Weekly Report, August 15th

D had a great first week of school. He accomplished more than I had planned for math and language arts, but we didn't spend nearly as much time as I would've liked on science and social studies. He did complain a little about having to do math again, but as long as he knew we'd follow-up with some sort of arts-and-crafts project, he'd focus on what needed to be done.

Language Arts: This week we learned how to read words with the short-a and short-o vowel sounds using OPG (Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading) and books 1&2 of LSLF (Little Stories for Little Folks). D shows a real excitement for wanting to learn how to read, and once he sets his mind to something he typically doesn't back off. In this case, that is a great thing. He completed Lesson 1 in ETC (Explode the Code) which was a reinforcement of the short-a vowel sound.

I decided on using the Getty & Dubay ITALIC handwriting series because I really like the style of the lettering. Advancing to cursive is a smoother transition than with the tradition method with all those time-consuming loops and swirls I was never fond of. We practiced writing the lower and uppercase letters Ii, Jj, and Ll this week.

I have been reading aloud stories from Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling. Although some of the stories seem a bit advanced at this point, D is being exposed to the sound and flow of language and seems to be enjoying them nonetheless. He did a narration on "How the Whale Got Its Throat". Other than the LSLF booklets, D has been reading the beginning Bob Books aloud and earning a stamp for each book he reads. Once his chart is filled, we will take a trip to the bookstore where he can pick out a book as a reward. I like the idea of giving him incentive to read as much as possible and to make trips to the bookstore a "totally cool" experience.

Math: We covered greater-than and less-than, more and less, size, and patterns this week. D seems to enjoy math but gets easily frustrated when he doesn't immediately understand a concept. Oh how I can relate!!

Religion: We covered the Holy Trinity in lesson 1 of IOG (Images of God). D needs to improve his attitude about learning/talking/thinking about his religion, and IOG does a good job of keeping stories short and interesting while covering the important underlying catechism. He particularly seems to be enjoying the colorful cut-outs and craft projects this series has to offer.

Science: We read about time-zones and the weather this week. He demonstrated with our globe how the children in Asia are sleeping when we're awake and how the sun doesn't move, the earth moves.

Social Studies: We are focusing on learning about maps and directions this week, using the Rand McNally Geography and Map Activites book. He made a compass rose and although he's got North, South, East and West down, he needs more review with NW, NE, SW, SE. We made "People of the World" stick puppets and the boys proceeded to put on a silly puppet show for me.

Fine Arts: We listened to classical music, painted, and did a rainbow cut-and-paste project.