First Week of School in Review

All things considered, our first week of school went off pretty well, considering the looonng break we've actually had. (Daniel said that last year we got back into things so fast it was shocking - and he prefers a gentle start, and hoped that this year would be gentle...:-))

Eden and Nathan got their materials on Monday evening, and were going full steam on Tuesday morning! What wonderful kids! They're totally independent workers, self-motivated and diligent!

Ben and Daniel started quite keenly too. Handwriting, surprisingly, seems to have benefited greatly from the break! Not so maths... It's surprising how two months off can cause "I've forgotten how to multiply..." Unfortunately their enthusiasm has been somewhat challenged by the two youngest. The sandpit has failed to provide the entertainment necessary to keep these two busy :-(

Jordan is crawling now. He seems to enjoy getting around on his own steam, and he's found some new, interesting playthings around the house. Like this:

Yesterday we had a few 'zoo moments'. In one Keren had taken a jigsaw puzzle out of the games' cupboard, and left the cupboard doors open. Jordan spotted it, and went to investigate. Unfortunately, I didn't spot him! I was too busy explaining adverbs and adjectives to Daniel. We all heard this thump, and ran to see what it was. Jordan had pulled a box over with a jigsaw inside... 500 pieces all over the floor. As Keren came running, she slipped on a book that she had left there and fell and banged her head! So while I tried to comfort her, Jordan took the greatest delight in sending puzzle pieces in all directions! (In case you think I'm a terribly mean mommy, my camera was on my desk, so I could quickly take this photo - I need to show my husband what my day's like sometimes...)Shortly after that, Jordan managed to get hold of a small stamp-pad of Keren's and colour his fingers and face blue!

Despite all these things, we've made good headway on getting back into History and Science, which the kids really enjoy! We didn't get to start on Ancient Rome this week, so we'll do it next week. I had tea with a homeschooling friend on Wednesday, and her son is concentrating on Ancient History this year, so we should be able to co-op a bit on Rome, which would be fun! I think it was an OK start to the year, and I'm looking forward to next week!