Week Seven: Let The Good Times Roll

It started rough, it ended well.  I don’t know if it was my ephiphany and attitude adjustment and loosening or the Attentive Child supplements (amazing), 2 glasses of water before school, 2 GNC mult-vitamins, 1 teaspoon of DHA fish oil, and 2 teaspoons of lechithen in Larsen’s oatmeal. Yes, I am a big believer in nutrition and supplements. And water, tons of pure water. 

We did not get as much done as usual, but what we did accomplish was rich.  We continued our geography studies, poring over maps and pictures and globes. We spent all day Tuesday on the elections, making a little booklet and reading websites and looking at various platform issues. I brought to Lars each issue and he gave his take on each, completely without my input and we deduced he is a conservative, even more than I am!  It was intriguing to discuss and look up topics such as national healthcare, immigration and drilling.  We looked at a map of the electoral college and talked about what it all means. We prayed and rode our bikes 4 miles in order to vote. He was proud of being on a patriotic mission.  I stayed up most of the night to follow the election. He woke me up the next morning to ask who won. His first response was to grab my hand and drop to his knees and pray for Obama. Such a mighty prayer rose out of him that I felt conviction. And hope that a wild boy is made up of something more than sticks and marbles as important and needed as those things are for him, for now.

We attacked math, writing, a spellling test, a bit of ancient history and botany and I also let him do lots of personal reading so I could write.  I am seeing how I need to find, check-out and invest in some more books of stories,–chapter books that lean into his natural interest of history, cultures, government and science.  Not to mention mystery and adventure! He seems to really enjoy writers from older time periods. The Elson early readers from the 1930’s are his favorites! He and Ben are almost finished with G.A. Henty’s Cat of Bubastas, a tale of ancient Egypt.  Henty has two other books of historical fiction based in ancient times they’ll move onto.  I was looking at getting some Lamplighter books for him, as well as some early readers of classic literature and perhaps some Sugar-Creek Gang and such. 

I am getting to the point where I am seeing which curriculum will be purchased next year for third grade and what changes I will make.  Our grammar at this point is oral and I find myself printing out work to enforce it. Next year I will go more textbook style. Also, the Writing With Easeis good for this year, but next year I think I want something that will start directing him in the craft of writing or get something to supplement.  Lars seems to enjoy straight forward textbook learning with not too many bells and whistles, a wide variety of reading, both orally and personally and some hands-on projects. The key is to keep it simple and interesting.  I am trying to save up for a years subscription to www.BrainPop.com as I know he will like this to end each day with.

Anders announced to me that is ready to learn to read, so we are working through the alphabet sounds and simple flashcards. He mainly sat and listened this week and played while I wrote snatches here and there. He said he wants to be the next president and that since God did such a god job making him, we should give God five gummy bears. And, oh yes, he flushed 2 bananas down the toilet and caught a dishtowel on fire as well as kept his underwear dry for two days straight. Did I mention the craziness?

The boys had co-op today and enjoyed their astronomy, election and camping classes.  A friend of mine sent me a good email of encouragement last week urging me to accept my limitations and not neglect myself in the area of sleep, eating, delighting in my husband, exercising, communing with Christ, communicating with friends and such. We are multi-faceted people and though there are rythms to life (balance is elusive I think) we must tend to ourselves. Must put the oxygen mask on ourselves first if we are to place them on our own children. Philippians 2 speaks of looking out not only for our own interests, but the interests of others. This implies we do both, for this is Christ-mindedness.  I pass on that admonition…