First, let me say that I am not a fan of fairy tales, so I wasn't exactly thrilled to have this as part of our curriculum. I get that fairy tales have are supposed to have lessons in them or whatever, and some do. But most of them are depressing at best, weird almost always, and sometimes downright creepy or just plain messed up. Jack and the Beanstalk seems to convey the message that being an idiot and a thief, making poor decisions, and taking unnecessary risks is a good thing. I hadn't heard the story since I was a child, despite the many fe-fi-fo-fum references in pop culture. I've learned my lesson: read all material before presenting it to the kids.Despite the creepiness of the story and the poor message, Little G liked it. He answered all of the guiding questions very well and obviously has an excellent comprehension of the material. The one part I skipped was having him read it back to me, like I usually do with everything we read. Quite honestly, if I never hear that story again, it will be a good thing.
I'm really looking forward to getting him started on some material he can actually learn something from. He has to be assessed first, so while we wait I am doing what I've been doing right along - supplementing with material that is at his skill level. He enjoys second grade workbooks, and we have several. We read daily, and he is expressing interest in books with chapters now. I have learned that spelling and grammar are strong points for him, and he even helps his big sister when she gets stuck. Likewise, she helps him when reading instructions gets in his way. It's not that he can't, he just doesn't like to. Typical guy thing, and just like his mama! Ha!
We're still experiencing our "problem" of the kids wanting to do lessons at all hours. I'm just going ahead and letting them have their workbooks to do as they will with them. At this point in the early years of their learning years, they are familiar with most of the material. Holding them back would be doing exactly what I criticized public school for doing. It is amazing how much children will learn just because they want to. I think traditional schools ruin that natural curiosity and desire to know in many children. I mean, this is a far cry from last year when R would sit at her desk, following 7 hours of school, and be just totally burnt out and done with it all while we prodded her to continue. Hearing groans and complaints because it is bedtime and we have to put our workbooks back on the shelf is much more positive, in my opinion.
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