- James just completed the Math-U-See Primer. I am not sure if I want to go ahead and buy the Alpha level yet. Until I figure it out, I am printing out worksheets on www.education.com and using those to review and continue learning. James likes mazes so I am printing those plus worksheets for subtraction and telling time. If he progresses well, I will start looking for worksheets on money.
- I absolutely LOVE the All About Reading reading program! I had to buy the Level 1 since James completed the pre-reading level in February. He is continuing to learn the sounds of letters but when he reads them, he tried to guess the word without looking at the individual letters. He does the same thing with math. He tries to figure out the word based on his own knowledge instead of reading the word. He reminds me everyday to color in a star on his progress chart. :)
- Our co-op semester is coming to an end tomorrow. It's been a great year! James has made some really great friends...and so have I. It went by so fast this semester and we will miss seeing our friends every Friday.
- I have taken the bull by the horns and planned my first field trip. We are going to the Morehead Planetarium & Science Center next month. We will being seeing two Planetarium shows: Earth, Moon & Sun and Solar System Odyssey. During our co-op this semester, James was taking an Outerspace class and I thought this would be a great time to go. I still remember visiting the plantetarium when I was in school. This will be James' first trip to the Planetarium.
- No Tech Tuesdays are back!!!! Since discovering Minecraft, James has been obsessed with playing it and watching the Youtube videos of guys who SHOW you how to play it. He has actually spent more time watching the videos and learning about playing than actually playing it. Soooooo, he needed to take a real break from screens. This past Tuesday was our first one and it was the BEST day. We talked more, read more books and had a very nice day. I think it's very freeing to be without the entertainment of the computer, TV phone and make your own entertainment. He wanted me to read to him ALL the Shutterfly vacation books I have made (there are 6 of them). He ran around the house pretending to be someone. I wasn't sure who exactly. He could have been a Transformer or a Minecraft character. But what I do know is that he was having fun!! He also says "I love you" more.
- The Action Bible is still a HUGE hit! James enjoys storytime every night with Daddy. He grabs his Action Bible and they read. They were reading about Sampson this week. I think James liked that story. The best part is that James is comprehending and remembering the stories. We reading a story last week and Passover was mentioned and I asked him if he remembered what Passover was and he responded, "It's when the Angel of Death came. The people put blood on their door so the Angel would not take their first born.". Wow!!!
- Minecraft! Nana and Pop-Pop bought the Minecraft gift card as an Easter gift. He LOVED it! Now he is playing more than watching. I like that. Is Minecraft the Ultimate Education Tool?
- With our schedules being so hectic right now, James is spending a lot of time with Chris at work. He goes with him to make deliveries. James loves being with his Dad. He also spends some time with MawMaw & DiDi each week as well. I don't know what we would do without my parents willingness to help us out on the super busy days.
- We have made all sorts of friends this semester. Lots of play days at the park, birthday party invitations, and soccer is back in full swing too. We have field day to look forward to and trips to the beach. We get so busy with the day to day schedule that we are ALL looking forward to some family time away from the daily grind.
Happy Springtime!!! It's here!
