Weekly Review

This week saw an attempt to bring better organization and the encouragement of self-motivation into our weekly routine. 
Prior to our first day of school this week, I printed out a blank weekly schedule for each boy.  I then filled in the schedule with daily assignments and presented them with the instructions that they may do their work in whatever order they preferred, so long as it was all finished by 3:00.  J-Straco grabbed his list and darted to the school table and was quickly absorbed in his work.  Farm-Boy, on the other hand, had a melt down EVERY DAY this week when confronted with the schedule.  Initially he alternated between crying jags and demanding I tell him what to do, but then he fell into a pattern of doing whatever his brother was doing.  All in all, it went better than I expected.  I sweetened the deal a bit by placing a chocolate chip in each box of their schedule, and when they completed that subject they got to eat the chocolate chip. 
I really like how the schedule lays everything out in black and white, giving the boys a sense that they were doing their school work for the purpose of furthering their education, and not because "mom said so".  I tried to institute individual schedules for them last year, but they didn't have the maturity or self-motivation to make a go of it. 
Did I mention how much freedom it gives me?  Previously, if one of them completed something while I was out of the room, they quickly got off task and would end up in the playroom or living room.  Now, with J-Straco taking the lead, they move very quickly through their schedules.  I sometimes fail to notice how quickly J-Straco is growing up and maturing. 

Math:  Farm Boy has been working on multi-digit multiplication and J-Straco has been multiplying and dividing decimals.

Grammar:  Contractions and Subject Pronouns

Writing:  We started a new curriculum, 'Winning With Writing'.  It is starting off very slowly, but no complaints from the boys.  They worked on topic sentences and supporting sentences in a paragraph.

Spelling:  Work in their respective workbooks.

Latin:  They worked on second-declension endings.

History:  We learned about Samuel, King Saul, David and Solomon.

Science:  We're in between curricula so nothing formal this week.

Reading:  Hittite Warrior and The Lost Hero, Martin Luther King Jr. books, Pyramid by Macaulay

Music:  The boys started Violin lessons this week.  We met their new teacher and really like her.  Their first 45 min. lesson was on the parts of the bow and proper hand position on the bow.

We also had a lot of outside time, playing in the snow.  Everyone enjoyed making snow forts and tunnels.  The Princess decided to teach her chicken how to go through a tunnel.