Now that our baby is a year old, we've gotten him and his brother into a bedtime routine and I actually have my "work" nights to myself instead of sharing my time with my baby. It gives me more time to think. Life with an infant is so demanding, I'd forgotten what it was like to be able to let my mind just wander and follow the rabbit trails it finds.
Tonight I organized two boxes of school work (from the year we moved) into permanent portfolios for the kids. It was neat to see all the activities and topics we covered that year before our fourth child was born. I was a little amazed at all we accomplished. Hopefully I feel the same way after filing away this past school year's work.
I've also had the time to ponder more on the cancer updates from my sister about my dad's health. He is still going through the "what ifs" of possibilities until all the tests are complete and true answers are revealed. What we know is that the cancer is there and when we find out all the details, then decisions will be made for moving forward. Options have been discussed, and boy, do I remember the agony of the wait.
Discussing options, feelings, desires, and fears. Not knowing for sure, hoping for the best and fearing my hopes will not be met. I wish I lived closer to my family. I want to go see them. I'd love to bring all of my own "little" family. But timing, COVID, and uncertainty about what my dad will be up for makes it hard to figure out. So, as with so many things, we wait for answers so decisions can be discussed and made at that time.
Our world is also in utter chaos. It seems so apparent that Christ's return is soon coming. Cities are actually defunding their police departments. My own state just passed a law with new rules and regulations...I'm not sure how good or bad the law is. The devil is preying on our fears and our differing opinions and having a grand old time exploiting them. I don't watch much news, but the news I do see is simply unbelievable.
Saturday, June 20, 2020
Friday, June 19, 2020
Ready for school!
We finally completed our curriculum shopping for this coming school year. It took hours and hours of research, letting my kids preview and give their input and then running the financial cost options past my hubby.
Here are our choices for the year (9th and 7th grades):
Language Arts: a mix of writing lessons (essays, research papers, story writing) and literature studies from 7sistershomeschool.com, along with grammar/vocab/dication using the McGuffey readers.
Math: CTCmath.com, found a decent deal online at homeschoolbuyersco-op.com We're at the pre-algebra level, but they will have the kids each take an assessment test and then tell them which lessons they need to start with. We'll have access to all math lessons from K-12 grades, so they can move along at their own pace and skill level.
History: American History. We'll be doing an eclectic mix of living books and lessons from the America's Story 3 (masterbooks.com) and the free online program at allinonehomeschool.com. We've already covered early American history, so this year we're focusing on WW2 to present day.
Science: High school courses are expensive, can you say sticker shock?! Especially since many require microscopes and lab supplies. We decided to go with Devotional Biology DVDs from compassclassroom.com, which comes with videos of all the labs, so that we can view labs without purchasing a microscope. Then we'll assess if they need more hands-on experiences and might purchase the pricey lab kit later. This particular biology course comes from a creation standpoint and teaches how God has displayed his character in his creation. Both kids loved the sample lesson and said the instructor was both funny and very interesting.
Foreign Language: Duolingo. (free!) We've been doing this program for a couple years now. One kiddo is learning French and the other is learning Spanish. Side note: It is a secular program and has some influences there such as translating sentences that talk about "Her wife".
Electives: My freshman is interested in possibly getting into veterinary medicine after high school so she'll be taking Apologia's Health and Nutrition course. It has beautiful pictures and to-the-point chapters. She's super excited about this class. It was a splurge for us, but looks to be a quality program with lots of good reviews.
She's also doing a unit study from 7sistershomeschool.com called "Career Exploration". It guides kids in how to explore careers they are interested in and what to do to learn more about those careers. She specifically asked to learn about careers in high school, so I was thrilled to get this one at 50% discount!
Here are our choices for the year (9th and 7th grades):
Language Arts: a mix of writing lessons (essays, research papers, story writing) and literature studies from 7sistershomeschool.com, along with grammar/vocab/dication using the McGuffey readers.
Math: CTCmath.com, found a decent deal online at homeschoolbuyersco-op.com We're at the pre-algebra level, but they will have the kids each take an assessment test and then tell them which lessons they need to start with. We'll have access to all math lessons from K-12 grades, so they can move along at their own pace and skill level.
History: American History. We'll be doing an eclectic mix of living books and lessons from the America's Story 3 (masterbooks.com) and the free online program at allinonehomeschool.com. We've already covered early American history, so this year we're focusing on WW2 to present day.
Science: High school courses are expensive, can you say sticker shock?! Especially since many require microscopes and lab supplies. We decided to go with Devotional Biology DVDs from compassclassroom.com, which comes with videos of all the labs, so that we can view labs without purchasing a microscope. Then we'll assess if they need more hands-on experiences and might purchase the pricey lab kit later. This particular biology course comes from a creation standpoint and teaches how God has displayed his character in his creation. Both kids loved the sample lesson and said the instructor was both funny and very interesting.
Foreign Language: Duolingo. (free!) We've been doing this program for a couple years now. One kiddo is learning French and the other is learning Spanish. Side note: It is a secular program and has some influences there such as translating sentences that talk about "Her wife".
Electives: My freshman is interested in possibly getting into veterinary medicine after high school so she'll be taking Apologia's Health and Nutrition course. It has beautiful pictures and to-the-point chapters. She's super excited about this class. It was a splurge for us, but looks to be a quality program with lots of good reviews.
She's also doing a unit study from 7sistershomeschool.com called "Career Exploration". It guides kids in how to explore careers they are interested in and what to do to learn more about those careers. She specifically asked to learn about careers in high school, so I was thrilled to get this one at 50% discount!
Friday, June 12, 2020
Math Shopping!
Shopping for curriculum is a blast! At least once I figure out what to buy. I've been researching curriculum choices for next year. It has taken me months and I'm still not done. Usually I have everything purchased by now. Part of it is lack of free time, and the other part is that I am trying really hard to make wise choices for our first year of high school.
Math is a big challenge! I have one child who picks up math concepts quickly and one child who struggles. We are getting into higher math and the lessons are becoming more difficult and extremely time consuming. Our current curriculum just isn't working for us anymore.
So, in my research I found an awesome program that was a bit pricey, but more affordable than others. It came with an instructor with a PhD and online lessons I wouldn't have to teach. I showed it to my girls. They hated it. They said his voice was too annoying and they couldn't stand it.
I tried another one that I thought might be an acceptable curriculum. One loved it the other hated it.
Today, we looked at another curriculum. It teaches to both the visual and the auditory learners. My struggling mathematician thought it was exactly what she needed. My quick-learner was interested in learning more about it. We're going to do a two-week free trial and then decide. If it works for us, not only does it have a lot to offer, but it will do most of the teaching for me so that I will have more time to teach other kiddos while they are doing math!
Math is a big challenge! I have one child who picks up math concepts quickly and one child who struggles. We are getting into higher math and the lessons are becoming more difficult and extremely time consuming. Our current curriculum just isn't working for us anymore.
So, in my research I found an awesome program that was a bit pricey, but more affordable than others. It came with an instructor with a PhD and online lessons I wouldn't have to teach. I showed it to my girls. They hated it. They said his voice was too annoying and they couldn't stand it.
I tried another one that I thought might be an acceptable curriculum. One loved it the other hated it.
Today, we looked at another curriculum. It teaches to both the visual and the auditory learners. My struggling mathematician thought it was exactly what she needed. My quick-learner was interested in learning more about it. We're going to do a two-week free trial and then decide. If it works for us, not only does it have a lot to offer, but it will do most of the teaching for me so that I will have more time to teach other kiddos while they are doing math!
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