I'm so happy to be back to lessons! There is meaningful interaction between my children and myself. I have a schedule and get so much more done each day. The children are happy too. I always forget how awful breaks are until we get back on track. Y'all, I've prepared meals this week. Several of them. From a recipe. The rain dimmed the light yesterday so we worked by candlelight. I baked a fragrant gingerbread for snack and it was oh, so pleasant and peaceful if you gloss over the baby waking up early from her nap screaming, the phone ringing non stop with sales calls, the children bickering loudly while I'm trying to get in the very briefest of chats with my sister re: the saga of what to do with my leftover cabbage. (Aside: I could not love my siblings more. My brother, upon spending a bit of time here at 'as cozy as spring' emailed me, "Your photos are excellent. They make up for so much that is lacking on your blog." Priceless.)
My son has been zipping through his lessons so we decided to focus on his one problem area; memory and comprehension. We added Classically Catholic Memory to our curriculum. I'm very pleased so far. You know, three days into it. Mostly, I'm happy to be able to incorporate more science into our week. I had seriously dropped the ball on formal science this autumn. The program is sort of simplistic but provides a great jumping off point for further work. Because I'm super cheap, I only ordered the student manual. I wish I could have talked myself into the whole program because I think it would be much more effective, but come on. It's right after Christmas. I'm not splurging on anything less necessary than bathroom tissue right now.
So the plan for him is memory work, narration, and dictation through the spring. He's an excellent reader for his age and math has never been any problem. It's been fascinating to watch him learn and see how he processes information differently than his sister. She's a total pro at narrating but wasn't always. I feel confident that this is a learned skill and that he will pick it up in time.
