Early Reviews of Homeschool Drills

We're just getting happily settled into our new school routine. We begin with a Bible story and some fun review games, then we settle into Quiet School. Quiet School isn't very quiet this year as Iris (4) is doing kindergarten material. I have to do something to keep her busy or she causes trouble, and the harder it is the better. However, this means that I'm once again helping a beginning reader through their work. So much for my quiet time. Everyone else is doing brilliantly on their independant studies and I'm proud to say they often finish their work early. We then have recess which is quite lively because they are so tired of being quiet. Lunch is sped through and then it's time for drills. This is a new feature to our curriculum, and one I was uncertain about. I knew we had to do something to strengthen the girl's grasp of the routine things like math facts and handwriting, but I hate routine and rote anything. I bit the bullet and bought materials, and I hate to say it, but drill time is everybody's favorite.
There are six stations the three oldest work their way through. Spelling Power's pre-test, 10-step study sheet, and reinforcing activity are three of them. A daily sheet of math fact drills is another, and then we have handwriting and journaling. Spelling Power is amazing. Everybody is much more print aware. The girls are striving for perfect pre-tests. The 10-step review is fun and effective. As a side note, I purchased a set of alphabet cards that have a rough surface and the directions for correctly forming the letters for the trace and say portion of the review. I highly recommend them. Handwriting is reinforced and my kinesthetic children tend to lock the word using them. For review, I've found all sorts of games and activities that the girls enjoy. One of our favorites is a handwriting machine that teaches both manuscript and cursive as well as playing numerous other games.
The math drills are my competitive daughter's daily highlight. She is always trying to go further faster than her sisters. They are going more slowly than I'd like, but the facts are becoming so entrenched and their systems for attacking math problems are measurably improved and streamlined. Handwriting is getting there. We struggle with reversals across the board. I don't have a single child who doesn't seem to feel that it's the shape and not the direction that matters when writing numbers and letters. They like the practice and the time limit makes it more tolerable. Journaling is improved because the spelling and handwriting are so improved. I have to admit it, boring routine isn't so boring, and it gets things done.
The rest of our day is given to history, langauge arts and science--the fun stuff. Physics is a blast. I thought I'd picked something that was maybe over our heads--not so. It's fascinating and we are looking at ordinary things in new ways. Plus, Kurt enjoys teaching it, so I have every other Friday off. Bonus. Hope your year is going well, and that our experience might be useful.