2.22.11

I forgot to mention yesterday that we read a bunch of books before bed, including Hop on Pop. Jude read about three-fourths of that book on his own! I'm really starting to see reading "click" with him - it's so cool to witness! I was getting worried about teaching him reading and I was kind of avoiding it, thinking it would be too hard or that I'd mess it up somehow. It's not that we weren't doing anything, because we were and do, but I wasn't purposely doing a reading lesson each day. Somehow, though, it's been sinking it. Imagine that! ;)

Today we went to the library and he picked out four comic book-type books (two Star Wars and two Transformers). I read one to him tonight and then he was looking at another by himself while I read half a chapter of The Wind in the Willows and he was picking out words, as well as sounding them out. :) He might not have been listening to what I was reading about Rat, Mole, and Toad but that's okay. The best thing about it all is how proud he is of himself when he is able to figure out words on his own!

Today's other learning highlights:

• Jude finished digging out his T-Rex dinosaur bones (with a little help from mom and a hammer). He assembled the bones. The plaster made a giant mess in the kitchen but was so worth it. He was incredibly excited to dig out, clean off, and identify each bone.
• More necklace making, while I cleaned up all the plaster dust on the table and kitchen floor from the dinosaur dig.
• Audrey completed MANY pages in her new maze workbook, as well as a few in her numbers workbook.
• Jude completed about three 1-to-100 connect-the-dots and several mazes. He also did about five pages in a first grade phonics workbook AND he finished his first math book! 
• We read about how God keeps His promises. We are also starting to read the New Testament in Jude's picture Bible.
• We took a trip to the library to return books and get new ones. This time I limited Jude and Audrey to seven books each. This way, we'll go to the library more often (a good thing!) and they aren't overwhelmed by a large number of books. 
• Wild Kratts, of course. This time about elephants.

I really need to remember to take pictures during the day!