Fitting it all in

12yo and I are doing a full schedule.  It would be okay if this were fall or winter, but it is taking too long for summer.  I don't know if I need to drop subjects from our schedule for now or  rearrange the schedule.  I will try a schedule tweak first and then drop subjects if the tweak doesn't work.

One Year Down

One year down three more to go.  14yo has survived her first year of early morning seminary (6:30-7:20am M-F).  I am relieved.  For a night owl like me, waking up at 5:30am has been killer.  At the same time it has been a blessing.  I learned that grocery shopping at 6:30am is the BEST time to shop.  I also was able to experience the satisfaction that comes from accomplishing many things before noon rather than just a few.  When you wake up between 9-10am you spend the day feeling overwhelmed because supper seems to be right around the corner.  You play the "let's see how much we can cram in before we have to start cooking" game.

14yo visited a sleep specialist recently and can only sleep-in until 8am over the summer. That doesn't sound like sleeping-in but technically 2 extra hours is sleeping-in.  We'll take it.

Looong Day

This blog post has nothing important to convey.  I simply want to whine and complain.  That is the whole point. ; )

12yo's friend, who attends private school, is on summer vacation.  The friend called at 10:30am this morning and asked to play, but we had hours of school ahead of us.  12yo's concentration went out the window which made school go even slower.

This is the point where I need to hang in there.  This is when I give up my dreams of summer school.  And the end of summer?  That is when I kick myself for letting the opportunity slip by me.  We can have summer fun AND learn at the same time, right?

The solution?  Do school with 12yo first thing int the morning during the summer months.  We can do this.  If I'm creative I'm sure I can find a way to make it work.

It's bedtime.  My bed is covered with school books, and I'm too tired to get up and move them off.  5:30am is catching up with me.

The Verdict Is...

We will be doing school this summer.  I know the kids need time to play, but I also know that they have 2-3 hours per day to spare.   All we need to average is 3.5 days per week and we will accumulate 182 school days over the course of a year.  That is probably what we are averaging at the moment with interruptions (doctor appointments, etc.).  Daily school during the summer will keep their minds engaged.  Plus, one of the big benefits will be a legitimate excuse for taking a break from friends during the day.  Too much time together always ends up in group spats.

I will be the biggest stumbling block.    Yep, I'm going to want to laze around instead of putting in the effort to teach children.

In a previous blog post, I said we would be doing school lite.  This is going to be a little more than math.  We may not get to everything I plan each day, but I intend to make some progress.

Seasons animation

This is for those of us, children and adults alike, who struggle with visualizing how the earth's tilt causes the seasons.  Seasons animation.  <------- LINK TO ANIMATION

Is it over yet?

12yo has enjoyed her North American history/geography book this year.  And I have too, but...well....are we there yet?  I'm ready to be done.  

Four weeks into her Math 6 textbook and 12yo is already 1/4 of the way through it.  We did a quick review of the first chapter but have slowed down the past two weeks. 

14yo visited a sleep specialist today.  Really, really hoping we can get her on a normal sleep schedule.  The erratic napping makes it hard to be consistent with school.  Doc said no naps and no TV/Computer after supper.

Summer Is Upon Us

Rain.....rain.....rain.....rain.....and more rain.  Ah, spring in the PNW.  The local schools have a different idea.  They believe summer is just around the corner.  The private school is out this coming Friday and the public school has one more week after that. 

Unfortunately for my kids this is the time of the year when I want to do school.  My kids are ready to play with their buddies all day.  I have to be realistic. I know they need to enjoy summer while it is here.   School lite will be probably be the way to go.

School lite = Math + anything else Mom can cram in. ; ) 

TGIF

Thank goodness it's Friday.  I am feeling a bit burned out. 

8yo - "Would you sit still?  Pay attention!"

12yo - If she has one more melt down over math (which she KNOWS how to do), I'm going to have a melt down too.

14yo - Two or three days a week just doesn't cut it.  "We are spinning our wheels here." (sing/song voice)

The Teaching Company, etc.

I finally gave in.  I bought The Teaching Company's Biology and Algebra I courses on DVD.  I've been trying to convince myself that I needed these for some time. ; )  And yes, they were on sale.  There is no way I would pay full price. (cough, splutter)


14yo and I started reading through Spielvogel's Western Civilization.  As we were reading about australopithecines, I remembered that we own DK's History: The Definitive Visual Guide (From the Dawn of Civilization to the Present Day).  The plan is to jump back and forth between the two.  For the next couple of weeks we'll be in DK's History.

If you've noticed our curriculum in the side bar, you'll see that BJU Biology has been on hold for quite some time.  A couple of reasons...it is rigorous and religious.  I have nothing against using religious textbooks.  Rod & Staff is a Mennonite publisher and we use their books for many subjects (math, grammar, science, history/geography, etc.).  But, BJU was in your face, cram it down your throat, with a cherry on top.  It wasn't bleh, it was Argh!  I encouraged dd to let it roll off her back but the rigor finally gave us a good excuse to push the pause button.

In the meantime...I made another $5 discovery at Goodwill - Prentice Hall's Biology by Miller and Levine (2002).  It is one heavy book with tons of beautiful photographs.  And so far, it seems a little too easy.  I guess I shouldn't make that judgment until we jump back into the chemistry section.  But my, it sure is purty to look at. : )

12yo spent several days with big sis, so math was pretty much the only thing she accomplished this week.

8yo is working hard on transferring the counting by 5's chant to paper.  She had bit of a time getting her numbers in the right place, but I know she'll get it.  That's the beauty of Rod and Staff math.  They will drill it until it is part of you. ; )

Spielvogel

Came across a passable copy of Spielvogel's Western Civilization 5th edition at Goodwill today.  For $5 I'll take passable.  Cool part?  I found a companion website with goodies to go with it like flashcards (w/pronunciation!), crossword puzzles, maps, time lines, quizzes, etc. 

I finally feel a history plan coming together.  Up until now we've been following Rod & Staff's geography/history sequence. The problem with Rod & Staff (for me) is the higher the grade level the more their textbooks are devoted to Mennonite history.  

Tentative plan:
8yo - The Story of the World, Volume 1: Ancient Times by Susan Wise Bauer
12yo - K12's The Human Odyssey, Volume 1:  Prehistory Through the Middle Ages
14yo - Spielvogel's Western Civilization and Susan Wise Bauer's History of the Ancient World

As you can tell, we are nowhere near a four year rotation.  It's okay as I'm pretty sure youngest would not have been ready for ancients two years ago.