Reading is fundemental

When we started this whole homeschooling thing, it was with not a little trepidation.  Maura was at the top of her class while in school, (not hard for Pre-K3 when she's four), and if she'd gone back to school, she'd be in Pre-K4 because we didn't want her to be developmentally behind when she got to be in the upper grades, which is the predominant situation in moving kids ahead.  So, our plan with homeschooling was to start her out in Pre-K material...but when we got it, Maura had already mastered it all.  So we decided to move on to Kindergarten stuff. 

For the past three weeks, Maura and mom have been working on blending sounds.  Last week, Maura showed me a book she made and she read it to me.  It was simple, two-three word sentences, but still.  She did another one on Monday, and is super excited.  She's supposed to do one a week, as recommended by the curriculum; however, she's so into it, that she'd like to do one a day.  At this rate, she'll finish the Kindergarten curriculum by Christmas, and will be ready for first grade material.  On the otherhand, she's rather bored with piano.

Nolan is, well, Nolan.  He likes learning, just not sitting still.  On Monday, I walked into the school room to find Nolan walking on the window sill.  The nonchalantness of his demeanor and the ease of his getting down told me that this is not an uncommon occurrance (indeed Christina told me he does it almost everyday).  However, give him a book of mazes and puzzles, and he will sit for over an hour...he loves figuring them out.  He also loves playing piano, and Christina tells me he is her best student (which is true because they both played a small piece, and he breezed through it).