Gemma (age 7) playing Daddy’s song

P.E.

For the past two years, Gemma’s weekly P.E. schedule has included Brazilian jiujitsu, tap, ballet, and swim. 

Geography

Today we read in The World By the Fireside about the Tartar princes going to the Chinese emperor to prostrate themselves and pay tribute. This led to looking up where Pekin/Beijing is, and reviewing where the Steppes are in Kazakhstan...and this led to Gemma pulling out her Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls and turning to probably her favorite biography in the book: the falcon huntress - Aisholpan Nurgaiv.

What I learned from El Raton Pablito

Recently, I purchased some little books in Spanish, and some in French, from TPRS Books. The past year and a half, we’ve used apps, workbooks, and videos that have given Gemma exposure to vocabulary (fruit, colors, etc.), as well as listening to Spanish songs and French songs (and learning to sing parts, if not all, of them). But I felt like Gemma needed something more. 

So I ordered the TPRS books. (I had been thinking about them for about a year.) I let Gemma choose some she wanted, and I chose some I wanted her to want. One of the books she chose is called El Raton Pablito (Pablito the Mouse). It has illustrations and is silly, and she wants to read it. She reads it aloud, trying to pronounce the words, wanting to try. And then she giggles. Because el raton has opened puerta numero tres and discovered a tomato en el baño. Que verguenza! (How embarrassing!)

I thought reading the TPRS books would become our new foreign language lessons, but Gemma told me she wanted to continue using her language apps. She proposed that we alternate book-app-book-app. I hadn’t considered that she might view my choice to replace the apps with fun books as me taking something away from her. But then I did.

When we set little goals for ourselves, and meet those goals, we feel happy. Gemma had gotten used to looking forward to using her language apps to meet little learning goals, and here I was telling her that she was all done with that. 

One of the things that I don’t like about Charlotte Mason group-think is the way the phrase “children are born persons” is repeated like the first rule of Fight Club, but when a homeschooler brings up the idea of CMing and giving a child a choice in what they study, she’s told all of the reasons why doing that would be anti-Mason.

I’m so glad Gemma wants to keep using her apps, and wants to set educational goals for herself, and understands how good it feels to reach a goal she’s set for herself. I’m also glad she feels comfortable telling me what she wants, and feels capable of presenting a solution to a problem. 

And to think I thought all we were going to learn from El Raton Pablito was some Spanish. Que verguenza!

Durer-Inspired Art

Lunar Eclipse

And, having nothing to do with the lunar eclipse, here is a picture of Gemma in the same hat seven years ago...

Christmas Pageant

Hansel & Gretel at the LA Opera

Sunday afternoon we went to see Hansel & Gretel at the LA Opera. Here is Gemma with two of the creatures from the woods.

Prior to the show, there was a scavenger hunt all around the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

And, at intermission, there was gingerbread cookie decorating.

After the show, children got to meet the performers...

...and twirl around the empty lobby.

Mid-Year Update: Math

In math, Gemma is almost done with Life of Fred: Fractions. There are 32 chapters and the final “Bridge,” and Gemma’s on Chapter 30. After she finishes LOF: Fractions, we’ll start LOF: Decimals.

We’re also both loving the game Prodigy. The online game is free and so much fun. For homeschooling parents, I recommend creating a Teacher Account by going to https://infl.tv/eCpl

You can set up a classroom with one or more students. If you have multiple children, I would set up a classroom for each of them, because the game asks for your class’s grade level. So, if you have a 4th grader and a 2nd grader, you can set up a 4th grade classroom and a 2nd grade classroom. (I also recommend creating your own account because playing in the same “world” and helping each other on quests and in battles is a fun way to bond. A really fun way.)

The game starts with the player customizing his or her avatar. You choose a hair style, hair color, eye color, and skin color. Then you choose a first name for your math wizard. As you battle creatures, you’re actually completing the game’s diagnostic test, which determines what grade level you’re working at. While this is going on, you get to choose math wizard last name - something high fantasy and multisyllabic (Gemma’s last name is Rivermaster, and mine is Windlemon), and a pet (I got a baby dragon named Dragic, and Gemma got a Peeko).

After you finish the Placement Test, the game will assign you math skills at your grade level. So, if you’re a 6th grader who placed in 4th grade, the game assigns you 4th grade skills, but if you’re a 2nd grader who placed in 5th grade, the game assigns you 5th grade skills. And the wonderful thing about having a teacher account is that you can see where your child placed and what skills he or she is working on. Even better, you can assign specific skill by creating a quiz. For example, tonight, I wanted Gemma to work on multiplying fractions to reinforce what she learned in LOF, so I assigned that skill. The student doesn’t get a message telling them that the teacher assigned them a quiz; they just keep having battles and going on quests, and as they play the game, they complete the assigned problems. It’s brilliant.

If you have any questions about homeschooling math with Prodigy, let me know. 😊

Mid-Year Update: Literature

We finished The Hobbit a couple of nights ago. I decided to move The Wind in the Willows from school read to bedtime read because I was feeling behind; I was too ambitious with the number of readings I scheduled. She likes the book, and bedtime reads should be pleasurable. The book I was planning to have Gemma read - as a literature book - during the last trimester of 2nd grade is Robin Hood, but now I think we’ll do it as a bedtime read, too. Now, instead of wondering how on earth we’re going to get through it, I can just look forward to enjoying the story with her.

*Gemma Quote: Last night, Gemma said, “I wish we had a hearth so I could warm my feet.”

Jiujitsu

Gemma earned her 30th lesson star patch ⭐️ 

Bach's Minuet in G Major

Swimming

Gemma graduated to Tiger Shark today.