Silver Moon Learning

Jul. 30, 2009

What we've been up to. Quite random.

What we haven't been up to may be easier. Have you ever read over a great books list for your kids, and realized you haven't read half of them yourself? Sad, isn't it? With that in mind, I just finished Little Men this week. Loved it!  Somehow my life feels richer for having met all those boys. I did read our Little Women first, but it's abridged. After finishing it I was more disappointed than enlightened, knowing full well what the original author was capable of. My kids are doing a fun sports camp thing in the evenings this week. Even Grace is in on it. She's taking cheerleading. The boys are doing soccer, and Joy is doing basketball. (I wanted to try cup stacking but they said I'm too old.) Faith chases along wherever she can, but she loves tagging with the soccer kids best. You see, balls and balloons are her favorite things, and that group of children is more likely to leave balls laying about for her to discover. When she spots one she takes off running just as fast as her wee legs will carry her, yelling "Ball! Ball! Ball!" on the way, as if she can will it to come to her. When she thinks she's safe from anyone taking it from her, she'll throw it a short distance and chase it down, over and over again. Another thing we're doing this week is working on common manners. After last week I was doubting that I'd ever taught my children appropriate manners. It was one of those weeks. Right now we're slowly going over George Washington's Rules of Civility together. Some are pretty funny to picture in today's customs, but the older two are taking some to heart. They both admire Mr. Washington. To help us remember more common courtesies we've been pretending to treat each other as royalty.This has been quite fun for all of us.  The little girls have taken being treated as princesses straight to heart. Today they are in their best dresses, pretty tights and shiny shoes. Their hair has been fixed up by their big sister, who is evidently too big to join the merriment by dressing up as royalty herself, but has thoroughly enjoyed doting over the wee princesses.  (Note to self: We should do a princess tea party for Grace's fourth birthday.)  The boys would rather be pirates, alternating rescueing with capturing the princesses, than be princes themselves. It is absolutely adorable to watch them dote on the little princesses. In homeschool news we're doing great. We made a "lesson map" in a light summer pace and posted it on the school wall. It has Monday through Friday across the top, subjects down the side, room for three chidlren, with Grace drawn in at the bottom. Please don't ask where I got the form, I haven't a clue. If I had to guess I'd say Donna Young. A circle aligning science with Thursday means today you need to get the science book out and do what's next. Since Joy and Justice are in totally different places in the same history and science books I filled out an index card for each of them, with exact page number assignments in the bite size they each require. They only need find their index card that lives in the science book, see which pages they're to do next, read them, do any experiments or projects and narrate to me, then mark off those pages on the index card. I'm likely to do this when we ramp it up a notch in a month or so, I like how pick up and go it's made it for two very different children. Speaking of when we ramp it up a notch in a month or so. I'm attempting to streamline wherever I can, and I'm going to try a new lesson organization tactic. With Honor joining the ranks as a first grader this fall, and Grace hot on his heels, I want to cut down on prep work wherever possible, without losing our flexible, following wild rabbit trails as we please ways. I'm trying to nudge Justice towards working independently wherever I can find a window to do so. He's not terribly fond of this. He's such a social, people person, that working on grammar without having mom right there to chat with the entire time isn't appealing to him in the slightest. Nevermind he can coax anyone into breaking our well established "don't mess with a sib doing a lesson" rule. There are days I swear I'm raising Tom Sawyer. At least we still have a month (or so) to work on it. I had so much in my brain that I intended to blog when I found myself on this page. I think half of it has fallen out. But I really do need to get off this box and get the day rolling in the right direction. The middle princess is ready for her reading lesson, the eldest one is already in the middle of her science lesson, and the littlest wants more cereal. It's been grand chatting with all two of you! If I get some more time to sit here later on I have some pictures to get resized and uploaded. We'll see.

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