unschooling reading and spelling

I went to sleep pretty late last night (watched Blazing Saddles discussing Civil Rights history with Chana) and this morning I was still asleep at 8:50, when Elazar cracked open the door to see if I was awake.  I beckoned him over for a snuggle.  He snuggled into me and said, "How do you spell 'does'?"

Other words he asked today: stagger, device, to do, down, passage.  He's making signs in Minecraft.  

Other boys asked about "to" and "too."  They ask me how to spell things all day long.  I love it.

I was about to press "publish" when Jack said, "Mommy, what does B-O-O-G-E-R-S" spell?"

Gotta Make Some Choices

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is finished.  Fantastic book.  We need a new one!  Great Brain and Rats of Nimh were unsuccessful.  No idea what to read next.  Help!!

And we skipped the rest of cellular respiration AND photosynthesis and moved on to cellular division.  That seems to be working.

Also, I downloaded The Evolution of Physics by Albert Einstein and we read the intro.  Looks like one of those things that in theory we might read, but in practice we might end up reading only a sampling of.

not yet halfway through the year update

Elazar really enjoyed Matilda by Roald Dahl after Pippi Longstocking.  So that was great.  Next we moved on to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming, which is surprisingly relatable considering it's a couple of generations old.

Last night, suddenly Bio became boring.  This is very sad, because until now, Chana had really been loving it.  We were doing it slowly, but it was fascinating.  And I have to agree with her.  The chapter was indeed boring.  She said no more ATP; she doesn't care how it's made; she's done.

The question is whether to skip this chapter (and probably skim photosynthesis) or to find a new book.  I gathered a couple of leads that I now have to check out.  This is the kind of thing where the right book or curriculum really makes a difference.  I think we fell off the whole math wagon from not finding a great curriculum, which is a pity, because she was enjoying math.

The truth is, though, that just going to two classes in school is seriously sucking all of her energy and she doesn't really have much left over to learn.  Since switching to learning after 9 or 10pm, she's been more energetic and eager but I am thoroughly zonked.  So even though I would love to learn more Navi with her and do math with her and read more frequently, we are at the moment sticking to Science (and now we are back to reading the Stranger and hopefully will finish that up before reattempting Science.

The boys are pretty happy, asking me how to spell things pretty much all day long.  Not a huge interest in Judaics, though things come up in discussion.

A friend of mine is looking at high schools for her son now, and thinking about sending him vs. keeping him home.  She mentioned at this point, her second son (in 6th grade) is planning to stay home for high school.  Unless Elazar is interested in sports or loses his social group, I suspect he will do better at home for high school, too.  I told her that I will probably freak out around his bar mitzva time, but to please remind me that my assessment of him at age 9 is that he will probably blossom between age 15-18.  Please remind me of this when I am freaking out the year before and of his bar mitzva.