After a few weeks now of our new year we are beginning to settle into a routine of sorts. It’s been more challenging this year to get all three kids into a schedule that works for all of us. Having Ben happily working, Luci entertained, and Gavin doing his independent work are all three things that seldom happen simultaneously. It’s more likely to be one asking for help, the other needing his next assignment, and Luci stealing the pencils to poke in the play-doh. So, I have a new list of “Top 10 Things I Say Every Day” to celebrate the beginning of our new school year:
1. Gavin, please do not interrupt your brother’s reading assignment! I’ll help you in a few minutes.
2. You mean there is nothing else you can work on while I finish this up?
3. Please leave your sister’s play-doh alone.
4. Put the dog down, she is not doing school!
5. I’m sorry, the fact that you don’t WANT to do this is not going to change anything.
6. Luci, please don’t paint the table.
7. Don’t feed the play-doh to the dogs!
8. If I cannot read it, I cannot grade it.
9. Please do not sharpen your pencil when I am speaking.
10. YES, we’ll read an extra chapter!
Yes, things get hectic, but all in all our school year is off to a good start. We’ve made some changes to our math. Both boys became resistant to Math U See. I was quite surprised by that as I expected a lot from this program. I would have loved to have learned math that way. So, I’m making Singapore our one and only math again this year. I’ve had to let go of the notion that they needed “more math” because of the differences in the scope and sequence of Singapore. I worry about gaps, even if they are just temporary.
Nothing else has really needed “tweaking”. Chemistry is going well for both boys. They look forward to the experiments each week. They are moving rather rapidly though, so I expect I won’t be able to stretch this out for a full year. We are beginning to get the hang of Latin, although I will continue to learn right along with Gavin. We are hoping that by our next family gathering we will be able to say the Table Blessing in Latin for everyone. It is amazing how quickly the Latin studies have helped Gavin in his vocabulary skills!
Ben’s reading is moving right along! He’s a good little reader and does well with comprehension. We are struggling with him being critical of himself when corrected. Even with the most gentle correction of his reading or math skills he will sometimes express great frustration with himself. It’s painful to see him get so upset. Fortunately, in both areas he needs very little correcting.
We are planning to get both boys involved in some type of extra-curricular activity. Gavin has a genuine interest in guitar lessons and seems to be musically inclined (very unlike myself here!)so we are currently shopping around for music lessons for him and are hoping to get in on a summer course, or at the latest, a fall class. I am not sure what to do for Ben. I think he might benefit from Karate or some other martial arts class.
Until next time...
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