Today started with everyone being a bit sluggish with their chores and therefore not having much outside time but we did start our Discipleship lessons at 8.30 as planned.  We reviewed our time so far with Abraham.  Daniel in particular really struggled to know who he was so Nomi and Daniel had the stories re-read (from a children’s Bible) and they then worked on a colouring in sheet.  Joshua and Jessica’s time was really just discussion on the various eras of the bible and us having already studied the Creation Era and Abraham being the beginning of the Patriarch era. 

 

It was during our Discipleship time I asked if the kids had ever memorised Ps 119:11 and they started quoting verses that were from Ps 119 but not verse 11.   Jess ended up saying it – word for word.  When I said, “Well done Jess” she replied with a classic.  “I haven’t memorised it.”  I looked at her with a “yeah right, you’ve just quoted it” look and she continued, “Just from all my 11 years of living – I just know it.”

 

As Nomi and Daniel spent longer with the stories of Abraham Josh took the dog for a long run –he rode down the road to pick up something that had been dropped off at our signpost.  Jess did some homeblessing.

 

We all had a good ½ hour break for morning tea with Daniel and Nomi playing with balls outside, Josh reading and Jessica writing for her blog.

 

Then it was Disicpline studies time.  We are all working with StartWrite worksheets to improve our writing, with the older 3 learning cursive.  We will be doing Handwriting instead of copywork for the next little while till they get the natural flow of cursive.

 

While I took Daniel for his Reading Made Easy the rest of them worked on their Math and Nomi had some phonics worksheets to complete.

 

Daniel has a story read to him at the end of his RME time so he chose “Baby Boomsticks” yet again.  We talked about baby being big, bigger and biggest – this is a math concept he understands but doesn’t use in his own language (once again due to his dyspraxia).  He is working on a notebook page showing these progressions and we will continue to work on this over the next week.

 

We then spent ½ hour talking about the Ag.Show coming up in a couple of week’s time.  The kids usually put a lot of handmade items in the Pavilion but this year we will be focusing on just one project.  They had to choose their project and list their materials needed into a shopping list for me.

 

I had our regular prayer time and visit with a friend in the afternoon so the kids kept themselves occupied.  Josh had free computer time, history reading and filing last years work.  (When I see the huge amount of papers he has still to file – and he has been working on this for ages – I wonder how I can ever ask myself if we are doing enough.  He is a prolific writer and we have encouraged him to keep it all.  I actually said to him today that he had no right writing soooo much!!!  He gave me a big grin.)  Jessica had literature reading, preparing an activity with Daniel and then having that ½ hour together, writing and looking through books for an embroidery project to start.  Nomi also had computer time, reading time (still reading through Narnia), and drawing time. Nomi has been working on various origami models over the last few days so she continued in this too for a while.  Daniel had reading time, computer, time with Jess and then a video.  Later on, Daniel and I sat down with our FIAR book, Ping.  We looked at China and began to make his passport entries. 

 

While I was getting dinner ready Jess sat down with the map and ended up giving Josh and I a challenge to list ten countries with only 4 letters in their name.  What impressed me with this is that she could rattle them off herself but she had a fair idea of where these countries were.  Josh and I only got about half of them.  Once we conceded our ignorance Josh and Jess poured over the map talking about these countries and other things. 

 

It never ceases to amaze me that if I slow down from performing school I actually notice where the kids brains are taking them; the questions they ask, the discussions they have, the books they read, the things they do.  Regardless of what I do, the kids are learning though I could recognise it more and stress less!  It is kind of like stopping to smell the roses, in the learning world.