Baby Peep

I thought I would end the week with Baby Peep since he has been prevalent of late. I know it is only Thursday but tomorrow is Fine Art Friday which means I need to find something for that.

He is a very funny child to work with. He can sometimes be so cooperative. He can be so NOT cooperative if his mood strikes. I have not figured out what triggers him. He is motivated simply by himself. He could have had a nice dinner, gone to bed early with a story to boot and will wake in the foulest of moods. For a while I thought it was the gluten messing with him. Sometimes I still suspect it. Even though we are careful with what he eats, it is impossible, in this country, to eliminate it completely. We depend on wheat for everything. That rant for another time.....

Today was a very pleasant day. He sought me out for school. This is rare but happening more often. (There is hope.) His reading is still behind what we consider appropriate but the strides he is making can not be measured in reading levels. He no longer runs from the room when I pull out Phonics Pathways.

I have considered getting something else but middle peep used something different to learn to read and he is a terrible speller. Oldest peep used PP and she is a great speller. It could be middle peep was destined to be a bad speller (Papa Peep can't spell himself out of a paper bag) but I see understanding in baby peep that middle peep doesn't have yet. I attribute it to Phonics Pathways. I am not taking any chances this time.

He doesn't enjoy reading, but he now tolerates lessons and reading practice. He enjoys First Language Lessons. He likes the memorization and the narration bits now. He especially likes it when I put them on the blog for others to see. You know, now that I think about it, he is an attention seeker. I will have to ponder more on that later...

So today he did school on the floor of my bedroom. I had to run back and forth between schoolroom and my bedroom to check on him. We cuddled on my bed for History. Yesterday I received Junior History Book 1 and 2 and he couldn't wait to start it. I hope to write up a review later today.

Then we worked on Math. He is really starting to remember the math facts but more importantly he is understanding the relationship numbers have with each other. The Right Start abacus has played a huge role in that. I am not using the manual right now because he was not enjoying it and it was taking too much of my time for one lesson. We now use the abacus with Singapore Math. I explain with the abacus the point I am trying to make and he "sees" it right away.

Next was Explode the Code which he loves. He groans about reading the sentences but he has gotten so much better because of them. I see the grumbling as habit because he gets most of them easily now.

Afterwards, he practiced his reading and this is where it got funny. Watch him read and then work on some spelling words.

I usually take his words right from what he is reading. It helps to cement them in his mind. I am trying to discover what sort of learner he is and he leans visual but not necessarily on everything. This write what you read method worked for Oldest Peep way back when, so I go back to it with Baby Peep. Middle Peep was such a reluctant writer that I did not employ this method. I am paying for it now as he is 9 and has trouble spelling the most basic words. Maybe I will highlight him next week.