Our First Month of First Grade... At a glance!

I can't believe we've already got a month in the bag!  We've found our rhythm and next week begin our HomeConnection classes... The Crew is really looking forward to this, especially their Lego class where they'll build motorized Lego projects with a local science teacher.  Personally, I'm more excited about the fact that it won't be happening on my dining room table!  Those little pieces drive me nuts when I step on them!

Well, as promised, here's a quick 'sum up' of and 'stand out' moments for week four!

Phonics:  We are so close to completing this curriculum!  It's called Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading.  I was drawn to it originally because a) I AM an ordinary parent and b) I AM interested in teaching my boys to read... PERFECT!  I can't say enough about this particular phonics based program though.  It's the reason that my boys are reading so well at the age of six.  I remember starting this with them in Alabama in front of our little magnetic board/easel when they were four.  That first day they looked at me like I was crazy... Most likely thinking, "Um, right.  Of course A goes /a/ lady.  We knew that when we were like TWO!" or maybe it was more like "Just humor her brother... maybe she'll go away and let us play if we say /a/ enough times."  Either way, it worked.  I am Ordinary, hear me ROAR!!

Math: Check.  Horizons is in a bit of a review phase for their first grade workbooks and thus far it's been a good review, but review none the less.  The boys are whipping thru it each day and I'm sure that soon we'll have to slow down for new concepts, but for now?  Zoooom baby!

Language Arts/Writing/Grammar/Spelling:  I love how the four curriculum I use here are working in tandem with one another.  This week we memorized a new poem, went over common nouns and proper nouns, identified each in a sentence as well as where to use commas, periods, and capital letters.  We narrated stories, wrote out copy work sentences, had four spelling tests (10 words each test, so far a 100% average on accuracy!) and wrote our full names out from memory.  It was a writing 'heavy' week, but we managed to get thru just fine!  We also finished one of my all time favorites, "Charlotte's Web".  We've been reading a chapter a night for the last four weeks and reviewing vocabulary from it the next day.  Full disclosure: I cried when Charlotte died.  Again.  Age 38.  Still crying.  Embarrassing.

History:  LOVED this week in history.  We're talking Ancient Egyptians.  Sumerians.  Hieroglyphics.  Cuneiform alphabet.  Mummies.  Pyramids.  Wars between Pharaohs.  Treasure.  This is some exciting stuff people!  BONUS:  Major score on National Geographic doing a whole Egyptian discovery week!  The boys now believe Egypt to be covered with gold treasure buried just beneath the sand. ( Note to self: Put passports under lock and key to hinder their escape.)

Readers:  Go west young man and ride the Pony Express!  We've been reading a pretty advanced story this week.  I wasn't sure if I should turn it into a 'read aloud' or not, but the boys have not had much of a problem.  The biggest thing that threw them off was the hyphen at the end of the sentence and the word 'wrapping' around.  Other than that?  Cowboys.  Indians.  Horses.  What else does a boy need to be interested in a story?

Bonus material:  We have had fun watching our Rivers Nile grow 'reeds' and we continue to flood them every few days.  Not sure what to do with a pan full of dirt, stones, and grass... but for now, the delta floweth!  Also, managed to find a reason to actually let Playdoh dry out.  We've carved our names into our 'clay tablets' just as the Sumerians did and have set them out to dry.  Thousands of years from now scientists will wonder how ancient Sumerians got their hands on Playdoh. 

That's it for now... Fair Winds fellow travellers!