It's a rainy day this morning. We were going to go help a friend, but she called to say she was in too much pain today. So our plans were aborted around 9AM and we started maths instead. Benjamen is doing much better this year on that front. Concepts seem to have gelled and he needs much less guidance and help from me. We're still in the review phase with a few new concepts thrown in here and there, but I'm very pleased with his progress. Nicholas is still doing very well in math. We got out all the measuring cups and dug through the refrigerator this morning and reviewed cups, pints, quarts, half-gallons, gallons, and pints. We went over how many ounces were in all, how many cups in all of the larger vessels, and generally had fun pouring water everywhere. He picks up concepts easily and plays with them for weeks afterwards, asking all sorts of interesting questions that let me know he's holding them in his mind and turning them over in new ways.

Benjamen is heavily, heavily into Greek myths and legends this year. Jonathan got him into the Percy Jackson books back in the spring, and that has branched into an insatiable exploration of all things Greek. He's interested in the myths and legends of other cultures as well, and we've bought all manner of books from all over the world. He's reading versions of the Iliad and Odyssey at night before bed, and quizzes me hourly on which goddess did what. He was Poseidon for Halloween and Nicholas piggybacked with a Hades costume. We go to the library and he sits for hours with books about gods and goddesses.

For history we're listening to The Story of the World whenever we're in the car. We have all four sets of CDs, from ancient history through modern history and they seem to absorb it all as we travel around. They ask lots of questions and we look up the answers at home. Like so many of their subjects of interest, the formal things I throw in their path are really the least of their learning. Benjamen is interested in presidents and reads biographies on them and asks thoughtful questions about their terms and decisions as president. He classifies them as Good Guys and Bad Guys and it's been interesting seeing which qualities get each president sorted into their group.

Nicholas has been reading, reading, reading this year. We go to the library and bookstores every week, usually more often, and he reads steadily for hours. I've seen a big improvement in his spelling and vocabulary throughout. We have spelling books, vocabulary books, reading books, etc, that we work on daily, but the biggest effect on his improvement in all of those areas is simply letting him read and providing quiet opportunities for him to do so. He likes books about holidays, animals, and those "step" books that have numbers on them (step 1, step 2, etc). He likes trying the different numbers to see how far along he's come. Over summer he remarked to me that the book he was reading had paragraphs (!) and I was pleased that he noticed how the distinctions were made between the different levels of books.

Benjamen and Nicholas both have geography and science books that we work on daily, and they've thrown some new concepts in our path. Ultimately, they learn more and remember concepts better when the science & geography lessons come to us through our everyday lives, rather than from those books. Benjamen gets a series of animal cards through the mail and sits with the books (he organizes each card that comes into its proper category) for hours, reading about the creatures, their habitats, habits, and where in the world they live.

I purchased lots of books on different subjects this summer (geography, science, reading, writing, etc) because I was anticipating another busy year for myself, and thought it would help me stay on topic and make sure we cover what we should, but I've found they're not as helpful as I might have wished. We do the work, but it's not always relevant. We've come across some interesting topics that we've explored further on our own, but not with much frequency. The boys don't seem to enjoy the studies very much and alternate between thinking that the topic at hand is irrelevant, repetitive, or beyond them. All in all, I think we do better to follow their interests, play often, read often, talk often, and seek out more information about what we're interested in. Every night the boys choose a bedtime story and I'm always amused at the academic subjects they invariably choose. Biographies of artists, Gilgamesh, stories by Shakespeare, Beowulf, stories by Homer...it always gives me a giggle, but also makes me proud.

Jonathan is with his grandmother since September, and I'm not sure when he's coming home. He has lots of books (classics) that I sent with him, and lots of study books (writing, which he has been balking at, math, science, algebra, geometry, etc) and his grandmother has him on a schedule for completing all of his studies. She sends me a spreadsheet with his progress every so often. I can't imagine that he's not learning and thriving with her, as he did here. He's voracious in his interests, and they're wide and varied. We talk several times every week and he seems very happy and productive. He misses us, and we miss him, but he's a happier, healthier person with his grandmother than his is here at home with his pesky brothers and his nagging old mom.

We're almost finished with math, now, and have karate to look forward to this evening. In between, Nicholas wants to make a play about the sun and the wind. I think they have determined that we are going to make shadow puppets for our play out of cardboard. Not a bad way to spend a rainy day :)