V's Version

Home School Weekly Log for Pk (parents V and Dani)

This week, Pk was fresh from memorizing the locations and names of all 50 of the United States (before school officially started) and he reveled in being able to show off his feat to anyone who would watch. (geography)

Having just been to the Renaissance Faire with his grandfather in San Francisco, he had fun setting up targets to shoot with his new wooden crossbow and a bag of marshmallows. (problem solving, sports)

After speaking with the House Elf, Harry Potter had a headache at Grimwald Place and later in the week, he and his friends took polyjuice potion to sneak into the Ministry of Magic. (independent reading)

Using a Riot Grrrl, Ink. Feminist coloring book, Pk learned about Emma Goldman, Joan Jett, Alix Olson and (who knew?!) physicist Rosiland Franklin. He used an MP3 recorder (thanks for the suggestion, Kristen!) to make a report about some of the things that Alix Olson protests in her poetry. In doing so, we discovered the definitions of capitalism, homophobia and patriarchy. We also had a discussion about the war in Iraq. (social studies, history)

As always, movement is a large part of our days. Pk climbed on everything he could, played Bocci, practiced rolls, handsprings, cartwheels and round-offs at home, in the park and at gymnastics. He ran, used the springboard that he co-designed and built to hurl himself 10 feet through the air onto our bed, did pull ups on his bar and practiced dance moves in the kitchen. He also rode his bike. (physical education)

Speaking of bikes – we discovered the Bike Church. Because we had a flat tire and none of us could get the stem of the inner tube to connect with the bike pump, we needed help. We spent over 2 hours at the bike church. In that time and with no prior experience, Pk took apart the wheel from the fork, pumped up the tire, disassembled, replaced and rebuilt the steering stem and the handle bars. He learned how to use a pipe wrench, a C-wrench, an Allen wrench, a Phillips head screwdriver, a vice grip, a vice and various lubricants. It was a multi-cultural and empowering experience. (science)

We went to the Gilded Lily Tattoo Parlor where the owners generously allowed Pk to trace “flash” (tattoo line ink art) and compare and contrast old school “pin up” tattoo art and newer design concepts. (art and history)

He practiced the home row on the keyboard by using an animated typing game several times. (life skills)

Math was done in the grocery store where Pk calculated the cost of fruit by using a scale and the price per pound. He used multiplication and also estimated the entire bill by using a clicking counter and rounding off the price of items as we shopped. (math)

At the library, he used the library’s system for finding and putting books on hold. He searched for books on the civil war, in preparation of an upcoming trip to Valley Forge, PA. (life skills, history)

Labels: home school unschool freeskool