Back to School!!!

In the midst of adoption paper work, fundraising and simply maintaining our family, summer slipped away before I could even say goodbye. So long summer! The end of summer break, means the inevitable back to school!! We have been going strong for three weeks now. My plan this year was to get a jump on school before it got a jump on me. So far, so good. We have stayed on task for the most part and have been finishing up right after lunch on most days. This year I get the entire week all to my homeschool. In the past years we have been members of Faith Tutorial, a homeschool program that meets two half-days per week. I have sent each child to the Kindergarten and First Grade programs. They were a super help at emphasizing what I was teaching in phonics and reading, both of which I feel are key to successful schooling. Eventually it became more of a burden than a help, so I knew it was time to bring us all under one roof...at home. It has been freeing! I am loving it!

Our current curriculum consists of:

Eli

Math - Math U See - Delta/Division

Language - First Language Lessons Level 3

Handwriting - Rod and Staff 3rd Grade

Spelling - SpellWell - Book B/BB

Vocabulary - Wordly Wise 3000 - Grade 3

Logic - Mind Benders

Foreign Language - Rosetta Stone - Spanish

Mia

Math - Math U See -Gamma/Multiplication

Language - First Language Lessons Level2

Handwriting - Rod and Staff 2nd Grade

Spelling - SpellWell - Book A/AA

Vocabulary - Wordly Wise 3000 - Grade 2

Logic - Mind Benders

Foreign Language - Rosetta Stone - Spanish

Eva

Phonics - Explode the Code Books A,B,C

(Together)

History - Story of the World 3: Early Modern Times

Science - Apologia Swimming Creatures of Fifth Day

Old Testament - Beautiful Bible Stories

Bible Application - Secrets of the Vine for Kids

Art - Artistic Pursuits Book 1

One of the many perks to homeschooling is that I, the teacher, get to make our own schedule. I have scheduled us with full days Monday through Wednesday. Thursdays are lighter days, usually done by lunch and Fridays have bee designed to have fun activities or accommodate field trips. I try very hard to be finished with all of our curriculum by sometime in May. Although, I cannot wrap my Type-A mind around leaving my curriculum unfinished if we meet our 180 day requirement before being done. So far this year, We have started each day with a new bible story or devotional lesson. We have memorized The Goops, which I have loved using to encourage good table manners, and Land of Nod by Robert Louise Stevenson.



We have gotten off to a great start in Math, beginning division and multiplication. My last year's student who absolutely hated math, is loving it this year.
 

We have created an ocean box that we look forward to filling with new creatures with each new chapter. We have already molded our Orcas, representing our chapter on Cetaceans. 

We have made gold dabloons, representing the Spanish quests to South America in search of treasures. We have drawn the Inuit tribes of northern Canada that the English befriended in their quest for the Northwest Passage. 

And, we have flooded the Netherlands! 

All while keeping my sanity! Can we keep it up?