Life goes on

Last Thursday was Gavin and Carleigh's last day of swim lessons:

 Most of what Gavin did in class was review, but it did help refresh his skills. At this point it's mostly just a maturity thing. Gavin can swim using correct form but often chooses not to in our pool. I make him do it the right way occasionally just so he doesn't forget but I'm not going to nag him every time he swims. Maybe next summer he'll be more interested in doing it right.

One day last week Gavin and Brayden ate lunch and played together at McDonald's and then we all went to see a puppet show at the library:

 The police station is next door to the library - I think this little car is for parades:

 In beginning to homeschool Gavin I have found he is an extremely hands-on/kinesthetic/tactile learner. Whatever you call it, he learns best through doing. This doesn't come as a shock, this is my lego constructing, minecraft building, playdoh playing for hours kid. Math worksheets just don't cut it. And, while he likes being read to, he has no interest in learning himself. Sometime in the past month or so I ordered unifix cubes to use for math (I had been on the fence about ordering but saw a good review from my friend Jenee on her blog - thanks!). They are perfect! We have used them to work on counting, addition, subtraction, patterns, estimation, and following instructions. Gavin likes them so much he asks to play with them. I make our math sessions fairly short to keep his interest and avoid burning out the fun:

 

 The unifix cubes worked so well I ordered unifix letter cubes to help with learning to read. They are a hit too, although given the choice Gavin would rather play with the ones without letters:

 (My Uncle Bill gave Gavin this I love Ft Walton Beach shirt a couple years ago - it was so big at the time I thought it would never fit - it's perfect now!)

 

Another educational tool we are exploring is Classical Conversations (to do at home, not attend classes). It combines memorization of facts with songs and hand movements. When I was researching it about a month ago Gavin quickly learned 3 parts of a plant: leaf, stem, roots with the accompanying hand gestures (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mz9uyJWfk2Q) . Once in awhile out of the blue he'll recite it, and has told me he would like to learn more this way. I plan to order that material soon (once we pay for all the lightning damage!).