Spelling Lists

In school, I actually enjoyed spelling quite a lot.  I went to parochial school and at the beginning of the week you'd get a spelling list.  On Monday for homework, you would write out each spelling word three times.  Tuesday, you would alphabetize the list.  Wednesday you would write the definition and on Thursday you would use them in sentences.  Using them in sentences was always the best part for me.  Writing the definitions was the worst part because it was tedious.  Especially if a word had multiple meanings.  On Fridays was the test.  I usually got a perfect score.  I have loved words all my life.    

Anyway, it occurred to me that Z1 might enjoy spelling words too.  So I went in search of first grade spelling lists and found this nifty site and this nifty site (which honestly I prefer because many of the words are sight words as opposed to words that can be easily sounded out).  We will incorporate spelling words into our routine and see how it works out.  

Update and New Unit: Rocks

So after much thinking, I've realized that both Z1 and I would do better with a lot more structure to our routine.  As much as I would like to have set times daily to do work, it doesn't always work because of our activities.  But my goal is to do at least one hour or academics daily and to stick more closely to our course of study. 

We've been doing well in reading (using the Hooked on Phonics program) and handwriting (using the Handwriting Without Tears program) and math (using the School Zone Big Math 1-2 workbook).

Some academic areas I've been neglecting are music, art and science. Z1 takes a music class but it's just singing and movement.  I need to get more serious about showing him basic piano skills and how to read music as well as music appreciation.  We listen to a lot of music but we haven't gotten into discussing it and so this is something I'm looking to do.  Art projects drive me batty--gluing, cutting and all that.  We don't have a lot of space and mess is just too much.  I would like to find some kind of weekly art program that's free or inexpensive so that he gets to make projects and be artistic and I get to keep my sanity.  And then there's science.  We covered the water cycle last but I feel that the gap between when we finished with that and when we started the new unit about rocks (today) was way too long.  Also, I feel our water cycle study wasn't as cohesive as I would have liked so I'm going about the rock unit a little differently.

First off, we're going to be doing our first lapbook for this unit.  I'm excited to see if we'll like doing it (or if it will just be tedious).  I'd like to use books, websites, DVDs and have a culminating field trip and then the lapbook will be the tangible thing we take from the unit.  Just today we learned that there are three kinds of rock.  I know that some of this will be over Z1's head but I don't have a problem exposing him to it. 

Some sites I've found so far through a preliminary google search:
http://www.rocksforkids.com/
http://www.kidsgeo.com/geology-games/rocks-game.php
http://www.rockhoundkids.com/
http://www.kidskonnect.com/subject-index/15-science/97-rocks-a-minerals.html

I am borrowing The Well-Trained Mind from the library again with the intention of buying.  When I first read it, I thought it was way too structured but I'm more  ready to embrace it now.  I don't know what finally clicked but I'm liking the idea of classical education at home a lot more.