What I learned in school today
Well, besides learning that a 7 year old can cry for 45 minutes because her brain won't let her think (??) I learned a few things in history today. We are doing Roman history, starting with the Pax Romana era. It's such a shame that the Caesars after Octavian were crazier than bedbugs. If you ever get a chance, you really should read (or listen to) "The Twelve Caesars" by Suetonius. It's quite entertaining (if you can forget the people who lost their lives due to the insanity, greed and viciousness of the Caesars.) Anyway, I learned that the manger is actually a feeding trough. Now, I know that seems silly, but I never really gave much thought as to what kind of "crib" Jesus was put into . I guess I thought that "manger" was another word for barn or something. Well, anyway we learned about the birth of Christianity in terms of the Roman Empire.
I also discovered that the word "pig" can drive a 4-year old to tears when she's doing her phonics. I'm not too sympathetic since she had already correctly identified the middle vowel in "big" and "wig". So, beware the evil "pig" word. We do a combination of things for her reading skills. She knows all of the letter sounds, but is reluctant to use this knowledge when we're doing schoolwork. I use "Earobics", ClicknKids, Scholastic and just a bunch of books that interest her. My main frustration with her is that she thinks she can read through a psychic connection with the written word. It is not unusual to see her staring out the window, at the ceiling, at her fingertips and everywhere except the book! I think children like her are what drives adults to drink ...
While going over the chapters on Rome and Christianity I was directed to this great website for teaching children (and okay, adults too) about art. The site is called the National Gallery of Art and they have a kids section that allows them to create their own masterpieces and "work" with different materials to create different forms of art. You can judge it for yourself by visiting http://www.nga.gov/kids/kids.htm. It's really neat, and since I'm not an artsy person, a perfect place to explore and learn.
It'll be interesting to see what new lessons I learn tomorrow. Maybe Michael won't spend the morning trying to eat the dog's food or drown the cat with the pet water dish. Now wouldn't that be a nice change of pace?
I also discovered that the word "pig" can drive a 4-year old to tears when she's doing her phonics. I'm not too sympathetic since she had already correctly identified the middle vowel in "big" and "wig". So, beware the evil "pig" word. We do a combination of things for her reading skills. She knows all of the letter sounds, but is reluctant to use this knowledge when we're doing schoolwork. I use "Earobics", ClicknKids, Scholastic and just a bunch of books that interest her. My main frustration with her is that she thinks she can read through a psychic connection with the written word. It is not unusual to see her staring out the window, at the ceiling, at her fingertips and everywhere except the book! I think children like her are what drives adults to drink ...
While going over the chapters on Rome and Christianity I was directed to this great website for teaching children (and okay, adults too) about art. The site is called the National Gallery of Art and they have a kids section that allows them to create their own masterpieces and "work" with different materials to create different forms of art. You can judge it for yourself by visiting http://www.nga.gov/kids/kids.htm. It's really neat, and since I'm not an artsy person, a perfect place to explore and learn.
It'll be interesting to see what new lessons I learn tomorrow. Maybe Michael won't spend the morning trying to eat the dog's food or drown the cat with the pet water dish. Now wouldn't that be a nice change of pace?
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