Half-baked Homeschool

Here we are at the end of week 23. I guess I missed week 22, but thankfully, my husband has a new job, so I should be taking over the computer again soon!

We had a quiet week, with our new schedule working out well. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pics; the new dog still shakes like a leaf when I pull out the camera. I'm wondering about his history. Speaking of history...

HISTORY
We learned what a smart (coniving?) gal Catherine the Great was, and the descriptions we read of Russian winters made me even more anxious for spring.

LITERATURE
I let Bearclaw give up on Treasure Island. He was slowing down, so we read some together, and I realize the language is a little tough for him. He is now reading Paul Revere (In Their Own Words), which he has pronounced "boring". I don't blame him, since we've studied Paul Revere quite a bit already, and this book doesn't offer up much new information.

Shortbread studied the letter "P", so we read Prayer for a Child and The Story About Ping together. It doesn't really get much better than that! Bearclaw commented that he remembered reading those also, and loved them.

LANGUAGE ARTS
Bearclaw is working on persuasive writing and wrote a letter to his dad to convince him to purchase a parakeet for the family. His arguments were solid, but we have no little feathered friend as of yet.

The prepositions continue, and Bearclaw is beginning to make comments. I don't blame him for this either. He knows them WAY better than I do, BTW.

I'm in a bit of a disagreement with Shortbread's teacher at his hybrid kindergarten class. She wants him to do journal writing at home. I don't. I'm not just being contrary because I don't want one more thing to do (even though I don't), but I really don't think there is much value to journal writing without having the skills to actually write. Worse, it can be a needless exercise in frustration. She pointed out that Shorbread's in-class journal entries are "sweet". She's got me there, and I'm looking forward to looking at them when this year is over and he brings them home. This is an illustration of one of the drawbacks of using a hybrid school. Perhaps I'll post about the pros and cons sometime. (I've already re-enrolled, though, so maybe it's a little late for that.)

MATH
Bearclaw started Primary Mathematics 3A. Currently, they are reviewing place value, but with higher level thinking than in the past. Oh, and the new textbook isn't colorful like the others. We're in the big time with math now.

Shortbread loves math. He would rather do math than any of his language arts work. Currently, he is working on addition, which makes him feel like he's doing "real math." Why does anyone want to do that?

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