Well School is back in session and the pace is picking up around here.  Wow....I enjoyed summer.....but I do like the routine that school brings....I know I posted last spring about what I wanted to teach this year....but here is what we are actually doing:

After getting ready, breakfast, and chores we have family Bible Time.  As a family we are going through a great devotional book called Teaching Hearts Training Minds which are family devotions based on the shorter catechism.  The youth at our church are going to be working on learning the catechism and our churches youth guru recommended this book.  It is good.  I am learning so much!  What is the catechism?  It is a sort of summary of doctrine.  It poses questions and answers and uses scripture to support the answers.  My prayer and one of my parenting/homeschooling goals is to send my children out with a strong and solid Biblical Worldview.  Along with the Teaching Hearts Training Minds book we are reading another book called Catechism Kids for the younger kids.  It is just written at a younger level and uses stories.  It also involves memorizing short questions and answers.  We do Bible in the den on the couch.

After Bible we have writing time.  Writing takes place around the kitchen table.  We are using a curriculum called Writing with Ease by Susan Wise Bauer.  We have different levels for the different groups of kids but it follows the same basic principles.  The kids do copywork and narration on alternating days.  The younger kids have short segments of copywork and a written model while the older kids listen to a dictation and copy without a model and with correct spelling and punctuation and the passages are much longer.  The little kids narrate to me and watch me write their narrations.  I point out capital letters and punctuation and we focus on making sure our answers are complete thoughts and not fragments.  The older kids narrate answers to themselves and then write their own narrations.  Most of their narrations are short summaries and they are focusing on not including to many details (perhaps I should focus my writing on that as well :)

After family writing time....it gets a little crazy....THE BOY and I stay at the kitchen table and do Math.  He is doing Algebra this year.  We use the Saxon curriculum.  So far so good.  But we are only on day 3 so we will see if Mom can keep up!  While we work on math the rest of the kids have about a half our of outside play in our backyard.  I open the kitchen window and can see and hear them.  It works well on days they get along and stay outside...so I am trying to train them to do so.  However....I can imagine there will be days that I am screaming out the window for them to stop fighting or days where they are in and out so much that the dog gets out and I have to chase her around the neighborhood!  Never a dull moment :)

After I do THE BOY'S math instruction and check the practice problems I give him his assignment and he keeps working.  The little ones come inside and I send them upstairs to the loft and they can play with special toys I've set out for the day or they can play in their rooms.  This is the time I use to work on THE GIRLS reading.  We do her reading in the den on the couch.  We are using the Barton Reading and Spelling System, which it an Orton-Gillingham (the best) influenced one-on-one tutoring program.  It is very expensive but it is also very effective!  This is sometimes a great part of the day and it is sometimes a not great part of the day.  It depends on THE GIRL and THE MAMAS attitude for the day.  It is VERY tedious and difficult work for the GIRL and it is at times frustrating for the MAMA.  I must say however that the joy I have at watching her growth in this area is inexpressible.  Slow and steady!

Okay....so now I call down the TWiNKS and THE BABY and we get busy on their phonics lessons.  We do their phonics on the couch in the den.  We are using a program called Phonics Pathways.  I only spend about 15 minutes on formal phonics instruction each day for them.  While they are doing Phonics THE BOY is usually finished with Math and upstairs in his room practicing guitar.  The girl usually sits in the den with us and completes some simple phonics worksheets from a company called Explode the Code.

As soon as THE BOY finishes guitar he starts history.  For History this year he is reading Joy Hakims A History of US.  His history reading will be supplemented with a weekly quiz.  The book series he is reading has 11 volumes and after each volume he will have a cumulative test.  He also has 5 papers due in history this year:  A paper focusing on North Carolina during the Colonial Period, a Paper about being President in a new nation, Two  papers about any of the people we have studied this year, and  a paper on any topic of interest pertaining to the years study.  He will also have 6 projects due this year including: making a colonial brochure to entice Europeans to come and settle in the colonies, making a Revolutionary War timeline, a fact scavenger hunt using Internet and library research skills, making a diorama of a safe house or slave ship, writing questions to ask in an interview of 2 World War 2 veterans-he will then conduct the interview and have it videotaped.  Finally, we will enrich his study of American History by periodically showing videos from The American Heritage Series with Historian David Barton.  This series presents a providential view of American History.  While he works on history I read a chapter book to the four little ones.  Currently we are reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.  We are still hanging out on the couch while we read.

Now we are all done and we head outside for about 15 minutes of structured activity with mom.  aka. PE.  Right now we are learning to dribble a soccer ball with the inside of our foot.  By we are learning I mean me!  The kids enjoy laughing at me!

After a bit of a laugh and some fresh air we come back inside and we all go the the school room and sit at the table and do Geography.  We are taking a Roadtrip Across the US.  I think this will be a fun part of our school!

LUNCHTIME....in the kitchen!

After lunch: I do cursive handwriting with THE GIRL and printing handwriting with THE TWINKIES and THE BABY.  We use a curriculum called Handwriting Without Tears. While we do handwriting in the schoolroom THE BOY is also in the schoolroom working on his work from Co-op.  Since Co-op hasn't started back yet he uses this time to study/review Spanish for the upcoming year. 

THE BOY then goes to his room or mine and does his reading.  He will read about 10 novels or so this year and right now is reading a book called Stink Alley, which is the story of 12 year old, recently orphaned,  Lizzy Tinker who has spent the last 6 years living in Holland.  She is part of a group of religious refugees who left England in order to worship how they choose.  The story takes place in 1614.  While THE BOY reads the little ones watch a video or TV and I do Math with THE GIRL.  She is doing Horizons math.

Then....I do Math with THE TWINKieS and THE BABY, followed by their Explode the Code phonics worksheets and their Wordly Wise Vocabulary Lesson.  They are also doing Horizons math.  THE BOY does his Wordly Wise Vocabulary Lesson while I do Math with the Little ones and THE GIRL has a break.

Now the babies are done so they play while THE GIRL has Storytime. We are reading Detective in Togas right now.  After her storytime I do Grammar with her and THE BOY.  This completes THE GIRLS day and then I do Spelling with THE BOY to finish off his day. 

Now it is around 2:00 (if I'm lucky) and it is ROOMTIME!

When Co-op Starts back....
The Boy will have:
Physical Science
Art
Writing
and
Spanish

The Girl will have:
Music
Astronomy
Early American History
Art
Spanish

The Little Ones will have:
Storytime with related activity
Science related to story theme
Art related to story theme

So what I had thought we would do and what we are doing is not exactly as I had originally planned....but our days are FLYING by.  Having them ALL in school is BUSY! So pray for me to be diligent, organized, and to remain calm!  Pray for THE TWINKIE BOY to OBEY.....UGH!  Pray for THE GIRL to progress with her reading.  Pray for Randy to find a good job....soon!  If you think of us....please pray :)
Love you all!
Kim