May 14

Today was a pretty good day. J1 has been up too late the last couple of nights and thus, was tired. The other boys were excited and did well.

J1: Practiced piano, I helped him with a song he's been having particular difficulty with. Also counseled him not to get so distraught at the new metronome, and pointed out that I could already notice improvements in his tempo and continuity with just one day of the metronome. Corrected his math from yesterday and went over the problems in depth as he was having trouble (it always takes him a week or so to get back in the swing of things after a break). Later on, corrected today's math and went over several more problems with him. He also did handwriting - new Italic program is resulting in VAST improvements in his writing. Pointed out he should use that style of handwriting all the time. He completed his art for the day, and I'm amazed at the improvement I see in his spatial awareness and appreciation of form. He got tired and asked to do the rest of his work tomorrow, and I agreed.

S3, A2: Worked on the MathUSee drill page. S3 scored 19, 18, and 20 on addition, and a 19 on subtraction (0, 1s, 2s), while A2 got an 11, 14, and 16 on addition and a 20 on subtraction. Worked on getting the StartWrite handwriting program installed, but have not been able to get my computer to work. Printed out number sheets from donnayoung.org. Boys did numbers 1-10. A2 did 3 pages of phonics and did quite well. S3 did 4 pages and also did well.

N4 watched S3 do the math drill pages and got a few right on his own. He also colored a picture while S3 and A2 worked on handwriting.

All 4 boys listened to a page from "Big book of questions and answers" about buds and flowers. We went and got a couple of buds, and a flower, from the pot on the porch. The boys copied a sentence or two about buds and flowers, then drew pictures. It was an enjoyable project for everyone, I think. I also drew a picture and wrote a few sentences. I think it might help if the boys seem me doing some of the things I ask of them. And - it was fun!

I'm washing fabric now to do some sewing. I think tomorrow the boys will watch and I can explain a few things. I also want to start a book to read out loud. Hopefully tomorrow we can add in reading instruction and a read-a-loud. But, for the first full day back to school in a few weeks, we had a good day!