Well, dh hasn't got a new job yet although we know his contract will be up mid-year and we know that I need to move away from cow paddocks that contain one of my big allergens. So we are still here. In this old house with old carpet and old walls. But life goes on.
I am now living in 2 different school worlds. I have 3 in school, with my fourth and youngest child ironically being my first child to go to Kindy. The other 2 have moved up grades and are now in Grade 6 and Grade 4. I am still homeschooling my eldest and will be using the most structured curriculum I know of. Yup, very different to the last 5-8 years.
I am still very involved in the education of the ones at school. Just like any other homeschool mum of several years I have accumulated several books and resources that I don't want to waste. lol We are doing critical thinking and reading comprehension activities from some of those resources. All the teachers are happy for me to do extra things with the boys and are very supportive. Nice to know, as I really love Singapore Maths and don't want to stop doing it. And Building Thinking Skills books have always been favourites here any day of the week. I don't think the boys even consider them school. :-)
The oldest at school still struggles with his spelling and both of the elder two at school have horrible handwriting. I am using the methods used in Sequential Spelling to help ds2. They have a great resource available, The Patterns of English Spelling, and I hunt through it for words that have the same tricky sounds in them as his spelling words. For handwriting I just sit there and nag them. lol Okay, probably not the best way, but I am thinking that consistency and high expectations may be my best bet there. If you have suggestions for bad handwriting habits for a 8 and 11 year old please share!
And to top it all off I am volunteering in the canteen each Wednesday and am even considering joining the P and C. I like being involved. It has been a long time, what with all the moves and the babies, since I have had a chance to just chat with other women without little people interrupting. Life is pretty good right now, just need to get more sleep (have continued some bad habits from my teen years and it is Not Good) and keep on top of these allergies and life will be good.
Best wishes
Jen
