LANGUAGE ARTS

midyear

3-3-2008

beginning of year

midyear

end of year

page from Word Book

MATH

beginning of year

mid-year

Here are some examples of Spencer's work throughout the year. 

LANGUAGE ARTS

 08-31-2007

09-10-2007 

 10-08-2007

 10-22-2007

11-05-2007 

 12-03-2007

 01-28-2008

 02-25-2008

 03-03-2008

 04-01-2008

 04-08-2008

 04-15-2008

 09-11-2007

 12-03-2007

 12-03-2007

 05-2008

MATH

 08-28-2007

 09-13-2007

 10-08-2007

 12-10-2007

 01-13-2008

 01-14-2008

 02-11-2008

 04-01-2008

04-14-2008

LANGUAGE ARTS

09-13-2007

04-15-2008

05-06-2008

09-11-2007

04-08-2008

09-25-2007

03-03-2008

Page from Word Book

10-08-2007

08-27-2007

11-15-2007

04-22-2008

MATH

08-27-2007

10-18-2007

01-11-2008

02-20-2008

04-08-2008

Chance - He used Jensen's Grammer in the beginning of the school year but we both did not like the layout of it or the way they wanted the work to be completed.  So instead of having him write out the entire page for a lesson, we started doing it orally.  He did very well with it, but we still just did not care for it.  We've put it up after several lessons and wasn't really able to find another grammar program that sounded like something we'd want to use.  So we started reading books that dealt with the various grammar rules.  This has been working out very well because Spencer and Lindsey are listening to the books too and are able to tell me examples and are also incorporating them into their writing journals without prompting. 

Some of the books are like fun stories that sneak the lessons in, others are similar to puzzlebooks where you have to figure things out yourself.  Following are some of the titles:

Punctuation Tales series (quotation marks, abbreviations, sentence structure, sentence stoppers)

Nouns and Verbs Have a Field Day

Slide and Slurp, Scratch and Burp - More about Verbs

We've also used other books, but these are the ones we still have in our supplies, several others have been checked out from the library and are probably written on the other book list I can't seem to locate.  We've also used Mad-Libs sometimes, the kids really enjoy the humorous possibilities they can have with them.  The grammatical errors they were using in their normal speech has been reduced also.  I correct them when I catch it, and I've heard them correcting each other too.

All three of the children usually worked on the same vocabulary words unless they were required to do some in one of their personal workbooks.  Each child has their own 3-ring binder and the notebook paper inside it is labeled in the top right corner with the letters of the alphabet.  As we come across a word in our group work, usually readings in history, science or literature, I write the words that are unfamiliar or interesting.  Sometime during the school day, they are each required to find the definition in the dictionary and write the proper definition on the correct page in their book.  Chance can do it all on his own, but Spencer and Lindsey still require some help but actually really enjoy trying to find the words on their own.  I usually just help them identify the proper definition to write.

The penmanship skills have improved for all of them also.  Chance still does copywork of his own choosing, which is usually funny quotes he finds on the internet, in magazines or on t-shirts.  Spencer and Lindsey use the curriculum "Handwriting T" in which the T stands for Transitional.  They are learning to write in cursive, and Spencer really enjoys it while Lindsey really hates it!  I let them chose if they want to work on cursive or print for a week as long as they finish whichever one they chose before switching.  Their lessons are for 4 days, with the first three days writing different words that they then use on day 4 when they copy a scripture onto lined writing paper.  Spencer's work is very neat with proper spacing, punctuation and letter size.  Lindsey gets the spacing and punctuation but seems to have a hard time with size and continues to use capital letters wherever she feels like it.  She tends to try to rush through her writing, but when I tell her I'll be checking her work with my red pen for corrections she takes her time and does a much better job. 

Chance - He has nearly completed J. B. Lippincott Basic Spelling G for Grade 8.  Some of the rules covered include: twin letters spell one sound, some letters spell none, spelling sounds added to words, different letters and letter teams spell the same sounds, make syllables by dividing words, and different letters spell the same sounds.  He's also just begun using "Apples Daily Spelling Drills for Secondary Students."  With Apples, the lessons are quicker, just one page a day, and very clear-cut and thorough.  We've decided to discontine with the G book and focus on Apples.  His spelling skills have greatly improved this year, he rarely gets words misspelled in his work now.  Usually when he does, it just due to him trying to rush through, but he still has to correct any errors before continuing.

Spencer and Lindsey - They started the year using spelling lists I found online for grade 2, sort of inbetween each of their grades, and they did very well during the tests.  However, they did not gain the confidence to attempt to spell words in their personal writing journals.  They would always ask me for the correct spelling and refused to guess or work it out on their own.  They have gotten better with their skill in spelling since they started using the computer program "Dr. Aardsma's Spelling Drill - Spelling Practice Software for Grades 1 and 2."  They are required to complete one lesson per day and tell me the percentage they got correct.  Many days they will go through 8 to 10 lessons getting at least 80% right.  Their confidence shows in their journal writing now and they only rarely ask me to spell things for them and will attempt to sound it out on their own.

Chance - He is a great reader and I require him to read one fiction book and one non-fiction book every school day.  He usually reads for either 15 minutes in each or one chapter each, depending on the type of book.  Several of the books he's chosen I have already read, so when he narrates to me what he's just read I know if he's comprehending.  His selections for non-fiction this year have usually been adventure type books, such as World Wars I and II, Usborne's True Adventure Stories, and several of the Usborne internet linked history books.  I haven't required the book reports as much this year, I just have him give me a narrative of them and that way I can really tell what he's learned from it.  The fiction books he's read this year include several series' usually from Scholastic.  He's enjoyed ones that involve danger, kidnapping, horror, and books that have been made into movies like "Hoot" and "Holes."  I love listening to him compare the book and movie versions, even he admits that the books are usually much better.

Spencer - He is still struggling with his reading skills.  They are vastly improved over last year, but still not what would be considered "grade level."  He did some review of the last 5 or so lessons in "Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons" and that did boost his confidence somewhat.  He started the year reading mostly level one easy readers, and slowly moved to level two.  He tends to really fight me when it comes to reading time, so lately I've just been requiring some actual reading lessons instead of the extra books.  We've been working with "McGuffey's First Eclectic Reader"  and "Phonics Pathways."  He is really getting pretty good finally.  The coding of the words in the beginning of the McGuffey lesson tends to distract and confuse him, he does seem to do better at memorizing the whole word instead of sounding it out.  Of course, that sometimes means he tries using the wrong word because he's just looking at the beginning, but I catch him and make him back up.  Usually we go over the reading lessons twice at a time, the first time he really struggles and is pretty slow, the second time he has more confidence and doesn't struggle near as much.  I have noticed that he is finally reading other things for himself, such as video game prompts, website addresses, street signs, and other common things.  He was tested earlier in the school year and he did require reading glasses, so that has helped also although he doesn't wear them all the time.

Lindsey - This has been the year for Lindsey to just click with reading.  She started off the year reading the level one books and just ate through them and was through the levels two and three before Christmas.  We were making posters for all the books they read and we had to quit with hers because we couldn't get them written down as fast as she'd read them.  She had a set of Mennonite first grade readers and grew bored with them after a few stories and asked me (her own idea) if she could read the last story in the last book in the set could she move on to something else?  I said sure, and she did it without messing up once.  She can figure out unfamiliar words by using context clues and reads everything she can.  She gets chapter books designed for children in the upper elementary grades and will sit down and read through them in no time at all.  I don't know for sure what grade level she is reading on, but I know it is far above the first grade.  It would take her longer to write the book reports than it does for her to read the books themselves, so I also have her narrate what the books are about. 

Chance - Completed the "Key to Measurement" curriculum series.  This is for finding area and volume using English units.  Some of the subjects that he mastered include:  changing from one unit of length to another, multiplying fractions, using fractions with measurements, mileage charts, estimation, perimeters, circumference, reading/drawing floorplans, reductions, scale drawings, area, squared measurements, volumes, cubes, cubics, weights and balances, units of weight, fractions of a pound, price per ounce, tons, weight estimates, units of capacity, fluid weights, temperature, working backwards, estimates of time, and time zones.  He would usually be able to complete the workbook pages unassisted and at the end of the week I would check them against the answer packet.  If he seemed to be struggling in any areas we'd discuss them.  Usually his only mistakes were due to his sloppiness and his attempt to rush through his work. 

He may not be considered "grade level" with other 8th graders, but he is working to mastery and seems to really enjoy this curriculum so much more than the Saxon.  He is now ready to begin the "Key to Decimals" series.

Spencer - He's using Miquon Math Lab Materials curriculum.  He's completed the Orange and Red books and is nearly finished with the Blue book.  This year he has completed work for the following concepts:  odd-even, addition, subtraction, multiplication, fractions, division, equalities and inequalities, and factoring.  He does need to pay attention when there is a variety of operations to be done on one page, he will sometimes try to continue with one form, such as addition, for all the problems even if it is multiplying.  He must correct any problems he misses, but he is usually very accurate.  Math seems to be his shining moment, it really seems to click with him and he pushes himself to complete more pages than what I require each day.  Sometimes I have to make him stop doing math so his other work will get done! 

He has also become an expert at telling time to the minute, counting exact change, skip counting by pretty much any number, and measuring to a fraction of an inch.  He helps my husband out in the garage and with various home-improvement projects and he tends to put himself in charge of measuring and recording.  He's very creative and will build what I consider advanced stuff, usually from his own imagination, however he does use patterns some too.  This particular level of curriculum may not be what is consider "4th grade level" but he is mastering it and his confidence in his math skilled has really soared.

Lindsey - She's using Miquon Math Lab Materials curriculum.  She's completed the Orange and Red books and is ready to start with the Blue book.  This year she has completed work for the following concepts:  odd-even, addition, subtraction, multiplication, fractions, division, and equalities and inequalities.  She is doing very well with this curriculum, did struggle some with the division concept, but was able to make her own corrections once I explained it more to her.  Usually, she only does the required pages, she doesn't complain, but doesn't care to try to complete more.  She'd much rather spend her time reading!

She has become better at telling time, mostly to the 5 minutes, but working on the minutes.  She loves to weigh things on our digital postal scale, pretty much everything in the house if it will fit on it.  She is learning to skip count and does well with 2's, 5's, and 10's.  She works to mastery and can self-correct any errors once they are explained to her. 

We pay attention to major and peculiar current events and look up on maps where these events have taken place.  Such as the recent Cyclone, the earthquake in China, tornadoes in the midwest, floods, and hurricanes.  We also check out the peculiar headlines on the internet and see where some of these things are taking place.  An example for this would be the baby born with two faces in India.

They have also played most of the Social Studies games found on http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/subjects/funandgames.htm .

We've loosely followed the presidential race.  We have researched where the candidates are from, their family life, political party, past presidents, which also led into learning about other areas of the government, American history, and various state histories.

We collect the various pamplets that show the historical/interesting areas throughout our state, we read each one and discuss if this is something we'd like to visit.  Usually funds keep us from most, but we try to schedule field trips with out local homeschoolers to some of them nearby.  So far we went on guided tours of the WV Wildlife Center, exotic animal pets, WDTV television station, WV Heritage Crafts Co-Op, and the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum.  The kids take loads of pictures and are always quick to fill-in their dad and grandparents with all the details of the trips.

Some of the topics we covered that would count for history studies include:

*Benjamin Franklin (his early life, accomplishments, inventions, writings, etc.)

*Native American Legends (listened to audio CD, colored pages to go with each legend, assembled notebook)

*Mona Lisa (studied the painting, the 1911 theft, artist bio, art style and technique, security surrounding it, cleaning, value, time period, theories and speculation, Louvre, art museums, attempted to replicate)

*History of Holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Chinese New Year, Labor Day, Memorial Day, Easter, Valentine's Day, Groundhog Day)

These topics were covered using various books, worksheets, internet sites, dvd's, and personal experience.  There were other topics, some are mentioned in other sections of the blog, and we also watched other dvd's other than the ones listed earlier.  Their grandparents enjoy telling the children stories of their early lives, and about other historic events.  All of these subjects were covered with each child at the same time.

Looking over the DVD's we've rented from the library or received from Netflix, we have seen a large variety of educational types of movies.  Here is a list of some of the ones that stand out:

10 DAYS THAT UNEXPECTEDLY CHANGED AMERICA

ALIENS OF THE DEEP

PLANET EARTH - all 5 discs

SICKO

WHEN THE LEVEES BROKE A REQUIEM IN FOUR ACTS

MARCH OF THE PENGUINS

GRIZZLY MAN

SURVIVAL BASICS I & II THE ADVENTURE

ATV ADVENTURES WITH FISHERS ATV WORLD - great for geography

THE WILD PARROTS OF TELEGRAPH HILL

MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES

THROUGH THE LENS

BIG BASS 1-2 PUNCH!

NEFERTITI RESURRECTED

THE TRUE MEANING OF PICTURES - SHELBY LEE ADAMS - APPALACHIA

GEMS AND MINERALS

VOLCANO! NATURE'S FURY

TORNADO!

ECOSYSTEMS

THE OPEN OCEAN

CAT

A CAR COLLECTOR'S DREAM

LAST CHANCE GARAGE

THE WATER HORSE: LEGEND OF THE DEEP

MY KID COULD PAINT THAT

SLAVERY & THE MAKING OF AMERICA - 4 discs

FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS

FREEDOM WRITERS

THE JEFF CORWIN EXPERIENCE: COSTA RICA AND THE AMAZON

CYBERCHASE

THE ASTRONAUT FARMER

INCREDIBLE WORLD OF CATS

ORGANIZING FROM THE INSIDE OUT

GARDENS OF THE WORLD

CARD MAGIC

These are just the ones I managed to write down, however we have viewed several others also.  I can think of many, but I'm not sure of the actual titles so I'm a little leary of writing them down.  We watch many documentaries that we get on DVD usually from the library.  The kids like anything that has to do with cars (working on them, racing that is not NASCAR, overhauling, etc.), fishing, hunting, cats and other animals.  They've viewed a large variety that would cover many aspects of SCIENCE, SOCIAL STUDIES, and other subjects.

For history we decided to study about slavery in America.  We researched how it came to be, tracked the slave trade routes, read a book that gave word by word accounts from former slaves, read about some famous former slaves, and watched some DVD's on this subject also.

We let them watch certain parts of the movie "Roots" but not all as we had some issues with the nudity in the beginning even though we know that is how they were in Africa at that time.  It was just a modesty issue for us.  We also watched the 4-disc documentary "Slavery and the Making of America" that was from PBS and we rented from Netflix.

We read the book "We Are Slaves" which gave first hand accounts of incidents that happened to individual slaves, some caught in Africa, some born in America.  They told of their experiences with their living conditions, the masters, the overseers, escape attempts, the whip, the auction block, the way they were transported, and so on.  It was all told in their own words with their own language/slang/accents.  That may not be the exact title of the book, when we finished with it I gave it away and can't find where I wrote down the title and author.

We also read books on Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, the Underground Railroad, The Emancipation Proclomation and Abraham Lincoln.

The kids were amazed about how life used to be here not that very long ago, and they all agreed it was morally wrong.  They were shocked to learn that slavery in some form or another is still going on in some parts of the world. 

During the Summer we had a decent sized vegetable garden.  The kids would help me with the harvest and watering (but tended to run the other way when it came to the weeding).  We grew and canned a pretty good variety of items, and everything was started from seeds here in the house or in the ground itself.

They saw how tiny one tomato seed it, watched it grow in a little cup, transpanted to a larger cup then a larger planter, then planted into the garden.  They started counting how many tomatoes were picked off of their plant but stopped because there were just so many!

We participated in Tomatosphere and learned about space exploration and the possiblity of gardening on Mars.  We read books on Mars, NASA (although this program is sponsered by the Canadian space program), read through all of the tomatoshpere website.  We are doing it again this year, but trying to to some different things than we did last year.  They are monitoring their seeds daily, keeping track of them on a graph chart and in a gardening journal.  We will transplant these into our garden when it is time.

The kids also helped this Fall with the preserving process - dehydrating, freezing and canning.  Since I'm new to this, we all studied together how to do each process and which process if best for our needs.  They still make comments when we open a jar of vegetables or they thaw a pack of jerky, it's been lessons that have really stuck with them.

The kids all joined a local 4-H club and decided early on that they hated it.  We dropped it this month however we are going to continue with the workbooks and projects that they chose.

Chance has chosen Rabbits for his.  He had researched and purchased a rabbit and all the supplies necessary for it's upkeep and well-being.  He has been filling in pages in the project book as he gets to that aspect of it and has a real enjoyment of it.  He researches online information on rabbit health and has discovered other things he should provide for it that didn't come in the ready-made cage/kit he purchased.  He's found out about what sort of ailments to be on the lookout for and how to prevent them.  He has had to manage his money in order to make sure he has enough to purchase feed and bedding/litter for it.  He's taken quite an interest in rabbits and has become very knowledgable about them.

Spencer has chosen Cats for his project.  We have two has pets and he has been recording what we spend for food, litter, and other supplies and toys.  He works in his project book at least once a week to record a variety of items.  We have taken both cats to the vets for spaying and for illness, he records the visit, expense, and treatment.  He attends the vet everytime we go and usually is full of questions for her.

Lindsey was to young to be an official 4-Her, but she follows along with her brothers in their projects.  I was able to locate her another copy of the Cats project book and she's been filling it in right along with Spencer.

We also joined forces with two other homeschool families and meet at our house twice a month for activites for our Keepers Club.  We are using the books "Contenders for the Faith" for the boys, and "Keepers of the Home" for the girls.  They require several things to be completed to earn badges, such as:  memorization of scriptures, pocketknife safety and sharpening, tools, woodworking, birdhouses, cake decorating, card making, chess, and many many others, these are just the ones they've covered so far since we started the group.

One of our main science focuses this school year has been with the study of rocks and minerals.  We are rockhounds anyway, so the research material we used was readily available.  We probably own at least 10 various books on the subject, and also have a rather large collection of fossils and other rock and mineral specimans. 

A few times a week, we'd read from one of the books, do some worksheets I'd either design or find on the internet and right any new words in their "Word Books" along with the definitions.  We often examined our collection to find examples that fit with whatever we'd read about.  We purchased several unique specimans from ebay and the kids had great time showing them off and telling all about them.  We would also look around us as we'd be in the yard or while driving.  They'd notice different rock formations, layers of rock base in mountain cut-outs along the highways, boulders excavated while strip-mining, unique specimans while walking, among other things.

These kids are big animal nuts.  We were already owners of two cats, but the kids have used their own monies to purchase more pets and everything needed for their care. 

Chance now has a rabbit and a leopard gecko. 

Spencer and Lindsey now have hermit crabs, fish, a hamster, and countless salamanders, tadpoles and bugs.

They are each responsible for cleaning, feeding, healthcare, and maintenance on their new pets.  We have scheduled Fridays for habitat cleaning and they all take part.  They are also responsible to managing their money so they can buy what is needed for the pets' care.  Before purchasing their pets they had to make an informed and convincing case as to why they should have it and how they will take care of it along with estimated cost for care.  They each did their own research, and obviously presented a convincing argument for their cause.

They used a variety of research tools:  books, internet sites, magazines, handouts from the pet store, testimonies from other pet owners, information listed on pet food bags, and workers at the pet stores.

We also went on a guided tour of the WV Wildlife Center in French Creek.  The biologist was very informative and the kids really enjoyed everything she demonstrated and spoke of.  She told of the backgroud of every animal there, the care needed, any injuries that would keep it from returning from the wild, and the unique personalities they've come to show.

We also visited a friend for a talk about her exotic animals.  She also gave the children information sheets and coloring pages for each of her animals.  She has two tarantulas, a boa, two lovebirds, a quaker parrot, and a red wing macaw.  The children got to hold the snake, and parrot.  She told of all the upkeep it takes to raise these animals in a healthy environment, from how to clean the cages, how, what and when to feed them, how to handle, along with what it costs for purchase and upkeep of each.

Whenever the kids come across an animal that strikes and interest, they start having me research them on the internet or in some books we have in our home library.  If that hasn't fulfilled their interest then we research books on the topic, usually Amazon, and see if our local library carries any of them and reserve them.  My oldest son researches them on his own usually, but will tell me what he discovers.  Spencer and Lindsey still need my assistance in navigating all the information out there, but I usually have them type it in the search engine, then select the page to go to.  They are getting more comfortable doing this on their own and did most of the hermit crab research with very little help from me.

We have been using our "Undersea University" science kit that we got from Scholastic.  I'm amazed at all the information that is provided and covered, along with a lot of hands on activities.  We've read about and discussed:

Marine Archaeology

Marine Geology

Marine Ecology

Ocean Exploration

Marine Biology

Difference between oceans and seas

Early oceans and how they took shape

Properties of water

Crustations

Colors of the oceans

Salt water

Why waves crash

Tides

Currents - surface and deepwater

Rain

Hurricanes

The food web

Plankton and plankton eaters

Predators:  The meat eaters

Ocean exploration

Shipwrecks

Sonar

Reefs

Along with these, we've also been doing the experiments included in the kit.  These include:

Finding the percentage of times your finger will land on a spinning globe.  Each child did it 7 out of 10 times, or 70%, which is how much of the Earth is covered in water.

Growing our own Triops.  From preparing the water, hatching the egg, feeding it properly and transferring it to the tank.  The best part was watching how fast it grew, from a speck of dust to 2 inches long in just 3 weeks.

Made tides in a shallow pan.

Made currents in a shallow pan.

Made our own rain.

Played card game:  Gulp War

Made a mini-sub to see how one can dive and rise.

Made our own Sonar using a box and various items inside and graph paper.

All three of the children participated in this project together, it took about a month to cover everything in it.  We have two more packets ready to use once this one is complete.  The kids really enjoyed it and I feel very confident about getting any of the other Scholastic kits.  It has also inspired them to check other other books from the library and various movies from the library and Netflix.

Here is a listing of what was covered for our schoolwork today.  Each week, each child gets a sheet with about 8 various subjects listed and what is to be or will be covered in each.  Here are the items we covered and they checked off their sheets for today:

CHANCE:

MATH - Book 4 pages 11-12

READING - non-fiction book - read for 15 minutes or one chapter "True Adventure Stories"

                      fiction book - read for 15 minutes or one chapter "Burning Up"

LANGUAGE ARTS - Apples book - Day 1

                      Poetry - listen to mom read 4 poems from book "Something Big Has Been Here"

SPELLING - Finish Lesson 10

WRITING/PENMANSHIP - Journal - 1 page

                       Copywork - 1 article neatly

HEALTH - listen to mom read from book "Growing Up"

SCIENCE - Botany - listen to article from newspaper on seed vaults

                        Tomatosphere - plant seeds, label cups, water, begin charts

SOCIAL STUDIES - watch movie "Slavery and the Making of America - disc 1"

ART - listen to mom read  book "Another Book About Design" and view samples

SPENCER:

MATH - Red book - pages L-9, L-10

READING - McGuffey's - Lesson XXII

                      Phonics Pathways - page 44

LANGUAGE ARTS - LA workbook - pages 95-100

                      Poetry - listen to mom read 4 poems from book "Something Big Has Been Here"

SPELLING - Continue with lnext lesson on computer

WRITING/PENMANSHIP - Journal - 1 page

                       Handwriting worksheet - Day Three

HEALTH - listen to mom read from book "Growing Up"

SCIENCE - Botany - listen to article from newspaper on seed vaults

                        Tomatosphere - plant seeds, label cups, water, begin charts

SOCIAL STUDIES - watch movie "Slavery and the Making of America - disc 1"

ART - listen to mom read  book "Another Book About Design" and view samples

LINDSEY:

MATH - Red book - pages K-7, K-8

READING - I WONDER reading book - "Sharp Eyes - Part 1" and poem

                      Spectrum reading workbook - pages 32-33

LANGUAGE ARTS - LA workbook - pages 21-22

                      Poetry - listen to mom read 4 poems from book "Something Big Has Been Here"

SPELLING - Continue with next lesson on computer

WRITING/PENMANSHIP - Journal - 1 page

                       Handwriting worksheet - Day Three

HEALTH - listen to mom read from book "Growing Up"

SCIENCE - Botany - listen to article from newspaper on seed vaults

                        Tomatosphere - plant seeds, label cups, water, begin charts

SOCIAL STUDIES - watch movie "Slavery and the Making of America - disc 1"

ART - listen to mom read  book "Another Book About Design" and view samples

As they do the items assigned for today, they mark them off.  If they are ambitious then I allow them to work through other items on the chart so they won't have to do them later on in the week.  However, they must have the days work done first before doing that.  Usually once they get the days work done, they decide to not go back and finish any more for the week.  But the option is available to them.

For our portfolio review this year, I'm going to give the blogging portfolio a try.  Our reviewer is a great lady, a fellow homeschooler and also a public school teacher.  This is our second year working with her and our first year doing it via blog.  I'm not sure what the final product will be exactly, but I do have some ideas.  I think I will do a seperate entry for each subject covered, then various entries with examples of their work.  Things may change as I figure it out and tweak it along the way, but I'm up for a challenge and look forward to chronicling our year.

Our state requires that we show progress in 5 areas:  reading, language arts, math, science and social studies.  So I'll do entries for each of them for each of the children, and probably doing a lot of entries for all three children as we study a lot of things as a group.

So, here is my intro for the 2007-2008 Portfolio Review.  I have about one month to get it all worked up and emailed to her.  Wish me luck!