Weekly Report 3/22-3/26

Every time I write the dates for the weekly report I really think about how they should include the weekends because learning does not only happen on weekdays! I wonder why I am so rigid and somehow feel it is improper to include all the dates of the week? Boy, am I silly with my nonsensical internal struggles!

Last weekend I read a great book on Unschooling, called Homeschooling our Children, Unschooling Ourselves by Alison McKee. I highly recommend it. So I was really in an unschoolish mode this week. We did nothing mommy directed on Monday. I didn't even bother to keep a record each day, which is what I usually do because my memory is too poor and I don't seem to be organized enough to recall what we've done any other way. So this week, what occurred? Let me think!

• Lots and lots and lots of discussion about politics generated by the passing of the health care reform bill.
• Further discussion, planning, trigonometry and building of the dollhouse. Design changes are being made to the original plan which generates much thought. I think not one but two trips were taken to Once Upon a Time, our favorite toy/dollhouse store.
• Lots of playing with puppets.
  
• Lots of playing outdoors when the weather was nice during the week.
• Still lots of jumping rope. B and I played basketball some.
• Lots of discussions about good and bad animation and stop motion techniques. S seems fascinated with all the mechanical aspects of this. We watched Fantastic Mr. Fox which is a really funny, well done movie and S was able to analyze in great detail about the quality of the production.
• R started reading The Doll's House by Rumer Godden to B. S is without a read aloud right now from R. I'm still reading Theater Shoes by Noel Streatfield. It leads to discussion about WWII, since it is set there. Lots of references to 'coupons' and rationing.
• W decided S was old enough to watch Invader Zim, so he's been doing a lot of that.
• S didn't go to piano lesson on Monday. He came to me and begged me not to make him go. He was ashamed he had not done any practicing and he was supposed to know his pieces perfectly. W overheard this and made a deal with S: if you practice your pieces every day and learn all your major and minor scales, he would buy S some comic book he's been longing for. Deal made and S has been playing piano beautifully and working hard on his music theory. Sometimes big brothers are so great!
  
• I finally read about the Louisiana Purchase to B and S. But I didn't get our other regularly schedule readings in.
  
• B has been working through Math It. She's got her addition facts down and now she's on the Double It section.
• S learned about adding and subtracting mixed numbers.
• They did some WWE and cursive practice. And a little bit of spelling/phonics
  
• J finished The Fellowship of the Ring and is now reading The Two Towers.
• J went to his second 4H shooting class. He loves it. His new love, firearms. Oh dear.
  
• W is off in his own world. He is busy though, practicing and writing music. On his own he found out about a full scholarship to Berklee's 5 week program which he's going to attend. You have to send in an MP3 recording. He listened to the winners last year and he's decided he has a chance. So he's been practicing and recording that. He got the bass line recorded.
• W and J went to their CLC meeting on Wed.
  
• We went to Latin class Tuesday. The 3rd declension is a monster! Lots of homework to do over the weekend and on Monday. W borrowed a Teaching Co. lecture series from the Latin teacher (who is also very into music; she sings in a Latin choir). W's been watching that.
  
• B and S went to VT
• S had his (late) 11 yo check up with the dr and had to get 3 shots. He was very brave.
• I led our Little Flowers group that B is in. We did the Stations of the Cross and then painted crosses. S got to play with Jack during this time.
• This week J finished reading Book 1 and started Book 2 of the Aeneid. He did some dictation. We watched the next lecture in How the Earth Works on the water cycle. He also watched the next lecture in Foundations of Western Civ on the Hebrews. Great lecture. I made J take notes while watching. We also watched more Teaching the Classics about the Socractic method. J also finally made it back to the math tutor. The tutor decided just to focus on bad habits that J had gotten into that cause him to make errors, even though he gets the concepts right away. She didn't give him any homework. The poor guy has to move around a lot still because of his back. It's only been 4 weeks since the surgery. But he sits for a while and then he gets uncomfortable so he stands and then he wants to lie down for a while. . . the tutor was so distressed at his discomfort! He just can't ever seem to find a comfortable position.
  
• Today (Friday) W went to his music comp. class. We have Socratic Discussion for J, and B and S have art club - we are going to learn about Medieval Heraldry, St. Louis of France, and we're going to make our own coat of arms. We also have the homeschool groups' last game day at the library this afternoon and the kids said they wanted to go to it. J and I want to play Made for Trade.
• R and I are going to see Porgy and Bess tonight at the Kennedy Center. I am so excited!