We finally have added in all of our midweek activities, and suddenly things are seeming hectic again. Awana, worship dance, Princess E’s theater and writing classes and Princess S’s art and writing classes, and our vocabulary and literature classes have all begun. Yikes!
Princess M - LHFHG - PreK/K
This little one is taking to reading like a fish to water. Well, okay maybe not that well, but I am amazed at the improvements over the last few weeks. We are using All About Reading. She loves it! And I love it! Here are some photos of the last few weeks.
This is the monster she created. She “feeds” him the word cards that she reads. This is one monster that is well fed.
This is the first fluency practice page that she had to complete. It had 42 two and three letter words, twelve two and three words phrases, and nine two to four words sentences. She was totally overwhelmed when she saw me take the sheet out. But we used the little cut out frame that helps her to focus on just the one word or phrase. We took our time, and at the end three days, she had read through the entire sheet. To say she was proud of herself is an understatement.
After completing the fluency page she got to put on her lesson three sticker. She has been wanting to read even on the days we don’t have a reading lesson scheduled. Sometimes I let her, and sometimes I don’t because they are the days we are already so pressed for time.
We are halfway through Unit 3 Day 2. For math, she is just going to start lesson 5. She wanted to do the entire lesson 4 in one day. One thing that has surprised me is her ability to understand that when you have to fill in nine of ten circles, that means that one will be left uncolored. None of my other kids thought that way. So does this mean I will have one child actually understand math?!
Princess L - BHFHG – 2nd
We just finished Unit 4 Day 2. While I had hoped that we could stick with one HOD day per day, the reality is that isn’t always going to happen. On Wednesdays, both of the older two princesses are gone for two hours. I had thought I’d be able to get through school more quickly with them gone. But really, it isn’t working out that way. So I decided to only get through a half a day’s work with Princess L. That way each princess gets about an hour from me. I decided to try not to stress myself out. I hadn’t intended to finish this guide in one year anyway, so if we get a bit behind, I’m not going to stress out. When she finishes it, she finishes it. (Have I convinced myself yet?) Because we weren’t always finishing every box in a day, I came up with an idea to keep us organized.
I placed these yellow post-its on top of each box that we are doing. When it is time to do a box, I take the post-it off and move it to the same box on the next day’s plans. When all of the post-it's are moved, then I know we’ve completed the day. I am using a similar system with Princess M.
Here is one activity we did this week. We learned about the compass rose. She had to walk around to various directions I gave her. This was about halfway through. I wish I’d had taken one at the end because there were even more blue foot prints all over it.
For math, we are finally making a little bit of headway. She has reached level 2 in her math book, and is picking up the pace with the facts that she does know. Alternating grammar with spelling is working much better. Spelling takes a bit longer mostly because with All About Spelling, there is some time involved with manipulating the letter tiles. We have a smaller board, which means you can’t just slide the pieces around. She still can spell wonderfully during spelling, but then write a story on her own later using the same words we just did and get half of them wrong. It’s frustrating. I’m beginning to wonder if she doesn’t have some form of dyslexia.
Princess S - RTR – 6th
This princess is almost done with unit five. She seems to be enjoying HOD, though she has a hard time figuring out exactly what it is she is to do in each box. I’ve started highlighting what she is expected to do or turn in, and that has helped. She is seeming to really get the hang of fractions in Epsilon. She has finished lesson 4 and is doing very well. We decided to start completely over in Latin. However, we will be reviewing the lessons already completed at a fast pace. It will mean going beyond May to finish the book, but that is okay. She needs to finish this in order to be on pace with my plan for her. She is enjoying her art class and her writing class that she takes on Wednesdays. In the afternoons on Wednesdays, we began our Vocabulary Vine studies and our literature studies. For literature, I decided to use Teaching the Classics that is taught in IEW. As an English major, this method really spoke to me. I purchased the course plans that combine it with Windows on the World. Though they are aimed at early high school students, I worked to adapt them slightly to suit us. We are working through the DVDs slowly. I will be picking out books for us to do after we finish the DVDs by combining Center for Lit’s Reading Roadmaps selections with HOD’s literature suggestions, focusing first on those books we own already. I figure we won’t get to the Windows on the World portion of the course until at least next year, and I plan to stretch it out over two years anyway. I’d like to make sure Princess E gets it in before her junior year.
Though it may look like she is sleeping, Princess S is learning why snails move so slowly by trying to drag herself across the room using only her left arm. While she moved okay the first few drags, she slowed up real quick.
Princess E - Rev2Rev – 8th
Princess E is loving her theater class! She has a friend from dance who is in the same class. She is a natural drama queen, so it is right up her alley. She also enjoys being in a class with a lot of other kids. The classes are held in a large church, so she feels almost as if she is in a “real” school. She has been moving along in Latin, and will hopefully finish LFC-B just before Christmas. That means she will be doing Latin over this next summer as I wanted her to finish LFC-C by the end of 8th grade. I am debating putting her in an online Latin class next year, and the only way it is going to work well for her is if she gets this good foundation.
For math, she has 88% of the Middle School One math course mastered. She has to get a few sections mastered before it will let her do some of the other sections, so she’s gotten bored with doing the same thing over the last three days. She will just have to bite the bullet and get’r done! I’m hoping she will start Middle School Two by Thanksgiving. I didn’t snap any photos of her, so I’ll post this video of her doing the song she performed at our county fair talent show.
Princess E singing I Can Only Imagine.
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