Well, we finally got around to starting today. I know we are a bit behind. But we were away until Wednesday. Then I really didn't want to start one day and skip the next day due to the doctor's appointment that I had. So I decided today would be a good day to start.
We were off to a slow start and didn't get going until after 10am. It was totally my fault as I wasn't organized and prepared. I spent a lot of time going up and down the stairs getting supplies. But once we started, the kids were excited.
We first decorated our name tags for our bins and supply boxes with lots of stickers. The boys worked together very nicely. The cleaning up part didn't go as smoothly, as Z was determined to undermine his brothers as they were trying to clear up the mess of stickers and sticker backings. I had to bribe Z with a television show. But that was also a distraction for the boys. I briefly considered going straight into the 2nd grade and Kindergarten curriculum with T and L respectively, but quickly changed my mind when I actually took a look at the books. Yes, I hadn't had a chance to browse through the math books because they had only arrived over the weekend. But I proved to be correct in reviewing because T seemed to have lost this ability to do simple math facts and regrouping.
L also spent time reviewing his colors and numbers. He seemed to really enjoy doing work and kept wanting to do more and more.
After having a little break for lunch, we started our science unit on sharks. I had borrowed library books for a while now but hadn't had a chance to read with the kids. So this was the perfect opportunity. I read Surprising Sharks by Nicola Davies.
Then T and L watched Perfect Predators, a show that I recorded during Shark Week from the Discovery Channel over the summer. Afterward, T and L were able to recall many facts about sharks that they had learned from the book and television program.
Then T did a reading comprehension sheet with a short paragraph reiterating facts about sharks and answered questions based on the reading. L practiced writing the words Great White Shark and colored a picture of one. Then T, L and Z made hammerhead shark hats and played a rousing game of shark boy.
While L and Z continued with their coloring, T reviewed blends. He did a word find which he loved. He seems to enjoy word searches and crossword puzzles.
We did a brief lesson on the Pledge of Allegiance.
Then it was D.E.A.R. time. I loved this when I was in school. It's Drop Everything and Read time! I dragged out a stack of library books for L and Z. T was content with his Magic Treehouse book - he loves that series! And so do I. Not only is he reading, but he is getting some social studies and history as well. He has been reading the Magic Treehouse books for pleasure all summer. I may have him go back and re-read books so that I can utilize the Magic Treehouse guides and worksheets. But our quiet reading time did not start until after I did a group read from the Toy Story 3 book. Then we were all off to our comfy areas reading. T was laying on the sofa reading his Magic Treehouse book. L was looking through the Toy Story 3 book sprawled on the floor. I was curled up on the loveseat with my book, The Broken Window by Jeffrey Deaver. Z did start out looking at a couple of books but was soon in the corner quietly with the building blocks.
T was supposed to have chess club as well today but when we got to the library, we were sad to find out that there was no chess club. So instead we meandered through the library to look for more books to read and books on CD to listen to during lunch.
We also got some exciting news as we were leaving the library. D called and let us know that the library called and said that T won books from the summer reading program! T was so excited. He was able select 3 books of his choice from a cart of books. He picked a Magic Treehouse book that he hadn't read (of course!), a Transformer book and a Bionicle book. Three good choices as the picking were slim.
It was a long day but all in all it was a good one. We will be able to get going in the morning better since we now have our supplies. And I think the boys will take a little bit to get used to a routine but I think they are on their way.
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