Settling Dust

Now that our little school has been in session for a little over a month, I thought I'd peep in to reflect on what sort of routine we have settled into. Despite my best wishes, I don't believe any year has kicked off without a hitch or adjustment. This year is no different, although I do feel more settled and peaceful about our curricular pursuits. If you are keeping score, you may enjoy doing a compare/contrast to what I initially planned on doing. I was amazed at the differences! You can find my initial blog post on the upcoming year here. Here's where we stand now that the dust has settled...

For my 10th grader:
This year my son will be continuing to expand his horizons academically. I have made a lot of changes in order to anticipate upcoming SAT/ACT and SAT Subject testing...

• Math U See Algebra 2
• Notgrass World History: This is the first time we've strayed from the Classical approach, and I did it intentionally, to help son prepare for SAT subject tests in May. Neither of us are as happy with it as we are with Biblioplan, so although we are going to continue with the curriculum structurally, I have gone ahead and purchased the Companions for years 1 and 2. He is planning on supplementing Notgrass with Biblioplan, as we both agree it is more thorough.
• Apologia Physics:  he talked me out of Chemistry for the year
• Teaching the Classics/Windows to the World, as organized by Jill Pike's Syllabus by IEW.  This has been my personal favorite so far!
• Introductory Logic.  This has been son's favorite subject, much to my surprise!
• Rosetta Stone German and German Demystified
• Analytical Grammar High School Reinforcements of British Literature and World Literature
• Guitar Lessons continue, and
• He has begun a running program to qualify for Physical Education

For my 8th grader:

My middle guy is seeing less change overall, but there are still some changes that we are exploring. Here's what he's working on currently.

• Math U See Algebra 1
• Easy Peasy Homeschool Ancient History, Ancient Art, and Ancient Music:  This has the most delightful surprise of all. Both of my kids who are working through this have enjoyed it very much, and I have enjoyed the multi-sensory opportunities for learning that have been offered. It's a true gem!
• Apologia Physical Science:  This particular level is one of my personal favorites by Jay Wile.
• IEW's The Elegant Essay:  This course, while very good, has proven to be the most challenging for me to implement so far.
• Analytical Grammar, completing Season 3 and moving on into the High School Reinforcements
• All About Spelling, Level 7:  A wonderful, Orton-Gillingham based course in spelling.
• Math U See Stewardship:  Consumer math for Christians!
• Critical Thinking, Daily Warm-Ups Logic: a fun little critical thinking vitamin for the day (180 days total)
• Teen Coder Java, because this kiddo is totally wired in that way!
• Literature studies as directed by me. I anticipate reading historical fiction, poetry, and some novels and short stories throughout the year.
• Basketball and guitar round out the year

For my 6th grader:

My youngest is continuing to advance her skills in reading. A strong dyslexic, she has struggled to find a place to pin her reading skills, but they are coming together nicely with specialized curriculum, namely...

• Barton Reading and Spelling System: a God-send for the dyslexic student and her instructor/parents!
• Math U See Zeta
• Apologia's Exploring Creation Through Astronomy:  I think this one is my personal favorite. I love the projects that are listed within its pages!
• IEW's Fix-It: This is a big win for my daughter this year. She's learning grammar and editing, all while rewriting a classic novel. The errors are embedded in the text, and she fixes them, looks up vocabulary words, and rewrites the corrected passage. It's brilliant, and really works to her strengths!
• A Reason for Handwriting, Cursive
• IEW's Ancient History Writing Lessons.  It fits in nicely with her history, which is...
• Easy Peasy Ancient History, Ancient Art, and Ancient Music, just like her brother's.
• Sign Language for Everyone. Because learning a foreign language is nigh impossible when you're dyslexic!
• Simply Grammar by Karen Andreola as accompaniment to Fix-It.
• Added to all that, she is involved in a local soccer league for recreation.

That's it in a nutshell. Things seem to be coming together nicely. This year I'm going to pray for smooth sailing and that we would all enjoy each other. The year will fly by, and there are fewer and fewer school years to look forward to with all of us together. Before I know it, one will be leaving the nest. I am so thankful for all the wonderful memories we have shared as a family who homeschools.