My original plan after completing Funnix Beginning Reading was to wait and have Abby read us a couple of readers. However, she started guessing unknown words and not utilizing the decoding skills she had learned, so by the end of the week we picked up Funnix 2 and started it. It is a little different than Funnix Beginning Reading in that there isn't as much review of the story with the pictures afterwards, but Abby doesn't seem to care. We are going to take Funnix 2 much slower, though, and take breaks probably every 10-15 lessons.
Abby also has been reading aloud quite frequently. Some mornings she wants to do our read-alouds instead of me.
Here she is reading a board book to Emmett. Board books are perfect because there aren't a ton of words on the page for her to figure out.
ABCs:
Emmett loves doing his alphabet. It the morning task that he begs for. This week we went over the letter D. We made dots on a D which really cemented it into his head what the letter says as he would say "duh duh dot!" as he dotted it.
Five in a Row:
We rowed Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey this week. We've read this book before, but the kids loved delving in further.
This story takes place in Boston so we found Massachusetts on the map. We even talked about how their maternal grandma was born in Massachusetts! (The dagger is an optional accessory for pinpointing places...)
We discussed how when Mr. and Mrs. Mallard flew over the city, it looked sort of like a map would and that maps were drawings of places from above. This was the perfect time to introduce a bit of map work (that we will continue for the next year).
We talked about how the ducklings names (Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack and Quack) all rhyme. We even mixed them up and replaced them in alphabetical order.
We learned a bit about the science of ducks. We talked about how ducks don't get wet, they dive for food at the bottom of ponds, why mama ducks look like they do (they're camouflage!), why boy ducks have all the bright colors on them, the life cycle of ducks, and even a fact Daddy and I didn't know: Ducks have no nerves in their feet!
We did a life cycle wheel.
We used our Draw Write Now books to draw a duck. This is Emmett's awesome rendition (remember, he's only 3!):
And, of course, we went and fed some ducks!
We even saw mallard ducks!
And then...we saw a duckling!
He was a very nice duckling and even came close enough that the kids could get up close and personal.
And then it was time to leave, and he followed us to the car!
He came all the way out to the parking lot. We were worried about him getting squished by a car or something and it was quite a ways for a little guy to be away from the creek, so Daddy picked him up and took him back.
Read-Aloud:
We finished up My Father's Dragon. The kids liked it okay. I don't think we'll go on with the series, though. While Emmett sat and listened, he really doesn't have it in him to get into a chapter book at this point (even a simple one like this). I think he will really enjoy it when he's a bit older, though. And Abby? I just don't think it was her top pick of book. She did enjoy it, but not enough to move on with the sequels.
Church:
We had General Conference this past weekend and the kids were pleased to listen to the prophet. I would love for the kids to start some kind of LDS-related curriculum. I just have to find something easy/quick and age-appropriate.
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