Room schooling

Today we utilized our schoolroom for the very first time! I have to say it was a little odd having everyone in one spot. Normally I have one working over at the kitchen table (that's usually 4yo Logan, who will color, cut, tape and paint to his heart's content for hours), one on the couch with me (most likely 6 yo Atticus, who is my lap reader) and one sprawled on on the floor (that'd be 8 yo Jo, who can read and write in positions that yoga devotees spend years trying to master). What a switch to have everyone in one spot, even though we weren't always doing the same thing!

We started off at 9:30 this morning with "Hey Andrew, Teach Me Some Greek!" It's been a fun program to use. We're all learning at the same time--even me, because I most certainly never picked up on the Greek alphabet in school! Everyone hit the wicker couch for a reading of the primer, which they all adore. (Confession: after a dozen read-throughs, I no longer adore it quite so much!) Then we sang the alphabet, which even Logan has mastered. The "big kids" (as Logan calls them) went over to their desks to work on the workbook pages corresponding to today's letter--delta--and Logan and I stayed on the couch. Since he really needs to cement those English letters before he moves on to Greek, I've been matching the Greek sounds to the English alphabet. Therefore, today was the letter "D" for him. He happily made the "What Do Dinosaurs Do?" cut-and-paste book I had printed out for him, filling in witty things like "This dinosaur is ...." (answer: squishing a balloon)

After Greek, Atticus got to work on reading a Three Cousins mystery to add to his library list for that coveted summer reading prize (a free paperback book). I offered him any cozy corner he could find, but he chose to stay in his litle desk (can you say "novelty"?). Logan got interested in the castle dig kit he had recast yesterday afternoon, so that gave Jo and I a chance to finish the Times Tales program--which we did. She passed through each flashcard with flying colors, and was so proud of herself that she decided she needed a scratch-and-sniff sticker from the bin. I, of course, agreed--and gave her TWO. ;-)

We all came back together for a math puzzle. Instead of gathering around the coffee table--our usual spot--we were in the middle of the schoolroom floor. It felt different, but not bad. Maybe we need a coffee table out there, too.

We finished up with Spanish, which has to be done in my bedroom upstairs because that's where the Rosetta Stone is installed on my computer. Logan decided that he didn't want to go upstairs just yet, though, so he set up his big wooden blocks in the schoolroom and worked on a masterpiece while I sorted books onto shelves.

Not bad for an easy-going first day summer schedule.

And I'm still grinning!