Saturday, August 11, 2012

Weekly Wrap-Up



Our first week of school was very interesting. Our apartment building has been having a pest problem. So, we spent the whole week at my grandmother's house. I grabbed everything I thought I would need for our lessons but I was wrong. I brought a bunch of books we never opened and left a lot of things we needed. I made a lot of silly mistakes this week... 

On the first day, I read our history book but instead of reading pages 2 and 9, I began to read pages 2 through 9. I got to the end of the first chapter and realized I had to have made a mistake. Sure enough, I had read 2 days worth of history in one day. Oops. 

I also had the wrong book for my 8yo's reading assignment. I ended up having to improvise. We made an emergency run to the library. We picked up Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling. 

My 6yo is reading a Scooby-Doo phonics set. It was not what I chose. I wanted to read the old Dick and Jane books but after a small fight I decided that if he is reading, I should be happy... and at least he is not reading, "Dick" everyday... I am terrible, I know.

Math turned out to be my biggest mistake. When I bought my 8yo's math curriculum the author told me that the manipulatives I bought with it were all I would ever need aside from a few household items. I brought the math book and bag of manipulatives thinking I had everything I needed... I was wrong. Day 1 required 600 toothpicks or straws and rubber bands. I made an emergency trip to the store and found 100 straws for $1 or 250 toothpicks for 50¢. I got the toothpicks because I am a bargain shopper. The math lesson required grouping the toothpicks into tens and hundreds using the rubber bands. It was NUTS! I dare anyone to try it. Toothpicks are small and sharp. They kept poking us and snapping in  half. We were both ready to rip our hair out. Later, when I told my sister in law the story she suggested buying straws and cutting them. DOH! She is so smart. Can you tell she was homeschooled? 

Other than that, the week went smooth. We are enjoying our curriculum. Next week I will read the lesson plans and have the materials before we start. 

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