Week 15, day 3

I've labelled today Week 15, day 3 in order to track with the week of Sonlight Language Arts we're doing. We'll basically finish Week 15 of language arts tomorrow, and I'll just fill in with other stuff for the rest of the week, but I know if I label this week 16 while doing week 15 in the schedule, I'll confuse myself more than pregnancy brain is confusing me already.

Bible (Catechism, Bible story, memory verse): We reviewed 2 memory verses and read about how Jesus turned water into wine. The story started with a description of Jesus calling his disciples and telling the fishermen that he would make them "fishers of men", so I taught the kids the song "I will make you fishers of men if you follow me".

Calendar (Update day of week and date of month, record weather and temperature): It's warmed up after 3 days of 20-degree nights and highs in the 30s and 40s. The kids were happy to call 58 degrees "cool" instead of "cold".

Handwriting: I had P do a worksheet of the letter "d", to practice starting it in the right place. She did it beautifully, but then when she tried to form a "b" she formed it the same way as the "d". I know it's normal for kids her age to struggle with reversals, so we'll just keep working on it.

Language Arts: P was slow and unwilling to trace her copywork, but when I stopped paying attention to her she did it more readily. She read the week's reader more easily than last time, and didn't guess at all. We played "letter sound pick-up", where letter cards for the letters learned to date were placed on the table and the kids took turns picking up the card that the word I said started with.

E's "school": We read "The Tortoise and the Hare" and "The Three Little Pigs" from The Tall Book of Nursery Tales. The kids enjoyed "The Three Little Pigs" so much that I had to read it twice.

Math (5-a-day, other activities): P was very slow to do her 5-a-day, and had a nearly impossible time staying focused on it. I wonder if giving her a time limit and a sticker or something if she finishes before the timer goes off will help her - I'm going to try to remember to do this tomorrow. I made sure today's problems were not too hard, and as soon as she actually thought about each problem she was able to do it, so I think she just needs something to keep her focused so it doesn't take up 30 minutes, 25 of which involve her changing positions on her chair, getting up and running around, twirling her pencil around until it rolls under the bookshelf and then having to retrieve it, etc.

Geography and/or science: We didn't do any of this, unless listening to the midwife check the baby's heartbeat at the home visit counts. We didn't start school until afternoon because of the home visit in the morning (mainly for the midwife to get familiar with where everything is and discuss my birth plan, but she also gave me my weekly checkup).

Other: My mother-in-law made marshmallows with the kids, and they decorated them with sprinkles, chocolate, and nuts. Then they hand-delivered platefuls to both next-door neighbours and some friends who live nearby. Fortunately, there are still some left over for us to enjoy as well.