School Days

It is that time of year again. For us anyway. The last couple of weeks I have been thinking about what school will look like for us this up coming year. Perusing catalogues for books and curriculum. We actually have started a little bit already. Another wise friend of mine told me she now does math pretty much all year round. It helps to avoid many tears and much frustration at the beginning of each school year. So, we are doing math and some copywork and some reading just to kind of get in the groove. It will be more structured at the end of August when everyone else starts.

Anyway, I am so excited about the up coming school year. I hope some of my enthusiasm rubs off on the kids!! I have already done both girls' first term checklists (the system we use to make sure everything gets done every day.) In First Grade Little Mama will be learning to read, attempting copywork and narration, listening to poetry by Robert Louis Stephenson, starting An Island Story, Fifty Famous Stories Retold, Parables from Nature, Aesop Fables, Just So Stories and Paddle to the Sea. Along with scripture memorization, Bible Study and French. This term both girls are studying weeds and garden flowers. In Third Grade Nature Girl will be reading, doing copywork, narrating, reading poetry by Christina Rossetti, listening to Pagoo, Child's History of the World, An Island Story, Joan of Arc, Seabird, Robin Hood, Pilgrim's Progress and Parables of Nature. Along with scripture, Bible and French. Our artist and composure for the term are Van Gogh and Berlioz. They will listen to folkmusic and do handicrafts like sewing and cooking. Each girl will work on mapwork and timelines. My goal is to get to the library and the creek on alternating Fridays. We have also incorporated a service project into our school schedule (more on that in another post.) As our habit and manner we are going to concentrate on meal times. Proper eating etiquette, how to set the table etc.

As I type this, it seems awfully daunting. Big plans, big expectations. This year is going to be a little more challenging as well. With Boop wanting to be a part and EG getting more mobile. This is Little Mama's first year of "formal" education. Thankfully Nature Girl can read some of her history and geography herself but honestly, I love reading it with them because I am learning as they are! The reality of it is, I may accomplish 3/4 of everything I set out to do. And I am totally OK with that.

One of my favorite parts of homeschooling is looking for the books I need. Ambleside Online gives me a list of recommended living books so that is helpful. I am addicted to books and this is a great excuse to buy them. Thankfully hubby is OK with my addiction! And understands what is needed to educate our children. (Although I am fairly certain that the cost of books is much less then what we would have to spend all together if the kids went to school.) This year, though, I am having some thoughts about how to teach Biblical History. I read this great article the other day about how we tend to focus on the most common "biblical stories" for our kids. The article stated that the majority of us don't teach our children that the whole bible is a history book. And we do a great disservice to the bible when we refer to biblical events as "stories." They are history and correspond to secular historical events. So, I am on the prowl, on the internet, late at night to find something to fill that void I feel we might have.

I have told hubby I need to take things a little more serious this year. So, we will see what happens. . .