Microbe Hunters

I recently finished the book "Microbe Hunters" by Paul de Kruif, and I can say that I'm glad I read it. It describes the lives of early microbiologists, and explains their discoveries in an easy to understand way.

Because English has changed a lot since Microbe Hunters was written, the writing style can be hard to follow at times, but if you don't read it too quickly, it's not a problem at all.

The book is split into sections, each one about one microbe hunter in particular, and each microbe hunter's section is split into chapters. I usually read one of these chapters per day, because if I read much more than that I'd lose track of the story.

I can hardly remember any individual Microbe Hunter, because the book was long enough that I forgot a good deal of it, but I'm glad I read it because I now know how the microbe hunters felt to work in a largely ridiculed field.

Microbes had been a very controversial subject when they were first discovered. People didn't want to give up their old beliefs that spirits were the cause of all diseases known to man. When scientists found their own explanation that clashed with popular belief, they were laughed at, and even ignored.

This reminds me of a lot of how science works now. When creationists find some mind-blowing proof for God, the rest of the scientific world just laughs at them, and usually ignore it. The only difference is that the microbe hunters eventually got the message across that microbes were indeed real, and the cause of almost every disease.

Microbe Hunters makes for an interesting read, and I would like to read it again sometime.

MediaWiki as a tool for High School

This school year, I've been using MediaWiki to track my work, and it's been going very nicely. Anybody on my local network can see what I've been up to in school, and there are no papers to lose.

Last year, my mom had me use a special paper that I would use to record my work. However, I didn't really like it, there wasn't enough room to write everything I wanted on it, and because each paper looked the same as the next, they were easy to lose and hard to find. So, this year I decided I was going to find a solution.

MediaWiki has not failed me yet. It's great for saving any kind of information in a way that it is accessible from any computer on your local network, or if you want, just accessible from your computer.

I use the category "9th Grade" to set my school-related pages aside from the other pages on my wiki (the one I'm using now has been set up for a long time, and I've done a lot on it). I still need to make a schoolwork index page, where you can find links to all the important pages related to school.

Since about half of my schoolwork requires some level of computer use, it's nice to have everything in one spot. I'm working on making a special page for myself (not on the wiki, but still on the same server)  that will give me convenient links to all computer-based work.

Throughout the year, I don't doubt that my Wiki will change a whole lot. Right now, it looks almost nothing like my first concept for a LAMP-based schoolwork tracker, and I'm always making slight modifications.

One Day of High School, Already Changes

Day One of 2012 - 2013 School Year

One day of our new homeschool year in the books, time for some changes.  Monday when I came home from work, we had a family  briefing of how things went.  As it turns out, it became apparent quickly that a couple of items weren't meeting our highschooler's expectations and needs.  Here's what happened to us:

Ryan reports that Alpha Omega's 9th grade History and Geography Lifepac is not challenging enough.  The workbook and fill in the blank approach did not work for him.  Don't think of this as a bad review for Alpha Omega's Lifepacs.  Instead, we're going to hold onto our copy of 9th grade History and Geography for Grace's 8th grade work next year.

The other problem is shame on us for not doing due diligence and finding out that the course covers only United States history and geography.  We already plan on studying American History in depth next year with Sonlight's "Core 100" in 10th grade, with Ryan's 8th grade sister and 6th grade brother following along.

That being said, Ryan wants and needs moree.  Fortunately, we already have a copy of Streams of Civilization, Volume II from Christian Liberty Press available.  So U.S. History came out of the lesson plan and World History went in.  From day two through today, all appears to be going well.

Language Arts is also off to a rough start.  Language Arts has always been a challenge, not only for us but for the homeschool community in general:  How to do basic grammar work like plurals and prepositions without getting bored with drills?  Any ideas?  Anybody who figures out an interesting, engaging Language Arts plan will corner the homeschool market, I tell ya! We tried letting Ryan work at his own pace, even testing out, but that didn't work.  So we're following through with our plan there and that's the best we can do so far.

At least the rest of the courses are off to a good start, especially Apologia's Biology.  We're supplementing that with the book Microbe Hunters by Paul di Kruif, which we downloaded to our nook.

Don't think of this as a bad review for Alpha Omega's Lifepacs.  Instead, we're going to hold onto our copy of 9th grade History and Geography for Grace's 8th grade work next year.

As homeschooling families already know, flexibility and customization are perks we enjoy.  We can make changes and customize lessons to our childrens' strengths.  Even if you are only through day one, if you find your best laid plan astray, don't hesitate.

How soon have you had to change your plans?  Are you already making adjustments?  Should you?

Grade Nine: Thoughts From a Student Entering High School

Ninth Grade. Although I had always thought I would be homeschooled all the way to college, I'm still amazed that I've made it this far. Today, my parents and I went over all the subjects I would be taking, including Latin, Algebra, and Biology, among plenty of others. All the preparation has been made, and the anticipation is rising. On Monday, when school starts, I will be ready.

I am very excited about this school year. I've always been excited at the beginning of school, but this time more than others. This year, I have more work, but also more interesting things to learn about.

Also, this Thursday, Karate will be starting up again after the summer break. I have really missed Karate, as it is always the highlight of my week. It's nice that Karate is starting the same week as school, as Karate is also counted towards physical education for me.

Today I also set up a webpage on my local network's server that allows me to track my school progress, and print out status reports to deliver to my mom. It uses HTML tables and CSS. If it goes well, I'll probably post a how-to guide on my website sometime later.

This year, I don't plan to change how I approach schoolwork. Just like last year, I'm going to start the average day with a stack of books that need my attention, and I'll pick whichever one I feel like doing at that particular time. After that subject is done, I'll set it aside and choose something else. In no time, it's all done. If this plan doesn't work as well this year as it did last year, I guess I'll adapt my approach as needed.

I really don't want to have a strict, hour-by-hour schedule dictating what I do when. Those bother me because I feel rushed to complete everything on time, and they also don't allow for lessons that take longer than normal, or lessons that take less time than normal.

So, as the 2012-2013 school year starts, I feel  like I am standing on top of a mountain, watching a storm draw near. Over summer break, I get accustomed to having all the free time in the world, and I know that the first week is always the hardest. But at the same time, I am ready for School. I am excited.

Disc Golf, Summer School

Saturday morning the kids and I had a round of disc golf together.  As a homeschool family, we should have known that a father, son, and daughter outing would turn into some life lessons.  Here are a few, with some ideas on how you can benefit from the final weeks of summer:

We also learned about the consequences of drought.
What's under our feet used to be grass.

In one way, it is not necessarily about disc golf.  Do you know how hard it is to get a 46 year old, 14 year old, 13 (almost) year old, and 10 year old to agree on anything?  Silly question, I'm sure you know.  Not only that, but outdoor time has been harder to come by.  The extreme heat and drought has affected us.  Note the lack of green grass in the photo.  You could say that finding common interests is like finding water (you would say gold, but water is more valuable right now).  We as family members need to learn that just because we are family, we don't always like the same things.  When we do, these opportunities cannot get away!  


Action idea:  What can you plan for your family that can be fun, family building, and that everyone can participate in?  When can you do it?

Summer School Skills Training - Target Practice

This week we got a temporary break in the weather, so we got outside for some target practice - impromptu summer school lesson!

When taking target practice, we prefer to use our Daisy brand BB rifles.  In the 1970s, my brother and I had them, and now my young men have their own.  We also use airsoft BB handguns that we bought on the internet.  The Daisy rifles are great!  The airsoft guns are OK, but not nearly as good.

It's important to get out and do some target shooting, I believe because:

• A chance to get outside
• Father / son activity
• Hand / eye coordination
• Training for handling real firearms someday
• Friendly competition
• Support 2nd Amendment rights

Hopefully, when Ryan and his brother are older, we will have a chance to do some hunting with my uncle.  The offer is out there, they just have to grow up a little bit more.

Are you taking advantage of the summer months to work on some skills other than the typical academic stuff?

The Bicycles are Lonely

Just taking up space in the garage
until it cools down outside.

Once again, the National Weather Service has issued an Air Quality Alert because of high temperatures.  An unusually high number of days with forecast highs in the 90s this season has called for adjustments to our summer recreation ideals.  We, especially me, are big advocates about playing outside. 


As I write this, it is Sunday afternoon.  We've come home from church and had our nice lunch.  The rest of the day is wide open to do whatever we please.  My first choice would be to go bicycling or hiking.  As we drove home, though, we saw on the van's digital readout that it was already in the high 80s before noon.  As a result, Ryan is in his room working on his computer (I did mention a blog he could be writing an entry to), his younger brother and sister are upstairs playing Lego, and Darling Bride is catching up on laundry.  Also, thinking ahead to some planned camping trips, I'm questioning the logic of giving up a nice, air conditioned house for the hot outdoors.  At least we have a nice, air conditioned pop-up camper.

To put it in perspective, though, here in Indiana we are experiencing drought conditions along with hot temperatures.  As Darling Bride pointed out, "we are having our August weather pattern in June."  The weather is creating trials for everybody.  Farmers, first and foremost, are having trouble with their crops.  At the farmers market last week, I wondered to myself how our favorite sweet corn grower was going to make money this year.

The lawn mower is no more than a
photo prop until more rain comes.

On the other hand, we haven't been complete prisoners to the weather.  We have been swimming.  Early mornings have been pleasant.  Some of us went fishing yesterday.  Therefore, it is wise to put things in perspective.  Maybe today would be a good day for some down time?  Not only, that, but with brothers and sisters playing nicely right now, that's something to celebrate.  We can also be thankful for modern conveniences like electricity and air conditioning.  We are well.  Weather patterns do come and go.

Has any extreme weather altered your summer plans?  How have you adjusted?