VIDEO: An interview during PHS open house

A visitor to Planet Homeschool during the open house on May 1, 2015 chats about why she's there. Interviewed by Solomon Midwinter. Video by Aurora J. Pass.

Major General Stanley and Judy O’Neill

by Malachi Johnson
PHS Press staff member

Math teachers.  They help you solve problems that you would never have without them. 

Judy O’Neill was inspired to teach by watching teachers and learning from them.   O’Neill began her teaching career in 2008 at Planet Homeschool. 

O’Neill started teaching at Planet Homeschool because one of her two daughters started attending. To O’Neill, a typical day at Planet Homeschool is very busy with every thing being set up. Never the less O’Neill very much enjoys teaching algebra and geometry. 

On a more personal note, unlike Major General Stanly, O’Neill has not incorporated the Pythagorean theorem into her parenting style. Because “I don’t think of the Pythagorean theorem and parenting as intertwined. The Pythagorean theorem is really straightforward and clear-cut, where-as parenting has none of those qualities,” she said. 

Wait, what is a Propane-a-phone?

by Parker Lehman
PHS Press staff member

Boiled in Lead

Boiled in Lead is a Minneapolis based band of an impossible to define genre. They kicked off on Saint Patrick’s Day 1983 and 15 years later released a compilation titled “Alloy”.

The Band is made up of Marc Anderson (drums and percussion), Dean Magraw (guitar) Todd Menton (vocals, guitar, mandolin, bodhran, whistle) Drew Miller (bass guitar, dulcimer) David Stenshoel (fiddle.)

Alloy kicks off with “Arpad's Guz,” a fast paced song that mixes a strange cymbal sound with an unidentifiable string instrument. The next track “House-Husband’s Lament” is rockabilly at its finest.

They go on combining the surreal, (“The Microorganism”) the silly, (“Rasputin”) and the serious (“The Dreadnaught”). Boiled in Lead pulls from a collection of 16 instruments including Electric guitar, Hurdy-gurdy, Propane-o-phone, and Zurna to craft a wonderful sound where you never know what will come next. The bass player Drew defines what exactly a Propane-a-phone is: “The propane-o-phone is some long metal pipes that, when you heat the column of air inside with a propane torch, it produces that special sound that only a propane-o-phone can.” They are used on “The Microorganism.”

After 32 years Boiled in Lead is still going strong. Check them out at http://www.boiledinlead.com/ or search YouTube for some of their music.

Soren Le’go’ Page

by Parker Lehman
PHS Press staff member

Soren LePage of Woodbury

Lego stop motion is a technique has been around for years and is a favored medium for PHS’s very own Soren LePage, 15 years old from Woodbury MN.

The popularity of this medium reached an all time high after The Lego Movie grossed $468,000,000 making it the 13th highest grossing animation of all time. They used a mix of computer generated and stop motion Lego animation.

 In Lego stop motion a scene is set up then the Lego figures are moved in incredibly small increments taking a picture each time. About 4 years ago as LePage was watching Forrestfire101, a well known Lego animator, and decided to try his hand at animation. He set up his Legos and prepared to take thousands of photos. When asked why he enjoyed it he responded, “Because I play God.”

POLL: The better of the two

Malachi Johnson

PHS Press staff member

The people of Planet Homeschool have taken their votes of which one is better.

Indiana Jones

or

Star Wars. 

Indiana Jones got 6 votes

Star Wars got 17.

Star Wars is the clear victor with a whopping 17 points.

Worm Warfare is Winning

by Bridger Berg

PHS Press staff member

 

Hey! This a review of a group of games, a group of STRANGE and very fun games, known as the “Worms Games.” The versions of the games include Worms Reloaded, Worms Clan Wars, and Worms Revolution.

The story of these games, if you could call it that, is of a group of worms that for some reason have extremely advanced technology and weapons, and wage warfare on other equally advanced worms. 9/10 Rating for creativity!

Anyway, these worms fight in many different landscapes and scenarios, such as forts, where the worms have to destroy each other’s fortress to win, deathmatch, where the goal is to eliminate all the enemy worms, and a lot of other variations of those two types.

The game is multiplayer, turn based, and viewed from the side. The first player does their turn, one worm from their team of four worms being selected to fight that turn, then using special items they either start out with or collect, such as the Holy Hand Grenade, the Explosive Sheep, and the Water gun to try to eliminate their opponents before their time for their turn runs out. (As you may have guessed by now, this game doesn’t really take itself very seriously.)

 After that, the next player goes, doing the same thing. This continues until the map is thoroughly destroyed and the last team with at least one worm still alive on their team wins.

Example turn: It’s GeneralSlimy122’s turn first. His “Scout” class worm, Tiny, is selected for him to play that turn. He crawls Tiny over to WormyOverlord101’s “Heavy” class worm, Bob. Selecting Tiny’s Baseball bat weapon, he hits Bob, who was near the edge of the map, off the side and into the water below, eliminating him.

 It’s now WormyOverlord101’s turn. His “Soldier” class worm, Harry, is standing next to his “Scientist” class worm, Moe, who is selected that turn, so his scientist heals both Harry and himself with the scientist unique skill.

Then selecting a jetpack for Moe and flying him over close to Tiny, WormyOverlord selects the Explosive Sheep. Clicking the mouse once activates the Sheep, which begins running over to Tiny. A second click blows up the Sheep, heavily damaging Tiny.

Play goes back to GeneralSlimy122, and another of his worms is selected to fight that turn.

There can be up to four players in a map, which would total sixteen worms! Talk about chaos! There is also a single player option, so that those that are either offline or are just getting started and need to learn a bit can still play.

 Worms are also customizable, so you can give them different voices, hats, glasses, names, and so on. If you have the game through the massive game site, Steam, you can also download custom maps and other content from the Steam workshop, a place for people to share their creations.

I would recommend this for: Someone looking for a light and silly but still very fun game, since these games are very different from any others. They are also perfect for a bored Minecraft player or whatever. (No offense to Minecraft.) So if you think it sounds right for you, go and try one of the many editions of these games!

VIDEO: Ellen Crain discusses ins and outs of Planet Homeschool

Ellen Crain sat down the PHS Press reporters Soren LePage and Tyler Skidmore to talk about upcoming classes being offered, why she homeschools and what sets Planet Homeschool apart.

Gerald Benford: Minnesota Swordplay

 by Tyler Skidmore

PHS Press staff member

Gerald Benford, a man of 50, teaches fencing at a homeschool co-op named Planet Homeschool. He has been Fencing since the 1980’s, in highschool and then college.

Benford’s Grandmother sponsored Maria, who was trained in Cuba to Fence. Maria is known as "The Mad Cuban." She and Benford started dating and Maria taught him how to Fence. They got married in the 1990’s.

“ Fencing is one of those few sports where you actually compete one on one. You are testing your skills against another opponent in mock battle.  Its more of an art than a self defensive sport. I like it because you develop long lasting relationships [ / ] friendships by the sword, “ said Benford.

 He encouraged Maria to start a Fencing business, and they eventually started Minnesota Swordplay in 2000. Minnesota Swordplay has locations all over Minnesota and Wisconsin.

They plan on opening a U.S.F.A ( U.S. Fencing Association ) club in Minnetonka. The website is minnesotaswordplay.com.

They were referred to teach at Planet Homeschool as a Fencing instructor.

Benford’s favorite book is the Bible, and his favorite pastime is ministry. Benford majored in business in college.

They have been in Fencing matches on TV and overseas, and plan on traveling all over Europe this summer for fun.

Poll: What's your favorite book series?

Compiled by Aurora Pass
PHS Press staff member

PHOTOS: Formal Day 2015 at PHS

Photos by Malachi Johnson
PHS Press staff member

POLL: How long have people been homeschooled?

Compiled by Solomon Midwinter & Bridger Berg
PHS Press staff members

VIDEO POLL: How much sleep do you get?

The Hobbies of Tyler Skidmore

by Solomon Midwinter
PHS press staff member

Tyler Skidmore

Tyler Skidmore, age 15, of St. Paul has a few hobbies, and is a student at PHS.  When asked what they were, he said “ I like to draw detailed robots, abstract shapes, and patterns, and I like to build intricate lego models.”  

He enjoys both hobbies about the same.  He said, “I enjoy expressing myself through each drawing and model, combining feelings that I am having at that moment with different elements of the model or drawing.”  He has both drawn and made Lego creations for about twelve years.

According to Skidmore, he builds with Legos because he is bored, and when asked when, he replied, “I do both pretty much every day.”  He builds the massive Lego constructs in his room.  He will draw just about anywhere there is pen and paper. And as for how, in Skidmore's own words, he uses the Legos “by putting bricks together.” 

When asked what his favorite model is, he said “My favorite model is a turret crab which I keep on a shelf to look at (every once in awhile adding to it).”   He may have some drawings in an upcoming issue of the PHS Press.

 A robot that Tyler Skidmore drew. 

Solomon: a Writer

by Tyler Skidmore
PHS Press staff member

 

Solomon Midwinter

Solomon Midwinter, 13, enjoys reading and writing fantasy in his free-time. Fantasy is a genre of writing that is about supernatural creatures.

“I like fantasy because it is very creative, and fun to read. It allows us to imagine how the world could be different, and then share our favorites with others,” said Midwinter.

Solomon was introduced to fantasy by reading books, and eventually decided to write his own fantasy. He has been writing fantasy since he was 11, when he wrote part of a novel for NaNoWriMo.

NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, happens every November for youth and adults. The goal is to write a novel in 30 days.

Midwinter does not share his stories very frequently, unless it is with a family member for some feedback. Usually his stories are around 10-20 pages in length.

Midwinter is inspired by Brandon Mull, Rick Riordan, George R.R. Martin, and J.R.R. Tolkien.

Solomon has not gotten published yet, but he hopes to someday.

Home school kids learning to use computer modeling

by Solomon Midwinter
PHS Press staff member

Kim Chase-Kozak

Kim Chase-Kozak is a teacher at PHS, and has a class on a modeling program called Blender. 

Blender is a free modeling program, which can be used for many purposes, and can create animations as well as models and images.  As Chase-Kozak said, “Blender is computer software used to create 3d models or drawings.  It can also be used to create animations or games.  It can also work with other programming engines.”

The process that is used to create a model is more or less as follows.  First, you draw or download a picture of what you want to model.  Then you use extrude commands to model over the picture.  Then you can use textures and materials to make it the right color and texture. 

When asked what the most interesting thing anyone in her class has done yet, she replied that one of the students has sent her an animated character over email, which was especially neat because they have not yet covered animations. 

A model done by Chase-Kozak

What they have most recently done in class was talk about different kinds of light.  Before that, they were mostly working on the basics, such as the extrude command, getting the modeling pictures into files, and the blade tool.  Camera placement, texture and animation are more advanced skills covered in the class. 

Chase-Kozak has had some previous experience with teaching.  In college, she was a undergraduate TA, and has a degree in math and computer science from the U of M.

She has been leading and teaching kid related things since her kids were school age.  She has also learned quite a bit teaching this class.   This is her first time teaching a class at PHS, and she would be glad of an opportunity to teach at PHS again.

When asked what her favorite thing about teaching is, she said, “I love it when students start running with their new skills and start creating and trying things I haven't done.” 

COLUMN: Team Yarn, Hats for cancer patients!

by Aurora J. Pass

PHS Press staff Member

Team Yarn – Head Huggers helps cancer patients. It’s an organization that makes hats, scarves, shawls, blanket, and so on for cancer patients, and you can help us by donating in the Team Yarn drop box at PHS. Team Yarn’s website is: http://teamyarn.blogspot.com/, and the Facebook page is: Team Yarn - Head Huggers.

Team Yarn was founded by Amy Pass, my mom, because her mom, my grandma Cheryl Slater, died of cancer. We wanted to do something to help.

 “Starting Team Yarn gave me something productive to do when I was grieving after my mom died from cancer,” said Amy. We started Team Yarn because the hospital that my Grandma was at gave her hats, and we wanted to help.

The co founder of Team Yarn is Tesha M. Christensen Pettit, teacher of the Newspaper Writing Class at PHS. Team Yarn just celebrated its second birthday at the January 2015 meeting. Meetings are every third Sunday of every month at Silverwood Park in New Brighton  from 1:00 to 3:00 PM.

 The meetings are a time for people to get together, knit, crochet, and drop off finished projects to donate to hospitals. Stop by if you want. We always love new members of our group.

We try to donate to hospitals once a month. Every time they are always happy to get new items to give away. It makes everyone happy to know people care so much.

There is a Team Yarn drop box at the table when you walk in the door at Planet Homeschool. So, whoever wants to donate can. If you do donate please pin your name to the hat so whoever gets that item can know who made it. I will be taking your items home at the end of the day.  You don’t have to know how to knit or crochet. You can donate items you made or yarn.

Meet PHS Guitar Instructor Joe Filipovich

Get to know Planet Homeschool guitar instructor Joe Filipovich (jfmusiclessons.com). Video and interview by Parker Lehman and Malachi Johnson.

Joe is a guitar teacher who offers lessons at PHS. He has almost thirty years of guitar experience and has been teaching for five years. You can contact him at http://www.jfmusiclessons.com or through the PHS website.

They made screaming mandrakes in Harry Potter class

At PHS, there are many classes, of all types.  There are the ones that you might find in a normal school, like classes on math and history, and then there are the more interesting ones, the ones that are hard to find elsewhere.  These include things such as Lord of the Rings as literature, or the Harry Potter crafts and gizmos class. 

Here are a few video interviews with some members of the Harry Potter class, and its instructor, Michelle Lehman.


Interviewer: Solomon Midwinter
Filmed and edited by Aurora J. Pass

Amity Neubauer: the next Angelina Jolie

by Malachi Johnson

PHS Press staff member

Amity Neubauer at the age of 11 lives in Apple Valley, MN. 

Neubauer’s favorite thing to do is act.  She is a seasoned actress with many productions in her portfolio such as ‘Sleeping Beauty’.  She loves spending time acting out stories on the stage.  Neubauer divulged that watching people on T.V. got her into acting.  She also admitted that she thought playing as different people would be “cool and fun”… Does she still feel this way? She wouldn’t say…

When asked who she likes to act as most she answered with shifty eyes “PEOPLE”. But when asked how she likes to act she responded “AS HUMANS “.  Neubauer is working on her next production as a mere mortal.  You will not want to forget the soon to be famous name of Amity Neubauer...                                                                     

WATCH OUT HOLLYWOOD.          

All smile now

The spring 2015 staff of the PHS Press includes (back row, left to right): Parker Lehman, Soren LePage, Solomon Midwinter and Tyler Skidmore. Front row: Aurora Pass, Amity Neubauer, Bridger Berg and Malachi Johnson. (Photo by Tesha M. Christensen Pettit)