Weekly Wrap--Up 12-03-10

Watching Liberty Kids

This was a smooth week.  We worked all five days, instead of four as we recently had been doing.  With new plans in place till Christmas, we had a more relaxing schedule.  Laura, in fact, was often finished with school by noon or one in the afternoon.

In Math Laura made great progress this week.  She finished one pace and began another.  We are still using ACE math.  For Laura, it is working.  I have played with the idea of switching, but am hesitant to do so at this point in time when ACE is working so well for her.  It progresses in a steady pace, with lots of review... some of which we skip because of our use of flashcards.  With skipped pages, we sometimes move faster through the paces.  However, I also slow down with new concepts with Laura so she can take her time and fully grasp them.  We've done that occasionally recently with fractions and some of the long division concepts. 

Laura is steadily working her way through Finding the Constellations with the Heart of Dakota lesson plans.  She likes the study.  I skipped an experiment this week just to make sure she can finish the book by Christmas, and she got mad and let me know that skipping experiments was not an option.  She said she'd just read double on a different day.

For Language Arts, we started using Learning Language Arts Through Literature this week.  I was a little nervous because the program has received so many negative reviews.  I agreed with how Ruth Beechick says to teach grammar, though, and decided to give this curriculum based on her principles a try.  So far, Laura loves it.  Compared to the workbook, drill and kill approach she has been using, this is a breath of fresh air for her.  We haven't started a book study though.  I skipped Farmer Boy because Laura has already read the book.  Instead, I think we will read Mr. Popper's Penguins after Christmas to go with the Everyday Words section of the program.  Trumpet of the Swans is coming up for a book study too.  With all that we will be reading with HOD, the ACE readers I own and want to use, and missionary stories, I think I fear we will overdo it rather than not have enough quality reading.

Heart of Dakota uses Dictation to teach spelling.  I may use that next year as we get more into the Charlotte Mason principles.  This year, though, I am using the dictation passages for copywork.  Copywork is a powerful learning tool, and I want Laura to practice this for awhile.  It isn't to practice her handwriting, though I do ask her to do her best.  I have her working on copywork to get all the benefits of writing good literature... the spelling, the grammar, and the exposure to well composed work.  If LLATL works for us, though, I may add dictation to strengthen the spelling and grammar portion, or I may keep doing copywork for awhile for the benefits.

History has been fun and a little different for Laura this week.  On top of reading about Noah Webster and Abraham Lincoln, I have decided to have Laura watch the entire series of Liberty Kids on Netflix.  So, every day she gets to sit and watch two or three episodes.  Megan is usually right by her side enjoying the historical cartoon series on our computer.  I don't usually veer towards cartoons for school... even kind of educational ones.  However, the reviews have been amazing.  If I can add a little fun to Laura's learning by letting her have a visual experience for a couple weeks, then it just might pay off in the end.  War is always a difficult topic to teach to children, and the Revolutionary War is no exception.  However, Liberty Kids was written to entice younger viewers while still portraying history.

The last couple weeks before Christmas will look like this one.  I have a lighter schedule planned as I work out the details for next semester.