Secret Squirrel Training

Last Monday was was the start of our new school year and the start of "Secret Squirrel Training" Hee!  Hee!  Every time I hear that phrase it makes me laugh.  According to Chris, its a cycling term for a guy who shows up at ride and blows away the other cyclists; they say he's been doing "Secret Squirrel Training".  Its application to my home, is that Chris and Lance have started some intense training together. The goal is for one to gain weight the other to lose weight and get Lance into top notch shape before baseball season.  This pic is of the latest edition to the training... an agility ladder, to increase obviously agility and consequently speed.  Other toys/tools they use are a "slosh pipe", "medicine balls", the pull-up bar they built last spring (when the world shut down), to enhance the traditional workout activities of squats, lunges, etc.  So impressed they did it five times last week and started again this morning 

I on the other hand, did 15 minutes of yoga once last week, maybe I'll try for two this week, but I'm not a squirrel.

Our school year had a bumpy start but we worked through it.  Doing things a bit different this year (nothing new there), were trying paired teaching and to incorporate more art.

Paired teaching is just what it sounds like; the kids are paired together to learn something instead of me teaching that subject.

Lance and Titus pair up to work on "42 Electronics".  I've been looking at this electronics curricula for years and finally bought it over the break.  So far the kids are impressed and learning a lot, its equal parts mechanical electrical training and programing.  Lance leans toward the mechanical and Titus the programing, though he's equally interested in the mechanical.

Lance and Amber are doing a modified version of "Five in a Row", there first book was "Storm in the Night".  They didn't get the art project last week but hope to do that today.

Jared is teaching Amber piano.  Jared has always had issues with the traditional method of teaching piano, so he's trying to come up with his own new way to teach piano that he hopes will help Amber better understand piano.

Jared and Titus are working a rough "Aviation" curricula, I found an outline for a middle school curricula on the FAA website.  As they both have an interest in a career in aviation, (Jared as an Air Traffic Controller and Titus as a pilot) its important they obtain a strong understanding of they subject matter ie. planes and how they work.  Last week we started slow with reading some basic books on aviation.  This week we'll increase the difficulty of the reading a bit.

Lance and Jared are going to continue their study of Spanish.  We didn't start this last week because I wasn't sure what resource to use.  The one they used last year wasn't doing the trick anymore and then this morning Dwane Thomas gave a glowing review of Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish.  The boys need a conversational focused curricula, and this looks like it might just fit that bill.  I ordered it today and should be here Wednesday, fingers crossed.