Hello, and Welcome to the Cornish Family Homeschool Review for 2020-'21.

I'd like to begin by sharing a bit about how I conduct my homeschool.  We follow a classical method and focus, where each child studies a core set of subjects, beginning with math and Latin.  These are our most important fields of study and the ones we make sure happen everyday (and quite a few weekend days, as well).  This is where we begin each morning. Each child then has a reading list and studies language arts (spelling, grammar, vocabulary) on his or her level.  Then we come together as a group every afternoon to take part in a rotating set of subjects, as follows:

Monday: History (This year: Medieval)

Tuesday: Classical Studies (The Iliad and The Odyssey)

Wednesday: History, Part 2

Thursday: Mythology (Greek)

Friday: Shakespeare

Afternoon Enrichment Time": books that appeal to a wide span of ages and cover history, classical studies, literature, and more.

After the main topics above, we explore art history, music, poetry, and free (fun) reads.

Extras chosen mainly by the youngest student, but enjoyed by all.

Next, I will go over each child's work with pictures, examples, and a list of materials used this school year.

Elia Cornish, Grade 12

Elia turned 18 on January 2.  I wasn't sure if she needed to be included in this review, as she is now pursuing her own education mostly independent of our homeschool.  She worked this year on completing her final high school math course, geometry, and a rigorous Latin course.  What took most of her time, though, was a 6-credit college science course that my husband conducted with her and her next youngest sibling, Josiah.  She is a lovely young woman who has a real interest in and flare for the culinary arts.  She invents her own recipes and makes everything from scratch.

This is the Latin course Elia and Josiah completed this school year: Memoria  Press Third Form Latin. We did 300 pages of workbook exercises this year.

Samples of Latin exercises

Geometry from Learn Math Fast, Volume 7

One of Elia's many culinary creations.

Documentation of Elia's Modern States 6-credit college science class above.  (Parts of the username and email address have been removed for privacy but may be supplied to CCBoE, if needed.)

 

Josiah Cornish, Grade 10

Josiah is working on Algebra 2.  He and Elia both do the Latin course I mentioned with me (keeps my brain sharp) and the college science course with my husband.  Josiah participates in the daily afternoon study/discussion time I detailed above and has also read the following books this school year:

Anna Karenina

Gone With the Wind

Moby Dick

A Tale of Two Cities

The Great Gatsby

1984

Wuthering Heights

Sherlock Holmes Treasury

Robinson Crusoe

His main outside interests are art and piano.

Jo's Latin.  As noted above, he did 300 pages of Latin work this year.

 

 

 

Algebra 2 with Learn Math Fast, Volume 6.

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Study Guide work from our year-long study of The Trojan War.

Josiah, as mentioned above, spent a large amount of his time this year working on the Modern States 6-credit college science course.  Below is documentation of his work and performance.

Helena Cornish, Grade 8 

Helena has completed a tremendous amount of work this year.  In 2019, she struggled with the beginning of middle school math, but she made up for it (and then some) this year.  She completed four levels of Singapore math and roared right into the Singapore equivalent of Algebra 1, where she will continue to work this summer and forward.  She completed her final spelling book (which also includes grammar, vocabulary, and composition exercises) and finished three Latin books and two French. Science has been informal for her last year before high school, with an online program called Mystery Science that she does with her dad and younger sister.  She also read one science book, Sciencesaurus, on her own. She participates in the afternoon enrichment time and is an avid reader.  She has many outside interests, is a great independent learner, and taught herself to knit and crochet this year.

Her reading list included:

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch

Johnny Tremaine

The Phantom Tollbooth

The Endless Steppe

Tom Sawyer

A Wrinkle in Time

Roar of Thunder, Hear my Cry

Robin Hood

The Scarlet Pimpernel

Right Ho, Jeeves!

Great Expectations

Three Latin books and two French for Helena this year.

Singapore Math levels 5A, 5B, 6A, 6B, and 7A completed this year.  Equivalent to Pre-Algebra and Algebra 1, part 1.  

Examples of Singapore math word problems. Some induce consternation but we persevere.

 

Study Guide material from our year-long study of The Trojan War.

One of her crocheted creations for friends and family

Selah Cornish, Grade 4 

Selah seems to be a natural born scholar.  What has been particularly gratifying to me is that she didn't achieve full reading fluency until 8 years of age, but it never seemed to occur to her that she might be a bit "behind"; she simply continued learning and practicing her reading and pursuing her many varied interests until she truly took off and hasn't looked back.  In fact, now it's hard for ME to keep up with her!

She is working with both Saxon and Singapore math (her choice to do two math programs)  and is in her third Latin book this year.  She completed a rigorous grammar book called First Language Lessons Volume 3 and eagerly pursued electives like geography and the 50 states' capitals on her own.  She has read so many science books, I doubt I could list them all.  They fill two large bags that she lugs around for her afternoon independent study time.  In addition, she is very eager to keep up with the big kids' classical literature, poetry, mythology, and Shakespeare studies.  I think she kind of inspires us all - me, as I am grateful to have such a strong final student in my old age, and her siblings, who do not want to be outdone by her!

Science is her favorite subject, with a particular focus on astronomy, and her outside interests include the study of Japanese language and culture.

Below, please view samples of  Selah's Latin, math, language arts, science, and Japanese.         

           

Every afternoon from 3-5P.M., Selah works  on an independent study session of books of  her choosing:

Finally...

Like all of you in the public school system, we navigated the strange, uncertain world of Covid-19 this year as best we could. We had to give up our violin and piano lessons but we held church services in our home and learned to minister to the children's grandmother, who is beginning to lose her memory.  Health and physical education have always been done on an informal or "lifestyle" basis in our home, with discussions on nutrition and exercise, and plenty of time to run, walk, hike, and bike.  Somehow there have been lots of opportunities to grow and stretch our horizons, even though we were mostly in our own home.

In closing, I'd like to share that the method I stumbled on when I began homeschooling in 2001, that of a core focus on math and Latin with copious reading and group discussion, was mostly adopted because I was juggling the needs of what eventually grew to a family of ten children.  However, over the years, I came to realize that this method works and produces measurable results.  My eldest son won full scholarships first to Morgan State and then Princeton graduate school.  My second eldest child just received her Masters degree in social work this month from the University of Nevada, also on scholarship.  Child number five also won scholarship money and graduated from Towson this month with an accounting degree and two job offers in hand.  I humbly include this information because they learned to be good, strong, independent learners in our large family and it makes me happy to share.

Thank you.