Murder and madness......

No doubt I am referring to Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart published in January 1843 (that 176 years ago this month).

This short story is one of a mentally disturbed man who is literally tormented by his employers eye issue to the point that he ends up murdering him and hides the man's body under the floorboards.

Of course, the story includes unreasonable components of paranoia and hallucination but the narrator insists this be understood as reasonable and completely sane.

It is possible the narrator was schizophrenic as evidenced by the moodiness, paranoia, unprovoked violence, and hearing things that are not actually there.

The Tell-Tale Heart is a perfect example of Gothic American fiction.  If you have not read this story, you simply must.  Click here to read it now.

Because it is a short story, I did not want to summarize the entire story.

I did discover a few lesser known and random facts that are too good not to share so here you go.

~With whom is the narrator speaking with?  Great question, unfortunately, critics have no definitive answer.  Basically, no one seems to know.  There are speculations that the narrator could be disclosing this story to a newspaper, judge, doctor, or a prison warden.  This will probably be an indefinite mystery.

~Literary critics disagree about the gender of the narrator.  Poe never used gender-specific pronouns but since the narrator had frequent, irrational, and emotional outbursts, it was concluded that the narrator must be female.  ACK!

~Some critics believe the man with the evil eye had a son, and he is the narrator. 

~Was The Tell-Tale Heart inspired by the creation of the insanity plea?  Some say possibly.

~Could a murder mystery committed in Salem, Massachusetts in 1830 have influenced Edgar Allan Poe to write The Tell-Tale Heart?  April 6, 1830, Captain Joseph White, a retired, extremely wealthy, 82-year-old, shipmaster was brutally murdered.  Captain White never married and had no children.

Initially, he had a will drafted leaving most of his wealth to his grandnephew, Joseph J. Knapp but after a falling out of sorts changed the will leaving him completely out.  This, of course, enraged Joseph.  After hearing the news of the will change, Joseph entered the Captain's house and stole the new will leaving the original will in place.  Captain White was not dying of natural causes quickly enough so Joseph decided to help him out.

On April 6, 1830, Joseph, John (Joseph's brother), and a local criminal named Richard Crowninsheild, climbed through a window, headed straight to the Captain's bedroom, and beat him to death.  They initially got away with the crime but their plot to murder Captain White and pay Richard Crowninshield to help them was discovered by a local petty criminal who in turn testified for the prosecution of the murder plot.

Unfortunately for the murderous trio, Daniel Webster was the prosecuting lawyer. Daniel Webster was a lawyer, a politician, and one of the greatest orators of his time.  Apparently, he was mesmerizing when he spoke.  Scholars believe that Edgar Allan Poe used the courtroom summation by Daniel Webster to write The Tell-Tale Heart.  

Most fictional murder mysteries are based on true events with the author changing the story up a bit.  The murder of Captain White is not exactly the same as the old man with the evil eye but it is a possibility it could have been Poe's inspiration.  What ever events inspired The Tell-Tale Heart its American Gothic at its best.

Click here for another free pdf for the story.
If you do not want to read it, click here for a narrated YouTube audio.
And if you just want a summary, click here, but really, just read the full story.
A short quiz.
Lesson plans for 6th-8th grade, 8th grade, and high school.
Click here for a free pdf of the trial.

Curriculum for our final year of homeschooling...

Finally had a minute to get this 12th curriculum post out.  I am more than just a little busy even with grown kids.

A17 is in 12th grade ((GASP))!

Its awesomely fantastic and fantastically awesome!

Apologia Physics 
Hewitt Lightening Lit 
Hewitt Speech
Spanish II-Mango and Duolingo
Writer's Inc.
Teaching Textbooks PreCalculus 3.0
Economics
Magruder's American Government
Khan Academy
ACT Prep various resources
There will also be a mix of acting jobs, volunteering, book clubs, a little traveling, babysitting, pet sitting, and whatever else she decides to do along the way.

Happy homeschooling......

Ramped up studying for the ACT......

Kudos to you if........

you are homeschooling a high school student.  You may want to read this article in its entirety.  Here is the summary but you may need $$$muchos dineros to pull this off.

Harvard wants homeschoolers:

Top schools including Harvard, MIT, Duke, Yale, and Stanford are all actively recruiting homeschoolers. These schools don't just grudgingly accept homeschooled students, they do everything they can to get them in the door, recognizing that homeschoolers are often better prepared for college than their brick-and-mortar schooled peers.

ACT help.......

More helpful ACT links.

ACT science
ACT strategies and tips
ACT math prep
More ACT tips and tricks

ACT....yeah you know me............

                                          Great ACT online practice tests.

Even though my kids were/are homeschooled.......

I could not be prouder of the brave students who took action today in this history-making event.  If my kids were in public school, I would have supported them and honestly expected them to participate.  Stay strong students.  Hopefully someone will listen.  

ACT Crash Course: Last Minute Tips

ACT Blitz: 10 Rules for 2 Extra Points on the ACT

ACT Math 21 Concepts to Boost Your Score

The HARDEST ACT Math Problems

Kid #2 heading to the ACT........

I just do not know where the time goes.  C18 is in college and A16 is getting ready to take the ACT.  I am just posting a few more resources for test prep.  You can find other blog posts here for resources that C18 used.





~ACT official website.

~So I found these great online flashcards at Union Test Prep.

~Hit the jackpot here at Power Score Test Preparations.  They have four ACT practice tests with answers in PDF format.

~Prep Scholar math.

~Best ACT prep.

~Free Test Online.

~Great math review videos can be found here at Mometrix Preparation.

Buy one year, get the second year for free.........

Click here for more details.

Seriously hate standardized testing and have many blog posts about testing but since they must be done.....

it certainly helps when they come back positive.  A16 just finished up her last standardized test to end 10th grade and head into 11th, and she nailed it.

Many of her scores were "post-high school," as in super awesome.  So proud of both of my girls!  Life gets better and better every single day!  Feeling so blessed.

Homeschooling Q&A........

I am going to take a minute and answer a few questions for the homeschooling community that have been submitted as comments on various post through out the blog, and this post specifically about graduation.  I had to disable the comments for public publishing for a number of reasons but I do read them all and comment back if I know who you are.

Anyhoo, my recent post about graduation.  The question was if you homeschool year round but the homeschool groups have graduation in May like traditional school, how does it play out.  So this is a good question.  We homeschool year round because it just makes more sense.  When kids are out of school for three months straight, their brains start to die plus in GA, it is 99 degrees all summer long so we tend to stay in during the hottest parts of the day so why not do school work?  Plus it allows for more frequent breaks, taking a break if you are sick or they are sick, being off on your birthday, moving, vacation, being random, and just free time.  For example, both my girls love to be in movies, and GA is the place to be for that!  Recently, they have both been filming two different movies for months including several overnight shoots which leaves no time for anything but sleeping and eating, the day shoots really are not school friendly either since they are usually out for over 12 hours.  After they wrap this second movie, it is back to school full blast.  They love participating in the movies and are lucky they can so there is no way I would let a math lesson take that away from them.  Real life experiences are far more educational than anything a book can teach.

So we homeschool from August to August every year.  Graduation is usually in May, sometimes June.  As I talked about in the other post, public schools will allow a student who has not met all the "graduation" requirements to walk with their class for graduation but will be given a blank, unsigned diploma.  At that point, the student has to meet the requirements over the summer to be able to receive their official, signed diploma.  Same thing with homeschooling.  Your child can participate in as many ceremonies as they like but until they meet the requirements and attendance, they are not officially graduated by the state you live in.  When you file a letter of intent to homeschool, you specify your child's academic calendar and will be held to that calendar accordingly.  We have a few friends who start in September so they can participate in a graduation ceremony but will not be recognized by the state until the attendance has been met.  September is many months away from May and/or June.  

Another person asked how to submit transcripts for college admissions when you have not determined the final grade for the year.  When C17 was filling out her admissions applications, her transcript reflected the fact that she does not have a final grade for the 12th grade year as of yet.  Obviously if the school year has not ended, there is no way to know the final grade.  Her transcript said in progress and had a mid-term grade.  Don't worry too much, she still was accepted to four colleges without final grades on the transcript.  I think colleges are more laid back now because so many kids dual enroll these days.  If you are dual enrolling, most likely your child is in 11th or 12th grade (sometimes 10th grade but this is a little ridiculous to me--dual enrollment is great but its not for child) and have no final high school transcript anyway.  It is also possible that your child has not taken an ACT, a PSAT, or a SAT either but they can still dual enroll and go proceed with college classes.  If your child does not dual enroll and applies to college in the 12th grade, the ACT and/or SAT are mandatory and hold a lot of value.  They pretty much speak to the schools.  

So the bottom line is don't worry.  Your child can be accepted to college without being officially graduated from high school.  

I hope that explains it.  Always check with your state's guidelines about anything you are unsure of. Thanks for the questions.  

Happy homeschooling...........

Graduation ideas...........

Found a few awesome ideas for graduation on Pinterest, of course!

Anything in a jar!

P.S. I love this!

Destination graduation..........

Graduation season is here so I thought I would share a few interesting factoids from around the world including the biggest factoid being I have a graduate this year, C17 (gasp), we homeschool year round so technically her school year is not over but she will participate in a ceremony with a select few homeschooling peers.  A friend who has kids in public school clued me in on the fact that high school seniors can gradate with their class even if they have not met all the requirements and will have to attend summer school to complete the graduation requirements.  Apparently, this happens a lot.  Never knew but glad I know now.

So lets talk traditions.

~In Mexico, graduation is much like in the US except they have a dance party following graduation.

~In Sweden, graduates wear round caps with black bills called studentmossa.  Once the graduation ceremony is over, they have a parade through town with floats and marching bands.

~In Norway, students spend the last month of school at parties.  Nice!  

~In Thailand, members of the Royal Family hand out diplomas and the students bow to the Royals.  No one is allowed in except the graduating students.

~In Spain, attire is traditional.  Their robes have a built-in cape much like the one the Pope wears. Their hats are round and have a large blue cuff on them.

~Bah Humbug!  In Germany, they do not have any ceremonies for the graduates.  They are focus on final exams called Abitur.

~Japanese students begin with a march with singing as they line up for diplomas.  They must wear school uniforms.  No parties.

~Argentinian grads have a ceremony with food after the diplomas have been given out.  Food that includes many sticky substances such has syrup and ketchup.  Apparently, they celebrate by throwing syrup and ketchup at each other followed by flour, glitter, and eggs; and they also cut each others clothes with scissors.
~Italians share in this tradition of throwing food at the graduates.

~In the Philippines, parents accompany their graduate to a stage and are given their diploma.

~In China, female graduates rent wedding gowns to wear at graduation and both male and female graduates celebrate without their parents, friends, and relatives.

~In Russia, female graduates we black with white aprons.

~US tradition consists of caps and gowns with graduation taking place on a football field, amphitheater, or stadium depending on how many students are graduating.  Usually, there are hundreds of kids graduating at the same time. It.lasts.so.long!

~US homeschooling grads tend to be more low key.  The number of graduates each group has is usually under 20 students to make the event more personal.

Typically, it is just for immediate family members and closest friends.  Each graduating student will have their own table set up for them and their guests to enjoy their time talking and having drinks and cake.  The tables are decorated for the students with special personal items and pictures.

Random facts:
~Did you know that the earliest diplomas were written on sheep's skin?

~Navy graduates are responsible for the cap throwing at ceremonies.  In 1912, students at the U.S. Naval Academy threw their caps "up to the heavens" at the end of the ceremony which lead all graduates after that follow suit.

How ever you and your grad celebrate will be amazing.  Be proud and enjoy the moment.

We are going on tour.......

Well, on a college tour in the morning so I thought I would share the info I found on how to make the campus visit the most it can be.

Great links below:
US News 
The Choice Blogspot 
The Princeton Review
University Business Mag
USA Today

So proud of my girl!  She is only 17, has not graduated from high school yet, has already been accepted in to four colleges, and will attend one of these this fall.  Homeschooling has really paid off in so many ways, I lost count!

Excited to start the campus tours with C17.............

Another brag.......

So proud of C17 for being accepted in to a college with only a 34% acceptance rate.  Awesome!!