the Boys Git Themselvz Som Booklurnin

Benjamin asked why we couldn't be like a "real" school and do reports.

Uh, whatever. "Ben, you may do a report on anything you'd like."

Next day, we had to grade (he's into grades right now, too) his full-page, single-spaced report on motorcycles. Mark gave him a B to his face and then told me it was better than some of his third graders could do (no room for boasting there, as Mark has many Special Ed and ESOL kids). That was Tuesday. On Wednesday we were made to read and grade a report--one page, single-spaced--on wolves. On Thursday I made him stop the foolishness and get back to learning Greek roots.

Nathaniel is a Math Monger. I think he did upwards of 20 pages of math this week. Crazy kid. He would have done more if I could have spared the time to help him with the directions.

Bradford is still just weird, but at least he's reading. Finally. I think by the time he's ten that reading lightbulb will go on for him.

Grace wants to do school, too, so I'm "teaching" her to read and write. She also colors in her phonics book for long periods of time.

Sadie and Sophie nap through it all on good days, and cry from their room on bad ones.

Science? Of course! We went to the Chattahoochee Nature Center on Friday with Grandma and Grandpa T. The boys bought binoculars and have gone out to look at birds several times since. Ben also bought a pond net and is rarely seen without it. Ya never know when a pond might spring up in front of you!

History? Naturally. I began reading about Alexander the Great to the boys. We also went to the Atlanta History Center for the past two Saturdays. Fun, fun, fun. Yesterday there were people in period costume doing demonstrations at the Tullie Smith Farm. We also got to the Swan House, which was gorgeous, the Ben Franklin Exhibit, which was fascinating, and the Civil War Exhibit, which was well-done. I was expecting the Civil War Exhibit to be very Pro-North, but it wasn't. It showed both sides' viewpoints in a tasteful way and stuck mostly to the facts, ma'am.

We have not yet taken up our Spanish, but that is only because I left my books and CDs at my mother's house. Hopefully this week we'll begin again.

The babies turn 1 this week. There will be cupcakes, and there will be singing, but I cannot promise there will be pictures.