Wherein I actually start writing about what we are doing

This is the end of our 2nd week of homeschooling for the 2006/2007 school year.

How silly does that sound? I really dislike the idea of the school year. We live, we learn. Sometimes we have to deal with learning things we don't really care about, but that get us to a goal. The dreaded math facts, for ex. Anyway, here's what we did the past 2 weeks.

J and E together:

Bible and Catechism - we continued with reading a Psalm and a chapter of Proverbs each day. We are memorizing Psalm 33. Finished Proverbs and are starting 1 Peter. Should have started Friday but it was hard to concentrate with the road work trauma going on outside. In Catechism, we are on question 19. J has them down cold; E kind of follows along with him. But we will be coming 'round again so she should have them next time. Well, that'll be in 2 years... hm.

Math: Continued working on facts via MUS and and theory/concepts via Mathematical Reasoning. We're almost finished with the Alpha level of MUS; just a few more chapters of single-digit subtraction, then time (which ought to be an easy review for J) and then move to Beta which is just double-digit. We ought to fly through that, as theoretically the basic facts are down. Maybe.

Copywork/handwriting: They both write out their catechism answers each week. I am too easy with J on this; he should be writing more each day. But I'm not pushing it, yet. E is actually sloppier than him but doesn't hate it as much. Go figure. Next week we are starting cursive using A Reason for Handwriting. I am not sure how all this writing is going to work.

Reading: We finished up Stuart Little. They would read, then we'd discuss together. I didn't use a canned literature study guide but just went over the book with them. No written reports. Not quite ready for that yet. J's skills at narrating (though we don't call it that) are quite good - that auditory memory. He is working on not rambling quite so much, and keeping events in order. We are also continuing to work on Explode the Code for phonics reinforcement and rules. They don't like it, much, but it's good practice for them so we will press on for now. If I could find something a little more "grownup" for phonics rules, syllables, etc., I would change.

Latin: We started lesson 3. They still like it; it's still fun. And not too much writing.

Science: Have completed lesson 3 of BF's History of Science. E likes the story about Archimedes; J like the reading in The New Way Things Work. As usual we are doing far less of the writing than is recommended. Next year.

History: Restarted/reviewed first few chapters of SOTW. Updated the timeline to show Dutch Revolt, Guy Fawkes and James 1. J told me the story of Guy Fawkes - remembered from previous reading and our trip to UK - before I read it to him. Reading HA Geurber's The Story of the Thirteen Colonies as a review. Started working on History Pockets: Colonial America.

Test Prep: Both kids do work a few times a week in a test prep workbook - 3rd grade for J, 2nd for E.

Spelling: We are still doing AVKO Sequential Spelling, level 1. It is too easy for E, too hard for J. He can't get the patterns down. I'm trying to think of a better way.

Now, individually:

J continues to be very engaged in science and history. He hates the "boring basics" of writing, copywork, spelling, math facts. He is curious and anxious to learn. He occasionally still works on his Maps, Charts, and Graphs book but I think it has become too easy for him. His reading skills are improving greatly. His comprehension is good though I am still concerned because when reading aloud he skips small but important words that can change the meaning of a sentence or concept, such as "not." Maybe he gets it when reading silently. His narrations of books read, and his test prep work, shows he is getting it.

E is reading very well. She is lazy, though in a different way from J. Her printing is more sloppy. She doesn't like to listen to history or science as much. (Of course some of the science is just hard for her to understand, for ex the different classes of levers.) She is weak on memorization but I think that is laziness too. This all sounds so negative. She is also reading very well (though she tends toward twaddle, which I have to deal with) and is very creative with her crafts. She is resistant to math (brings to mind the talking Barbie: "math is hard").

I don't want to get bogged down in page numbers completed each week. Until such time as we live in a state which requires something more structured, I will continue to progress at our own pace.

Spelling

It still amazes me that spelling simple words is such a mystery to J. He can be looking at a word and still be unable to spell it. He misses vowels, he adds in consonant blends that aren't there... where's the "r" in "spill?" He switches letters around - classic dyslexia? - and apparently has no understanding that the letters are generally written in the order they are pronounced.

It is all I can do not to scream in frustration sometimes. He's not stupid. He just doesn't get phonics. I just laugh every time I read something about phonics being the only way to learn to read well. No, it's not. Not for everyone.

Update September 3

I've decided to try this again - using this as a place to keep track of our work. Not daily! I'm thinking about a weekly summary of each kids' progress in various areas.

Our daily planning/recordkeeping now consists of a weekly checklist which I print for the kids. It has all the subject areas they need to work on for the week. J's looks like this:

E Week of:_________________________________________

[] [] [] [] [] [] [] Chores: Clear Table, Make Bed, Clean Up Toys, Dry Dishes, Other as required.

[] [] [] [] [] [] [] Bible____________________________________

[] [] [] [] [] [] [] Catechism________________________________

[] [] [] [] [] [] [] Christian Almanac/Artist&Composer Birthdays

[] [] [] [] [] [] [] Silent Reading__________________________

[] [] [] [] [] Latin

[] [] [] [] Math U See

[] [] [] [] [] Copywork/other writing

[] [] [] Mathematical Reasoning

[] [] [] Spelling Test

[] [] [] History

[] [] Logic or other puzzles

[] [] [] Explode the Code

[] [] [] History of Science

Other Activities________________________________

See, we don't do everything every day. I'm trying for a 4-day "work" week, with a floating day off - and we can do "schoolwork" on Saturday if we end up with empty spaces where checks should be. Each night I will write up a list of my own, of what to do, so I am not bumbling around the house looking for various resources.

It worked for a week. And we have no plans next week so it should work for two!

Anyway, the plan is to consolidate this into a summary which I will keep track of here. So we'll see how this goes. I am optimistic even though everything else I have tried has not worked.

I suppose if my kids produced more "stuff" from our work this wouldn't be a problem. They'd have history and science notebooks full of "stuff" they've done. Problem is they don't like doing "stuff." Coloring pages? Aaahhhh! I should be more diligent with the narrations. They both do very good oral narrations. But written? Too much work for me.

2006 Student Showcase

Our first student showcase this year. We worked on a "History Pockets" project on explorers of North America. Didn't finish, as it included people way ahead in our chronological history study. And, I didn't want to try to jam anyone in and not give any explorer enough attention. We also added a few other explorers we wanted to study.

Everyone really enjoyed the showcase. I was pleasantly surprised that there were not more "parent-driven" projects. It was clear the kids had done the work.

The showcase also helped me see the value in being part of the hs group. I had been considering quitting as there are several things that annoy me. The adherence to the school calendar, for one. A "back to school party" in the fall - for kids who don't go to school! The nearly useless meetings. But, now I see there are good things too. So we will persevere.

4/5-7

Tough week - J was sick all week, allergies or what, dunno. Not much work done. Bible and catechism daily, then through the week a little math practice, a bit of science, etc. Read The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe in less than 24 hours (but over 2 days). Now on The Horse and His Boy.

My own reading, oh my. So scattered. I am in the middle of so many books. But now I have to concentrate on Women's Ministry in the Local Church as that may be the first book in our summe reading.

4/4

J is suffering from the allergies or the allergy meds. Dizzy, headache. Lazy, too, of course, and hard to get along with. So no writing for him today, very little except some reading aloud and our Charlotte's Web reading/study guide. Spring is not so fun around here.

April 3 already

Well, what have we been doing? Not much....

Finished Hans Brinker

Reading Deuteronomy.

Doing the checklists.

Reading a lot, sort of. A semi-lot.

Almost done with ETC 4! But stuck on some phonics rules.

Almost to subtraction on MUS! I think J will breeze through that but E will not.

History - finally on book 3 of SOTW. Getting a bit tired of her format but we will press on.

Kids are reading Charlotte's Web and doing a Vertias Press study guide with it.

Need to look into swimming lessons.

My reading: hahahhahaha!