Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Long time no post. Again. Yes, I'm terrible at this.

February has been a month of history blocks. Evil Genius is doing Norse mythology which is one of my favorite blocks ever, and Hufflepuff is working through Roman history. We're racing to meet the end of the month with the fall of Rome so that our final history block this year can be Medieval. (My Chaucer passion is driving this.)

Norse has been fun. He already knew most of the stories, has read Odd and the Frost Giants twice now (once listening to the book on cd when his sister was doing Norse), and we're reading Runemarks by Joanne Harris together. He's also reading the Time Warp Trio Viking-themed book, and still working through My Side of the Mountain. Up next on his reading list: Call of the Wild, which I think he's going to love. Every time discussion of Norse blocks come up in Waldorf circles, there always seems to be reference to how beautifully the conflict of it meets the needs of the child at that age, and with EG, I'm seeing this in spades. He is so in the midst of that butting heads stage, and these stories are stimulating and calming at once, I think.

Hufflepuff loves Roman History, and I'm loving the chance to finally delve into some serious Art History along with it. That was the subject of my little-used degree, so it's as if the student loans are finally worth something. Her writing has improved tremendously, and she's filling pages in her main lesson book this year. Last year it was a struggle to get her past the first few sentences.

Things I wish I had more time for: main lesson book drawings. Sadly, the kids are left to their own devices with these more often than I want to admit, as I need to run after the three year-old or prepare the next lesson, or deal with some volunteer responsibility. They're doing a fine job, but I long for enough time to sit down and really draw with them. Form drawing has also been pushed aside when we're running late or in a hurry, and I'm sad about this. I need to make more time for that. Also, you would think that with Roman history, I would have been able to work in Latin practice more often. But alas, I have not.

Homeschool science fair at the end of the month. Both projects are weather-related.

Up next month: Physics for grade 6, and Human Beings and the Animal World for grade 4.

Her Royal Highness is thriving in public school. It is totally her element. She lucked out this year with a fabulous teacher and a really great class. The only problem is that it tethers the rest of us to the school year schedule, which has been a bit of a challenge in terms of getting things done. If we start late in the day, the end of school comes before we're finished with lessons, and the chaos that ensues throws us right off course. As always, I suppose, our schedule is a work in progress.

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