We started back to school today. It is terribly strange to me to be starting school in July, but actually, there are some schools around here that are doing it! Frankly, I can't see why, in Arizona, we don't school through the summer and vacation in the winter. Summers are murder here. Our school break has consisted of WAY more movies, Nintendo, and computer games than normal because they just cannot go outside. If they do go outside, it's just too hot by 7:30am. They do go out occasionally in the late evening if, and only if, the sprinklers are on in the greenbelt & I've given them permission to soak themselves thoroughly.
Anyway, back to our school. We started now so that we can get 5 weeks done before everything gets packed up & we move. Only 44 days until we pull out of town now! We'll take 2 weeks off for the move and start back up on September 17th. There is a lot more work this year, with Caleb in 3rd grade and Meagan in 1st. But, I'm excited! Meagan is too, but Caleb says there will be too much work. I really have to work on getting him to not look at all work as drudgery. Just because something is a challenge, doesn't mean you can't enjoy it. He'll either learn that lesson very, very well, or we will all be very, very miserable on the farm! Lots of work there!
For school this year, we are doing a mixture of Core 2 and Core C from Sonlight Curriculum. One thing I really love about Sonlight is how it adapts so easily to multiple ages. This year is a study of World History. We'll be doing the Science 2 program as well, which covers batteries, the human body, and the weather as the main focal points. For math, Meagan is starting Singapore 1A and Caleb is finishing Singapore 3A. He'll be nearly through "4th grade" math by the end of the year, but it really comes so easy for him. I'll be working a little Miquon Orange book into Meagan's math program too, as I really liked the way that worked with Caleb. Meagan is waiting a little to begin the Language Arts program for 1st grade, as we are still working in 100 Easy Lessons. She can read quite a bit now, but I'd like to get her a little further in it before we start with the grammar and reading involved in LA1. Caleb is doing LA 2 Advanced, loosely, as I've added more daily writing assignments. And really, with Sonlight's LA, just as with their Cores, the number of the level is just that, a number. The program really can be geared to a variety of levels and ages. It's just a matter of expecting more and better work from the older child. This way, their readers still correspond with the scope & sequence of the Core program. We don't do much by way of a specific Bible program. We usually just tackle a book at a time and read through it and discuss it. For memory work this year though, Meagan will be learning Proverbs 31:10-31 and Caleb will be learning the book of Galatians. Yes, it'll be a tough job, but I know he can do it. We'll go as far as we can, but I'd like to get it done this year. And, Caleb will be learning how to cook this year. I really want to focus on this, as he is definitely old enough to do it and read the recipes. And, of course, we'll all be learning about gardening, food preservation, animal husbandry, and construction (lots of projects!!) on the farm this year.
It's going to be a fun and challenging year. And what's so great about it is that I get to learn nearly as much as the kids do!
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