Week 16, day 3

Today's weather was beautiful - perfectly clear and mid-70s. Once we got home from CBS, the kids played outside with my mother-in-law while I took a nap (Baby doesn't believe in my getting a full night's sleep any more, and if meaningless contractions don't keep me awake till 1am, they wake me up at 5am). Once I woke up, I decided that if school was going to happen today (it didn't yesterday) it would have to be outside. The kids loved this change in routine.

Bible: While P and E swung on the swings, I reviewed the week's memory verse and catechism with them. We then read the story of the feeding of the 5,000.

Calendar: We observed that the weather was warm and clear, but didn't record it or look at the actual temperature, because that would have involved going inside. The kids were not interested in any activity that took them inside at this stage of the game.

Handwriting: I had P trace her copywork, lying on the porch and pressing on a book. It turned out fairly well despite her unconventional position. I did not work on the b/d reversal difficulties with her, because I wasn't prepared to haul the chalkboard outside!

Language Arts: P read her reader while sitting on the swing, and did so accurately and fluently. Having her read the same book every day of the week is helping her gain confidence, and I'm glad Sonlight suggested it because I wouldn't have thought of it.

We played a letter matching game, in which I spread out the capital and lowercase letters the kids have learned so far and had them pick up matching pairs. Once each of them had 6 letter pairs (including a vowel each), I suggested that we play at making words. E was quite able to read the words I made for him, and seemed to enjoy reading "bat", "cat", "ham", and "mat". P made some real and some original words, and found it funny when I accurately read her made-up words.

Math: P dawdled a little on her 5-a-day, but the suggestion that she complete it inside renewed her attention. Once she was done, she wanted to play store, and that ended up happening inside. E didn't join us, because he was watching Ari in the garage working on his telescope tracking machine. The sky is so clear, Ari couldn't bear to have his tracking machine working less than perfectly. P has gotten pretty good at playing store when the prices are easily made with the coins she has in her hand, so I introduced the concept of making change. I explained it in terms of "trading down" - you have a nickel, and trade it down for 5 pennies, and now you can buy that 4 cent item and have a penny left. She seemed to grasp it pretty well, but it'll need a lot of practice before she's confident.

E's "school": When P and I were winding up our "store" game, E came in and tearfully said, "You didn't do any of my school!" So I read him "Make Way for Ducklings" (P was outside again at this point) and "The Three Javelinas" (both kids loved this one, as did I - if they demand a daily reading, it will not drive me insane). I then revisited the "yes/no statements" game: "Cars drive in the ocean", "E has green hair and brown eyes", etc. (I once had green hair and brown eyes, but I don't know if my kids are aware of this).

Geography and/or science: Nothing formal of this nature occurred, though my mother-in-law was including the kids in some serious garden work when I got up from my nap. We also discussed the adventures of their uncle and aunt, who are currently becalmed in the Sargasso Sea in their 30-foot sailboat but just caught a 3.5-foot mahi mahi on a line without a fishing rod. Some of my "yes/no" statements with E also covered science topics: "It's summer here," "It's summer in South Africa," "Penguins live in the jungle." We received postcards that my parents sent from their trip to South Africa over Christmas, and talked about how the seasons are opposite in the Southern Hemisphere. Thanks, Mom and Dad - the kids enjoyed the postcards.