Elijah's Transcript ~ Visual Arts II

Elijah continued his studies in fine art by completing a second year of Visual Arts. He split his time between classes with Miss Laura (a well known artist in our area), lessons from his Grandmother (who holds a degree in art) and lots of field trips to galleries and art museums. He earned an A for this course because he completed all the assigned projects and contributed in all classes. He completed 144 hours of lessons for this course.

Classes with Miss Laura ~ He completed 55 hours of classes with Miss Laura. This year they concentrated on ~ 

• Watercolor
• Shrinky Dink
• Portraits

Classes with Grandma ~ Elijah studied numerous artists with Grandma. They learned about the artist and then created a piece of work in the artist's style. He studied ~

• Claes Oldenburg
• Georges Seurat 
• May Lin
• Faith Ringgold
• Wassily Kandinsky
• Dale Chihuly
  

Claes Oldenburg project

Wassily Kandinsky projects ~ Elijah's on the left

Field Trips ~ We explored a variety of art galleries and art museums.

• Blue Spiral ~ A lovely art gallery in Asheville that has constantly changing exhibits from artists all along the East coast.
• Fine Arts Theater ~ He saw the movie Loving Vincent.
• Montgomery Art Museum, Montgomery, Alabama
• Art Museum of Cincinnati ~ Cincinnati, Ohio

Dale Chihuly exhibit at the Biltmore Estate

Elijah completed his Visual Arts II credit with an artist retreat trip. He went on a three day retreat with his homeschool class with his teacher, Miss Laura. They did a watercolor retreat in Virginia. They attended classes, went to a festival and spent hours sketching and painting in the mountains. It was a wonderful experience for him.

Blessings, Dawn

Elijah's Transcript ~ Math III

Elijah did a variety of workbooks for this course. His concentration was in consumer math with a minor in basic geometry. He completed 145 hours of math and earned an 84% (B) for this credit.

Workbooks

• Bargain Math by Sue Leroy ~ This workbook was mostly working with coupons, how to get the best deal with sales, purchasing things used and comparison shopping.
• Budget Math by Sue Leroy ~ This workbook concentrated on how to establish budgets and save for both long-term and short-term goals.
• Bank Account Math by Sue Leroy ~ This workbook concentrated on everything you need to interact with your bank, from checking and savings accounts to reading all sorts of statements and bills.
• Exploring the World of Mathematics by John Hudson Tiner ~ This text book follows the history of math from ancient times to the present. It is filled with interesting information and challenging math problems and puzzles.
• Exploring the World of Mathematics: Supplemental Questions published by Memoria Press ~ This is the workbook that goes with Exploring the World of Mathematics. It is filled with lots of discussion questions and more math problems.

Games 

• Quizmo Geometry
• Guesstimation
• Take Out
• Geometry Bingo

Blessings, Dawn

Elijah's Transcript ~ Industrial Arts 1/2 credit

Elijah's Industrial Arts class was designed to expose him to a variety of tools and home repair situations, as well as increase his talent in building. Elijah received an A for this course. He did everything that was asked of him and showed an occasional burst of initiative and self-motivation on projects.

Tools ~ Elijah became very familiar with the tools listed below. He is comfortable using all of them, although he prefers to use alternatives to a chainsaw whenever possible. 

• Dremel
• Bandsaw
• Chain Saw
• Axe
• Machete
• Hatchet
• All the tools found in a basic handyman tool set

Gaming Computer ~ Elijah did lots of research on how to build a gaming computer with his Dad. After much research and a few videos, they ordered all of the components to make a gaming computer. They put it all together and it still works great. 

Nerf Guns plus Medieval Costumes and Swords ~ Elijah showed a great interest in modifying Nerf guns and creating Medieval costumes. This involved a lot of math, measuring, sewing, using tools (especially the bandsaw) and creating his own blueprints from which to work.

• Modify Nerf guns with worker pieces
• Drew patterns for armor
• Made a shoulder pauldron
• Made a large banner
• Made a scabbard
• Made and repaired boffing/foam swords
• Mended by hand Medieval clothing

Home Repair ~ He worked alongside his Dad whenever there was a home project to do.

• Removal of old insulation and installation of new insulation
• Power wash the house siding
• Assembled an office chair
• Cutting and painting boards to make shelves
• Exterior painting of shed
• Putting up drywall
• Laying contact paper in the pantry
• Spray painting clay pots
• Laying peel and stick tile on floor
• Built a computer desk for his room

Landscaping ~ 

• Planted 40 flower bulbs
• Pruned numerous trees and shrubs in yard
• Weed control with pre-emergent
• Weeding
• Removal of bushes and small trees of less than 12 feet in height

Eureka Kits ~ Elijah really enjoyed making the Eureka Kits by Kiwi Company. They were always interesting and just challenging enough to learn from each of them. He completed 11 kits.

• Basket ball waste paper basket
• Ukulele
• Card shuffling machine
• Two in one lantern
• Perpetual calendar
• Mechanical lockbox with a pin tumbler
• Stereo headphones
• Pinball machine
• Articulated lamp
• Pencil sharpener
• Soap dispenser

Blessings, Dawn

Elijah's Transcript ~ Health

Elijah completed 144 hours of Health class. His grade for this course was an A. Below is a list of resources that he used for his curriculum.

TED-Ed Lessons ~ Elijah watched 15 TED-Ed Health videos on nutrition, mental health and anatomy. He completed the lessons and discussion questions for each lesson.

Doctor Appointments ~ Elijah attended five doctor appointments during this credit. With each appointment, he made notes before the appointment with any questions that he had for the doctor. He then asked the questions and learned how to advocate for himself. If it was an appointment that I did not attend, he reported back to me how it went.

Choices Scholastic Magazine   ~ Elijah read and completed all of the lessons and quizzes in six Choices Scholastic magazines. He learned about a variety of topics. Here are just a few of the topics he covered.

• Dieting and health
• Sleep and its importance to teens
• Social media bullying
• Depression in teens
• Healthy snacking
• Relationships and dating
• School safety

Helping the Homeless ~ He helped make many hygiene kits throughout the course and distributed kits whenever he saw someone in need.

DMV Online Course ~ Elijah completed close to half of this course before needing to withdraw due to his grandfather's illness and death in a different state. He had an 87% for the first half of the course. He decided that he didn't want to learn how to drive at this time. 

Better Me board game ~ Elijah played this game with his psychotherapist seven times. The game always led to great discussions.

Daily Health and Hygiene by Sarah Joubert  ~ Elijah completed this workbook with 100% accuracy.

The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook by Joshua Piven ~ Elijah read this entire book.

DK First Aid Manual ~ Elijah concentrated on treating burns and cuts.

Unit Studies ~ The following unit studies were based off of Elijah's interest and concerns. We read about each issue and often followed up with a video. We also had long discussions on each topic. The very last topic was my choice. I felt that he needed a basic understanding of human reproductive anatomy.

• HIV and AIDS
• Death and grieving
• Drug usage, both illegal and prescription
• Cold weather survival
• Male and female anatomy

Movies and Shows ~

• Super Size Me
• Rotten ~ He watched the entire television series on Netflix. It focused on problems in the process of supplying food. 

Blessings, Dawn

Elijah's Transcript ~ Zoology 1/2 credit

Elijah completed 72 hours of zoology to earn a half credit. He received an A for this course. He was an enthusiastic student. His focus for this course was the importance of zoos to help endangered animals reproduce and thrive, both in captivity as well as returning them to the wild.

Zoos and Nature Preserves ~ We were able to visit six nature preserves and zoos during this course. We spent one to four hours at each destination. Elijah enjoyed studying a large variety of animals in person.

• National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
• Knoxville Zoo in Tennessee
• Greenville Zoo in South Carolina
• WNC Nature Center in North Carolina
• Grandfather Mountain Zoo in North Carolina

Unit Study ~ The following studies were achieved through reading assignments, worksheets and videos:

• Food Chains and Food Webs
• Endangered Animals

Shows ~ 

• Elijah watched 17 National Geographic shows. He watched all of the National Parks series. The rest of his concentration was in sea creatures and adaptation skills of animals, such as how bats thrive in the darkness.

Games ~ Elijah memorized all of the facts from the following games with 99% accuracy:

• Professor Noggins Earth Science
• Professor Noggins Rainforest 

Books and Worksheets ~ 

• Where is the Serengeti by Nico Medina
• 12 animal reading assignments and worksheets from Easy Teacher Worksheets website.  He concentrated on endangered animals.

Blessings, Dawn

Elijah's Transcript ~ English IV

Update ~ I am still trying to catch up on Elijah's transcript. Just a few more to go.

Elijah did very well in his final year of English. This year was a catchall of books and movies that I wanted him to accomplish before graduation. Elijah read all of the books independently and answered questions through essay or narration. He also did a bit of grammar and critical reading lessons through workbooks. He earned an A for this course.

Resources ~ 

• Reading RX workbook
• The Fallacy Detective workbook
• Daily Mindbuilders Language Arts workbook

Books ~

• The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
• The Brother's Grimm by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
• The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
• Beowulf by Anonymous 
• Pet Cemetery by Stephen King
• I Know Why a Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
• Who Was Maya Angelou? by Ellen Labrecque
• The Old Man and the Sea by Earnest Hemmingway

Movies ~

• The Scarlet Letter
• Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
• The Old Man and the Sea
• Pet Cemetery

Short Stories ~

• The Monkey's Paw ~ W. W. Jacobs
• Contents of a Dead Man's Pocket ~ Jack Finney
• One Thousand Dollars ~ O. Henry (William Sydney Porter)
• A Toast to the Oldest Inhabitant: The Weather of New England ~ Mark Twain

Blessings, Dawn

Elijah Dean's Transcript ~ English III

Elijah's third year of high school English focused on authors who he really liked through his earlier years of education. We explored some of their writings that he had never read and learned more about their lives. He either read some himself or heard books read aloud through family read aloud time and then discussed essay questions. He also watched several movies that are based on literature. Lastly, he did several grammar, vocabulary and critical thinking workbooks. Below are the books, movies and workbooks that he completed.

Workbooks

• Use It! Don't Lose It!
• Word Roots 
• Critical Thinking Detective Beginners
• Writing prompts from the Internet for teens ~ 16 writing prompts completed

Books

• Christy by Catherine Marshal
• A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck
• Kidnapped by Robert Louise Stevenson
• Treasure Island by Robert Louise Stevenson
• Who Was Roald Dahl? by True Kelley
• Who Is Stan Lee? by Geoff Edgers
• The Seer of Shadows by Avi
• Robinhood by Howard Pyle
• Who was Edgar Allan Poe? by Jim Gigliotti
• Who was George Lucas? by Pam Pollack
• The Magic City by E. Nesbit
• Under The Egg by Laura Marx Fitzgerald

Poetry Teas ~ Our poetry teas involved learning about the poet and studying three or four of his/her poems while having tea...of course.

• Edgar Allan Poe
• Maya Angelou

Movies

• The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
• Goosebumps 2 (2018)
• Fantastic Beasts 2 (2018)
• A Christmas Story (1983)
• Guess Whose Coming to Dinner (1967)
• The Little Prince (2015)
• The Princess Bride (1987)

Elijah earned 145 hours of credit and received an A for this course.

Blessings, Dawn

Elijah Dean's Transcript ~ World Cultures

Elijah's World Culture course was developed to be a special interest course for him in addition to wrapping up a few areas of world history that I felt he had missed. We used numerous resources to complete this course. 

CNN-10.com ~ Elijah watched this 10 minute show geared toward high school students at least three times a week for the entire school year. We occasionally delved deeper into the news that was presented. 

Universal Yums Subscription Box ~ We enjoyed 12 Universal Yums boxes over the year. These boxes are filled with snacks from a different country each month. In addition to the snacks, there is a book that describes the history of each snack, a brief history of the country, a recipe to try at home, a trivia game about the country (Elijah's favorite part of the book), and a few other fun pages that rotate such as a few language words from the given country, puzzles or a suggestion of movies to learn more about the specific country. Elijah always read the entire book and did the activities. We only got around to about six of the recipes. Here is the list of countries he learned about with his Yum boxes.

• Poland
• Brazil
• Thailand
• Germany
• Italy
• Ukraine
• Israel
• Austria
• Spain
• Philippines
• Egypt
• Scotland

Guns, Germs and Steel ~ We watched this series on National Geographic with some further research and discussion from the book of the same name.

Mini Unit studies ~ We used YouTube videos, Internet research and a few books from the library (in which my list was lost). For each mini unit he read a book or two, watched a few documentaries and narrated answers to my questions.

• The British Empire
• Mother Teresa
• The Cold War
• The Korean War
• The Cuban Missile Crisis

Games ~ He played each of these games dozens of times until the facts were memorized.

• Professor Noggin ~ Ancient Civilizations
• Professor Noggin ~ Wonders of the World
• Timeline ~ Inventions
• Timeline ~ Classic
• Timeline ~ Events

Field Trips ~ 

• Addissae Ethiopian Restaurant
• Suwana's Thai Orchid Restaurant
• Kathmandu Kitchen ~ an authentic Tibetan restaurant
• The Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

Movies and Shows ~ 

• Suffragette (2015)
• Good Morning Vietnam (1987)
• The Monument Men (2014)
• 1917 (2019)
• Midway (2019)
• National Geographic ~ "Ancient Egypt"
• Netflix series ~ "Civilizations"

Books with Homemade Worksheets

• Who Was Mother Teresa? by Jim Gigliotti
• Who is the Dalai Lama? by Dana Rau
• Who is Malala Yousafzai by Dinah Brown
• Who was Genghis Khan? by Nico Medina
• Who Was Alexander the Great by Kathryn Waterfield
• Who Was Fidel Castro? by Sarah Fabiny
• Who Was Napoleon? by Jim Gigliotti
• Who Was Winson Churchill? by Ellen Labrecque
• The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba

Elijah Dean did all assignments and reading activities. He participated in all field trips and unit study work. He earned an A for this course.

Blessings, Dawn

World Geography

 

Elijah Dean used Memoria Press Geography I and II as the backbone to his course work. These two volumes covered the Middle East, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Oceania, the Americas and Europe. He completed all of the reading and writing assignments with accuracy. 

He also completed the workbook, Draw the USA, by Draeger. These two programs included lots of map work and a very good working knowledge of geography around the world. 

In addition to all of the map work, Elijah also learned about how different landscapes and climates affect each country and continent. He learned through books, videos and 23 worksheets.

Books used ~ 

• Where Is Stonehenge? by True Kelly
• Where Is Machu Piccu? by Megan Stine
• Where Is Mount Everest? by Nico Medina
• Where Is the Taj Mahal? by Dorothy Hoober
• Where Are the Great Pyramids? by Dorothy Hoober
• Where Is the Parthenon? by Roberta Edwards
• Death on the River of Doubt By Samantha Seiple

Geography Throuh Art ~ Elijah read this book and studied some of the art styles but was not interested in doing most of the projects. He did do a few of them, but he mostly just used it as a research book.

Games ~ He played all of these games more than a dozen times each.

• 10 Days in Asia
• 10 Days in Africa
• 10 Days in the U.S.A.

Shows ~ Elijah watched 32 shows on National Geographic covering many geography topics. Here is a small sampling of topics:

• Taj Mahal
• Mount Everest
• Serengeti
• Woodlands of Africa
• The Volcano that Built Hawaii
• Wild Russia
• Animals of Africa

Elijah really enjoyed the reading material and videos in this course. He has a good working knowledge of geography but still struggles with the capitals of states and major countries, even after a dozen quizzes about this. For this reason alone, his grade is an 89% (B).

Blessings, Dawn

Elijah Dean's Transcript ~ U. S. Government & U. S. History II

Elijah completed his second year of U. S. History and Government. He concentrated on the 1930's to the present for the history section of this course. There was a slight overlap from his U. S. History I course. He also read a few books that interested him from other time periods in America History. Elijah also learned about U. S. Government through several different platforms.

Books Used ~ 

• What Was Hurricane Katrina? By Robin Kootnz
• What is Alcatraz? By Nico Medina
• What is the Stature of Liberty? By Joan Houb
• What is the Women's Movement? By Deborah Hopkinson
• Sundays in America By Suzanne Strempek Shea
• Terrible But True : Awful Events in American History By Dinah Williams
• What was the Vietnam War? By Jim O'Connor
• Who was Sitting Bull? By Stephanie Spinner
• Who was Fredrick Douglass? By April Prince
• What was the Boston Tea Party? By Kathleen Krull
• What was the Battle of Gettysburg? By Jim O'Connor
• What is the Constitution? By Patricia Demuth
• Fault Lines in the Constitution By Cynthia and Sanford Levinson
• Who is Ruth Bader Ginsburg? By Patricia Demuth
• Who was Alexander Hamilton? By Pam Pollack
• Who was Cesar Chavez? By Dana Rau
• What was the Hindenberg? By Janet Pascal
• Who was Amelia Earhart? By Kate Jerome
• What was the Great Depression? By Janet Pascal
• Who was Blackbeard? By James Buckley, Jr.

Worksheets with reading and essay questions ~ He completed 34 worksheets with essay questions about the federal government, Supreme Court, local and state governments and famous events in modern history.

Movies and TV Shows ~ 

• The Post
• Stephen Fry America (all episodes)
• Dick

Travel ~ We were very fortunate to be able to travel to six states during this course and saw many historic sites. 

• Having relatives there, we visited Washington, D. C. for the 8th or 9th time in Elijah's childhood. This time we visited the Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Memorial and Smithsonian National Zoo.
• We visited Cincinnati, Ohio where we toured Freedom Center, which is an amazing museum about slavery (both historical and current). We also toured the city.
• We visited Indiana. We toured Levi and Catherine Coffin's home, who were important conductors on the Underground Railroad. We visited an Amish store, toured a bit of Amish countryside and visited a few parks in Indianapolis, Indiana.
• We went to the Swannanoa Valley Museum in a city near our home.
• We visited the Mountain Farm Museum in the Great Smokey National Park.
• We went to Charleston, South Carolina, where we toured Rainbow Row, French Quarter, Pirate Dungeon, Middleton Place Rice plantation and the Charleston Tea Plantation and factory. 
• We visited the American Stonehenge in New Hampshire and also rode a cog railway to the top of Mount Washington in that state. 
• In Salem, Massachusetts, we toured the Witch Wax Museum, House of Seven Gables, and Salem Wax Museum. 
• We visited Boston, Massachusetts, where we toured the Boston Tea Party Museum and Boston Public Gardens. We also walked the Freedom Trail and visited Quincy Market. 

Elijah really enjoyed this year and learned so much. The course ended up being nearly 180 hours long. He received an A.

Blessings, Dawn

Elijah Dean's Transcript ~ Physical Education III

Elijah spent his third year in physical education doing 145 plus hours of Belegarth Medieval Sport. He continued to attend adult and teen games on Sundays and added focused classes on Monday nights. He advanced to being a member of the adult competition group in our area called the "Valley of Ashes". He had the opportunity to attend a day festival in our area with them and a weekend festival in South Carolina. He also had the opportunity to be a camp counselor for a Belegarth children's camp for two weeks, where he taught many skills in sword play, as well as skills in self-control and compassionate battle. 

He earned an A for his final year of high school physical education. 

Elijah Dean's Transcript ~ Physical Education II

Elijah completed 144 hours for his second year of physical education. He started to really concentrate on one particular physical activity. However, he still had the opportunity to do several other physical activities.

He received 40 hours of credit for the following activities.

• Ocean swimming and body boarding (8 hours)
• Swimming in a pool (14 hours)
• Mini Golf in which he improved his skills and got numerous holes in one per game (6 hours)
• Family hikes that included close to 16 miles of walking (5 hours)
• Paintball for the first and (probably only) time (2 hours)
• Archery (5 hours)

He spent the majority of his time advancing his skills in Belegarth Medieval Sport. He trained with the Wandering Swordsman and attended children and adult classes each Sunday for more than 2 hours each time. He learned how to herald (be a referee) and sometimes helped when they were short staffed. He often got to be the leader and held his own, even with the adults who go to competitions. He deals well with all ages and skill levels and is an asset to his team.

Elijah received an A for this course.

Elijah Dean's Transcript ~ Math II

Elijah continued to make his math skills more concrete this year with a concentration in pre-algebra and consumer math skills. He used the following books and programs:

CTC Online Math: Geometry ~ Graded 90% for the overall program

Math Matters for Teens ~ Completed about 50% of the book with 85% accuracy

Learn Math Fast: Volume 2 ~ Fractions, Percentages and Decimals 85% accuracy

Learn Math Fast: Volume 3 ~ Pre-Algebra, Solving for X, learning about slopes 78% accuracy

Survival Math Skills 90% accuracy

A Slice of Pi ~ Read and worked out riddles as a family

Balance Benders ~ Completed Levels 1 and 2  99% accuracy

Dozens of review worksheets 85% accuracy

Elijah received an overall grade of 87% for this course. 

Elijah Dean's Transcript ~ English II

Okay, I am playing some serious catch up. I haven't recorded most of Elijah's credits here on the blog, even though he graduated two months ago. I will be trying to load a record of all of his credits in the next few weeks on the blog. 

English II

Books

• Silas Marner ~ George Eliot
• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ~ Robert Louis Stevenson
• A Scandal in Bohemia -- Sherlock Holmes ~ Arthur Conan Doyle
• The Speckled Band -- Sherlock Holmes ~ Arthur Conan Doyle
• The Wind in the Willows ~ Kenneth Grahame
• Great Expectations ~ About 25 excerpts from the novel plus watched the movie
• To Kill a Mockingbird ~ Harper Lee
• The War of the Worlds ~ H. G. Wells
• The Westing Game ~ Ellen Raskin
• A Year Down Yonder ~ Richard Peck
• Who Was Alfred Hitchcock? ~ Pam Pollack
• Who Was Harriet Beecher Stowe? ~ Dana Meachen Rau
• Uncle Tom's Cabin ~ Harriet Beecher Stowe
• The Great Stone Face ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne
• Who Was Julies Verne? ~ James Buckley Jr., Gregory Copeland, et. al. 
• Who Was Jacques Cousteau? ~ Nico Medina

Plays

• Macbeth ~ William Shakespeare
• Hamlet ~ William Shakespeare
• The Nutcracker and the Mouse King ~ E. T. A. Hoffman

Poetry

• The Coming of Arthur ~ Alfred Tennyson
• The Holy Grail ~ Alfred Tennyson

Movies

• Silas Marner (1985)
• Frankenstein (1931)
• The Hound of Baskerville (1983)
• Emma (1996)
• The Great Gatsby (1974)
• Murder on The Orient Express (2017)
• Great Expectations (2013)
• To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
• The Black Stallion (1979)
• The Fellowship of the Rings (2001)
• The Two Towers (2002)
• The Return of the King (2003)
• Rear Window (1954)
• Gone With the Wind (1939)
• Psycho (1960)
• Holes (2003)
• The Birds (1963)
• 20 Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1954)

Elijah participated by reading, listening and watching all of the above. We mostly used narration or multiple choice worksheets to access his understanding of the material. He earned an A for this course.

Elijah Dean's Graduation 2020!

I really wanted to make Elijah Dean's graduation special despite the circumstances of COVID 19. We knew that we would not be able to do any kind of in-person party, and he really didn't want a drive-thru party because it seemed "weird" to him. He acted like he really didn't care if we did anything. Ha, that is not the way I run! We worked so hard to get to this point, and I was having a celebration one way or another, darn it! I ordered his diploma from our state's homeschool organization and told him to pick a color for his cap and gown. He chose forest green which is actually our state's homeschool organization's color and what his older brother graduated in so many years ago.

On the day of his graduation, we created a room on Facebook (per two of his friends' requests) and some of his friends joined to congratulate him and talk for a little while. I wish I had planned that part a little bit better, because many of the people who may have joined didn't have enough warning or are not on Facebook. However, the rest of the day was great!

We enjoyed a lovely cake from Whole Foods. It was very, very rich. Elijah Dean really enjoyed the design.

We took many, many photos! Elijah hates having his photo taken, so this was by far not his favorite part. The first picture represents his thoughts on the whole thing. My Mom bought him a sign for the front yard. Most of the public school graduates in our area have them in their front yards, so we thought it would be fun to have one, too.

I really racked my brain to think of a unique way to have his friends, family and important adults in his life involved. I finally remembered an idea I had seen months ago to have a unique guest book at your party. Buy a Jenga game and have everyone sign their name on a block. I decided to go with that idea but upgrade to a large yard-size Jenga game, so people could have their own block and have lots of room to decorate. I secretly drove all over the county, dropping off blocks and retrieving them later. Elijah never suspected a thing. We still have more blocks for out-of-town people to decorate. So this will be an evolving project, but we had lots of lovely blocks to give him on his special day. Everyone was so eager to be part of his day and they did a wonderful job. It was a perfect gift for Elijah. He loves them.

Lastly, we presented him with his diploma. Congrats, Elijah! We are so proud of you.

Blessings, Dawn

Biology ~ Dean's Transcript

I am playing a bit of catch-up. Dean finished this course months ago. We used lots of different resources to accomplish 144 hours of his Biology course. He did all assignments and participated in all field trips and dissections. He received a 96% for this course. Below is a list of the resources we used.

The textbook that was our spine for this course was Biology by Prentice Hall. We also used Charles Darwin for Kids with 21 Activities.

Field Trips ~

• Serpentarium Magic ~ We learned about and saw 200 snakes.
• He did a year-long study of the Biltmore Gardens and Greenhouses. We went 11 times.
• Our class visited The Global Wildlife Safari in Louisiana.
• Our class visited The Great Smokey Mountain National Park and saw lots of wildlife.
• We visited Kiawah Island and saw conchs, egrets, deer, Eastern Brown Pelicans, horseshoe crabs, jellyfish and other fish.
• We visited Charleston Tea Plantation and learned about the genetic building blocks of tea.
• He visited the Hendersonville Aquarium and saw baby sharks and lots of coral.
• He visited the local arboretum and learned how biology plays a role in making perfume.

Online Courses ~ 

• Fascinating Biology ~ He did most of the course.
• Crash Course Biology ~ Our class used this when we were stuck on  several concepts.
• TED Talks ~ He watched 21 of them.

Movies and Netflix ~ 

• Life by the BBC
• Born in China
• Bill Nye Saves the World
• Wild Alaska
• Inside the Human Body
• In the Womb

Science Experiments ~ 

• Using 60 pre-made slides, he did lots of microscope work.
• He learned to use a stereoscope and used it ten times.
• Our class made slides of pumpkin parts, bacteria, and onions.
• He performed a potato shrinking experiment to show the process of osmosis.
• He made his own agar Petri dishes and collected bacteria to grow in 20 Petri dishes.
• He participated in dissecting a frog.
• He took part in our dissection of a sheep's heart.
• He participated in dissecting a fetal pig.
• He made DNA strands out of candy.

Essays ~ 

• He wrote about William Harvey, who described and studied the circulatory system.
• He wrote about how waste water is treated.
• He wrote about Charles Darwin.
• He did a descriptive paper on the stomach and how it functions.

Blessings, Dawn

Dean's Transcript ~ Career Education

This course is designed to give Dean the opportunity to experience several different work environments and develop skills that will help him in the workforce in years to come. He volunteered in three different environments. He worked for 151 hours.

Nature Center Junior Naturalist Program ~ Dean worked 37 hours at our local nature center during their summer Junior Naturalist Program. He worked in three different stations each day during his four hour shift. He worked in the nature lab, Appalachian station and the barn. He cleaned a lot, took care of the goats, taught the public how to touch the turtles, answered the public's questions about animals, and gave out basic information about the nature center. He helped with research, bird count and maintenance of the Appalachian Station. He always had a teammate and practiced social skills and sometimes needed to encourage his teammate to do her portion of the job. The nature center was pleased with his service and said he was welcome back.

ZaPow Art Gallery ~ Dean volunteered for six shifts of two hours each at ZaPow. This was an opportunity provided by his art teacher in which he learned about how the gallery store is maintained on a daily basis. He swept, recycled, hung new art work for sale, straightened paintings on the wall, painted and spackled walls for new art layouts, sorted bins to put away misplaced art and did general cleaning of the staff back room. His boss, Laura Harkrider Sheridan, said that he did a wonderful job.

ACDT's Mayan Adventures Camp Counselor ~ Dean worked for three weeks as a volunteer head counselor at Mayan Adventure camp. The campers were ages 8-12 and were mostly boys. Different campers were there each week. He worked a total of 90 hours.  He refereed games, helped with the clay table, led campers on long hikes and games in the woods, taught stage combat, watched campers at the pool, and taught hand sewing and woodworking skills. He also learned to work with a junior counselor who didn't pull his weight, was rude to campers and generally needed lots of redirection. He spoke to his boss about the junior counselor and followed his advice in dealing with him. His boss, Giles Collard, said that he did a wonderful job and was welcome to come back next year.

Documentaries and Life Lessons ~ 

• Innovator's Tribe ~ An engineering course online to teach about what a career in engineering would be like.
• Movie ~ Minimalist ~ This movie talked about the importance of doing what you love and creating a lifestyle where you do not need tons of material objects so that you can be happy and do your dream job instead of chasing the newest flashy thing that society acts like we all need. 
• Movie ~ Happy ~ This movie talks about how happiness comes from hard work, a loving community and pride in a job well done and caring for others first. 

Dean achieved an A for this course. He conquered some of his uncomfortable feelings of working with the public and was complimented by all of his bosses. He loved the camp counseling job the best. 

Blessings, Dawn

Dean Transcript ~ Earth Science ~ 9th Grade

Dean completed his Earth Science course. He participated in all field trips, experiments, projects and covered reading material. This course had a high concentration of hands-on projects and studies in the field.

Topics Covered ~

• Volcanoes
• Forest fires
• Earthquakes
• Geology
• Hurricanes
• Plate tectonics
• Erosion
• Fossils
• Sun and planets
• Black holes
• Environments of the earth, including wetlands, deserts, coral reefs, plains
• Environmental disasters relevant to the world today, with an in-depth study of Flint, Michigan
• Caves 
• Sinkholes

Projects and Experiments ~

• Made a volcano
• Made salt crystal geodes
• Made an Earth model with edible layers
• Experimented with a clean water science kit
• Performed experiments with mini composter
• Made a potato clock
• Made a lemon clock
• Reconstituted a dinosaur plant

Field Trips ~ We went on many field trips for the Earth Science course, since this is one of the ways Dean learns best. We are fortunate to live in an area that is rich in geology.

• Arboretum ~ went five or six times
• AMOS Science Museum ~ went every month for a year
• Hendersonville Mineral Museum ~ cracked authentic geodes
• Elijah's Mountain (gem mining) ~ found some tiny rubies
• Gem store in Chimney Rock ~ had some very unusual fossils
• The Great American Eclipse ~ 99% totality in our area
• Hamlin Beach on the Lake Ontario
• Niagara Falls and Cave of the Winds
• Duke Gardens to study botany
• Biltmore Gardens and Conservatory (five times)
• Louisiana swamp tour
• Mississippi bayou
• Gulf of Mexico in Mississippi
• Dry Falls in Franklin, NC
• Franklin Gem Museum was filled with petrified wood and local gems
• Mammoth Caves (the longest cave system in the world) ~ took the Discovery Tour and the Domes and Dripstones Tour.

Books ~ 

• Spectrum Science book
• Book of Trees (Memoria Press) ~ completed all lessons 
• Global Warming with Max Axiom
• Exploring Ecosystems with Max Axiom
• National Geographic Space magazine
• National Geographic Grand Canyon magazine
• Numerous environmental articles

Shows ~ 

• Bill Nye Saves the World ~ Full Series
• Voyager ~ Space Exploration
• Wild Alaska ~ Full Season
• How the Earth Changed History ~ Full series
• Desperate Hours ~ Environmental Disasters show

Dean did a great job on all of his studies and earned a grade of an (A) 99% for this course. He completed 144 hours.

Blessings, Dawn

Dean's Transcript ~ Physical Education ~ 9th Grade

Dean completed his 9th grade P.E. course today. He started this course last Summer and has worked steadily through the year. He completed this course with 150 hours and a 100% (A).

Boffing with the Wandering Swordsman ~ One-third of Dean's hours were spent taking classes with the Wandering Swordsman. He participated in class a minimum of two hours a week and learned many skills in boffing techniques. Boffing games are a sport based around using foam padded implements representing swords, shields, arrows, and other gear that is designed to safely come into realistic physical contact with the players. A referee  oversees the games for safety and fair play, taking players through a large number of different game setups and scenarios.

Preparing to engage

Ballet and Swimming ~ The second third of his hours were divided between ballet and swimming. He wrapped up his ballet class (30 hours) at the very beginning of this class and decided to go swimming more often. He went with his grandmother and his sister to the pool. He swam laps, dived into the pool, practiced holding his breath under water, stretched his tight ligaments and swam to the bottom of the deep end of the pool over and over again.

Dean loves the water.

Lots of Sports ~ The remaining 50 hours were divided between bowling, physical therapy exercises at home to combat very tight leg muscles, family hikes, learning to skateboard, river and snow tubing and a few health classes to understand depression, emotions and social anxiety.

Blessings, Dawn

Dean's Transcript ~ U.S. History I -- 9th Grade

This is part one of Dean's U.S. History for high school. He will continue with U.S. History II in the coming years.

Dean covered American History from the 1400's to the 1950's in this course. This was a survey course with lots of reading, worksheets, field trips and movies to illustrate historic events. Dean's interests led him to have a stronger concentration in the Colonial Period, the Roaring 20's and the Civil Rights Movement. In addition to the below listings, Dean did 49 reading comprehension history worksheets with a section of questions and answers at the end of each lesson. He completed 144 hours with a grade of (95) A.

Books Used ~

• A Young People's History of The United States, Howard Zinn (He used about half of this book.)
• Washington, DC, History for Kids:The Making of a Capital City, with 21 Activities
• George Washington, Cheryl Harness
• William Penn Liberty & Justice for All (Heroes of History), Janet & Geoff Benge 
• Guns for George Washington, A Story of the American Revolution, Seymour Reit
• George Eastmen & the Kodak Camera (Inventions and Discovery), Jennifer Fandel & Al Milgrom
• The Civil Rights Movement for Kids: A History with 21 Acitivites
• George Washington Carver From Slave to Scientist (Heroes of History), Janet & Geoff Benge 
• What Was the Gold Rush?, Joan Holub
• Mathew Henson Artic Adventurer, Blake A. Hoena and Phil Miller
• Levi Strauss & Blue Jeans (Inventions & Discovery), Nathan Olson & Dave Hoover
• Irish Immigrants in America an Interactive History (You Choose Books), by Elizabeth Raum
• Can't You Make Them Behave, King George?, Jean Fritz & Margot Tomes
• Character in Destiny Inspiring Stories We Should All Remember, John McCain
• What Was the Alamo?, Pam Pollack & Meg Belviso

Projects with Presentations ~ 

• The Mexican American War
• Civil Rights Unit Study

Games Played Many Times ~

• Scrambled States of America
• 10 Days in the U.S.A,

Shows and Movies ~ 

• Great Cities of the World (only watched the shows on American Cities)
• Hamilton's America
• Hidden Figures
• CNN Student News (daily)
• Johnny Tremain
• October Sky
• The Greatest Showman

Field Trips ~ 

We have found that field trips give Dean an especially in-depth education. We had the opportunity to travel to NYC; Charlotte, North Carolina; Rochester, New York; Mississippi; New Orleans, Louisiana; Montgomery, Alabama; and explore our own city of Asheville, NC during the duration of this course.

• The Tenement Museum of New York City--The Shop Life Tour
• Aviation Museum - Miracle on the Hudson exhibit, complete with actual plane from the accident ~ Charlotte, NC
• Urban Trail of Asheville, NC ~ A walking tour through history of our own city
• Thomas Wolfe Home and tour ~ Asheville, NC
• Genesse Village Museum ~ Rochester, NY
• Smith McDowell House ~ Christmas Tour ~ Asheville, NC
• Biltmore House ~ Christmas Tour ~ Asheville, NC
• Biltmore House ~ Titanic exhibit ~ Asheville, NC
• Steamboat tour on the Mississippi River ~ New Orleans, LA
• French Quarter and Garden District tour ~ New Orleans, LA
• Cemetery ~ New Orleans, LA
• Civil Rights Memorials and Rosa Parks Museum ~ Montgomery, AL
• Memorials plus a Colonial and Pioneer Fort ~ Old Fort, North Carolina

Blessings, Dawn