In some ways, today was even better. We started on time, and actually had snack and recess at 9:30. We got through Geography faster. The "orange" activity was very good. Trying to lay the peel flat really made it sink in why the maps are distorted toward the poles. I got The National Geographic World Atlas for Young Explorers from the library, and it had a page on exactly this problem, so we read about it in there, too. Bible time, Science, and Art were good, except for writing sentences for the Science notebook page. The boys colored the pages, listened to the geography reading, watched us peel the orange, and each made a John 3:16 poster. This afternoon we also did lessons 24 and 25 from Primary Language Lessons. We did them orally, just so she could get the feel of the book. And, I even spent 10 minutes with her and the subtraction flashcards.
In other ways, the day was harder. It is hard for me, because I try to give her the time I think she needs to complete the assignments, but sometimes she doesn't (or can't) get it done. Usually, I make her stop and go on to the next thing. But, that means a lot of her afternoon time is finishing up. And, I usually have to be right next to her to get her to stay on task. I really want to have time with Pooh and Tigger, which means Rabbit has to be working on something. Rabbit will dominate the preschool time if I let her participate, and that time is for the boys. Today I had her work on her handwriting page and her Science notebook page. I know she can stay on task - she has sometimes in the past. I just can't figure out why it is only sometimes. Maybe I'm expecting too much from an 8 year old? She can't do math if there is any noise, which is why we save it for the afternoon when the boys are down for a nap/quiet time.
I also want to incorporate some Brain Integration Therapy (Dianne Craft ideas) into our days. I think it helps her a lot when I do it consistently. Again, though, it means more time with her, and I have two little boys saying, "Do preschool with us, Mommy, please." I know the boys could do some of it with us too. I'll have to be creative. Throw in some cross crawls during bulletin board time and such.
I love how flexible I was able to be, today, though. For example, after preschool time with the boys, I realized Rabbit was really starting to get frustrated with doing her handwriting page. So, I was able to say, "Hey, let's do our art project now." We made our John 3:16 poster. Then I had her do 15 minutes of book basket. That way she had a 45 minute break from writing before going back to it. I feel like those kinds of things help her. I know I read in one of my Charlotte Mason books that you should try to switch tasks so the next one is as unlike the previous one
as possible, so that's what I was trying to do. I try not to have back-to-back writing for her.
Today, Rabbit's toughest task was math. She did Math-U-See Beta quiz 28. She only missed one problem, so that was fine. She's glad to be moving onto the next topic. Again, I had to have her sitting next to me so she would stay focused on it. It took her 45 minutes to do those 15 problems. It probably only took her 15 minutes to do the last 4 problems - the other 30 minutes I was putting the boys down, answering the door and opening the gate for the gutter installers and such, so I couldn't be right next to her.
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