End of Year Evaluation
Ben Jeffries Age 7
2003-2004 School Year 

End of year evaluation in bold after each section.
[Note to other homeschoolers: The End of Year Evaluation is the same as the Curriculum from the beginning of the year but the "Year End" discussion is added after each section, resources are updated and we include a separate list of books that the child has read along with beginning and ending samples from core curriculum sections (e.g., math, art, writing), some reports the child has written and an end of year report they write that summarizes their year in pictures and associated paragraphs of text. Removing the "Year End" discussion, updating the sections (typically just "Current" & "Goal") and changing the heading above turns it into the basis for the Curriculum to be submitted for the next school year. Using this template ensures that we cover all the bases every year and makes the process of preparing the annual paper work fairly quick. It is also a good review of what we've done and what we would like to accomplish in the next year. The kids doing their own end of year report starting by selecting pictures is easy and fun for them. It is not something that limits what we do and we generally go beyond this document in our actual homeschooling. Learning is something that goes on all the time and we homeschool year round rather than following a September to June schedule. Our typical day is chores in the morning, mid-day break, afternoon of typically eight units of schoolwork, dinner, reading aloud while someone's doing dishes, free time in the evening. Feel free to copy any parts of this document that is useful to you.]

1. Basic Communications - Reading, wRiting & aRithmetic
Reading	Teaches:	Reading and understanding stories, poetry, biographies, fiction, non-fiction,
		Pronunciation, Phonetics, Vocabulary, Grammar.
	Method:	Being read to daily, reading to self daily, reading out loud, library program
		Phonetics, reading & spelling teaching software on computer.
	Other:	History, sociology, ethics, science projects, comics.
		Road maps, street signs, computer software, letter based card games.
	Current:	Reads picture books words. Reads two to four books a day to himself.
		Currently can be read a book by brother or adult and then he memorizes it and reads it back to himself aloud. Knows the alphabet and many sounds of letter combinations.
	Goal:	Continued improvement in recognizing letter combinations and full words.
		To know the phonetic sounds associated with each letter of the alphabet.
		To be able to read simple books (two to three words per page) himself. Complete Dr Suess beginner fun book – Preschool – Grade 1 I am Not Going to Read Any Words Today.
	Year End:	We read to Ben each day as well as doing work on the refrigerator magnet words with him. He is now able to read level 2 ready to read books and others such as the Dr. Suess books (Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham...) and most words in the Sunday funnies, although he still does not have confidence in his reading. He does know the sounds associated with all letters and most letter combinations. Ben learned about silent E, blends, and sound combinations including: -ight, -eep, -ound, -ear, -ould and others. He enjoys figuring out homonyms. Ben completed "Rhyming Families" School Zone workbook (Grades 1-3) and worked on workbooks "Short Vowels" and "Blends."

Writing	Teaches:	Penmanship, fine motor control, grammar, spelling, communication skills.
	Method:	Tracing cartoons, drawing, dictating and then copying reports, dictating and then copying letters, making cards, writing stories to go with pictures, practice printing. Daily practice of penmanship.
	Current:	Excellent writing skills for age. Able to print all of letters from memory both capital and lowercase.
	Goal:	Smoother, more even, smaller writing, appropriate use of upper and lowercase letter. Consistent letter size. Punctuation.
	Year End:	Ben is able to write the complete alphabet and many words. He has no difficulty writing words if he knows or is told the spelling. His letter size is more consistent, though this is something that will take continued focus. He understands capitalization, but sometimes forgets to apply the rules. He is very good about remembering to end his sentences with a period and is learning about when a comma is appropriate. He has excellent hand coordination which he uses for drawing skills. As his reading improves so will his vocabulary and with it his writing.

Math	Teaches:	Basic arithmetic.
	Method:	Math teaching software, work books, puzzles, simple math card games.
	Other:	Science projects, money, and games, Monopoly.
	Resource:	Math Blaster, Mighty Math Series, worksheets, projects, verbal.
	Current:	Addition and subtraction of whole numbers of any size on paper.
		Multiplication and division with remainders of two digit pairs.
		Basic fractions. Percentages. Basic algebra. Measuring.
		Ben really enjoys math and is often working problems out in his head at random times during the day and will all of a sudden say things like, “Did you know that ten nines and three equals 93.” He loves finding the patterns in numbers. He and his brother are excellent at math and abstract thinking.
	Goal:	Expanded multiplication and division to decimals. Conversion. Algebra.
	Year End:	Ben is very good at math. He enjoys doing algebra, working with formulas and tables of numbers. He can do addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of whole, decimal and fraction numbers as well as visual elements like pie chart fractions. We have also worked on percents. He has done practical applications with math and word problems. He is good at working with figures in his head as well as working problems out on paper. 

Computer	Teaches:	Technology, computer usage.
  	Method:	Coaching on the computer usage.
  	Current:	Use of preset files.
  		Use of CD-ROM, insert, open, save, quit.
		Scanning, graphics, word-processing.
  	Goal:	Continued exploration of computer. Scanning, Graphics, Animation.
		Email – open, reply, send original letters.
		Basic programming possibly (He wants to but may not have reading skills yet).
	Year End:	Ben is very interested in using his computer. His biggest frustration is his reading skills are still limited. Fortunately within the limited context of computer work he is able to better work as he can learn the words necessary. This year Ben did extensive work in HyperText Markup Language (HTML) making a series of web pages that describe an idea for a robot that he has been designing based on what he has been learning about human anatomy, electronics and mechanical design. While the robot is very fictional, it has given him the chance to explore these ideas and make many drawings and written descriptions of how things would work. He then made these ideas into a web page. This can be seen online at the web address he gave in his end of year written report. Ben has also done programming in REALbasic this year and he is eager to do more of that in the new school year.

Typing	Teaches:	Motor skills, Keyboard communications.
  	Method:	Typing tutor software on computer.
	Other:	Email, journal, games (reinforces primary teaching method).
  	Current:	10wpm @ 95% accuracy touch-typing.
  	Goal:	15wpm @ 95% accuracy by year end.
	Year End:	Ben has improved his typing skill, has excellent hand and finger placement and touch types without looking most of the time. He has typed several reports this year including his long end of year report. Generally he dictates his reports to Holly, Walter or Will who print his dictation neatly on lined paper. Then Ben types in the report himself.

Email	Teaches:	Correspondence composition skills (hand written and typed letters also done).
	Method:	Daily checking of Email, filtering out junk, responding to letters with assistance, correspondence with family & friends. 
		Most of our family members have Email and correspond with him periodically.
	Current:	Currently he dictates, we hand print and then he types that in. 
		Typically writes one letter a week or so.
		Letters typically range from two to three sentences.
	Goal:	Improvement in spelling and typing that will come with time. Increase length of correspondences email length. 
	Year End:	Ben does not use email very much. He has used it a few times during the year to correspond with his grandparents, one uncle and one aunt. Due to the high volume of spam we were without email for several months and he got out of the habit of using and checking his email as a result. However, he has both written and typed numerous letters on paper with a pen pal on approximately a one letter per month basis. These letters have been significantly longer than what the email would have been.

Fun	Teaches:	Combines many of the above skills in a fun way.
		These involve reading, math, money, resource allotment,
		time computations, scheduling, strategy, chance, etc.
		Encourages creative, strategy thinking.
		Also teaches how to win and lose. Good sportsmanship
	Method:	Games played with family on computer or as board games like:
		Chess, Go, Same – Strategy
		Go Fish, 21 – Numbers & matching
		Backyard Baseball/Football/Soccer games
		Monopoly - usage of money, resources allotment, calculation of odds, chance.
		Rummy - calculation of odds and percentages, chance.
		Scrabble - spelling, vocabulary.
		Chess – strategy and thinking skills.
		Checkers, Battleship, Mancala, Nine Men's Morris, Go-Moku, etc.
		The computer games can typically be played multi-user or single-user with the computer filling in one or more of the player spots.
	Current:	Typically 1 to 2 hours a day.
	Goal:	Improving skills with time and sophistication. And fun of course! 
	Year End:	Ben and Will play strategy games in the computer as well as board games like chess, checkers, Monopoly and cards. They made their own chess set using Legos and have changed the design of all the pieces several times to match different fantasy worlds such as Star Wars.

2. Society - People, Where, Who, Why, When
History	Teaches:	Where we came from, mistakes and successes from our past, milestones, people.
	Method:	Reading books about history from the library.
	Current:	We are reading the Clan of the Cave Bear series and Olden Days right now. Ben is very interested in the presidents and we’ve been reading about them.
	Goal:	Expanding his understanding of the past and learning from it. Reading to him about the American presidents and American history so that he is able to name 10 different American presidents. Reading about how things were done in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries which is something Ben has taken a strong interest in recently.
	Year End:	We finished the Clan of the Cave Bear series of books this year. Will has been reading the Cartoon History of the Universe to Ben. Ben is particularly interested in the US presidents, so we read books on this topic such as "...If you grew up with George Washington." We also read Mr Popper's penguins and discussed the history of arctic expeditions and research. Ben also listened to a reading of The Witch of Blackbird Pond which prompted discussions of cooking, farming and survival techniques of the early americans as well as the era of the Salem witch trials and our own ancestors who were accused of being witches.

Ethics	Teaches:	Respect, Responsibility & appReciation (first three R's a child must learn).
	Method:	Reading stories such as Berenstain Bears, Asop's Fables, etc. & discussion.
		Tenants of TaeKwonDo:	Courtesy,
							Integrity,
							Perseverance,
							Self-Control,
							Indomitable Spirit.
	Other:	Newspaper, radio and magazine articles we read as a family, Quaker Meeting.
	Current:	Very interested in what is right and wrong.
	Goal:	Deepening understanding of issues.
		Continue to refer to the Tenants of Taekwondo in our everyday activities.
		Increased techniques to calmly resolve conflicts, deal with frustrations and overcome failures.
		Greater understanding of why people do what they do. Able to resolve conflicts more of the time using his words without yelling. 
	Year End:	The Iraq war has lead to many discussions around meals. Ben has been working on using his words to resolve conflict and at being better able to deal with failure and losing. He is improving at this although as is normal with his age he has a ways to go on the later.
	
SociGeo	Teaches:	Sociology/Geography is where we study people, past and present,
		where they live in the world, what their customs are, etc.
	Method:	Reading several books we have on children, societies and countries
		Studying and making maps.
		Trip planning and navigation.
		Logging places we visit on a map.
		Locating current events hot spots on world globe.
	Current:	Ben knows that we live in Vermont on a round planet that goes around the sun.
	Goal:	Continued exploration of locations in our world.
		To be able to pick out individual states and some countries and oceans. Know and understand his full address (road in a town, in a state, in a country…).
	Year End:	When we discuss the news and history we look up the locations on the globe and maps. Ben knows how to read maps, pick out the states, oceans and many countries. Now that he can read some this is easier for him. When we go on trips he now has more of a sense of where we have been since he has the overview from the maps and globe. This year Ben traced and labeled a map of the United States, coloring in and naming all of the states. He follows along as we drive along the Vermont/New Hampshire boarder and keeps track of which side of the Connecticut river we are driving along.

Economics	Teaches:	Money Management, business issues, taxes, trade
	Method:	Allowance + additional money earned by collecting bottles on road
		and special jobs, etc. He saves up his money for short & long term goals as well spending some on immediate purchases such as a candy bar or small toys.
		We discuss issues related to business, money management, government, taxes.
	Current:	He has four accounts (Long Term, Big Project, Charity, Pocket Spending) that he divides his earnings between. He knows the value of pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters. Able to readily add up bills and coins.
	Goal:	Make up rabbit farm budget.
	Year End:	Ben has a good sense of money, making change and budgeting. He earns money from his allowance as well as collecting cans and bottles on the road during walks. He divides his money between several accounts for long term and short term goals. We have talked about taxes and government vs household budgeting. Ben did math word problems involving what would be the costs of raising rabbits for meat, furs and sales, looking at the start up expenses, overhead, work time involved, labor, marketing costs and possible sales prices by searching the newspaper classifieds.

3. Physical Education - Fitness & Health Awareness
Taekwondo	Teaches:	Confidence, body knowledge, self-control, socialization, self-defense, coordination, morality
	Method:	Instruction with Gentle Dragon Gym, Master Sun Mi Choi 2 times per week.
		We all participate in this together as a family.
	Other:	Daily morning practice of forms, blocks and defenses.
	Current:	He is a Yellow belt and preparing to test for yellow-green belt.
	Goal:	Yellow-green Belt. The belt order is white (lowest), white-yellow, yellow, yellow-green, green, green-blue, blue, blue-red, red, red-black, black level 1 (1st dan) and then up through black level 15. 
	Year End:	Ben is a yellow belt and wants to eventually earn his black belt. He works hard at practicing his TKD as well as not using it when he shouldn't.

Swimming	Teaches:	Confidence in the water, breath control, body knowledge, diving.
	Method:	Instruction by parents during the summer.
	Current:	He loves to swim and holds his breath for 15 seconds and swims underwater.
	Goal:	Increase breath holding. Learning new strokes. Not needing goggles. 
	Year End:	Ben loves to swim. He swims underwater like a fish, can hold his breath for a lengthy period and no longer must have goggles.

Dance	Teaches:	Coordination, music sense, rhythm, social grace.
	Method:	Bi-Weekly Folk (Contra/Square) dances in Burlington, Montpelier and Norwich.
	Current:	Ben is able to do most of the simpler dances and knows most of the basic moves of contra dancing.
	Goal:	Continued improvement in skills, understanding of more moves. 
	Year End:	Ben loves going to contra dances. He knows all of the basic moves.
	
Hiking	Teaches:	Nature appreciation, hiking and walking skills, biking skills, endurance.
	Method:	Walks on our property plus longer hikes in Vermont & New Hampshire.
	Current:	2 mile walks in mountains. Rides bike with enthusiasm.
	Goal:	Identification of animals, trees and plants in our valley. Love of walking.
	Year End:	Biking and walks are some of Ben's favorite activities. He is now very proficient with his older brother's old bike which he got this past year and had been looking forward to getting for a long time. Ben can identify many animal tracks, some birds and plants that are common in our area. He knows a lot about animals from reading and National Geographic videos.
	
Horseback	Teaches:	To be a competent horseman, appreciation of animals, skills of working with large animals, proper horse care, self-confidence
	Method:	Weekly horseback riding lessons
	Current:	Hope to restart in the spring.
	Goal:	As the horseback riding instructor directs. 
	Year End:	Due to a shortage of money we haven't been able to do horseback riding this year. Ben and Will joke that instead they now do pig riding.

Health	Teaches:	Human body functions, development, reproduction, anatomy & disease.
		First aid, good hygiene, nutrition, tooth care, drugs.
		Environmental issues including pollution on local, national & world scales.
	Method:	Reading about ourselves in books and studying pictures of our bodies.
		Demonstration of good healthy habits.
		Cooking & shopping together and discussing what and why we eat.
		Ben often helps prepare.
		Raising our own food in some cases (rabbits, veggies, sheep).
		Discussing issues from the newspapers.
		Tracing his body and drawing in the major body organs.
		Tracing his body and drawing in his skeleton.
	Current:	He enjoys cooking some simple meals each week with us.
		He has a strong sense of the dangers of drugs and alcohol.
		He is very excited about his own increased height and weight.
		He is interested in what is pollution and often discusses it with us.
		He has a sense of basic anatomy. His skeleton, esophagus, stomach, intestines, heart and lungs.
		He is very interested in babies, but does not yet understand their skills and development.
	Goal:	Increased awareness of health issues and cooking competency.
		To help plan menus and reinforce his knowledge of food groups.
		Increase cooking independence, sometimes making lunch for the family himself.
		More detailed understanding of his body organs and skeleton.
		To understand how each of the 5 senses works and how it ties in with the nervous system.
		To read with Ben and increase his understanding of basic infant development (0-1 year)
		Continue to increase his understanding of local and industrial pollution.
		To understand what materials are being recycled in our community & how.
		To continue to be aware of litter and pollution and do our part to keep our environment as clean as possible. 
		Helping care for the new baby.
	Year End:	Ben loves to help care for his new baby sister and is very excited about her growth and changing abilities. He has a lengthy list of foods that he has now cooked (with supervision) including: zucchini bread, corn muffins, toffee chip cookies, tortillas, mexican pizza, tomato soup with noodles, boiled eggs, ramen soup, jello, brownies, biscuits, peanut butter cookies and lemonade. Ben was very interested in learning about the human body so that he could apply the same concepts to the robot design that he was working on. He now understands the function and basic workings of all the major organs of the body. He understands how bones, joints and muscles work together to allow us to move. He has a strong grasp of how opposing muscles work to give you stability and movement. Ben understands how blood travels through the body, is used and resupplied with oxygen. Ben knows the five senses and has a good understanding of the basics of how these each work.

4. Language Arts - Literature, fiction, non-fiction
Reading	Teaches:	Appreciation of literature.
	Method:	Each week He reads many books with us.
		Also, see Reading in section #1 above.
	Goal:	Continued daily reading together, increased reading on his own.
	Year End:	Ben has begun to read on his own although he is not confident in his ability yet. We read several books a day aloud with him. He is able to read Level 2 ready to read books with minimal assistance. (See Reading above Section 1 Communications.)
	
Writing	Teaches:	Creative Writing
	Method:	He dictates reports to us and then types them up and illustrates them.
	Current:	He has written and illustrated some short reports.
	Goal:	Writing reports and stories
	Year End:	Ben has written many short reports this year as well as his long end of year report. He typically dictates to someone else and they print what he says. Then he types it into the computer. He has been making a set of cartoon strips like the FoxTrot series as well as writing his own version of Harry Potter.

ASL	Teaches:	Speaking in American Sign Language with hands
	Method:	Used with parents since age 6 months as a way to communicate prior to his being able to speak verbally.
	Goal:	Increased vocabulary, finger spelling. 
	Year End:	Ben is able to sing many songs in ASL and uses ASL with his baby sister since she can't speak yet but can sign. He has most of the alphabet and many object names and verbs. Songs he has learned in sign language include: Skidamarink-e-do, Bingo, The Little Green Frog, Mary had a Little Lamb, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Let's go Fly a Kite, Peas Porridge Hot, A Sailor Went to Sea Sea Sea, How Much is That Doggy in the Window, I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing, Stay Awake (from Mary Poppins) and All Night All Day. 

French	Teaches:	A foreign language, culture, etc.
	Method:	Spoken with family, visits to Canada, listening to tapes & videos, software.
	Goal:	Ability to understand simple children's books in French, understand and speak some basic French by years end. 
	Year End:	Ben has been working on a basic vocabulary of French including common household words like bread, fork, knife as well as the names of animals such as chicken, sheep, etc.

5. Sciences - Biology, Chemistry, Life Science...
Aquaria	Teaches:	Plant & animal biology, ecosystems, geography, geology, chemistry, evolution.
	Method:	We have many home aquariums ranging from 10 to 1800 gallons of both freshwater, saltwater and palladium types which we use to study the plants, animals and ecosystems as well as discussing the locations around the world where they originated.
	Current:	Ben and his brother currently have a 50 gallon palladium (land/water) tank in their bedroom containing plants and a turtle.
	Goal:	Understanding of basics of animal care, anatomy, evolution, ecosystems, species organization
	Year End:	Sadly the turtle died this year. It went into its normal hibernation and seemed fine but this Spring it never woke up. Ben is hoping to get an iguana or chameleon someday with his brother. The other fish did well and multiplied this year. Ben has a good understanding of their life cycle for his age.
		
Animals	Teaches:	Plant & animal biology, ecosystems, geography, geology, chemistry, evolution.
	Method:	We have a variety of animals including a cat, dogs, sheep, chickens & ducks.
	Current:	He helps care for the animals, learning about their behavior, training, bodies, housing and care. Ben helps to feed all of the animals. Each day Ben looks for chicken eggs. Ben enjoys caring for the puppies.
	Goal:	Understanding of basics of animal care, anatomy, evolution, ecosystems, species organization.
		Sense of responsibility and accomplishment.
	Year End:	Ben helps care for the farm animals, collect eggs, prepare and cook meat from the farm and enjoys eating the fruits of his labor. He understands about evolution, growth and development from what we do and also from reading in books and watching science videos such as those from National Geographic.
		
Garden	Teaches:	Plant care, where food comes from, plant physiology and growing.
	Method:	Ben helps with the vegetable garden, planning, selecting of seeds as well as the work of digging & planting.
	Current:	Ben gardens with us. He is very interested in where food comes from, how it grows and in growing food and eating what he has cultivated. There are many foods that he loves out of the garden.
	Goal:	Continued expansion of his understanding of plants and their cycle in life through his participation in the gardening. 
	Year End:	Ben loves to tend the garden. We have just finished the majority of the planting. Over this past year he helped care for the last garden, harvest it and then prepare foods from it. He understands the interrelation of animals and plants and why we turn the animals into fertilize and dig up the gardens in the fall. This spring he helped pick out varieties of vegetables that he wanted to grow and eat.

Science	Teaches:	Miscellaneous science topics as well as drafting, modeling and design.
	Method:	We have a variety of books on experiments and how things work which we read
		from. Additionally, in the course of the days we run into topics
		that we then explore such as geodes, how rockets work, how computers
		work, etc.
	Current:	Ben is very interested in Legos, engineering and makes elaborate machines.
		Trips to the Boston Museum of Science, Montshire Museum, VINS
		Lake Champlain Basin Science Center.
	Goal:	Understanding and appreciation of some of the basic principles of science like electricity, levers, friction, etc. Reading about how things work.
	Year End:	This Winter we did an extensive unit on electricity and electronics where Ben learned about resistance, voltage, motors, switches, lights and more. We also studied mechanical engineering. This Winter and Spring he spent a lot of time working up drawings and written descriptions of a Spybot robot he wants to build. We also studied rocks, how things work and visited the Monshire Museum.

6. Arts - Music, Dance, Drawing, Painting, Sculpture
Music	Teaches:	Music appreciation, fine motor coordination, piano playing, reading music, the joy of music.
	Method:	Holly and Ben play piano together for about 20 minutes four times a week..
		Ben generally reviews 3 songs he knows and starts on a new song.
	Current:	Ben has almost completed John Thompson’s Modern Course for the Piano Teaching Little Fingers to Play. He has learned 5 pieces from Alfred’s Basic Piano Library Prep Course for the Young Beginner Christmas Joy – Level B
		Ben can identify the treble and bass clefs, and the written notes for the octaves above and below middle C.
		Ben understands repeats, sharps and flats, quarter notes, half notes, whole notes and dotted notes.
		Ben is able to sight read simple tunes within this range.
		Ben plays using all of his fingers correctly as noted in the music
		Ben plays simple two handed sections and two note chords.
		Ben has memorized 4 of his pieces.
		Ben has decided that he would also like to play the Banjo. He has begun working through Hal Leonard Banjo Method Book 1. He is on page 14 and has begun to learn Tablature.
		Ben enjoys composing pieces. He sometimes dictates the music for me to write on the music staff and sometimes writes the music down himself. He is very good at incorporating new music concepts that he has just learned into his own compositions (ie chords, new notes, new rhythms…)
	Goal:	Complete Alfred’s Basic Piano Library Prep Course for the Young Beginner Christmas Joy – Level B.
		Complete Alfred’s Basic Piano Prep Course Level B
		Learn 5 of the pieces in First Favorite Christmas Duets and/or First Favorite Duets by Lynn Freeman Olson.
	`	Learn 5 of the pieces in First Favorite Melodies by Lynn Freeman Olson
		Increase complexity of music he has able to play within the two octave range that he is familiar with including eighth notes and more two handed work. 
		To begin playing duets for skill, rhythm and fun.
		Memorize 5 more of his favorite pieces.
		Encourage Ben to continue creating his own compositions both on the piano and the banjo.
	Year End:	Ben made great gains on the piano this year. He completed Alfred's Prep Course Level B and the first 32 pages of John Thompson's Modern Course for the Piano 1st Grade Book. He memorized several songs from Hal Leonard's Popular Piano Solos Level 2 and completed half of the Rondino by Jean Philippe Rameau, which is a particularly challenging piece for Ben's level. Ben is comfortable with eighth notes and plays well in the two octave range around middle C. He is a proficient sight reader and tackles challenges with calm persistence. On the banjo, Ben has learned several more chords and is beginning to learn alternating picks to augment his strumming. Ben is now able to play most of the chords he knows cleanly with nice curved fingers in his left hand. 

Art	Teaches:	Fine motor skills, color sense, creative thinking, visualizing, confidence.
	Method:	Free play art, drawing exercises with parents, various organized art projects, use of a variety of creative materials, photography, animation.
		Work both on and off the computer.
	Current:	Ben loves to draw and do crafts. Recently he has been working at doing portraits like his mother does, drawing people and animals from photos. He has shown good persistence, doing drawing exercises to improve his skills such as how to draw ovals, spirals, shading, etc. Ben is finishing up a sewing project of a pants suit for his soon to arrive baby sister.
	Goal:	Experience with a wide variety of materials including sewing, paints, oil crayons, cutting and pasting, tissue paper and felt.
		Encourage and support his self inspired art projects. Encourage drawing with books that help with step-by-step additions to the drawings. (Such as Ed Emberley’s series of drawing books.) Continued improvement in his drawings. Creating an animated drawing. Study face and body proportions. Study basic perspective (Horizon line, vanishing points…)
	Year End:	Ben has done several sewing projects including making a football for himself and a very nice baby suit for his sister following a pattern. He also draws inventions and cartoons almost every day. His drawing skills continue to improve and he is using more colors. We have done exercises in perspective and he continues to carefully observe and reproduce the shapes that he is trying to draw.
Dance		See Dance in #3 above.

8. Resource List:
	We have the books listed below and also regularly use the local libraries
	as well as the interlibrary loan system and the Internet to get additional information on topics under study. Items marked with ** are review workbooks which he does a little of each day. These check that he is covering all the necessary topics and has comprehension of the key concepts. e.g., to make sure we're not missing something. Items marked with * are software.

Ethics:	Asops Fables
	Chicken Soup for the Soul
	Lighting Candles in the Dark
	Brave Quakers
	Children's Book of Virtues

Art:	I Can Draw Animals by Golden Books
	I Can Draw Sea Creatures by Golden Books
	Let’s Draw Animals by Ann H Davidow
	Ed Emberley’s series of drawing books

History:	Most of our history books come from the library. We own the ones below.:
	The Century for Young People by Peter Jennings & Todd Brewster
	Susan B. Anthony Champion of Women’s Rights by Helen Albee Monsell
	Helen Keller From Tragedy to Triumph by Katharine E Wilkie
	Five Smooth Stones Hope’s Diary by Kristina Gregory
	The Death of Lincoln by Leroy Hayman
	...If you lived in Colonial Times by Ann McGovern
	...If you were there when They Signed the Constitution by Elizabeth Levy
	A Book of Brave Quakers by Elizabeth Howard
	The Story of the Constitution by Marilyn Prplman
	Thomas Edison by Discover Magazine
	Clara Barton by Discover Magazine
	American Revolution by Discover Magazine
	1776 Year of Independence by Genevieve foster
	The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln
	The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln by Robert E Jakoubek
	New York City by Rene Othe
	Ray Ginger's Jokebook about American History by Ray Ginger
	Squanto and the first Thanksgiving by Joyce Kessel
	Discovery of North America by Michele Byam
	Eyewitness Books - Flag by William Crampton
	Stranded at Plymouth Plantation 1626 - Gary Bowen
	The Liberty Tree - Lucille Recht Penner

Music:	Teaching Little fingers To Play by John Thompson
	Teaching Little Fingers To Play More by Leigh Kaplan
	Alfred's Christmas Joy by Alfred Publishing Co
	First Favorite Duets by Lynn Freeman Olson
	First Favorite Christmas Duets by Lynn Freeman Olson
	First Favorite Melodies by Lynn Freeman Olson
	Alfred's Prep Course Level B Lesson Book by Alfred Publishing Co
	Alfred's Prep Course Level B Solo Book by Alfred Publishing Co

	Below are books that Ben may use in the future
	John Thompson’s Modern Course for the Piano – The First Grade Book
	John Thompson’s Modern Course for the Piano – The Second Grade Book
	EZ Play Today Kid Songs by Hal Leonard
	Alfred's Prep Course Level B Theory Book by Alfred Publishing Co
	Keyboard Kids Book 1 by Santorella
	Disney Movie Fun Five Finger Piano by Hal Leonard
	Popular Piano Solos Level 1 by Hal Leonard
	Popular Piano Solos Level 2 by Hal Leonard
	Rodgers & Hammerstein Fun five Finger Piano by Hal Leonard
	Alfred's Prep Course Level C Lesson Book by Alfred Publishing Co
	Alfred's Prep Course Level C Solo Book by Alfred Publishing Co
	Alfred's Prep Course Level C Theory Book by Alfred Publishing Co
	Alfred's Prep Course Level C Technic Book by Alfred Publishing Co
	Playtime Piano Children's Songs by Faber & Faber
	Keyboard Kids Book 2 by Santorella
	Alfred's Prep Course Level D Lesson Book by Alfred Publishing Co

Science:	Bully for the Brontosaurus by Stephen Jay Gould
	Evolution – The Triumph of an Idea by Carl Zimmer & Stephen Jay Gould
	The Panda’s Thumb by Stephen Jay Gould
	A Primate’s Memoirs – Robert Sapolsky
	Disney's Countdown to Extinction by AJ Wood
	Traveling in Space by Sue Becklake
	Shapes Structures and Materials - by Pam Robson
	What's to Eat? And Other Questions Kids Ask about Food by US Dept of Agriculture
	Focus on Medicines by Susan DeStefano
	Ant - Life Story by Michael Chinery
	Rivers by Laurence Santrey
	Swamps and Marshes by Francene Sabin
	Lakes and Ponds by Laurence Santrey
	Water by Rae Bains
	Explorabook - A Kids' Science Museum in a Book by John Cassidy
	Earthsearch - A Kids' Geography Museum in a Book by John Cassidy
	The Story of Robots by Leonbattista Donati
	The Big Book of Tell Me Why by Arkady Leokum
	100 Amazing Make-It-Yourself Science Fair Projects by Glen Vecchione
	Disaster Science by Editors of Klutz
	Shocking Science by Steve Parker
	The Ultimate Book of Bones by Jinny Johnson
	How it Works The World of Animal Life by Gerald Legg
	Plus approximately 60 reference books on plant and animal life for aquaria.
	Adam: The Inside Story of our bodies*
	Nine Worlds hosted by Patrick Stewart*
	The Box Turtle Manual by Philippe de Vosjoli and Roger Klingenberg, DVM
	The Green Files: Interactive Science on CD-ROM*
	Undersea Adventure from Knowledge Adventure*
	Human Body by Dr Nick Graham
	The Skeleton Inside You by Philip Balestrino
	How it Works - The Human Body by Kate Barnes & Steve Weston
	The Amazing Pull-Out Pop-Up Body in a Book by David Hawcock
	Blood and Guts by Linda Allison
	The Children's Book of the Body by Anna Sandeman
	Blood & Gore by Vicki Cobb
	The Glow-in-the-Dark Book of Human Skeletons by Michael Novak
	How It Works Funny Bones and Other Body Parts by Anita Ganeri
	My First Body Book by Chris & Melanie Rice
	DK Vides and book series
	
Reading:	We have a very large selection of kids book at home which Ben reads from daily.
	Dr. Seuss Preschool, Green Eggs & Ham*
	Arthur’s Reading Race*
	D. W. Picky Eater*
	Arthur’s Camping Adventure*
	Princess Crab*
	Kid Phonics 1 & 2*
	Curious George*
	Reading Quest*
	Reader Rabbit 4-6*
	JumpStart Phonics*
	JumpStart LG ABS’s*
	Giant Basic Skills – Pre-K-1 Phonics & Spelling Workbook by Modern Publishing
	School Zone Grades 1-3 Short Vowels**, Blends**, Rhyming Families**
	Reading Blaster Ages*
	Euro Method Instant Immersion Lanaguage Lab: French, Italian, German, Spanish* 8CDs
	Language Discovery: Español Français Englaise Deutsche Vocabulary Building CD*
	Reading Developement Library*
	
Math:	School Zone Grade 1 Math workbook**
	JumpStart 1st Grade*
	Math Blaster*

Reference:	Webster's New World Dictionary
	DK Children's First Encyclopedia
	The Prentice-Hall American World Atlas
	The American Heritage Children's Dictionary
	DK Children's Encyclopedia Multimedia CD-ROM*
	The Deluxe American Heritage Dictionary CD-ROM*
	Year 2000 Grollerier Multimedia CD-ROM set*
	IBM's World Book 2 CD Set*
	Guinness Encyclopedia*
	Delorme Street Atlas*

Other:	We also have an extensive collection of educational videos from National Geographic, DK, Scholastic’s Magic School Bus, Blues Clues, the Muppets and similar sources that Ben watches. These are typically 30 to 45 minutes long and he watches 3-4 per week. Most of them fall in the category of science with some also covering basic math, phonics and reading.
	Blues Clues Treasure Hunt, 123, ABC*
	The Incredible Toon Machine*
	Jump Start series - math, reading, history, art, music, science, etc.
	Jump Start Phonics*
	Treasure Mountain*
	Treasure Cove*
	Jump Start Typing* & Typing Tutor*
	Strategy Games of the World I & II*
	Monopoly, etc
	Trizzle*
	Food Chain*
	Reversi*
	Chess
	Go*

9. Schedule:
	Each weekday morning we choose the topics for him to do that day.
	Each topic has a minimum number of times it should be done per week.
	Each topic has a goal to be done, e.g. 15 minutes of Piano, 2 pages math
	Between the two of us we spend several hours a day with Ben on school.
	Core school work is ~2 hours a day of time if done continuously not including breaks.
	Over time, with input from him, we have gradually modified to fit him.