Week 24 - The Plan and some grammar

This week I am planning to not be as busy as last week. I really am. However, we are doing a thing for Girl Scouts on Monday, co-op on Tuesday, and gymnastics on Wednesday. Thursday is of course Valentine's day and hubby and I are going OUT for an early dinner then maybe a movie. We have reservations and BB is babysitting. Nice.

My recent realization that the basics need to be our focus for the rest of first grade has left me with a big problem. In a word - grammar. That horrible G-word. I was pretty certain that we could continue to slide without it, but it has recently moved in my mind from something that is pushed too early on kids, to something basic and fundamental. I was all set to do grammar as part of Latin and as part of writing (Writing Tales), but I am not starting those until next year and I want some grammar before this year is finished. CC is a great reader so I am looking at higher levels of grammar than I would normally look at for a first grader. I am not sure what I am going to do. I'll keep thinking about it. Here is my current criteria:

• I don't want something that requires too much writing.
• I want something that incorporates more than just grammar - I like multipurpose.
• I would like to cover things like parts of speech, commonly misused words, plural rules including irregulars, noun-verb agreement, helping verbs, punctuation, abbreviations, and alphabetizing.
  
• I want the lessons to be short.
• I would like a workbook, but I don't want it to be a "self-teaching" program, I want to teach it to my student.
• I want the lessons to stick. I don't want to finish the book and wonder what the point of it was.

I have seen a few that would work. I just need to make up my mind and get one.

Here are the simple details for next week.

First grade - Five more math lessons. Five more handwriting sheets. Five more books from FIAR. Learn about the history of Valentine's Day and read about Cupid and Psyche.

High School British Lit. We are going to work through another lesson in IEW, and we are working through Paradise Lost still. I came up with some questions for BB. These will be essay and discussion questions. I like having something specific to talk about for the books we read.

What ideas does the poem convey – and how is the form of the poem related to those ideas?
Is there a moment of change in the poem?
What is the poem’s subject? or What is it about?
Do you feel sympathy with this poem? Does it resonate with you or is it foreign?
What is Milton’s view of man? Does man have any power in this poem?
Describe Milton’s God.
Describe Milton’s Satan. What drives him?
Which character was more sympathetic - Satan or Christ in this poem? Do you think that Milton intended you to react that way? Why.
Eve seems to have been deceived. Was Adam deceived? Give a reference to support your position.
What is your favorite quote from this poem?
Give an example of a description in this poem that was very vivid to you.

This week are are also finalizing the application for yet another college. BB decided this weekend that there is another place he wants to apply.