Homeschooling Monthly Memories - August 2012

We were away for almost 2 weeks during August, but still managed to pack in lots of learning.

Cubs 'Curriculum':

• Billy wasn't at Cubs much in July due to us being away and clashes with Peter Pan rehearsals.  When he was there, they worked on codes and Promise & Law activities.

Intentional Learning:

Creative Arts

• Rehearsals are well underway for Peter Pan (Billy is playing Curly, a Lost Boy) with it ramping up to several rehearsals each week. 
• He's made a green screen using cardboard and has been playing around with green-screening special effects and other video techniques using video editing software.
• He's been watching a youTube series called Film Riot  to learn more video editing & filming techniques.
• We visited both the Archibald Prize exhibition and the Walkley Press Photography Award Exhibition.
  
  

Archibald Prize exhibition

Walkley Press Photography exhibition

HSIE

• Australian history


• We continued our reading of Thomas Appleby - Convict Boy by Jackie French
• We watched the BHP Sound and Light show at Newcastle Museum showing how steel-making used to happen in the area
  

  

  The BHP Sound & Light show

• He watched a Brain Pop movie on the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima and we discussed it.

Maths

• We're working through the Murderous Maths book 'Awesome Arithmetricks' as our maths 'spine'
• Topics covered included subtraction with borrowing.
• He's been testing his addition skills using a MathEd tablet app game.

Science & Technology

• We visited the hands-on Science section at Newcastle Museum.
• He's watched BrainPop movies about bacteria, atoms, gravity and the phases of the moon
• He's worked with RPG Game Maker and video editing software & green-screening techniques
• We visited Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and Sea World.

One of many native Australian animals at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary

Little Penguin feeding at Sea World

English

• Storywriting
• Discussion of synonyms
• BrainPop movie about the book Frankenstein, Mary Shelly and the Romanticism era

PDHPE

• Billy did a High Ropes challenge course on the Gold Coast
  

As well as the usual:

• martial arts, circus, archery and AFL (AFL has now finished for the year)
• time spent hanging out with friends and family