I'm very bad at blogging regularly, apparently. But we are still here! Still homeschooling, and really getting into the guts of the curriculum for the year. We have gotten through the initial "review and introduce a few new concepts" part of the curriculum that apparently exists even in homeschool. And now it's getting real. I'm loving how the girls are both being challenged in ways they haven't been before. The pace of homeschool curriculum can move quicker and go more in-depth just because it's one-on-one (or one-on-two in my case!). There have been frustrating moments for both the girls, but I'm loving that because it means they are growing and trying things they haven't before. Definitely not a lot of boredom or "phoning it in" happening in this schoolroom. :)
Here's what we are loving:
Weekly writing assignments with different genres. Bug just endured/survived a couple weeks of poetry. She hated it initially (and probably still does) but by the end, wrote a poem that I was super impressed with! It was outside her comfort zone, but she got into it and DID IT. And now we are moving on to other types of writing - this week is about news stories (in weeks past, she has done compare/contrast essays, descriptive paragraphs, etc.). Basically, each week she learns mechanics of that type of writing, analyzes it, learns concepts that relate to it, and then is guided through how to write her own version. In retrospect, I maybe should have gone down a level (she's doing this, and from what I've read we could/should have done F, since she hasn't been doing this curriculum the whole time and our schools weren't super heavy with the ELA work). Hindsight! But, we are powering through and she's catching up and getting it. This and vocab are both really pushing her outside her comfort zone, but I see growth and that makes me happy. Lulu also does weekly writing assignments, on a smaller scale. I'm so happy she is getting a solid foundation in this - by the time she gets to Bug's age, it will be much smoother than it is for Bug right now!!
Khan Academy - LOVING it. Free online courses, and they are good!! Bug does computer programming and is now also doing math - it goes more in-depth than Horizons. Much like the LA above, I forgot how homeschool curriculum is ahead of what the kids learned in school. So even tho she did 6th grade math last year, 7th grade homeschool math (pre-algebra) is a challenge. She is doing very well grade-wise, but we are taking our time with each concept and making sure she understands everything. Horizons is just a brief blurb, classwork, and then assignment. With a new concept every day. She was keeping up, but my math-loving kid was getting pretty run down by it all. Khan has videos that explain the concepts more fully, with follow-up quizzes and tests. So we are doing a combo of Khan and Horizons, and I think that will work really well going forward. I want her to really GET these concepts so going forward she has a strong foundation.
Sonlight History/Literature - still loving it. I may add in some supplemental materials for the second Story of the World book in the spring. I'm very excited for Lulu to start using Sonlight History/Literature for 3rd grade next year! We are going through the literature lists for previous years that Lulu has missed, and doing them as readalouds. Right now we are doing Charlotte's Web and creating a lapbook to go with it. Sonlight is VERY literature heavy, but we 3 girls love a good story, so it's working well so far.
Here's what we will be changing next year:
Sonlight Science. Eh. The books are Usborne, which I LOVE. But the science worksheets that Sonlight creates to go along with the books have questions that don't always line up. That can be confusing and frustrating. Also, while Sonlight is one of the few (maybe only?) Christian curricula that understands not all homeschoolers are anti-evolution, there is a bit too much of the anti-evolution mindset that seeps into the worksheets for my taste. I believe we will just go with Houghton Mifflin or something straightforward next year. Bug is finishing up her Sonlight (we skipped the 12 weeks called "Origins" and so we will be done by March with the rest), and then we will dive into 7th grade science in the spring. Lulu is now working on a plants unit, and then moon phases, and probably butterflies after that with the Insect Lore kit... etc etc. I will probably either continue unit studies for 3rd grade or also put her on Houghton Mifflin. Something like this.
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So that's where the girls are at. For me, personally, I'm bit by bit finding my groove. We are all relaxing a bit, and getting out of the "recreate public school @ home" mentality. Meaning -- it's not about the grades or tests, it's about mastering concepts and spending time learning; it's not about getting school out of the way so we can get on with our day, it's about enjoying the process of learning, and letting it seep into every aspect of our day; it's not about scheduling every moment of the day like I did at the beginning of this year; it's about the content. yada yada yada... you get the point (hopefully). :)
I will try to update more frequently!!!!!!!! Thanks for all the support and encouragement from everyone!! xoxo
