Greetings!
 ZR> for each letter.  Aaron is currently just being taught the letters from
 ZR> A through K.  We add just a little bit at a time until he can remember 
 ZR> interests him.  Generally this is done verbally but I sometimes write 
them
 ZR> down or have him make an illustration book, then add the words later.  I 
 ZR> figure this is good practice in composition and even though he is not 
he
 ZR> one doing the actual writing, our homeschool advisor 
 We've had a lot of fun and success with magnetic letters on the 
efrigerator.
This is a great way for kids who don't write to put words together.  We used 
to play a game where we'd have the kids "magic" words into other words.  We'd 
start with "at" for instance, and make available only letters that would 
create a new word (like "c", "b", "V" "f").  Then the child would "magic" at 
into new words, like bat, cat, etc. Lots of clapping, etc. accompanied this 
activity.
It took my youngest a long time to recognize all the lower case letters.  
Since the magnetic letters were all "capitals", I think it helped avoid 
confusion for her. We spent a long time working with only capital letters 
before introducing the lower case ones.
Now my girls are 12 1/2 and nearly 9, and we still use those letters - for 
vocabulary words, notes and messages, and to write simple stories.  We had a 
continuing story going for awhile, and my youngest would read it from the 
fridge, and then write it down.  We'd put up a new sentence to the story, and 
eventually she had a whole story written down, one sentence at a time.
WZR> I'm stuck on PE, though.  Are there any suggestions for 
 ZR> indoor PE activities for wintertime?
Turn on the radio and rock out!  This can be totally freeform, or organized 
into more of a game - like one person controls the music, and everyone else 
has to freeze in position when it stops, then begin dancing again when it 
starts.  Although running through the house isn't encouraged during better 
weather, I've been known to sentence my rowdy children to "5 times around the 
table" in the winter, or make a game of timing them - how long does it take 
to run up one set of stairs, through the upstairs room, and down another set?
The girls also have a video of ballet exercises, which is a bit less rowdy 
than the above examples, but still good exercise.
Enjoy the homeschooling adventure!    -Lori Loranger
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