Water Polo: Lesson 3

Water Polo: Lesson 2

Gemma is the tiny one with the star on her chest. Everyone else is sooo much bigger than she is.😳

3rd Grade: Math

We have a nontraditional way of doing math in our homeschool.

First, we use Life of Fred as our primary curriculum. I rarely come across homeschoolers who do this. The criticism I hear about Fred is that there isn’t enough practice. I disagree. Gemma grasps concepts quickly, and I don’t see it necessary to have her work through a couple of pages of problems in order to prove she can do something. I have this attitude because of my experience in a classroom setting. In a classroom, “independent practice” is used to keep the majority of students busy while the teacher pulls the handful of students who had trouble with yesterday’s math lesson and need reteaching.

Second, we don’t do math every day. Some weeks we get in three math lessons. Sometimes we do math only once a week. This works for us, but if my child were working at grade level or below grade level, we would do math daily.

Third, I’m ignoring all of the homeschool moms out there who advise other moms that later is better for algebra. All children are not the same. Some children are ready for algebraic concepts before middle school, and I live with one.

Fourth, we don’t complete a lesson in one sitting. While Gemma is capable of doing algebra, she doesn’t have the endurance of a child four to six years older than her. She can complete one-third to one-half a lesson per sitting. This is not a reason to give her math at her grade level. She craves a challenge, and needs to explore new concepts that force her to ask questions.

Homeschool moms are opinionated. We are quick to offer our advice. But you know your child, and you don’t need to ask for someone else’s approval for every educational decision you make. You don’t bring a dozen women into the dressing room with you when you try on a pair of jeans, and you don’t need to bring them into the decision-making when you “try on” a curriculum. Draw the curtain. Let yourself be alone with that curriculum. Does it fit? Because, ultimately, it’s your family that’s going to “wear” it.

3rd Grade: Free Reading

Here is how we approach Free Reading...

During the day, Gemma can read whatever she wants, and she reads a lot. I strew books, and sometimes she takes to them. (This past week, she read Tommy Smith’s Animals, which I had purchased thinking we would use it for natural history. Plans change. Gemma has asked me to also buy Tommy Smith at the Zoo, but I think she wants to read it as a free read and not a “school” book. Beautiful how the line between free reading and “school” can blur like that, if you’re willing to step out of the way and let it.) I also let Gemma make her own choices at the library, as well as from my classroom library, even if the books she chooses might be considered “twaddle” by the Charlotte Mason police. 

At bedtime, we have two books going. One is a Mom choice, and one is a Gemma choice. The Mom choice is actually a “school” book that I move to the bedtime slot; I don’t think every book needs to be narrated. Our last Mom choice was Robin Hood (Pyle); our current Mom choice is The Princess and the Goblin. (After the introduction of Curdie, and the knowledge that there is The Princess and Curdie, Gemma asked me to get her that book, too.) Our last Gemma choice was The Tarantula in my Purse (Jean Craighead George; an absolute must-read); our current Gemma choice is Beware, Princess Elizabeth (Carolyn Meyer).

Let the Summer Reading Begin!

Yes, she was cold. (She was fine once we got into the sun.)

Check out the new Summer Reading Program bag. The rule is: You can check out as many as you can carry home.

Mommy & Gemma at GHC Ontario

I let Gemma shop the GHC vendor hall, and this is what she chose:

• Critical Thinking Detective: Beginning (logic workbook)
• The Great Chocolate Caper (logic workbook)
• Science Ninjas: Big Trouble With Simple Machines book - autographed by Nathan Schreiber (creator of one of Gemma’s favorite games - Valence)
• Catan (board game)

Great Homeschool Convention Ontario

_{Gemma and New York Times #1 bestselling author Larry Schweikart playing Spot It}

At lunch, Gemma went up to Schweikart and asked him if he wanted to play Timeline. Later, after his talk on Reagan, she asked him to play Spot It. He beat her at Timeline, and she beat him at Spot It. She told him she’s going to challenge him to a tie-breaker. 

Conversation About College

Gemma, if she were in public school, would have just finished 2nd grade last week. On the walk to the high school where her dance recital is held, she wanted to know about how she would go to college since she wasn’t going to go to high school. I explained that there are lots of ways to go to college, and that neither Daddy nor Mommy did things the conventional way. I told her that just because she wasn’t going to physically go to a high school campus, she would still be doing high school work. Then, I explained to her that in the state of California, homeschools register as private schools, which means that she can eventually graduate from our private school. I also explained that some people go to college at the same time they’re going to high school, and that the community college up the street accepts students when they’re 14. I told her that if, when the time comes, she wants to take a college class or two, she can do that. We’ll figure it out. I also explained that some people - like Daddy - test out of high school, and that Daddy went to college with his test scores, not a high school diploma.

Gemma’s Ballet Recital

Pajama Saturday

I slept in while Gemma watched the second half of The Phantom of the Opera with Daddy.

I baked Trader Joe’s chocolate croissants for breakfast.

We worked on our LEGO Mindstorms.

Gemma bowled two games.

She practiced piano. Blindfolded.

We did more Mindstorms...

...while listening to Chopin’s Military Polonaise op 40 no 1 in A major, I Need Thee Every Hour, El Barquito, and A La Claire Fontaine.

She did five Life of Fred: Algebra problems, while playing with cardboard boxes and Makedo tools.

We read a chapter of El Raton Pablito (about La Tomatina, Spain’s tomato fight festival)...

...then Gemma did some spelling on her Kindle...

...and watched some Minecraft videos on YouTube.

Then we read our bedtime books - The Princess and the Goblin & Carolyn Meyer’s Beware Princess Elizabeth.

After I went to sleep, Gemma stayed awake reading Tommy Smith’s Animals and beading bracelets.

Macbeth in the Swimming Pool

Here’s what happens when you take children to see Shakespeare...

Why Do Swedish Drill When You Can Bowl?!

Yesterday, Gemma bowled without bumpers for the first time. During one of her games, she got a spare. Her high score was 78. I kept reminding her that her goal was just to keep her ball on the lane, and I cheered her on every time she kept her ball out of the gutter, even if she only knocked down one pin. 🎳 

Ballet Recital Dress Rehearsal

Gemma Playing Malagueña

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Back in April, we went to see the musical version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the Pantages.

Prior to the show, we went to Sweet! - a candy store in Hollywood where you can design your own chocolate bar. 

Gemma chose milk chocolate with Nutella filling, mini marshmallows, Nerds, and mini M&Ms. She said it was the best candy bar she’d ever had. (Wanting something scrumdiddlyumptious, I chose dark chocolate with marshmallow cream filling, toffee chips, sea salt, and almonds. It was absolutely delicious.)

We all loved the show - including Pete, who had been less than enthusiastic about going. The actor playing Willy Wonka was perfect, and the Veruca/Squirrel ballet made me laugh so hard I cried.

Site-Specific Dance Field Trip

Yesterday afternoon, we rode the Expo to three stops to see a series of site-specific “Transit Dances” - Bollywood, contemporary, and Maori.

Dead Robot

I’m irritated that my LEGO Mindstorms Education Core Set did not include a charging cable. The Education Core Set from LEGO does include a charging cable, but the third-party seller on Amazon that I bought my kit from is selling the “Education Core Set” without the charging cable, for a higher price than LEGO, and selling the charging cable separately. And, Amazon has the seller listed as “LEGO.”😡 I didn’t realize this when I ordered my kit. (Why would I buy a robot with no way to charge it?!) On Amazon, in the questions, someone asked if this was the SAME set as the one on the LEGO site, and the response was “yes.” It’s not. My robot is dead, and I’m not happy.