2nd Semester Has Began!

I talked with Necole, my supervising teacher, recently – she is inspiring!! °Ü°

We are finishing up week 4 of our new curriculum. I'm so glad we switched.

Milo is still working on 100 Easy Lessons. He has started picking up “non-school” things and reading them. Bob books and some books that Dani got for Christmas. So I would call him a very beginner reader. But alas, a reader!

He is on week 4 with the Landmark Freedom Baptist Curriculum. It has been interesting watching him do this workbook style math. He really likes getting A+ on a test. This week he missed 1 question. Oh boy was he disappointed. He is is not a natural at math. He is really working hard at this. I am making him memorize his math facts. I want him to not count on his fingers. I didn't do that with the olders... so right from the start... I'm making him memorize them. So far so good. He started the “6” family this week.

Mansel is also working on week 4. Doing Math, English and Literature. I had an “a-ha” moment with him this week. Last year we did Creation to the Greeks with My Father's World. All kinds of books were read, hands on projects. I learned a TON. Well – Dan asked the family a question from that historical time period. I TOTALLY knew the answer. None of the kids did. WHAT?? What were we doing that whole time?

I think I have read somewhere... doing history with younger kids is nice... but not necessary. They won't remember it chronologically anyway. In fact... the reason you do it in a cycle anyway is because they may not remember any of it. I'm finding that our kids really are not remember a lot of stuff from last years history. The stuff we drill – like reading... doing it every day. Math facts... drill and kill... they are remembering that – but retention – well – it's lost quickly, actually. If we go for 3 months with no math...there needs to be a lot of rework done. I think waiting on history and science is a better use of time, then trying to do it from the beginning and doing it again during the middle years, and then finally doing it all again in high school. I'm still convinced playing with rocks and sticks until they are 6 is the way to go, and we will really make sure they getting it when they are in junior high and high school years.

I'm having Mansel write everything in cursive now that we have started the 2^nd semester of third grade. He is using Getty-Dubay Italic handwriting. I find that trying to write in cursive slows him down and his handwriting is more readable. He really wants to write FAST... but then it gets sloppy! I'm looking forward to him slowing down and practicing his cursive.

Literature is probably my favorite subject. I'm wishing it were the kiddos favorite. It's not really – so I'm having him do 1 lesson of literature a day. Test day will be on Friday.

English is going OK. One funny thing... he keeps calling nouns “nuns”. LOL That can be funny. The English lessons are short, so I'm having him work for up to an hour on English, and then quitting. If he gets more than one lesson done a day – then fine. We'll test when ever. If he finishes this sooner than the rest, lucky him.

Spelling – this seems to be a sore spot in all of our lives. I'll just say I've schedule time every day for him to work on spelling. So – maybe you can pray for him a little in this area.

Tori has a time for spelling every day too.

BUT – I'm having her do 1 subject a day. One weeks worth of Science on Monday, with a test at the end of the day. English on Tuesday. Literature on Wednesday. History or Geography actually, on Thursday. Friday – it's bible Memory day. I'm really not happy with her gumption to memorize God's word. So she gets 1 entire morning to work on that.

Math is coming along. Well – rather slowly it's coming along. I sat down with her today and re did an entire test. It only took us 4 hours. That's not bad. I'm not sure what she is paying attention to – but it's not her math. Her hair looks good though. (Rolls eyes!!) We'll keep at it. We home school – she'll be graduating a little late is all. He is starting to scribble way too often. Ack... my poor eyes.

That's a brief update on us. We are all healthy and well.

Finally over the chicken pox, and guess what... having the chicken pox didn't slow our school work down! Yee Haw... that was what I wanted! School work that could be done even when mommy was being nurse, or baker, or candlestick maker. Well – you know what I mean.

Right now I'm at a public school gym, sitting on the floor, watching Mansel learn how to play basketball. Gym class. Ü He has been watching Tori play basketball with the middle school girls. I told him he was going to play like a girl. He was appalled. I reassured him I was KIDDING!! He's not... he is doing fine.

But my buns are cold from sitting on this cold hard floor.

I'll be back. I need to reconfigure how many days we have done so far. Well -- goodness gracious... I hadn't counted since November 3rd. We've done quit a few days since then. Week of Nov 3rd we finished 44. Finishing up the week of Jan 5th we have done 31 more days. So that is a grand total of 75. WOW!! Only 73 more days left.

Make it a good one!!

Thanks for keeping tabs on me Necole. You are a great friend.