Here it comes!

It's August. That means it's planning time for our homeschool. This year, I am using the Homeschool Tracker software, and so far I like it. I paid $49 for all the special features that don't come with the free edition. It is taking me some time to learn the program, but I see it as a time investment. The idea is that I will be using the same software for the next few years, so it can only get easier, right? It also comes with tutorial videos for "techno-tards" like me.

I have the curriculum and the schedule all planned out, and boy, am I ambitious this year!!! Last year was pretty low-key, and so this year I feel like I must cram the schedule full. In addition to our at-home academic studies, Mayah will be taking gymnastics, piano and 2 co-op classes. Ian will be taking guitar lessons, fencing and perhaps join the Young Marine program in our area. He will also take 2 co-op classes.

Following the Classical approach, Ian is entering the Logic Phase this year, and his work-load will become more intense. More writing, more reading and he begins critical thinking which will lead to formal logic in a few years. He has completed (my mandatory) 2 years of piano, so his instrument of choice is guitar. He is entering a second year of Latin study, and will be a bit more intensive in his study of current events/world view using God's World News. Fencing lessons are a delight to him, and he will continue them as long as his interest holds.

Mayah is, of course, still in the Grammar Phase. Getting her to a fluent reading level is our focuse this year. She is taking her second year of piano, second year of Latin, and second year of gymnastics (she can do competition if she wants to, but I don't think she will).

Over the past 4 years, Ian and I have made it through the 4 volumes of Story of the World (Ancients, Middle Ages, Early Modern, and Modern) so we are back at Ancients, and Mayah will be joining our history study this year. We'll start with Creation and go through the fall of Rome. I am excited because Ian can handle a heavier work load, and, since we are already familiar with the basic story, we can focus of the causes of so many wars and events. Mayah will get to do fun activities and games and read favorite mythology stories with us, in addition to learning the basic story of ancient times.

The kids try to pretend they aren't interested in the upcoming school year, but I see them poking through all the books I have spread out. The Art and History, and Science books have been thoroughly thumbed through. They won't admit it, but they are excited too.

July Vacation Plans

We are getting to head off to Tennessee in a few days. The kids are so excited to see their grandparents after 2 years. JP and I are going to St.Croix for a week as well, leaving the kids with my parents. July will be a full month of travling and family!

On top of everything, both kids will be getting baptised when we go camping with my family. My father agreed to baptise them, and I think it will be a nice memory for all of us. So, I guess he is going to just dunk them in the lake, and then we will celebrate. I bought them both new bibles as gifts, and will write the date in them. I hope the kids remember it and treasure the memory.

Homeschool Convention

I went to the WHO Homeschool Convention this weekend, and had a great time with my friend Colleen. We had two full days of shopping and seminars and came home tired and overflowing with great ideas.

Happily, I didn't really need to buy much curriculum this year, so I am able to keep the cost down this time around. I was able to find what I hope to be the perfect math curriculum for Ian. We have been using Math U See since the second grade and were ready to try something new. He is struggling in that subject, so I did some research and found Teaching Textbooks. It is a software based program, but also uses a workbook. I am hoping this pulls him out of the "I hate math" slump.

I now have next year planned as far as curriculum goes, and I am working out the daily schedule.

My one last task is to find homeschool planning software. We have outgrown the paper notebook lesson planners, and I enjoyed using the free online planner (http://home-school-inc.com) until the website grew sluggish towards the end of the school year. So, I am going to invest in a good quality software program to do our daily planning. I found that the children really liked having their daily assignments printed out for them each day. It gave them ownership of their assignments and made them a bit more independent in their work. It is also really nice for record keeping.

We are leaving for TN in a few weeks, so I am putting off some of the planning until we get back.

Aahh, the irony...

For the last 2 years, we have worked dilligently on "Memory  Work".  

Ian has memorized 7 poems, all the books of the Bible, the Pledge of Allegiance, the introduction to the Declaration of Independence, the first 16 presidents,  the Preamble to the Constitution, and the first 4 verses of Psalm 20.

In just this year, Mayah has memorized the Pledge of Allegiance, all the books of the Bible, 

7 poems, the definitions of a noun, verb and pronoun (as well as the list of all 22 pronouns), the definition of a sentence and all 4 types of sentences, her address,  and the first 4 verses of Psalm 20.

They have also memorized 4 prayers in Latin and hundreds of Latin vocabulary words.

Who do they choose to quote on a regular basis?  Sponge Bob Square Pants.

The latest edition of The Well Trained Mind is out- I just got it in the mail- just in case you care. I for one am excited. I am all agog to begin planning out next school year. It's the best part of homeschooling, don't you know.

God is unceremoniously dropping little nuggets of ideas on me every few days concerning what to do next year. I am trying to write them all down in an orderly fashion, and keep track of them all.

I have discovered that as my oldest advances, I become more and more apprehensive about my decision to homeschool. I am starting to think, "Hey, this is getting serious. I am actually going to have to teach him something that I don't really know much about. What if I royally screw him up? I could ruin his entire future if I forget to teach something important!" (and so on and so forth) The younger years are fun and games, arts and crafts and songs. I can do that. But formal logic? Geometry? ALGEBRA and PHYSICS?! How am I going to make up rhyming songs to teach those?

He is staying home next year, not going to Akoloutheo Academy, which turns out to be a great thing, but, OMG, I am a little freaked out about having a 5th grader!

My little girl had a stumbled out of her room last night as I was going to bed. She was mumbling something about a bad dream as I ushered her back to her chambers and tucked her in. Apparently, a giant bee had been chasing her around the house in her dreams and scared her.

After soothing her by rubbing her tummy, she sleepily informed me that she couldn't possibly get back to sleep without listening to High School Musical 3. It was my regretful duty to inform her that the only thing we owned baring the logo of High School Musical 3 was the pair of pink fuzzy PJ's and matching robe that were tucked in her dresser.

As her eyes drooped further, she darkly informed me that I might want to keep an eye out for any large menacing insects that might be flying around the house threatening family members.

Girls Weekend.

I just got back from a very fun weekend in Chicago where my sisters and I did some girl bonding. We got a tattoo, drank beer and jello-shooters, played poker, and analyzed our parents to pieces (one sister is getting her major in psychology at Wheaton). We took 1001 pictures and did quite a lot of shopping as well.

My sweet husband was quite willing to be home with the kids for 5 days. In the course of those days, both kids got sick, the car broke down and he cleaned out the garage. Needless to say, he stayed quite busy. I almost think the worst part for him was figuring out how to get a comb through our daughter's waist-length hair after her bath. He took it all in stride and never make me feel guilty for being gone, and never called me in a panic begging me to come home. What a guy.