Whatcha Doin' In School Lately?

 Well. Let's see.

In Math, Rugrat has been learning her addition and writing 'math sentences.' Math is usually a pretty quick lesson for her. She has had days but it is usually not an issue with the content as much as that she decides to be stubborn.

In Phonics, I am still amazed at how she zooms through the lessons. At the beginning of last year, 50 minute lessons were taking us 2 1/2 hours. By the end of the year, she was tearing through them though and that has continued to be the case. Vocabulary still remains her easiest and fastest subject. And Handwriting is just about where I would expect it to be for her age. If she focuses, she can write quite neatly, however, she likes to zoom through it which means sloppy, sloppy, sloppy. So I usually have to hover some and remind her to slow down.

Literature is probably our toughest subject. I have begun to dread it every day despite fighting that urge. I really don't understand that. All she has to do is listen to the story and answer the comprehension questions. But as soon as I start reading, she kind of zones out into her own little world. She still loves asking us to read to her at night. And if she reads it, she seems to comprehend. But when we read stories in school, forget it. I've been trying some different strategies but none have worked well yet.

It didn't stop her from getting excited when I mentioned she might get to make a paper bag owl like Ramona did though. And now, about halfway through that book, she seems to be picking up a few things a little better. We'll see how the rest goes though.

In the same area, I 'm really excited that she gets to participate in the Book It program. Both Chick and Dude loved this program when they were in elementary. We've set a goal and she gets to start as of today. I can't wait for her to earn her first one and get to use it.

In History right now, we're talking about Egypt and the Nile river. She's enjoying that because for our Bible lesson, we've been talking about Joseph (who is currently in Egypt) so she frequently makes the statement "like we talked about" while doing those lessons.

In Science, we've been covering the states of matter. She seems to have no problems with that. She's even made the jump a few times to making a conclusion that I was sure would take much more prompting and hinting than it did. Her interest in science is probably for the best if she truly wants to be a doctor.

 Social Studies this year seems to be more of a good citizenship course. We only are required to do one lesson per week so it hasn't made much of an impression yet.

Art is the subject she truly gets excited about. She always expects to have a project to do and usually isn't disappointed. (That's another one that I like to get done and out of the way for the week though. Is that terrible of me? It has more to do with time, I think, than anything else. I like to get as much done in the morning before I leave for work as we can. I can't really tell how much time Art will take so it's hard to plan for.)

Also, I still think the Art lessons are awfully advanced for her age. I felt the same last year. And I just don't feel like she gets much out of it other than getting to do the project. But I suppose that's okay.

Really, I try to remember that a lot of the course work she does at this age is intended to be introductory. Phonics and Math are the big focus. She definitely remembers a lot from other subjects, both this year and last, but I try not to get to concerned about the finer details. We work towards the big ideas -- like I've been encouraged to do.

School this year has been much more enjoyable than last year's beginning.We are doing better and were able to step right back into the groove of things. She was excited to begin and seems to look forward getting started each day. There are still good days and bad but I truly feel like we've made the right decision for her schooling for the time being. And I think it shows in all she's learned.