What We’ve Accomplished Today…08/31/10

Woohoo...school actually started before 9 this morning. It seems that they each have a lot of work to do today but really I don't think it is so much. In HomeschoolSkedtrack you have to enter a time length for each activity that is done. I have them all as between 30-60 minutes (except Bible Verse: 10). So it seems that they have an extremely long day (Lee's says 8 hours??) but realistically it doesn't take that long.

Anyway, here goes!

Both:

Bible: OT: Matthew 20 (Lee) & 22 (Fox)- a day or two Lee either didn't do her readings or cannot remember reading chapter 20 and 21... I thought they were both on 22 (oops, I either didn't pay attention or entered it wrong in my 'records')

Verses: Lee: James 4:7, 8 Fox: Hebrews 4:12 (both only recited -Lee may have written hers?- because these are from last week and they pretty much have them this week)

Spanish: Colors (flashcards...we are not doing so well with this subject...perhaps on Thursday...)

Church History: Finished St. Ambrose (we had fun 'narrating' this reading- which is morbid in a way since there was a lot of death...um, yea)... next is Chrysostom -I'm trying to find a reliable ebook that is free...but having a tough time!

Shakespeare: King Lear; Read from Cliff Notes; Summary of Act 1, Scenes 1 & 2 (we will be reading from Lamb's Shakespeare next week)

Life of Fred: Lee: Still working on Chapter 2 in Beg. Algebra (there are a lot of questions!); Fox: Chapter 26 in Decimals & Percents (only 5 questions...I think I need to find some timed drill work for him)

Reading: Lee: Prince Caspian; Fox: Age of Fable

Writing: My Access online (Fox is writing about If I Never Had to Sleep...or something like that; Lee is writing something about Dreams...) it's interesting that although they both do not like this program it has definitely awakened their desire to write again...they just dislike that they have to write.

Science: Reviewing chapter 1 (they didn't do so well on the quiz :/ so we need to review because a test is next!)

Lee:

Bede's: Week 7 section

Logic: Fallacy Detective; Lesson 19 (Either Or)

World Studies Read pages 58-60, Section Review on page 60 #1-5

Fox:

Military History: Boys' Book of Sea Fights, narration.

Story of the World: Chapter 6, labeled maps and wrote some on the timeline

Spelling City was supposed to do a test but...played games only :(

Math Arcade

Much better than yesterday! I guess :) Attitudes were sour at varying points and so privileges have been taken away. I don't need to wonder how either of my kids gained the 'gifted' label while in public schools. With 25-30 kids in a classroom it is easy (or necessary??) to set the standard low. A kid meets that low standard, and passes it to what I would consider average, and they are 'gifted'. A parent gets the mentality that their child is 'superior' (because after all isn't that what an A means?) but are sometimes shocked to find they are really average.

I am not putting down my kids, please don't misunderstand. My kids are very smart and very capable. There are kids out there that strive to high standards on their own, or with the coaching/pushing of family and/or mentors. My kids are not that motivated on their own. They've been given only a low standard to reach for and have become comfortable with that standard. The teachers and public school is as much to be held at fault as I am. (Or am I more responsible??) Without the interaction I should have had with teachers and the schooling process while my kids were in public school, I was voluntarily unaware. At times I think I was simply content to let them be labeled 'gifted' because it made it easier to let the mediocrity fly. Argh, hindsight is indeed 20/20!

Just makes my job all the more, uh, fun ;)

It is now just after 12 and we are just about done with school. I put up Science although we haven't done it yet. It will get done though, right after lunch. Then we are done! Oh, well, there's still chores to do ... muhaaahaa (yes, I'm evil).