Wednesday, September 03, 2008

...And the Second

We're starting to find a groove. J sleeps later than W, so W and I started on his scheduled stuff earlier than usual. He always would wait to "do work" with J, but I think he realized today that it's fun having all the academic attention on himself for an hour. He started with a new Spectrum phonics workbook and then onto cursive writing. He caught on with this so quickly, I cannot believe it. His print writing is really nice and now after just 2 days, and having learned 5 letters, his script is just as neat and so well done. He's learned c, a, b, t, and i. He's writing words like "bat" and "cab" and "bit" on regular wide-ruled notebook paper. And he could keep going for hours. We read a history story, an Aesop fable, another Stevenson poem, and more Paddle to the Sea. He can't wait to narrate back what he remembers from the stories. And he did 3 math pages.

J started with a lesson in math. She does about 1 whole TT lesson each day. We read some School of the Woods, a book on Einstein and his theory of relativity, and some Age of Fable. She loves this last one. It was a story based on The Iliad about Ulysses (Odysseus) and his men coming to the island with the Cyclopses. She is so loving these stories.

What's odd is that it doesn't feel like "doing work". It's relaxing together on the couch over tea and toast, laughing and learning and loving our time together. Workbooks and handwriting are just different types of fun games. Readalouds are serene, bonding, and captivating. W must have said "this is so cool" at least 3 times -- about his math. The books go back in the drawer right before lunchtime and we spend the afternoon doing art projects, nature walks, science centers, vocal/dance lessons, playground, supermarket, library, whatever. I love life.

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