James' First Basketball Game

James' very first "game" on March 23, 2013. I have to say that he has more athletic talents than mom. Dad says that it's all from his. Haha. It's really fun watching these little kids playing so seriously or so causally.

Some of James' recent schoolwork

James' first homeschooling year (his kindergarten year) was spent mostly playing with Lego. I attempted to teach him phonics but apparently he was not ready.  This school year, probably right around Christmas, his reading finally took off. I had read so many good reviews for Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons that I bought a new copy. But it did not work for James. What had helped him build confidence and interest is the little I See Sam books. I purchased the first set of 24 small booklets, then switched to free ones online. Now he is reading McGuffey Primer.

I tried "Cursive First" for handwriting, but it seemed too much for James. Now I either have him copy a poem or spelling words or use pages from a copywork book.

Free play time. He was playing "breakout" with Daniel and neighborhood kids. Does it count for P.E.?

Some of Daniel's recent schoolwork

A page from Daniel's Book of Century. He doesn't do it every week. As I paged through the completed pages, a common theme jumped out. What else could it be but the theme of war and battle? Not sure if it's because of human history is never short of bloodshed or because this boy of mine loves things of battle. We're reading about Renaissance this year. Our Island Story is used for British history and This Country of Ours for American history. We're also reading Trial and Triumph for stories from church history.

 
One of Daniel's copy work pages. His cursive writing is quite good, but he often writes sloppily in any other schoolwork. Seems that he  is still "allergic" to putting pencil on paper.

Speaking of handwriting, I don't request so much of it at all. Narration is the major vehicle to evaluate the student's comprehension and retention. Sometimes, if he chooses so, he could use drawings or Legos to enhance his narration. Last week, he built the ship Argo with Lego while telling the story of  ow the Argonauts Were Driven into the Unknown Sea.

Free play time. Playing "breakout" with James and their neighborhood friends. Call it recess or P.E..

Trip to Berkeley

It was last month, Present Day. We went visiting a family friend at Berkeley and the two families went on a day trip to Tilden region park. It was a very pleasant visit in spite of the low temperature and the high wind. We went to the Little Farm (a farm-like petting zoo), the Botanic Garden, and the Little Steam Train. These three places are at least 10 minutes drive apart, but are all lots of fun. We especially enjoyed the steam train ride. While most train rides at parks are very short and not what you would can scenery  ride. This ride is winding through tall redwood and is quite long.

Two more poems

We are memorizing two more poems this week.

One Chinese poem that virtually every Chinese knows.

锄禾

锄禾日当午，汗滴禾下土。

谁知盘中餐，粒粒皆辛苦。

James is having some difficulty with this one, even after I made some stick figure drawing to help him understand. I'm not asking them to recognize the characters. Sign. 

We all love the next little poem by Issac Watts. Of course Daniel had to modify the words to his naughty taste, but I won't share his version.

Let Dogs Delight to Bark and Bite

 Let dogs delight to bark and bite, 

For God hath made them so; 

Let bears and lions growl and fight, 

For 'tis their nature too.

But, children, you should never let 

Such angry passions rise; 

Your little hands were never made 

To tear each other's eyes.