Monday, September 4, 2017

To break or not to break....and a rambling update.

OH MY GOODNESS this school year is zooming by already. We did our first 6-week session and then had our week off. I pictured a glorious week where I revamped schooling organization, deep cleaned the house, sorted all the toys & clothes, took the kids to the pool for a couple hours every day, and amazing field trips every day. Ummm yeah. That was a lot of expectation!!!

So my thoughts on a whole week off every 6 weeks. In theory, great idea - especially if we want to travel somewhere. In reality, we ladies in this house like our structure. And balance. And that was a lot of stuff I had planned, without much balance. So the reality of our first week off was a lot of pajamas and video games, some very successful but time-consuming house organization projects with several trips to the Goodwill and (finally!) selling some big toys at a secondhand store, 3 pretty good field trips, and a reorg of how I have all the school stuff laid out. OK typing that out makes it actually sound like a good and productive week! LOL it was... I just think a whole week is a long time for a break when nobody else is off, the weather is still in the triple digits so playing outside is short-lived, and we were hitting a great school groove. Lesson learned!

So - the aforementioned school groove!! Everyone is really falling into a rhythm and it's wonderful. We start each day around 9, and finish up around 2 or 3, with a snack/recess break in the morning and a lunch break.  I took a Facebook quiz the other day (as I love to do) about what type of homeschoolers we are. I loved the results - they actually reflected where I feel like we are headed. The top 4 results were (in no particular order) Waldorf & Montessori (of course - these two have been my jam since we started homeschooling when Bug was 2), and also Charlotte Mason and Classical. Those last two have intrigued me as we have been working our way through Sonlight, with its rich classical literature. So I'm reading up on ways to incorporate more of those concepts into our school. I don't know enough yet to speak wisely about the various aspects of Charlotte Mason especially, but what I have read so far intrigues me.  I'm also going to add some recitation to our mix - I'm not sure where that falls - classical? I'm also enjoying the copywork and dictation in Sonlight - which again, classical? I don't know. Clearly I have much to learn! Anyway, that's where we are at.

We still love Sonlight History/LA/Readers. I'm coming around on the ELA aspect of it and feeling more love towards it. It's very enriching and creative and the girls have been enjoying it. There is a LOT of reading, and we are a tiny bit behind on Bug's current read-aloud book (Trojan War, oh MY that's a story), but we do enjoy the time spent with me reading to the girls.

I do think we will switch math programs next year, but Horizons is fine for now.

We are trying Sonlight science for both girls, and so far everyone likes it.  (That was a late switch from the Oak Meadow I had previously planned- searched online and bought used just in case we didn't love it - and just received the packages a few weeks ago.)  Lulu has done studies about animals and bodies. Bug has been learning about all sorts of things in a more in-depth "middle school" way that she loves. It's actually new material for her, which is exciting :) My girl loves her science! We are going to try our first Sonlight experiments this week. I'll have a more informed opinion on these science programs later this year.

We settled on using CNN10 for "current events" - Bug has been enjoying those. I recommend them for any kids, homeschooled or not - they are just a quick snapshot of what is happening in the world. I struggled with what to use for this (Sonlight recommends that kids become part of the conversation about what's going on by reading or watching the news for a bit every day) because quite frankly times are stressful. We have many household discussions about the state of the world, but in a (hopefully) non-anxiety-inducing way. I wasn't sure what media to use for this, as I feel a lot of the networks like to speculate about all the ways things COULD go, and that can be scary. Anyway - CNN10 for the win. :)

Bug is checking out an in-person Mandarin class this week at a local private school. It's an after-school program there, and it's open to homeschoolers. Hoping that's a good fit.

Also sports start up again in the next couple of weeks, so our schedules will be hoppin!

I think that's it - that was just an emptying of my brain!! Thanks to everyone for all the support, especially after my last post. I'm so thankful and fortunate to have a great network of friends and family who understand our decision and support us on this journey!

I hope everyone had a wonderful 3-day weekend, and for those friends/family whose kids are going back to school tomorrow, I can't wait to see the pics!! I hope everyone has a great first day back. :)