Ethan is really into coding and especially making games, like the Tetris game he made. The challenge is managing screen-time. Sometimes, he rushes through his tasks, such as violin practice, just to get to use the computer. However, he has gotten much better with managing time on the computer without us saying something. He sets a timer and is pretty good about stopping and taking a 30-minute break after 30-minutes on the computer.

One activity not captured in photos this week was taekwondo practice, which is Monday to Friday for 30-minutes each class.

A surprising thing that’s happened is Ethan has grown about a centimetre over the past month.

May 17

May 18

May 19

May 20

May 21

May 22

May 23

And that was Ethan’s week.

Hello Ethan,

 So wonderful to hear what you have been up to the last few weeks. I am glad to hear that you are limiting your own computer time. I noticed I can sit at mine for much longer than 30 minutes, so thank you for the reminder to take a break.

I will not be responding in full to this observation for learning, as I am spending a lot of time compiling and riding the year-end summaries for all of my learners.

I was so impressed by your paper Pac-Man game. I thought it was a really nice addition to your Pac-Man coding project. adding the erasable plastic folder was a brilliant idea. I cannot wait to see your stop animation video of playing Pacman in this way. I think it’s going to turn out really well, plus it is based on the actual patterns of the specific ghosts! Wow Ethan you really dive into your projects!

I just watched the video on YouTube, so good! The edits and the sound are on point. I’m going to share this one with some people that love Pac-Man. Thanks for all of your creative energy Ethan and how you post it all for others to enjoy. 

The Pac-Man ghosts operating manual is brilliant. it shows just how much you know about Blinky and Pinky Etc. You took the time to draw it all out and have a manual that others could refer to. Are you going to incorporate the manual into your stop animation film in any way? you could even make a how I made the Pac-Man stop motion video video. I think your sense of humour could really come out in that one.

Is your video, what if the Earth really stopped spinning, posted yet?  Please send me a link when you do. 

I am really glad the elements of mathematics class are so engaging and interesting for you. seems like a really great new resource that you’ve tapped into. 

With all of your studying of decibels have you ever looked into what a sound engineer does?

What is your interest in decibels? Is it the math? Are you interested in how it relates to sound in general? please tell me more.

https://www.connollymusic.com/stringovation/what-is-a-sound-engineer-and-how-to-become-one

https://www.careerexplorer.com/careers/audio-engineer/

I have friends who do this for music and concerts: 

Can You believe it is the last week of self design? The weather is beautiful here I’m hoping it is there to and you have a great one.

The post Unschooling Journal May 17-23, 2020 appeared first on How to Do Stuff With Ethan.

May 10

May 11

May 12

May 13

May 14

May 15

May 16

And that was Ethan’s week!

The post Unschooling Journal May 10-16, 2020 appeared first on How to Do Stuff With Ethan.

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April 19

April 20

Every Monday and Tuesday, Ethan has been taking violin classes online from his regular teacher.

April 21

Ethan published his tour of the solar system video today.

April 22

April 23

April 24

April 25

This morning, Ethan had his symphony class. They’ve been having classes online. The students are supposed to record themselves playing and the teacher will compile each person’s performance into one piece. Should be fun to hear it!

Ethan had another busy week. It’s definitely not easy being home all the time, not being able to attend activities at the community centre but Ethan seems to be doing quite well. We’ve certainly spent even more time together so that’s always something to be grateful for.

The post Unschooling Journal April 19-25, 2020 appeared first on How to Do Stuff With Ethan.

For Ethan, we’ve tried to keep him physically active but it’s definitely more of a challenge with not being able to go and play outside. Aside from that, it’s been pretty much business as usual for Ethan.

April 12

April 13

April 14

April 15

April 16

April 17

April 18

LC Response

The post Unschooling Journal April 12-18, 2020 appeared first on How to Do Stuff With Ethan.

Here’s what happened to Ethan over this week, which was the official start of school after Spring Break. With SelfDesign, the learning community that Ethan is enrolled in, we don’t have Spring Break.

We are given five weeks that we can use as holiday weeks and we get the usual Christmas break. We also don’t have professional days and Ethan’s learning usually goes through the weekends and holidays, too.

That sounds like a lot! But Ethan enjoys learning and is usually quite happy to learn about the things he enjoys, even on traditional days off for other students.

March 29

March 31

April 1

April 2

April 3

April 4

It was wonderful to see Ethan and his parents on Zoom. 

I attached an audio recording of our conversation as I was having problems with such a large digital file. 

Some of the highlights include hearing about Ethan’s now online Tae kwon do and violin classes. He told me about how he played chess with a friend online too. 

He is getting used to chatting with his friends online, but of course he misses spending time with them in person. 

We talked a bit about life in the Covid19 pandemic. Ethan says his is not that different besides not being able to visit people. 

I encouraged the family to take the time to focus on life skills like cooking, doing dishes and the laundry etc. These are all learning opportunities. 

Ethan told me more about his CSA projects and assignments and the video aspect. I am confident he will produce an amazing film as he has so much practice!

His family was proud to share his first e-book publication. Ethan seemed motivated to produce part 1 and part 2 of “Adventure of a piece of Paper”

Can you remind me about the 2 month Adobe Animate program you mentioned? Was Ethan going to try it for free? Were you wondering about possibly purchasing it next year with LRS funds? 

Enjoy your week off and we will connect again in an Observing for Learning for week 33. I look forward to seeing the new films Ethan has been working on. 

Have a listen to our great chat!

The post Unschooling Journal March 29-April April 4, 2020 appeared first on How to Do Stuff With Ethan.

Here’s Ethan’s week…

March 22

March 23

Ethan also made the following videos on this day.

March 24

The videos that Ethan made and published today.

March 25

March 26

The videos Ethan made and published today.

March 27

March 28

Ethan had a very busy week, learning new things about history, math and getting into animation by using Final Cut Pro and Adobe Animate. We still went out for some fresh air by going jogging when the weather was nice but also kept our physical distance from others.

Hopefully, this blog provides some inspiration for the families wondering what to do with schooling during this current coronavirus situation. Hope that you and your family are staying safe and healthy.

Spring Connection: 

My I Can… statement

I can get better at making new equations, and figuring out new equations. 

My photo

I put in this image, since I was having a hard time copying yours. 

My strengths

Complete these statements related to your I Can … statement

    
I feel I was really good at:
 

Figuring out those formulas was hard, and so was figuring out how to prove Heron’s formula, which said that if you have a triangle and you know it’s side lengths, you can figure out the area. (a, b, and c are the side lengths.)in fact, if s = (a+b+c) / 2, area  = sqrt(s * (s-a)*(s-b)*(s-c)). 

Thank you for your reflections Ethan, you are exceptional at figuring out new equations and finding new ones too. 

    
I want you to notice:    

 That the above photo does not at all look like area  = sqrt(s * (s-a)*(s-b)*(s-c)). so, I proved that they are in fact, the same! here is khan academy explaining it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZu7IZLhJRI

You are so resourceful at finding math equations and proofs which are of interest to you. 

My stretches

    
If I could change one thing, it would be:
 

 I would want to make a formula that solved both even and odd numbers.

    
because:
 

It can be a hassle to remember if it’s even or odd, and remember 2 formulas.

You have to use different equations based on whether the number is odd or even? 

I know you are on Brilliant, have you seen these questions: https://brilliant.org/practice/area-of-triangles-herons-formula/

I guess they have challenge quizzes too. 

I know you love visuals: 

Heron’s Formula: a Proof

The area S of a triangle ABC, with side length a, b, c and semiperimeter s = (a + b + c)/2, is given by S² = s(s – a)(s – b)(s – c).

Heron’s formula is named after Hero of Alexandria (1 century AD. The formula is a specialization of Brahmagupta’s formula for cyclic quadrilaterals. For, after all, every triangle is a cyclic quadrilateral with two coalesced vertices. I find the proof presented below rather amusing because it exploits the dissection of a triangle induced by the presence of the incircle.

Self-reflecting is a tool to deepen your learning, thank you for engaging in this. You can use it anytime as you learn and evaluate new infomation: 

You are an inspiration Ethan and your passion for learning is infectious. I wonder what new innovations and ideas are going to spark and ignite as a result of your passions.

This was your submission for the Fall Connection: 

Now for the Spring Connection: 

Please complete the following questions –  you can use photos, videos, audio, drawings, stories, artifacts, or anything you want to answer the questions.  

To edit and type right in this content block, double click on the title of this block. Make sure to press “Save” when you have completed it.

To print these questions, click here and choose print.  Once complete, you can upload as a part of your Observing for Learning.

My I Can… statement

I can get better at making new equations, and figuring out new equations. 

My photo

My strengths

Complete these statements related to your I Can … statement

• I feel I was really good at:

Figuring out those formulas was hard, and so was figuring out how to prove Heron’s formula, which said that if you have a triangle and you know it’s side lengths, you can figure out the area. (a, b, and c are the side lengths.)in fact, if s = (a+b+c) / 2, area  = sqrt(s * (s-a)*(s-b)*(s-c)). 

• I want you to notice:

 That the above photo does not at all look like area  = sqrt(s * (s-a)*(s-b)*(s-c)). so, I proved that they are in fact, the same! here is khan academy explaining it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZu7IZLhJRI

My stretches

Complete these statements related to your I Can … statement

• If I could change one thing, it would be:

 I would want to make a formula that solved both even and odd numbers.

• because:
• It can be a hassle to remember if it’s even or odd, and remember 2 formulas.

Hello Natasha!

how are you?

I’m fine, just learning some new stuff.

here are the answers to your questions!

How has the week been progressing for you, Ethan? 

My week has been great, I’m just learning math at home, doing science problems at home, hanging out with my friends online… that sorta stuff.

I make sure to get outside and exercise every day. What have you been doing outside most these days? 

Well, I jog almost every day (my mom made me), but that’s pretty much it! On Sunday, I did a 10-minute workout at home on youtube.

Does it feel like homeschool as usual or have some things shifted?

Well, I still feel normal, just that I can’t go out and play and hang out with my friends. That’s it. COVID-19 hasn’t affected my life much at all!

I am sorry that this class was probably canceled due to covid-19? It was an in-person class, wasn’t it?

Actually, The class finished before the COVID-19 things. So I got to finish my city. and yes, it was an in-person class.

Are you able to work on some more of the designs at home? Do you some inspiration or new ideas?

Yes, I am able to work on my ideas and designs at home.  And yes, I do, from the class. I’m thinking about adding more parts to the city, like an apartment building.

Do you draw your designs first before you build them in 3D?

No, I don’t draw my designs first. Actually, I just start building and see how it goes.

Thanks,

Ethan

ps. I really liked the videos. the one with the fog was really cool, but you had a typo with the URL. it should have been https://vimeo.com/69445362, not https://https://vimeo.com/69445362. 😉 Also, you said that the oceans came from comets, that’s wrong. the oceans actually came from asteroids! 😉

The post Unschooling Journal March 22-28, 2020 appeared first on How to Do Stuff With Ethan.

Hopefully, what is in our weekly posts can provide some guidance in the way we approach homeschooling. We follow an unschooling style of learning where the learner leads and resources are provided by us. But Ethan has been pretty good with finding his own resources, especially this school year. It’s probably a combination of experience, age and having a good sense of what he enjoys learning. To all the families navigating these uncertain times, feel free to reach out if you have any questions and best of luck.

Ethan made a lot of videos this week. There are videos about how to homeschool, Algodoo and Universe Sandbox. He was really on a roll with the videos and it’ll likely carry over into next week.

March 15

We spent most of Sunday relaxing at home but Ethan was busy making this video…

March 16

Ethan also made three videos today. Two of the video are about how to homeschool to help kids and parents find ways to homeschool while the kids are at home because of the coronavirus.

March 17

March 18

Another video about how to homeschool and a new series of videos about how to use Algodoo…

March 19

March 20

How to homeschool with Ethan part 4 is about Universe Sandbox…

March 21

A bunch of new videos about Algodoo…

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Ethan maintained his regular pace of activities and learning. Here’s what happened…

Ethan made quite a few videos this past week. He learned about several new topics related to space from the CSA activities. He had to research and wrote about what he learned as part of the activities. He has really been enjoying the activities from the CSA.

He made several videos about space because he learned many new things about space this week. I asked him to remember to give credit to wherever he learned things from so he added short messages to some of his videos.

He did quite a lot of coding on Scratch and Python, as well. For example, he made his own version of Flappy Bird.

We also played around with shooting time-lapse videos of the full moon and other things, too.

March 8

March 9

March 10

March 11

From Mink, Ethan’s teacher at Soaring Eagle Nature School…

The Ravens took off early again, and headed toward the lake. Stopping at Toadstool Ridge for a warm-up game of “Shrew Ball”, they eventually settled on the sunny dock on the east side of the lake. Here, Mink introduced a new project: Knot Boards! These are beautiful display boards depicting many different kinds of useful knots–a great opportunity to make knot-tying fun, and a reference tool in case the useful knots are eventually forgotten! Kids took turns with the saw cutting rectangular pieces out of the plywood provided, and then sanded them to perfection. Next, they applied a primitive stain made from black walnuts, to get a nice dark colour. It was fun to experiment with the stain and make the boards into little pieces of art! Even after a break for a few more games, which allowed the boards to dry, there was still enough time to start learning and tying new knots! Can’t wait to get back to this project after our break. Stay healthy everyone!

March 12

March 13

March 14

Writing from this past week

We weren’t sure which days Ethan wrote these, so we thought it might be easier to show them in their entirety.

And that was Ethan’s week! Let us know if you have any questions about how to homeschool your child during the school closures that might be affecting you.

How has the week been progressing for you Ethan? 

Thank you for taking a holiday week so I can catch up and adjust to these very quickly changing times. 

I make sure to get outside and exercise everyday. What have you bee doing outside most these days? 

Does it feel like homeschool as usual or have some things shifted? 

I imagine you are missing your Nautre school, the community centre and violin with your peers. 

Your work for the CSA is impressive. You are really putting your creativity, hardwork and heart into these projects. 

Once again I have to note how much you are writing! 

I really like the time lapse videos you have been making. 

I posted one of my favorites filmed here in Nelson where I live. 

I know you are practicing with night shots and day time time laspes. I wonder how you are thinking of incorporating these films into the videos you are making. Any ideas percolating, themes, topics?  I see you do a lot timelapsing in space as well as you show how objects move and change over long periodes of time. 

Here is where I got the Information, from the Discovery Channel.

I appreciate how you are siting your sources more these days. It helps your viewers know where they can look to find more information too and I might be able to suggest some other sites as well. Well done! You are becoming more professional all the time! 

It’s important to cite sources you used in your research for several reasons: To show your reader you’ve done proper research by listing sources you used to get your information. To be a responsible scholar by giving credit to other researchers and acknowledging their ideas.

Project from the 3D architecture class.Shack, tree house, airport runway

I am sorry that this class was probably cancelled due to covid19? It was an in person class wasn’t it?

Are you able to work on some more of the designs at home? Do you some inspriration or new ideas?

We have some great resources in the LE Library in case you want to keep pursuing an interest in Architecture and Design: 

https://selfdesign.learning.powerschool.com/selfdesignlearning/library/cms_page/view/35499719

There are also a lot of free digital architecture programs available. Most of the people I know like SketchUp.

Do you draw your designs first before you build them in 3D?

https://library.sdlc.selfdesign.org/content-collection/design-apps-programs/

Doing some Duolingo and Spanish practice.

Good for you! I am happy to hear you are enjoying Spanish in Duolingo. 

This was writing about the Ozone layer. So much writing!! 

Thanks for posting all of your films this week. 

I still am amazed by the idea that the oceans came from comets, I have heard this a few years ago, but it is still so difficult for me to imagine. Thank you for taking the time to add more to my understanding and share all you know!! 

Looking forward to reading your self reflection for week 30. If you have any comments or questions feel free to email me or share directly into the week 30 text box. This process is an invitation to have a conversation and reflection on the I Can Statement and anything else you want to reflect on this spring. 

Take care, 

Natasha

This time lapse takes me back to growing in the fog belt in San Francisco. 

Maybe there are some time lapses you can find of Vancouver? 

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