Reading Aloud: The Diary of A Chrysalis

Remember this book? 

Here's a video of Jed & me reading a poem for two voices. The poem is entitled The Diary of a Chrysalis.

A Spelling City Video

Here's another video that shows a glimpse of our home lessons. This one is for our spelling classes. I adoreSpelling City. I can just type in the words for the day. It then gives them to Jed one at a time, with a sample sentence. Because it is so much like a novel online game, he just loves it and will keep on playing it. Meanwhile, I am free to do my chores while keeping an ear out for him.

Spelling City

We finally try out a new online tool: Spelling City. Not surprisingly, Jed loves it because Jed loves anything  like online gaming.

Previously, I would have a PDF file open with his spelling words. When he was done with one word, he would ask me for the next word. If I was writing an email that needed focus, he would have to wait patiently for 2-3 minutes for the next word.

This tool takes all that fuss away. I just put in the words and he goes through them at his own pace. Then, he saves his results and shows them to me.

Here is our first run-through today.

He gets one word wrong and, on his own initiative, goes through it all again. It's all fun & games to him, so he doesn't mind re-doing it at all.



 Finally, he gets all the words right. His reward: spelling games!

Observing Leaves with a Microscope

This afternoon, I finally found (made) time for the leaf-gathering field trip I promised Jed two weeks ago. Jed wants to be a scientist when he grows up so I thought this would be a fun start for him.

Right beside our third floor apartment is an untamed lot, filled with lots of plants, shrubs, bananas and trees. Jed put on his gardener's boots and gloves and we went on a leaf-picking adventure.

Then, he spent the whole afternoon sitting down on the balcony floor, looking at the different leaves through his little microscope.

There were long leaves and spiky leaves. There was a heart-shaped leaf and a fan-shaped leaf. I wish I knew their names. Next week, I will teach him to draw in his journal what he sees through his microscope.

 

It blesses my heart to see the rapt focus on my son's face, in the warm afternoon light.

3-D Dinosaurs: T-rex and Brontosaurus

Jed & I came down with viral tonsilitis last week. With our energies at an all-time low, I didn't have the heart for our usual curriculum. So, we hunkered down with a Kumon crafts book I had purchased two weeks ago.

The brontosaurus was easy to make, but Jed found the intricate curves of the T-rex a little too much. He wanted to opt out and asked me to make it for him. I volunteered to help him, but he still had to do it himself.

So, even though this was an Arts class, it was also a class in Character. Because, today, he learned a practical lesson in diligence and perseverance.

Our First Filipino Class continued

Here's another video of our first forays into Filipino yesterday.

Jed was very apprehensive about studying Filipino. To get him familiarized with Filipino, I started with a few phrases (like "Magandang umaga" and "Halika na, kain na tayo.") every day until he finally felt confident enough to open his Filipino books.

Thankfully, our academic consultant hit the spot with her recommendation of Liwanag sa Landas. There's a lot of activity and gentle storytelling, perfect for my active learner.

So, our first Filipino lesson was a success. Jed can't wait to do it again.

Our First Filipino Class

I was initially against teaching Jed Filipino. We don't speak it in Cebu and we certainly don't speak it at home. As to the argument that Jed will not be able to attend Filipino colleges, my answer to that is: "What of the foreign students here?" and more dismissively "Jed will have options to go to school outside the country."

I changed my mind after our trip to Melbourne. Being in an international setting, I saw how necessary it is to be able to converse in your own dialect among strangers. Not to gossip, we hate gossip.  But, more importantly, to be able to share personal observation such as "This guy is trying to make a fool out of us; let's move on, quickly now."

That being said, here is our first foray into Filipino. Jed was initially whiney about this, but I quickly set about making it fun for him. So, then, we got the ball rolling.

As the video will show you, we are learning Filipino as a foreign language, not as a second language.

Jed's favourite word is "mabuti". I'll wake him up in the mornings with a "Magandang umaga, Elijah. Kumusta ang tulog mo?" To which, I am sorry to say, he slaps his bum and replies, "Ma-booty." Hehehe! Well, whatever works! C'est la vie!

Bored or bribing?

I can't quite remember now if Jed was bored or trying to bribe me to do something for him.

But, I found these photos on the camera. One of his cousins must have been his accomplice.

A Planetarium, Microscope & Globe - Goodies!

We finally unpacked the goodies we picked up from Melbourne. O, happy day!

Here's our planetarium. It shows the stars of the South hemisphere. I'll have to keep an eye out for the slides that will show the stars of the North hemisphere.

 And here's a microscope, for my little scientist.

I also picked up an inflatable globe at the local National bookstore in Ayala, and attached a tiny golden plane to it.

Together with his laptop and art supplies, this rounds up all the materials that we will be using for this school year.

So now, Jed can marvel in the gigantic wonders of the stars, and indulge in the tiny details within a blade of grass.    

I am Content

We Choose Virtues has 12 virtues. The first one we have chosen to study is: "I am Content."

"I am Content" is great for us. On Sundays, we attend CCF at Marriott Cebu. After church, we walk to Ayala for lunch and then spend our afternoons doing free reading at Fully Booked. I buy a new business book every week, so the staff know me and dont mind if Jed tags along for free reading.

Needless to say, being at the mall allows Jed a lot of opportunity to flex his "I am Content" muscles. I am proud to say that he is certainly stepping up to this challenge. These days, he will pick up something only to return it back after a long pause stating matter-of-factly: "This is a want, Mom. Not a need."

Here he is, reciting his "I am Content" memory verse.

We cant wait to begin the next virtue: "I am Diligent"