2021-22 Homeschooling Projects

We completed the required 850 hours of schooling in the first week of May, since we started in August and only took Thanksgiving and Christmas-NewYear off. The kids enjoyed the flexibility of homeschooling and being able to choose some of their project topics.  To see how we progressed through the year, see my weekly lesson plans here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xyLa7Vcr3PblYolzhpph_Brq7UzaIUeI_kobZ_ubY-A/edit?usp=sharing Eric and Kyle presented their collaborative Energy Transfer project via Zoom to their grandparents and uncles. The video recording is available on request. Here's a screen-capture of Eric presenting, with Kyle standing by: We worked on handwriting periodically throughout the year, dividing time between printing and cursive, and adding in a little calligraphy for fun.  All three of us used Babble to learn Spanish through the Beginner level, and learned a little bit about various cultural sites in Mexico and Central America.

Eric completed the portions of Khan Academy's World History Project - Origins which were listed in the Massachusetts requirements for 7th grade History (as well as some of what he might have studied in 6th grade). I required a 75% on quizzes (3 of 4 questions correct) and an 85% or higher on unit tests if he completed the entire unit. If he did not complete an entire unit and so didn't complete the unit test, the quiz "thermometers" will look half full at 75% and mostly full at 100% since to fully top off the "thermometer" you need to get the applicable unit test questions correct.

Kyle completed the portions of Khan Academy's US History unit which matched the Massachusetts requirements. I required at least a 75% (3 out of 4 questions correct) on the quizzes, though he preferred to push to 100% correct on quizzes (which will display as "almost full" since to fully fill the quiz "thermometer" you need to also pass the applicable questions on the unit test).

Eric completed all of 7th grade math on Khan Academy, which matched the Massachusetts curriculum requirements. He needed to complete the unit test at an 85% or higher for each unit, and if he could do that on the first attempt, I allowed him to "test out" of the unit. Otherwise he needed to also complete each quiz to about 80% (75% on 4-question quizzes, 78-80% on higher number quizzes). Here are his scores and the topics each unit covered. You may need to scroll to see the full image. 

Kyle completed all of 5th grade math on Khan Academy, which matched the Massachusetts curriculum requirements. He needed to complete the unit test at an 85% or higher for each unit, and if he could do that on the first attempt, I allowed him to "test out" of the unit. Otherwise he needed to also complete each quiz to about 80% (75% on 4-question quizzes, 78-80% on higher number quizzes). Here are his scores and the topics each unit covered. You may need to scroll to see the full image. 

The ancient greek epic, The Iliad, is commonly assigned in school, but is very long to read and longer without a translation. In this essay I will go over two sources for a summarized look at the story. The Iliad, written by the poet Homer, takes place during the Trojan Wars™ and begins with the gods forgetting to invite the goddess of chaos to a wedding. Extra Credits is a YouTube channel that makes videos about history, mythology, and game design. SparkNotes is a website that provides simplified study helpers for many books and subjects. There are several similarities between Extra Credits' retelling and SparkNotes' retelling.  Both versions cover events that change the course of the story, but in simplified version. In addition, they both have the omniscient narrator perspective, which is where the narrator does not focus on only one character's perspective yet can still show their thoughts.   Yet they aren't exactly the same, there are many differences too. Extra Cr...