Today started with everyone doing their independent Discipline studies; Math, Typing or Phonics.

Daniel is doing very well with his blending now.  We have started at the beginning, again, of “Reading Made Easy”.  Today he was able to “read” more than one ending sound – not only “at” but also “an”, “ap”, “am”, “an” and “ag”.  He was able to jump from one sound to the next without getting very confused (verbally).  This is very exciting for us.  We actually worked through about 3 lessons today as it is review and practice for him as he gets fluent with getting his tongue around it all.

I printed a book from www.starfall.com and introduced a couple of  “Tricky Words” (aka Sight Words).  He was so excited to be reading a book.  After reading it with me once he raced in to his daddy’s office to read his book. 

After morning tea the kids had to work on their posters and props for the filming of their Egypt Project tomorrow.  Jess and Josh made a poster, Nomi made some Sickles and shields, Joshua also made a Pharaoh’s crown and a few weapons.   They are excited about tomorrow’s filming.

They keep coming up with all these songs; replacing words of well-known songs with Egyptian themes.  The funniest ones have been Silly Songs with Larry, from VegieTales.  It has just been a hoot to hear their lyrics coming together.

Jessica had her piano lesson today.  She is really happy with her new teacher.  Jess feels the new teacher is stretching her, which she is happy about.

Daniel completed a 150-piece jigsaw puzzle by himself today; it was a map of the world.  Considering his OT sessions it was a very good task for him to work on.  Jigsaws are good for his development.

We continue to read “Brother Andrew” a teens biography, equivalent to “God’s Smuggler”.  We are fascinated with the breadth of impact one man had on the world.   The world went through so much change in his lifetime and he was there amongst it all!  An amazing story!

Reading it to my kids though is a good reminder of the importance of reading the books that our kids are reading.  Just to say that you read it as a kid yourself isn’t really where it is at.  There was so much that I had forgotten though I say these types of biographies are a part of the foundation my folks laid for my life.  The other thing is that reading them now as an adult I have a totally different perspective / understanding, especially on world events, and that affect how I understand the impact of the story.  It is certainly worth considering that if you want to discuss things with your kids – read the books they are reading.