YAY! Today Gracie began 3rd grade. I am implementing several new things this year such as art, Shakespeare, etc, and a more rigid schedule throughout our day. She has almost all new curriculum and I was curious to see how she would take to it. I am happy to report she loves it! We began with Bible which is something we have not really done before and it went reallly well. She colored a picture that corresponded to the story. We will start with Bible everyday alternating between OT, NT and a story book on real life missionaries. Next she began her grammar lesson. It was short sweet and to the point and I can see that it will just build and build as we go along. She also began cursive writing. I do not use a curriculum for this. She learned how to write "A" in cursive, tomorrow she will learn "a" and we will learn a letter a week as well as how to combine them with a goal of writing completely in cursive by our third term of the year. We also did poetry, memory work and science. We began Considering God's Creation and we laughed and laughed at the stupid audio cd that came with it. It certainly will be good for a daily laugh! We weren't able to do math because we can't find our flashcards at the moment. My plan was to review multiplication with flashcards this week before jumping into the workbook next week (hopefully - if it gets here). Anyway I think the cards may be in the car. One thing I did is to make 3rd grade a big deal. I gave her a brand new large sketch pad for drawing class and told her that it is only to be used with the drawing lessons. I also gave her a small sketch book for nature study time - a time I am going to actually make happen this year complete with weekly topics. Next she got a small pretty journal for her to write her own poetry in. I made a big deal about how little kids dont get one, only big 3rd graders. She LOVED this! She actually huged it. Finally she got her own read pen for correcting her handwriting. We are having lunch now and at 1pm I am implementing "quiet hour". I am hoping this will be good for both of us. She must stay on her bed, no tv, no toys. She may read, color, draw or nap but she has to stay quiet and on her bed for an hour. We get up so early I think this will be a nice break in the day. I am super excited to continue this week! We have something new each day and I am looking forward to see how Gracie enjoys it.
What art program are you using? My DD loves art and I'm searching for a good program to incorporate into our lesson day.
It is called Draw 50 Animals by Lee Ames. We are going to do one animal per week. Our quiet hour was a success as well! She complained about it at first but before she knew it the hour was up. She wrote a poem in her new poetry journal during that time. She just finished up some painting this afternoon. Her sister bought her a stepping stone craft kit for her birthday so yesterday we made the stone, let it dry overnight, and she painted it this afternoon. What a productive day!
That sounds great I am working on incorporating quiet time into our routine as well. My little guy still naps, so that is a great time to just unwind everyday! Thanks for sharing. I hope it continues to go well for you.
