Day 4

Still considering Monday our official Day 1, but we have already dipped our brains into the pool of some basics. This is where we've started:


1. As a nod to the California obsession with rapid acquisition of advanced math skills, we have math as our priority these days. I have done countless hours of research into different math curricula and have yet to decide. I liked the review, learn, drill, review style of the Kumon Grade 4 Math series. They are nothing for a fancy night out in the world of learning new concepts, but they do methodic drilling well. That's good enough for us this week.
We have been reviewing multiplication, using large numbers (billion, trillion, 987 trillion), geometric shapes and their manipulation, and measurements of various kinds. I have him ripping his hair out tolerating patiently times table flashcards. We are about to move into more advanced long division and, although I try to explain what counting on his hands will be like while trying to get through the division of four and five digit numbers, he knows more than me and is fully convinced I need the instruction.


2. Spelling. All of his spelling lessons for the year are on the textbook website. Even the different levels of challenge words are there. Today was a spelling test. I can barely stomach the memory of all the hours we spent using spelling words in different ways for homework assignments. Oh, the torture! This is one area where I am breathing a deep sigh of relief over the reduced workload.


3. Grammar. We are using First Language Lessons (for the Well-Trained Mind) It is old-school and rote and involves sentence diagramming; but he is learning grammar now and he was not before. We had to start in the 3rd grade book because his understanding of the parts of speech and their use simply was not at a 4th grade level. It is not exciting, but memorizing lists of pronouns, helping verbs, state of being verbs, linking verbs, and prepositions is helping him grow as a student of the English language.


4. Logic. We spend time everyday (usually a warm-up) working a logic puzzle simultaneously. We work separately and share our answers. He is smarter than me. This is no surprise. He cries more still, barely.


5. Reading. He is a voracious reader. (I thank God for this blessing every single day.) I bought him Lloyd Alexander's The Chronicles of Prydain 9 days ago. He is already deep into the fourth of five books. The only thing that I have added into his reading universe is some diversity, (ie. He had to read a chapter of Where the Red Fern Grows for every chapter of his current fantasy read.) and a written book journal. I have also been known to give pop quizzes on books that seem to be going by more quickly than expected.


6. History. This year we're going to study California. From the beginnings and early people, missions, agriculture etc. I am also reading aloud to him from E.H. Gombrich's A Little History of the World and he is writing summaries. As a well-written, broad overview of world (read: European) history, I love it. Gombrich is instructing about history, understanding history and piecing it together as a story. I read it for fun and enjoy it thoroughly.


7. Music. Violin practice happens everyday. Today, for reasons I don't know, he picked up the violin and sight-read his next piece. I dropped dead of shock cooly ignored it hoping not to disturb it, the same way one might regard a hawk that has happened on the backyard birdbath. "Can it really be? Where is the camera? Will it stay if I move a single muscle?" I was secretly hoping that taking initiative in his learning would be a result of this independent education venture. Maybe this is a sign in the right direction?


And, my favorite opportunity afforded by a more flexible bedtime? This December he is going to perform in two local productions of the Messiah. He has already begun the task of learning the soprano part for all the Christmas portion choruses. He sits, score flopped open on his lap, ipod buds on, singing along and listening. This week: And the Glory of the Lord and And He Shall Purify. He is able to make the evening trips to two different locations for rehearsals because he does not have to be at his desk by 8 AM anymore.


Now, a weekend off.