The Lesgaux School

Last week was a total wash. Both boys were sick. This week, we caught up in Math and Handwriting. We also did History & Science. Next week, we’ll get back on track with Language (Grammar).

Math note:
T has two lab books to finish by the end of first grade (late spring or summer 2005). He also really wants to visit the Children’s Museum, which I hate. So…we made a deal. When he finishes the orange book, we will go to the museum ASAP. He wants to move from doing two to four pages per day. Sounds good to me.

Today T worked hard on his Math for 35 minutes He completed 2 lab sheets and added more problems to them, as he said that the problems need to go all the way to the end of the line. He thinks I am trying to trick him, as 5+2 is the same as 2+5. I think that he thinks I write the labs. I’ll have to ask him about this.

Meanwhile, D practices his handwriting, or should I say prewriting skills in his Big Preschool Workbook. We emphasized using our quietest voice during school so that T can concentrate. T refuses to study in a room by himself. That’s ok. We just have to make the environment quiet. D did very well, only screaming once for me to look at his pink schoolbus. R cooperated by napping on a beanbag for 20 minutes.

The boys then refused to go outside to collect worms. They both insisted it was too icky. (Later, they played intensly in the sandbox, tracking at least 1/8 inch of sand into the house. I’ll have to do the floors first thing in the morning.) However, T did listen to a reading about worms and helped me complete a summary sheet about the passage. It looks something like this:

What We Read

Subject – Science
Title – The Usborne Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Natural World
Author – Lisa Watts
Section – i.e. Worms
Pages – 14
Summary – A short summary of the main points

Later, T read a book on vertebrates & invertebrates which placed those pesky, icky worms into the context of the wider world. He even used the pronunciation guide to pronounce the scientific words. Accurately, I might add. Gloat, gloat, gloat

Today was a pretty good day. Here’s a rundown: (This is a flip flop day, where, because of am commitments, we school in the afternoon. T loves this.)

8:00 am R & I Woke up. Older kids preceded me as the cloudy weather made it dark. T was on the sofa lounging. D was at the table eating a peanut butter & jelly sandwich made by dh. I joined T on the sofa & began reading The Magic Schoolbus Digs For Dinosaurs (may not be the exact title, but the book is in the van and it is dark and…) D joined us after eating.

8:50 am We read most of it, but had to stop to get dressed to take T to OT (occupational therapy). The appointment was at 10, so we needed to leave by 9:15. I went to take a shower and get dressed and dress R. I left boys with instructions to dress & brush teeth. I took all of 10 minutes, only to emerge and no one had done as I asked. ARRRGH!!! Now I had to totally supervise/dress the two who are able to do this thing plus the one who wasn’t. We were going to be late. Got into van at 9:20. D was sock and shoeless. He’d have to put them on on the way.

9:45 am Arrived at OT. Not late after all.

11:00 am Left OT and went to Kerby Lane for pancakes. Everyone was well behaved.

12:00 pm Went to Salvation Army to look for a bed for T. No luck. Again, very good behavior from all.

1:00 pm Back home. R is tired and so are we. I lay down for a nap with R while boys watch SchoolHouse Rock video (83 minutes)

2:45 pm R wakes up, but D is cranky. I get R back to sleep for a few minutes while I try to get D down for a nap. D is very resistant. Meanwhile, T does some more reading by himself. R won’t stay down, he has really slept enough. I insist that D “rest” until 3:30. He reluctantly agrees.

3:30 pm Every one up and at ‘em. D sits down for a snack of chips and salsa. T has a glass of soy milk. R nurses. Mama has a ginger ale.

3:40 pm R plays in the living room while I start T on his math lessons. Today – number lines and addition facts. He completes 2 sheets today. It takes him a full 20 minutes. (I insist on 15 min). D “works” on an identical worksheet, then experiments with markers and colored pencils. Then, T completes his handwriting practice page. He finished neatly, but early. (I require 5 minutes) Tomorrow, I’ll add more sheets. When he is done, I give him a red pencil and the instructions to circle his two best “3′s”. He says that he needs to circle 4 because they are really good.

4:10 pm T insists that he needs a computer break. I agree that he does, but we argue as to whether the computer is really needed. They each get 30 minutes of computer time per day. Time is subtracted in 5 minute chunks if whining / complaining occurs. I agree to let the boys take turns on the computer for an hour. I play with R and plan lessons.

4:30 pm Back to work. While D finishes his computer time, T & I retire to the couch for Language. T is very resistant to repeating things orally to me and reading aloud. I persist, though, as this is one way I assess that he is learning the material. We do 2 language lessons. It’s only Tuesday, and T has finished all the planned language lessons for the week. We’ll be ahead.

This week we’re finishing Ramona the Brave, by Beverly Cleary. T decides he doesn’t want to read today. We’ll pick up tomorrow. We have only two chapters left.

5:00 pm D is finished with the computer. We had a long day. I nurse R as T & D play and draw.

Hi all,
I’ve decided to use this format to document our homeschooling experiences. It’s late, but just wanted to get started. Stay tuned for more…