I checked this out and it seems like an individual could sign up. I didn’t actually sign my kids up though, as they made sure to tell me they were not interested LOL!
Here’s the blurb:
World Math Day is March 5, (THIS Wednesday!) Students take part
in Real Time battles of speed and skill with other students across
the world. Registration is free. Designed for ages 5 – 18,
questions are appropriately leveled for different ages and
abilities.http://www.worldmathday.com/
As I mentioned in my bookstore post, I had purchased supplies to make math gnomes last weekend. Well I finally got around to making them tonight! They didn’t come out exactly as I had hoped, and they were a little harder to make them I had expected, but all in all I think they are pretty darn cute 
To make them I used wooden clothespins as a base form covered them with 2.5″ X 3″ squares of felt around them and glued it shut. I made *cloaks* out of triangles (5″ at the base and 2.5″ tall) and wrapped them around and glued the ends. The caps are made from smaller triangles (forgot to measure those, sorry!) glued closed and then to the back of the gnome gnoggins. The beards are small pieces of pipe cleaners curved to fit around the head of the gnomes.
Because I used clothespins they are a bit taller then most gnomes (K suggested they were more like math elves LOL!) but B likes them and that’s all I’m really concerned about. He actually took a yellow one to bed with him.
Here are a few pictures:
A circle of gnomes! A close up
I still have to add their symbols (+ for green, = for purple, etc) but I was afraid to do anything more until they dried thoroughly!
OK, maybe not so far ahead since K will actually be in high school next year (gulp), but it’s still planning ahead. Right? Right? Ya OK, so go with me on this LOL!
K and I had a conversation about high school the other day. We talked about how things were probably going to have to get a bit more formal starting in the fall since it will all be going on her transcript. We talked about her doing more written work and maybe us finding a program that we like that combines our literature based preferences with some stuff that people can actually see, like essays and discussion questions. She knows she will not be able to depend on test scores alone to get her into college since she tends to test poorly due to her learning disability. An impressive transcript is something we need to work at producing.
And yes, I know that we could probably work around it as many an unschooling family has done, but *I* really feel that more accountability for both of us would not be a bad thing. If we can find a program that fits her needs and my values that is.
Today we surfed the net and checked out some curriculum companies. We looked at:
Oak Meadow (too textbooky for us at the high school level)
Sonlight (maybe-although we tried it before and had a hard time removing the Christian bits)
AO Lifepacs (she’s *eh* about it, but is willing to take a look at it)
Tapestry of Grace (too religious for us)
So basically, it was a bust 
I guess I’m still going to be piecing together bits of this and that, which is OK really. In fact it’s probably better in the long run.
I also took a look at some math curriculum. I am thinking maybe Saxon interspersed with some of Key to series. She hat…I mean really dislikes math, but those are the two programs she has complained about the least in the past. I am also intrigued by Singapore math and may have her take the placement test next week but it seems really advanced (and K isn’t). I’m even looking into something like Jacobs Mathematics, a Human Endeavour. In short, I’m not even close to making a decision! ARGH! 
K tends to prefer things like Murderous Maths right now, so I’m thinking she would enjoy Jacobs. But would it help her *get*math? It’s kind of pricey to just give it a try. Of course all this will go by the roadside if K decides she loves Lifepacs.
OK enough of my math angst.
I think we have History and Literature covered, although I would like to see more writing. I may dig out Write With the Best and give that a go again. It is very nicely laid out and it’s been awhile since I first tried it and decided it was too much for K. We will still need to work on grammar and sentence structure so I’m thinking of picking up Daily Grams. I’m thinking of incorporating more map work into our History (ala Sonlight) and some simple book reviews or discussion questions so we have that written peice. I’ll have to see how that goes though.
Science is giving me more angst, but I’ve had enough for today LOL!
Look for Planning Ahead-High School part 2 ………….Coming Soon to a blog near you!
We did this about two years ago (well, whenever the Goblet of Fire movie came out) but I recently dug it out when someone wanted to take a look at it and thought I would post it here as well!
This one is going to look more like a typical unit study then my units typically do.
Harry Potter Unit Study
Learning Objectives:
To understand more about Harry Potter as literature and to incorporate other subjects into HP cannon as follows
Science
Botany (herbology)-how to grow herbs and their use in the home
Animal Care (care of magical creatures)-life cycles and care of cats, bats, rats and owls
Chemistry (potions)-several *potions* using acid/base reaction, invisible ink, etc
Cryptozoology-Big Foot, Nessie, Giant Squid
Math
Basic arithmetic practice (arithmancy)-figuring of birth and destiny numbers
Numbers in Nature (Fibonacci numbers)
Language Arts
Sustained silent reading
Read alouds
Harry Potter writing prompts
Hogwarts anagrams
Creative Writing
Book and Movie reviews
Comparison of HP with Greek myths and Arthurian Legend
Discussion of things like foreshadowing, plot points and character development w/in the series
Art
Drawing Dragons
Making Fairy houses
Making bat houses
Wand Making
Geography
Learning about supposed mystical places like Easter Island, Stonehenge and the Bermuda triangle
Locating and learning about Ireland, Scotland, England, Bulgaria, France and India
Home Ec
Cauldron Cakes
Butter Beer
RESOURCES
Books
Harry Potter series
Harry Potter Study Guide (from HogwortsSCS)
The Once and Future King
Greek Myths and Legends
Jan Van Cleaves Plants
JVC Chemistry for Every Kid
The Magical World of Harry Potter
Cryptids
DVDS
Harry Potter DVDs 1-5
Discovering the Real World of Harry Potter
Dragons-A Fantasy Made Real
Monster Quest (this is actually a TV series, and a recent one)
Internet Resources
http://www.classbrain.com/artmovies/publish/cat_index_24.shtml
http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/HogwartsSCS
http://www.world-mysteries.com/sci_17.htm
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1612.html
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/pdf/numbersnature/numbersnature.pdf
*Just to be completely clear; I lay no claim to Harry Potter, the character or the books or anything else bearing his name. They (and he) are the property of JK Rowling and her publishers and such. I wouldn’t even attempt it, I am not worthy.
Every once in a while we have something happen in our everyday life that becomes a huge learning opportunity all on it’s own. Becoming the owner of five hermit crabs last fall was one of those things.
When a friend asked if we would be willing to take them since her kids were no longer interested in them I though *sure, what’s another tank of critters?*. We are pretty well known in our circle of friends as The Zoo so they know who to ask LOL! Once confirming they came with a place to live, delivery was arranged.
They arrived in a five gallon tank with a soap dish for a bathtub a few extra shells, some goldfish pellets for food and a book about hermit crabs. They seemed happy enough and the kids were really excited. They named them Angel, Irma, Mr. Crabs, Pigwidgeon and Demeter.
Being the obsessive person that I am, I quickly went on-line and did some research into hermit crabs. All the sites I read said the same things; they needed more room, more stuff and more heat and moisture.
Sooooo…we headed to the pet store. We came back with a ten gallon tank, a tank warmer, some more sand, two deeper *bathtubs* (one for salt water, one for fresh), a piece of cork, calcium chews, sponges (to keep the air moist), two small pots (for hiding), one fake log and some fake plants.
Now the crabs live in the marvelous *Crabitat* you see above. Not only was a great deal of money spent, but a lot was learned as well.
The kids learned about:
Hermit Crab care
how hermit crabs breathe (with gills)
humidity and how to measure it-what a hydrometer is
best way to monitor temperature in a tank
which plants are poisonous to hermit crabs
what molting is
difference between crabs and snails
depth and volume (while filling the tank with the correct amount of sand)
measurement (of crab shells)
cost analysis of various types of sand and other substrate products, foods and decorations
where cork comes from
They even Incorporated some other subjects by:
Painting pictures of their crabs (art)
setting up the crabitat to be visually appealing (interior design? art?)
talking about the crabs to M’s class and the kids at mom’s group (public speaking, oral reports)
We even have a book list (you knew this was coming right?)
A House for Hermit Crab
Is This a House for Hermit Crab?
Hermit Crabs for Dummies
Hermit Crabs-a complete owners manual
And a list of websites
