Friday, January 14, 2011

Today I faced one of my biggest fears. I began teaching Joel cursive writing. I forced myself to read the introduction of the "Handwriting Without Tears" book (teacher's version) last night. The authors did such a good job explaining why their method was the best and easiest that I had a surge of self-confidence. I learned a great way to ensure proper pencil grip: place the pencil on the desk, grip it between your thumb and forefinger, and then use the other hand to flip the pencil around. You will automatically have the right grip. I also learned that it is considered better to teach cursive straight up and down rather than at the slant we all learned. (Something to do with that only being taught because it had to be that way when you wrote with fountain pens....I was losing interest a little by this point). I also learned that often kids with illegible and horrid less-than-perfect printing (like every boy in my family) often write better in cursive because a, it's faster, and b, they are learning it at an age where their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination are fully developed.

I also read something that made me sad: a lot of lefties end up with that hooked wrist style of writing because when they write, their hand covers up the left-side of the paper, which in standard worksheets is where the information is placed. I will be more conscious of the handouts I give to Jason. Where are the people campaigning for discrimination against lefties????

I also sent in our registration to take the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. There are two group sessions at my church, which is cheaper and convenient. I looked at the few sample test questions I could find online and feel my kids should do fine. I have volunteered as a proctor (having given many standardized tests as a teacher), so if I am accepted I'll be reimbursed $50, the cost of one test. People make a business of administering these tests, but it provides a real service to homeschoolers who are required by law to administer a nationally recognized test each year. A lady at my church has started a business doing this.


In Social Studies, Joel & I learned about the Natchez Trace and keelboats. Getting from N. to S.in the US using the Missippi river was easy: just ride the current all the way down to New Orleans. Getting back north was the killer: go by keelboat, which took 3-4 months (versus 1 to go down), or risk getting robbed or worse on the Natchez Trace. I'm glad today was a downstream day. I am trying to be better prepared for the days I feel like a keelboat worker, sticking my pole down and trying to propel myself against the current.