Recap of the Past Four Weeks or So

I can barely believe that it's been so long since my last weekly report! What a slacker! Life has been moving along at warp speed lately, so I guess I shouldn't really be surprised at myself.


Here's a quick run-down of what's been happening lately with our schoolwork:


Math has been cruising along well with some work from Horizons and some from Singapore, which I am liking more and more. Cullen has the whole regrouping thing down and is enjoying the beginning concepts of multiplication and division. I am trying to offer more word problems, which he usually loves. Addition/subtration facts are almost completely firm; we're still drilling those some.



Cullen has been reading through 2 or 3 books a week. Here is what he's finished lately:





He helped me read much of The Magic Treehouse Book, Hour of the Olympics, too. He likes to take turns page by page.



He completed the last lesson in Spelling Workout A this week. I plan to have him study the days of the week and the months, then we'll take a break from formal spelling for a little while.


I wish I could say we've made giant leaps of progress with writing, but I will just have to be thankful for smaller, but consistent, steps in the right direction. Cullen was most proud of last week's assignment which was to write a dialog between two of any characters, complete with correct punctuation. He came up with a funny little exchange between a Coke bottle and its cap!


Our memory work hasn't been as consistent as it could be, but he's managed a few verses and poems in spite of my lack of organization. We listened to some Bach at my insistence, but according to Cullen, no one comes close to Beethoven. (grin)


Our history focus has been Ancient Greece, with a little reading from Story of the World and a few other resources, a terrific video from the library and some work on History Pockets projects. I have a handful of crafts lined up to go along with this, too.


Between other things, Cullen's been learning a little about our own state. Here is a giant book he's still working on. We do just a little every week or two.



We've just begun a study of biology that should take us through next fall. I rearranged a little of the R.E.A.L. Life Science curriculum so that learning about insects, worms, etc. and plants could be done during the spring and summer months. We'll begin the human body next September.


Cullen watched a couple of dvd's on dinosaurs and on rocks to prep for an incredibly fun museum trip. We went to the Tellus Museum not far from us along with our cousins, who happen to be friends, Jamie and Kathryn. (See Jamie's post on this trip here. She took all photos because I forgot my camera.) Dinosaur and other prehistoric creatures, an impressive collection of rocks, gems and minerals, a fossil dig and a gem-panning area for the kids, as well as a gallery of science and technology that lead up to our current space program -we didn't even get to the planetarium show. Cullen had such a great time, I'm considering a membership.


Here, the two of them are watching tiny creatures in a biosphere. (I want one of these so badly!)





Panning for gems paid off for each of the kids with a little bag of tiny but real gem stones. They also got to each keep a single fossil from the dig area.





In addition to gymnastics and cub scouts, baseball began last week. (Yes, the schedule is full now.) Here is his first at-bat in a real game. He got a hit! It was funny to see that he cannot help but dance on the field when he realizes that he's done something right! I really wish I had taken video of that!





I have to say that one of my favorite moments of the past few weeks was just last Sunday morning. As I sat down with a cup of coffee, Cullen picked up a book, settled into the sofa across from me and said, "Let me read you some poems." Then he read a dozen or so as I just sat and listened, thinking about how much I like this little boy of mine. And the camera was right beside me, so you get a peek.