Homeschooling - Year #5 - Part 2

Part 2 - Year 5 Details

So this post is for other homeschooling moms who, like me, are curious about curriculum and that sort of details.  So here is the breakdown...classes included but not limited to:

Autumn - Grade 11/12

• Math - Dave Ramsey High School Curriculum and Abeka Business Math
• Language Arts - English III (British Literature with a focus on Shakespeare) and English IV (The English Component of Notgrass Government and Economics).  Easy Grammar.
• Science - Abeka Biology (Homeschool Co-op) and Microscope Lab
• History - Notgrass Government and Notgrass Economics
• Other pursuits will include Violin/Piano, Cooking/Baking/Food Prep, Phys. Ed.

Janae - Grade 8

• Math - Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra + Algebra
• Language Arts - Progeny Press (4 Units starting with "Swiss Family Robinson") + Easy Grammar
• Science - Apologia Physical Science (Homeschool Co-Op)
• History - Pennsylvania History (Homeschool Co-Op)
• Language - American Sign Language (Homeschool Co-Op)
• Art History - Overview of Famous Artists and Famous Paintings
• Other pursuits will include Home Ec, Piano/Voice, Phys. Ed.

Zachary - Grade 5

• Math - Last year we did Teaching Textbooks 4.  I wasn't convinced that he had mastered division, so we switched to Math U See for this year.  We are focusing on mastering division.  I'm hoping to then switch back to Teaching Textbooks, but Math U See may be a better fit for how he learns.
• Language Arts - Progeny Press (4 Units starting with "Across Five Aprils), Writing (can't remember the title), BJU Spelling, Grammar
• History - Countries & Continents (Homeschool Co-op), Ancient Wonders of the World (Homeschool Co-Op)
• Science - Daily Science + Apologia
• Other:  Soccer (Homeschool Co-op), Art, Music, Cooking

Mark - Grade 4 (Life Skills)

• Time4Learning.com
• All About Reading
• Math-U-See
• History - The Story of the World - Book 2
• Science - Homeschool Co-op, Daily Science
• Other:  Art, Music, Cooking, Phys. Ed.

Micah - Grade 3

• Math - Math U See Gamma, If we get through that, we will finish the year with Teaching Textbooks 3
• Language Arts - BJU Reading & Spelling
• History - The Story of the World - Book 2
• Science - Homeschool Co-Op + Apologia
• Other:  Art, Music, Cooking, Phys. Ed.

So that's the overview.  I also plan to do a health curriculum with all the kids.  And I'm sure there are some things that I forgot to list since I'm just trying to remember everything without actually looking.  :-)  Everything subject to adjustment and tweaking as the year progresses.

~Karen

Homeschooling Year #5 - Part 1

Part 1 - Our Homeschooling Story 

This past Monday we officially started school.  That means school every day.  We've dabbled over the summer...some math here, some handwriting there, a museum here, a cooking project there...but now we're officially switching from "summer mode" to "school mode".

As you may know, I had no desire to homeschool.  None.  Our kids went to a local, Mennonite school and we liked that.  I was looking forward to the day when all of my kids were in school and I could clean a room without having another room destroyed in the process.  :-)  But when my oldest was in Jr. High, he started petitioning me to homeschool him for high school.  The plan had been for him to switch to the local Public School.  I finally caved and agreed to try it for one year.  So for 2 years, I homeschooled a high-schooler.  Since he was self-motivated, that went pretty well.  He worked hard and ended up graduating in 3 years instead of 4.

My daughter also decided to homeschool for high school.  So year 3 was supposed to be all of the kids were finally in school every day/all day except for the two oldest who would do their work under my supervision, but basically independently.  At the last minute, we decided to add our son who has some special needs and was in a Life Skills class.  But that's okay.  We can do this.  So Year 3 had me homeschooling 3 kids.  And then, Surprise!  A month into school, a little guy joined our family.  Homeschooling with a baby had not factored into my plans...but there it was...so we did that.

Year 4.  The oldest had now graduated.  But our one son was having some challenges (which I'm not going to go into in this forum. 😊  So we decided to homeschool 2 of our sons in addition to our high-school aged daughter.  About February, I decided that I was not doing this very well...this balancing of kids at school and kids at home.  So by the end of last school year, we made the decision (for varying reasons) to pull all of the kids home for this year. 

And that brings us to this year.  Year #5.  This year we are homeschooling 5 children from 3rd grade - 12th grade (yes, my daughter also plans to graduate a year early).  Mid September we will start our Co-op classes.  We will see how the year goes...and by February will be thinking about the next year!

And that's the story in a nutshell.  I kind of fell into this.  And it's good.  A different path than I had expected, true, but it's where we belong at the moment.

~Karen

Sleepy

It's a sleepy morning here...although things will burst to life shortly.

Today is our first (official) day of school for the year.  Will officially blog about that another time.

The fog is hanging in the low spots of the valley where we live.

We were at the beach for a week last week...lovely!

Extended family picnic last night.

Lots of laundry.

Have a good day!
~Karen

Random August musings and family update

With the beginning of August comes the realization that school is not far away, along with crisp nights and, for some unknown reason, a craving for things made of apples or pumpkins.

This week we have started doing a bit of school every day...mostly math and handwriting.  Our official school start date is August 27, but that's just the day we will become more intense with our studies.  This summer I've made an effort to get us to the library more frequently.  So we've spent many hours with books on all sorts of subjects.  Several of my children gravitate towards non-fiction...books about sports figures or science.

I, too, have been enjoying our library excursions.  Right now I'm reading a book called "High-Risers:  Cabrini-Green and the Fate of American Public Housing" by Ben Austen.  I recently read a book called "Factfulness" which I loved.  It emphasized the importance of reading/hearing news in context and things such as looking at numbers as percentages and comparing to historical numbers.  I think the tag-line was something along the line of how the world is getting better, not worse (despite the news...because sensational news sells more than good news).

Now, for the family update:

• Our family:
• Continues to attend our local church
• Will all be homeschooling this coming fall
• is enjoying the summer life, the warm weather, riding bikes, etc.
• Randy continues to drive truck regionally.  The kids have enjoyed taking turns going along with him this summer.  His Sarcoidosis remains stable.  He continues to ride bike and is looking forward to riding in the Chocolate Tour this Saturday.  In September he is riding the BR2RB ride again to raise money for Black Rock Retreat.  If you're interested in partnering with him, you can check out his fundraising site.  
• I continue to manage our home and children, read voraciously, learn more about Young Living products and healthy living, and ferry children to various appointments.  I'm working on being willing to focus on my own health and well-being...by adding a bit of exercise into my routine.
• Josiah continues to work full time as a truck driver.
• Autumn has studied hard and plans to graduate a year early so she's entering her senior year of high school.  This week she is helping as an assistant counselor at a local summer camp.  She has the opportunity to go to Uganda in October and is raising funds for that.  If that's something that interests you in supporting and you know me, you can contact me about giving funds directly to her.
• Janae is in 8th grade this year.  She loves to read about as much as I do!
• Zachary is starting 5th grade.  He enjoys mowing the yard, playing with Legos, and Adventures in Odyssey.
• Mark is in 4th grade/Life Skills.  We continue to work to maximize his abilities.  He continues with Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy.  He loves to wash windows and help people.
• Micah is starting 3rd grade.  He is very active and loves climbing everything.
• Little One - We are in the process of making this little one a permanent member of our family.  Bittersweet....

Wow, while I was typing all of this it started pouring down rain!  I'm thankful for a secure home.

One other note:  As you probably know, I love Young Living products.  If you are not already a member of Young Living, and not working with another Independent Distributor, I'd love to have you join us in this.  When you join us as a member in August or September using my number for your sponsor & enroller, my sponsor bonus will go to Autumn for her trip to Uganda with Overcomers Christian Ministries.  Go to www.karensauder.com for more info on products.  Click "Place Order" in the upper right corner to order.

~Karen