Emily is doing more reading on her own, because she wants to and with interest in the actual book to be read. Self-motivation, in other words. :) From here, she can do all sorts of things. Follow a series through multiple books, read a non--fiction book because she wants to know more about that topic, share books with other children. And while you enjoy reading, so many other things happen...learning vocabulary, exploring settings, exploring common themes in fiction, and learning things about the craft of writing.

She read one whole book from the Rainbow Fairies, half of another, and some poems from "Where the Sidewalk Ends" by Shel Silverstein. In a way, she has already shared the Shel Silverstein book, because she asked me to give it to a friend of hers for his birthday.


I can not even begin to share how happy this makes me.

And other ways to goof off instead of getting your homework done.

No school tomorrow!  More snow predicted tomorrow.

We'll have to be sure to go sledding.

Last year, cvirtue was in danger of having school go into August. This year, it's our turn.

We'll find out what the school system thinks about this storm.

Emily got her report card today. Mostly 3s and 4s (3 is good and 4 is above and beyond; 4s are not necessarily achievable in every subject). One 2 in "Understands the role of the individual and the group in the political process". I'm not exactly sure what lies behind that standard.

Emily is having too much homework. First grade is pretty hard, especially in the advanced math class.

I now have a ton of work. Good for the money, bad for time with mrmoosie .

Emily's school had an open house today. Since the federal government has the day off, it's easy to schedule a day for parents to visit at the school. It's not that every parent works for the federal government, but they do set the agenda around here.

It was reading time for first grade. First the children had a warm-up with the words of the week. Then they had independent reading time. So they grabbed a parent (not necessarily their own) and read to them. I listened to four different children read (one of which was Emily). Then the children sat on the carpet for word work. They went over those five words and then words with 'it' in them. They also learned about homonyms, since pit has two meanings (and something else, but I can't remember). Then they each had an assignment to work on at their desk. Emily's was to read a narrative book and summarize the plot in three points. Emily tried "Wilber wins a prize", a separated chapter from Charlotte's web, but it was too hard for her. She then found "Little Louie, the Late Bloomer", which was hard (she kept reading bloomer as brother for the sense of the story), but doable. Then she wrote some of the information. Then her small group was called for a small lesson in "parts of a book (text features)", like the table of contents, chapter headings, and the index. Then she finished her page about Little Louie, the Late Bloomer, Then it was time to get ready for recess.

Those few parents who had hung out that long, went out to the playground with the first grade. After the recess, the parents headed home.

Edited to remove actual reading levels of other children for their privacy.

I am beginning to feel the cumulative impact of having more time. I get to goof off (always a priority) and get things done in the time I have available.

I couldn't imagine home-schooling. I'd *ALWAYS* be behind the gun.

I got some weeding done in my down-time today.

the cat has been playing.

First, way too long reading true ER stories from a link by ashtalet . Second, eating very spicy lunch food.
Third, listening to Spanish-language news from BBC. Fourth, checking out FaceBook and LinkedIn. Fifth, mess with compost.
Sixth, pick delicious fresh raspberries from my backyard.

It's almost time to pick her up from school.

One hour of PTA work done, hours and hours to go. Must remember to bring forms to school on Monday. And do Xeroxing. I have to be in two places on Thursday at about the same time. Bleh!

But, on the other hand, I slept really well last night.

mrmoosie got another fast-driving award. I'm trying to pay the fine this morning.

Somehow chasing my daughter around the house trying to grab a pillow from her isn't as engaging for me as it is for her. Plus, I see what a mess my house is. On the other hand, it is exercise.

We have to get her to finish her summer packet soon; this week would be preferable. She wins an ice cream social for completing it.