I usually try to take a few notes as we go about our days, to make it easier to remember what we did throughout the week. I didn’t do much of that this week, though, so let’s all assume there was something very exciting that I’m forgetting to share with you.

I’m not the only one who was a little out of sorts this week. Poppy’s piano teacher described her as “scattered” after her lesson yesterday. I know she’s tired from her ramped-up activities lately, and I suspect that has something to do with her difficulty focusing. I’m still thinking about what to do to help her with that.

My personal scatterbrainedness would be greatly improved by getting up at least an hour before the kids. Pete has the uncanny ability to wake up 15 minutes before my alarm goes off regardless of what time I set it for, though, so it seems unlikely that I’ll make that dream a reality.

Math

It was an entirely ordinary week in math, but it was the only thing I took a picture of this week so I felt compelled to mention it.

Reading

We’ve reached Chapter 24 of “Anne of Green Gables,” in which the schoolteacher is planning a concert for the community. Marilla doesn’t think much of the idea:

“But think of the worthy object,” pleaded Anne. “A flag will cultivate a spirit of patriotism, Marilla.”

“Fudge! There’s precious little patriotism in the thoughts of any of you. All you want is a good time.”

And Poppy doesn’t think much of Marilla’s attitude.

“But that’s what we all want!” she said. “Doesn’t Marilla understand that? Do you think she ever will?”

Later, after I told her that her dress was backwards, she informed me that that’s the way all the pretend girls in her school are wearing their dresses these days. Because it’s more fashionable.

I think I may be the Marilla to her Anne.

In other reading news:

• Poppy read “Bad Kitty for President,” “Lions at Lunchtime” and “Polar Bears Past Bedtime” this week. I picked up “The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Basil” for her, too, but it didn’t capture her attention at all. I doubt she’ll finish it.

• Pete flew through books 7 and 8 of the Bob Books series. I think he’s getting a handle on this reading thing.

• The kids are very excited about Monday, because it’s the first day of the Pizza Hut BookIt program. Nothing like personal pizzas to motivate a kid! Poppy’s challenge for October is to read 500 pages, and Pete’s challenge is to master two more Bob Books.

History

This week’s “Story of the World” chapter was about Augustine, monks and Christianity’s beginnings in Britain. Poppy did one of this week’s crafts a few weeks ago at co-op, so the only craft we did was making a cross necklace out of clay and twine. The crosses are just about dry this morning, so we’ll be painting them sometime this afternoon.

Extra credit

• Pete scored his first-every goal in soccer last week! I expected him to strike a superhero pose afterward — as he had the previous week every time he kicked the ball — but he mostly just looked very surprised.

The kids spent Monday at my in-laws’ house this week while Rockford and I were on our way home from pretending to be young and hip for a few days. So we only had four days of school this week. We still managed to do almost everything I’d planned, though. Maybe we should just move to a four-day, year-round school week.

I’ve been entertaining the idea of saving up for an iPad for school (and, who am I kidding?, for Facebook, Twitter and Kingdom Rush), so Rockford left his work iPad home yesterday so we could explore some educational apps. I downloaded trial versions of the Bob Books app and Rocket Math as well as the full version of Stack the States. The kids liked them all, but I haven’t had a chance to give them an in-depth look yet.

The main factor that’s kept me from actively wanting an iPad is that I think the kids would spend their days asking to use it all the time. And that is precisely what happened yesterday. It might just be the novelty of the thing, but they do the same thing with my computer and the phone so I suspect it would be an ongoing issue.

Reading

Pete seems to have had a little breakthrough on the reading front this week. He wanted to move on to the next book in his Bob Books set, so I told him we would if he could read all the way through book 6 with no help. Which he did, and then he read all the way through the new-to-him book 7 with no help, too! I’m going to see if he’ll try “Green Eggs and Ham” next week.

Poppy read 3 or 4 “Magic Tree House” books this week, and she also read an American Girl book. I thought she’d enjoy them, but sometimes she just doesn’t want to consider things I suggest. Imagine that. Rockford brought “Meet Addy” home from the library for her, though, and she read it in one sitting. Hmph.

History

We’re still doing some review stuff in volume two of “Story of the World” this week. This week’s crafty project was to make a Celtic war axe using a wrapping paper tube and some other cardboard & sundries, but I didn’t have a wrapping paper tube that wasn’t, you know, covered in wrapping paper. So it seems I’ve already gone back to my old, no-craft-doing ways in history. Maybe next week won’t require a wrapping paper tube.

Math

In addition (ha!) to their usual McRuffy lessons, we downloaded Rocket Math for the iPad. I’d like to find an app that allows an administrator to set up the user account, so a second-grader couldn’t play solely on the easiest setting just to rack up points for a sweeter rocket. Hypothetically, I mean.

Pop Quiz

Do your kids use an iPad in their schooling? (Home or otherwise?) How do you deal with the Gimme Gimme Gimme aspect of it? And do you have any must-have education apps?