A Really Great School Day

Sometimes we have long, slow, stretchy days. 

Sometimes we have crisp, faster, more up-beat days. 

Here's an example of an extra speedy, ultra-productive day when we are feeling good and getting along, and everything flows perfectly.

We started our morning at 7:30am with Lila Down's version of La Bamba and some other songs from our repertoire. I love it when we start the day singing.

At 7:45 Lu read an Aesop's fable aloud in Spanish, and then worked on his handwriting by copying the moral of the story in cursive.

 At 8:00 we were starting our MEP worksheet,

and flew through it.

At 8:20, Lu read me two Shel Silverstein poems.

At 8:30, we got out our Glencoe Math

 and did 4 problems in our notebook.

At 8:45 Lu read silently about Orpheus and Eurydice.

 At 9:00 we took a little break.

At 9:15 Lu took this free math placement test.

We do these once in a while, when I run into a free one,

just to see where we're at (in the standardized world).

I'll skip the part about Lu having a panic attack that ended in sobbing when he couldn't do one of the problems, because he got over it and understood that tests are just to help us figure out where we need to strengthen our skill.

 At 10am I worked out the score while Lu ate an apple.

We're right on track - 4th grade, 2nd semester.

At 10:30 we played Snatch.

Lu gets tense with tests,

so a game was much needed.

At 11am, Lu read a couple more chapters from 

How To Think Like a Scientist.

Last night, Lu offered to make today's lunch on his own,

(A BIG FIRST)

so at 11:30 he was done with schoolwork 

(an hour earlier than usual)

and started cooking.

 It was his first time making rice.

He set a lovely table with white rice, 

zucchini, and eggplant.

He was very proud of his spread.

 (and I was speechless and teary) 

As soon as we were finished eating, 

friends started showing up for afternoon group activities.

I wouldn't want every day to be so speedy. We like the long, slow days too, when we get side-tracked and too caught up in discussion to see what time it is, or worry about what we need to do next. But once in a while, days like today are great for plowing through and catching up.

Our Town Fair - part 1

One of the great things about secular homeschooling is that we get to choose when we want our holidays - not a school, not a religion - we choose. The week before last, most kids were off on Easter break, but Lu chose to wait a bit more for his break, as this week one of the most exciting things that happens in our town begins... the town fair! But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

So Friday was our last school day before our break. We all usually go to bed pretty early, but we stayed up until midnight on Friday. I said I wanted to stay up a while working, and Lu said he would do the same...

 

The next morning he showed me what he'd been working on. He had copied the lyrics of one of his favorite songs from a website, with PERFECT handwriting. I should be happy right? Well, I was infuriated. I couldn't believe how neat, and even pretty, his handwriting was. E.V.E.R.Y.D.A.Y I fight with this boy about his handwriting. And what do ya know? As soon as we're on break, not only does he sit down to write for 2 straight hours, but he does it with the kind of handwriting I beg of him on a daily basis. Grrrrrr.... But then Cha pointed out that at least all my efforts have been worthwhile - the boy can print nicely when he really wants to.

Over the weekend Lu got into this flight simulation program, which I think is pretty cool. We have a weekend/vacation-only policy with video games, so I'm super glad that he is choosing this over the other (few) video game options we have, as he could be playing Mad Birds or whatever it's called.

So, back to the town fair. We have one every year. I hate it. Lu loves it. The streets become filled with vendors selling the most useless plastic sh**, everyone gets stupid drunk, there is loud music until midnight for a whole week, and the town is left covered in trash. Next week I'll post photos of the infamous ferris wheel that rolls into town, in rusty pieces - some held together with wire where bolts are missing - that must be 100 years old.

The first vendors have arrived, but it's only just starting. One of the main attractions for Lu is the video arcade. The machines are brought in on pick-up trucks and stay for a few weeks. Lu doesn't go near the violent games, which limits his choices, but he totally respects my rule about this. Today he played a Mario bros game and some other 20-year-old pac-man looking thing. We went early, while other kids were still in school, so that Lu could have the whole arcade to himself, but there was a small group of boys there who must have been skipping class for some Street Fighter.

 

Of course I really don't like this. Not one bit. I wish we could just hide out at home until the fair passed, but Lu, like all the other kids in town, is excited as can be. There isn't really even that much to do besides the arcade and a few other really pathetic fair-type rip-off win-a-prize games. But it's not about that, Lu explains, it's just about going and seeing, and also being seen I suppose. So I have to bite my tongue and walk the six-minute walk down the mountain and into town with him. The boys here can be rough, so I don't wander too far from the arcade.

I hate waiting around, but don't have much choice in this situation, 

so I take some pics while I wait.

By the time I took this one, I was desperately bored:

So I took a peek inside the make-shift tent arcade 

and discretely asked if we could go soon.

On the way home Lu related that one boy tried to push him off his game, but that he had stood his ground. He also said that he's feeling much stronger and tougher than he did last year when he was easily bullied off the games. And yeah, me too. I'm feeling more confident in his abilities to defend himself. It definitely puts a mama at ease to know that her kiddo can stand up to a bully with muscle, wit and word. 

And The Weeks Go By

We didn't do much schoolwork this week
as the world's most loved grandmother is visiting,
and we were well overdue a week's break.

We went swimming... twice!
Do you see the little mountain in the distance on the right?

Supposedly, it's where Antoine de Saint-Exupéry got his inspiration
for the Little Prince's Elephant Swallowed by Boa.

Lu finished (and loved) The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,
and is writing a summary.

There were so many words and terms like - ma'am, sir, lickings, Sunday School, scoundrels, etc... that were unfamiliar to him. I had to pre-read each chapter and make a list of vocabulary words to go over together before he would read. It was quite a challenge to find my own silent school-reading time, and I'm very glad that Lu is now reading Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach, for which I will not need to continue this practice. I SOOOOO love that he loves to read, and I can't imagine homeschooling without that love of reading - it definitely makes my role as facilitator much easier.

Lately, on the handwriting front, I've been sitting with him and holding his left hand on the paper while he's writing. I realized that his funky-lookin' handwriting is mostly because of his not steadying the paper. Reminding him isn't enough. His hand has a mind of its own and quickly wanders. So I've been doing this at least half an hour a day and am already seeing a big difference.

So... I have successfully survived 3 weeks as a non-smoker. This has freed up more time than I could have ever imagined. With this new free time, I have been BAKING LIKE A MANIAC, and trying out all kinds of desert recipes.

Here are my flour-free peanut-butter-chocolate-chip cookies:

Chocolate and Vanilla Pudding

I had to complain to my mom about this - "Chocolate pudding is so easy, why did you never teach me how to make it?" Apparently it's not an interesting enough desert. Hah! There is nothing I would prefer over chocolate pudding. And now I know how to make it myself, from scratch, in minutes. I'm very, very happy about this discovery. And you're like "duh, who doesn't know how to make chocolate pudding", but I am very new to all of this.

It's actually Mocha for Cha and me, and the Vanilla is for Lu.

And then...
I mixed them all together and made
a peanut-butter-chocolate-chip-cookie crust,
covered with stewed berries, apples, and raisins
and topped with vanilla pudding. Divine.

Yes, I am gaining some extra pounds, but I've hopefully added some years to my life by quitting smoking before 40. Besides, I'm all for promoting healthy feminine roundness and curvy abundance.
Bring it on!