Sunday, November 9, 2008

Weekly Report...Week 7


I simply do not have the energy to write up our report this week. It has been a long, tiring week. I can say that we did get everything done that I had planned. We had a great week with good attitudes...for the most part.

I have been thinking a lot about our approach to school and taking into consideration the boys' learning styles and my personality.

Tapestry of Grace...I have been looking into presenting our TOG subjects a little differently and doing more with them. TOG is a fantastic tool and I want to make sure I am utilizing it as much as I can without overwhelming us.

Magnus...I have been researching cursive writing programs for him. Zaner-Bloser is the way I was taught but I think we may have greater success with Handwriting Without Tears. He does not like the actual action of writing and as long as it is legible, I really don't care what it looks like. I have some more research to do in this area. I have also been revisiting the idea of Narration and what I want it to look like in our school. Magnus has a photographic memory and can retell a story back to me and not miss a word. The problem with that is I don't want to hear the story again. I want him to summarize the major points and tell those to me.

Thane...He has been begging me to teach him how to read. We have been going through the alphabet in his first workbook of SSRW, but I have decided to skip the rest and give him what he wants. He knows the letters and their sounds, so we are going to move onto the next workbook and start reading! He is very excited.

Me...I am not good at leading discussion. I need a set of questions or rules to follow in order for us to talk about what we just read. I don't know why this is so hard for me, but it is an area that I want and need to grow in. I've looked into Teaching The Classics and it is exactly what I need. It teaches you how to lead Socratic discussions. Now, if only I could find a used copy...it's pretty pricey.

Thanks for visiting our open house this week! :o)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great job this week in spite of your fatigue and absentee husband. Sounds like TTC could be helpful for you and your discussions.

my5wolfcubs said...

I want TTC's too -- I haven't gotten better at leading discussion even after all these years of homeschooling.
Lee