Back to 'Normal'

'Normal' around here involves getting back into a routine of learning. We have in reality taken almost 4 weeks off over Christmas, but I don't feel at all guilty about that ~ that is the beauty of EHE after-all ~ holidays when and for how long you choose! That time has not been bereft of learning, but as always it has taken it's holiday form ~ crafting, gaming, lots of being together and playing together - with and without extra guests. 

If you want to catch up on all the rest our other holiday happenings, you might like to visit my TMFH blog - I posted all the news pictures over there...

Gymnastics

Chips-2nd-birthday

Christmas-day

Much as it always feels wonderful to jump off the the merry-go-round at holiday times, after all the fun and excitement is expended, it actually feels comfortable to be falling back into a pattern of life again ~ around which the daily/weekly chores and activities just 'fit'. 

But to jump right back on at full speed always seems a bit to 'shocking', so first week, we took it easy. Instead of our usual 4-5 hours of HE a day, I just told the children they needed to do 2 productive hours of work each day ~ and they could choose what they did. They liked that, I liked that and it worked really well as an ease-back-in. 

This week has gone really well so far, and Stitch has even chosen to join us both days so far ~ I'm thinking he was just too spent at the end of last term ~ and he wasn't the only one! I'm happy that not too much has been forgotten (especially with regards to All About Spelling) and the break seems to have done us all a world of good :D


Today TP decided to join in with the dictation phrases from AAS (she recognises in herself that spelling is not her strongest point), and subsequently she decided that she is going to do the same every day, but then she is going to go through the sentences  and identify all the verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs and pronouns. Her idea :D ~ I'm not going to argue! I think it's a great idea, because 'parts of a sentence  certainly is something she never seems to have really got a handle on. I don't remember ever learning formal grammar when I was a girl, but I know that it would have helped me very much if I had, especially when it came to learning foreign languages in secondary school. These days, I find it very helpful to understand the rules of good grammar ~ and much as I am still far from perfect, I do feel that good grammar makes for a much more enjoyable read :D I don't make it my life's work to ram grammar rules down my children's necks, but they do learn it gently and they've all seemed to quite enjoy learning it ~ so it suits me fine if they choose to assign it for themselves!