Why is it so hard to find time to write? I write in my head all day long! Or maybe that's just my talking to myself...
School wise, T has finished First Language Lessons 3 and had moved on to Level 4. They literally published it just in time! Unfortunately, she is CHARGING through it, and I don't know how quickly they are working on Level 5. We may have to move to Rod and Staff after this level, and I'm not sure if I will be able to place her correctly. She will be at least Junior High level. She's 7. Sigh. When a kid loves to diagram and loves to read, what are you going to do? On a similar note, Writing with Ease has turned out to be the perfect complement to our Language program. N's narrations have improved, and all of my kids have become intensely interested in The Good Books. We are reading Alice in Wonderland now, and they can't wait to finish so that we can move on to Doctor Dolittle, Pinocchio, and others. God Bless Wise and Buffington for making it so easy.
N is 28 lessons away from Math 2. Again, I see no reason to artificially slow him down simply because he is 5. He is doing well, and demonstrating mastery of the material. He makes high As on all of his tests. Hence, we move forward. When he needs to slow down, we will. This summer, I fully anticipate spending more time on Tapestry of Grace, and somewhat less on the core subjects. That way, we can really immerse ourselves in History and Geography, giving those subjects the consecutive hours that they deserve. As always, we'll play it by ear.
A Holy Family Mom is starting a Little Flowers Girls' Club in the Fall, about which I am so excited! I have always opposed Girl Scouts, and I refuse to support them by putting my daughters in Brownies, much less in a higher level. However, I would love for them to have a girls' group to which to belong. Now they will. A Catholic Girl Scout troop is still a Girl Scout troop. I don't understand why other Catholic moms don't understand that point! Little Flowers is Catholic through and through - and, of course, it is named in honor of my beloved St. Therese!
My twinners are just being twinners. M loves school much more than M-C. That's okay. More and more, I truly think that she will make her way on the stage. She loves dance, she loves to sing, and she is an actress through and through. I am going to look into drama for the girls, at least, this summer. I know there's a program near here...now to find it.
As for me, I seem to suffer from a terminal lack of ambition. Apart from teaching myself how to knit and crochet (can you say hard-core addict), I can't seem to motivate myself to do anything. I know that I must have a gift of some kind that God wants me to share, but I can't find it. I try not to let that get me down. The ol' "but you have a PhD" with which I console myself is wearing kinda thin these days. I have lost the desire to post at the Melting Pot, and only do so when I fear getting fired. Something about the thought of getting fired AGAIN is rather spirit-breaking (disclaimer: Principal says that none of the other times that I have been fired have been my fault; in fact, edHelper says that I am very good at what I do, and it would welcome submissions from me. Unfortunately, there's that lack of motivation issue).
In any case, we're chugging along in school. We are supplementing All About Spelling, which I still absolutely love, and believe is crucial as a first step in spelling, with Spelling Power, mainly because I like the alphabetizing and proofreading skills. It also gives T one more independent thing to work on while I work with N. Wow - I've totally fallen into "homeschooling busywork" trap. It's not busywork, though. Not really.
I'm feeling so incredibly unmotivated that I think I'll go knit my afghan. At least I have something to show for myself when I do that. Seriously, could I be any more negative? Only the knowledge that no one reads this allows me to be so real!
A Great Attitude...I Hope I Can Live Up to It
16 years ago
I wonder if you are still happy with"Explode the Code"?? I have been thinking it is time to start my twins on a phonics "program". They are 3 and 7 mos. One is showing a little more interest-asking what signs say, etc.
Hi, Karen. I am still very happy with ETC. My twins started it before they were the age of yours, and it was great for them. Of course, they start with "Getting Ready for the Code"...The only thing I would caution is not to expect them to write the letters, even if the book asks them to. That can be so frustrating for kids who aren't ready to write! As far as the phonics aspect goes, though, it's wonderful.