Weekly update for the week of 10/29/2012

Another pretty good week using Rev to Rev.  N. has changed up the order in which he does his subjects and that seems to be helping keep the time down a little bit and also has him doing the more challenging things when his brain is fresh. 

In Science he continues his experiments with electricity.  He learned about electrons and same and opposite charges and what happens when objects with same charges come near each other and what happens with those with opposite charges come near each other.  The experiments were simple, but the explanations that the log book was looking for were ones that used more mature terms than what he has done in the past.

He also did an experiment later in the week testing conductors and insulators.  I can't say enough good things about the science this year.

His history project was making either Hasty Pudding or Bread Pudding.  We have made forms of Bread Pudding before with little luck so this time he made the Hasty Pudding.  It was actually quite good and N. and his Daddy especially loved it.  Thanks to HOD N. has become quite the cook.  Yesterday alone he fried up bacon for Men's Bible Study, then he helped his Dad make dinner and then he asked to make cookies and did most of that on his own. 

In Science he has been reading some Chapters from The Story of Inventions.  It is a little tougher read, but I like the fact that it has questions at the end of the chapters for him to think about when he is done reading.  These questions helped guide him as he wrote his written narration this week.

We continue to read The Reb and the Redcoats for storytime.  It is a very good book.  The vocabulary is definitely middle school level, but if you are looking for a book for that age that takes a different look at the American Revolution I highly recommend it.

He also has been listening to Jim Weiss's recoding on Thomas Jefferson.  This is an Independent box, but I want to hear it also so he puts it on the stereo so I can listen also.  I have learned quite a few new things about Jefferson.

The Composer study and the Worldview Study continue to be huge hits around here. 

In Math he continues to plug along with Lial's Pre-Algebra.  He seems to understand the explanations in this book much better than the ones in the Chalkdust program.  I am finding that I need to limit how long he works on this each day or else he starts making careless mistakes. I have had to curb the whole "I must make up for lost time" attitude and just go as slow as needed so that he really gets the concepts.