The Start of School

It is August and the start of school is just around the corner. We took the summer off this year and had such fun swimming, bowling, watching movies, working in the yard and garden, and just plain having fun. I have spent the last week preparing to prepare for school. I have made all my lists and have done a lot of research and now I am ready to spend this week getting everything in order. We will be taking a different route this year and trying our hand at notebooking and lapbooking, www.NotebookingPages.com. I am very excited as this will allow us to study one subject at multi age/work levels.

Our curriculum does not exist. I have downloaded the work pages to go along with the Book of Virtues and look forward to using it to enhance our reading and understanding of this great book and the lessons it holds. I will once again be using Hooked on Phonics ( Kindergarten and 1st grade) and for the older kids the Brain Quest Comprehensive Workbook, grade level appropriate. I will use books from Abeka for History and Math, Bob Jones for English, and the Internet for whatever we can't find on the bookshelves.

What I look forward to most this year is a more laid back, hands on approach in which all my children will enjoy taking part. We plan to read A LOT! and I even have some audio surprises for them thanks to www.homeschoolfreebieoftheday.com and www.homeschoolradioshows.com.
We will continue to garden and maybe this year get more serious about 4H; our summer garden did pretty well despite the heat. We look forward to a fall garden and will change the layout a bit, but really liked our garden plot and how easy it was to tend.

This fall we have a trip planned to Washington D.C. and the surrounding area. The kids have spent a great deal of time on the computer planning and researching places they would like to visit. This week we will take a trip to our local AAA office and pick up some AAA Guidebooks and maps so that we are prepared for our trip. We will be camping for two weeks, something we love doing...tips on this later.

I still have not found a reading list (grade level) that I love and this is where my mom will come in handy. She has a multitude of books and will keep us well supplied throughout the school year. Not only that but she will be able to help us with fun reading that will compliment and reinforce our studies. There will most definitely be a lot of reading. This is a perfect way to encourage learning without feeling like school.

I imagine our school year will be filled with fun and laughter, messes and mistakes, but at the end of they day I hope we all walk away with a new fact or tidbit of information we did not know when we began. I pray for patience and co-operation. I pray that our 1 year old will be co-operative and that he loves PlayDoh! I pray mostly that we honor God in all be do. He created us with amazing minds and the capability to learn and do great things. I pray that I do not take for granted the opportunity I have to teach my children at home.

Looking ahead to great things......