Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Weeks 5-6, & Birthday Planning!

Life is just so busy lately.  A good kind of busy, though.  I'm grateful for that.

This will be quick, as I'm spending the rest of the week planning our little Babylove's NINTH birthday party!!!!!!  AAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!  How in the world??  Time, I'll never understand you!

I'm very glad that we've managed to get some good field trips in this early in the year.  We've gone to the zoo and the Discovery Center.  We also went to a local farm that had a corn maize, pumpkin patch, and all that jazz.  Good times!  I'm currently planning more trips for the next month or so, hoping they work out.

Homeschooling is still going well, as long as I keep things organized!  That is such a challenge, and often I wish I had a secretary.  It's not because it's hard, it's because as a Homeschooling Momma, it's another huge task to head up.  I love it!  For whatever reason, this year has been the "girl, you better stay organized" year.
We will be through lesson 60(ish) by Friday in math.  He is soaring, and have I mentioned how amazing Saxon is??!?!  It is great, and he is loving math.

By Friday, we'll also have completed about lesson 21 in Intermediate Language Lessons.  That is also going well, as this boy loves writing.

We are still plugging along in our Human Body unit study, and going to Discovery Center was great for that.  There were plenty of exhibits on the body, and he had fun.

He has already written the book report on "Helen Keller; The Story of My Life".  That was part of our history this week.  We are focusing on U.S. History for the next several weeks.  He is begging to start SOTW 2, so I'm sure we'll throw that in soon.  I love that he loves history.

He is still doing a lot of drawing in his Draw Write Now notebook.  I need to make sure and add those daily, along with the other art books we have.   We need to enjoy his nature notebook, as well.

I'm super busy the rest of the week, planning this sweet boy's Dinosaur birthday party.  However, I'm proud that I've already gotten decorations, goody bags, and ordered his cake!! Yay!  At least some of it is done!

Now to drink some coffee.......


Friday, September 13, 2013

Week 4, What??

I can't believe it's week 4 that has been completed today.  Another reminder of how quickly the days slip away.

We have been busy, as usual.  He still says his favorite subjects are history and science.  However, I'm glad he's loving math so much more this year.  Saxon is working SO WELL for us!!  He also loves when we do grammar/writing.  No, the days aren't perfect, but overall the school year is going well, and he is loving his studies.

We FINISHED Story of the World 1, moving on to the level 2 soon!!  So excited, this history curriculum is fantastic.  It is definitely worth every penny!

Through lesson 40 in Math.  He came across the first "new" thing today, square roots.  Caught on quickly, and hasn't had any other problems.

We are using Intermediate Language Lessons, and I love it!  He is through lesson 9.  He enjoys the writing it includes. This is another VERY good curriculum.  I supplement our English with a free online workbook site, you just print the pages...workbook style.  That's the thing I've noticed with our homeschool....I often feel as if we're not doing enough, so I supplement every subject.  And......I usually see that we do too much.  But oh well, we are at a good pace.  We take well-needed breaks, and I'm thinking we'll need a break in the next few weeks.

We are still doing the Human Body unit study, reading and/or activities pertaining to that almost every day.  This morning he watched the Magic School Bus episode about digestion, so he loved that.  I'm wanting to spend several weeks on this before moving on.

I have had The Handbook of Nature Study for a while.  I've been trying to figure out the best way to use it, because of this little science lover we have.  I am hoping to give him his brand new Nature Journal, and just let him dive in next week.  Maybe 2-3 days a week, not sure.

Music is going well, and he has a recital coming up.  Hopefully we'll start intro to piano soon.

For art, he's been going through Draw Write Now at his own pace, but in order.  This is going well, as he loves these little workbooks.  We own several, so hopefully he'll complete these for the next two school years, and I'll add more art as needed/wanted.

Spanish, we're hitting it next week, and immersing ourselves in it.  That's the plan, anyway.......we'll see how it goes.  : )


I had to tweak a few things after starting this year, but I'm pleased with all subjects.  I still have to remind myself to SLOW DOWN.  He's super bright, but I want him to continue to ENJOY homeschooling, and not just see it as work.  Also....the biggest thing I hope to instill in him is to enjoy LIFE.  So far, he loves it.  I hope to keep lighting that fire in him, and never squelch his passion.

For now, it's the WEEKEND.  : )
(Which means I'll start putting things together for the next homeschool week!)


Sunday, September 8, 2013

Week Three, Planning Ahead

Monday was a holiday, so no school.

This week, I'm pretty sick.  I have zero energy, but am glad I'm a planner!  For a homeschooling family, there's NO time for Momma to be sick.  School must go on!  I'm glad this little boy can work well independently, because he's managed to get his work done mostly alone, while I've been nursing myself back to health.

By Friday, we will have gone through lesson about lesson 34 in math.

We are almost done with SOTW, hope to be through 35 at the end of this week, and finishing up by next Friday.  (If this happens, it may just be something we hit "on time", according to my hopeful and ambitious schedule!)  If not, it's no  big deal.

I gave Easy Grammar a try, not digging it.  It's just dry worksheets, many of which I'd printed myself for him for last school year.  We're sticking with one I found last year, which was free.  (Score!!)  It will end up being supplemental work. I'm planning on implementing the new English next week.  On the fence about which one, but I have a good idea.

We did several more lessons in U.S. History, and he's inching up on halfway through his first Science workbook for the year.  I always supplement Science heavily, as it's one of his favorite subjects.  The same with history.

He's halfway through "The Horse and His Boy", and hopefully will have written the book report by Friday.


New books should be in next week...I'm very excited about the science we're adding! I'm REALLY hoping it turns out to be as great as it looks.  Finally, we'll be getting the workbook for Writing with Ease.  Can't wait for that one.

I'm also getting rid of many books we've accumulated.  Either they didn't work, we just didn't do them, won't use again for next child, or they were forgotten.  When one makes bookshelf space, one can GET NEW BOOKS!!!  : )