Saturday, February 23, 2013

Weekly Update: 2-23-13

   Oh, yeah, we are homeschoolers. Then why are we out of the home so much? =P


Faith
   Faith is, well, she's Faith. She's determined, seems to think she's years older than she actually is, and is offended at the babyishness of anything aimed at her actual age. She loves her math book though. She's been working with subtraction for awhile and has done really well with it. Her phonics, on the other hand, could use some shaking up. Phonics Pathways looks nothing like the books her siblings use. Adding Costco type workbooks doesn't appeal to her in the slightest; her siblings' books don't look like those either. Letting her play around on tablet paper let me figure out what it is she's craving. As I called out CVC words for her to try spelling, she was practically giddy over that plain piece of paper. It's the more mature output she craves. It looked like a spelling quiz. She's seen plenty of those. When I finally put these puzzle pieces together I picked up The Writing Road to Reading and have been reading through it myself. As soon as I can get the cards made she can start WRTR instead. She'll hear the sound, say the sound, see the sound, and write the sound, and that will build into working with words. Similar to a spelling quiz. Wish me luck.


Grace
   Grace is racing ahead in all subjects, as is normal. She's trying to do more than one math lesson a day on purpose, because she wants to get through the book faster, so she can see what's in the next one. She frequently calculates how many regular lessons she has with the outings of that day to see if she can get another one done. In writing I've been doing more guided rewriting of models with her. She took to that activity like a fish to water. Her sentence diagrams grew a bit, which tickles her to no end. In literature she's currently reading Five Children and It.


Honor
   Honor says math is his current favorite subject, followed by grammar. Horizons math and Rod and Staff English are new to him this year, and he truly enjoys both. In writing he seems to have passed a major hurdle.  He no longer tries to "get away" with short, choppy sentences. He *wants* his papers to sound nice. It's a lovely growth. In most subjects he's steadily plugging away, as is his usual way of doing things. For literature he's reading some Roald Dahl, James and the Giant Peach. He had a few heavy books recently, and has chosen to follow them with lighter reading. Smart decision.


Joy
   Joy's favorite part of school is Where the Brook and River Meet, followed very closely by math. She's found many of the big projects in WBRM overlap requirements in her American Heritage Girl handbook. Like crocheting an afghan (Needlework patch), sewing a simple nightgown (Sewing patch), and more. Her composition has improved drastically this year. Her first attempts at essays were very stilted and choppy, yet her more recent assignments had clarity, smooth transitions, and strong supporting details. She's hit a burst of speed in math again. Thankfully I have her next book already on the shelf in case it's needed! In literature she's reading Oliver Twist, and the Seven Serpents trilogy.


 Justice
   Well, his Hobbit based literature is still going strong, and he thoroughly enjoys it. We bumped his grammar lessons up a notch in priority recently. This subject has been somewhat neglected this school year. It's easy to set grammar aside because he's a "natural" at it. Since we have no intentions of dropping it anytime soon, we dusted it off and put it on a daily checklist again. His vocabulary moved back to Rod and Staff's Spelling by Sound and Structure 8. I tried catering to him more on this subject and changed it up this year. We tied it to literature and other subjects, used a vintage text for awhile, and in the end nothing reduced the attitude. Back to our trusty Rod and Staff. His math is moving forward slower than normal, but it is moving forward. We know the drill: whiteboard demonstrations of each and every new concept, having him teach it back to us in his own words, and triple checking his understanding before he moves forward. He's been reading Princess and the Goblin for Hobbit, and just finished the Paolini Eragon series (again?).


That adorable toddler, Valor? His speech has taken a burst lately. It's so CUTE. Then his sisters brag on his cuteness to other people and try to coax it out of him for display. He sets a firm lip when he hears their stories and refuses to say more than, "No!"

Pictures. I have pictures of camping, dance shows, Scout-O-Rama, and more, but none actually homeschool related. I'll try catching up on some this upcoming week.

Monday, February 11, 2013

Last week. This week.

Weekly Review for last week. Much coughing. Little education. I won't bore you with the rest of the details.


Weekly Goals for this week. We've been coughing for three weeks. Dude. This week my goal is getting math and language arts done on a daily basis. If we can do that every day, I'll call it a successful week.