The puzzle master lives

Sofia got a couple of new puzzles for Christmas to keep her mind sharp. (Up until now, she's mostly done preschool type puzzles or the giant floor puzzles). She decided to do the GEO Africa puzzle the very next day (which surprised me slightly since I thought she might react to it like an offering of cauliflower. It's times like these that I'm happy to be wrong). I told her to get started with the perimeter pieces and I would come back to help her. But by the time I got back, she had finished the whole thing.

Next day, she decided to get started on the 500-piece Dowdle Noah's Ark puzzle during her quiet time. This is the largest (most pieces) puzzle she's done. I told her to be patient because it would probably take her a few days to do it. Much to my surprise, she got it all done in one sitting.

Also of note, Marcelo has finally crossed the invisible barrier of puzzles.

Kindergarten -check!

I finally got around to printing out Sofia's long awaited Kindergarten Student ID card. We couldn't think up a school name so it never got done. But after nearly six months of lernin, I think she'll be moving on to the first grade very soon. So, I figured I'd better churn one out real quick.

During the "Holiday Break" we also got around to passing off the Level 1 books on Starfall.com and Sofia earned her third certificate, The Super Star Reading Award.

-- oo --
Although we didn't begin with the full load of subjects below, instead adding more subjects as we went along, we're wrapping up Kindergarten having made progress in ...
- Reading: 3/4 way through The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading
- Manuscript: Completed D'Naelian Level K workbook
- Math: 3/4 way through Right Start Math Level B
- Spelling: Completed All About Spelling Level 1
- Grammar: Started First Language Lessons Level 1
- Science: Started R.E.A.L Science - Life through the Respiratory System
- Art: Meet the Masters Track A completed Intro and Vincent Van Gogh unit

I think we'll be going at a slower pace when we begin first grade level work with some additional subjects: Pre-History, Ancient History, Geography, and Writing. We may even try Latin and basket weaving. Why not.

Sofia will be taking the standard Kindergarten assessment test in January at the local elementary school, so we'll see what kind of grade I get in teaching. Hopefully, I don't get fired.

Go Sofia!

Letter to Santa '10

Sofia got a reply letter from Santa today. She was very excited. When she saw the length of it, she asked me to read it. But, I encouraged her to read it herself and she did very well with a little help.

Here is the postcard she sent earlier this month. She was about to ask for a dragon again (3rd year), so I encouraged her to put a little more thought into what she wanted to say. We wrote it down and edited it a couple of times, then she copied it onto her postcard. This is what she said ...

U of U Gymnastics

Once in a great while, we do something fun. You know -just to mix it up a bit.

We went to see the Red Rocks Gymnastics at the U of U. It was free, parking was free, AND they had a clown with balloon animals! Ray caught a T-shirt for Sofia. Marcelo kept looking for Lady Gaga when the band started. I had to explain several times that she wasn't there.