Grade 4, Lesson 5, Day 3 ~ Getting Better

I am the person who learned the most today. I made a point of being present to my boys and we had a much better morning. This is something that I know I need to do, but I'm human and I fall off the horse as often as the next person. That's what happened yesterday and today I had to get back on the horse.

I reread the introduction to the Miquon materials and was reminded that the lab sheets are not meant to be used in a vacuum. I started rethinking our math studies and decided that I need to make a plan. I love the Miquon program and want to use it, but I need to figure out how to combine it with Oak Meadow math.

Journalling, math practice, and reading all went smoothly, albeit slowly. I'm not saying anything to rush the boys, however if they are slow there isn't time to use the computer. They didn't complain today, so they must not miss it too much.

I planned to work on three boxes with the boys this morning; I was available for help with all the boxes, but three of the boxes were meant to be guided by me. We worked more with adverbs, and I made a color poster for the boys:

We went around the house looking at all of our prints (of paintings) looking for perspective and surface law. Then we worked on science and the connections between form and function. I enjoyed it and that brought enjoyment to the boys.

It wasn't perfect; J-Baby is always going to question why he has do learn about something he isn't interested in. I don't want to get too esoteric with him and yet I need him to engage in the lessons. I'm glad that I read the OM4 teacher's guide last weekend; it recommends talking less and making the lesson fun so that the point of the lesson isn't rote learning, but rather experience and joy. I'm going to have to work on that.

This afternoon we did a craft project; the boys decorated Native American vests with fabric markers. After I instructed the boys to create some Native American designs I was once again faced with J-Baby's reluctance to do anything other than what he wants to do. So I thought about how the Native Americans decorated clothing and objects to be pleasing to them and I agreed that the boys could decorate their vests however they wished. They had a great time and hopefully I will have time to sew the vests together this evening so that they can wear them tomorrow.