Confession time...I have owned the 1st and 2nd editions of The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home and yet I have never read the book. In fact, skimming is about all I've done.
Last week I bought the 3rd/10th Anniversary edition and I have decided that I WILL read it cover-to-cover this time. Attention wise I struggle with reading non-fiction, so this will be a feat for me once accomplished.
So far, I'm 50 pages in. I am actually recognizing some of the reading and wondering why I didn't continue reading in the previous editions. The writing is inspiring, but truthfully 775+ pages can be daunting for someone who has a hard time reading non-fiction.
The other question I've had is, "Why haven't I followed TWTM's teaching methods if I find it so inspiring?" TWTM presents a rigorous classical education. Add to the mix a mom/teacher with serious procrastinating tendencies and a couple of "Leo the late bloomers" and I honestly didn't think it was doable. It seemed too rigid for our family.
Even now, I'm not sure how it will fit in with our life, but I've been homeschooling long enough to have learned that gleaning and using something is better than nothing at all.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Fall-on-my-face Tired
It is only 11 p.m. and I'm about to fall on my face I'm so tired. 13yo took a standardized test this morning (required in grades 3,5,8, and 10) which meant we had to be out of the house by 8:30 a.m. I am NOT a morning person. On top of that, I get so paranoid about oversleeping that I constantly wake up to check the clock. I didn't sleep well last night and I'm tired, tired, tired.
I am so happy to have testing out of the way for another year. Bleh! DD spent most of her school time over the past month reviewing math and English. Oh, if I would only learn to review a bit every day throughout the year then we wouldn't have to "cram" for the test. But you know what? I'm not perfect and life happens.
I am so happy to have testing out of the way for another year. Bleh! DD spent most of her school time over the past month reviewing math and English. Oh, if I would only learn to review a bit every day throughout the year then we wouldn't have to "cram" for the test. But you know what? I'm not perfect and life happens.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
She's READING!!!
Am I a little excited? YES!
7yo has been able to read consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) ("cat") words for awhile, but she wasn't able to read sentences. Last month I bought some sight word readers which she memorized. The past two weeks she has been reading longer passages in her Rod & Staff "We Learn About God" reader. Again, these are sight word stories, but they are much longer which showed me that she is actually reading not merely reciting memorized passages.
BTW, we are working through the accompanying phonics workbook too. I like this approach of using both types of reading instruction (phonics and sight words). Using sight words means she is able to start reading quickly and phonics instruction helps her to build future reading skills.
Now, if we can get her to count from 11-20 without leaving out numbers.... c:
7yo has been able to read consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) ("cat") words for awhile, but she wasn't able to read sentences. Last month I bought some sight word readers which she memorized. The past two weeks she has been reading longer passages in her Rod & Staff "We Learn About God" reader. Again, these are sight word stories, but they are much longer which showed me that she is actually reading not merely reciting memorized passages.
BTW, we are working through the accompanying phonics workbook too. I like this approach of using both types of reading instruction (phonics and sight words). Using sight words means she is able to start reading quickly and phonics instruction helps her to build future reading skills.
Now, if we can get her to count from 11-20 without leaving out numbers.... c:
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