August 11, 2005-November 11, 2005 Quarterly Report

Reading: Zachary demonstrates excellence in his ability to read with accuracy, appropriate inflection and intonation, poetic expression, and full comprehension. He is proficient in determining the meaning of unfamiliar words by using context clues. His regular use of dictionaries, vocabulary assignments and reading for pleasure have reinforced his ability to do well with this subject. Zachary has finished reading the first three books in the 7-book series of The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. In addition, Zachary has been reading selected poems, Shakespeare (condensed for children), as well as classic fairy tales and non-fiction articles in National Geographic, and other reference sources for his Ancient Civilization research project on Stonehenge (not yet completed). Grade: 4 (E)

Spelling: Zachary has completed and mastered fifteen spelling & vocabulary lists. Zachary corrects misspelled words and rewrites assignments so that spelling is correct throughout his work. Grade: 3 (G)

Writing, Grammar & Language Arts: Zachary prints and writes in cursive daily. Zachary has been developing skills such as note-taking, brainstorming, and organizing ideas. He has posted his ideas, assignments and essays on his internet homeschool webjournal. He has written letters to family members, and replied to family emails. He has improved his writing abilities by studying proper grammar; parts of speech, sentence structure, and phrases. Zachary is learning to respond to literature through writing and narration. Literary devices, such as symbolism, metaphors, allegories, and personifications have been focused on in our current curriculum - a unit study based on The Chronicles of Narnia. Grade: 3 (G)

Health & Safety: Zachary has observed bike, scooter, & skateboard safety with the importance of using knee pads, helmet, etc. He has learned the importance of observing traffic safety rules and pedestrian safety rules as well. He has learned the relevance in his own life of good oral hygiene, cleanliness, eye safety, swimming & boating safety, skin cancer prevention, good nutrition, physical fitness, and dangers of drug abuse. Grade: 4(E)

History: Zachary has been studying various time periods in history. Thus far he has studied in ancient history: the fall of Babylon the Great, ancient rulers (Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Nabonidus, Cyrus, Darius the Mede), ancient empires (Babylonia, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome). Zachary has been studying important explorers and their contributions to world history as well as American history: (Leif Ericson, Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus, Ponce de Leon, Ferdinand Magellan, Fernando de Soto, and Henry Hudson). Moreover, Zachary is well-read on current events and how they effect, or have significant meaning pertaining to our Christian beliefs. He has studied the history of New York State as well as the industries that fuel New York’s economy. In addition, he has learned the history of Yellowstone National Park and its Indian culture. When selected reading material necessitated it, Zachary learned the role WWII played in the setting of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the significance of Rosa Park’s contribution to the Civil Rights Movement and of her recent passing. He is currently working on an in-depth research project on the ancient civilization of Stonehenge. Grade: 3 (G)

Science: For science, Zachary has concentrated on the solar system (planets, stars & constellations, comets, etc.), parts of plant and animal cells, insects, parts of the eye, the environment, biomes, and weather. He has also completed a Gemini constellation project identifying stars and associated Greek myths and has posted this project on his homeschool website. Grade: 3 (G)

Art: I am teaching Zachary the principles of art and design. He has created his own pieces of art in a variety of mediums. He has yet to post these on his homeschool website (will be posted on this site). Zachary enjoys creating macrame bracelets, necklaces and keychains. He has designed his own t-shirt and drawn & colored favorite scenes from The Chronicles of Narnia Books (The Magician’s Nephew, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and the Horse and His Boy). He has drawn & colored specific historical events studied to help create a timeline with his siblings. Zachary enjoys self-directed art projects more than the assigned ones, but continues to demonstrate creativity and develop artistic expression through his projects. Grade: 3 (G)

Music: Zachary has been taking private guitar and fiddle lessons with Eric XXXX from XXXX Recording studio. In addition to regularly practicing guitar and fiddle, I am teaching Zachary to play piano. He is progressing very nicely in music, and demonstrating he “has an ear” for pitch and tone. Grade: 3 (G)

Physical Education: Zachary has participated in many physical activities including swimming, biking, skateboarding, scootering, basketball, dodgeball, playing outside and family walks. Grade: 4 (E)

Typing & Computer: Zachary is progressing at typing with proper hand positioning and appropriate speed and accuracy. His computer literacy skills are improving and he demonstrates fluency in several programs and internet research to aid in completion of schoolwork, as well as for the purpose of finding information for personal interests. He continues to improve his punctuation skills with the use of various typing programs. Grade: 2 (S)

Zachary is progressing at a satisfactory level or above in all subject matter. He has had no absences from instruction this quarter, and has exceeded the required 225 hours of instruction.

Our homeschool curriculum is right on track as far as the planned material for this quarter, with one exception: I had expected us to be on book 5 of The Chronicles of Narnia by now. However, the level of comprehension skills required to fully absorb this literary classic had caused us to take more time in reading, and re-reading when necessary, key passages in order to gain an accurate understanding of: the plots, character development throughout the story, analyzation and evaluation of themes central to key ideas conveyed by the author, biblical significance and historical context of the settings where appropriate. All these factors resulted in extra time being taken to utilize maps, geography and research of history via internet, encyclopedias and other reference sources in order to fully appreciate this wonderful literature. It has been well-worth the extra effort to help my children understand these classic stories, especially in light of the movie premiering in December.

Thus, I estimate this series will take until December 31st to complete. Also, part of the problem was that the Scholastic order was not received in time to begin reading these books as soon as initially planned (due to an incorrect shipping address). Once that issue was resolved, the children dove in head-first and have been a delight in teaching this unit study.