Kindergarten, Weeks 29 and 30

     Once again, I find myself having to summarize two weeks of our homeschool experience in one post.  With planning my Little Toughie's birthday party, attending weekly play dates (there is ZERO socialization issues with homeschooling, despite what you may hear) and researching Bible and Language Arts curriculum for both kids for Fall, plus getting our summer plans in order, it's been hectic to say the least.  On top of that, my daughter is going to be in a stage performance of The Wizard of Oz, which requires acting and dance class.  They meet on different days of the week, but take up a chunk of time in our schedule.  Whew!

     In Week 29 we began reading The Story of Dr. Dolittle.  Originally written in 1920 by Hugh Lofting, apparently this particular version is abridged and some parts are cut out.  Nonetheless, we are enjoying this classic and are happy that it's in our curriculum.  I don't think I would have remembered to reach for this book had it not been included.  It's a delightful read and my daughter thinks the personification of the animals is quite amusing.  She told me that she didn't think animals could do a good job of cleaning a house!

     This week we also started a simple addition game using dice.  My daughter uses a path of numbers from 0-20 in her workbook (you can easily have your child draw 21 boxes or circles and write the numbers 0-20 in each) and a pair of dice and a penny (or something just as small).  She rolls one die, moves her piece along the path using that number and leaves it there.  She then rolls again and then moves her piece that number.  Together, she sees the sum of both of those dice.  She picked up on it quickly and began to roll the dice and add without having to count or move the piece.  She was already doing addition work, but this was just a visual tool for her to see the concept in action.

     In Week 30 my daughter discovered the Kids Crossword Puzzle in the Sunday paper.  I'm so glad that she took it upon herself to give it a try and now she wants to do it every weekend.  This helps to reinforce her writing and spelling but also lets her dabble in a little trivia.  Here she is with her first completed puzzle:

     I have to wrap it up because tomorrow is my Little Toughie's birthday and I have so, so much to do!  Have a superb week.