Today was a fairly great day.  We are settling in  and the Christmas tree is decorated.  Have confirmed family visitors coming for Christmas and have gotten the house fairly ready for them.  Still don't have our Christmas cookies decorated but they are made.  (Fig cookies with frosting and sprinkles). 

Today we did the following:

Andre' read from Exodus the story of Moses crossing the Red Sea with the Isrealite army.  He announced yesterday that he was reading out of the ICB version at school before (third grade level).  I was rather surprised since she gave him an average grade in reading.  Perhaps it was his resistance to doing worksheets.  Oh well, he does have a mind of his own and I try to let him do as many things as he chooses within reason.  Only once today did we get into a 'power struggle'.  Later, I realized i really didn't have a good reason for saying "no" to his choice. 

Then we practiced his song for the upcoming school play.  He is singing Away in A Manger solo.  I played it in C for him and we discussed whether he should sing it an octave lower (I'm so glad that I convinced him to sing it in middle C).  Whew!  He worked on what I call 'fact families' for as long as he was interested. I used the white board and flannel figures for him to practice telling number stories.  He stayed focused for a long time till he got upset at me saying he needed to practice neatness.  Not sure why I decided to say that.  I stayed quiet about it after that.  He must have been nagged a lot about neatness.  What is strange is he was very neat before he went to formal school (writing that is).  Now he writes with a very heavy hand.  Maybe all I should do now is remind him to relax his muscles.  No focus on neatness for a good while till he relaxes again. 

PE was playing outside with his brother.  He also cleared the table after breakfast and rinsed the dishes.  I will pay him fifty cents for this and will use it to teach budgeting (he has the Money Matters bank that we are just beginning to discuss again---after not using if for some time).   After lunch he read a Henry and Mudge book.  Have forgotten the title but we have the series.  I searched online while he was reading to himself, for some comprehension evaluation tools I could use.  This is what I found and I'm so excited about this calibur of website!  http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=263

Later, we played a phonics file folder game I had used previously with my students when I taught grades 1-3.  It wasn't really an area he needs work in but I'm just trying to figure out where he is in phonics.  He liked the game (vowel-consonant-vowel) but I think it was simply review.  That's ok.  Today was a great routine and I hope to repeat the flow tomorrow and the next day.  He really needs that after so much change. 

Gotta run and get ready for my night out.  (volunteering). 

Later

Last week was spent in a hodgepodge of formal/informal evaluation along with reading, writing and math activities.  I did a lot of 'kidwatching' as they call it in teaching circles.  Not sure what the homeschool buzzword for it is.  My highest priority right now is to recapture the joy of writing and math for my son whose been critiqued to 'death'.  That's my assessment.  His very nature invites criticism since he is very observant and critical himself.  It's very challenging working with children like him because they have more critical thinking skills than their maturity can handle.  I'm realizing how much tender nurturing he is needing but also overwhelmed by how much firm discipline he demands.  (regular defiance of one sort or another).

Monday we have an appointment with a behavior counselor.  They will not be pushing meds on us (I made sure of that).   Thankfully, he's been responding favorably to what I've been doing already.  And I think that with persistence and patience on my part----he'll begin to settle into the joy of learning again. 

I may have ordered the wrong level of Singapore Math.  If so, I'll try to fill in the gaps with a first grade textbook  from back when I taught primary grades before.  Also, I have a lot of hands-on games and devices to use with that primarily literature based program. 

Have researched the reading program he was using at his school.  I have the highest respect for the school system he was in.  (His teacher was fairly new and had little if any experience teaching reading or math to first and second graders).  Makes a big difference who the teachers are in my opinion.  Curriculum is secondary.  Who teaches is of utmost consideration.

The curriculum is called Pathways to Learning.  I think I can order it if I decide to.  They have a website with homeschool curriculum.  It's priced competitively and is an integrated literature based program----my favorite kind.  At last.  It's the first year the school had adopted the program after using another system for over 20 years.  Back when I taught I had to totally supplement the basals so the students would stay interested.

I'm thrilled to have gotten so organized with all my resources closets here at home.  It's helping me do better at my volunteer Kindergarten teaching position (church).  Yesterday I used a sound effects CD (recorded from a website---will provide link asap) to introduce the story of Paul's shipwreck experience.  The students really got into the story more than usual.  Also, we made cheese and apple sailboats and construction paper canoes (laced up with yarn).   The class went very well and I enjoyed playing guitar for the simple memory verses set to nursery rhyme tunes.  It's all coming back to me now how I used to teach in Birmingham.  (Found the supplemental book--from Advent Source---called 52 Easy Program Ideas for Kindergarten Sabbath School. 

Was able to find a homeschool network online for my area.  Also, found another one closeby which provides a PE program utilizing the YMCA.  Finally, I've found things that I've looked for for two years now.  I'm very encouraged and things are looking way up!  Praise God.