Homeschooling Work Samples | December 2016

November and December are always busy months. Aside from the holidays there are school performances, meetings and parties. Then there’s always one person in the family who’s sick. At least that’s how it usually is at my house.

Needless to say, despite all the craziness of life, love and the holidays we managed to get some homeschooling done! Most of which was teaching real life lessons and experiences.

Entrepreneurship + Independence

Pinky participated in her first Young Entrepreneur’s Faire! It was exciting for all of us.

Naturally, the last two months we talked a lot about money. We practiced counting it and we even learned how to make it. Not literally, but we learned about how to earn money by working for it and doing what we love. This is such an important concept in our family. We feel it’s important to work hard, but to also enjoy doing it. This is why it’s so important for me to support and nurture my children’s gifts and talents.

We also talked about giving back to the community, exploring our passions, supporting others, doing our best work, saving money, what it means to be independent and responsible.

Although we still have a long way to go. I truly believe that these experiences have served Pinky well.

There were so many learning opportunities with the Entrepreneur Faire. It opened her eyes to see new and exciting opportunities. I can’t wait to see what’s next for this kid.

Here are our work samples for the month of December. But first, here’s a picture of Pinky after making her very first sale!

It was a proud moment, and one we won’t ever forget. The lady who bought this canvas painting said it was speaking to her and that she was excited to hang it up in her new home.

Language Arts

As I mentiond, Pinky participated in her first Young Entrepreneur’s Faire. She learned a lot about what it means and what it takes to run a small business. Daddy invested $10 for her booth space and after a little trial and error with Mommy, she decided that she would sell original artwork on canvas and greeting cards.

She had to create her art pieces, market her booth by making flyers and telling everyone about the event. She had to figure out how to organize her money, then setup her booth, man her booth and talk to buyers about her art. During the faire she also got to buy from fellow entrepreneurs.

To capture what Pinky learned from the faire in her own words I asked her questions about her experience and she dictated her answers to me. Read the full interview here.

It was a great exercise for her to explain the process and responsibilities of participating in the faire. It was also a positive way to reflect on what worked and what didn’t, and think about ideas to be even more successful next time.

Math

Pinky made almost $30 selling her art at the Entrepreneur Faire. That’s pretty good since grandpa also invested some capital for art supplies. At the faire she collected money from buyers and even used some of her earnings to purchase items and experiences from other vendors.

Counting her hard earned money was a motivating factor to practice skip counting using dollar bills and coins. It’s been a challenge switching skip counting by 5’s and 10’s but the process has been rewarding for her to see how much money she has.

Her takeaway, “I lrnnb how to skip cownt wih muny and cowning by fiv.”
Translation: “I learned how to skip count with money and counting by five.”

Science

Pinky has been showing more interest in the kitchen. She offers her help, sets the table and recently asked to cook pancakes all by herself. She’s helped at various stages in the past, but this time she cooked them all by herself, with supervision of course.

She measured and mixed the ingredients to make the batter, and learned that when the pancake bubbles it’s ready to flip. We discussed how heat activates some of the ingredients in the mix to cause the bubbles and turns the liquid into a solid pancake.

That moment when you're making pancakes, but your mom realizes she bought waffle mix…and we don't even have a waffle maker! Lol! #pancakes #waffles #krusteaz #littlechef

A photo posted by Angela Quisumbing (@the_pinky_project) on Dec 2, 2016 at 9:22am PST

She submitted a list of ingredients she used to make the pancakes. And also a brief sentence that shared how we accidentally bought waffle mix instead of pancake mix, but that it still worked and tasted good,

Her takeaway: “Win i was kaking we aks dely pitu wofl mix but we all liket it.
Translation: When I was cooking we accidentally put waffle mix, but we all liked it.”

Social Studies

When deciding on what to sell at the Entrepreneur Faire I asked Pinky what she was passionate about. Her answers came quick and easy, art and dogs.

She decided to sell her art and donate a portion of her proceeds to the San Diego Humane Society. She took 10% of her earnings, placed it in an envelope and the next day brought it to the Humane Society along with some dog treats and a special toy for one lucky dog.

In her journal, she explained how she made her money at the faire and brought it to the shelter in two simple steps.

“Win i wint to the fair i dsivded ti giv sim mamy tol the Humane Society”
Translation: “When I went to the faire I decided to give some money to the Humane Society.”

She was excited to support a cause so dear to her heart. This activity encouraged social giving and being socially connected to making a difference in her community. She even got a little receipt for her donation.

What are you working on right now? Leave us a comment below.