I have to get back into the habit of blogging

I use this blog for the mandatory homeschool portfolio I have to keep. I just need to get back into the habit of using it. Sometimes, I forget that I even have a blog.

This year, B would be in second grade. T would miss the K cutoff by a month.

Math has just been life-learning so far this year. They're both into multiplication right now and they ask us things like, "What are 2 6s?, what are 3 3s?", etc. B initially had interest in doing formal math but now he's saying that he doesn't want to. I'm not sure how formal math will play out this year. T has been inadvertently teaching himself addition and subtraction facts when we play Parcheesi; he always wants to count the dice individually before making the total move.

As for reading, B reads at or above grade level. I'm not sure what he can read, because he seems to read fluently in general. I did find that one non-fiction picture book he read was 4th grade level, by the AR group. But he doesn't often sit and read. Instead, he reads environmental print all around him and he browses through his science books. The other day he told me that when a human egg and sperm come together that it's called a "zee-gote", because he read it in a book. I've discovered that he will read things like knock-knock joke books so I'm on the look-out for those. Anyway, in general, he's good with reading.

For read-alouds, we've recently read the first Harry Potter book and "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". Harry Potter sort of opened B's eyes to a more sophisticated kind of book. Every night, when I would finish a chapter, he would absolutely beg me to read more. He's done the same thing with the CS Lewis book. I plan on reading the other Narnia books to the kids. And I think they'll be Ok with the second Harry Potter book. I have two other books on my radar screen for the near future, favorites from my own childhood. They are "No Flying in the House" by Betty Brock and Wallace Tripp; and "Black and Blue Magic" by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. I think we're going to continue exploring the fantasy genre because both kids seem really excited about it. I have also been making a list of library books that have descriptions and illustrations of magical creatures. I was actually really surprised at how many encyclopedic books there are on magical creatures.

B's current obsession is with bugs, insects and spiders. Also, since we've moved to the country, there's just a general interest in nature and biology. We got a shipment the other day which included bug-catching supplies and a few nature books. For the bug supplies, we ordered a bug net that zips up. Up until now, B has been catching locusts with a butterfly net but then it's hard for him to observe the locust because there's a good chance it will get away. The zippered bug net will allow him to clearly observe the locusts (and whatever else) while keeping the locust safe and preventing it from getting away. We also ordered a small bug jar that has a lid with a built-in magnifier. The latter will be good for catching spiders. B has no fears or hang-ups about creepy-crawlies and I'm good at catching spiders; between the two of us, we'll catch stuff for him to look at. He really wants to make a grasshopper habitat but I think it might be too late in the year; I don't remember the locusts sticking around long after summer was over.

For the nature books, we got a field guide on dinosaurs and an animal scat/tracks identification book. Until I looked at the animal tracks book, I didn't realize that we could preserve deer tracks with plaster of paris. Of course, now that we've figured it out, we haven't seen any deer around for a while. But we'll find them again in the future and we know roughly where to look for their footprints. Oh! And we also ordered a set of 72 buggy pictures, half X-rays and half identification cards. They were a HUGE hit with B.

Several weeks ago, we bought an Audubon field guide for identifying bugs, insects and spiders. B often wants to know what sort of creepy crawly he is looking at. Unfortunately, such a general book can only include a small number of buggy species. We really need a book that is specific to our geographic area. In particular, we really need a book that only includes spiders native to our state. I'm still looking for more specific resources.

We often get interesting looking spiderwebs on the outside of our house and deck. B really enjoys looking at the spiders. There's one spider in particular that really caught his interest (and mine!). It is brown but it has a pretty reddish tone to it. It makes a massive, meticulous web and it seems to move around every day. We still can't find the species name but we've narrowed it down to an orb weaver. The spider makes a new web every night and the web is a perfect circle suspended with support strings in a vertical position. The spider's cephalothorax (spelling?) is larger than its abdomen; we've learned these terms. And the spider hangs upside down, i.e. heads-down. All of these things suggest it is an orb weaver. I've taken some pictures of it and hopefull we'll identify it at some point.

That's all I have for now. If I blogged more often, I wouldn't have to write mammoth posts!