Average weekly time: Together (5), Kid Tres alone (5), Total hours (10ish)

 

Rate each book (like, neutral, dislike).

Add a few comments (my comments are italicized).

Any changes for next child?

Bible/Spiritual Reading

AO Selections

Neutral. Some was good and some was bad. I liked the part where Saul pooped in the cave where David was.

Dislike. It’s good to cover Bible highlights, but these are stories any churched kid will get at some point, so I would rather read other parts of the Bible.

James & Philippians

Dislike. Cuz it’s very boring.

Like. Kids Dos and Tres didn’t like this much, but I liked combining them (in the interest of time), and reading books of the Bible kids aren’t usually exposed to.

More Saints

Dislike. Because I’m always the one who has to tell you about it first and it’s very boring.

Neutral. I think the first book was more engaging. A lot of these saints were very recent, and I’d rather cover older saints and martyrs, but this was a decent multi-cultural assortment.

Psalms with Daddy and other kids

Neutral. Some of it’s very fun and some of its very bad.

Like. I really appreciate DH reading a Psalm with the kids in the evenings.

History/Bios

50 Famous Stories

Like. I love it! There’s lots and lots of fun stories.

Like. I schedule all of them. Short and well-done.

Viking Tales

Like. Very, very, very, very good. Cuz it’s all fun.

Like. I think Kid Tres got into this book much more than Kids Dos or Uno did. He learned the geography well, too.

D’Aulaire Bios: Pocahontas, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Buffalo Bill

Like. Buffalo Bill was very interesting, and BF was neutral, GW was fun, P was fun.

Neutral. I can never decide whether or not to schedule these. Kid Tres loved them; I think the childhood parts are more interesting and understandable than the adult parts. And I get tired of the inherent racism, but since I’m reading aloud I can edit on the fly.

Little Duke

Neutral. At first I didn’t like it, and then I loved it.

Neutral. It’s not worth reading for the history, but I think the character development is good. If I am stretched for time, this is droppable for future kids, at least in YR 1 when so much goes over their heads.

Geography

Tree in the Trail

Like. I loved it, cuz it was very, very interesting.

Like. We spent a little more time looking at the maps than I did with Kid Uno, and that makes it more worthwhile as a geography book.

Seabird

Neutral. I liked when the boy dived in the water and saved Seabird. Did not like when the guy threw Seabird in the water.

Dislike. I still don’t understand why this is scheduled as geography. It’s hard to follow the 4 generations, and I may sub or drop this for future kids.

Science

One Small Square: Backyard, Rainforest, Swamp

Like. I love it! Very, very, very much.

Like. These are always fun and interesting.

Among the People

Like. I loved it, all those nice fun stories, about tree frog and the frog thought herself sick.

Like. These are keepers.

Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding

Neutral. Some I didn’t like and some I loved.

Neutral. I spent a lot of time planning and using BFSU to organize science readings and demonstrations, and not nearly as much time implanting it. It’s just not easy to use. Now that I have the whole Let’s Read and Find Out Series and a lot of other good science books, I may just read through those in future years. And if I have time and motivated kids, BFSU can be a good resource for additional discussions and projects.

Nature Journal

Dislike. Cuz it’s very boring drawing.

Like. It’s fun to watch his observations develop. I liked making a list of options for the kids to pick from at the beginning of the year.

Literature

Shakespeare

Dislike. Very boring.

Neutral. It’s worth reading. Several plays are quite confusing. I made drawings for Comedy of Errors, and that helped us keep people straight.

Understood Betsy

Like. I loved it! Very, very fun stories.

Like. Love this book.

Robin Hood

Like. Except for in the ending cuz he died.

Like. Very time consuming, so I scheduled it in winter.

Wind in the Willows

Like. Very much. Very fun stories…when Toad got captured, and the police station, and when Toad said, “I need a doctor”.

Like. Some of it went over his head, but he understood the main bits.

Poetry

Dennis Lee

Like. I love it.

Like. I was surprised how much Kid Tres loves poetry! These were fun books to start YR 1 with; much better than Stevenson.

AA Milne

Like. I love all of my poetries.

Like. Milne is great.

Book of Poems

Neutral. Some are not very fun, and some are very fun.

Like. Good assortment of poetry, nice illustrations.

Math

Rays Primary

Dislike. It’s so boring and stuff.

Like. Simple and effective.

I Love Math

Neutral. I don’t really like it and I like it at the same time.

Like. Worthwhile.

Miquon (Orange and Red)

Neutral. Some’s really fun like evens and odds. And the bad part is some are very hard.

Like. I spent time doing it with him, and I think that helps make it less frustrating.

Writing

Printing

Neutral. Some was very hard for me (I was like 5 that time), and some was very easy, like Bs.

Like. Quick and efficient.

Pentime 2

Dislike. It’s very boring and hard and stuff.

Like. Also quick and effiecient.

Reading

100 EZ Lessons

Like. It was very fun, and short stories, and stuff.

Like. This was so easy with Kid Tres! He flew through it.

McGuffey Primer

Dislike. They’re very short stories.

Like. I intended to start with Phonics Pathways after he finished 100 EZ lessons, but it was packed deep in the garage for our basement construction, so we started McGuffey instead and it has been good practice.

Foreign Language

Salsa Spanish

Neutral. I don’t know what they’re saying, but I also like it when they’re like crying and stuff.

Neutral. The kids pick up some Spanish vocab by watching them, and they are free and short.

Art

Drawing

Neutral. Some is very hard and I cry about ‘em.

Like. Kid Tres is a perfectionist and very hard on himself, so when he starts crying over a short drawing lesson, I have him take a break or do it the next day. His drawing is very nice.

Art Treasury

Neutral. Some I love, and some I hate.

Like. This is such a good book with plenty of variety.

Youtube Videos

Like. I only like the robots.

Like. Letting him pick some instructional drawing videos is a nice way to mix up art lessons.

Picture Study

Caravaggio

Dislike. Hate. I have to tell you all about it.

Like. I think it’s funny that he dislikes picture study.

Escher

Dislike. I hate all picture study.

Like. I thought he would like this, but I guess not.

Van Gogh

Dislike. Not at all.

Neutral. Not my favorite artist.

Music

Hymn

Dislike. I don’t know.

Like. We have all learned some good worship music.

Classical Kids CDs

Like. I like all of them, they’re all very interesting and fun.

Like. I think the Magic Flute is the best. Kid Tres and the other kids listen to these for fun A LOT!

Memorization/Recitation

Bible

Dislike. Cuz I have to memorize it, and I never get it memorized.

Like. The Isaiah passage I picked was a bit too long and hard for everyone, but the rest have been manageable.

Poetry

Like. Only snowy day and jelly belly ones.

Like. Short and easy and cute at this age.

Handicraft/Skill

Pudding, Grocery Shopping, Building Chicken Coop, Meal Prep, Paper Dolls, Pumpkin Carving, Tie Dye, Paper Snowflakes, Making Lunch, Legos, Glue Gun, Boat Building, Snap Circuits, Building Snow Fort, Painting Mugs, Weaving, Kiwicrates, Puzzles, Painting, Cooking, Move Concrete, Gardening, Replacing Batteries

Like. Like, like, like, like!

Like. He’s very motivated to do most of this on his own.

Outdoor Exploration

Hiking Cecret Lake, Peace Garden, Perseid Meteor Shower, Pineview Reservoir, Ensign Peak, Thanksgiving Point Farm, Millcreek Canyon, Uintas Lofty Lake, Cross E Ranch, DC Arboretum, DC Rock Creek Park, Jordan River—Rain, Muskrats, Beaver, Ducklings, Alantic Ocean, Indian River, Fishing, Florida Zoo, Tulip Festival, Gilgal Sculpture Garden

Like. Like all of them except Peace Gardens.

Like. Including the Peace Gardens. Gilgal was weird, as were parts of Thanksgiving Point.

Sport/Physical Activity

Running, Swimming, Playgrounds, Roller Blading, Biking, Hiking, Sledding, 5k, Boogie Boarding, Kayaking, Sledding, Jump Around, Ice Skating, Snowboarding, Basketball, Bowling, Tennis, Baseball

Like. All of them.

Like. What he said.

Horseback Riding at Luki Arabians

Neutral. I want to take bowling instead of horseback riding. And horseback riding is fun but hard.

Like. Not sure if he will continue or not.

Cultural Event

Parade, Bees Game, Summer Olympics, Bluegrass Concert, Tuacahn Plays, Memorial Service, Weddings, State Fair, DC trip, Museum of American History, Nutcracker, Discovery Gateway, Indian Restaurant, Polynesian Food, Ash Wednesday, Leonardo, Paquita Ballet, Coppelia Excerpts Ballet, Orthodox Church 

Like. Except for stuff I didn’t like. I hated the Orthodox church, the Ash Wednesday service, the DC trip, and Polynesian food.

Like. I don’t think he really disliked DC though.

Service

Hosting Friends for Dinner, Babysitting, Hosting Housechurch, Taking Food and Flowers to Friends and Neighbors, Sunday Serve, VOA with Housechurch, Helping Mommy after surgery, Pioneer Park w/ Rescue Mission, Visiting Grammy

Like. All of those I like.

Like. I think we could do more, but we were more intentional than last year, so that was an improvement.

Overall evaluation: Kid Tres is a super-sweet kid to work with. I combined him with Kid Dos for several readings to reduce my workload. They are pretty close in abilities at this point. I was a bit concerned that it would be too hard/too much for him, and I think Little Duke, Seabird, Robin Hood, and Wind in the Willows were tougher for him than they would have been next year, but he really did well. The year began with single word or phrase narrations and he grew a lot over the year in his descriptions and comprehension. He loves stories, and I’m looking forward to doing the Year 1 readings like Aesop and James Herriot with him next year. He was so easy to teach for reading lessons; it was a relief! Kid Tres is also fairly self-motivated with projects, especially if they involve figuring out how things work. We started strong with all the readings this year, but it got hard in the middle with my unexpected surgery, and toward the end with basement construction. I pared down some reading in the middle of the year. We had so much travel and so many activities—it’s been a very full year! There’s not a lot I would change for future children; I feel like the books and all our activities are enjoyable and well-rounded…it’s just a matter of fitting in so much good stuff.