State of the Homeschool Address

Still trucking right along with school. Cookie monster is doing well in her studies and our only trouble so far seems to be the dreaded return of the tantrum. I haven't seen a tantrum like that since she was 3! Apparently, it's because she wishes she could go back to Kindergarten. To hear her tell it, she would like to grow up and be dumb. Huh. Interesting. I am not below threatening to stick her back in public school, although i am not sure i could physically do that.



Here's the stats:

Math: 32 lessons down, 108 to go.

Grammar: 26 lessons down, 74 to go.

Spelling: 4 sections down, and i think i am actually starting to understand it now.

Earth Science: 9 lessons of the 18 are done for the semester. 2 experiments involving volcanoes have been conducted.

History: only 9 more chapters in the ancient times, then we move on to Middle Age history.

Art History: we've worked our way through Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Seurat. Up next: Toulouse-Lautrec, Matisse, Klee and Picasso (which i am very excited about because a beautiful Picasso exhibit is coming to the Seattle Art Museum from Paris!)

Music: we've exhausted Mozart and are moving on to Beethoven.

Piano is going well...she just love playing on her own and moving ahead at her own intention, so it's a really easy part of school so far!

Irish dance: she is learning her half steps she will need for her next set of grades and has competed in another feis. They are practicing and learning new steps for the recital.

Tap/Jazz: they are reviewing steps for the new students.

Religious Ed starts next week! I can't wait to see what 1st communion class is like this year! Deacon George has giving Cm the head's up that Fr. Uncle Pete wrote some really tough questions this year, but Deacon George thinks she'll ace them! :)

We've had 2 field trips for the month of September. One was to a local organic farm. The other was to inspect some local creeks and rivers for her watershed unit in science.



We also finished the month with a trip to Portland, OR. We visited the zoo with a dear friend of mine and her adorable chidlren, who also helped make clear to me the act of knitting gussets in a sock because she is thee knitting guru, and also an excellent child wrangler to boot! :) Cookie monster also participated in The Portland Feis, where she competed in the U9 catagory which meant she was dancing with children young and older than her. She did great, considering it was extremely chaotic, and won the 2nd and 3rd place medals for Single Jig and Light Jig. Hooray! We also spent a few hours in the mesmerising Powell's Books, where i didn't even make it out of the children's section. Note: this place warrents a post all it's own. And we finished the visit with a trip on the MAX and lunch at Kell's Pub. C.m. fell completely head over heels for Portland and is telling everyone that she can't wait to go back--she thinks this winter would be a good time to go and visit her new friends in her new favourite city!