This is my rambling recording of what we’re doing so if you
aren’t interested in the details of our schooling feel free to pop over
to a more interesting place for the remainder of this post!

This one has some interesting things to see: Cake Wrecks!

Still Here? Cool! Let’s review!

Math, Handwriting and Grammar continue to go well for Jr. In Math he’s reached a fluency with carrying and borrowing. He’s remembering to use lowercase letters more often. And he’s very interested in moving away from nouns onto verbs. I think the Schoolhouse Rock video helped peak his interest with verbs. Reading as a subject is something we are still figuring out. But as far as reading as a skill we are continuing to see small improvements each week. I can’t tell you what an absolute delight it is to hear the even cadence of his speech, to watch him pause and *think* about how a new word might sound! Last week in a fit of “Mama needs five minutes to get something done!” I handed him Dr. Suess’s Green Eggs and Ham. What a fantastic moment that was! Not only did he read it to his brother but he made VOICES and had inflections, emotions too (that poor frustrated boy and that persistent Sam I Am!) It was a very hilarious rendition that I’m sorry I didn’t catch on film.

Lil’B has shown increased interest in a lot of things like writing, spelling and letter sounds. But he remains illusive and difficult to pin down. For him I am continuing to grab those moments when he shows a desire in well anything and follow them for as long as they last. Since Lil’B is only 4 these moments are typically short except when it comes to reading books. If we start reading books Lil’B will sit for a solid half hour and if he’s interested in the book then he can stay even longer.

Science and History are two subjects that we are still only partially getting completed. The timing seems to be a big part of the problem so I am shifting these subjects to different times and days to see if that helps. Informationally the move to the Middle Ages has been a good one. Both boys are enjoying our literature choices and are having a good time with some of associated information. I’ve reserved a book at the library that I expect will continue to fuel the interest in trebuchets: Weapons of the Middle Ages. Science goes but it is slow. Partly because we get distracted by other nature related things like toads, sunflowers and other bugs. Granted we did catch a really big and ugly spider for observation. But it is slow. I’m choosing to think slow and steady is just fine for 6 and 4 years.

We’ve been listening to Classics for Kids weekly for Music Appreciation. We’ve begun our Poetry Club talking about acrostic poems, the classic Owl and the Pussycat along with several other works from modern poets. Piano continues to progress and I’ve started introducing the idea to Lil’B that he gets “practice time” too. He’s responded well because he gets the piano all by himself instead of the usual arrangement they end up in with Jr. AND Lil’B playing.

Two weeks in a nutshell! See you back in two. Maybe I’ll even make a video of some of our extra projects just for fun!