School with Judah

Judah is 4, will be 5 in December. I thought that I should document what I am actually doing for school for him. What I planned on doing and what I’m actually doing is different, of course. But I won’t go into that. Here’s his rigorous regimen:\par
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Memory Work: One verse, or part of a long verse, a week. I’m drawing his memory verses from the suggested memory verses for the Sunday school curriculum at our church – although he’s not to those grades yet. Also, he and Ezra are learning the Kings of Israel and Judah – they love it, and think that the names of the kings of Israel, especially, are hilarous. I’m trying to work more review of his previously learned verses into the program. My plan was for him to listen to his quiet time CD with all of his memory verses on it, daily. But I haven’t updated it in quite a while, and the CD tends to skip anyway, so that part of the curriculum is currently… not functioning.\par
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Reading: I’m using the TATRAS program recommended by Mystie and Rachel and Alice, and others. First we go over the phonograms he’s learned from the program (he knows all of the basic sounds of all of the letters, but this program has him learn all of the sounds for each letter or phonogram at once, so that part is new). Then we read the practice words, working toward having him read them so many times that they become sight-words. And then, just in the last week, taking a page from Mystie’s book, I’ve started having him read one Bob Book per school-day. I got the Bob Books out of the library. He’s doing quite well, according to me, and seems proud of himself, but no great leaps and bounds of comprehension or speed or desire to read.\par
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Catechism: I’m using Harry VanDyken’s Bible Catechism, Book 1 for this. The book is a survey of the whole Bible. (Don’t let that impress you overmuch\’c2\~- it’s not super detailed – the entire New Testament is covered in the last lesson) I’m currently taking about 2 weeks per lesson, since I’m having him memorize the actual catechism questions and answers this time around. The first time we went through it I used the memory verses for each lesson as his memory work, and just read the lesson text and the assigned scriptures (sometimes just summarizing them myself). My big hang up with this is that I don’t review enough – hardly ever – so I’m not sure how much good I’m doing him long term.\par
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Math: Ha-ha. I’ve been bouncing from thing to thing with this – sometimes focusing on counting to 100, sometimes counting by 10s, sometimes trying to explain currency, sometimes trying to teach him how to tell time. He seems to pick things up reasonably well, but obviously my lack of consistency isn’t helping him at all! I recently decided to simply focus on telling time, as math. I figured he’d have to learn how to do that, sooner or later, and I have a lovely practice clock my mom handed down to me, so why not? This is just preschool after all.\par
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That’s pretty much it. In a good week we probably do most or all of this 4 times a week. On an especially good day, we might also use some of the other educational workbooks and materials I’ve accumulated from various sources – mostly gifts and hand-me-downs. Also, I’ve made him some handwriting sheets, which I have him do, when I remember to, and when the table’s cleaned off sufficiently for him to do so.\’c2\~ And I read to him sporadically. I’m trying to read Treasure Island to the boys right now, but it’s possibly a little over their heads, and I’m not sure how much attention they’re paying to it, as I read it to them while they play quietly with their building toys.\par
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So there you have it. The truth. Not exactly overwhelmingly impressive, and possibly slightly embellished at that. Honesty is difficult.