A weekly wrap-up, and trying something new (again!)...

This week has been a decent one...

Elf
For language arts, he is working on a recap of You Wouldn't Want to be a Roman Gladiator, and a letter to the auto industries about what he feels to be a big safety issue. In writing these, he is learning grammar, spelling, vocabulary, and how to write a business letter. He is also learning computer skills, since he is typing them up on my computer.

In math, we looked at Saxon Math 5/4, which we recently bought from a fellow homeschooler. One of my chief concerns with Saxon Math 3 is that it very suddenly has multiplication problems in it to be solved. However, in 5/4, the student is supposed to work with a completed times table chart at hand! So I printed off a chart and he has been using that with much success. He is looking foward to 5/4 next year!

Fairy
She has spent the week watching phonics videos and playing on Starfall. She loves to sing along with the video, while writing along as well, and Starfall is always a blast. She definately recognizes more letters and their sounds, so I think (fingers crossed) that it is all beginning to come together for her.

In math, we worked on place value. I made bundles of ten colored popsicle sticks so that we can group them, split them apart, etc. I have a big laminated chart for place value that we work on. Elf watched with interest, so I think he got a good review of place value. Fairy also worked on mental math, primarily addition and subtraction, and we had a great discussion about fractions while driving home from Park Day yesterday.

Other
We enjoyed reading the aforementioned Gladiator book, and discussing what it would have been like to live in those times. The kids played around on the computer with interactive volcano/earthquake/tornado games, and watched a special on Krakatoa with my mom. Since we've been reading, and very much enjoying, The Twenty-One Balloons, she found the special to be quite applicable. We visited a friend's farm, and saw a beautiful brown cow, hordes of glossy chickens, a few adorable lambs, some friendly cats, and happy ducks. The kids really enjoyed the visit, and playing with the boy that lives there. We have decided to read James Herriot's Teasury for Children next.

Which brings me to the something new category of this post - I am setting aside all grandiose plans I currently have going on for history, science, etc., and we are going to do literary unit studies for a while, as a trial thing. Since we are reading Twenty One Balloons, we can tie in history (it is set in 1883), and science (volcanoes, hot air balloons, etc.). We will mark our new timeline with sticky notes to show when the story we are reading took place, and we'll read about what significant events were going on at the time. Supplemental books and videos will be largely based on the science and time period, so mainly nonfiction and documentaries, like the one on Krakatoa. We have done unit studies before, with a lot of success (and fun), but never based on a single book. When we read the James Herriot book, we we be learning about animals, England, veterinary medicine, and more. I have started compiling a small list of books that I think we would really enjoy using as the basis to our studies, such as The Phantom Tollbooth and The Wind in the Willows, and so forth. I want to read really engaging books, so I'll likely be editing my list, adding and subtracting, as we go. If you would like to recommend a book you and your child(ren) have really enjoyed, please do so!

EDITED TO ADD: I am now wondering, after thinking a lot, if going into the books in such depth, adding so much in, and dragging out all the little details might not take away from the enjoyment of the book itself. Just something to think about! After all, it is one thing if a book read aloud sparks an interest in a child... and another thing altogether if I say, "well, here is what we're reading and here is what we're going to learn from it." Hmmmm.....

In other news, M's blood test results should be in on Monday or Tuesday. Please keep your fingers crossed for us!