Bird City

"Bird City"

We did the flea market and the other library today.  Esme had really wanted to go to the other library - and I think I'll try to make a time we can spend longer at it another week coming up.  She found some amazing rubber butterfly models and a kiwi plush which made her day at the flea market.  We looked up and read about kiwi birds as part of our reading for the day.  She learned a lot of cool things and transferred that to making a kiwi burrow and costume in the Minecraft.  She wrote several signs to label things and read three books I had written and placed into the library.

I have started working with her on some of the Spectrum Test Prep book - to see where she is at with her reading comprehension and English skills.  She did four pages with some questioning of what they meant -especially on the phonics questions...she wondered why someone would want to compare the vowel sounds one minute and the end sound the next etc etc... but she did well.

I found a book at the other library on their tiny sale shelf called 'Secondhand Magic'.  I think I will try to get her to start reading it with me.  She loves kites and magic, and it is about both.  I found a novel for me and two English grammar type teacher's manuals that could give some ideas - for a quarter for each book there isn't anything to lose.  I've ordered a Stephen Hawking book 'George and the Secret Key to the Universe' which will arrive in maybe a week.

Math: 
 We have continued in our math with ordinal placement up to four digits, number pattern sequencing, and some 'fact family' type work where she has to fill in the missing number in a long list of equations where they all equal the same number.  The fact family worksheet was from this company: MathSphere
She said it was a cool worksheet because she just had to look at it up and down and she didn't know what they wanted for a second and then she did and it was easy.  It was the one where all the equations added to 20.  The number sequencing patterns were not taken as well...but she is good at this if she tries and needs practice after a summer off.  She likes to try more when there are cute pictures - but the sheet I gave her today was just text, so she had about three despairs during nine questions.

Other: 
We read a third of the 'Secondhand Magic' book before bed.  Esme likes it so far.  Then she told me she had been reading her 'Human Body Facts' book she got in the mail from Aunt Dot.  I mentioned we still have to choose a 'body system' to study first for our body charts. She says the part that makes babies.  ERR...uh...how about we choose another one first, please?  OK.  The Brain, then.  Then she asked me even more questions that led me to grab a notebook and pen and explain X and Y chromosomes in lieu of the rest of the story.  But, yes.. let's really do the Brain first for official school, now that you understand the 'how do the parents decide if they'll have a boy or girl?' idea is random, but based in something I kind-of explained. **it's coming this year.. we will have the full talk**


Mama Notes:  I reached 45% fluency on Duolingo.  I'm still doing lots of practice sessions...which are really helping.  So I maybe do one or two new modules a day and then practice for the rest of the 50 points.  50 points per day is officially their 'insane' level....A few days a week I don't make it...but that is how it goes.  I also bought some soap at the flea market from Dry Hollow Farm, and baked some apple cake.  I'm listening to more music on Spotify, a few new things here and there, and lots of the ones I've found that I like as they pop in my head.  It keeps the 'elevator music' out of my head from work...although I've picked a few of those out and added them in..KT Tunstall, Alanis and a few others here and there.