It's a Cruel, Cruel Summer

I’m clearly not adept at giving regular reports on our progress. BUT, learning is happening. I PROMISE!  And so, I give you a really long summary of the past several weeks…ok months.

Large and Medium are on Lesson 29 out of 30 in their Math U See books, and unfortunately for them, I already have most of their next sets ready and waiting. Snicker Snicker.  Thanks to eBay (again) I found the teacher guides and DVDs for Large and Small, but will be picking up student packs containing their workbooks and test booklets, and Medium’s complete set next week. Small is excited to be starting the same program as brothers, which means getting to watch a DVD with Mom. Watching math videos does not excite this English major, but the fact that he is good at math already and has a positive attitude about it, makes me think maybe he will major in something in college that will allow him to buy me a vacation home somewhere tropical. This should become one of my goals in homeschooling. I’m almost sure of it.

Small’s reading is so precious to me. He learned to read at school from our beloved Mrs. J., so I can’t take credit for teaching him, but I do love listening to him as he learns new concepts like the sound ‘ight’ makes or ‘ing’. He just finished Bob Books Set 4 Complex Words and will start Set 5 Long Vowels this week. These will be a breeze since he already covered long vowels in his Spelling book. Harvard here we come.

Medium is no lover of reading, even though it is clearly EASY for him. He finally found a book series at the library that he loves: Beast Quest. Really, son?  After willingly buying two for him to read on the Kindle PLUS the one from the library, I’m making him move on.  He started Mr. Popper’s Penguins yesterday and I found an 89 page unit study online. Score! He sets the timer and reads for 30 minutes on my Kindle or his Ipod. He’s such a techie kid that if I can find a way to make it feel less school-like and more video-game-ish, the whining-complaining factor drops significantly.

Large finished reading Holes and thanks to my neighbor/jr. high English teacher/friend, I had a reading comprehension packet to go with it. Yay for supportive friends! He absolutely loved the book and movie, and convinced his brothers to dig holes with him in the backyard to “build character.” The coming-in-the-house-covered-in mud every. single. day. made it much less funny. The character-building had to stop. I informed Large that being grounded from all things with screens built more character than playing in the mud, and he determined they were finished with that part of their training. Well played big brother.  He’s now reading Tuck Everlasting with much less enthusiasm and an irritating amount of grimacing/sighing.

We’re racing through Large and Medium’s grammar books, trying to finish an entire year’s worth of material in one semester. That means usually two to three lessons per day, but because they have learned a lot of the concepts already, it only takes about 30 minutes to complete. I’m also skipping most of the writing assignments, focusing mainly on the grammar parts such as adjectives and adverbs for Medium, and predicate nominatives and direct objects for Large. I know, I KNOW. Writing is very important, but the plan for now is to just get through the books, and hit the writing assignments this summer.

That’s right. We’re not taking the summer off.

The boys are not on board with this plan and believe it to be the highest form of cruelty. They are used to having almost three months to let whatever information and education they’ve attained be rotted away by hours of SpongeBob, Playstation, and Ipod apps. I don’t have a concrete plan yet, but think we will take a few weeks off at the end of May, or early June, then start back by doing school a few days a week. I need me some sunny pool and lake time too, so hopefully with two days of math and grammar, with a little history and science thrown in, and daily reading, I’ll feel like we’re having the best of both worlds. The boys will probably feel like they’re being served a huge injustice. Maybe I can convince the Hubster that a new backyard pool is a necessity to homeschooling.  And that we can afford it. And that we will not make him spend every free minute of his time cleaning and maintaining it.

 Yes, this also should become one of my goals. Along with a trip to Disney World and a visit to the Olympics and Stonehenge. Goals are important. I should make a list.

Can you tell me how to get, how to get to......

I just got chills from Sesame Street.

Normally the TV isn’t on unless:
A) the kids are outside and I’m catching up on General Hospital  (don’t judge me)
B) we’re watching a Planet Earth video, or
C) school work and chores are finished.
This morning Small asked if he could watch something educational while enjoying his Cocoa Puffs (again, don’t judge). The first thing that came on was Sesame Street and which is totally educational! Well, ok Sesame Street is probably only educational for a four year old, but I didn’t consider it as brain rotting as Tuff Puppy, so PBS it was. I decided that this breakfast distraction was long enough for me to squeeze in some computer time.  Listening to the TV in the background, a song suddenly transported me back to 1979, sitting in the floor in front of my parent’s TV, watching my beloved Sesame Street. I still remember that it was on channel 12, which I had to manually twist a knob to get to, at 9am after Good Morning America. I loved me some Sesame Street.

“Somebody come and play. Somebody come and play today….”  Originally performed by a group of children in 1974, and sometime later by a lonely Ernie, this classic childhood anthem still captures kids’ basic need: playing with friends.  Normally hearing this song would just bring a smile, but the version I heard today was so beautiful because the children’s voices were from the PS22 Chorus of 2011.

Here, go listen. I'll wait.

Wasn't that awesome?

As I sit writing my blog, still having not started “school” for the day at 10:00am, I push the guilt away. Why? Because Medium and Small are outside watering their newly planted trees and playing with a toy airplane, while Large checks on the newborn kittens and their mother. They are outside playing together on a beautiful spring morning. When they come in, we will do "school". We’re using the Mystery of History curriculum and today we are studying the Sumerians. Small will try out their form of writing, cuneiform, on clay while Medium and Large will build a structure out of Legos following the Sumerians ziggurat. All three will do Math, Spelling, and Reading. Medium and Large will do grammar. They will all again, go outside and play. 

It is OK to start bookwork, or what we typically consider "school" at 10:30, or even 11:00. I myself am learning that at home, education happens everywhere, including a desk with a pencil, or the front yard with a water hose.