The Lesgaux School

We’re taking a break today. The kids are all either asleep or in the bath, depending on their maternal directive. We just spent an hour at the park where they kicked gravel to make dust, which covered them from head to toe. They like to make believe that the dust is the steam from the wheels of a steam engine. They made R believe the dust was hot, so he didn’t get very close. Just as well. Only have to bathe 2 before our afternoon trip to the library. We haven’t been in more than a week and we’re feeling the loss.

On the library agenda…

We need books on the Great Wall of China. We read about it for history on Monday and drew pictures yesterday. T & D complained that they did not have enough info to make accurate drawings. D also complained that he couldn’t get the right colors using the cheap crayons. It’s Crayola Brand exclusively for us from now on.

We also need books on Rome, earthquakes, and tornadoes. R could use more books on colors. And, of course, fun story/picture books. Maybe more on the Greek Gods. I sense we’re not done with them yet.

Things went pretty well today, despite starting at 3PM. Arrrgh! We went to Spanish this morning, then Whole Foods, then Home Depot to get a new garbage disposal. Call it Life 101. It was really hot today (95), so I required a lot of cooling off time.

T finished 30+ math problems, 2 pages of Spelling, & History. He said that school wasn’t fun. I said, “Neither is taking out the trash.”

D did 2 pages of (1st grade) math and 3 phonics pages. He’s trying to earn a space shuttle at the toy store. He gets 1 sticker on the back of his short vowel sound bookmark for every lesson page he completes. When it is full, off we go to Anna’s Toy Depot. He really works for stickers.

Spanish Update….D now knows the major colors and numbers up to 20. Plus, basic greetings. He is doing very well.

R is exploring sleep deprivation – his and mine.

And the winner for the Math Curriculum for 2005-2006 is…
Modern Curriculum Press for Kindergarten and First Grade.

What a day! We got a late start, so ate breakfast on the road to D’s Spanish class. Things kept creeping up so that school was delayed until 1pm.

For all that, T still managed to do 30 math problems, 4 spelling pages, and language, including reciting two poems from memory, Mr. Nobody and The Goops. I only had to prompt T once for each poem. T also did one sentence of copywork, after which he declared that he couldn’t possibly do any more. I let him slide on History since we are ahead by one chapter. But tomorrow….

D also did 3 pages of math (1st grade level!!!) and worked on his workbook on the letter D.

R is working on his architectural plans to redesign the Sistine Chapel.

What a recovery, huh?

Well, summer is almost upon us. The season, that is. We school year round. Right now, we’re just finishing up 1st grade for T. D is about to embark on Kindergarten. R is ready for nursery school. We start the new year on August 1, so we only have a few weeks left.

Here’s what we are doing:

For the rest of first grade, T is only doing Math (we ditched the Miquon as it wasn’t working for us), Spelling, Language and History. We’re totally done with 1st grade Science. For math, we are currently evaluating curriculum for T. I need to order our books within the next two weeks to have our materials by August 1. It’s a showdown, to be resolved later this evening with DH, between Singapore Primary Math and Modern Curriculum Press Mathmatics. For now, a friend has photocopied two chapters of the MCP book for us to try out. He may be starting out ahead for 2nd grade. T also has a new Spelling Curriculum, MCP Spelling Workout Level A and is already up to lesson 6. We hope to move on to Book B by December or earlier. He is also already doing 2nd grade Language (grammar you might say) using First Language Lessons. We’ll probably finish that before December also. We are still looking for our next step in grammar. Moving right ahead in history, one of T’s favorites, we know the book, just have to buy it.

D is using Phonics Pathways to learn to read. In Kindergarten, he will be learning Math (see above for the curriculum war), Phonics & Handwriting. He will also be doing 2nd grade Language, History and Science with T. For those last three, we read the material orally together. Then, T narrates back to me what we have read. I write down his summary, then type it for later reference. (See below for notes on narration) D also narrates to me. Sometimes they draw picture summaries of what we read. D also continues to attend Spanish classes two times a week.

R will be brushing up on his fingerplays and nursery rhymes. He also does picture summaries of what he has learned. The pictures though, are very abstract.

A Note on Narrations:

Narration is a precursor to the book report and to the college essay on a book that you were supposed to read. A narration is an oral (later written) summary of material that we read/watch/listen to/studied. T or D tell me in their own words what happened. I write their words down verbatim. I do not correct for grammar or content when retyping the narrations. This is very hard to do, as I am a born editor. I do use correct spelling and punctuation. As the boys read more, they will recognize the mistakes they have made and correct them. Later, we can reread these narrations as a review. For more on narrations, click here.

Coming Soon….Curriculum Lists & Books We’re Reading