August Homeschool Review

So, August. The first three weeks of school. Here's how it went.

Me:

I didn't do as well as I'd hoped with getting through certain lessons. Though we did hit Reading, Math and Spelling almost every day, Art, Science, Writing and German kind of fell by the wayside. I'm going to start doing more extensive lesson planning on the weekend, and printing out the worksheets we'll need in advance.

I'm also going to revive my old Learning Connection personality. When I first started working at a reading clinic while I was in college, I was pretty shy with people I didn't know well. The woman training me explained that quiet reserve would not help me with bored nine-year-olds. Then she said the Words That Changed My Life: "Act," she said, "like a game show host." A light bulb went off in my head, my inner goofball slipped her leash, and I started having a really good time. The Game Show Host needs to show up around here for school time, too.

Sarah: academically, I'm satisified so far.

She does ok with her reading. We're working through a lot of the Amelia Bedelia, Henry & Mudge, and Rookie Read-About Science series. Young Cam Jansen books are more challenging, and she doesn't like them as well, but I think that will start to change in a few months.

We're working through a 1st grade spelling list I found, set up for 32 weeks. The first week was so easy that I thought we could double up on the weeks, but that proved to be too much, so we're back to one set a week. Besides writing the words on the board, on the computer, etc, we're also working on alphabetizing.

Math is also ok, now that I'm not so worried about her using her fingers or a number line or some other manipulative to get to the answer. We do addition & subtraction flashcards, worksheets I print out, and a few online games. We're also doing some work on telling time, and will start on money soon.

Her attitude frequently leaves something to be desired, but I think a better attitude on my part will go a long way to help that.

Lauren: not much to report there. Too often, I have to ask her to stop yelling/talking or play in her room while I'm working with Sarah. The other day, we did some three letter word cards (a picture divided into three parts, with one letter from the word on each part; once you put the picture together, you can "read" the word.) She had fun and did ok with them--not reading, but identifying the letters. There are also some good online games for her.

This month, tap lessons, story time at the library, and (hopefully) Girl Scouts will start up. My stepsis and I want to start getting together every other week again for Cousin School, too. I'm also slated to start working two days a week, but that isn't until the end of the month.