Wrapping Up Week 7 (2014-15)

Posted on August 29, 2014 by Deanna

Our seventh week of school didn’t look much like any other week. The boys spent their mornings at a music camp, where they learned a bit of music theory, how to play hand chimes, and did various other activities. It was a fun taste of what Fridays are going to look like for them this fall, and because of the schedule, I dropped most of our regular school activities. Here’s what we did get around to this week:

Literature/Ambleside Online

I tried to get most of our Ambleside Online, Year 1 reading done even though our mornings were taken. This was the first week we’ve spent any time with Shakespeare. We’re using Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb. I have a beautiful old hardcover edition that I purchased as a child (yes, I’ve always been a book lover), which made it extra special.

Ian enjoyed “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” more than I thought he would. There are so many characters and plot lines to keep straight, and I took a break after every few paragraphs to have him narrate back to me or else just to help explain what happened if he couldn’t figure it out. Eventually I got out four of Arianna’s dollhouse figurines to represent Hermia, Helena, Lysander, and Demetrius. By using the dolls to act out what was happening, Ian was able to follow the story well and laugh at the crazy mix-ups and silly moments. After we had read the story, we watched the version from the Shakespeare: The Animated Tales series. Overall, I’d say it was a successful first exposure to Shakespeare!

Extras

This week was all about “Extras,” with music obviously taking the majority of our time. (I normally teach both boys piano, but I let them have a break from it this week since they were already getting so much music at camp.) They both really enjoyed playing the hand chimes and creating music with a big group. I’m so thankful for this opportunity!

We also spent some time on Spanish, though I tried something new to fit in with our week’s schedule. We started listening to De Colores and Other Latin American Folksongs, a CD from José-Luis Orozco. Ian followed along in the companion book the first time, but my goal this week was just to get everyone familiar with the songs. I’m hoping to develop some lessons plans to go with some of the songs to help the kids get the most of our time listening to them in the future.

Preschool!

One of my favorite things about this week was getting to spend some time with Arianna doing some of the “preschool” things I did so much of with Ian (and to a lesser extent, Elijah). I really don’t do a lot of intentional “school” time with her, not only because it’s hard to fit it in, but also because I figure she picks up a lot from having older siblings. (Plus she’s only two, and even with Ian I think I waited until he was three to really do much.) This week, however, I decided that rather than wasting a lot of time driving back and forth to music camp, I’d just stay and use the time to make some special memories with Arianna.

Back when I was doing preschool with Ian, I printed and laminated LOTS of things to go along with the books from Before Five in a Row. So as we were running out the door, I ran to my files, pulled out the folders for The Big Green Pocketbook and Ask Mr. Bear, along with the stories themselves, threw them in a backpack with some lacing cards, stickers, crayons and paper, and off we went.

After we’d gotten the boys settled in their group, we turned to our “Preschool in a Backpack” and got started. When I pulled out The Big Green Pocketbook and the little things I had to go along with it, she was instantly intrigued. I read through the story, handing her the “pocketbook” and various items as we came to them. She loved it! After we finished, she went through the whole thing on her own again.

The next day we did Ask Mr. Bear, using cards that showed both the animals and the products associated with them. Again, I just read the story and then laid down the cards one by one at the appropriate place in the story. She was just soaking it all up! When Danny give his mother a bear hug at the end of the story, she wrapped her little arms around my neck and gave me a huge hug herself.

I think her favorite activity of the week was using our “color bears” flashcards. We haven’t spent a lot of time working on colors, so I mostly just wanted her to start thinking about them and getting familiar with the names. I laid them all face up and had her find pairs. Then I took 5 pairs and turned them upside down and we played “memory” with them. She wanted to play this game over and over again.

Arianna enjoyed our time so much this week, I’m going to make it a point to use Friday mornings this fall (while the boys are in their weekly music/drama classes) to go through some of our favorite Before Five in a Row books and maybe do some simple crafts with her. I think it will be a really special time for us!