Gardening

Still worn out!

 

Morning the kids had their little gardener program - the facilitators are great, and let me get away with not doing much (because honestly, I'm having problems doing much!).   Unfortunately, one of the facilitators is there for a practicum for schooling - and this is her last week.     Anyway, they checked the grass that they are growing (I wonder if it is cat-grass....   it had definately started growing!)   They also got to repot a plant that will be a flower.   They had some other activities.   Echo was a bit clingy, I don't think she is feeling 100%, or is maybe feeling the changes that are coming up?

 

It was too windy to really go outside today....  and I was so tired.   I put Echo in a quiet time (she was acting so tired - but apparently did NOT nap...).   Delta was playing with his lego - and I napped a bit on the couch.   Delta turned his ambulance into another race car (took a picture).   He then tried to follow the instructions to put the ambulance together (without having totally taken in apart) - and did a GREAT job, except the ambulance door wouldn't fit.   I think there was only a couple of mistakes, but when I tried to fix it for him, I broke it a bit - so I rebuilt it a bit more than I might have had to....

 

This evening, I had a YW (well, she is 18 now) come and give me a hand.  She lives a couple of blocks away, and is really sweet.   Anyway, I was able to have Delta and I practice the violin, plus they got the toys picked up so the place isn't a TOTAL disaster.   We also gave them a bath - and I did the scripture mastery with the kids.  Delta has 2 of them memorized.... and I mean memorized better than I have it memorized!   Echo seems to have them down pretty good too.

 

Reading Problems

Still not feeling great....

Delta had a group violin lesson today - there hasn't been any for a couple of weeks. It went ok - his focus wasn't great, but probably because of the break and me not getting him to practice enough this month...

We went to the Home Depot kids workshop - we do every month - but they were already packed up. We got 2 kits that we'll do with the kids in a few days... it is a planter (basically an open box....)

I wanted to let them play outside, but my back was so bad that there was no way for quite a while. They tylenol finally kicked in about 45 min before I needed to wake up Mike for work - so we went out. And I tried drawing my first pictures in my nature journal. They are ok, nothing fancy. Delta said I was a genius (while I was doing it... - no idea where he knows that word from, but has used it before once or twice...) I wasn't as pleased with Mike's reaction when I showed him ("What is that?")

After supper I did reading cards. Delta didn't want to, and even went and hid - but I put the cards away and got him to come out so I can talk to him. The upshot is (as I expected) is he is having problems with that last letter sound, and so he feels like it is too hard - that we went too quickly. I basically told him that I had been trying to take it slowly, but that he always wanted more and more until now. I also told him that we can just review and do easy ones that he knows. He was fine with that - and then only let me do his hardest cards with him - which he mostly got right anyway. Echo did good on her cards - but is still having a bit of fun with her last letter sound too. I'm thinking of making up some Bingo cards for another recognition game with them. I wish I could make up about 4 train-engine blocks (blocks with train-engine pictures), and some way to slide the cards I made into them so you could still read them.... If I can figure that out, then there is another practice reading game that Delta might like. I don't want to have to print out the stuff again on a train-engine card though.

We also read more from "A House at Pooh Corner".... although Delta's attention really wasn't there - Echos generally never is for that one.

Not a Good Day

Definitely not a good homeschooling day - I'm a bit sick today, and was doozing off all day - so it was a "multi-media" day for the kids. (basically they were half babysat by the TV, the computers, etc while I doozed on the couch on and off.) Delta had his first swim lessons in "Otters" at the Y - we will see how that goes. I took him, Echo was having a nap as she was tired and cranky - and Mike was getting up at that time.

Felt a little better in the evening - took the kids out and they cleaned up the flyers that had fallen out of our mailbox all winter - there are a few still frozen to the ground, but we got a whole big garbage bag full. Then they played tag, and I got out Echo's little push-car. So we got out into the yard at least.

"Teach your child to Read"

[asked which reading program I'm using]

The book I am using is "Teach your child to read in 10 minutes a day" by Sidney Ledson.   It is a Canadian author.    But I think you misread my message - I said that we are focusing on the "Sounds" NOT the "Names".   Echo happens to know the names of a few letters, but not by any teaching on my part.   When she asked for an "Ahh", that would be because that is how she knows the letter A.  Not by name, but by the short ahh sound that A makes.   That was from my teaching.

 

Echo knows the sounds (short sounds for vowels) for U, P, C, A, T, th (as in the), e (as in the), H, O, and G.  She can figure out about 25 different 3 letter words from those letters.

 

Delta knows the above, plus B, I, R, N, S, D, E - and can figure out about 100ish 3 or 4 letter words.   He has just started working on sentences using mostly the words he already knows...  He has read 4 or 5 of the first sentences that this book uses.  He is also enjoying seeing words he knows in "Hop on Pop"....     The book I'm using slowly introduces the other letter sounds, plus some of the different sounds and combination sounds during the sentence work.   

 

The book uses ONLY capital letters at this point (after the first 15 sentences, it introduces lower case) - but Delta seems to have no problem recognizing a letter in its upper and lower case forms.  

 

I have heard a lot of people mention "Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons", but have never seen it myself....

Light Day

Today:   Another light day because of the doctor's appointments....

 

Delta did a bunch of puzzles...

 

When we went outside, I got to show him animal "scat" in our yard.  (In case you are not aware of the term "scat" - it is the term for wildlife poop.)   I'm pretty sure it was deer scat.   Delta thought it was pretty neat, because it meant that there was a deer in our yard last night.   (There are a LOT of deer in our neighbourhood - he has seen them in our yard through the window once or twice.)    Guess I better clean it up tomorrow....

 

They got to play at a dear sister's house (in our ward) who was kind enough to babysit with little notice so I didn't have to take them to my appointment.   Apparently when they were colouring, Echo asked the sister to draw an L (her favourite letter), and an M - and then was asking for an "ahh"  (the sound A makes in her reading.... we are focusing on the sounds, not the names....)....  it took a while for the sister to realize what she wanted, then she clued in on it.      This sister used to watch the kids while I ran the cub program at church - and was always impressed on their intelligence.  (ok, I'll try to stop bragging now...)

 

Because I started hurting later on, I didn't make them do anything really.  Delta found the leap-pad that has been stored for over a year.... and he found a matching book and cartridge, so I got out batteries, and he did that for a while.  Unfortunately the "Power-touch Baby" that we have isn't working right, so I couldn't let Echo use that....

 

I think that was about it.....   Delta pointed out a couple of birds though, and has mentioned wishing the leaves would come so he could have his leaf collection....

 

  

So Far

So far today:

 

We did scripture mastery, and I'm feeling that we are getting somewhere, so I've added a new scripture.   So that will be 3 we are working on - the new one every day, and the other 2 every other day.....     I don't think Delta and Echo could recite them on their own, but they definitely seem to know them pretty good for a repeat after me thing....

 

I did reading cards with Echo, and focused on the new letter that she is getting confused, and she did a bit better.   We also reviewed the really early ones.

 

For Delta's reading cards, because he wasn't too eager, I went to the really simple stuff (the cards Echo is working on) - and doing the "I bet you don't know this one..." and being astonished when he got it easily.... so he enjoyed that, and did a lot of the easy ones.   Near the end, I just did the last letter sound that he learned, which he is having a harder time with - and about 2 words that used it....

 

We also did violin practice - and Delta did good at playing his violin.   Echo sure knows the names of the violin parts!

Oh, and earlier Delta and Echo was colouring - and Delta's colouring is becoming more and more that he is either drawing things, or drawing letters.  He wrote out Stop again - he likes that word.... and he drew a couple of "monsters" - and I could see the monster there.   Until really recently, he would just scribble, so it is kind of nice to see it progress into something.

  

This and That

Delta did great at violin lesson, even though he hadn't practice nearly enough....  he got to play his violin!   And he focused pretty much the whole time, although he didn't want to do a few things (including singing "A" for some wierd reason....)

 

Morning was my baby circle - so the kids got to go to babysitting - apparently they played in the gym.   Afternoon was the violin lesson....

 

Late afternoon Delta was playing with his Lego ambulance, and made about 4 different race cars out of it!  (one at a time....) - they looked pretty good too!  So that is cool, I think he will be really good with Lego once he has more to work with!

 

Evening I did scripture mastery - I think they are getting pretty good with the 2nd one too....     Then we did reading cards.   Delta did a bunch (I was trying to review the new material with him...) - and he realized that some of the words are in "Hop on Pop".    I also had him read the first 3 sentences in the how-to-read book...  they are short sentences - and he seemed excited to go for it.    He then was "reading" Hop on Pop to himself - I think he is reading some, and going by memory some - but I think he is finding it satisfying....

 

Echo is doing good at blending (better than Delta)....  but is really confused by the last letter she learned...   And I'm not sure why....  So I'm trying to work mostly with that letter sound with her.   She was doing good, then started getting silly.... 

 

The weather is finally getting better, and a lot of the snow in the front yard is gone.... so we will see about getting out more.