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Friday, February 25, 2011

Weekly Review -- February 21-25, 2011

This week started out with a fun day of enjoying the gorgeous weather.  Matt was off of work Monday so we spent the day playing out in the yard with the kids and then took Lucas to gym class.  The rest of the week we hit the books and had fun with some new curriculum I bought.

Everett...
completed the rest of Step 17 and all of step 18 in All About Spelling level 2. Saxon math 7/6 lessons 15-17 and Test 2 were completed. Penmanship with Handwriting without Tears Cursive is going really well.  The biggest changes came when I pulled out Writing with Ease level 3 and First Language Lessons level 3.  He truly enjoyed the Writing with Ease lesson, he wrote a summary of The straw, the coal and the bean by the Brothers Grimm and did such a wonderful job.  He also did his first dictation in WWE and I was so impressed at how well he did and easily he handled remembering the passage.  First Language Lessons level 3 was also well received.  We're only 2 lessons in, but so far so good.  After this first dictation and FLL lesson he exlaimed, "I love being homeschooled.  Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise are awesome"  This was such a wonderful boost to my confidence, I just hope he continues to enjoy them.

Annika...
started Explode the Code Book 4 and completed pages 1-4.  She was happy to see the elementary writing lines are no longer in the ETC books.  She finished step 12 in All About Spelling level 1.  Saxon Math 3 lessons 27-29 were completed. After lots of hemming and hawing over what to do for grammar I decided to check out the Peace Hill Press website and realized that First Language Lessons Levels 1 and 2 were just what I was looking for.  She completed lessons 1 and 2 in FLL level 1 and had a fun time with it.  She's having a blast learning to memorize The Caterpillar by Christina G. Rosetti.  I also pulled out Writing With Ease Level 1 and we started with week 5, I was so excited when she rocked the first narration exercise.  She really enjoyed the story and was able to dictate a whole page summary back to me.


Lucas...
finished pages 42-47 in his Get Ready for the Code book. He completed lessons 12-13 in Saxon Math K. 

Science and History
This was a History week so we brushed off our copy of The Story of the World Volume 3 and jumped in.  We read chapter 6 about the puritans, who left England for Holland, and eventually left Holland for the New World.  The kids enjoyed the reading and did a great job on the map work.  I also found some paper models of a windmill and Dutch step house that we'll be working on over the weekend.  


As many of you who follow my blog will have noticed, I decided not to use the Funnix reading program.  After viewing more of the lessons and thinking it over, it just didn't seem like it would be a good fit over the long haul.   I've decided instead to keep Annika working in Explode the Code, practicing her reading (she doesn't know it yet but we're getting her a Kindle this week) and All About Spelling.  I've also come to the conclusion that phonics doesn't need to be complicated, so I'll be using The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading for Lucas and any remedial brush ups Annika may need.
We're also looking forward to next week, as the Virginia Zoo is finally getting ready to open The Trail of the Tiger exhibit and is offering a sneak preview for zoo members.  Annika can't wait, they've been working on this exhibit for so long, and her favorite animals, the tigers, have been off exhibit the entire time. 

3 comments:

Karen said...

I like how you alternate history and science.

Looks like a terrific week. Thanks for sharing.

MOM #1 said...

I love tigers too, I hope you post photos.

Looks like you had a great week.

MissMOE said...

SWB and JW are awesome! What a precious moment. Thanks for sharing your wonderful week.