I decided to do the Rosetta Stone with my daughter in 1st grade. We go through the guided lessons together everyday for one week. The next week she does the various activities on her own, and at the end of that week she does a test. So far it has worked out great and she loves doing it. I think it is the whole using headphones, working on her own at the computer like the big kids do, that she likes best, but that is fine with me as long as she is learning a second language as well.
a very studious little girl
Health lesson on growth. Liani and Brooke decorating their wall height-chart.
School started this week, and it was off to a good start. While the 3 oldest went off to school, and since Liani is not officially old enough to need to go to the local school house, I still homeschool her. She is starting 1st grade. She loves studying so it was easy to get back into it.
Today her friend Brooke joined us. She and Liani went through KG together and they are best friends. They keep each other in line and help the other with their school work.
This is the last week of holidays before my kids go back to school. I really enjoyed this month of having them home.
Since we couldn't go anywhere for holidays, we had to make holidays come to us. With our kids pool, our BBQ spot in our own little forest, my re-usable ice cream molds, the river across the street, and the park down the road, we managed to have ourselves a fine month of summer days.
We enjoyed biking and roller blading after storms when the air was fresh, baking projects or board games on rainy days, watching documentaries or movies as a family in the evenings, and on the sunny days, a lot of water play, BBQs and playing with friends.
Hooray for summer!
To practice counting forwards and backwards, and number placement, try playing Rummikub. I have done it with KG and 1st Graders, simplifying the game to suit their age, but they enjoy it nonetheless. Here I am using the Junior version, but the normal one works just as good.
After a long break, I decided to give this blog a try once again. Not that there was never anything to write about, but I did not make the time to jot my thoughts and experiences down. I know, shame on me, but I have decided to start anew and I will try to post something weekly.
I overheard a comment the other day that gave rise to some speculations on the part of why we find ourselves in a world with decreasing values. A mother was asked whether her daughter had completed an assignment, and she replied, "I don't know. It's not my job to know, since I was out of the house till now."
It is sad to see that many parents have that sentiment of "It's not my job." If it isn't their job, then whose is it? Many children, especially in the teenage category are experiencing hands-off parenting, because many parents choose to remove their guiding hand from their life.
My daughter is just 12, but already she shows signs of typical teen hood behavior. While this is scary, daunting, and demands sacrifice and hard work on my part, (I can only imagine what it will be like when she hits 14), it is my responsibility to do whatever it takes to guide her through these rough years.
Teenagers need rules, guidance, and help. That help does not come from sitting back and letting them do what they want. Sure it is easier that way now, but the end result is a lot harder to deal with. A little work and sacrifice now on the part of the parents, will pay off in a rewarding future for their teen.
Dr. Lickona expresses similar views in his book Educating for Character, "Quality of parenting is the best predictor of whether a youngster gets in trouble with the law. One classic study looked at several thousand junior and senior high school teenagers. It found that the closer the mother's supervision of the child, the better the communication with his or her father, and the greater the affection between child and both parents, the less the likelihood of juvenile delinquency."