I know I’ve posted about it in the past, but really I can’t rave enough about Starfall. Faith and Abby enjoy the site very much, and it has been such a huge part of Faith’s learning to read. It’s entirely self-directed, and she has done most of the stuff on the site in nonlinear order. I think the fact that she can click on any word to hear it either sounded out in the easier books or simply read as is in the later books has contributed a lot to it, because I remember when I was small really hating, irrationally hating (and knowing it was irrational!) that adults KNEW so much more than I did. It made me feel kind of useless because when I had to ask for help with homework they just… did it, with no effort. That was better than fake effort, or asking me to figure it out in a leading sort of way, but whatever they did it made me MAD! Ah, the woes of the 6 year old Fee… At any rate, Starfall is nonhuman and makes no judgements about the user, either in actuality or merely in the learner’s perception. Faith asks me what words say too, of course, but I’m certainly not the bulk of her instruction.

I’m never sure where she is in her reading journey because I don’t ask. I know someday I’ll look back on a month or six and think, “Hey, Faith hasn’t asked me to read a word she can’t figure out in ages!” and that’s about when I’ll know that she knows how to read.

We got some (un)school supplies last night. Markers and paper and a fancy purple binder, for Faith, who is officially old enough to school now. Were she attending an institutional school she would be starting kindergarten this year. Here’s the Priority Academic Student Skills (PASS) for Oklahoma, which is what the inmates will be doing. I dunno what we’ll be doing. Rest assured that I’ll let you know as we do it, however. I know I’m getting The Story Of the World: History for the Classical Child; Vol. I to read aloud to the girls, and Faith (but not Abby) will be in dance once a week which she is looking forward to HUGELY. And we’re all going to be learning sign language just for fun and because Gilbert is really wanting more than, uhm, ‘more’ as far as signs go.

I’m also facilitating someone’s learning on the other end of the spectrum; my nephew T.J., aged 16, will be directing his own education and life from now on after much deliberation. You can go read what he thinks about stuff here. If I can rip him away from that new guitar in a few weeks we were talking about taking the ACT. I don’t know if he wants to stuff some geometry under his belt first or just see what’s what. His call.

So, Gentle Reader, that is all. I’ll get some categories in here soon, and other refinements I’m sure. Just keep checkin’.