Monday, August 30, 2010

End of 2009- 2010 Year Narrative for Jeremiah Burton

This will be a brief summary of Jeremiah's growth in each subject area; far more detailed accounts may be found in his quarterly reports.




English Language Arts:

Jeremiah has continued to strengthen his reading skills, and reads often for pleasure and information. He has also begun to enjoy reading both fiction and nonfiction aloud to his sister Annalise, age 6, and does so with great expressiveness. He is more interested in writing and spelling than he was a year ago, and his vocabulary has expanded greatly.


Mathematics:

Jeremiah has grown far more comfortable with his ability to manipulate numerical concepts. "according to my calculations..." is a phrase he commonly uses. He performs addition, subtraction, simple multiplication and division in his head with increasing accuracy, and often catches and corrects his own mistakes. He understands place values to a million, fractions, charts, graphs, and percentages. He budgets his money and makes considered, independent purchases. He is beginning to explore and understand more complex topics, such as angles, pi, measuring volume and area, square roots, negative numbers, algebra, and infinity.



Sciences:

Jeremiah continued to view life through a scientific lens. He developed and pursued particular interests in evolution, genetics, physics, prehistoric life, forensics, paranormal science, natural science, space, science through history, and ecology. He enjoyed a wide variety of books, games, and programming of a scientific nature. Visits to farms, science museums, exhibits, and Renaissance Festivals provided him many opportunities to indulge his passions. Jeremiah enjoyed many and varied excursions into the natural world, and observed a wide variety of flora, fauna, and other properties of the natural world. He became interested in the Periodic Table of the Elements, and deepened his understanding of elements and how they combine to create compounds. The chemistry of the everyday intrigued him.


Social Sciences:

Jeremiah enjoyed a wide variety of historical documentaries, games, books, and activities this year. Highlights were the Sterling Renaissance Festival, visit to the Mayflower II, Erie Canal Lock 2, and several farms. Our family joined the Live and Learn Homeschool Co-op and the Albany Area Unschoolers groups this year, which provided Jeremiah with ample playmates, and he enjoyed gaming, projects, and free play. Travel throughout New York and Massachusetts sparked interest in geography and mapreading. Jeremiah was involved in his community on a regular basis, and developed a stronger interest in government and current events.


Visual and Performing Arts/Music:

Jeremiah developed a strong preference for country music this year, and often sings lyrics. He enjoyed creating mosaic and sculpture art using a variety of media. He attended assorted music and dramatic performances throughout the year, especially enjoying Hamlet. he visited several museums, art galleries, and exhibits throughout the year. He recently discovered a passion for Japanese anime.


Foreign Language Arts -

Jeremiah's interest in anime has led to renewed interest in Japanese culture and language. He enjoyed exposure to several languages, including Latin, French, Spanish, German, and Hebrew in both written and spoken form.


Physical Education -

Jeremiah indulged in many physical pursuits this year, including swimming, hiking, ball games, biking, obstacle courses, climbing, and group play. He greatly deepened his understanding of nutrition, hygiene, sleep/wake cycles, and how these affect his overall health. He continued to exhibit a very well-honed awareness of safety.



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