have been active in church this year. Both have attended Sunday School. Jesi has attended Worship Services and JP has attended Church School. Jesi is involved in the Teen Youth Group and JP is in Patch the Pirate Club.

Jessica is involved in a very active youth group, of which, she is the secretary and must record and report the minutes of each meeting. Beside the trips that have already been listed, she has been involved in a Bible Bowl between 2 churches, community service of leaf raking and lawn mowing. She is part of the JJS Campaign to bring people to the Lord. Jesi has visited another Youth Group.

We do an in-depth Bible study every school morning. Jesi also has Bible study, devotions, and prayer time everyday.



Social

Youth Group members stay for occassional All-nighters. The group made a trip to go snow-tubing and to Mitchells' for sledding. They also went to the Sports Park to play golf. Moms and daughters were invited to a friend's home for a Blah Party in January. Jesi attended an ice cream social with her group. This is beside the very many social activities that have already been mentioned. Both children have friends that they visit and who visit them.



Art and Music





Both children enjoy using a wide assortment of mediums to express their creative ideas. Both children have been involved in choir at the church.

Jesi is a talented illustrator as her first place award for her picture book testifies. She worked at the Bi-Centennial at the church concession stand painting faces.

John Paul has gone through several reams of paper this year drawing weather patterns, forecasts, tornados, and other weather phenomena.

Jessica, John Paul and their dad have continued working on their treehouse this year. It is two stories with four windows and a deck upstairs. It's been a good lesson in math and the use tools as well as teamwork. The children and I have built a trellis for our garden too.

Projects done by both children: Computer art, beads, wood, collage, paint, apples, bees wax, tissue paper, sewing, pictionary, dough, photography portraits at home, magnets, candlemaking, clay, snow, eggs, scarecrow, large boxes, origami, sculpy and catnip toys to donate to the cats at the Humane Society, doll making, wood burning, lap loom and yarn, lap harp, whittling, paper boats/airplanes, foil star for Christmas tree, harmonica.