You are almost a month into fourth grade and I feel like this year might just be the best one yet. I changed practically everything in our curriculum and so far, the changes seem to all be for the good.
We switched from Singapore Math to Math Mammoth. We've used Singapore since kindergarten but I never really loved it. I used it because I heard it was one of the best - and I'm sure it is - but I never felt it was a great fit for us, and I was too overwhelmed with choices to look for something different. A dear friend uses MM with her kiddos and they love it. I perused one of the workbooks and I thought it would be something you would like. Again, we're only a month into it, but you seem to like math waaaaay more this year than last year and we've had waaaaay fewer tears than this time last year. So thumbs up for MM.
We using Apologia Astronomy for science. I'm not very science-savvy (that's KK's department) but I think I'll really like this curriculum. You're building a lapbook with the information you're learning, and anything that involves coloring and crafting is A+ in your book.
History is not my jam. Like, not at all. I want to like it but, gracious, it usually just bores me to tears. And I've had quite the knack of choosing history curricula that just fed my dislike of all things history. But this year I chose Mystery of History - and I'm really liking it (cue the Hallelujah Chorus). This curriculum is broken up into four books and we're starting with the first one (duh), which begins at creation and ends at Jesus' resurrection. But it also talks about what else was happening in the world at the same time as Biblical events. This curriculum also includes various crafts and activities so this clearly gets the Natalie Seal of Approval.
Reading comprehension has often been a struggle for me. I distinctly remember taking tests with questions such as "What was the author trying to say when he wrote the following ..." And I was all, "HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW? IF THE AUTHOR WANTED TO SAY SOMETHING, THEN HE SHOULD HAVE JUST SAID IT. I'M NOT A DANG MIND READER." So this prompted me to introduce you to literature reviews this year. Before school began, I assumed we'd read one book a month. In reality, however, we'll probably get through two books each semester. Quality over quantity is the name of our game. We're starting with From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and using a literature review I bought from Teachers Pay Teachers. It's been a lot of fun - and it's really comprehensive. It includes vocabulary, creative writing, and recalling what you read.
You're also in your homeschool group's Fall musical. You got the part of Gretl in The Sound of Music. I can't WAIT to see you perform. You're a natural ham (shock!) so you're really fun to watch you on stage.
You are now a bespectacled Peach. I read to you and Charlie during breakfast every day (we just finished the last Little House on the Prairie book!) and you always come around to my seat when I show you two the pictures. I thought you were just being dramatic when you said you couldn't see the pictures very well. But a doctor's checkup proved that your vision is, in fact, quite terrible. The nurse asked you to read what you could from the eye chart and out of 15 letters, you got two correct. I thought you were just joking and purposefully saying the wrong letter. Even the nurse was all, "You can't see this letter right here? This big letter?" Fast-forward a week and the optometrist confirmed that you definitely needed glasses. The next two weeks were spent trying on frames and finding something wrong with every single one of them. Too pink-ish, too purple-ish, too small, too big, too square, too round, too thick, too thin, too ugly, too old lady-ish. I finally took you to the optical department at Walmart as a last-ditch effort to find something you wouldn't hate. We hit the jackpot - we found some frames that fit your face perfectly, were the right shape (square-but-not-too-square), the right color (tortoise-shell brown), and - my personal favorite - the right price. Nine dollars. Seriously. Nine. Dollars. The first time you put them on, you squealed, "Whoa! These signs have WORDS?!? And these trees have LEAVES!? Momma, the world is so beautiful!"
And they look so natural on you that I'm not used to your face without glasses - and it's only been 10 days. And you love them, too. I could be mistaken, but I think your smile is even bigger now, now that you have your glasses.
And the world is even more beautiful when you're smiling.
Hugs and smooches,
Mommy & Daddy
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Headlines for September 1, 2018:
- John McCain remembered as father, friend, statesman who 'called on us to be better'
- USA Gymnastics coach fired 3 days after hiring
- As school year starts, FBI urges parents to use ID app in case a child goes missing
- Gladys Knight reveals that she had stage 1 breast cancer but is now 'cancer-free and grateful'
- This life-size Lego sports car is fantastic plastic
