No.39: Our Farmhouse Schoolhouse in Photos (Week 07)

Another week complete.  I spent the majority of Thursday morning at the DMV, renewing my driver’s license.  It’s been about ten years since I’ve entered one (thank goodness for the internet!) and it was interesting to see what had changed (…not much).  While I did enjoy the people watching, I’m looking forward to another decade before I have to go back, haha!

Notes and highlights:

+ My kindergartner wants more school.  MORE.  She tearfully told me that she wasn’t getting enough time with me during school time and maybe, could she just have a little bit more to do?  Oh my heart.  She’s just newly five, so I was content with a little bit of formal lessons and a lot of play…but I guess that’s not going to fly with my girl.  My little overachiever…Mark said, “Hmm, I wonder who that sounds like?”  #guilty

+ I changed her math to the (free!) MEP program and she seems to enjoy it.  I’m thinking it’s because it’s more teacher/student interaction and less workbook?  I’m starting at the beginning with Reception, but I think she’ll zip right through it.  We’re adding more MathStart stories to the mix too.

+ I’m also taking care to add more A Year of Playing Skillfully activities to our day.  This week, she made an “All About Me” minibook, played “Mother, May I?” with her brothers and made a life-size Sophie by tracing her on butcher paper.  A solid start for October.

+ M (5th grade) has started a mini-unit on Abraham Lincoln.  He and I are reading Lincoln’s Last Days together and are narrating each (short) chapter in the form of a one or two sentence review.  (I’m narrating in my own notebook too!)  Condensing a chapter into its main point has been an effective method for processing information for both of us.  

+ The littler kids and I finished Viking Adventure – this book proved much more exciting (and a tiny bit scarier) than we expected!  Now we’re back in our Beautiful Feet guide and starting on Columbus.

+ Once or twice a week, I have the big boys read about a saint and then narrate about his/her life.  They usually draw the picture in their book (we use this one for third grade and this one for fifth) and will color with watercolors or colored pencils.  This week, we changed things up and made trading cards.  The smaller size has been less intimidating for written narration and they really have to concentrate while drawing.  When they finish, I cover them in packing tape (until I get myself a laminator…someday!) and they look really cool.

MISCELLANEOUS

+ Favorite art supply of the week: Sculpey oven-bake clay!

Current 1000 Books Project Total: 40/1000
Poetry Teatime Treat: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies