Moving Along

Kirk is a stubborn, self-directed learner and often rejects my assistance. Currently he is reading Footrot Flats and Garfield comics. I know he can not read much of them yet but he is decoding them gradually and since they are his reading matter of choice (obsession?) how can I refuse?  He loves the ABC Reading Eggs software and has almost finished all their latest levels so I hope they publish something soon.

We have finally moved onto grade 2 Signpost Maths and he is finding it easy. Oddly he likes the structure of that particular maths text and bucks when I try to feed him anything else. Using the Mathletics texts as grade 1 revision was unsuccessful and nor does he find the Mathletics online software engaging any longer because the interface is extremely repetitive. So why is Mathletics so popular? It looks like I need to find something which will engage him in more creative ways. However we will be studying electronics in term 4 so that should extend his numeracy in all sorts of directions. 

On a side note Kirk now wants to be a chef because he is very proud of his efforts in making pizza from scratch.  He can also prepare noodles, make sammies and helps me generally in he kitchen.

Report on the Bundaburg Air Show

Last weekend we spent 3 days at the Bundaberg Air Show. On the first day we bought a hovercraft. We also saw 3 big racing cars (one was small), they do 400km per hour. They belong to Stuart Bishop. He’s the guy who drives them. We spent a lot of time looking at airplanes. I liked the bi-planes – they were pretty good at stunts.

I like the Roulettes doing their tricks. They are planes that are red with stripes on each wing. They’re airforce pilots that fly the trainer aircraft.
  
I have found out that F18s are REALY REALLY REALLY loud. They are incredibly fast! They protect the world – they go to war. And maybe they are the best planes ever built in history.

Matt Hall is a famous pilot, he did stunts. He did loops, hovering, he flew upside down and all sorts of amazing things.
   
I had a chance to get in an airplane. And I knew how you steer it and how you use the brakes. There was a stick that had a little handle you pull it back and that slows the airplane down and that stick steers it. Right – turn the airplane right, left – turn the airplane left. It was a fighter called a Nanchang CJ6A and it fought during the Korean and Vietnam wars.

I saw microlights. They have a propeller at the back which pushes them whih is attached to an engine. The man said that he takes his daughter flying in it. How you steer – there is a little bar and to go left you tilt it right and to go right you tilt it left. There is no roof, no doors or walls – they are just a small light aircraft.

This “seeker” airplane looked very unusual.

That's Just Silly

Reading has really clicked. Perhaps because he has discovered Dr Seuss. He INSISTS on reading them himself and giggles all the way through. Which in one way is a pity  because I love reading them to him.

Just an Update

Kirk is almost ready to move onto grade 2 maths but I'll just revise all the concepts & wait for his literacy to catch up before we buy the next text. While he has an excellent oral ability, his reading level is still restricted to the basic building blocks & phonic words. His handwriting still requires a lot of work as well and I think these things are restricted by his maturity and he will simply develop them in time. Also I'm finding he has an excellent memory and will repeat facts and passages wth fair accuracy months after he has learned them. 

North American Indians

A report dictated by Kirk with a few suggestions from me to help it make sense.

Indians used bows and arrows and spears for hunting. They liked to hunt wild turkeys - they go, "Gobble, gobble gobble!" [turkey calls on YouTube].  They hunted buffalow by scaring them over cliffs. They then would fall and break their bones. The Indians hunted moose with moose callers. We made a moose caller last week out of paperbark and tied it with strong grass. It sounds like "mwaaaaaja".  Here is a page full of moose calls. [ed: Kirk thinks these are hilarious.]


They caught fish with nets and lines with hooks with bait. Their bait was made out of other fish. Their first idea was insects and then other fish.  They also made fish traps.  Indians planted types of corn, squash (pumpkins) and beans. They also gathered blueberries, seeds, nuts and herbs. 

They made canoes fom wood and bark.

They lived in tepees, wigwams, longhouses and mud brick houses.
The plains Indians followed the buffalow with tepees. The tepees were made out of skin and how they put them up was with stiff sticks.They were nomads.The east coast Indians lived in longhouses made from bark and wood. They did not move often. Others built wigwams and moved occassionally. Some of the mudbrick houses (adobe) were built under a cave so they did not have roofs.

During this month we have made a costume & feather headress. We are now making a tepee and my first tepee is nearly half built. Mum is making leather moccasins, a quiver and tomorrow we'll make a leather bag with seed and shell decorations.

We have been doing lots of archery and I'm hitting the targets more often. Sometimes I hit them in the neck.

My Life as an Indian

Kirk spent most of today as an American Indian. He sewed a tunic (which he can wear to Northern War) and went hunting for deer. He also discussed at length their houses. His tepee unfortunately is still under construction.

V-I-K-I-N-G

Mum, I know how to spell Viking. V-I-K-I-N-G!

Ahhh... A boy after my own heart!

Last week it was Indians and it looks like this week it will be Vikings. He then asked, "Why did they call them Vikings?"
"I don't know, we will have to research that."

GOAL!!!

The soccer team kicked their first goal and Kirk achieved his - NOT to cry during the game! Well done my little boy.

Nerd Cert I

Kirk passed Nerd Cert I the other day. He excitedly pointed to David Attenborough on the DVD and exclaimed, "This man tells me all about animals - he's really good - I watch all his stuff!!!"  and he doesn't recognise  High 5 or the Wiggles.

Cock-a-doodle-doooo

Kirk is buckling down to work properly now. When we open a page of his handwriting text - he just does it. If I tell him it's not good enough and rub it out, he just does it again with more care and no complaints.

His maths progress is great but what I am even happier about is he can self-assess and is setting his own goals. If he receives less than 80% in Mathletics he is disappointed and deservedly celebrates when he achieves full marks. Today he aced his term assessment from the Signpost Maths textbook. Partially this has occurred because reading and writing is falling into place hence the textbook is a lot easier to understand. He willingly does 2 or 3 pages at a time and can sometimes predict what they want him to do.

3 weeks ago we did a mapping exercise at Frank & Elaine's place with our homeschool group and this week Kirk surprised me with a spontaneous map of our yard - everything was recognisable and in the right place. Incidentally he drew this map for the Toothfairy because he has lost another tooth.

He is also loving soccer even though he is the woosiest boy there! His coach, Ashley, is very patient and gently explains and encourages him. His swimming progress is also pretty good and I am hoping he will be good enough for swim club by September.

So where is Skye in all this? Usually harassing him!

Reading at last

It's taken a while but reading has finally clicked for Kirk. Admittedly it's just phonically and only 2 & 3 letter words but he's made it to first base. PHEW! I hope the next landmark comes a bit quicker :-)

Get Rhythm

Need it. Slowly succeeding.  I won't harp on because others already have.

We're Legal!

We have the temporary "go for it" from the homeschooling unit until they read our program. It seems their workload grows every year.

This term we're doing seashore and estuarine ecology, building on what we did last year and we're reasonably on track. One of his tasks is to make a collection for a Case of Curiosities. The other week we went beachcombing at Kelly's Beach and he found a lot of cuttlefish bones so we spent a few days learning about cuttlefish and what animals are related to them (basic classification). Afterwards he dictated this for his book, I made 4 suggestions about better wording;

Cuttlefish Bone

Yesterday we went to the beach and we had a little swim. The weather was a bit rainy and bit cloudy. Then we went beachcombing. We found cuttlefishes’ bones. They are very soft and I can put my fingernail through them. Some broke in my hand. Cuttlefish bones come from cuttlefish. They’re  much softer than normal bone. It helps them float in the water.

Cuttlefish change colour so they can hide. This is called camouflage. They also squirt out ink when something is attacking them. The ink blinds the attacker while they escape. They do not have any other way of defending themselves so cuttlefish are smart, they have big brains and can do tricks.

______________________________________

Today we went to the Burnett River (tidal)  to look at the effects of the flood. He was SOOOO impressed...especially when he found a fantastic crab trap which he intends to give to Grandpa. We saw all sorts of wreckage; boats, jetties, bowling balls, fences etc... and then he noticed there were a lot of large crab holes but very few small crab holes where as the opposite was previously true. So we speculated on what happened to all the small ones and he concluded they were washed into the ocean. I'll make a point of visiting the sites again in 12 months to see if their numbers have rebuilt.

On the sporting front: Kirk's swimming confidence is growing and he is a lot more competent in the water but I would not say he is a great swimmer yet. We are trying to swim two or three times a week and HOPE he will be able to join the swim club at the end of the year. 

Kirk is also looking forward to starting soccer on Saturday...so far it has cost us almost $200 so he had better like it because he won't be dropping out!!!

We're having fun with the homeschoolers group. We're making sock puppets at the moment (They only stick the needles in each other a couple of times) and will put on a play for the toddlers playgroup soon. Strangely all the kids have wanted to make chickens...

If anyone wants to see what we're doing this year. Drop me an email and I'll send you our program.