Speaking from the Heart

I can't believe we will be going into our eighth week of schooling next week. We have two more weeks of school before The Grandma Factor. What is The Grandma Factor? It is the days that we take off from school when grandma comes for a visit. She visits twice a year to celebrate The Inquisitor's and Minnie's birthdays.

The Inquisitor and I like the co-op biology teacher. I observed her and the kids playing Biology Bingo. There are 5 by 5 spaces on the card. at the bottom of the cards, are vocabulary words. The kids get to choose 25 words to put in the boxes. Instead of calling out numbers, the teacher reads the definitions. The students must then match the definitions with the vocabulary words on the card. The Inquisitor won 3 out of 3.

From Speaking from the Heart

I was impressed. Because I want him to CLEP biology at the end of the school year, I expect more from him than his teacher.

Algebra 2

The Inquisitor is doing well in Saxon Algebra 2. On a rare occassion, he misses more than 2 out of 15 problems. I like the curriculum, because it introduces new concepts in each section. At the same time, it reviews old material. What I don't like about Saxon Algebra 2 (second edition) is that it does not having a solution book to tests. Nevertheless, it has been blessing. It keeps my mind sharp, because I have to solve any problems that The Inquisitor misses. It gives DH and me some quality time (LOL) as we work together.

When The Inquisitor learned how to read, my days reading to him was long gone. Minnie's desire to read is not as strong as The Inquisitor's. Instead of forcing her to read something she doesn't enjoy, she and I have started to listen to audio books in the car. Sarah, Plain and Tall was our first audio book. Right now, we are listening to Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor. We will be listening to The Cricket in Times Square afterwards.

Besides keeping up with schoolwork, Minnie is studying her lines for Aunt Hattie's Attic production.

Despite of their extra curriculum, The Inquisitor and Minnie have kept up with their assignments. That is why I am surprised when moms question me about my kids' school work load. The Inquisitor and Minnie know what I expect out of them and what will be the consequences if their weekly work is not complete. For right now, this is their life's dress rehearsal, and I am the director. Sooner than I want, they will be on stage and I(the director) will behind the scene. I want them to be ready for that life's curtain call.