Last Week of Summer Session 2012 Weekly Wrap Up

I know I said I see you next week, then I realized I had not written about their week yet:) I like to share photos of the children's work as often as I can, it allows me to stay accurate with my documentation stuff. This week has been all about reading and projects. They are really eager to start a full schedule next week so that they can finally touch all the things that they have seen me preparing for them:)

                                                               Michelle
Michelle has really taken off this week while working on her project for making Ball Jointed Dolls. I am glad that she has finally decided on doing this and sticking to it. There were so many things that she has plans for so it was very difficult for her to narrow it down to just one thing for now.

There are a lot of materials involved in the making of these types of dolls. Here is an example of a few. Michelle also spent a lot of time researching the best materials, learning about the various types of Ball Jointed Dolls, and the history of the dolls. The sketch above comes from a website that she found some tutorials to use.

 Finally after choosing a tutorial that she could understand she went to work making the head. The picture above shows her sanding the head that she used clay to mold.

                                                                               Ken
Ken is into making sketches of her designs now, she has spent a lot of time learning how to sketch.

 Also she has been making creations on the computer. Ken loves her planner and really puts in a lot of information about her project in it. Mostly in the style of lists, it is fun to look at when her work time has ended, which means Ken is writing and she didn't mind me showing her the correct way to spell plaid.

 Here is a dress she made for her Barbie this week.                            
                                      
Ken is also really into Alice and Wonderland and has been using this book below for inspiration for crafts.

Ken  requested to go to thrift stores to find these various bottles so she can create this Drink Me activity.

                                                                               DJ
I don't really see this young lad anymore. DJ is so busy with his Lego kits, or hunting for snake eggs that it is so helpful for me that he has a planner. Very independent indeed!! DJ's latest project work involves designing a Lego book and learning how to program his robots. He continues to love snakes of all kinds and his favorite website is Animal Planet, and when he is not on their website he is watching the television show. You can always find DJ with a notebook in his hand, he is definitely in his second sensitive period for language. I was able to catch his first sensitive period to language when he was two and a half , he was a reader by three years old all child led. I had no clue about the Montessori Method at this time. It was obvious for me to see it when it was happening though, every time Ken and I did a reading lesson he would pull up a chair and join in. I first found out that he knew all of his sounds at two when I was asking someone else what sound does T make and he answered for them.

                                My Favorite Resource this week is...
About a month or so ago I came across the blog project based-homeschooling.com. This website has helped me to be able to follow my children as a mentor for them as they take on projects. So much information that I find myself going back to re read post after post. The forum there is just amazingly resourceful. The author of the blog has also published a book that is my project schooling bible.                                                                                 

 This week I was able to finish reading the book. In this book it details exactly how project based learning looks like. I love how Lori Pickert gives you everything you need, but the child and the materials to be successful:). A lot of this method is very similar to the Montessori philosophy, like preparing the environment for the child. I love how she defines a theme or a unit and how they are totally different than a project. I purchased my book through Schulers but it is available on Amazon.

One of the things that Lori details about in the book is having a project journal for yourself. A place where you make documentations about your child's projects. For example, what questions did they ask you?, what did you observe? Very similar concept to what helps a Montessori Guide or Montessori Mother able to follow the child, through observations.

Linking to Weekly Wrap-ups hosted by Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers and My Favorite Resources hosted by learning All the time.