Today Turned Out Okay.

Home*School*Home
I decided to just go with what was next in the KONOS volume 3 curriculum book and not to second guess it in any way. We did several activites related to simple machines from the book and made a notebook page about it. We made a pulley and wheel and axle out of tinker toys. We made a lever out of a 2 x 4 and I lifted the 2 younger kids with it. Then they decided to use it as a see-saw. We used the same 2 x 4 as an inclined plane. We lifted things using a real pulley. Tomorrow, we'll study a bit more about the wedge and screw. There is also an activity to build a water wheel in the book and we may attempt that.

I sometimes worry that I'm not challenging my middle schooler enough, but I read today that middle school in public school is often just busywork because it is a tough age to teach, with so many behaviors, so I think he's doing okay. My plan is to do what I'm doing now until fall break and then we may reevaluate the subjects that we're doing and maybe add or subtract some things. Right now, though, it is going very well, largely thanks to the KONOS curriculum book.