We had a relatively low-key week. MacGyver's parents came to the island in the middle of the week which threw things out of kilter a bit and Friday was our first day of Co-Op so that added to the wonkiness (yes, that is a word!) of the week.
The "three Rs" moved along smoothly. The Girl's language curriculum finally arrived and (verbal thing that she is) she's ripping through the lessons. After previewing the curriculum, I find myself probably more excited than she is about what she'll be learning. I *finally* get to learn how to diagram sentences! She enjoys the curriculum because it's all about words - something she is quite good at. My only qualm with this curriculum is that there is nothing beyond the 4th grade so I'll have to figure out where to go from here.
Spelling is going well for both The Boy and The Girl. I give them a pre-test at the beginning of the week and, if they spell them all correctly, we are done with spelling for the week (or they can choose to move on to the next lesson). They are both ahead in this though The Girl is actually working on a 5th grade curriculum because the 4th grade level was too easy.
Their handwriting is coming along as well and I'm already seeing significant improvement in The Boy's handwriting - something his kindergarten teacher struggled with all year long. A lot of it is getting him to slow down and form his letters properly - he's quite adept at whipping out a sentence with sloppy, rushed writing so that he can move on to more interesting subjects and activities.
They are both enjoying math which is a blessing. The Boy is several lessons ahead in his math simply because some of the concepts covered in this curriculum were ones that he covered in Kindergarten. So we've been able to skip ahead. This week was the +9 lesson and, after completing 1/2 of the first worksheet, you could see the concept click (the 9 "steals" 1 from the units to make 10 and then you add the remaining units to the 10 to come up with the answer) and he just took off. No blocks or fingers necessary for him to come up with the answers. After completing that worksheet, he asked to take the lesson test and he aced it!
I had bumped The Girl back to the 3rd grade curriculum (multiplication) because her multiplication skills were weak, at best. Thankfully, with the program we're using (Math-U-See), she's really able to understand it and we're moving through it pretty quickly. Ideally I'd like to be done with this level by Christmas and ready to move up into the 4th grade curriculum (division) after the Christmas break. But, if she's not ready for that, we'll spend more time on multiplication until she gets it.
This week in history was all about the first forms of writing: hieroglyphics and cuneiform. They both had a great time writing their names and other phrases in both hieroglyphics and cuneiform! Because the grandparents were in town, we did not do any major projects this week other than hit the library and come home with a stack of books about the ancient Egyptians! Which reminds me, I need to add those to the sidebar.
We have added in a quarterly study on artists and composers. I compiled a list of 10 top artists and composers and let The Boy and The Girl each choose 2 from each list. This quarter, we are studying Ludwig van Beethoven and Leonardo da Vinci. My goal with this subject is simply that my children (and myself) would be able to identify Beethoven's music and da Vinci's art, that they would be able to discuss each of their histories, and point out a few interesting points of fact about their work. I am still compiling resources for this subject and cannot wait until we are somewhere with museums that have pieces for us to look at. For now, we're relying upon books (yay for public libraries!) and the Internet. Though I am somewhat disappointed in The Lourve's website when it comes to information for children.
And then finally, Co-Op began on Friday. This is a group I've been involved with for several years - teaching different classes for them and hanging out with them all so this wasn't anything too new. Our Co-Op covers PE (we're currently doing soccer), art/crafts, science (Chemistry), and a class through the Institute for Excellence in Writing for The Girl. The kids were each able to choose 3 different art/craft classes so they'll be participating in cupcake decorating, cooking, and glass painting. Surprisingly, they each chose the same classes even though I spoke with them at different times. The art/crafts will alternate with PE throughout the year with PE.
PE will cover soccer, track and field (one of the dads is a t&f coach for one of the local private schools here on island), training for the Presidential Physical Fitness Test, broom hockey, jump rope, self-defense (a Sensei that teaches a free karate class at our church will be teaching this unit), and we will also add days in to play Steal the Bacon, Dodgeball, and lawn games. It's nice to be able to do PE with a group (there are about 50 kids in the PE class for Co-Op). Otherwise, it would just be the three of us which would force us to do primarily fitness-related activities as opposed to learning any team sports.
Even though I've written a lot, we really didn't DO a lot this week. Next week promises to be busier, not only because Monday is a holiday! Have a great week!
Pau.
- hfs
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Looks like you got a lot done! There's no telling what you'll get accomplished in a non-wonky week! :)
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ReplyDeleteIt didn't feel like a lot but, after typing it out, it sure reads like a lot! Thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDeleteLooks like a great week. The Co op sounds wonderful. Thanks for sharing your week.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by! The Co-Op is great - it's a wonderful group of families and it's nice not only to have the option of classes that I wouldn't be able to adequately offer at home (I know nothing about glass painting) and the support and friendship is icing on the cake!
ReplyDeleteI hope, if and when we move, that we're able to find another co-op that works for us like this one does!