Procrastination

Normally by this time in summer, I have our plans finalized, all books purchased,  and I've started entering lesson plans into Homeschool Tracker. 

This year, though, I'm feeling overwhelmed.  I've got a lot of what we need (I think(, but my thoughts and ideas are inside my head bumping into each other like super-heated molecules.  Our year will look quite different than it has in the past because of a couple of outside classes and the fact I'm now working part time.  I'm thinking of not using Homeschool Tracker, wondering if having paper plans where we can see all the assignments will help us stay on track.  But I'm not quite sure how to work it out yet.  The binder system for holding upcoming assignments that we've used for several years didn't work out for us this past year, so I'm rethinking how to handle storing our daily work.  Individual folders?  Using my Pro-Click to make spiral notebooks for each subject? 

Our new year starts in July, which is next week.  I've got to force myself to sit down and work on sorting this stuff out.

But right now, the World Cup is on.

2103/2104 Spring Semester Plans

I've been analyzing what we've been using, how it's been working for us, and how it will work since I won't be as available this semester.

I've decided to drop Latin this semester for Luke & Ezekiel.  I wasn't doing a great job teaching, and I've decided that it is something I want to outsource to Dwayne at Visual Latin in the fall.  We had dropped Elementary Greek last semester due to time constraints, so we're picking that back up.

For physics, we're using Physics in Your Life, and using the recommended texts (including Hewitt's Conceptual Physics).  I'd originally purchased these to supplement the Conceptual Physics text, but it turns out Professor Wolfson is a much better teacher of physics than I am, and the boys enjoy the lectures.

I'm also switching all the boys from Rod & Staff English to Grammar Revolution.  Lessons are short in this program, and concepts are practiced by diagramming.  I love Rod & Staff, but it does take a lot of time to teach 5 different levels.  We're going to restart IEW for writing instruction.

The only thing I'm still debating is science for the younger 3 boys.  I have some different kits and books around; I'm leaning towards just using these and letting the youngest 2 learn through doing experiments.  I'm thinking I might go back to my original plan for Jacob, having him work through So You Really Want to Learn Science.


Luke (9th):

• Saxon Algebra 2
• Physics in Your Life
• Grammar Revolution
• Rod & Staff Spelling 7 (word root study)
• IEW Writing
• Argument Builder and/or Rulebook for Arguments Workbook
• Elementary Greek 3
• Notgrass Exploring America
• Trail Guide to US Geography
• American Literature:  Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Great Gatsby, Of Mice and Men, Farenheit 451, and To Kill a Mockingbird, along with some short stories and poetry

Ezekiel (8th):

• Saxon Algebra 1
• Physics in Your Life
• Grammar Revolution
• Rod & Staff Spelling 7
• IEW Writing
• Argument Builder and/or Rulebook for Arguments Workbook
• Elementary Greek 2
• Notgrass Exploring America 
• Trail Guide to US Geography
• American Literature:  Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Great Gatsby, Of Mice and Men, Farenheit 451, and To Kill a Mockingbird, along with some short stories and poetry

Jacob (6th):

• Knowing Mathematics Green Level
• So You Really Want to Learn Science
• Notgrass America the Beautiful
• A History of US
• Trail Guide to US Geography
• Literature (I'm building off of Veritas Press' last 2 card sets and Sonlight's D & E reading lists)
• Grammar Revolution
• Rod & Staff Spelling 6
• IEW Writing
• First Form Latin

Micah (4th):

• Saxon 5/4
• Various Science Kits
• Notgrass America the Beautiful
• Trail Guide to US Geography
• Literature (I'm building off of Veritas Press' last 2 card sets & Sonlight's D & E reading lists)
• Grammar Revolution
• Rod & Staff Spelling 4
• IEW Writing
• Prima Latina
• Draw Write Now

Nicholas (2nd):

• Saxon 3
• Various Science Kits
• Literature (I'm building off of Veritas Press' last 2 card sets & Sonlight's D & E reading lists)
• The Complete Book of US History
• Trail Guide to US Geography
• Sonlight Readers
• My Book House books
• Grammar Revolution
• Rod & Staff Spelling (finish 2, move to 3)=
• Prima Latina
• Draw Write Now

 

Spring Break

At the end of March, I realized we needed a scheduled Spring Break.  I was burned out, and the boys were feeling like school would never, ever, ever end.  I decided that we would take the first week of April off, guilt free.

I think we need to do this more often.

We school year round, mostly, and I've never scheduled breaks other than a week off at Thanksgiving, 2 or 3 weeks off at Christmas, and about 4 weeks off in the summer.  Sure, we take breaks other than those, but they're not scheduled and I'm often left feeling guilty for taking the time off.

This week has been so nice.  I've done some Spring cleaning, I slept in one day, and I've been researching next year's books, all without the nagging voice in my head that incessantly repeats "You should be teaching somebody something."  Not only that, I'm ready to get back to teaching on Monday.

Of course, there was also the dental appointment, the orthodontist appointment, the sprained ankle, the possibly fractured finger, and the head wound.  But somehow these were all easier to manage without that pesky voice in my head.

Because we were so over-booked for the first semester, we'll definitely need to school through the summer. Before we start on Monday, I'm going to sit down with a calendar and schedule some breaks in.  Right now I'm thinking the last week of May and the last week of June.

This isn't a new or original idea--I know many homeschoolers schedule their time off (a common model is 6 weeks on, 1 off year round).  I don't know why I've been such a slow learner.  Before we begin our next school year, I'm definitely going to sit down with a calendar and schedule in some hard breaks to save my sanity.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

Since I posted last, we've completed weeks 12-17.  They were crazy weeks, with Grandma and Grandpa visiting for Thanksgiving, Christmas preparations, regular life, and the fitting in of all doctor and dentist appointments before the end of the year.  We're on break this week (and were mostly on break last week, and kind of on break the week before that), and will be on break next week, too.

There are some changes in the works (here is my post from the beginning of the year).  The major change is that Luke & Ezekiel won't be going back to their  enrichment program.  They loved it, and have loved it for the past couple of years, but we need the time at home.  Jacob, Micah, and Nicholas will stay in for the rest of the year.

I'm looking at adding Windows to the World for Luke & Ezekiel.  It arrived on Christmas Eve, so I haven't had time to look at it yet.  I'm mostly happy with how our year has been going, but we're just not making the progress I'd hoped for with literature and writing.  I'm not sure exactly how this will fit in with Omnibus and Classical Writing, but I figure that will become clear as I look it over this next week.

I'll be adding New American Cursive for Micah & Nicholas (and will do a refresher with Ezekiel and Jacob).  I bought Book 1, and ordered the StartWrite software, but it hasn't arrived yet.  I'm hoping to combine New American Cursive with Draw Write Now.  Micah still hates to pick up a pencil, but he'd like to learn cursive and he likes to draw.  I really think writing will become easier as he practices more and builds up his endurance, and I hope this will make it less painful for both of us.

Jacob's writing will be changing.  We've had to spend more time than planned in math filling in some gaps, and we just haven't had time to do Writing with Skill, so I'm shelving that until next year.  He's been working on Sentence Composing for Elementary School, and he's going to do the first part of The Creative Writer this semester.  I was doing the Magic School Bus kits with Jacob, Micah, and Nicholas, knowing they were below Jacob's level.  I'm now having Jacob teach science to Micah & Nicholas, and I just ordered this Student Guide to go with our Snap Circuits set.  If I like it when it arrives, I'll have Jacob work through it.

I'll be adding Rod & Staff Spelling 2 for Nicholas, and I'm going to have Micah read Super Grammar.  I also hope to add poetry memorization back in for all of us.

Overall, I'm excited to start the new semester.  We took on too many outside commitments this fall, and I think eliminating the enrichment program for Luke & Ezekiel will help our weeks go a lot smoother.  

2012/2013 Plans

We are three weeks into the new school year, so I figure I should post what we're using this year.  This is the first year that all the boys aren't using the same history and science, since Luke & Ezekiel needed to bump it up a notch in preparation for high school (how can it be that we're so close to high school?!?).  My mantra this year while I was planning was "Keep it Simple(er)".  The (er) is on there because I don't think schooling five can ever be simple.  I did a pretty good job not tacking on extra bits and pieces, and so far things seem to be going well.

Luke & Ezekiel (8th & 7th):

• Math:  Saxon:  Luke is partway through Algebra 1; Ezekiel is partway through Saxon 8/7.  They'll move on to the next books once they've finished these.
• Grammar:  Rod & Staff 7
• Spelling:  Rod & Staff 6
• Composition:  Classical Writing:  We're doing the Aesop & Homer in a Month course (though it will take us longer than a month).  When we finish that, we'll move along to Diogenes: Maxim
• Logic:  Art of Argument
• Greek:  Elementary Greek 2
• Latin:  Henle/Lingua Latina/Visual Latin:  Yes, it looks complicated, but it's really not.  My plan is to get through the first 7 units in Henle 1, and about 1/4 of the Lingua Latina book.  I just have the boys watch any corresponding Visual Latin lessons because they love Dwayne and he's a great teacher.  
• Literature/History/Theology:  Omnibus 1:  They aren't reading all the titles.  They'll be reading:

Gilgamesh
The Odyssey
The Last Days of Socrates
Julius Caesar
Plutarch's Lives (selections)
Chosen by God
The Holiness of God
Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold
The Screwtape Letters
The Chronicles of Narnia (all 7 books)

• History:  The World in Ancient Times series
• Science:  The Rainbow

Jacob (5th):

• Math:  Rod & Staff 5, Life of Fred
• Grammar:  Rod & Staff 5
• Spelling:  Rod & Staff 5
• Composition:  Writing with Skill 1
• Latin:  Latin for Children A
• Spanish:  PowerGlide Spanish 
• Literature:  I don't have a lot assigned for Jacob.  I want his focus to be on math and writing this year, and I didn't want to bog him down with a lot of reading.  It's his favorite part of school though, and he keeps asking for more books, so I might add some more fiction to the list.

The Chronicles of Narnia (all 7 books, using the Veritas Press Comprehension Guide orally)
Shadow Hawk
Tirzah
The Pharoahs of Ancient Egypt

• History:  Veritas Press Self-Paced Old Testament & Ancient Egypt course
• Science:  Magic School Bus kits with Micah & Nicholas.  These are really too easy for him--once I see how his days are really going, I might give him a different science to do.

Micah (3rd):

• Math:  Saxon:  finish up 3 and move to 5/4, Life of Fred
• Grammar:  Rod & Staff 3 (mostly orally)
• Spelling:  Rod & Staff 3
• Composition:  Writing with Ease 2 (mostly orally)
• Literature:  Micah hates (hates!) to write.  Last year we had battle after battle over anything that involved picking up a pencil and making marks on paper.  If you've met Micah, you might understand how exhausting these battles could be.  He loves to read, though, so I made a deal with him.  I would drastically cut the amount of writing he has to do and I'd assign him a lot of reading, as long as he didn't fight me on the bit of writing he'll have to do.  This is the list I have so far (many are from the Sonlight 4-5 Readers list):

The Chronicles of Narnia  (all 7 books, using the Veritas Press Comprehension Guide orally) 
Shadow Hawk
Tirzah
The Pharoahs of Ancient Egypt
More Stories from Grandma's Attic
The Whipping Boy
The Children of Noisy Village
Ralph S. Mouse
Encyclopedia Brown
Marco Polo
The King's Equal
Little House on Rocky Ridge
Socks
Misty of Chincoteague
Along Came a Dog
Toothpaste Millionaire

• History:  Veritas Press Self-Paced Old Testament & Ancient Egypt course with Jacob & Nicholas
• Science:  Magic School Bus kits with Jacob & Nicholas
• Penmanship:  Callirobics, moving into Draw Write Now

Nicholas (1st):

• Math:  Saxon 2, Miquon
• Phonics:  Explode the Code, Phonics Pathways, Reading Pathways
• Composition:  Writing with Ease 1
• Literature:  Again, this list is a work in progress.  I fully expect Nicholas to take off in reading this year, and I'm sure once he does he'll fly through these books and I'll need to add more.  These are from the Sonlight 1 Readers list.

The Best Trick
Green Eggs and Ham
Little Bear
Put Me in the Zoo
The Cat in the Hat
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish
A Fly Went By
A Big Ball of String
The Bravest Dog Ever:  The True Story of Balto

• History:  Veritas Press Self-Paced Old Testament & Ancient Egypt course with Jacob & Nicholas
• Science:  Magic School Bus kits with Jacob & Micah
• Penmanship:  Callirobics, moving into Draw Write Now

All five boys are still taking Judo and recreational Tumbling and Trampoline gymnastics.  They're also still in a one day a week enrichment program.  The older four are taking piano, and we hope to start Nicholas this year at some point.  We're also still slowly reading through the remainder of the Sonlight H books (I read these aloud).