Behind

With all of the time off due to baby-bearing and holidays, etc. I realized that we are officially two months behind in our studies. Not an issue for us really, because we school year-round and we do a weeks worth of lessons in three to four days. Our lesson plans from CHC are actually set up to have four day weeks. Wednesdays are set-up as a family day, to take field trips and do things together. Part of the reason we homeschool, after all, is to encourage the bond in our family.

So, we're back into our lessons, full force, and I'm trying some new things:

Math: We do the first page together, and he does the second page on his own. If he doesn't finish, it's "homework" and we go over the answers at the start of Math the next day. This seems to be giving him more instruction time, and a better grasp on the concepts.

Spelling: I've been trying to do the pre-test in Spelling Bee style, but the final test written. I think I need to make both written. The words he misses verbally aren't the same one's he misses when he writes. And some of his spelling tests are terrible, while others are fine. He used to get A's on every test.

Reading: He's doing so well in reading. I can't complain. I'm just encouraging him to spend more time doing it. I can't understand how a child who is as good at it as he is, and comes from a family that loves to read as much as this one does, how he can't love reading the way I do!

Science: We're pulling from multiple resources and are trying lots of different things here. We're using several textbooks and moving back and forth. and we've planted herbs and are watching them start to shoot.

Social Studies: Our unit on India lasted a very long time. And we had great fun reading "Just So Stories" and checking out this Kids Website about India. Each day we went to a different city and traveled around. We checked out all the links, and even read the story. After we were done, Reagan and I would talk about it, and sum it up in a sentence or two. Now, we are starting Peru, and I've ordered a couple of DVD's from Blockbuster to learn about the ancient Inca's and about modern Peru. I think there's a Peruvian restaurant near my parents house. I'm hoping to check it out when we're there next.

Grammar: He's really getting the concepts. I'd just like to see it show up in his writing. I'm really not sure how I want to change this. I want to encourage him to write more, so that he can practice, and I want to encourage him to read more so that he'll know when something doesn't look right. But he's frustrated by the busy work of correcting papers and fixing them. And I'm just not sure how much of that I want to do. Some is required, I think, but too much just kills the love of it.

We're getting a handwriting book so that he can begin learning cursive, and I'm still looking for a program to teach typing.

And that's where we are in our studies. He's doing really well and has been very cooperative. I've found it helps him to start a bit later in the morning and work later into the day. He doesn't seem to really get things first thing in the morning, and I was the same way.