I started our first school day on Friday, July 24. I wanted to get a feel how everything would go timewise. It seemed to work out well. I oriented the girls on what they were going to do most days and the things that they could do independently. They worked on reading, history workbook, language arts, and sometimes math while I worked with Calvin.
Calvin and I just finished reading the Boxcar Children, or as he called it "The Box Kids". I had never read the book and really enjoyed reading it to him. It was one of his favorite things to do besides his "fish book" which is his language arts. He told his daddy that he liked school and loved his new teacher. I'm not sure how long that will last but for now I'm eating it up.
The girls read a couple of books by themselves: "Pedro's Journal" about a boy about Columbus' ship, and "Om-Kas-Toe" about a Blackfeet boy before they had horses. They liked both of these books well enough. I read "Walk the World's Rim" to the girls as our read aloud. I thought it was slow starting but ended up getting hooked on the adventures of Esteban as he traveled with de Vaca. The girls, however, found it very dry and long. I wish that the core had started with something a little more interesting so that we would have a better start. We are just beginning "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" which, I'm told, is an awesome book.
My only thoughts right now, curriculum wise, are with the science and language arts. While I really love the LA workbook, I wish that the girls had more writing to do. I may try and find some journal starters or something. I do, however, LOVE Becky's cursive book. She is copying sentences that relate to works of art. Her book is absolutely gorgeous. Science has been pretty good and Calvin did love the experiments so I hope it will end up being fun. We just haven't got the hang of it yet.
Our second week was pretty good except two of the three kids got sick and it hit me on the weekend, too. Luckily, it was just a 24 hour thing and they (we) were able to catch back up. We even finished "Walk the World's Rim" and were thrilled. Later while doing her history workbook Rachel realized that Esteban was a real person. Although, I told her that when we read the story it just sank in her brain at that moment. Maybe even though it wasn't her favorite book she still learned something.
So far the kids are enjoying homeschool. Becky likes it because it is shorter and she can take snack breaks. Well actually, I think we all enjoy the shorter process. Rachel likes being a little more in control of her studies. She has been waking up early and getting started right away. I have been finding that it isn't as hard as I thought it would be. Sonlight makes the core so easy to do by laying out a daily schedule. I've made similar spreadsheets for math, language arts, and science so I know exactly what I'm doing everyday. The whole year is already planned! We have learned so much already. We've read 4 books, studied 5 different Native American tribes, discovered new lands with Spanish explorers, learned about scientific classification of animals, and reviewed math. Not bad for 2 weeks! I can't wait to see what happens next!
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