•6:30 AM
This concludes one week of our family being back into the routine of homeschool. I wish our Christmas decorations were already put away but they're not. We have always kept them up until Epiphany as a tradition, and for some reason, Epiphany seems to land right after a weekend. So this Saturday will be the big cleanup day, and although my kids do mourn the dismantling of the Christmas tree (as I did when I was younger) it will feel good to have that extra space left in the family room!
DH has taken it upon himself to rebuild the engine of our tractor. Now for those of you who have read this blog from the beginning, you know about our tractor woes, and how cutting the grass in the summer can stretch out into an all weekend affair. Well, DH promises that this shall be no more, after all his expense, effort, and hours in the garage, and I trust him that he is right. If there is anything he can do, it is to fix up an old engine.
Calvert's fourth grade is definitely harder and more work. On the negative side, they have rewritten their math course for this year, and we encountered the first "disconnect" in that program. We have used Calvert math from Pre-K with Little Son, and although he has had to work hard at it, he has always scored very well on the Calvert A.T.S. tests.
But here in fourth grade, one of the very first concepts has thrown him completely. The concept is converting the "name" of numbers up through the millions. So for example, if they tell you a number is 406 ten thousands, you should be able to convert that to standard number form. This is the first time that I don't feel that Calvert has done an adequate job in teaching this concept, and I have had to take over from there. So, I think he knows it now, but we are out of practice problems for him to demonstrate this skill. We shall see. I hope it isn't an indication of the entire school year!
On the positive side, though, both children love getting up earlier to hear me read and interpret a chapter of the gospel of John for them. They truly love to hear about the life of Jesus. And we are already enjoying A Child's History of the World 
for world history and Robinson Crusoe for reading. We like the way these books are written, and they have definitely sparked Little Son's interest.
And, blessedness for me, Baby Girl still loves to do her first grade work, especially math. She just whips through the math pages, and would keep working through the book if I allowed her. This is a huge relief for me!
Admittedly, lessons do take a long time to accomplish fully each day. I begin with Little Son around 8:45 by introducing each subject lesson to him. Then I cut him loose to do his independent work by anywhere between 10:30 and noon. (yesterday it was noon because of a composition and a science experiment). This is the time when I work through the entire lesson with Baby Girl.
But it can still take several hours for Little Son to say he's "finished" with his independent work, mostly due to daudling, having a long lunch in between, and seeking out any interruption that he can. But, at least I am not sitting with him while this happens, so I am maintaining my sanity. Hopefully it will click with him one day that the only way to get the work done is to stay focused and do it!
Oh, and did I mention that we go through a couple of iterations of my marking mistakes and he supplying corrections?
All in all, no complaints here -- I am just adjusting to it all!
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5 comments:
I approach teaching the 2 boys a little differently. I start Ryan on his math, because he usually gets it a bit easier, then I start with Mark. Mark's in 4th grade, but he's using 5th grade Calvert math, so I don't know about the disconnect you mentioned. Anyway, I start first one, then the other, and go back and forth between encouraging and supervising each of them. Then I have them both do spelling at the same time. After that, I'll start first one, then the other on each subject, and they have to do their individual work before we move on to the next subject. One advantage is that they learn to wait if I'm tied up with the other, and the other is that there's less opportunity for dawdling. Of course, we have a quick snack break after the spelling, and they play with Thor for 15 minutes or so. If it's a long day, we take lunch, otherwise, we plow through and they get afternoons off. Even with 4th and 7th grades going on, it rarely takes more than 4 hours.
They share Science experiments. Ryan always supervises Mark's, and Mark joins in Ryan's even if he doesn't understand it. I think it's good for both of them - refreshes Ryan's memory, gets Mark's curiosity up a little for more advanced work, and teaches them to cooperate, as a side benefit.
I'm so glad that overall you like Calvert 4th grade. I'm looking forward to your updates!
Thanks for your comments and encouragement, Marjii. I think it is wonderful that you can be done in 4 hours. I think that your boys must be a lot more mature than my children, because your youngest is a bit older than my oldest. I still have problems with my two sharing the same room when doing work together, i.e. "she's making noise again", "don't breath so loud, you're distracting me", and storming out of the room saying "I'm going to my room where I can think without HER around!". I long for a model of doing school as you describe. But right now, I am having to survive by blocking my attention with each child, eldest first, then youngest. Baby Girl has to wait until I have rolled out all the subjects with my son before I even begin with her at all. The good thing is that my part in doing that is done within 4 hours. Then, it is up to my son to finish his independent work, mostly without me (except for questions and corrections). I wish I could get them to work cooperatively together in the same room, not to mention the same table. Only on the VERY best days can I achieve that. Thanks again!!
Oh, yes, have you had the statement, "She's looking at me again!!!" Yeah, it happens. I've had the boys working together from the 1st grade for Mark & 4th for Ryan, but Ryan is very mellow for the most part, and this is what I've expected from them. I also find that Thor helps the situation, because one or another of the boys can go sit on the floor with him for a couple of minutes when they have a break. Every group of kids is different, and it's a challenge to figure out how to work them. If you're lucky, you'll be able to get your kids to work in the same room, even if they aren't facing each other, and that will make your life so much easier!
I do like hearing how you and your son and daughter like the course. Have fun!
Interesting reading- not just the post, but the conversation above. :-) It always takes some time to figure out what works as far as teaching more than one kid. Mine do have to be in separate rooms now for their independent work, tho that has not always been the case. And I too often find it helpful to focus on one child at a time while the other works independently (except for the things we do together, like history).
Hope the math works out for LS! If not, can you switch?- will Calvert let you buy everything *except* math from them? I have started all my kids on the same math program but ended up switching 2 of them to another around 4th grade, with very positive results, b/c they just weren't getting it w/the other curriculum.
Ah, the first week back. I had to give myself permission (on Thursday) to just accept that we weren't going to get through everything on my extensive list this week. I can so relate to your Little Son taking forever to get his independent work done. My Sweetling loves to work independently, but I feel that she can just get lost staring off into space. With her, I have a small timer that she sets for 15 or 20 minutes (depending on what she's working on.) Sometimes knowing she has a discreet amount of time to work helps her stay focused enough to complete a task.