This and That
Well, once again I have fallen off the blogging wagon. Sorry folks! This seems to happen to me intermittently... or usually... as I get caught up in life's busyness. Without further adieu... updates!
Swim Lessons
Theo is doing swim lessons once a week at the Smith pool. He was nervous for the first one - not sure what to expect - but now it is one of the highlights of his week . He is swimming independently, learning the basic strokes and to float on his back. He is also swimming underwater for stretches of time, which is so fun to see. I am so glad he is doing the lessons as it is such good physical exercise, he is learning a concrete skill he can carry with him through life, and getting a sense of accomplishment which helps him feel independent and strong.
Lego Time
A friend of mine runs a preschool in the area, which also hosts afterschool enrichment programs for kids. Theo goes to her Lego class every Monday afternoon from 3- 530 and really loves it. There is another homeschool kid there, as well as an older school age kid, and he thrives on that social time spent around a shared interest.
Thursday Coop
Theo continues to attend a co-op in Charlottesville that provides science and PE every Thursday. The science class is full of hands-on activities that he enjoys. I asked the teacher how he was doing, now that he has been there a month, and she said he gets along great with the other kids, asks really good questions, and participates consistently. The current unit is kitchen chemistry. They were visited by a local bakery, who taught them to make pretzel and bread dough. They made "sedimentary rock" cookies during the geology unit that just finished.
Theo seems to enjoy the PE portion less, as the main focus is games and races that aren't really his cup of tea (three legged and sack races, for example). He wishes it were free play, and luckily next year, if we continue with this co-op, he will be free to play as he wishes with the other first graders. Their PE time is not structured as the K time is.
Charlotte
Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, after we drop Willem at preschool and Eric at work, Theo and I come home and put Charlotte on her leash, and do an hour walk around the neighborhood. She needs the exercise and so do we! This is a precious time, as we chat, make up stories, and generally talk through every topic under the sun. At first, Theo would often complain a bit about the walks, but now he looks forward to them and enjoys it very much. We have befriended many dog owners in the neighborhood, and say hi to Caruso, Henry Charles, Linus and Gwen as we go about our walk, usually stopping to chat with the owners and to let the dogs play for five minutes.
Charlotte is attending puppy school for an hour every Thursday evening and we are working with her the rest of the week to get the commands down pat. Theo likes to carry the treat bag and clicker and be in charge of the training. He really loves her, even though she has chewed some favorite toys! A testament of true love. :)
Reading and Math
We continue to work through our "How to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" book, though this is not Theo's favorite and some complaints usually accompany the lesson, Part of the problem is that we have not moved onto lessons that are introducing new sounds to him; he is bored by the simple "t", "s", "a" and "m" sounds. But the curriculum insists on the importance of working through the book from start to finish instead of skipping forward, etc. So for now we just have to push through and deal with it. He reads LOTS of simple words, but usually wants to be read to instead of reading to me.
We are plugging away at our Singapore math curriculum, though I have decided for now to focus on the manipulative exercises in the instructor's guide and steer away from the workbook/textbook stuff. We have been using flash cards to memorize number words (he has them down pat) and have worked on writing numbers quite a bit. He wants to do multiplication already, so we play with that here and there. Theo is great at doing simple addition and subtraction in his head and I think a real love of math will develop in time, if his current interest is any indication.
Miscellaneous Fun
We see his best friend from school most Fridays for ice cream and play or library time, depending on the weather. This last Friday started out warm and sunny, so the library playground was swarming with kids from his old school and familiar faces. The boys had a great time playing Star Wars with some second grade girls that were there, as well as pretending to be Native Americans making their own food out of berries and dust.
Theo came up with a three-act play called "Super Nut", which tells the story of a superhero squirrel who defeats a villain wolf. He performed it for me with full costumes.
Audiobooks continue to be a source of joy, relaxation and learning for Theo. Every afternoon, and sometimes in the morning (like at this very moment), he goes happily into his quiet time and listens to a long story (usually at least an hour). Magic Treehouse stories are his favorite, and luckily our library has many. He plays Lego while he listens, or dress up. This morning we returned from our walk and he said, "I want a quiet time", so in he went.
There you have it... thanks for reading!
Swim Lessons
Theo is doing swim lessons once a week at the Smith pool. He was nervous for the first one - not sure what to expect - but now it is one of the highlights of his week . He is swimming independently, learning the basic strokes and to float on his back. He is also swimming underwater for stretches of time, which is so fun to see. I am so glad he is doing the lessons as it is such good physical exercise, he is learning a concrete skill he can carry with him through life, and getting a sense of accomplishment which helps him feel independent and strong.
Lego Time
A friend of mine runs a preschool in the area, which also hosts afterschool enrichment programs for kids. Theo goes to her Lego class every Monday afternoon from 3- 530 and really loves it. There is another homeschool kid there, as well as an older school age kid, and he thrives on that social time spent around a shared interest.
Thursday Coop
Theo continues to attend a co-op in Charlottesville that provides science and PE every Thursday. The science class is full of hands-on activities that he enjoys. I asked the teacher how he was doing, now that he has been there a month, and she said he gets along great with the other kids, asks really good questions, and participates consistently. The current unit is kitchen chemistry. They were visited by a local bakery, who taught them to make pretzel and bread dough. They made "sedimentary rock" cookies during the geology unit that just finished.
Theo seems to enjoy the PE portion less, as the main focus is games and races that aren't really his cup of tea (three legged and sack races, for example). He wishes it were free play, and luckily next year, if we continue with this co-op, he will be free to play as he wishes with the other first graders. Their PE time is not structured as the K time is.
Charlotte
Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, after we drop Willem at preschool and Eric at work, Theo and I come home and put Charlotte on her leash, and do an hour walk around the neighborhood. She needs the exercise and so do we! This is a precious time, as we chat, make up stories, and generally talk through every topic under the sun. At first, Theo would often complain a bit about the walks, but now he looks forward to them and enjoys it very much. We have befriended many dog owners in the neighborhood, and say hi to Caruso, Henry Charles, Linus and Gwen as we go about our walk, usually stopping to chat with the owners and to let the dogs play for five minutes.
Charlotte is attending puppy school for an hour every Thursday evening and we are working with her the rest of the week to get the commands down pat. Theo likes to carry the treat bag and clicker and be in charge of the training. He really loves her, even though she has chewed some favorite toys! A testament of true love. :)
Reading and Math
We continue to work through our "How to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" book, though this is not Theo's favorite and some complaints usually accompany the lesson, Part of the problem is that we have not moved onto lessons that are introducing new sounds to him; he is bored by the simple "t", "s", "a" and "m" sounds. But the curriculum insists on the importance of working through the book from start to finish instead of skipping forward, etc. So for now we just have to push through and deal with it. He reads LOTS of simple words, but usually wants to be read to instead of reading to me.
We are plugging away at our Singapore math curriculum, though I have decided for now to focus on the manipulative exercises in the instructor's guide and steer away from the workbook/textbook stuff. We have been using flash cards to memorize number words (he has them down pat) and have worked on writing numbers quite a bit. He wants to do multiplication already, so we play with that here and there. Theo is great at doing simple addition and subtraction in his head and I think a real love of math will develop in time, if his current interest is any indication.
Miscellaneous Fun
We see his best friend from school most Fridays for ice cream and play or library time, depending on the weather. This last Friday started out warm and sunny, so the library playground was swarming with kids from his old school and familiar faces. The boys had a great time playing Star Wars with some second grade girls that were there, as well as pretending to be Native Americans making their own food out of berries and dust.
Theo came up with a three-act play called "Super Nut", which tells the story of a superhero squirrel who defeats a villain wolf. He performed it for me with full costumes.
Audiobooks continue to be a source of joy, relaxation and learning for Theo. Every afternoon, and sometimes in the morning (like at this very moment), he goes happily into his quiet time and listens to a long story (usually at least an hour). Magic Treehouse stories are his favorite, and luckily our library has many. He plays Lego while he listens, or dress up. This morning we returned from our walk and he said, "I want a quiet time", so in he went.
There you have it... thanks for reading!
Hey Laura! Thanks for your comment on my blog! So cool that you are in Charlottesville too!! It is a great community to homeschool.. so many great resources!!
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you for stopping by here! I am very new to homeschooling and love to browse blogs of other homeschooling moms... especially those around town! Perhaps our paths will cross in "real life" some day! Thanks for starting the FB group for homeschooling moms - that is how I found your blog. :)
Delete