The Lesgaux School

T seems to need a delicate balance between being able to help direct his own lessons and having actual deadlines to meet. His energy levels and his ability to tolerate frustration change from day to day, often from minute to minute. To that end, I want to give him some control while still requiring him to meet certain expectations.

For example, lately, I have let him have some leeway in how he does his Math. I have tried to let him choose the number of Math problems he thinks he can complete each day. I then give him at least 20 minutes to complete the work. Works great as far as compliance is concerned. The problem is that it is taking him an entire week to finish one page. This is just not acceptable.

So…enter a new plan. I will let him choose how much to do in a day, as long as he completes a specific number of pages of Math in a week (3 to start with). If he chooses to do only a few problems, then he must finish the remainder on Friday, and, if need be, during the weekend. He must do at least some work every day. I have set similar goals for each subject, along with suggested time frames to complete the work. I created a checklist for him to follow each week so that he can check his progress.

We’ll see how it goes.

I haven’t posted in a few days. Basically, school has been going very well. T has started and finished 90% of his schoolwork with out complaining. Hurray! We took Friday off to shop and prepare for a weekend camping trip. Today, we did a little spelling and are unpacking and washing from the trip. Also, we had to take the van back to the mechanic. Tomorrow, it’s back to our regular schedule, whatever that is. Schoolwork and housework are in an eternal battle for our attention.

T should finish his spelling book be Wednesday or Thursday of this week. Our deal is that he gets a “spelling vacation” while we wait for his new book to arrive in the mail. In the meantime, we received our Greek primer. I think I’ll take that out this afternoon.

I’m looking for a more “hands-on” type of science program. I’m looking at The Young Scientists Club, Science in a Nutshell, and TOPS Science Activity Sheets. I have found that although I would love to create all my lessons from scratch, logistically, I just don’t have it in me. Luckily, I don’t have to. We still plan to follow the Well Trained Mind scope and sequence for science and read the facts aloud, but the boys would like to do more with what they’ve learned. If you’re reading this and you have a favorite science curriculum, leave a comment. We are looking for something secular in nature.

You may have noticed the recent disappearance of the pictures of the kids. DH has requested that I remove them to preserve the kids privacy. I have agreed to his wishes. I will continue to post pictures of their schoolwork and copies of their narrations when appropriate and when I have the author’s permission.

Well, we’ve finally taken the plunge. This week we started memorizing the Greek alphabet. My plan is to teach that until T is about 10, then start him on learning more Greek and studying Latin. Dh is helping me sift through materials as I teach them. In addition, I’ve started an adult level workbook on Greek. I will try to post updates as I can. For now, both T, 7, and D, 4 love it. D even has his own Greek folder with full page printouts of each letter as we learn them and two different alphabet charts. So far we’ve learned Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta. Check the sidebar for links to Greek instructional websites and materials.