Wow, a weekly report 2 weeks in a row!

Sometimes I amaze even myself ;)

Here's this week's run-down....

Language Arts
the Elf is getting more confident with reading. We have been practicing a lot this week with the reader - it's really nice to cosy up together in our big chair and take turns reading aloud. He also worked in ETC (4 more pages), filled out a report on a rainforest animal, and worked on the book he is writing. We are enjoying the story of Paddy Muskrat, and the Elf wrote a few sentences about what we read this week (and drew a picture) in his MLB (main lesson book).

This week, the Fairy concentrated on the letter "H". We read The Tale of Two Bad Mice, and she did her uppercase and lowercase "H" drawings in her MLB. She did a printout from Starfall, and colored the Herb Twopence Fairy in a Flower Fairy Alphabet while I read the corresponding poem to her. We read The Big Honey Hunt and The Happy Hedgehog Band.

We also finished up Charlotte's Web at long, long, loooong last. I ended up reading the last 6 chapters straight through because the kids knew the end was coming (they've seen both versions of the movie). We all had tears when Charlotte died despite being forewarned. Now I need to pick a new "big" book! Edited to add: We just came back from the library, having picked "The Cricket in Times Square" as our new bedtime book.

Math
Math was surprisingly easy this week. the Elf buzzed through more addition and subtraction lessons, money problems, and more. the Fairy is right on track with her math lessons too. We also played Go Fish at least 3 times this week, which I count as math at least for the Fairy (matching numbers, counting how many cards and then pairs she has, etc.)

Social Studies & Science
We are still in South America. This week we read Mira & the Stone Tortoise, and two legends about the Peruvian god of thunder. While I read, the kids worked on maps of South America I printed up from Enchanted Learning. We also read some more about rainforests, and the kids finally did their animal report forms - an iguana and a tortoise. This weekend, we're doing tissue paper rainforest art.

Nature Studies
All about bats this week. We read Zipping, Zapping, Zooming Bats. We read StellaLuna and then watched the video, which the Fairy picked out from the library last week just coincidentally. The kids put wings on and pretended to be bats, trying to hang upside down of the back of the futon couch. As the first book contained instructions for building a bat house, the Elf has asked M to help him build one. They also watched the Magic School Bus episode on bats, which is one of their alltime favorite episodes!

Other
We went to another American Kids Crafts project at 4-H. You can view the finished creations here. They painted the pinch pots they had made before, and made totem poles. My kids are really enjoying the crafts so far! Of course, they also enjoyed going out for ice cream and then playing tag with the other kids in their project group afterwards.

Side Notes
In the grocery business, you get paid extra (time and third, though it used to be time and a half) to work on Sundays. And I always assumed that really boosted my paycheck a bit, so I have always worked as many Sundays as possible. Well, the last two weeks, I have not worked Sundays. I have had the entire weekend off instead (except that I spend a decent chunk of my Saturdays either in class or doing online homework), and having that time with my family has been really nice, but I was worried about the pay thing. Got my check for the first Sunday-pay-free week yesterday, and you know what? Only $15 difference between yesterday's check and the average check. I think I'll keep my Sundays off as long as they keep giving them to me!

Oh, and there's a reason I am not afraid to tear up the carpeting in the kids room - I've already had it peeled back to the middle of the room (can't help that curiosity), and the floor is very nice underneath. Of course, I've also peeled it back in the hall and livingroom, where it was apparently never sealed and finished, but will make a great subfloor for bamboo flooring at some point.

I also learned this week that we do function best if we do lessons in the morning, when we are all relatively fresh, but today I feel like I am coming down with M's nasty cold (no park day for us), so I think it'll be a slow day.