Where did time go?

I guess it's a good thing that I have been entirely too wrapped up in schooling to blog much! But I also realize that I have been lax in keeping everyone up to date on our progress. Let's see if I can recap the past 5 months without getting distracted (SQUIRREL!).


THE BOY


The Boy is doing quite well. He exceeded my expectations in every subject and most days pushes for more than I am willing to give him. He finished up 1st grade language (First Language Lessons), spelling, and math at the end of the first semester. His writing (Writing With Ease) and handwriting are coming along at a reasonable pace and his penmanship is getting better, primarily when he slows down and concentrates on what he's doing, as is the case with most of us! Instead of starting him on 2nd grade spelling, I added in Explode the Code as a way to reinforce the concepts he learned in spelling. And, although he isn't all that fond of it (the curriculum is a bit dry and repetitive), it does what I wanted it to do - reinforce things he learned in his spelling.


A word about his spelling curriculum. We use Spelling Workout and he thoroughly enjoys it! He loves the news stories at the beginning of each lesson as well as the proofreading exercise at the end. He is bugging me to get him the next level of this curriculum and I may just give in and do so. He also asked me if he could keep his spelling book to re-read some of the stories in it. Works for me! The Girl likes it too although she's not tearing through it like he did.


We also added in Wordly Wise 3000 as part of our 2nd semester curriculum. I realized about half way through the first semester that we weren't really hitting vocabulary like I wanted. Yes, we reviewed the vocabulary from their science curriculum, our history curriculum, and from our various readings, as well as some in spelling, but not as much as I wanted. So I asked around (yay for homeschooling co-ops and other homeschooling moms!) as well as hitting a bookstore downtown that carries a decent selection of different homeschooling curricula, and settled on Wordly Wise. I've incorporated it into their "Daily Folders" and they can do most of it independently - even The Boy! They enjoy it and, during the last quarter of this school year, I am going to challenge them each week to write me a short story using a given number of their Wordly Wise vocabulary words each week.


Because he tore through math so quickly, I went ahead and ordered the next level of Math U See for him and he tore into it right after Christmas. He's currently about 1/3 of the way through the level and shows no signs of slowing down. He's adding 3 digit numbers (397 + 528), learning about perimeter, measurement (inches, feet, yards)...anything and everything his brain can soak up! He's still reversing some numbers but not as many (variety) as before and with decreased frequency. And, when asked if a number is facing the correct direction, he can see his mistake. So I don't worry too much about that.


Science is coming along well. They both have really enjoyed some of the experiments that they've been able to do with our co-op and I've enjoyed the fact that they get to do them as well because I am not sure I'd be able to find the time and the inclination to do them at home! It's a pretty in-depth curriculum (we're doing Chemistry through Real Science4Kids and it's been challenging! The Girl is overwhelmed and doesn't think she's doing as well as she really is. She gets frustrated because a few of the concepts are a little above her head. But, when questioned on the concepts, she can demonstrate a clear understanding of the basics so I don't think she's doing as poorly as she thinks she's doing. But she's her toughest critic so this is not surprising. The Boy is happy when he gets to blow things up or start fires through chemical reactions!


THE GIRL


The Girl amazes me daily. Not only is she smart (what parent doesn't think this of their child?) but her persistence and drive to improve get stronger each day. She's worrying less and less about "getting it wrong" and focusing more and more on finding the RIGHT answer. Early on this year, she was timid in her responses...always concerned that I'd be mad at her if she gave the wrong answer. Because, in school, the teachers would get frustrated if the students gave the wrong answer. And that usually happened in front of 28 other students. Quite stressful. Slowly, she is getting to the point where she understands that people make mistakes all the time and there is no shame in that. The shame comes when you fail to look for the right answer. She's learning to use the resources around her when appropriate and she's learning how to ferret out the information needed from whatever it is she's working on at the time. Quite the detective she's becoming!


Even though she got a bit of a late start on language due to me changing my mind with regard to curriculum at the last minute, she's ahead and should wrap up her language a few weeks before the end of the school year. With regard to her writing curriculum, we've eliminated the dictation portion of it. It was something she was wholly unfamiliar with and was a source of much stress. Coupled with the fact that her summarization skills were lacking, I chose to eliminate the dictation aspect of the curriculum and focus solely on the summarization aspect. She's getting better at it and needs less coaxing each day. I think, once The Boy starts in on 3rd grade language (where the concept of dictation is introduced) I will have her do it along with The Boy and ease her into it that way. But the 4th grade writing curriculum assumed that it was a skill she had been working on since the year before so it was overwhelming.


Her penmanship is coming along and her cursive (yes, we still do cursive!) is beautiful. We've also added in typing for both of them (we use Typing Instructor) which they see as more fun than instructional. It's one of the few times they get to get on the computer during the school day! She's also doing Wordly Wise 3000 and enjoying it. I'll go into more detail about our "Daily Folders" and their evolution in a later post.


Our one black mark this semester has been history. We are about 10 weeks behind but I am not too concerned. As we wrap up other subjects (writing, handwriting, spelling, etc.) we will be taking more time to add in history. Thankfully, it's one of those subjects that my children enjoy and I can take it into the summer months if necessary!


For our reading last semester, we read The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo and what a great read it was! Both The Boy and The Girl were sad to see the story end. But we picked up A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle and they are loving it! My 3rd grade teacher, Miss Lowe, read it to our class and I remember just being enthralled and not wanting to wait for the next chapter. I remember begging my mom to let me check it out from the library but my mom didn't want to spoil the suspense of listening to it in class so she said no. My children now beg me to read the next chapter to them and I love it!


THE OTHER STUFF (i.e. "SOCIALIZATION")


I have lots of pictures to post - BMX riding, Cub Scouts, hiking Diamond Head with friends, etc. but I am going to save that for another post in the next few days. Anyone who has met my children will know that the one thing they do NOT lack is "socialization". The Girl can hold an intelligent conversation with just about anyone - Charles Manson, the Commanding General of 25ID, the pastor of our church, the kids down the street, the mail lady...you name it. And The Boy can as well - he's just not as outgoing as his sister but once he warms up, he can charm your socks off. But there are a LOT of pictures so I'll wait and post them another time.


I am going to try to stay more up-to-date with the posts here. But no promises - sometimes we are just having too much fun to stop and write about it! For now, have a great week!




Pau.




- hfs