Friday, February 9, 2007

Bible

Read Aloud - finished Lassie Come Home. I enjoyed this book, especially the last couple of chapters. The dog traveling home got a little slow at times but I think what I enjoyed were the parts about the family dynamics between the Carracloughs, Lassie's original owners, and also between the Grandfather and his granddaughter.

Math - regular for everyone: Abel only completed one long multiplication problem today at the end of the Gamma book but I think he's getting the hang of it, Luke did a review page from lesson 13 in Delta, Hope completed lesson 38 in her algebra book. I am aiming for her to only complete half of the book this year and finish the rest next year when she is in 9th grade. She only has about 25 lessons to go, so I'm considering having her lead the boys in some of their fun-type math activities on some days and/or reading some math books like The Story of Geometry.

Typing practice for boys

Reading - Abel - Mark Twain CFA (This was funny as he was impatiently waiting for the book to start telling about Twain...they kept talking about someone named Sam Clemens... until I told him that was Mark Twain's real name :) , Luke - Toliver's Secret, Hope - (did not read today because she needed time to get ready for dance), Kezzi - short reading from Microbe Hunters, getting ready for dance too

Writing - Dictation from Bible verse: all kids together with youngers stopping sooner

History - Tales From Ancient Egypt with oral narrations. We discussed the Biblical similarities in the story; Kezzi reads Hiroshima

The girls went to dance rehearsal this afternoon - 6 hours of dancing to prepare for their performance in March!

Science/Art with boys - Nature Journals. We looked at our Nature Journaling book. I was hoping to inspire the boys that their nature journals could contain sketches, not always perfect works of art. Poor things. They are always feeling pressure to keep up with their sisters. We have so much bird activity... mourning doves, bluebirds, robins, titmice, nuthatches, flocks of finches: gold and house. We saw at least four pairs of cardinals at the feeders at the same time. They are eating us out house and home. Now if we can just keep our cats from trying to eat them! I painted the cardinals in my nature notebook today. I've really been enjoying playing with the watercolor paints.

Music - playing Mozart

Once again, the Whoonu game makes it's way into the daily activities. This time Candace plays with the boys and Annalise.

Candace also showed the kids how to make a yarn doll and then taught them some string games.

I read a couple of chapters more of The Year of Miss Agnes tonight to Annalise and Abel, but Annalise says it's boring. I'm afraid she's spoiled with good literature and this is worded like a kid is telling the story. She is not appreciating it. I am appreciating some of the Charlotte Mason elements of the teacher in the story but it is not great. I think I'll just skim the rest myself and maybe start Mr. Popper's Penguins as an evening read aloud with her and Abel next week.