Thursday, October 29, 2009
Stick Figures
According to the Norse Myths we've been studying the first man and first woman were made from trees. Alder and Ash, specifically. Personally I kind of like the image. And it does put an interesting spin on the evolution vs. creation debate, don't you think? We made figures from sticks, our own "first boys". They didn't come out as I'd intended, exactly, but I think they're awfully cute anyway. And Miles spent the rest of the day making stick figures all on his own and planting them all around the house. Hopefully they don't ALL grow into people- our house is kind of small already!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Two Little Mice
Man and Animals inspired handwork: wool felt mice made from an old sweater, felted thick and sturdy in the washing machine, cut, stuffed and sewn into cute little mice for the Thursday, October 15, 2009
Loving, Liking, Liking Not A Bit
Loving
Life of Fred- Fractions. Still.
Thames and Kosmos- Milestones of Science Kit. Very cool, good quality, varied and interesting. Would be better if it had ideas for further exploration, though....
Embroidery.
Autumn. Isn't it just the best season for starting new projects and getting reinvigorated? We love schoolwork in the fall.
School Baskets. The boys each have their own school basket, and each night I make sure their baskets have what they need for the next day's work. It's simple, keeps the clutter down, keeps them focused, and the baskets can move anywhere we need them- dining room table, downstairs, kitchen, even outside, I suppose.
A focused character study time.
A History of US by Joy Hakim. They're great. Really, really great. Much better than I was expecting. Totally worth the price.
Writing Strands 3. Funny, smart, short lessons each day, and Avery's favorite- breaks between lessons! The book is written directly to the child, not to the parent, and that little thing makes a big difference. Avery does the work on his own because he knows that the author expects him to. And you know, he does very well.
Liking
Simply Grammar. I think it would have been really nice two years ago. For us, for fourth grade, it's pretty simple. But the lessons only take a couple minutes and review is good. It's nice that it's oral work- I think if it were intended to be written it would feel too much like busy work.
Word Play. More at Avery's level, and it pushes him along. He insists lately he has no imagination, no creativity, so a little prodding in that direction is good.
Liking Not A Bit
Anatomy. Or rather, the fact we haven't studied this at all in weeks. For some reason this is too easy to push aside in exchange for other, ANY other activities. Hmm.
Guitar. Practice. Or at least the fuss about whether, in deed, Avery is supposed to practice today, whether or not he's really supposed to practice for 30 minutes or 3, whether the time spent setting up his music stand and getting his guitar out counts as practice, and so on and on and on. Nope. Not liking that one bit.
Life of Fred- Fractions. Still.
Thames and Kosmos- Milestones of Science Kit. Very cool, good quality, varied and interesting. Would be better if it had ideas for further exploration, though....
Embroidery.
Autumn. Isn't it just the best season for starting new projects and getting reinvigorated? We love schoolwork in the fall.
School Baskets. The boys each have their own school basket, and each night I make sure their baskets have what they need for the next day's work. It's simple, keeps the clutter down, keeps them focused, and the baskets can move anywhere we need them- dining room table, downstairs, kitchen, even outside, I suppose.
A focused character study time.
A History of US by Joy Hakim. They're great. Really, really great. Much better than I was expecting. Totally worth the price.
Writing Strands 3. Funny, smart, short lessons each day, and Avery's favorite- breaks between lessons! The book is written directly to the child, not to the parent, and that little thing makes a big difference. Avery does the work on his own because he knows that the author expects him to. And you know, he does very well.
Liking
Simply Grammar. I think it would have been really nice two years ago. For us, for fourth grade, it's pretty simple. But the lessons only take a couple minutes and review is good. It's nice that it's oral work- I think if it were intended to be written it would feel too much like busy work.
Word Play. More at Avery's level, and it pushes him along. He insists lately he has no imagination, no creativity, so a little prodding in that direction is good.
Liking Not A Bit
Anatomy. Or rather, the fact we haven't studied this at all in weeks. For some reason this is too easy to push aside in exchange for other, ANY other activities. Hmm.
Guitar. Practice. Or at least the fuss about whether, in deed, Avery is supposed to practice today, whether or not he's really supposed to practice for 30 minutes or 3, whether the time spent setting up his music stand and getting his guitar out counts as practice, and so on and on and on. Nope. Not liking that one bit.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
New Supplies, No School
We were sick. Some schoolwork got done, but not much, really.
The best part of the whole week was getting a giant box of new school supplies- the whole entire set of Key Curriculum math workbooks and answer keys, Writing Strands 3, Home Science Adventures science kits (birds, magnetism, light, micropscopy, insects, astronomy) and the Thames and Kosmos Milestones in Science Kit, which looks WONDERFUL.
Monday we'll be healthy and ready to dig in.
The best part of the whole week was getting a giant box of new school supplies- the whole entire set of Key Curriculum math workbooks and answer keys, Writing Strands 3, Home Science Adventures science kits (birds, magnetism, light, micropscopy, insects, astronomy) and the Thames and Kosmos Milestones in Science Kit, which looks WONDERFUL.
Monday we'll be healthy and ready to dig in.
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