Sunday, March 8, 2009

School Daze

Oh, about a week ago I promised pictures of us doing school when I posted pictures of some of our organizational systems. Better late than never? I have a few excuses, and they're even good ones, but I'll spare you and get to the point.


JW studying his Yo, Millard Fillmore book, a sequenced cartoon picture-recognition method of memorizing the presidents in order (you really have to see it to understand; sorry for my awkward explanation)


MA working in her Miquon book with her Cuisenaire Rods


Figured out the answer!



And afterwards, she got to free-play with the rods. This second one is the L family, ex-pat friends here in town. Two of the children are being held, hence their "flotation" in the air, according to MA. The two older girls' ages even correspond to the value of the rods used to make them.


MS moved to the dining table to work at some point this day, since he had a sore throat and wanted some hot tea. We have been choosing to work in the Family Area most recently, but I didn't want to risk the tea spilling.


Meanwhile, ZL played on the computer.


And read books.


And ML fixed the washing machine. (Yay Daddy!)


And, as a treat, I let them all listen to their memorization songs at the same time (they normally listen individually) while drinking cocoa (we had a late-season cold snap that week). Notice how far I had them sitting from the computer. :-/

For a more detailed description of our school day, read this post. Today was more a visual tour. :-)

8 comments:

Tara B. said...

I love getting peaks into others schools and homes, thanks for sharing!

CynthiaK said...

I'm so impressed with parents who homeschool. It must take so much discipline and organization. It looks like there are a lot of interesting tools out there now, though.

Thanks for giving a peak!

Grateful for Grace said...

Tell me about Miquon math. I think Faith needs something a little more visual and hands on than Saxon.


Looks like a fun day. I want to school at your home!

mideastmom said...

Thanks, Tara. I should have put a tribute to everyone who's ever written on the Sonlight boards. I have gleaned *so* many tidbits that make up our day!

Cynthia, let's just say I'm equally impressed with parents who do/are committed to getting kids up and out the door to school each morning. :-) And, yes, one of the biggest challenges of homeschooling these days is choosing between all of the excellent materials. :-P

GfG, I'll wax eloquent about Cuisenaire rods over Indian, how 'bout? Seriously, I'll fill you in on our experience. MS is almost done with the series, so I've gotten a broad look at it. And you know, don't you, that, if you went to school at my home, there is no play dough or painting, right? :-P

Grateful for Grace said...

DEAL! Do you decide when for Indian?

Uhhh... I think the tradeoff of no painting/play dough for your teaching would be sooooo worth it!

Missus Wookie said...

I actually paid an artist friend to come and do messy play while I went and dealt with accounts :shudder:

Thanks for the glimpses and yep my kids would have been that far away with drinks too...

Becky said...

Love it!! I read your side bar several times before I "got" the ENFJ.... you would think that after 18mo of training that it would have "clicked" sooner. I'll have to look it up and "discover" more about you :}

PS. INFJ Oldest as well ;)

mideastmom said...

GfG, I e-mailed you about Indian Planning (not nearly as bad as Indian Relocation, even though it sounds similar), and I'd love to have you in our school. Start saving! (The school is free, but you're responsible for transportation.)

W, if there was only someone in the area, I would *totally* do that. I'm just hoping that my children won't end up too, too unbalanced. And I'm asking my mil to do things like that with them while we're in the States. :-)

ForesterClan, I'm actually almost exactly 50/50 I and E, so that explains why I keep resonating with your posts! :-P