Rich's Blog

So I'm STILL not updating very often, but we're full into the school year. I want to give a shout out to Rich's Blog which you can access from our link list on the right sidebar. He's trying to update it every few days with tidbits and would love to have some comments. Feedback is a huge encouragement for him so take a few seconds to comment if you don't mind.

As for school, we're taking a bit more of a traditional approach right now. Brennan has started reading and we're spending a lot of time on that because while I prefer to let him struggle through in many cases, he was becoming very frustrated by the roadblocks of not being able to read. The same thing is true for Rich with math. He keeps hitting a wall in other areas because he hasn't yet memorized his multiplication tables.

So we've set aside a block of "no-media" time every day and ask them to complete a certain amount of work in these areas before moving on to art, piano, etc. So far we've spent the majority of our learning time on very basic reading and math skills, but I hope that once we master these, it will allow them to finish other work more quickly and have lots of time left over for other interests. It's way more structured than I like, but hopefully it's only for a time.

We're using magnet letters A LOT to reinforce and teach new
spelling words. This is a good tactic for visual spatial learners
who tend to see whole words rather than the letters that comprise them.

Brennan is enjoying writing his own stories - or at least
dictating them to dad and arranging the chapters and pictures. He's
currently brainstorming the final part of his epic Beaker the Penguin trilogy.

Rich reading "Otherwise Known As Sheila The Great" (Judy Blume)
and Brennan practicing subtraction on coolmath.com