First week summary

Well, here we are finished with our first week of school together. A few complaints from Aidan's end regarding the loss of free time that became a little more then irritating on a few occasions, but I think that will pass as he adjusts to this new schedule and routine. Monday went by with a few glitches that caused us to start about 90 minutes later then I had planned, but even with that hiccup we got everything accomplished AND I still made it to the gym! Yahoo!!! Tuesday was perfect, Wednesday was even better, well minus Asher's speech therapist showing up 30 minutes early and me answering the doorbell in my pajamas in a sleepy stupor. Thursday came and went and we had so much fun in our last "class" of the day! More on this later. Friday all was well until the end of the day when Aidan all of a sudden decided to cease being the cooperative, pleasant, smart and easy going kid that he is. We were reviewing some material from throughout the week, he had answered one particular question repeatedly throughout the week but decided for some unknown reason to act as though he didn't know the answer. Ooh, this resulted in a time out, a spanking, regrouping, Aidan answering the question correctly and then sitting back down at the table. I asked Aidan the question again for clarification he looked at me and said he didn't know and then started laughing!!! UGH! By that time I had reached my boiling point and the result was not perty. After a few minutes when we were both calm I went and repented and asked Aidan to please forgive mommy for yelling at him. I then explained that his job is to be a good steward with his brain, to listen and learn, and answer questions when asked. Mommy's job is to teach, and I can't do my job if he doesn't do his job, so we need to work together.

So to review, we had a great first four days, the second half of Friday was a train wreck. But as a whole I'm pleased with our week. I'm praying for a better week, and more patience come Monday.
Here are some pictures from our week, enjoy!
Special breakfast of choice on his first day of school. Cinnamon rolls and eggs!

First day of school! August 10, 2009.

Playing hopscotch at the end of math "class" =)

Asher getting in on the fun!

Building the walls of Jericho during "recess" on Wednesday. What a great use of the Jenga blocks, plastic army men and Asher's swift fist!


Our schedule is almost identical everyday. The day (except for Friday) is broken up into 4 classes, 5 on Friday. Bible first, follwed by Math, Monday-Thursday we break at this point and head to the gym or do "recess" at home. On Friday's we do Science before we break. Then after returning home from the gym, we have lunch, put Asher down for a nap, and Aidan and I hit the books again. Monday, Wednesday and Friday it's English and History. Tuesday and Thursday it is English and Social Studies.

Thursday's social studies lesson had us reviewing our address and discussing the type of house, neighborhood and community we live in. As an activity I decided we would postulate how many items of a particular "thing" we had in the house. Aidan got to guess, and then we went around the house searching to see if he had guessed correctly. He thought this was SOOOOOOOOOO cool! He loved going on an adventure to see if he was right.
Here is our worksheet:
Hypothesis/Finding
Clocks: 4/Clocks: 6
Lamps: 0/Lamps: O
Tables: 1/Tables: 1
Bookshelves: 2/Bookshelves: 9
Sinks: 3/Sinks: 4
Trash Cans: 3/Trash Cans: 5
Mirrors: 3/Mirrors: 4
Pillows: 8/Pillows: 20
Steps: 15/Steps: 17


And here is our bulletin board thus far...
A paper plate face that Aidan was to decorate to look like himself. A name puzzle I created to help Aidan learn the placing of his names. He's had the hardest time grasping the concept of a middle name. He's had first and last name and their spelling down for quiet some time now, in fact he knew how to spell his last name before his first, but that's just because he had memorized it from hearing me spell it out so many times, lol. Anyhow, his middle name was a challenge, if you asked him to tell you his middle name he would rattle off one of his many nicknames, and then when he ran out of his nicknames revert to his first or last name and then start going through the list of nicknames again. Funny, he knows his middle name is Jeremy, but for some reason it just wasn't making sense or sticking around in that brain, so I made this little name puzzle to hopefully help in that department, and what'da ya know it seems to have helped seeing his name written out with Jeremy in between Aidan and Wokurka. Huh, who knew it'd be that simple?
Friday's science experiment dealt with chromatography. We mixed green and pink food coloring together (chemicals, which Aidan insists upon calling minacles or miricles) and put a drop on a paper towel, then we stuck the paper towel so just the very bottom of it dipped into a glass of salt water which then caused the colors (chemicals) to separate back out from one another and climb up the paper towel, this process of colors separating is called chromatography. The Biblical application comes from the creation week when God separated the light from the darkness, and then again after the great flood when He put the rainbow in the sky.

A close up of our chromatography strip.

So there you go, our week in review.

Oh and just because I can, and I'm a proud momma, take a look at this picture that Aidan was instructed to draw at the end of his english class on Monday.

Yes, he really drew this... outline and all, BY HIMSELF!