Now that we are back in school-mode, I will try to post a weekly Journal. This is as much for me as it is for anyone else, but I think that a journal is so helpful because it describes the atmosphere of a day more than seeing a straight lesson plan, and shows how a real day works.
Monday was Labor Day, and our last day of 'summer.' We spent the day with my son's best friend--he came over and played all day. So much fun.
Tuesday, September 2: Finn did two pages of Explode the Code independently. We did our Morning Time*, which included the first chapter of Old Mother West Wind--which we are liking!), then everyone completed their new morning chores. A certain amount of maternal guidance is necessary as we get into the swing of new chores, but they went very well. Finn is so helpful. Finn had his first piano lesson! Back at home he did a page of Calculadders and read a Frog and Toad story to me. Then we had art and listened to Just So Stories on the way (Finn is unimpressed). We ran our Tuesday errands in the city and then had free time, chores and piano practice before falling into bed. A successful first day!
Wednesday, September 3: We had our Morning Time after breakfast and Finn narrated an Aesop's fable beautifully. After chores he did 3 pages of Explode the Code on his own before we started school in the schoolroom. We did Handwriting Without Tears, some basic math review (the small dry erase board is a big help--it's *fun*), and our first spelling lesson. I worked with Annie on some preschool activities in her preschool book--she sat *on* the table, not *at* it, thankyouverymuch. I read "The Sword of Damocles" to Finn and he narrated it; he read a Frog and Toad story to me. We then read two tales from India. We finished by noon and by 2:00 I'd fed everyone lunch, cleaned the kitchen thoroughly, cleaned the bathroom and vacuumed the main floor....I love days at home! The children played all afternoon; I traced a new pattern to sew, did some organizing and also exercised. Piano practice and afternoon chores rounded out the day. Our bedtime story right now is Little House in the Big Woods. I. was. tired.
Thursday, September 4: First day back at Classical Conversations, our homeschool group. Fun was had by all. After CC we visited Lowe's to inspect faucets, Walmart, the chiropractor and the post office. A couple of hours of freetime at home preceded soccer and piano practice. Little House in the Big Woods at bedtime!
Friday, September 5: We skipped Morning Time due to a late-night with Annie giving me a late start--I was awake at 7:40 but didn't get up until 8:00. Instead we did chores and I drank coffee, Finn did 2 pages of Explode the Code, and then Annie did preschool on one side of me while Finn did his school on the other. We did some gentle math together (just concepts using c-rods and the dry erase board), a phonics lesson (from OPGTR, which included a read-aloud), a tiny bit of handwriting from HWOT, and some spelling. Then I let the children play for a few minutes before we did a Health lesson and read from Our Island Story (Albion and Brutus). I played Mozart at lunchtime and we did an abbreviated Morning Time: Bible story, poetry, and memory work. Piano practice and hymn-singing rounded out the day ("For the Beauty"--one of my favorites!). The rest of the day the children spent playing while I alternated relaxing and cleaning. I was tired due to 5 hours of sleep and a busy, productive week--and was ready to 'lay low' for an afternoon.
After examining Lamb's Shakespeare more closely, I have decided to table it for the time being; I'm going to purchase Jim Weiss' reading of "Midsummer Night's Dream" and start there before we read and narrate! I'm figuring out ways to make Shakespeare as accessible and enjoyable as possible for a fairly young child.
As an aside, Annie started the "About Three" preschool workbook from Rod and Staff on Wednesday. She didn't do any pages in it on Thursday. On Friday she completed page 29...and there are only 32 pages in the book. So. She's blazing through the thing...that's my Annie!
I am so grateful to be able to homeschool my children. I love it.
*The setup for Morning Time chez Trinity this year is as follows:
-opening prayer
-Bible story
-Poetry (we're still loving Robert Louis Stevenson)
-Lessons in Responsibility, Aesop's or Life of Fred, depending on the day
-Memory work
-Popsicle stick prayers
-Read-aloud (right now we're reading aloud Old Mother West Wind--one chapter per day)
No comments:
Post a Comment