The Second Week

This week was a lot like last week.

We didn't make any progress introducing new subjects, but we got better at what we are already doing.

We got better at listening to music--3 times this week!  We don't much like Bach's St. Matthew Passion, but we are quite fond of the Brandenburg Concertos.  (This could be my influence, as I've always preferred a concerto to a cantata.)

We got better at reviewing our bulletin boards.

(Now I need to get new board information ready!)

We finished How to Behave and Why on Monday, and we read this book several times during the week. 

Along with our readings, we had discussions about the lessons taught and the values of the culture represented in the story.  I also began to pause in places and turn over the storytelling to the kids.

For zoology, we watched a great video about elephants.  

And we started this book.

We're only 30-ish pages into it, but we're really curious about where it's going.

I assigned the kids to research a mammal of their choice in order to write a report.

We finished Mustaches for Maddie.  We all cried, groaned, hoped, cheered, and sighed in all of the right places.  

Brother was the most upset by the injustice of a little girl having a tumor.  He had questions about what tumors are, what cancer is, how she got the tumor, how it would affect her, and so forth.  He frequently beat his fists against the floor in outrage at the challenges Maddie faced.

My reading of the afterward was greeted with great relief.

My reading of the letter from the real Maddie to her readers was greeted with thoughtful respect.

The kids have repeated how much they love Anansi stories, though we all agree that putting a story in which Anansi dies right in the middle of the collection smacks of poor organization.

We read about several amazing . . . AMAZING . . . African American heroes of the 18th and 19th centuries.  Why have I never heard of Paul Cuffe or Josiah Henson?

At least my kids are learning about them!

We also listened to several more readings about explorers that led to the European colonization of the Americas.

Clue has been the game of choice.  (But only when they get tired of Pokemon!)

The teens and I did a bunch of grammar, and they have a character sketch due by breakfast on Monday.  We also shifted our American History study from American industry to the challenges of healing from the Civil War.

Nature Angel is working hard on dance choreography, guitar, health, and Algebra II.

Little Princess is working hard on pre-algebra, general science, and literature.

Photos of the results of the first two experiments in her science book

We are face-to-face with a severe case of perfectionism in Brother.  He's always been sure he's the best and he's always right, but doing his math lessons online has tested this belief about himself.  When I corrected his work, he could always correct it and have a perfect page at the end, but if he makes 2 mistakes on the same problem, the problem is marked wrong, and he has to move on.  

He cannot stand it.

He's had a number of tantrums over it this week.

I'm just repeating, "Mistakes help us know what we need to learn," over and over again in the most soothing tone I can.

I'm also repeating, "I don't even want perfect math assignments.  Mistakes show that you're trying something new or challenging."

He doesn't believe it yet . . . but I'm sure hoping he someday will.

Baymax discovered a book on our shelves about inventors and inventions.

He is captivated by it.  

He shows his delight by reading aloud to anyone who will listen to him. :)

Before our daycare took a nosedive, I was converting our basement into a preschool.  Now that that is no longer necessary, I've shifted to creating a maker-space for us all.  The basement has been long in need of repair and repainting, and I've spent hours each day on that project.  This weekend I finished painting the living room (though the hallways, kitchen, and bathroom all require a great deal more work), and the week ahead will include lots of cleaning up, decluttering, and installing storage.