2010 Week 2

We've had another good week of school, including a fun field trip on Thursday. So far our subjects and materials seem to interest the children, except for Latin (more on that later). Everyone is trying really hard to do the best job they can do and is cooperating. I really can't ask for much more than that.

Emily

Emily has been moving full-speed ahead since last fall. I've given up with trying to stay ahead of her and generally let her take the lead on what she wants to do. A first for one of my children, it has been reading. Reading, reading and more reading. We stopped working through HOP back in the fall because it moved to slowly for her. Instead she is reading through the library's collection of BOB books having very little trouble. Thanks to Leap Frog videos this child has got her blending down pat.

This week we started focusing on sight words using the Dolche pre-primer list. I made up flash cards for her and then she decided she needed to practice writing by making her own sight cards.

Emily has also been doing beginning and ending word sound worksheets, making letter posters using magazine pictures (labeling the pictures with her own unique and phonetic spellings).

In math we have started basic addition.

Along with all that we have been enjoying the library books she picked out on the last visit and reading through a collection of Fairy Tales she received for Christmas.

She is also really enjoying her Kinderdance and Art classes at the rec department this winter.

Katie

Math

Math Mammoth Grade 1/Grade 2

We finished Grade 1 MM this week (or at least the review parts I wanted to go back over with Katie) and moved on to starting Grade 2 at Ordinal Numbers and 1/2 & 1/4 fractions. She has so much more confidence at math than she had earlier this year.

Copywork/Hamdwriting

Katie spent the week copying the poem "Tree House" by Shel Silvertein. She still struggles with spacing and gets very frustrated. Next week we will be starting Writing with Ease Level 1, which will incorporate much of her copywork. And continue doing the occasional poem.

Phonics

Katie finished up her short vowel worksheets and making words plural. Next week she will begin the Level C workbook for phonics.

Reading

She has been reading aloud from a text reader we had, but after this week I will be moving her on to a new one. In the last few weeks her reading has really clicked and this reader is too easy. She has been reading Calvin & Hobbes cartoons in her spare time this week.

Geography

We finished reading "Paddle-the-Sea" and mapping his journey.

History

Katie has been listening along to George Washington's World while I read it to Mary.

Science

We have read about the Oceans, Coral Reefs and Seashores in The Kingfisher Living Worlds book and have read 1/2 of One Small Square:Seashore. We've also watched Planet Earth multiple times.

Literature

We have begun reading Doctor Dolittle as a read aloud.

Drama & Flute

Katie has been following along with the DVD and is working on getting her embouchure correct.

She also began her Drama class for the winter quarter.

Mary

Math

Mary has spent this week learning how to multiply in columns. She finds this very easy following the examples and has only had 100% on her work this week. I'm glad to see that she isn't making as many pesky addition errors in her math anymore due to rushing through it.

Language Arts

Mary has completed Lessons 5 & 6 in Intermediate Language Lessons. She has had to compose a story and we worked on how to read a poem. Next week Mary will also begin working through Writing with Ease Level 3, in addition to ILL. We are dropping Latin at this time and I will be reevaluating where we go later with that.

Phonics

Mary has worked on silent d, c, g, and w this week. This advanced phonics review has been good for Mary and I see lots of improvement in her reading and spelling.

Reading

Mary is reading biographies from "They Led the Way: 14 American Woman".

History

SOTW vol3

read about Newton, Locke, Agricultural Revolution, Peter the Great, and the Ottoman Empire Looks West. Mary did narrations for Newton, Locke and Agricultural Revolution and a written summary for Peter the Great. We explored St. Petersburg on the web and looked at maps comparing Russia's expansion in the last 1600s and 1700s.

George Washington's World

We have read about George and Martha's wedding and Thomas Jefferson attending college in Williamsburg.

Science

We completed the chapter on the Water Cycle in Mary's science text book. Mary answered the summary questions and completed a water cycle diagram.

Literature

We finished reading both "The Cabin Faced West" and "The Sign of the Beaver" as read alouds.

Art & Music

Mary went to her second art class at the rec center. She learned about perspective and is finding that she really does enjoy drawing (now that she has gotten a little guidance from someone who knows what they are doing.

Mary has also been working with her guitar and is still trying to build up her finger strength has she learns her first chords.

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In the evening we are currently reading "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire".

Mary had Girl Scouts this week and cookie sales are in full swing, which is keeping us busy. Both girls have dreams of huge sales. They are also flipping through their badge books trying to decide which badge they next want to work on.

Busy, busy, busy!! But, I feel that we are really accomplishing something lately.

Peace,

Amy