Weekly Report...Week 18

Not much happened this week as far as school goes. Magnus was sick from Saturday to Thursday with a fever and cough. Then, Thane woke up with it on Thursday. Thankfully it didn't last long for him. Collin and I have both been fighting it off.

Tapestry of Grace (Both)
This week we learned about Christopher Columbus.

History...We listened to the chapter in SOTW that pertains to Columbus. The boys created some booklets to go into our lapbooking notebooks. Magnus has also read several books about Columbus on his own. I have a basket full of books that relate to what we are learning in history and science and he is always eager to read the treasures.

Literature...Magnus is continuing to read I, Juan de Pareja. He has had nothing but good things to say about it. Hopefully we will be able to discuss it next week.

Language Art (Magnus)

Grammar...did not get done this week
Spelling...waiting for Spelling Power to arrive.

Phonics (Thane)
We played a few games from Happy Phonics, but formal lessons did not happen this week.

Math

Magnus...I printed off a few worksheets from the internet for him to do. Also worked a bit more with place value.

Thane...this kid begs me for worksheets! I gave him a few that included addition up to 20. On a sheet that had 45 problems (which he wanted to do all) he only missed one! We have been skipping some lessons in his book as I feel he knows what 8+2 equals.

Science (Both)
We finished reading One Small Square: the Woods this week. I had the boys draw pictures of a scene from the woods. They had to include at least one mammal, one tree, one amphibian or reptile, one fungus, one bird, and one insect.

Latin (Magnus)
Nope...didn't happen

PACT Classes
Magnus...Unable to attend any because he was sick.

Thane...attended Mrs. P's Kindergarten Class and had a Valentine's Day Party.

Thane and I also went on a field trip with our charter school to see the play Swiss Family Robinson. This was the first play Thane has attended and he LOVED it! It was very entertaining. Unfortunately Magnus was too sick to join us.

Hopefully this weekend will bring much rest for us. See you next week!

My Day Was Made

I heard thunder today! THUNDER!! We NEVER hear thunder anymore. It just doesn't do that here. One of my favorite things in the whole world is thunderstorms. I am a happy girl.

Weekly Report...Week 17

Wanna know what I did this week? I googled our local school district. I was at the end of my rope and desperate. Am I going to send my boys to school? No. But, for an afternoon, I considered it. That being said, attitudes changed and work got done. It was a tough one.

Tapestry of Grace (Both)

We started Unit 2 of Year 2 this week. I found this week to be fascinating as we concentrated on the a few of the artists from the Renaissance...Michelangelo, DaVinci, and Giotto (even though he was in the 13th century).

History...we read Mike Venezia's books about Michelangelo and DaVinci. We also listened to The Story of the World vol. 2 audio of the chapter about the Renaissance.

Literature...we read Mario's Angels and answered the questions on the Student Activity Page. Magnus is also in the process of reading I, Juan de Pareja.

Project...the boys colored a picture of Da Vinci's Mona Lisa and pretended to be Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel. I taped paper to the ceiling above their loft beds, handed them a tub of markers, and let them get their creative juices flowing.


The picture "painting' didn't last long on the ceiling. They complained of their necks hurting. I told them, "Michelangelo had to be in that position for 4 years"! Anyhow, they finished them on the wall.

Language Arts (Magnus)

Grammar...He started Level Two this week of Growing with Grammar. It was pretty much review, but he was able to do it independently. One of the big blow ups we had this week was in this subject. Thankfully it seems to have been resolved and you can read about it here. I really encourage you to click on the link if you have a child who struggles with the process of handwriting.

Spelling...I think I am going to try a different approach with him. I love All About Spelling and the phonetic approach it takes, but the rules are not cementing and they only work for less than half of the words in the English language. I still want to teach them to him, but not have them be the basis/foundation of the program. I am looking into Spelling Power.

Phonics (Thane)
Well, we started The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading this week. I was a little worried about it keeping Thane's attention since it does not have the bling that Sing, Spell, Read, and Write has, but he seems to like it. I have been encouraging him in saying that he is truly reading now by looking at the words and not the pictures. That seems to help. I still hope to find time to look in my big bin of Happy Phonics games to add a bit of fun to it.

Math

Magnus...we worked on skip counting some more and the concepts of whole, half, and quarter.


Thane...well, we did about 10 lessons this week. It's hard to justify doing problems like 10+3 when he is figuring out 85+25 mentally! But, I am still going to press on and finish Level A with him just to make sure we don't miss anything foundational. At this rate, he'll be moving into Level B just about the same time Magnus finishes it (in about a month)! I am also going to print off some addition worksheet for him to do "for fun" (his words!).

Science (Both)
We read some more from One Small Square: Woods. Do me a favor...click on the link and look at the cover of the book. Don't look intently, but just look as you would at one of those weird posters with the wavy lines that showed a 3 D image. Does the image on the lower left hand corner look like a zebra stretching his neck to you? It freaks me out every time because that is what I see and then I think, "what is a zebra doing in the woods?". Call me crazy, I know. Anyhow, the boys drew life cycles of a butterfly/moth. I had also planned on going on a small nature hike this morning, but it's raining. Luckily, part of our gigantic patio (it's bigger than our living area!) is covered so the boys are still able to be outside.

***Update***
Well, after reading about the incredible things that can be found living in and under fallen logs, we decided to not worry about the rain and go investigate some dead logs nearby...





Latin (Magnus)
Unfortunately, with all of the drama this week, we didn't get to it. I hope to make this more of a priority.

PACT classes:
Magnus
Science...teacher was sick this week so he didn't have it.
Drawing...worked on drawing a flower in a vase and then painted it (I think).
Kidspiration...finished his Abe Lincoln thingy. Still unsure what exactly this class is.
Music Appreciation...studied Mozart and different movements of music.
PE...He had trouble running around the track twice last week due to a cramp and his time was a little over 9 minutes. This week he ran/jogged/walked it in 5 something!

Thane
Mrs. P's Kindergarten Class...it was K week this week. He brought some of his knights for sharing time.
Music Appreciation...see Mangus'
PE...Not sure where this kids gets all of his energy (yes I do...Collin!) He ran twice around the track in 4 minutes 3 seconds.

The boys also attended AWANA this week. Thane is an official Spark now as he earned his vest and book. No more Cubbies. Collin and I enjoyed some uninterrupted conversation over dinner!

Thanks for coming by! I hope you have an enjoyable weekend! See you next week! :o)

Handwriting Woes Solved!

Getting Magnus to write has always been a struggle. The physical act of holding the pencil, forming letters, and spacing the words proves to be too daunting for him. He gets frustrated. I get frustrated. It goes downhill quickly.

I spoke to Ms. Judy, our advisor at our charter school, about it and she helped me to see the issue. For instance...when he was working in his grammar book, he was asked to rewrite this sentence, the sled went down the hill, starting it with a capital letter and ending it with a period. He rewrote the sentence correctly, but I was not pleased with his letter formation, the spacing, and the fact that it was not on the line but gravitating up hill. He had a complete melt down when I had him rewrite it. We are talking an h.o.u.r.

Her encouraging words were this..."he is having to remember too many steps".
1. Capital letter at the beginning of a sentence
2. Period at the end
3. Correct letter formation
4. Proper spacing between the letters
5. Proper spacing between the words
6. Copying/spelling the words correctly
7. Keeping the letters even on the line
She asked me what the objective of the assignment was. I told her it was to capitalize the first word in the sentence and to punctuate it with a period. She asked me if he did that correctly and I told her he had. "Then he is done". She told me to focus on the objective. Focus. on. the. objective. If I feel at a later time that I can add an objective like, "make sure your word spacing is correct", then to do that too. He is obviously not ready for all of that right now and that is okay. I also give him a peice of paper that has larger line spacing with the dotted line in the middle and the top line when he has to write sentences. He told me he likes having that structure.

So, as far as his handwriting goes, I started having him do coywork again. He knows that when he is working on that, his objective is to concentrate on letter formation, letter spacing, or word spacing. I tell him ahead of time what I am going to be looking for.

It's been working. I think he just needed to know that the pressure was off because even though I am not looking for proper handwriting in his assignments, he is not being lazy and turning in sloppy work.

And the name of the game is...Top Five!

*SPECIAL POST* *SPECIAL POST* *SPECIAL POST* *SPECIAL POST* *SPECIAL POST*

We (Collin and Brittney) are teaming up to bring you a variation on our favorite game/get ta know ya activity: top five. We decided not only to post our answers, but to turn it into a quiz and post it for you to answer to let your friends, neighbors, and random visitors to know all about you. If you have a blog, post your answers and give us link. If you don't, put in your answers and post it in the comments.

Top five, here we go, list it! (Brittney's first, Collin's follow)

Top five places you could own a summer/winter home:
Gimmelwald (Switz.)
Paris
Oxford
Cherbourg (FR)
Italy (undisclosed location)

Paris
Nice
Mercer Island (WA)
Nightmute (AK)
London

Top five favorite actors/actresses:
James McAvoy
Christian Bale
Colin Firth
Russell Crowe
Liam Neeson

Grace Kelly
Humphrey Bogart
Christian Bale
Brad Pitt
Angelina Jolie

Top five favorite musical performers:
U2
Norah Jones
Patty Griffin
Madeleine Peyroux
Jars of Clay

U2
The Bad Plus
Harry Connick, Jr.
Herbie Hancock
The Police

Top five five most re-read books:
A Severe Mercy - Van Aucken
A Charlotte Mason Companion - Andreola
Last Call - Powers
Last Child in the Woods - Louv
Honey for a Child's Heart - Hunt

Declare - Powers
The Lord of the Rings - Tolkien
Space Trilogy - Lewis
Father Brown stories - Chesterton
Treasure Island - Stevenson

Top five vices (tell the truth, now):
Well-trained Mind Message Board
Unspoken Message Board (like an unspoken prayer request)
Diet Coke
Arrested Development
Sweets

Adult Beverages of nearly any stripe
My wife
Pipe tobacco
Arrested Development
Coffee

Top five movies I'll watch anytime:
Pride and Prejudice (BBC)
Sense and Sensibility (Emma Thompson)
The Prestige
Anne of Green Gables
Becoming Jane (but not the end)

Moulin Rouge
Insomnia
Ocean's Twelve
The Edge
The Dark Knight

Tag. You're it.

Sunday at the Beach