Grade 4, Lesson 7, Day 5 ~ Friday Free Day

(I imagine that it isn't going to make a lot of sense if I keep this post title format when I will be skipping all over the OM4 syllabus. Starting next week I will label the posts as Grade 4, Week _ , Day _ .)

My declaration of no busy work last Friday, plus our day off from lessons Tuesday and our light day Wednesday gave the boys a chance to spend most of their time playing, imagining, and creating and gave me the opportunity to listen and observe. I was reminded of all of the good things that come with unschooling. It isn't a place we could go back and be nourished, but I do see that it has its place in our home learning, and not just in the evenings and on the weekends. There is something about having hours and hours of unscheduled time to really set yourself free.

So, while I was working on the return to a block format I decided that we will also go back to 4 days of structured learning with the 5th day free (assuming we have had cooperation and done good work on the other 4 days). Friday mornings have always been problematic for us as I must prepare the house for the weekly cleaning and must pack what we will need to be out of the house in the afternoon.

I plan to continue to post on Fridays, just as I did last week, loosely keeping track of the activities that would fall under the "educational" banner. Of course, I think it is all learning.

T-Guy spent about an hour reading this morning, and J-Baby drew a couple of pictures.

Then they did their chores, got their laundry ready for washing, helped me put away clean dishes, and got started with our new Wii Fit Plus. I was uncertain when we first bought our Wii, but the boys were getting older and Papa thought it could be played with in a limited and positive manner. So far the boys have played it for an hour or two on the weekends (sometimes with Papa) and also with the babysitter when she comes.

I decided that the Wii Fit Plus could be a positive addition to our physical education learning, and so far it is proving to be true. The boys are working on their balance and coordination while having a blast playing games. It's a lot harder than it looks ~ I finally got the hang of moving my body to virtually head a soccer ball, only to get hit in the face with a shoe!

This afternoon we have park day for lots of fresh air, sunshine, and hanging out with friends. When we do our errands we'll be practicing consumer math as well as the life skill of grocery shopping. The boys will have their laundry to fold, and will help me prepare their dinner.