This is the time of year when our days all kind of bleed into one another. It is too yucky to go outside, although it is warmer than usual for a Minnesota winter. We are too broke to have a second car up and running at this point and even if we could afford to repair it, we couldn’t afford the gas for it. So our days are spent doing school. Horrible, I know!!!
Thankfully, we don’t start until 10:00 a.m. Our first activity is to read some poetry, currently John Greenleaf Whittier, and a chapter or two from On the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder while sitting on the couch. After those readings are done we then tromp down to the schoolroom in the basement.
Our first subject is Latin. The girls have had an introductory Latin course, but it was laid aside when we moved to Minnesota. Eli is fairly new to all of this and I can tell by his expression, he is rather confused. LOL I keep telling him to just stick with it and it will all make sense to him eventually. We have just started with this Latin curriculum and so far it is going well. Once Latin is over, we move on to Math.
Math has been a struggle for Gretchen and Eli. Heidi seems to come by her Math very easily and is consistently in the 90’s on her tests and daily work. Not so much for the other two, but I would say they are solid “B” students. Today wasn’t a good math day for Eli…..fractions are kicking his butt! He’ll get it, attention to detail is his greatest challenge.
Gretchen takes the longest to do her math……she has a problem with daydreaming sometimes. When she can stay focused, however, she can rock math and score in the high 80’s to low 90’s. Either way, she is averaging a “B” in Saxon Math 8/7 so I won’t complain.
When Latin and Math are done and the papers are graded they take a break and then start working on their History reading and their Literature selections. They will read an assigned chapter or section of their books and then narrate back to me what they have read. I have noticed that their narrations are getting more and more detailed and the kids actually seem to enjoy the process and remember the subject matter a lot better.
Scattered through the week they will be asked to locate various places on the maps throughout the house. These could be places they are reading about in History or places that are discussed in their Literature or Geography books. Currently Eli is reading about Marco Polo and he has traced the route that Marco took when travelling out to China and then back again. Eli has also pinpointed where Leonardo Da Vinci was born and where her lived. The girls have done likewise with their History and Literature topics.
Grammar is also covered a few times a week, as is Health for the girls. Eli is still working on his penmanship because cursive writing eludes him. Practice makes perfect. Science is covered with informal experiments and reading of various books covering Inventions, Geology, and everyday science. We also utilize the area parks and green spaces for Nature Walks led by me, their own private Nature Fanatic! They have no idea how lucky they are! LOL
Overall, our days are full and enjoyable……but at this point, I think we are all feeling a little bit of cabin fever and can’t wait for the snow to melt and our school to be interrupted by countless discoveries in the backyard and beyond. It’s so nice when we can take a blanket outside and do some of our reading lying out in the sun. Hopefully those days are only a month or so away.
Has Eli had a chance to blow anything up yet? :D
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