Day 8

We woke up to a storm today -- the rain intoxicated Kieron and Aidan (everyone else was asleep) so we went for a couple of short nature walks to see what our favorite spots in the forest looked like during an August rainstorm. They also had fun trying out their Irish umbrellas -- we don't get to use them very often in central California highlands!

So that along with the bat, and a cluster of daddy-long-legs we found, counted as Science/Nature for them for today.

Aidan helped me make Rice Krispie squares -- not exactly health food, but various forms of pouring and stirring and measuring -- so, Practical Life for him.

Kevin took the older kids off to watch the matinee screening of Harry Potter in town; they will be gone till late night because after that, it will be Sean's therapy and then his football practice.

Kieron has rediscovered the Tintins and is reading those.
Sean is reading Laughing Gas by PG Wodehouse -- he read us a part this morning.

Last night we listened to Les Miserables and to Amazon samples of Scarlet Pimpernel.

As far as formal academics --
Sean didn't get anything done before they went.
Kieron did Math (parentheses and order of operations)....Greek, Thinking Skills (he is enjoying these!) and I reviewed Latin vocabulary with him since Clare didn't have time to do Latin. I must say he knows the vocab well. Whatever the two of them are doing, it is working!

(Incidentally, I remember how I used to read about older kids teaching younger ones, and feel bad because I never tried to train them to do this. However, now I see lots of natural teaching like this going on in my home, and I never had to "train" -- something I rather dislike and prefer to avoid. It makes me happy now that I waited, though I think that if I had respected my style and my kids', I probably would have seen signs of this process and been able to build on it and encourage it a lot sooner).

This will be the last academic journal for about a week, since I am going to Alaska to visit my parents, along with Brendan. I THINK I will tell the kids to do their Greek and Vocabulary daily, and I probably couldn't STOP them from reading -- I intend to collect a pile of books for them to choose from. But that's about all they will be doing.