Week in Review - We're On a Modified Summer Break!

We're on a modified Summer Break!!!  While that statement isn't nearly as dramatic as the central line in Alice Cooper's end-of-school song (School's out for summer), it does more realistically describe what our family will be doing over the months of June, July, and part of August.  I do enjoy the thought of a summer with nothing to do and I even changed my ring tone to the iconic Alice Cooper song to celebrate that thought!  Our summer will be filled with quite a bit of purposive activity - both school related and non-school related, though.

My wonderful husband, Kevin, and I pose for a picture outside our local science center.  We visited the science center as an end-of-the year field trip!

We finished our 2010-2011 school year on Friday.  What does that mean for us?  Well, it's complicated.  The first thing it means for me as the primary teacher and record-keeper, is that portfolio reviews with a certified teacher have been completed and all of our necessary paperwork has been turned into our local school district.

As homeschoolers, we're not bound by a specific time frame in which we can complete our studies for the school year so that gives us more flexibility.  To explain what summer break means for us in terms of school, it is easiest to look at each subject separately.

History
We're completely done with History for the summer!  We finished all 36 weeks of study in Winter Promise's Quest for the Ancient World.  While we enjoyed the year-long focus on ancient history, we are all ready to study a different aspect of history next school year!  We'll be studying Early American History for the 2011-2012 school year using Sonlight materials and lots of fun extras.

I am planning some field trips over the summer, though, that will be included as part of our history studies for the 2011-2012 school year.

Mathematics
We're completely done with Math for the summer!  Duncan finished Teaching Textbooks 5, Mason completed Teaching Textbooks 6, and Amber finished Teaching Textbooks Algebra I.  Of the three, Amber is definitely the most thrilled about finishing her course!

While Mason and Duncan will be taking a break from math this summer, Amber has decided (of her own accord) to continue on with Algebra II this summer.  By completing a few lessons each week, she hopes to keep the information fresh in her mind and be able to do Algebra II fewer times per week during the school year.

Science
We're completely done with Science for the summer!  Duncan completed Bob Jones level 3 science and Amber completed Apologia Biology!  Amber is THRILLED to be finished with Biology - the course was a TON of work.  She is really excited to work through Apologia Marine Biology next school year.  Mason completed the module he was working on in Apologia General Science and will finish the text during the next school year.

I have several field trips planned over the summer that definitely fall under our science studies.  Most notably, we are planning some enjoyable trips to our local zoo and some non-local zoos and aquariums.

My darling children are being rather difficult during my plea to take a good picture of the three of them at the science center.

Spelling
We're taking a break from Spelling this summer completely!  All three of my children will pick up where they left off with the Institute for Excellence in Writing's Spelling program.  Only Mason completed an entire level this year but they all made great progress and reinforced/increased their spelling skills.

Reading/Literature
Mason and Duncan will both be continuing with Bob Jones Reading the entire summer.  We didn't start Bob Jones Reading at the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year so we are not finished with the courses.  We will continue with Bob Jones Reading next school year as well, moving to the next level.

Mason and Duncan will be taking a complete break from Megawords and FOCUS reading comprehension books for the summer.  They'll continue with both resources in August when we start our new school year.

Amber has finished her last assigned literature book of the school year, Pride and Prejudice.  Amber has become a huge Jane Austen fan!  Amber will be assigned books for her Literature and History courses to read over the summer.

Writing
We are taking a break from all writing assignments over the summer.  While Mason and Duncan didn't finish IEW's Ancient History Writing Lessons, I was very pleased with their progress.  Mason will continue with IEW's U.S. History Writing Lessons Volume 1 for next school year.  The IEW materials were a perfect fit for Mason.  Duncan, on the other hand, will be using Bob Jones English 5 next year which incorporates grammar and writing.

Amber has been writing literary analysis essays this year.  I am not requiring her to write an essay about Pride and Prejudice.  Writing assignments will be integrated into many of her courses next year but her primary writing instruction will come from Bob Jones Writing and Grammar 9.

My darling children are being very cooperative in this picture and I was so happy to get a good picture of them at the science center.

Grammar
Amber is almost done with Growing With Grammar 8 and Duncan is almost done with Growing With Grammar 4.  They will finish those over the next week or so and then be done with grammar for the summer.  Mason, though, is going to continue to work on grammar throughout the summer.  Grammar really clicked for him for the first time this year so we are working to strengthen his knowledge in that area.

Foreign Language
We are taking a complete break from foreign language study this summer.  Duncan will continue with La Clase Divertida next school year.  He will finish Level 1 and move on to Level 2.  Mason may not continue with the same course - I may move him to Rosetta Stone for seventh grade.  Amber will be taking high school Latin I with a tutor in the fall.

So, now you know what I mean by a modified summer break!  In addition to the school work I mentioned, there will be lots and lots and lots of swimming activities.  Swim team practice, swim meets, and fun pool-related activities will dominate most of the summer.      

Our last day of official school was a wonderful day as we spent the whole day at our local science center.  We started off with an amazing lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, the Hard Rock Cafe.  While we've been to Hard Rocks in other states, we had never visited our state's Hard Rock.  We had an absolutely delicious lunch, wonderful service, and a great time.  Amber, in particular loved her mashed potatoes and we both adored our decadent creme brulees.

Amber and I are both big fans of Elvis Presley so we were particularly excited to see a whole wall dedicated to Elvis.

Our day at the science center was both fun and educational.  We visited the traveling exhibit about Mars and all three of my children tried "walking on Mars."  On Mars, they would only weigh about 38% of their current weight.  This exhibit simulated the change in weight for one walking on Mars.  All three of them had a hard time walking, although Amber found her "Mar's legs" pretty quickly.

While Amber and I enjoyed the IMAX movie, Tornado Alley, Mason, Duncan and Kevin spent their time in another part of the science center.  Mason created this amazing structure out of building blocks.  He was very pleased by the reaction of the science center employees and other visitors as many took pictures and contacted other employees to come see his creation.

That was our Week in Review!  I'm glad to be back to blogging after a bit of a break!  To read about what other homeschoolers were doing this week, check out the Weekly Wrap Up at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.