We have (not quite officially) reached the end of our first term/semester, and are now embracing Christmas break wholeheartedly! Had a meeting with the kids' resource teacher today, and I felt bad because this cold has rendered me pretty much incapable of actual thought, and I forgot to get her a little something. She gave us two jars of honey from her own beehives, which is totally cool, and very yummy, but I still feel badly.
Anyhow, the meeting went well, despite my fuzzy-headedness. The kids read to her, she looked over the work samples we turned in, loaned me a book on nouns (for Elf), gave me an idea for working on blending sounds with Fairy, and offered me a chance to teach a one and a half hour class once a week (K-2nd graders). Teaching and planning an actual class might be good for me! So, since the meeting went well, and all, I have decided to start break a little early. Lessons will be resumed in January, hopefully with a little more organization than I have had as of late.
Also had Fairy's dance class today, last one until January. I was allowed to watch as were the other parents, and I enjoyed it immensely. I think she's still better in ballet than tap, but she enjoys both. When we return after break, they'll start in on practicing for June's recital, and in February we'll be ordering costumes. Elf has tap tomorrow, and then that's one more thing we won't have on the schedule for a couple of weeks. Fairy thinks that next fall she would like to continue with tap lessons from this teacher, and maybe do ballet at one of the ballet schools nearby. We'll see!
I am fiishing up my semester as well. I have completely finished one class and am in the midst of a retorspective essay for the other class. My final for Children's Lit was going to see The Fantastic Mr Fox, and then discussing it. So, M went with me and we took the kids, both of whom enjoyed the film quite a bit. Elf has finished reading the book, so he was really interested to see how it translated to the big screen. Afterwards, Elf talked to the class about the differences he saw, and then had hot chocolate with his dad and sister. Probably the best final I've ever had! Then in the spring, I'll be taking math two mornings a week, and finishing my final semester in the degree completion program, although I am not graduating until after the next fall semester. My "senior" and final semester in the program is self-directed. I need to come up with and execute a project. It doesn't have to be completely done... it can be a work in progress at the end, but there has to be something to write about and present. I had originally planned on writing and illustrating a children's book, and while that is still my number one choice, I will have to see how it all pans out. Lot to think about there!
Anyhow, if I don't make it back here before the holidays, have a safe, joyful, and happy time!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Simplicity...
Ah, simplicity. According to the Merriam Webster online dictionary, simplicity is: the state of being simple, uncomplicated, or uncompounded. I look around at my life, and it is anything but simple. I tend to heap more and more upon myself, and others, at nearly every opportunity I get. So, when I was reading a friend's blog entry, I felt inspired, not so much about friends as I don't have that many anyway, but with stuff, which I have in abundance. I found this on a web site: "The stunning beauty of a Japanese home is partially due to its clean, uncluttered look. While Western homes tend to be filled with furniture, textiles, and ornate decoration, a Japanese home seems almost empty in comparison. Japanese interior design, then, is not about "adding" extra items to the room. Instead, the goal is to minimize distractions." I could definately go for a clean, uncluttered look! And so I think 2010 will, for me as well as my blogging friend, be about simplicity, both as it applies to stuff and to daily life. This is a year too of my kids being involved in a lot of activities, and I think next year I will curtail that a bit.
On another note, Fairy is making progress with reading! We've been doing Phonics Pathways and using simple readers, like the Dick & Jane books of old. She loves the illustrations, as do I. I think taking a two-pronged approach is helping. She's doing the solid, foundational work of phonics, and at the same time is getting read books, which gives her a sense of accomplishment. I read aloud from a page (usually only 3-5 words, each used a few times), and then she reads it back to me. Today she was able to read a sampling from Dick & Jane aloud to her brother and dad, which made her beam with pride (and me too)! That kind of accomplishment is leading into her asking to do phonics and copy work, so that she can "hurry up and learn to read already!"
Besides that, we're enjoying listening to the Prince Caspian audio book. Lynn Redgrave is a wonderful narrator! After a lot of debate, we are opting to listen to the books in order of their writing/release, rather than in the order they were later arranged into. We're also continuing to enjoy local Native American studies, continued Greek history (almost to Rome!), and our life science program of choice. So homeschooling is going pretty well, though I'll admit I am already on the hunt for treasures for next year. I am trying to find ONE program for each subject that will really work (see simplicity above, and no, I am not counting library books). I think I may go with this great workbook edition of Intermediate Language Lessons for Elf's language arts next year, since it seems very complete, and with plenty of variation, though I wish they had a similar format for Primary Language Lessons! We're pretty much enjoying Writing Tales still, but it's the same format week after week, and I think Elf would do well with a little more variety. I also like that ILL, and PLL, involve memory work, as well as grammar, writing, and even some art appreciation!
For now though, we'll stick with what we're doing, with only minimal updating/changing. I am getting Word Families back out for Fairy in the next couple of weeks, which I can easily mix in with the Word Family Reader from Oak Meadow. I have some Story Starters for Elf to work with for a more creative approach. In science, we're working on life cycles, and then classification. Math-wise we're on track with Saxon. We haven't been doing art appreciation, or music appreciation, like I had hoped, so I am going to try to fold those into the mix.
And that's it for now!
On another note, Fairy is making progress with reading! We've been doing Phonics Pathways and using simple readers, like the Dick & Jane books of old. She loves the illustrations, as do I. I think taking a two-pronged approach is helping. She's doing the solid, foundational work of phonics, and at the same time is getting read books, which gives her a sense of accomplishment. I read aloud from a page (usually only 3-5 words, each used a few times), and then she reads it back to me. Today she was able to read a sampling from Dick & Jane aloud to her brother and dad, which made her beam with pride (and me too)! That kind of accomplishment is leading into her asking to do phonics and copy work, so that she can "hurry up and learn to read already!"
Besides that, we're enjoying listening to the Prince Caspian audio book. Lynn Redgrave is a wonderful narrator! After a lot of debate, we are opting to listen to the books in order of their writing/release, rather than in the order they were later arranged into. We're also continuing to enjoy local Native American studies, continued Greek history (almost to Rome!), and our life science program of choice. So homeschooling is going pretty well, though I'll admit I am already on the hunt for treasures for next year. I am trying to find ONE program for each subject that will really work (see simplicity above, and no, I am not counting library books). I think I may go with this great workbook edition of Intermediate Language Lessons for Elf's language arts next year, since it seems very complete, and with plenty of variation, though I wish they had a similar format for Primary Language Lessons! We're pretty much enjoying Writing Tales still, but it's the same format week after week, and I think Elf would do well with a little more variety. I also like that ILL, and PLL, involve memory work, as well as grammar, writing, and even some art appreciation!
For now though, we'll stick with what we're doing, with only minimal updating/changing. I am getting Word Families back out for Fairy in the next couple of weeks, which I can easily mix in with the Word Family Reader from Oak Meadow. I have some Story Starters for Elf to work with for a more creative approach. In science, we're working on life cycles, and then classification. Math-wise we're on track with Saxon. We haven't been doing art appreciation, or music appreciation, like I had hoped, so I am going to try to fold those into the mix.
And that's it for now!
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