Thursday is a new experience for us. Little Queen is not with us on Thursday. This is strange and could not have predicted. We miss her. But, we get a lot done while she is off having a pretty good time (and missing us).
Firstborn and Sunshine worked on their memory work and are doing very nicely. (Psalm 42, in the sidebar). Firstborn corrected yesterday's math test. Silly mistakes show that he knows how to do the work just needs to take more time and care in the execution. He also completed another handwriting book today. I think we will start the next one while awaiting the arrival of the typing program he will be starting. We fininshed off Chapter 3 of our history text and made plans to put all of those conquistadors, early American saints and exploration routes into our own little book. Sunshine made progress on her embroidery while I read and continues to work steadily through her penmanship. Latin was completely neglected today. Darn! Both children are preparing diligently for their upcoming music theory tests.
Rosebud is counting by tens in her Primer math book now and is well past the half way mark in her penmanship book. Though she claims not to "like history" (then usually proceeds to ask what history is), she loves her Bible stories which we are reading chronologically, one tale daily. And, she was disappointed to learn that we had read about St. Rose of Lima yesterday in history without her. I will happily re-read it for her this weekend or next Monday. It is her reading that is really sailing along, though I don't think she realizes just how well. It is so gratifying to hear her read many of the words with just a quick sound out or none at all and of course the vocabulary grows daily as we add new sound combinations. She is finally lovin' it.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Firstborn Writes
Here is Firstborn's final submission to his first online writing class:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coach Kevin put me on the pitcher's mound for the first time. My knees shook with nervousness, but I focused on the cather's mitt. We were in the third of four innings and I had already struck out two batters. There was a runner on second when the next batter came to the plate.
For the first two throws, I slipped my fingers over the stitched seams. Now there were two strikes on the scoreboard and I wanted the next pitch to be the final one of the inning. I rotated the ball in my hand and planted my fingers across the seams. I shut out all of the sounds around me and my eyes were like laser beams on the catcher's mitt. I drew my armback and let the ball fly. SMACK! The ball hit the catcher's mitt and the umpire called it, "Strrrike three!"
That day I used two of my best pitches. The last pitch was one I made up. It flies as strait as a wooden dowel. I usually use it when the batter has two strikes and three balls. It works well also against left handed batters. To deliver this pitch, you hold your fingers across the seams.The other two pitches I throw are the two-seam fastball and the four-seam fastball. The two are practically the same, except the two seam fastball curves a little more than the four seam. To throw the two-seam fastball, hold your fingers with the seams. The pitch the four-seam fastball hold your fingers across the seams at the curvy part.
Professional pitchers use all kinds of grips dependent on the situation. A few are the curveball, the knuckleball, the screwball, and the change-up. I sometimes use the change-up, too. For the change-up, the pitcher holds the ball with three of four fingers and across one with the seams, depending on which kind of change up is thrown.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coach Kevin put me on the pitcher's mound for the first time. My knees shook with nervousness, but I focused on the cather's mitt. We were in the third of four innings and I had already struck out two batters. There was a runner on second when the next batter came to the plate.
For the first two throws, I slipped my fingers over the stitched seams. Now there were two strikes on the scoreboard and I wanted the next pitch to be the final one of the inning. I rotated the ball in my hand and planted my fingers across the seams. I shut out all of the sounds around me and my eyes were like laser beams on the catcher's mitt. I drew my armback and let the ball fly. SMACK! The ball hit the catcher's mitt and the umpire called it, "Strrrike three!"
That day I used two of my best pitches. The last pitch was one I made up. It flies as strait as a wooden dowel. I usually use it when the batter has two strikes and three balls. It works well also against left handed batters. To deliver this pitch, you hold your fingers across the seams.The other two pitches I throw are the two-seam fastball and the four-seam fastball. The two are practically the same, except the two seam fastball curves a little more than the four seam. To throw the two-seam fastball, hold your fingers with the seams. The pitch the four-seam fastball hold your fingers across the seams at the curvy part.
Professional pitchers use all kinds of grips dependent on the situation. A few are the curveball, the knuckleball, the screwball, and the change-up. I sometimes use the change-up, too. For the change-up, the pitcher holds the ball with three of four fingers and across one with the seams, depending on which kind of change up is thrown.
Alive and Learnin'
So, judging by my sitemeter, it seems people are actually checking in to this sorry, neglected little learning blog. Well, we are still here and still learning. The silence here perhaps reflects just how busy learning we have been. Well, maybe. Anyway, the Autumn started out a bit slow it seemed to me. Though the children were eager to resume their academic studies, we just didn't find our groove. And then, Little Queen and I went out of town for a few days which really threw everything off. Now we are back. And we are grooving.
Rosebud is absolutely loving her work right now. She asks me first thing each morning (sometimes when I am still in bed) if she may please go do some handwriting and math. Pretty please. Umm...sure. And then she does more later when we've all joined up for some concentrated work. On Saturday morning, on Sunday morning, on Columbus Day morning, Rosebud could be found pouring over another page of her Getty-Dubay
Italics handwriting book or polishing off another lesson in her beloved Math-U-See Primer. With just a bit of encouragement, she is sounding off a new set of words or another tiny tale from our well worn copy of the Little Angel Reader. She treasures her daily Bible story whether it is read to her by myself, an older sibling, or even on occassion, The Prof. Kindergarten is a simple delight for this simply delightful little girl
Sunshine embraces the growing challenges of her second grade work. She also began work in the Getty-Dubay series this year and enjoys the words and sentences and the stylized writing. Math is not a love, but comes quite naturally even as she starts in on the Beta book. Beta throws subtraction and graphs into the mix. History is interesting and First Holy Communion preparation an absolute favorite activity. In addition to memorizing the Baltimore Catechism, she is preparing an album. Moreover, she is joining her brother in studying the Mass which so far includes learning about the vesting of the priest (an small but elaborate ceremony in and of itself), liturgical colors and memorizing Psalm 42 (as numbered in the Douy-Rheims) found at the opening of the (traditional Latin) Mass.
Firstborn just completed a 6-week long online writing class given by Jean Hall via Bravewriter. What a great education for both of us. We look forward to more writing and more classes in the future. Math continues to be the unfavored subject, though with careful attention to detail, it comes easily enough this boy's mind. He is working through Epsilon (from our dear Math-U-See) , doing battle, it seems, with the addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of fractions. Fractions are presented in all of their fanciful and frightful forms here: from improper (oh my!) to mixed and everything in between. Our discovery of the past has finally brought us to US history. Coronado, Pizzaro, de Soto, St. Brendan, Columbus, Sts. Martin de Porres, Rose of Lima, and Juan Diego are the names whirling around in our minds, past our eyes and under our pencils these days. Thrilling tales of adventure, savagery and holiness, to be sure.
The two elders are both studying Latin; Rosebud in the old friend, Prima Latina and Firstborn leading the way through Latin for Children. Geography studies through the literary prowess of Holling C. Holling (what was his mother thinking? Holling?!) have captured my children's attention. And we are even trying our hands at a bit of letterboxing! (More to come on that venture soon)
The out and abouts include art class, ballet and...and, well, Firstborn really wanted to give fencing a try this year but it just didn't seem to fall into place. Maybe next year.
I am just relieved that we have finally found a rhythm, a constant to cling to as the weekends and evenings fill up in the flow leading to holidays.
Rosebud is absolutely loving her work right now. She asks me first thing each morning (sometimes when I am still in bed) if she may please go do some handwriting and math. Pretty please. Umm...sure. And then she does more later when we've all joined up for some concentrated work. On Saturday morning, on Sunday morning, on Columbus Day morning, Rosebud could be found pouring over another page of her Getty-Dubay
Italics handwriting book or polishing off another lesson in her beloved Math-U-See Primer. With just a bit of encouragement, she is sounding off a new set of words or another tiny tale from our well worn copy of the Little Angel Reader. She treasures her daily Bible story whether it is read to her by myself, an older sibling, or even on occassion, The Prof. Kindergarten is a simple delight for this simply delightful little girlSunshine embraces the growing challenges of her second grade work. She also began work in the Getty-Dubay series this year and enjoys the words and sentences and the stylized writing. Math is not a love, but comes quite naturally even as she starts in on the Beta book. Beta throws subtraction and graphs into the mix. History is interesting and First Holy Communion preparation an absolute favorite activity. In addition to memorizing the Baltimore Catechism, she is preparing an album. Moreover, she is joining her brother in studying the Mass which so far includes learning about the vesting of the priest (an small but elaborate ceremony in and of itself), liturgical colors and memorizing Psalm 42 (as numbered in the Douy-Rheims) found at the opening of the (traditional Latin) Mass.
Firstborn just completed a 6-week long online writing class given by Jean Hall via Bravewriter. What a great education for both of us. We look forward to more writing and more classes in the future. Math continues to be the unfavored subject, though with careful attention to detail, it comes easily enough this boy's mind. He is working through Epsilon (from our dear Math-U-See) , doing battle, it seems, with the addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of fractions. Fractions are presented in all of their fanciful and frightful forms here: from improper (oh my!) to mixed and everything in between. Our discovery of the past has finally brought us to US history. Coronado, Pizzaro, de Soto, St. Brendan, Columbus, Sts. Martin de Porres, Rose of Lima, and Juan Diego are the names whirling around in our minds, past our eyes and under our pencils these days. Thrilling tales of adventure, savagery and holiness, to be sure.
The two elders are both studying Latin; Rosebud in the old friend, Prima Latina and Firstborn leading the way through Latin for Children. Geography studies through the literary prowess of Holling C. Holling (what was his mother thinking? Holling?!) have captured my children's attention. And we are even trying our hands at a bit of letterboxing! (More to come on that venture soon)
The out and abouts include art class, ballet and...and, well, Firstborn really wanted to give fencing a try this year but it just didn't seem to fall into place. Maybe next year.
I am just relieved that we have finally found a rhythm, a constant to cling to as the weekends and evenings fill up in the flow leading to holidays.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
