Day 127

Does anyone else feel completely thrown off by the time change?  I can’t seem to get things flowing properly now. School is not starting on time or finishing on time now. Dinner keeps being an hour late, and we’re all starving earlier than usual for lunch. I hope I adjust quickly.

N (age 11):

• Math: After mental math and a worksheet on measurement conversions, N practiced the order of operations. She’s familiar with it, so it really seemed more like a review lesson. She completed a 30-problem lesson review.
• Spelling: N completed the workbook introduction to her new lesson on vowel pairs “ea” and “ee,” and vowel digraph “ea.”
• Writing: N typed up a rough draft of her descriptive paper so I can edit it for her to make a final copy.
• Reading: N read another chapter of I am Malala.
• Bible: N and C reviewed their memory verse (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and the first five books of the Bible. I read them the story of creation.  We discussed a scientific view of the creation story. We talked about evolution versus young earth creation versus old earth creation. Then, N and C drew illustrations of each day of creation.
• Science: N and C learned about the physical make-up of the earth (core, crust, mantle), plate tectonics, earthquakes, and volcanoes. I’m very excited about our science project this week that will reinforce the lesson.  I’ll tell you all about it on Friday, along with a curriculum recommendation.
• Geography: After N and C filled out all the countries they already know on their Middle East maps, they learned about Turkmenistan.  They researched the capitol city, the Black Sand Desert, and the traditional dress of the Turkmeni people.
• Social Studies: N and C reviewed the first eight amendments.  I taught them the Ninth Amendment, and we discussed some of the rights Americans have that aren’t specifically named in the Constitution or the Bill of Rights.
• Spanish: N reviewed all the vocabulary she has learned so far.  She read a selection in Spanish, translated it into English, and answered Spanish comprehension questions.
• Music: The usual.

C (age 9):

• Math: C started with a story problem and a review of the 4, 8, and 9 times tables.  Her lesson was on the order of operations, and she practiced solving problems with and without parentheses. After the lesson, she completed a worksheet of 100 division problems and a lesson review worksheet.
• Spelling: C practiced her words identifying the correct vowels in one- and two-syllable words. She did pretty well.
• Writing: C referred to the lists of information she had made and rewrote them in paragraph form, taking care to make them interesting to the reader.
• Reading: C read half of a long chapter of Moby Dick.
• Bible: Combined class with N.
• Science: Combined class with N.
• Geography: Combined class with N.
• Social Studies: Combined class with N.
• Music: C identified and practiced the three chords she learned on the ukulele.

S (age 6):

• Math: As usual, S and I used the 100-number chart to count to 100 in order to assist in number recognition.  In the lesson, S compared a penny and a dime. We talked about how they were the same and how they were different. S reviewed that a penny was worth 1 cent, and was introduced to the fact that a dime is worth 10 cents.  S began to learn how to count to 100 by 10s.
• Reading: S reviewed the letter L with the usual worksheet from The Measured Mom. S and I sang the alphabet song together. I had to correct her a couple times when she kept pointing to “L” and calling it “elem.” I reiterated my rationale for forcing her to sing the alphabet song slowly. She located M on the chart.  I read her a poem about mice. She pointed to the Ms in the poem. Then, she colored a picture of the letter M with mice crawling all over it. Next, I showed her pictures and recited a short sentence and a long sentence about each picture.  S told me which sentence was longer, the first or the second sentence. Finally, we read a chapter of Charlotte’s Web.
• Writing: S did copywork of the capital letter M on a custom worksheet.
• Bible: S reviewed her abridged memory verse and the first five books of the Bible. I read her the creation story and allowed her to interrupt with any questions.