Today Rosebud Read

Okay, sounded out. But it is official. She got out her reader, we snuggled on the couch in my bedroom and she sounded out some three letter words with very little to no help from me. We were beaming. This ranks among my favorite moments...first steps, first smiles, first spoken words, first words read.

Love it!

A Very Schooly Day, Thurs 10 May

Well, after having had a sort of unintended break from school in March and April, the little scholars were literally begging to return to their more formal studies. We have been back at it and while appreciate the return to routine as much as they do, I am getting a little squirmy about all our workbookish, schooly-school dependence. Still, we made thru to the ebb of outside life, so I am sometimes too preoccupied to get creative and surrender myself entirely to their intellectual souls. As I say, though, I am getting squirmy. Tomorrow we ARE heading out on a nature walk with camera, sketch books, picnic lunch, jars, guidebooks and I am NOT promising that we will use any of those things. But we will learn, explore and enjoy.

And then there was a very "proper" school day today...

Firstborn:

• Handwriting--New Workbook (!), pagaes 14-15
• MUS--Complete 19B & 19C
• Latin--Listen to chant CD and complete pages 44-45
• Memorization--Malachi 1:11
• Spelling/Vocabulary--Babble

Sunshine:

• Handwriting—page 17, first two lines
• MUS—Watch Lesson 27 presentation & complete 27A
• Memorization—Complete Heb 1:3
• Copywork—color illustration
• Catechism—Narrate new Just Like Mary reading
• Spelling/Vocabulary—Babble

We also read up on the Renaissance world explorers in our Kingfisher Encyclopedia...da Gama, Columbus, Magellan, etc.

Wednesday 9 May 2007

A simple, schooly morning. Tomorrow I hope we can be a bit more creative and together.


Firstborn:

Handwriting—New workbook! pages 12-13
MUS—Watch Lesson 19 Presentation; Complete 19A (watched the lesson alone, but seems to have caught on)
Latin—Listen to Chant CD two times (he neglected to listen yesterday)
Copywork/Memorization—Malachi 1:11
Spelling/Vocabulary: Babble

Sunshine:

MUS— Test 26
Copywork/Memorization—Complete verse from Heb 13
Catechism—Narrate new Just Like Mary reading
Spelling/Vocabulary—Babble

Rosebud

Magnadoodle phonics

7 May 07

On the days we've had time to work in some formal learning (which are beginning to increase again), we have been trying something a little new. I spend an hour at the beginning of the day, even before breakfast if possible, to work one on one with Firstborn. Then, about a half hour each with Sunshine and Rosebud. With Firstborn and Sunshine, I review their previous work (check yesterday's math, Latin, handwriting, etc) and we decide together their goals for the current day. I have started typing these goals on a Word document along with reminders of extra-cirricular activities and special contributions they may make for the day (sweeping the porch, filling bird feeder/bath, watering garden, etc) so that they can check back without my having to remember it all. I have even bigger ideas for these "Book(s) of Days" that I will write about in the future.

For today, Rosebud was so excited about her new bike and new rollerskates and new CDs, that I am just giving her the day to bathe in her happiness while honing new cooridination skills. She is absolutely beaming.

Firstborn: Chef's Apprentice

• Latin--pages 42 (derivatives) & 43 (grammar review); listen & chant with CD lessons 1-10
• MUS--Lesson 18 TEST and online multiplication drill with timings
• Handwriting--page 75 This completes the book! Also discussed prefixes and suffixes.
• Spelling & Vocabulary--Babble
• Listen to Science with Sunshine--Catholic Stories from Science 2, Soul Food and Germs Make me Sick
• Art/Painting
• Nature walk

Rosebud

• MUS--correct problems from last assignment
• Handwriting--two sentences
• Catechism--Discussed new page from Learning to Love God, copied (traced) illustration and copied half of scripture verse (complete and memorize tomorrow)
• Art/painting
• Nature walk
• Science (same as Firstborn, see above)

catching up

Oh dear, I fear I have ignored this learning blog for far too long. We had high gardening hopes for the month of March. Alas, a miraculously wet spring has disrupted our plans. The positive aspect is that the rain is making an actual dent in the extreme drought we have endured for years now. The negative, albeit selfish, is that as it is unhealthy for the plants and soil to be worked when wet, we didn't do even half of what we had planned. Nonetheless, we dug up nearly three 64 sq ft garden beds. One is planted with tomatoes, sweet and spicy peppers and a tomatillo. (Forgot eggplant?) One is planted around the perimeter with sunflowers in hopes of growing a little sunflower house. Normally it would be too late, but we are hoping to drop a few melon seeds in our third bed just to see if they might make it in this strangely wet and "cool" spring weather. There are few herbs to add (how could we make it through the summer without fresh basil?) and then we'll be stopped by the inevitable hot weather.

The fig tree looks gorgeous. The blackberry patch is flowering and putting out the preliminary green sours. And the peach reports from the orchards is good, so far.

In the meantime, we have made some irregular attempts at school work. Plugging along on math, Latin, and handwriting for Firstborn. Math & handwriting for Sunshine. A bit of history for the pair of them. And reading/writing for Rosebud. In the last couple of weeks, she has started some very primitive attempts at sounding out three letter words. We're on the brink of a breakthrough.

There had been a lot of days "off" this spring because, well because, outside life becomes so demanding in the spring. It is this way every spring. And Advent. The natural consequence of a flow in Life is an ebb in formal research and discovery. We very nearly fall into a patch of unschooling. And that is okay. It really is. The children are happy, we have read a lot, done some baking and cooking. Art, ballet, choir, music, and baseball mark the week and puncuate the education with bits of normalcy and formality. But now the children are begging. Mom, when can we get back to school? Can't you read us some history? When will I read? When will you get my new math book?

The flow of life is gradually ebbing and I've got the little scholars right where I want 'em: begging for more education. Bwah-ha-ha! Actually, I think it is their way of begging for my attention, for their routine and for our morning together time. We enjoy learning together and being together. Come to think of it, I am ready for a return to mornings in the Study.

We are trying some new formats and I am refocusing on spiritual preparation. More details forthcoming. I'll be writing more about these in the days to come.

Beowulf

Beowulf

We are nearing the end of our adventures with Beowulf. Actually we sadly read the tale of the death of the brave Ring-giver today. Firstborn recently did some copywork from an earlier verse in the epic wherein the elder King Hygelac is sagely exhorting Beowulf to be mindful of the fragility of life even in the wake of his great defeat over the man eating Grendel. King Hygelac speaking to his adorned, but youthful, hero:

O flower of warriors, beware of that trap.
choose, dear Beowulf, the better part,
eternal rewards. Do not give way to pride.
For a brief while your strength is in bloom
but it fades quickly; and soon there will follow
illness or the sword to lay you low,
or a sudden fire or surge of water
or jabbing blade or javelin from the air
or repellant age. Your piercing eye
will dim and darken; and death will arrive,
dear warrior, to sweep you away.

Firstborn and I relished the poet's masterful description of the creation of the earth in the earliest verses of the epoch:

The a powerful demon, a prowler through the dark,
nursed a hard grievance. It harrowed him
to hear the din of the loud banquet
everyday in the hall, the harp being struck
and the clear song of a skilled poet
telling with mastery of man's beginnings,
how the Almighty had made the earth
a gleaming plain girdled with waters;
in His splendour He set the sun and the moon
to be earth's lamplight, lanterns for men,
and filled the broad lap of the world
with brancehs and leaves; and quickened life
in every other thing that moved.

In all honesty, I had no previous knowledge of the tale of Beowulf and did not expect that we would read the entire book. Rather unexpectedly, it has been a glorious and riveting story of bravery, youth, wisdom, loyalty, faith in God, virtue, death and the battle against evil at any cost. Although Rosebud did ask that we not read the "next" book (she is accustomed to books coming in series), I think it is fair to write that we have all enjoyed hearing of Beowulf's adventures and character. I hope to have Firstborn compose a written summary of some sort after we finish the final pages later this week.

Thursday 8 Mar 07

The classroom has officially moved outdoors this week. Tuesday we measured, measured, and measured the backyard. Wednesday I drew a scale model of the yard using both our measurements and the survey that came with the house. (Firstborn has requested a copy of this model so that he can try to fill in some of the details to make it more illustrated.) Today there were a few last measurements and then the digging began.

At the rear of our property is a chain link fence; beyond that, we can see the back of our neighbor's house and partially onto their oversized side yard/dog run and then out on to the street parallel to our own. It isn't an offensive view, but it is haphazardly interrupted by 4-8' tall hackberry trees ("trash trees") that have spontaneously taken up root over the years. I have always considered these trees to be an eyesore and of no value to us in terms of asthetics or privacy. So this morning the apprentice gardeners and I began the work of sawing down the trees and digging up portions of the roots. It was hard work, but the weather couldn't have been better for outdoor physical labor. There is a bit remaining for tomorrow which is predicted to be another glorious spring-like day.

In addition to finishing the task of clearing out the fence line, the Prof will be home most of tomorrow and I hope to walk the property with him and the children so we can discuss some of my landscaping ideas. I also hope to stop by the school where the Prof works to re-examine some of the neat landscaping they have incorporated during the past year and possibly at a nursery to discuss garden border options.

The bright sun and warm air are so invigorating. I am drinking in deep breaths of this wonderful season as it will soon be burned away by the blazing sun. I hope that we will have a garden that will be inviting enough to beckon us out for an early morning iced tea on even the hottest late summer days.

St. Fiacre, pray for us.

(Monday &) Tuesday

Monday...forget it. Monday was blur of dental appointment, dropping off and picking up children, cleaning house, phone calls & e-mails, teaching lessons, early dinner, teaching class, meetings. No school and probably no real learning. That is behind us now.

Tuesday was so very relaxed by comparison. Firstborn did some Latin, Math, and music practice and by then the temps had risen enough that I was willing to head outdoors for the beginning of our landscaping adventure. The three eldest and I wove around the back yard marking every possible measurement: from the privacy fence to the corner of the house, from the privacy fence to the patio, patio to driveway, privacy fence to chain link fence, back of house to back fence, back fence to coop, back fence to Kindergarten, back fence to playscape, etc., etc.
Next task is to get it down on graph paper.

In the afternoon there was artistic pursuits followed by a tasty and simple supper. After dinner the children worked on their Lenten coloring contest pictures and the girls worked on Sunshine's jewelry box. They called their friends, the H's and we called it a day. Such a pleasant contrast to Monday.

Wednesday, 28 Feb 07

For the first time in years, we do not have art class on Wednesdays. It has been a long standing routine to spend our Wed mornings either cramming school work or cleaning house. Mid-day we have always made the dash to art class and then attended or, more recently, hosted a Rosary/playdate. Busy day. But, no more. Art has been switched and really made the morning seem luxurious.

We actually did a credible amount of school work and, after lunch, spent a good amount of energy cleaning the house before our friends arrived.

Firstborn:

• MUS: we checked the first three pages of lesson 3, no worries there (completed 2 today)
• Handwriting: nearly completed the book
• Poetry: claims to have it memorized, though I haven't heard it yet.
• History: worked on a coloring page from a Dover Story of the Crusades book
• Latin: started a new lesson today, though I need to listen to the lesson as it sounded grammar heavy and I was preoccupied at the time he watched the DVD
• Baseball

Sunshine:

• MUS: Completed a page
• Handwriting: plugging along...did a page today
• Sewing: a) completed a button braclet and b) completed a little sachet stuffed pillow

Rosebud:

• Sewing: she is really excited to start some sewing again. Rosebud completed a button braclet and practiced straight even stitches with burlap & yarn

Little Queen:

Yup, poor thing gets passed around and told "no" so much during the morning R&R. I finally decided I just needed to sit down to give her my full attention on some activities as well. She LOVED it! We did a couple of shape puzzles and well as the shape sorter box. Repeatedly. Fun! The siblings had a hard time not joining in or interupting me, but I insisted (as I do when I am working one on one with them) that I was not available as I was giving Little Queen a lesson. Little Queen responded soooo well to this that I feel all the more guilty for not doing it more often and all the more determined to do it daily. (Of course I give her attention other times, but during R&R it seems like we just try to keep her "out of the way" most of the time. How disrespectful!)

Tomorrow we have guests, so there probably will not be a lot of school and Friday we will wrap a few things up. During March, we are moving the classroom outdoors for gardening and landscaping projects. There may not be textbooks, but there will be plenty of math & science!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lunch: This & That
Dinner: (with neighbor Courtney...fun!) Cheese & Bean Quesadillas and salad.

Addendum to Monday

I can't figure how to edit in this "new" blogger. So, I just wanted to add that I went to bed last night after blogging. I was snuggled into bed and just letting go of that final thread of consciousness when I heard a cough. A suspicious cough. Another. And then the cry. "Professor, I think someone has thrown up." Ah, yes. Out to the line to get some of those clean diapers. Down to start the washer with pillow, sheets and nightgown. Start the bath; hair needs washing. And grab a pillow for my most beloved husband who has volunteered to sleep on the girls' bedroom floor in case he is needed during the night.

Blessed relief, it was a seemingly isolated event.

Holding my breath for the other little ducklings to show symptoms of the the one hour flu.