Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Ho Hum....

Well, there's not a huge amount to report, as far as school goes. A good friend of ours gave us the Scholastic Phonics Reading program, which we started using yesterday. Of course, it only took me 2 hours to figure out where I should start in the program, since Bear reads pretty well, but I finally settled on Workbook 6 (of something like....17....) and she really enjoys the work. I'm photocopying the pages so I can re-use the books with Deco (ssshhhhh, don't tell the publisher!) and I staple the pages together into what I call a Reading Packet. There are different activities like word searches and fill in the blanks and things like that, as well as numerous readers to use. I like the readersbecause the stories are really cute and the books at this level are challenging without being too frustrating. I really like having a set "curriculum" to use rather than just saying "Here, read this library book!" because I'm worried I'm going to leave out some of the 'rules'. I think that her favorite part is putting the sticker to answer the riddle at the bottom of each page!
We've introduced simple fractions in math and what it means for something to be a fraction. Also, she's doing addition of two 2-digit numbers (no carrying, yet!) and as really gotten the hang of it quickly. She really seems to enjoy math - unlike her Mama! - and I'm amazed at how quickly she seems to pick up new math ideas.
We started a unit in science on the senses this week. Yesterday, we went on a "senses walk" around the house and in the front yard and Bear made a list of things she could see, hear, smell, and feel. Deco got in on this one and really had fun. Today, I had a bag that I put a bunch of things in (feather, bark, satin shirt, piece of ice) and she'd choose something from the bag and write down what it felt like. This led into a couple of neat discussions on how light a feather feels even compared to a napkin and how, when the feather is put on your hand, it begins to feel a little bit warmer. I love how we can go off on little tangents like that! Deco loved this part too, and this evening, got two things and took them to Ched, and said, "OK, close your eyes...now which one feels heavier?" It was precious!!

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