Week 21 - Confucius says

First Grade:
This week I'm trying a few new things with LB. We're adding in some items from the Memoria Press first grade curriculum because I'm thinking about using the second grade package next year for her.  I want to see how it fits us before I get further in planning. This week, I'm adding in the spelling list and the reading assignments.

Monday:
LB was excited to have a spelling list, and she started writing the words and drawing a picture for each one. By the seventh word she was tired; it was hurting her brain to have to remember how the word was spelled to write it on another piece of paper. Strange but you don't normally think of that as a skill to be learned, but it is. When she had done ten words, I let her take a break. She proudly gave a presentation to Dad and I of her words and their definitions plus showed off her pictures.

She read the assigned 4 pages from Little Bear and was very proud of her reading.

Other than that, she was terrific with her math and made a page of lovely cursive m's and m sentences. She finished the school day with tap dancing.  I think it was a really good day.

Rest of the Week:
Science:
Still learning about rocks and the rock cycle. Read about Giraffes. Watched three Magic School Bus episodes about bugs.

History:
Colored more pages from the Dover books.

Math:
Worked with the abacus and the Saxon making 10 worksheets until it was way too easy. Did 3 additional Saxon sheets.  We're stepping up the amount of reading right now so I'm slowing down the math pace.

Reading:
She read a Story from Little Bear this week.  The first time through she read it split in two days, but the second time she read  all eleven pages in one day.  It was a lot for her, but she read it smoothly like a champ. She only did one page of phonics this week since her reading schedule was heavier than usual. 

Spelling:
She copied her 15 words from one page to another, drew pictures of them, presented them, read them, play bingo with them, then took a test on them on Friday.

Other:
Had a terrific time playing 10 Days in Europe.  She is amazingly awesome at reading the country names for herself and connecting a trip together.  I wouldn't have thought she could so easily sound out Slovakia.


Fifth Grade:
Monday:
CC goes to a full day enrichment school then has cello. Her day is pretty full without me.  She spent part of the day learning to pay bills and budget and part of the day learning about Confucius.  Her favorite saying is, "Never give a sword to a man who can't dance."  She was amazed at how many different interpretations her class had for that simple saying.  She and another girl in class have both taken fencing and can attest to the fact that someone who can't dance isn't coordinated enough to trust in a sword fight.

The rest of the week:
She would be really happy to have school consist of cello, art, geometry and reading across a variety of subjects.  I can't really complain that she spends an hour at cello, an hour at math, then three or four hours reading history and science books for school and also reads in her free time, goes to school one day a week and takes art classes.  I can, but I don't know that I should. To encourage me to be happier about her work, she started writing her own versions of fables everyday to cover her writing for the days she isn't working on a story or doing a science lab report.

Books:
Hubby read another Magic Treehouse to LB. CC has been rereading her Asterix comics,  a couple of Horrible Histories, The Enchanted Castle (an old favorite), a few chapters from What Einstein Told his Cook, and two more of the never-ending Warriors. LB read from Little Bear for school. I read Make Way for Ducklings, Rumpelstiltskin , Rapunzel,  Cinderella, and Snow White (we love our beautifully illustrated tales) . GMa and I took turns reading  The Tarantula in my Purse (we all enjoyed this one).

Just Me:
Wednesday is my busy day at work.  This week I had four scheduled meetings during the day plus a lot of work to do in between.  I managed to sit with LB during her math and my lunch, but she did her spelling and handwriting on her own and read to her dad after he came home from work.  I checked on CC while she was doing her math and writing and managed to get her to cello practice 45 minutes late because I forgot that it starts at 4 not 5 o'clock.  Goodness.  I made myself a calendar appointment for the rest of the year so I don't forget again. 

I finished Sense and Sensibility and was very satisfied with it.  It wasn't Pride and Prejudice, but it was good.  I read more than half of Omoo and decided that it was no Moby Dick.  I really want to read Dance with Dragons, but I'm trying to delay it because I don't have anything I'm really looking forward to reading after that.  I usually try to do a better mix of fiction and nonfiction, but I'm working hard to learn some new technology at work, and I just want some good fiction that is complex enough to occupy my mind but well-written and able to transport me.