HS: May

This month has been full of big ole' CHECK MARKS!  Jacob has completed so many things and it has been really exciting!  The majority of the month has felt pretty relaxed and our workload has definitely shrunk.  It's been nice to take things lighter but I am also glad we aren't completely breaking either.  Just more relaxed.  

Jacob finished his "green book" in language arts and he is THRILLED!  He found out that the next book is red (which is his favorite color) and has been BEGGING to begin!  I feel like I say it every month, but Jacob's growth (especially in reading) has been amazing this year.  And he has worked so hard.  He finished a preschool program, primer program and kindergarten program ALL in less than a traditional school year.  Amazing!  And that was all him.  

I love this picture!  I had Jacob read three different passages on the first day of the "green book" and on the last day - his growth is amazing!  Check out the last one - WOW!

Even though Jacob finished all of the "lessons" in the green book we still needed to review some more of his spelling.  It was actually kind of nice just to focus on that for a couple minutes every day and read from his reader and then be done with language arts.  He finished up all of his spelling this last week but I've decided to wait another two weeks before diving into the "red book".  We have swimming lessons for the next two weeks and between those and driving to and from Logan I just don't want to start something new.  I am pretty confident I will not regret this ;)

Jacob also finished his handwriting practice sheets for the year!  WOOT!  We will be taking a break from official handwriting practice until our new "year" begins.  

For science this month we did an introduction to energy.  This was a really short unit but it is good prep for what we are doing next (which is why I picked it!).  

We talked about what energy is and learned about atoms and molecules.  We built an atom out of playdough and then made LOTS of atoms to make different molecules.  This was fun and Jacob had a blast experimenting with the different shapes he could make.  

Next, we talked about the different forms of energy and made an energy wall!

Then one day we just did a whole bunch of experiments which highlighted all the different forms of energy (except nuclear, of course).  

Of course, the greatest experiment was making S'mores Cupcakes for heat energy!

We also talked about the transfer of energy from one object to another.  

Next up was potential and kinetic energy.  We made origami frogs and a popsicle stick catapult to help demonstrate the difference between the two forms of energy.  

And lastly, we talked about renewable and non-renewable energy.  Jacob and I played many a round of "Energy Conservation Quest" - seriously anything put into game form is a win!

And...we are DONE with energy...ish.  To be continued next month!

This month we highlighted the Last Frontier State - ALASKA!  This was awesome.  I think Jacob fell in love with this state...mostly because of the polar bears ;)  We learned about Inuits (or Eskimos), the northern lights, how the sun never goes down in the summer in some parts, and, of course, had to eat some salmon!

In art, we finished his tree in the different seasons.  He made his autumn and winter trees and they turned out really fun.  They he also learned a little about printmaking and made some fish.  

We also read together, Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson, Johnny Appleseeed: The Story of a Legend by Will Moses, Least of All by Carol Purdy, and are currently reading No Children, No Pets by Marion Holland.  

It's been a great month of learning and it just keeps on going!