Biology
Genetics was mostly interesting because of Punnett Squares (which you can analyze all the possible combinations of genes of offspring) and pedigrees. One of the experiments was to write your own family's pedigree for ear lobes. Yep, you heard me, ear lobes. It was awesome!
Cellular respiration is how cells (cellular) get their energy. It's fascinating, and incredibly involved. Yet what struck me was how many cells are in your body. Thousands.And each one is going through this complex process 24/7. Then you add the hundreds of other functions your body must do simply to stay alive, let alone allow you to move, it's absolutely staggering.
Vertebrates were mostly awesome because of the change. I'd been excited all year to get to horses (my favorite) and dolphins and other such animals. But for the modules before, I had been on tiny little organisms, such as those in Kingdoms Monera and Protista, and then fungi (Kingdom Fungi). Then I get to Kingdom Animalia and spend forever on invertebrates (animals with no backbones). Then finally we get to Phylum Chordata, only to spend that module on fish and amphibians. And then we take a break for two modules to go over Kingdom Plantae. Then in the very last module, I finally get to do vertebrates!! Joy.
But it was fun to study all those other stuff, too. And I learned so much about God's creation! It's amazing, and I can't wait for chemistry next year.
History
History is another of my favorite subjects. I don't have nearly as much to say about this one than I did for biology. (Sigh of relief from everyone reading this.) The reason I love history so much, is I think because I like to learn why things happened. Learning about Rome especially was pretty cool this year. As well as learning about Egypt. Mom found me this awesome book about Tutankhamen, and I now love the period of history around him and his father, Akhenaten, or Amenhotep IV.I love our history curriculum. It's called The Mystery of History and it's amazing. I've helped Mom a few times at the Mystery of History's booth (at a homeschool convention), and I've gotten to meet the person who writes it, Mrs. Hobar. Which is awesome, because I think she was the one who made me love history as much as I do.
German
I'm taking German for my high school language, and have been taking it for a few years already, but this year I feel like I really learned the most and am beginning to enjoy it more. I love speaking it, and all my friends know what 'danke' means, because I use it so much. (For those of you who don't know, it means 'thank you'.) I also greet people in German, say good bye in German, and often times talk to my siblings in German. Jack's the only one who really can have a conversation with me though. At least one that isn't super simple. I want to go to Germany so bad, but I probably won't be able to until I'm out of high school. That is good, though, because I want to be fairly proficient in German before I go.Piano
I've been taking piano for nearly nine years now, but the past few it's begun to become much more enjoyable for me. I love the instrument, and think it's one of the most beautiful sounding. (I also like the violin, but alas, do not know how to play it.) I'm hoping to start teaching piano next fall, which is a fun and scary thought all at once. It'll be fun to teach younger kids a love of the instrument, but also scary. What if I teach them bad habits? I'm by no means an expert, and have a lot of things to learn still. Also scary because I get really nervous for that kind of thing. But I'm excited!!
I hope you enjoyed that little look into my schoolwork this past school year. I've still got to finish up math (oh algebra!) and Constitutional Literacy (learning about the original intent of the Constitution). I'm behind on both of them. But after that, I've got summer and freedom!
Thank you for reading! I'm going to be posting at the TAJ Blog next Monday, as well as posting here, so be sure to check both out!!
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