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Campus News

May 14th, 2019

Homeschool students get creative at Garrett College

Students learn about writing, music, computers, bugs and soil

Nathan Foy

More than 40 homeschool students from the tristate area recently spent two consecutive Fridays (April 26th and May 3rd), learning at the College's main campus in McHenry.

This was the first of two sessions, with the second session taking place on May 31st and June 7th.

Session one covered the following topics: 'Music with Boomwhackers', 'Good Bugs vs. Bad Bugs', 'Soil – What is it?', 'Let's Get Creative', 'Web Page Development', and 'Programming Basics'. Classes were developed and provided for two age groups, ages 6-10 and 11-18. Multiple hands-on and group activities were integrated into each class.

Karen Linton, an adjunct math and reading instructor at GC, is pictured giving some pointers to Anna Marie Clark, during the 'Let's Get Creative' class session. As part of this class, students were able to explore the writing process and learn to enhance their work using description, dialogue, humor, and personal insight to develop a short story. Participants worked to organize their thoughts and ideas on paper to bring stories to life.

Karen Linton

Nathan Foy, is pictured in one of Garrett's computer labs using a computer during the 'Programming Basics' class. Students learned basic programming skills in order to create and develop their own interactive stories and games. A free online tool was utilized by the participants to solve problems, design projects, and express themselves creatively on computers.

The group also learned about the different types of insect classifications and made an insect collection jar to take home as a hands-on activity. An overview of the basic music notation and rhythm through playing 'boomwhackers' – plastic tubes of varying lengths with unique pitches were also discussed.

Students also participated in a hands-on activity with writing HTML code to develop web pages, after an understanding of the basics of web page design and development. Finally, knowledge of soil science principles, including pH, texture, and structure, along with testing soil samples for adequate pH levels, took place.

For additional information on future sessions, contact Continuing Education and Workforce Development at 301-387-3069 or www.garrettcollege.edu.