Ambleside Classical

Weeks 16 & 17 In Review

The Reason For the Season

For the past couple of weeks we have been doing Homeschool Light around here. We are ahead enough in our curriculum plans that we could take the month of December off (shhhh!), but since I have so much to do with our remodeling project it honestly works better to keep Miss M busy with school work and normal routine in the morning. We have been mostly doing Math or English, reading, reading, reading, a little music appreciation and TOPS/Time4Learning Science. Miss M has been devouring her reading books, acquired on a recent trip to Half Price Books. She has loved other books by Edward Eager, so what a delight that we found another called Time Garden. The other book we picked up is Bright Shadow by Avi. I recently heard about Book Adventure, so I'm going to encourage her to take the little book quizzes and work for prizes. It is a blessing to see her choosing reading as one of the favorite parts of her school day! When she was younger, I could not have imagined! On Tuesday, Miss M said simply, "I'm starting to like math now because I feel like I'm getting good at it." Indeed. She scored a 100% on her last math test, and has been doing her lessons almost eagerly. I truly believe it is due to working through 4 pages of CLE Math every day, complete with daily fact drill and systematic review. All the practice, which was NO FUN initially, is finally paying off. Math has always been somewhat of a struggle at our house, so I am enjoying the breather. A neighbor girl asked Miss M if she could tutor her in math. How exciting. They say that the best teachers teach subjects that they have struggled in. I am going to encourage this, because I have found from personal experience that teaching is the BEST way to learn.

TOPS # 32 "Electricity" is a HUGE hit here. Miss M likes to work through the task cards on her own, gathering supplies from around the house. When she is done with an experiment, she shows it to me, I correct and initial her task card, and we discuss. She is loving the independence! Time 4 Learning complements TOPS nicely, as Time 4 Learning teaches the vocabulary and concepts systematically. Easy for me and enjoyable for Miss M. I think we have a winner!

I will close with some pics of Miss M as an angel in one of the Christmas plays she is in. The play is called "The Reason for the Season." I pray that this joyous season finds you with peace in your home, peace in your teaching, and peace in your heart. : )