Weekly Report, December 12

With one week to go before our Christmas Break, the kiddies are working hard. I gave them a schedule for the entire three weeks of December, so they know what is expected of them. The older twin is working ahead, as usual. I know her pretty little head is filled with the notion of completing all her work by next Wednesday, and extending her vacation by a few days. As long as her work retains the quality of excellence that I have come to expect from her, I do not care if it takes her three days - or three weeks. Well, that is a bit of an exaggeration, but I think you get the point. On the other hand, I have the younger twin who aims for three weeks - leaving all to the last minute. Must be nice to be able to not feel pressured.



Here is the run-down of the highlights of our academic achievements this week:



In Latin, the oldest twin and I began Lesson 4 in Lively Latin. We are meshing this with a repeat of Latina Christiana I, in which we are on Lesson 6. The vocabulary and grammar review is really going well, and she is breezing through the exercises. Also, and more importantly for what I have defined as the goal of our Latin studies, the derivatives are coming to her more easily. Last year, the derivatives were a stretch, especially during the Ludere exercises, which are very ambiguous. I know Memoria Press schedules LCII over a period of 1 1/2 years, but I think she is getting more from a repeat of LCI, laying down a stronger foundation for later Latin study. Since I have not decided on her Latin studies for junior high yet, (Latin in the Christian Trivium looks very enticing to me), I am comfortable not rushing her at this level. I am much less inclined to rush through any program now - only nine years later in this journey. I had to learn, through teaching subjects like Latin, and reading about the teachings of Charlotte Mason, as well as studying resources like Ambleside On-line, how to slowly digest information, savoring it like a fine wine, swirling it around, allowing only little bits so as not to overwhelm the taster. This approach has made a significant difference in our studies and the retention of the material. Multum non multa - perhaps the most significant words I have ever read concerning home-schooling, and life. Thank you, Andrew Campbell!

I would like to add a bit here about Lively Latin. When I first purchased this, I was looking for a change from LC. The videos were driving me mad. I alternated between dozing off and yelling at the kids for making fun of the (occasional) stuttering of the teacher. I did not really "get" Lively Latin, at first. It was hard for me to plan, because I did not have an actual book in hand. Reading the lesson directly off the computer is hard for me. And printing the teacher's lesson is cost-prohibitive. The layout of the lessons was so different from LC. I was confused as to what was being taught. It has taken a few false starts, and a few months of shying away from Latin, to bring me to realizing that LL 's strength lies in grammar, a weakness in LC, in my opinion. And LC is strong in vocabulary. So, the meshing of the two has worked very well for us. Utilizing Ludere has helped bring it all together in a very purposeful manner.

In math, we have been using the Teaching Company's Basic Math videos to supplement our study of fractions. Even my little guy got in on the lesson, explaining to me that if you have two-thirds and take away one piece, you will only be left with one. Sometimes he comes up with answers at the least expected moment. It is a little freaky! Watching the video and doing some supplementary worksheets has worked well. The Older Twin also did four lessons in her Rod & Staff 7 book, all focusing on units of measure - time & time zones, length, area, volume, etc. I am still at a loss as to what text to use with the Younger Twin. Switching publishers is more difficult than I imagined. We are doing math each day, just without a text as a spine. I feel time spent reviewing basic operations at a lower level is working well with this particular child, simply because he is not motivated. The Bear is almost done with Singapore 1B, and Rod & Staff 1. This combination has worked so well with her. Singapore does well with the mental math, and Rod & Staff has really helped with daily drill of math facts. I am a bit concerned with how teacher-intensive Singapore is, as we approach level 2. But I know it will be worth the effort.

The Twins, Little Bear, and Rocky listened as I read The Story Book of Science. From our readings, we learned about ants, and we did some research using United Streaming and the encyclopedia. The idea of ants as milk maids and lice as cows was fascinating to them. United Streaming has quite possible been the best investment of the year. (The exception being the time I wanted to watch a modern-day interpretation of Twelfth Night - when I have some time, I will share that with you.) I turn to it frequently to supplement our studies. (Video supplementation has come a long was since the infrequent and oftentimes boring supplementation of the projectors of my school days.) Surprisingly, the Older Twin requested that we continue with Real Science- Chemistry. She loves it! (Her words.) She even loves the philosophy and history supplements. So, onward we go. We covered Chapter 2, and she was thrilled (thrilled!!!) when we came upon the activity that required her to create her own planet out of candy. Fifteen minutes later, she had designed a planet made out of candy, with its inhabitants made up of lollipop heads, licorice hair, and twizzler limbs. The water was syrupy, the animals edible gummi bears, and the clouds made of cotton candy. She even wrote about the planet, in rhyme!

"Turn the page to see
All the happiness there could be

If we lived on a world
Made of candy"

We did a read-aloud from SL - My Father's Dragon. I am doing my best to make sure Rocky and Little Bear are not deprived of some of the books I already read to the Twins. The Twins really do enjoy hearing them again, and have not complained at all.

Of course, we covered the basics, such as vocabulary, spelling, and art. Music is mostly Christmas-related. And, I think this has certainly been long enough. So, if you read this far, thank you. And enjoy your weekend!