As One Is Finished, Another Is Beginning...

ORIGINALLY POSTED AUGUST 10, 2007

Today, Littleman finished a long-term project he had been doing over the summer. In order to get into the practice of daily reading and writing, we decided on one sentence of copywork per day. Our subject was the Fifty States. I had a booklet that came with a puzzle about the states and in it were highlights for each one. I would select a sentence from one of the highlights for each state. Then Littleman would write the state's name and copy the underlined sentence. He would read the sentence he copied and then I would read each of the highlights for the state of the day. We included the District of Columbia, so that made for 51 sentences.

There were times of complete struggle - even mutiny! - however, he seemed to learn something about the states as we went through. If you ask him directly, he'll tell you that he can't remember anything about any of the states. However, when we are putting the puzzle together, I'll say something like, "Here's Indiana" and he'll say, "That's where they have the Indy 500!"

Despite some of the difficulties we encountered, I am very pleased with the outcome of this project. I have seen him write neater now than before. I hear him repeat what he has learned. I know that he is better equipped to handle the increases in academics as they come his way.

Upon finishing the last period of the last sentence of the last state, Littleman smiled and said, "On Monday, we can start my space book!" Upon hearing that he was finished, Diva piped up and said, "Now I can do my states!" (She's only 4!). I may let her try, but I certainly will not force the issue. The space book Littleman was so enthusiastic about is Exploring Creation through Astronomy. He has been looking forward to this since it arrived in the mail. I, too, am looking forward to sharing this journey with my children. While this will be specifically targeted toward Littleman, I will include Diva in each 'lesson'. I know that she wants to do everything her big brother does and if she learns something about astronomy along the way, who am I to stop her?

I will post soon about what we plan on doing this year. As this is our first official year, we are just beginning to find our way. But we will - with the Lord's help and guidance.