The Jordan Academy

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Genie of Genies- Chapter 1

Nehemiah is writing a book and wanted to share some of it here. Below is the first chapter. Leave a comment and let him know what you think!

Chapter one-

The rain is pouring in a dark valley. At least it was for the boy on Cherry Lane. This boys name was Koa Buckley Maine. Weird. That’s what your thinking. Well you’re just like Koa. He thought that any other name was better than Koa. So Koa prefers being called Buckley or Buck for short(so we will call him that). Buck was tall and skinny, had freckles on his face. He didn’t have many friends and was lonely.

Today was actually warm and bright in Elko, Nevada. But Buck did not care because he was always inside. What he did inside is what you are doing right now. Reading. Buck did not want to go outside and play ball with friends. He couldn’t because he had no friends. Now my dad would say “Then go and make friends!”

But Buck did not have a father like mine. His father was always away on business trips. But he still had a mother that loved him.

Today for some reason Buck was unusually tired. So sometimes he would nod off into sleep as he read. Then a disturbing noise filled the air. The noise was coming from his bedroom. Buck put his book down and walked quietly to his bedroom. What was the noise? He walked into his room and discovered the 'thing' that was making the noise. It was... the telephone. Boy was he relieved that it was that. Buck answered the phone and was surprised that the person on the other line was his father.

“Is mom home?” Said Bucks father.

“No she is at that club she goes to.” Said Buck.
Bucks father said something off the line.

“What did you say, Dad?”

“Nothing. Any way tell your mom to call me tonight.”

“Good-b-.”
Beep! Bucks father had hung up.

Did Bucks father love his own son? Did he even care? It was just Buck's mom and he. They were all alone in the world. So now Buck sat down in his chair and started to read. But he didn’t read very long until the phone rang again. Buck answered.

“Go get your mother.”
Beep!

“Hello… Hello?” Said Buck
The Caller had hung up.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Handwriting Tip: b and d

I read this tip in a newsletter recently and thought it was so smart!

Make Your Bed

Letter reversals are common for children who are learning to write. The worst culprits are b and d. To help my children remember the difference between these two, I write the word bed on a three-by-five card and explain that bed begins with b and ends with d. I try to make the word look like a bed with a small diamond over the circle of the b as the pillow and a bedspread sketched in lightly.

To help with reversals while practicing reading, I teach each child to "make your bed." Circle your fingers as though you are pretending to look through binoculars. Then raise the pointer finger on each hand. Your left hand forms a b, your right, a d. The three-by-five card containing the word bed has reinforced the first letter. When reading aloud, if your child is stumbling over b or d, a simple reminder to "make your bed" usually clears up any confusion.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

School Attendance

Gwinnett County requires home schooling families to turn in monthly attendance records, and by the end of your year all your days must add up to 180. It doesn't matter if you have a 10 or 12 month school year, as long as you satisfy the 180 days.

Yesterday I turned in our October attendance, and so far we have completed 56 days this school year! Yay! I must say that I assumed we wouldn't get much done in October, with a new addition to our home. But, Chris stepped right in and kept us on track! He has been amazing! It's been great for us all. So, Chris, if you're reading this.......Thank you, hunny!

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

I Climbed Stone Mountain!

by Nehemiah.

I woke up Tuesday morning, clearly tired from the night before. I went down the stairs and into the kitchen. The calender read "August 19th, Dad and boys go to Stone Mountain". Yes!

Today was the day that my Dad, Mordecai, and me were going to hike Stone Mountain! But there was one more question: Was my face red and swollen?( You see, I have had a rash that comes often for about a year now. It makes my body red and itchy). To answer my question, I went into the main bathroom were there was a mirror. OH NO! My...face...was...red and swollen!

"Why?" I asked myself. "Why did I have to have this rash over and over again."

After we had breakfast, made our sack lunches, we got our clothes on and woke up 'sleepy-head' Dad and tell him to get ready, we were ready to go to Stone Mountain Park!

So all three of us-Dad, Mordecai and me- got into the truck my dad owns.

When we got there we noticed that EVERYTHING was closed except the Sky Ride up the mountain. So instead of riding the train and going around the mountain to the hiking side, like we had planned, we rode the Sky Ride up the mountain. Then we hiked down the mountain.

That was one of my favorite times of my life. It was soooooo much fun!

Mordecai noticed that there was a yellow line that we were supposed to follow so we wouldn't lose our way. I said we were like Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tinman, and the Lion when they were following the yellow brick road in "The Wizard of Oz". When we got down Stone Mountain our stomachs were growling! We pulled out the lunch we made earlier in the day and prayed. Amen. Then we dug in... Yummmmm!

We saw that there was a museum and decided to look around in it. My Dad said we should come back and make a field trip out of it. Finally we got out of the museum.

"What do you think, are you up for going up the mountain?"asked my dad.

Was I up for the challenge my dad gave me and my brother? I felt good about it, so I said, "I am."

Part Two- The challenge

So we went up the mountain, without any hiking gear. The Mountain was very steep and was a great challenge. First was what I call "Forest of The Mountain". Trees and bushes covered the Mountain, where squirrels lure in the shadows and birds hide in the trees, is where we hiked.

The only thing I could hear was our steps on the stones we stepped on. Finally, we got out of "the forest of the Mountain", and into the open. Then I slipped, but caught myself at the last minute.

"Are you okay?" asked my brother, Mordecai.

"Yeah, are you okay?" added my dad.

"I am okay. Are we almost there?" I said.

Now we had hiked about half the mountain. So we took a break. We drank the water in our water bottles and sat there.

Now we faced the hardest challenge yet. I call it "The stairs with no steps". It was the steepest part of the mountain. There were rails up this part of the mountain so you would not fall.

When we got to the top we went down on the Sky Ride. When we got to the bottom my dad bought one hat each for us, he said we earned it.

Now I can say "I climbed Stone Mountain!".

Here is a picture of a bug we found on our way up the mountain!

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Reading Curriculum - 2008-09

Deborah:

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons
By S. Engelmann, P. Haddox & E. Bruner / Simon & Schuster Trade Sales

Alpha-Phonics: A Primer for Beginning Readers
By Samuel L. Blumenfeld / The Paradigm Co

Hadassah:

McGuffey Pictorial Primer By: William Holmes McGuffey

McGuffey First Reader

We will continue on with the whole set (4 books) of McGuffey Readers.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Handwriting Curriculum - 2008-09

Nehemiah, Mordecai, Hadassah, and Deborah:

Italic Handwriting: The Instruction Manual
By Barbara Getty / Portland State University

Italic Handwriting: Book A
By Barbara Getty / Portland State University

Italic Handwriting: Book B
By Barbara Getty / Portland State University

Italic Handwriting: Book C
By Barbara Getty / Portland State University

Italic Handwriting: Book D
By Barbara Getty / Portland State University