February isn’t even over and we started biking to the school today! It helps that we don’t have to go in when it starts at 8:00; 10:05 is much easier and warmer on all of us. Zoe has been great on her new bike and is getting the hang of switching gears quite quickly. She really likes going in to school for specials and stays once a week for lunch. She likes to gab with her friends (who are currently all girls), and we seem to have someone for sleepovers every other week. Last week she went in all day for a Valentines celebration, and came home grumpy because she was there “soooo long. The TIME, mommy, the TIME”. It was a half-day for everyone, too!!!
Avi and I have enjoyed the library story times lately. Now that we are back to biking it’s easier and quicker to get to the library just after it starts – driving the car was impossible as I could waste 15 minutes ( or more!, its a base issue) looking for a parking spot. So, he loves listening to the books and then doing a craft. It’s a fun time to just hang out with Avi and see him blossom.
Zoe and I also still volunteer once a week at the shelter. She loves the new puppies that Mama Belle had – especially the little gray one called Star. Avi attends the CDC on that day and has a big time playing with the other boys. It’s almost entirely male in that preschool 1 room!
At Homeschool our lessons are progressing. Zoe will be done with 1st grade math (Singapore) next week. I just ordered the 2nd grade to continue. Subtraction with two digit numbers has been a challenge, but she has it now! The focus is being able to do it in her head, and not write out the carrying so it’s a big challenge and impressive she has grasped it so quickly. In English we continue to read a lot, and follow a reading comprehension book, a spelling book, a grammar book, and a writing program. Her writing has improved a ton, and she really wants to learn cursive so we’ve started that in earnest. For science we have moved out of the earth sciences realm and into basic physics / chemistry: 3 states of matter, changes, etc… which have fun real-lab-looking experiments like making goo and creating mini fire puffs. In History we are studying the Greeks. She loves history, and finds all the greek myths just fascinating. We’ll be doing this for a few weeks. In art she is currently focused on oil pastels – I guess her paint period has been put on hiatus.
For Avi we have started to move into the numbers beyond 10 – he can count to about 18, give or take a few missing. He loves singing the alphabet, and recognizes some of the letters. He is more into numbers and easily recognizes most of those – mixes up the obviously similar ones like 6,8,9. He also just simply LOVES mazes and blows through books of them monthly. We work on dot-to-dot with numbers and letters, and also writing. He has gotten good at tracing his name when he’s interested. Often, he is more interested in play doh. This boy can’t get enough Play doh. Play doh is the best gift ever, and luckily I have FINALLY found a good cheap source for Korean play doh that is simply great.
I’m also leading a Mindfulness class for the homeschool group once a week for two months. Following the MindUp program – a kid-specific curriculum. It’s been a fun time and a great turnout with 11-12 kids and 6 parents at the house. As a plus, it gives me a particular reason to vacuum.
