Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Compare/Contrast: Violet vs. the Girls

Never once in her life has Violet told me I have a big bottom. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about my girls.

Violet doesn't announce to the entire world my age. One of the problems with homeschooling is your children sometimes actually learn what it is you're attempting to teach. Unfortunately, my girls have learned the concept of age. They are no longer fooled when I tell them I am 24 years old. They like to make sure I remember my real age - sometimes they do it rather loudly.

Violet wants food. My girls want food. What is with all these people wanting to eat all the time?

Violet doesn't use toilet paper. Holy guacamole my girls use lots of toilet paper. Why oh why do they insist on using so much?

Friday, August 1, 2008

Week 1: July 28th - August 1st

This was our first week back after taking a fairly long spring/summer break. We eased into most subjects and I feel great about what we managed to accomplish. The girls are really great and seem to enjoy doing school. I am working a little bit on taming the "wiggles", but otherwise it was a super week.

Here's our current schedule:

Saxon Math 2 - My goal for this school year is to stick with a lesson per day of math - no matter what else we let slide, we will get math done daily. My girls love the meeting times and really enjoy the structure of Saxon. I am pleased as I wasn't too sure. I tried Saxon way back in K and didn't really enjoy it, so I was somewhat reluctant to try again. However, so far so good!

All About Spelling - We are really enjoying this subject. We've managed about a step per day. At this rate, we'll be through level 1 in no time! I can't say enough good things about the program. It is really easy to teach and the girls like the variety of exercises - some oral, some written, some a combo.

First Language Lessons - This is our first year of formal grammar and we enjoy it. I did start at the beginning, but we are doing approximately 4 lessons per day with quite a bit of review. I've mostly skipped the narration exercises as my girls are pros at narration. I plan on getting to level 2 as quickly as possible and then really slowing down the pace.

American History - We are using Winter Promise American Story 1 for our history studies. I decided to alternate history and science and do 2 days per week of each subject for a longer period of time. In the past, we just weren't able to complete some of the more fun activities and with a longer period of time slotted, we are able to get to everything. We are having fun with this subject.

Science - I am using Noeo science and we are finishing up studying the weather. Next up is microbes and bacteria. Should be fun!!

We are participating in the Classical Conversations program in the fall which will be held on Fridays. Until then, we'll probably plan on schooling all 5 days to allow us to "get ahead" a bit to allow for some days off when the weather gets cooler. It's currently so hot, we might as well stay inside and do school!