Month One of School...Complete...Check

Whew...is it September already? This summer has flown by and I am not even sure I remember most of it. With everything going on, we have completed the first month and I'm struggling to keep up with new and exciting stuff for the girls.

For starters, I started a one year Montessori training program (fast-tracked from two years so double the learning-double the fun).The more I read about Maria Montessori's theories and principles, the more I know this fits wonderfully with my younger two and it will also be a great addition for my eldest. They activities and materials just add "fun" to the learning process.

Little G is flying through "preschool" and will be in "pre-k" in January. The only thing she is not ahead of the game on is handwriting, but even that is coming along rather quickly. She is constantly asking for "more school work", such a change from her eldest sister. G loves mazes and is overjoyed when ever the dot markers come out. She also loves listening when her big sister R brings out the reading books.

E, who is quickly becoming my prima donna works the hardest each day. She has requested we add the typing module to her school program. Even though typing frustrates her, she refuses to give up. My heart aches while I watch her struggle through some of the activities (really designed for a 7 year-old), but then I'm ecstatic when she jumps for joy at the sight of her "score" when she finishes an activity. The program itself is very fun and I think she is just ultra competitive with herself and has a bit of a learning curve. I'm not sure her tiny hands can always stretch to the keys easily.

E also LOVES math and has just about completed her K program. While she continues to work on the K program, we are completing the 10 assessments for it. So far, she easily scores a solid 100% at each level. If that continues to the last assessment, we may just bump her up to first grade math this month. With her Apraxia of Speech she struggles with phonics and being able to say the sounds in order to "hear" where the sounds are supposed to be. This is supposed to be normal for her condition and I find it is extremely frustrating to her as she is a perfectionist with her school work. She also loves French practice.

R still loves being homeschooled but gets frustrated with some of her subjects. When I gave her the choice last week to go back to public school or continue with homeschooling (she seemed to think that school might be easier) - she chose homeschooling. She loves math, science and reading. She even loves writing (creatively) but when she has to sit down and write out grammar activities, she absolutely abhors school. She will pick a fight with whomever is nearby and throw her pencils and papers in the air in frustration. We are working through these "kinks" and I'm hoping now that we completed "sentence review" that the future chapters will offer a bit more excitement to her lessons. She does enjoy working on the grammar as long as she doesn't have to "write" all the answers. I'm thinking once I get "trained" with the Montessori "language arts" that I'll be able to offer some "fun" alternatives to grammar lessons.

Lately, I have found that going back to a five-day a week program for school is what we really need. Even though I would much rather have the three day weekend, I think the girls need the fifth day to stay motivated. Some mornings, it is still tough to crawl out of bed and jump into school work, but we are making it work. Unfortunately, only E is an early riser - the rest of us could stay in bed until noon if given the chance.

Hopefully after our week at the beach (full of educational science and geography lessons while we play in the sun and water), we'll have some pictures to post and be a bit more organized during the day. That is as long as Hurricane Katia doesn't hit the Outerbanks. We stressed out enough with Irene - but now Katia is expected right about the time we head out. UGH! I'm still not sure why my husband likes to vacation in September...other than the lack of crowds.