This year I am only teaching Erika, Gunnar and Hakon...well Freydis and Sigrun too, since we all read together, write together, color together, etc... :) My baby girls...are now 17 and 16...working, driving, college...Where did the time go? Did we do it right? Are they everything they can be? Are they better than we are/were? Oh to be a parent......
Following Kell AOR's lead...don't know if she reads my blog, but thought I would credit her anyway!
Success!!! Gunnar tells me after reading March of the Titans, DK World History, and finally outlines, does map work, discusses with me, and fills in his time line...........dramatic pause...... This is really fun! (?!)
Wow!! Fun!! Yay!!
Success!!! Hakon flying through math! He has been really sporadic in Math, so I sped him up to get him through some easy stuff to get to the meat. He responds awesomely.
Success!!! Reading Huckleberry Finn. So every school year we read a couple Classics. We do choral reading which means from Hakon to Astrid we each read that which we are capable. Hakon reads a small paragraph of two, Gunnar, Erika, Astrid, and I all read a page. Each day we complete a whole chapter. After a few months we complete a book--TOGETHER. It has been such a positive experience. We laugh...argue...discuss....it is by far my favorite part of education. We have read Treasure Island, Moby Dick, Journey to the Center of the Earth, 20K Leagues Under the Sea, Kidnapped, and now Huckleberry Finn.
If you want to read this Novel with your kids...only read it if your children are good readers. It is written in the vernacular language of the era. It is difficult for me to read with the poor grammar, slang, slave slang, etc... let alone a new reader. But man...what a FUN book. I mean just plain ol' FUN. The boys thoroughly LOVE reading about a boy that is much like them (the rough and tumble boyish fun that boys in the era had). Building forts, being outlaws, playing guns, etc... The have said more than once expressed how much they wanted to live with those kids....LOL. --the seeds of emasculation of boys, that is for another post. There are some very serious parts as well....severe child abuse, but also empowerment of children. Great stuff.
Challenge!! My boys' writing...man oh man...these boys can't use a capital or punctuation to save their lives!!!! Capitals where they shouldn't, scrunching their words up so a sentence is one long word... ACK!!
Challenge!! Home schooling with Toddlers....I forgot how difficult that was. Freydis was such a little "do it herself" but now that there are two...it is a pack of toddlers...they run in packs you know. We call them hurricane Freydis and tsunami Sigrun...they hit a room, nothin' is left standing. Redirection...Redirection...confinement (playpen)...redirection... :)
Challenge!! Juggling my horrid schedule....wake up...work out (Thank the Gods for Kettlebells and Pilates!)...drive to class...breakfast...school...drive and pick up...school...drive and drop off at work....school....pick up...school....work....dinner....hit all the lists I moderate....baths...clean up ..... BED!!! And that is Monday. :-/
Is it worth it? Why not just put them in public school, daycare, preschool, etc...? Why not get a lucrative job? Why not just worry about me...us...? Because there are things that are more important.
2 comments:
I have a blog here, too, but I only started using it recently. I think blogs have replaced chocolate:D
Regarding Astrid and Thora, when you have raised kids that others (i.e. ME!) are immensely proud of then you must have done something right.
All your kids will grow up fine, well rounded individuals.
With you and Asrekyr that is all they can be.
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