Sunday, March 22, 2009

Weekly Report...Week 22

It was a little tough getting back into the swing of things after being sick for so long, but we did it.
Tapestry of Grace (Both)
We are nearing the end of Unit 2 and as I start planning Unit 3, I may do things a little differently. We will begin studying US History with the formation of the thirteen colonies. I am thinking about straying away from the layout TOG has and doing something on my own, but still using some of their recommendations for reading. I'll post about this when the time comes. So until then, here is what we accomplished this week...not much.

History...listened to the SOTW audio about Martin Luther. We did have a pretty good discussion though.

Lapbooks...we completed a few booklets about Martin Luther and the 95 Theses.

Literature...I am having a real hard time following with the portions Magnus has read. Then, by the time the next week rolls around and he is suppose to finish the book, all motivation is gone. I need to figure out a way to really use this portion in our homeschool.

Language Arts (Magnus)
Grammar...he learned about using initials in place of people's actual names. He thought that was pretty cool and started writing only his initials on all of his schoolwork. I think it is pretty cute. He is pretty cute.

Spelling...still waiting to receive Phonetic Zoo in the mail. Dani, the advisor in charge of the classical part of our charter school, is going to be giving a seminar on spelling next week. We are going to listen to Andrew Pudewa speak about it. I am looking forward to it.

Writing...if you scroll down to the post below this one (Our Writing Stuff) you can see where we are at with it.

Phonics...still working in ETC 4 1/2. It's mainly "busy work" for the times he is finished with the work I gave him and I am still working with Thane.

Phonics (Thane)
We have parked ourselves at the simple short vowel words for awhile. I want him to get comfortable with reading. If he is not able to figure out a word after a couple of tries, he gets really frustrated. He has a hard time distinguishing between "b", "d", "p", "g", and "q". He gets them all mixed up.
He is still loving his ETC workbook though.

Math (Both)
Magnus...we worked on finding the perimeter and the diagonal. He thought is was pretty fun. Magnus will be finishing up Level B next week.

Thane...finished Level A (and was able to already sell it!) and is moving way ahead in Level B. I am able to skip several lessons as they are just review of A. I have a feeling we are going to be able to move through B quickly since he sat through many of Magnus' lessons.

Science (Both)
We read a fantastic book...The Boy Who Drew Birds. It is a story about John James Audubon. The illustrations in it are beautiful and the colors are very warm. Yes, I know I am a bird fanatic, but I know you would love this book too. The boys then colored some pages out of the Audubon Dover coloring book using a special technique Magnus has been using in his drawing class. They colored the picture with crayons really hard. Then they chose a single color of watercolor paint and brushed it over it. The effect was really nice. We will be starting a unit on Dinosaurs next week.

Latin (Magnus)
We reviewed his flashcards.
P.A.C.T. Classes
Well, we had to drop out of his science class. His teacher is unable to continue teaching it and someone else is taking over. However, they changed the day to Thursdays and I am not going to drive out to Sacramento 4 days a week.
Magnus was able to attend his Kidspiration, drawing, music appreciation, and PE classes.
Thane attended his Kindergarten, music appreciation, and PE classes.

On Tuesday afternoon, we went to the park for a play date with some other families from our charter school. the boys definitely out numbered the girls. We are going to make it an every Tuesday activity. Gives the kids a chance to...dare I say it?...SOCIALIZE...and us moms too.

Well, Collin is finished with his second quarter of his first year in grad. school. I am ssooooooo proud of him and his diligence. He had three 20 page papers and 2 presentations to give within the past 3 weeks. Oh, and yes, this was all during the time I laid in bed for a week and a half. He worked very hard and accomplished it all on time! Way to go, honey! So, this coming week is his Spring Break and we are going to make it to the beach even if it kills me!!!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

First!

Great job getting back on track this last week. And you only laid in bed for like a week and two-fifths. Ha.

And yes, we will make it to the beach.

Z said...

Bring a sweater. I'll be thinking of you.

Good work, Collin! Time for some well deserved partying at Senor Tadpole's!

You are a mile ahead of us in history.