CHRISTEPHI

After having been homeschooled through early elementary, my mom put me in public school in the 5th grade.  The school, not having any academic history for me, randomly placed me in the highest level math class (and the lowest level English class).  The first day of class we were given timed tests: 5 minutes to complete a page of 100 addition problems.  Then subtraction.  Then multiplication.  By then I was getting in over my head.  I understood that multiplication was essentially a form of addition, so I started frantically making hash marks to count up to the answers.  I didn't finish my 100 problems, but I struggled through the 5 minutes and did the best I could.  Next we were given a page of 100 division problems.  By this time I was completely overwhelmed and burst into tears.  The teacher gently ushered me next door to the lowest level math class where I spent the rest of the year, cheerfully using my multiplication cheat sheet that was taped to the inside cover of my ma

Ahh! I just realized I haven't blogged our Adventures in U.S. History since Week 26!!  What happened?!  We've just been plugging away contentedly at our work and are nearing the end of our school year.  So, while I go get myself sorted and whip up the rest of our weekly reviews for you, I thought you might like to see our latest project. A Cocoa Krispie Sod House Ingredients: 6 tablespoons butter 6 cups miniature marshmallows 9 cups cocoa krispies 3/4 cup fancy shredded coconut ("fancy" looks more like grass, but any shredded coconut will work) green food coloring extra butter or cooking spray Also needed: large sauce pan (or large microwave safe bowl) wooden spoon jelly roll pan or cookie sheet waxed paper small glass bowl fork knife clean scrap of cardboard popsicle sticks kitchen shears Directions: Melt butter in a large sauce pan over low heat. Don't let the butter brown!  When melted, add in the marshmallows and s

My dad is a computer programmer.  Like many youngsters, his passion for computers started out as a hobby.  When he realized people would   pay   him to program it was like in the cartoons: jaw dropping, eyes popping out, AHH-OOO-GAH!  And he's never looked back! My love for technology also developed in my youth.  We first got dial-up internet when I was in 8th grade...good old AOL.  Before long I was dabbling in HTML and launched my first website on GeoCities, in a virtual neighborhood with a street address everything!  How times have changed! Technology may have changed over the years, but the pull it has on the imaginations of young people remains the same.  Many computer programmers write their first programs in middle school.  Homeschooled kids are uniquely situated to excel in this area due to the ability to streamline their time spent hitting the books and allocate their remaining time to learning a coding language. Homeschool Programming, Inc. was started in