Gavin has been learning about plants and what they need to grow and be healthy. So, we did a little science experiment, which was designed to show him that without sun and water and air seeds can’t grow. We planted seeds in plastic cups, poked holes in the bottom, and placed the cups in a couple places around the house. One had water added to it, and was placed under the sink (in a dark place). One had no water added to it, and was placed on a sunny windowsill. And the last one had water added to it and was placed on the same sunny windowsill. It was suppose to work out that the one with water and sun would grow well, while the other two didn’t. Yeah, it didn’t work that way. The one with no water didn’t grow, of course, but neither did the one with water and sun. But, the one in the dark under-the-sink cabinet grew and grew and grew. So much for that lesson. It was interesting, though, and I had to laugh.
Winding down May 13, 2009
So, the school year is winding down, but we are still in full swing. In fact, we’ll be working over the summer, but only on fun stuff like art and science. We will be finishing up all the language arts and such very soon! Hooray for that! The boys are happy about it, too. Gavin is trucking along in his 1st grade math very well. He catches on to it so fast, it’s crazy! And, Logan finished his 2nd grade math yesterday! For someone who has had trouble with math, I’m so excited that he finished early! Both of the boys are doing really well, and picking up in areas that they have been lagging in or having trouble with. Still battling Gavin with the phonics, but we’ve decided that instead of formal phonics lessons, we’re going to just have him read and read and read. He’s not too happy about reading because he doesn’t like it. However, I’m going to be sneaky and have him just randomly read things throughout the day. Hopefully, we’ll get him proficient soon.
So, we are winding down a bit, especially with this nice weather outside, but that’s alright. We’re also getting a bunch done, too.
Gavin’s Reading May 2, 2009
So, I’ve been having a lot of trouble getting Gavin to work on his phonics stuff. He doesn’t like it, and I really can’t blame him there. It’s pretty repetitive and boring. He doesn’t like doing it, and I really don’t either. However, it’s necessary because he has to learn how to read. So, in talking with his teacher the other day, she suggested that she work on it with him over the phone and computer. I figured that could be a very good thing, so we set it all up. After she went through one of the end of the unit assessment with him, she told me that he is doing really well and that he is ready to start reading books, and by doing so, we don’t have to do those yucky lessons anymore! When he heard that, Gavin was happy! So, today he started by reading Go Dog, Go! It went really well and this is definitely much preferred. I’m really happy that we have this alternative!
