Book Club 2014

Last night was book club night!  I love book club night.  Only partially because I don't have to cook.

It's also the company.  At the local Lone Star seven of us sat around a table eating subpar food and discussing two books:  Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster and A Room with a View by E.M. Forster. The former was the more popular of the two.  In fact, I was the only one who even liked the second.

Our club started in September 2008 after a couple of us bookworms were talking at our kids' play date.  We've met every month (except for two or three) ever since.  We've grown from three members to about 12, if everyone makes it.  We're not a very diverse group.  We all have similar backgrounds and belong to the same church.  Our main disparity is our ages.  There's about a 50-year swing between the oldest and youngest member.  There are also differences in taste.  As the group grows it gets harder to please every one.  It's also challenging to choose books that are appropriate.

Here's our book list for 2014:

January - The Giver by Lois Lowry

February - Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster

A Room with a View by E.M. Forster

March - True Grit by Charles Portis

April - The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

May - Claudia, Wife of Pontius Pilot by Diana Wallis Taylor

June - Life with Father by Clarence Day, Jr.

Little Britches by Ralph Moody 

July - Killing Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly

August - Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole

September - Peace Like a River by Leif Enger

October - The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

November - A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers

December - I'm Half Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley

Transitions

Yesterday's "I-cannot-tell-a-lie Cherry Pie"

It's 70 degrees outside and my daughter is asking if she can start wearing shorts.  I reminded her that  there's still a month until spring...ample time for more winter weather.

This winter has proven to be a little more wintery than most.  The more stalwart of the daffodils that sometimes start blooming right about now are still a no-show, nary a leaf poking out of the ground.  I checked this morning, and the hellebore still looks the same as it did a month ago.

And while winter is not over, I think it is safe to say that the transition to spring has begun.  There is this 70-degree day for starters and the wind, oh the wind.

There was also a raucous robin making a racket outside my window this morning.

Basketball officially ended on Saturday.  Baseball practice starts on Friday.

We're practicing Irish fiddle music with more diligence, getting ready for St. Patrick's season.

My son is hacking and coughing and sneezing and sniffing.  Could it be true that spring pollen is in the air?  Or does he just have a cold?  I wonder.

Ah yes, and the looming tax deadline is really starting to make my blood pressure to spike.  It's not all pleasant.

These signs all point to spring.  I've enjoyed the extra-wintery weather, but my windows need washing and I could definitely benefit from some sunshine.  However, I think we'd better leave the shorts stored a way for a few months longer.

A Week in the Life: Friday

Well, Valentine's Day turned out to be atypical as well.

8:45:  My daughter and I read and did memory work (including the poem) on the couch as per usual.  Then we moved to the desk and did the same old routine:  math, spelling, grammar and narration using the same curriculum as mentioned in previous posts.

9:45:  My son and I also read and reviewed memory work (including our poem) on the couch.  Rather than starting a new book from his list, he read Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No God, Very Bad Day aloud to me.  It was a fun read for a Friday, although not really in the spirit of today's holiday.

At the desk, after his usual cursive copywork, we discussed the rhyming scheme and meter of Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening by Roget Frost, completed a spelling and grammar lesson, and started another math lesson only to be interrupted by Meme, their grandmother.  She arrived to take them to a special Valentine's lunch.

School was over!

I did manage to corral each of them for violin practice in the afternoon, but their lunch on the town and the distraction of neighborhood friends who were off from school today proved too much to overcome.

It still was a productive week.  I hope I did not bore you too much.

A Week in the Life: Thursday

Our typical week got turned on its ear by a little rescheduling.  It wasn't a typical Thursday, but we got it all done.

7:45:  The kids' violin lessons got moved up from 1:30 to 9:00, so we practiced at home much earlier than usual and were in the car by 8:35 for two half-hour lessons, in which they each played some Suzuki music, traditional Irish music, and the Star-Spangled banner.

My son finished a book he was reading, The Sleeping Giant of Goll, during his sister's lesson.

We practiced their Classical Conversations memory work on the drive to and from lessons.

10:30:  By 10:30 my daughter and I were back on the green couch.  She read two more stories from George and Martha aloud to me.  Then it was to the desk once again, where we applied some of the rules regarding fractions, specifically quarters, to money using RightStart, Level B.  She wrote three phrases and three sentences I dictated to her from All About Spelling, Level 2.  We also discussed capitalization rules in poetry and titles using guidance from First Language Lessons, Level 1.  Finally, she summarized another Aesop fable, which I wrote down and then dictated back to her.

Next, it was my son's turn.  He finished reading to me the final two chapters from The Tale of Despereaux and copied the Classical Conversations history sentence again in cursive.

We took a break for lunch.

1:00:  We resumed our deskwork.  He wrote a long passage I dictated to him from Writing With Ease, Level 3.  He also wrote five shorter sentences that I dictated to him from All About Spelling, Level 4.  He completed a lesson from First Language Lessons, Level 3 on changing words ending in y to their plural form.  Finally, he did another lesson focusing on division from RightStart, Level D.

We all took a break until 2:45.

3:00:  Both kids participated in their weekly hour-long gymnastics class. 

A Week in the Life: Wednesday

Tuesdays and Wednesdays are twin days in our house because we have no other place to be.  As a result, one of these days is much like the other.

8:35:  We almost managed to start on time today.  Like yesterday, my daughter and I started on the couch while her brother had time for which I cannot account.  On the couch, we went through this week's Classical Conversations memory work, she said 15 weeks of history sentences, we practiced more of "The Duke of Plaza Toro" (a poem by W.S. Gilbert), and she read the first story in George and Martha aloud to me.

We moved to the desk, where she did a lesson from RightStart, Level B on skip counting by various numbers.  We followed the lesson with a skip-counting card game and a RightStart game called "On the Number", an addition game using two or more addends.  We followed that with another lesson on abbreviations of titles of respect from First Language Lessons, Level 1.  She spelled 13 words using the spelling rules introduced yesterday from Level 2 of All About Spelling.

It was another milestone of sorts today, because she did her first hard core dictation from Writing With Ease Workbook 2.   She already has done easier dictations from All About Spelling. 

10:00 (or thereabout):  It was my son's turn.  He started on the couch doing the exact work as his sister (like yesterday) except he read two more chapters from The Tale of Despereaux.

He, too, moved to the desk next, and practiced cursive by copying this week's Classical Conversations history sentence from Prescripts Cursive Sentences and Art Lessons: Medieval to Modern World History and completed a narration exercise out of Writing With Ease, Workbook 3.  Next, he did another lesson on plural nouns from First Language Lessons, Level 3.  I dictated and he wrote five sentences from All About Spelling, Level 4.  Finally, he did a lesson on division within a group out of RightStart, Level D.

We then took a short break for lunch, which lasted about 20 minutes.

12:15ish:  I read to them Esther chapter 8 and "The Master Cat or Puss in Boots" from The Blue Fairy Book.  Next, like yesterday and the day before, they each practiced their violin in succession.  Then we took a longer break in which they watched TV and I rested.

2:00:  We went to our respective rooms for Room Time.  I heard a CD player going so one of the kids was listening to something narrated by Jim Weiss (there's no mistaking that voice).

3:00:  I read to them from Story of the World, Volume 2 on the Crusades.  We followed this with an oral lesson, experiment, and a notebook page on how the eye sees light from Science in the Beginning.  As the last act of bookish learning for the day, my daughter did another RightStart lesson, this time on fractions (halves and quarters) while my son spent 20 minutes on DreamBox.

A Week in the Life: Tuesday

Here's a Tuesday in our school:

9:00:  The kids were enjoying watching morning Winter Olympic coverage, and I was dragging my heels, so we got started half an hour later than planned.

My daughter and I started on the couch while her brother read a little and played with Legos in his room.  On the couch, we went through this week's Classical Conversations memory work, she said the history timeline up to "The Seven Years' War", we practiced "The Duke of Plaza Toro" (a poem by W.S. Gilbert), and she read Flicka, Ricka, Dicka and a Little Dog aloud to me.

We moved to the desk, where she did a lesson from RightStart, Level B on number patterns.  We followed that with a lesson on abbreviations of titles of respect (Mr., Mrs., etc) from First Language Lessons, Level 1.  I introduced the third sound of the letter A, stressing that it often occurs before two L's and after a W, using Level 2 of All About Spelling.

It was a milestone of sorts today, because she started the first lesson in Writing With Ease Workbook 2.  From that, she did narration and copywork from an Aesop fable.

10:00 (or thereabout):  It was my son's turn.  He started on the couch doing the exact work as his sister except he read two chapters from The Tale of Despereaux to me instead of Flicka, Ricka, Dicka.

He, too, moved to the desk next, and practiced cursive by copying this week's Classical Conversations history sentence from Prescripts Cursive Sentences and Art Lessons: Medieval to Modern World History and completed a dictation exercise out of Writing With Ease, Workbook 3.  Next, he did a lesson on plural nouns from First Language Lessons, Level 3.  I dictated and he wrote 12 "wor" and certain "rule-breaking" words from All About Spelling, Level 4.  Finally, he did a lesson on division within a group out of RightStart, Level D.

We then took a short break for lunch, which lasted about 20 minutes.

12:30ish:  I read to them Esther chapter 3 and "Why the Sea is Salt" from The Blue Fairy Book.  Next, like yesterday, they each practiced their violin in succession.  Then we took a longer break in which they watched TV and I rested.

2:15:  We went to our respective rooms for Room Time.  They're supposed to read or listen to books on CD, but I don't monitor this too closely.

3:00:  I read to them from Story of the World, Volume 2 on Japan's Samurai.  My son narrated a summary of this selection to me, which I wrote down to include in his notebook.  We followed this with an oral lesson and experiments on infrared and ultraviolet light from Science in the Beginning.  As the last act of bookish learning for the day, my daughter did another RightStart lesson (also on number patterns) while my son spent 20 minutes on DreamBox.

At 6, my husband took the kids to basketball practice....P.E., you know.

Right now, I'm getting off the computer to read to my son from The Wheel on the School.  Then it's off to bed.

A Week in the Life: Monday

I think it will be a typical week, so I'm going to record what a typical week of school looks like in our home.  Here's Monday:

7:50:  We get in the car and head to Classical Conversations.  After opening ceremonies in which our whole group hears a couple of family presentations, practices part of our history timeline, practices saying a portion of Ephesians 6 and says pledges to the flag and the Bible, the kids go to our respective classes.

In class, they

1. are introduced to memory work in seven different subjects:  history, science, math, geography, Latin, English grammar and history timeline;
2. hear background on Carl Linnaeus and draw a flower in a botanical style;
3. do a science experiment with water and soda bottles that demonstrates the relationship between vibration, frequency and pitch;
4. give an individual presentation and listen to all the other members of the class give presentations;
5. exchange Valentines;
6. and review previous weeks' memory work.

After lunch and recess with the group we head home around 1:00.

2:30:  After taking an hour break to unwind, the kids listen to me read the second half of "The Master Maid" from Andrew Lang's Blue Fairy Book and the second chapter of the book of Esther.  

They then take turns practicing their violins.

Finally, each of the kids does a math lesson with me.  My son does a lesson on division with remainders and my daughter does a lesson on rules in adding even/odd number combinations.

We finish at 4:15 and the kids head outside to play with their neighborhood friends.

That's a typical Monday.