We have been in the exploratory phase of home learning for over two years. In this time Cate has learned more than I could ever have imagined. And mostly she learned it in a very unschooling manner. We have rarely sat down to worksheets or formal learning. I was strongly (and kindly) advised against such. So it may not come as a surprise that we don't sit down at the table and have "lessons." That is until last week. Sunday night without any real intention, I set up the dining room table with learning materials, books, pencils, a math worksheet and some activities for Silas. I placed Cate's material at one end and Silas' at another. I thought I would give it a try Monday morning. I sat in the middle spot reading aloud alternately to Cate and mostly Silas. Si had enough activity so that Cate could do some "work." Right now, we are focusing on math, a lot of rote handwriting of the numbers and worksheets. Cate is fairly competent at K-1 math but her handwriting makes practice difficult. Each morning last week I had her write out the numbers 1-10 and a little phrase of some sort. I can already see improvement. I read aloud from several books and Cate read aloud to me in the evenings. It is much better to be snuggled together when reading.
(No brilliant light graces this table. It is bleak, dreary and spitting snow this morning.)
I'm not sure there is a point to this post other than to say we are having better mornings as we sit at the table. It is only an hour and very early. We are usually finished by 9AM. And then if I am lucky they will play a bit afterward. Presently, moon sand is the play of choice.
