We started school again on October 12, after taking a break for Peter's birth.

Reading Curriculum: Sing Spell Read Write.  Christopher is on Step 12 (of 36) on his way to reading fluently.  He just finished reading the short "o" vowel sound book a few minutes ago in his free time! He is learning the new words and decoding unfamiliar words much more easily, and he is intuitively reading words for which he doesn't know the rules. 

Natalie is formally learning her uppercase letters, although she knows most of them.  She can now correctly write "A".

Math:  Christopher is on Lesson 57 of Right Start Math.  He is comfortable adding and subtracting simple math, and can do some double digit problems in his head. RSM He understands 10s and 100s and 1000.    We also do Math Reasoning from the Critical Thinking Company, and he has many favorite KUMON books which support and enhance math concepts.

Natalie loves to play with math manipulatives while Christopher is doing math, and she is working through Beginning Math Reasoning from the Critical Thinking Company.   She is counting objects, and can do simple addition, finish patterns, making inferences from pictures, and matching She also is learning to write her numbers (KUMON), and has some cutting, pasting, folding, and maze books she enjoys (more KUMON).

Literature:  Peak With Books.  The book we have been enjoying for two weeks in depth is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.  Christopher read it after hearing it a few times and Natalie will "read" it, also complete with panting dramatically after "Here comes g all out of bwef (breath)".  So cute.  I love the questions and extra games included in this program.  My favorite is a poster of a coconut tree for each child, and I post messages at the top of each tree for the children (I tell them the letters arranged themselves into words).  This has motivated Christopher to begin writing notes to the whole family, which I greatly enjoy.

Science:  We are still working through Fizzy Foamy Science, which is great fun, but I am beginning to wonder how many ways you can mix baking soda and citric acid...  I feel that I must finish it, though.

Art:  Our co-op teacher has followed our theme of "God made me special."  "God put me in a family."  "God put me in a local church community."  "God put me in a global church community."  Christopher has done a self-portrait, and a city scape of our house, with windows opening up to portraits of our family.  Natalie has done rainbow people around the world, hand print art, and other fun projects.  At home, we have made playdough, and sculpted and painted mama and baby bears and turtles.

Music;  Christopher takes piano lessons and is working through Leila Fletcher book 1.  We sing a lot, and listen to music a lot.  In co-op we are learning about duration, and reading rhythms including quarter notes and half notes.  The older children are pre-composing with re-arranging flash card rhythms, and playing them with different instruments.  Both children, Christopher in particular listen to music incessantly, and memorizes all the tunes to their CD number.   

We also attended Sound All Around  sponsored by the Philadelphia Orchestra, hosted by Charlotte Blake Allston, an award-winning story-teller, and by a member of the orchestra, who gets his or her instrument up close to the kids.  Excellent presentation on the trumpet this time.

Wood shop!  Today we had fun going to Lowes and assembling a Frankenstring magic trick.  I was impressed at the project's appropriateness for little kids, while still allowing them to work with a hammer and nails.  Very cool.  Both children completed their projects successfully without too much adult intervention. 

Physical Education:  Both children take Gymnastics weekly, and are learning (in the very beginning stages) tumbling, trampoline, balance beam, parallel bars, and the other bar thingy. (:  They have only done rings once or twice.

Peter's main accomplishment has been to learn how to nurse without torturing Mommy, and he continues to nurse, pee, poop, and grow.  We are still hoping he will learn how to sleep longer naps and in his own crib, but he is getting better each week.

Mommy is learning how to manage all three children.  I have discovered that when I am homeschooling, my other to do list must stay very short.  I can only get one other thing done per day, so my data entry project is not finished, which means that Peter's birth announcements are languishing as I refuse to handwrite another mailing when I am so "close" to completing merging John's and my address lists.  Sigh.

All for now!