Education Post

I know that this blog's main purpose is to post pictures of the children, :)  but I wanted to put one post up on our educational pursuits so that I can look back and remember what we were working on through the years of our homeschooling journey.  We're about to enter our last unit for Tapestry of Grace this year, which means we're winding down our 2012-2013 school year! Yea! :)  We don't school year-round, but we do start back to our math lessons earlier in the summer so that the children don't forget everything they've learned and I don't have to spend three months reviewing.  I also like the freedom of being able to take off on some days during nicer weather in the spring and fall.  Anyway, for posterity's sake, here is an overview of what we worked on this year:

Shiloh - 8th grade (HIGH SCHOOL NEXT YEAR! :) )
Bible:  Polished Cornerstones (this is just for our "curriculum" - we also have our devotional time/memory work/catechism during breakfast) - she is also working on a Bible study through Venturing Crew
History/Geography:  Tapestry of Grace, Year One
Grammar:  Just review at this point with Daily Grams, but we do vocabulary work as well with Wordly Wise
Writing:  IEW - just finished up Ancient History-Based Writing Lessons, moving on to The Elegant Essay
Literature:  Tapestry of Grace selections, as well as focusing on The Iliad, The Odyssey, and The Aeneid with Memoria Press materials - these have been excellent!
Math:  Saxon Algebra I
French: Memoria Press' First Start French II
Latin:  Latina Christiana I (this is our second trip through - we got to Latina Christiana II and it was too much, so we put a halt to it and came back to it, starting with Prima Latina again)
Music:  We are just finishing up one of the series of books written by Opal Wheeler - this one is on Schumann; we also studied Handel and Chopin this year; piano lessons
Logic:  The Fallacy Detective - we read it aloud and it's funny to see how much the others pick up on; I haven't gotten as far as I would have liked this year in this book, but we do plan to start The Art of Argument next; she also does a Building Thinking Skills workbook
Art:  We're about to embark on a more formal study of several artists, but we've studied Greek art and architecture this year with Tapestry of Grace
Science:  Life Science (BJU Press) course through a co-op, and we're also doing this Nature Journal study: http://www.amazon.com/Nature-Connection-Workbook-Families-Classrooms/dp/1603425314/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363052623&sr=1-4&keywords=nature+journal

Cora - 7th grade
Bible:  Polished Cornerstones
History/Geography: Tapestry of Grace, Year One
Grammar: Shurley English 7
Spelling (because Cora is my inventive speller): Spelling Workout G - after we finished The Phonetic Zoo
Writing: IEW - same as Shiloh
Literature: Tapestry of Grace selections, and she's become a prolific reader on her own - she usually finishes her work before anyone else during the day because she gets up earlier (and she's the most diligent :) ) so if she doesn't have anything else to do, she can be found in her bed reading
Math: Saxon Algebra 1/2
French: Memoria Press' First Start French I, and Easy French Reader: http://www.amazon.com/Easy-French-Reader-Roussy-Sales/dp/0071428488/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363052899&sr=1-1&keywords=easy+reader+french
Music: same
Pre-Logic: The Fallacy Detective, Building Thinking Skills
Art: same
Science: same co-op class with Shiloh

Abigail: 5th grade
Bible: Veritas Press - the Gospels
History/Geography: Tapestry of Grace, Year One
Grammar: Shurley English 5
Spelling: Spelling Workout E
Writing: IEW - a mix of Teaching Writing Structure and Style and Student Writing Intensive - B, in a co-op I'm teaching - this has been a great experience! 
Literature: Tapestry of Grace selections, plus she and Adah are working their way through a list I made for them
Math:  Saxon 65
French: Memoria Press' First Start French I, and Easy French Reader
Music: same
Art: same
Science:  We've worked our way through Machines and Motion, Inventions and Technology, and now we're starting The World of Plants just in time for spring with the Answers in Genesis curriculum

Adah: 4th grade
Bible: Veritas Press - the Gospels
History/Geography: Tapestry of Grace, Year One
Grammar: Shurley English 5
Spelling: Spelling Workout D
Writing: same as Abigail
Literature: same
Math: Saxon 54
Music: same
Art: same
Science: same

Jackson: 3rd grade
Bible: same
History/Geography: same
Grammar: Shurley English 3
Spelling: Spelling Workout C
Writing: same
Literature: same
Math: Saxon 54
Music: same
Art: same
Science: same

Nathaniel: 1st grade
Bible: We finished up Leading Little Ones to God and now we're just reading through the Bible together, slowly :)
Reading: Slide Down the Sky, several ABeka readers, McGuffey Eclectic Second Reader, numerous library books now that he's caught the reading bug - he's working on a kids' version of The Odyssey now since he's heard everyone else talk about it with history
Grammar: Rod and Staff English 2
Phonics: We finished up Modern Curriculum Press Phonics B and now we're about halfway through Phonics C
Math: Saxon 2
Music: same
Art: same

These are just the "spines" of what we've done - we've added in studies, library books, experiments, and extra projects when something has captured our interest.  Abigail's favorite things for free time are math and logic games on the computer, and Jackson likes to do a "Place the State" game on the computer as well.  I really limit those kinds of things, though.   I started a typing curriculum with Abigail (Shiloh and Cora are pretty proficient typers, but they could use a brush-up) but I decided her time would be better spent doing a summer intensive with it.  Oh!  We also do "P.E." on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  We're pretty hard-core with P.E. because I see so many benefits for them - their minds get a rest from working, they get the wiggles out (BOYS!), their bodies become healthier and stronger, they develop good habits of moving regularly (I hope!), they learn to be competitive in a supportive environment (okay, we're still working on toning DOWN the competitiveness!), and they get fresh air and sunshine.  Lately, they've been exercising inside with the treadmill, bicycle, jumpropes, and our version of circuit training which includes our weights and mini-tramp :).  I'll be glad when we can get outside again!  Exercising at the same time with them means I have accountability, too, and I like that.  My runs usually go longer, but they either play basketball or soccer outside while I continue my laps around and AROUND (my neighborhood is SMALL!).  If I decide to do sprints with Shiloh, I can pretty much guarantee that I'll be done for the rest of the day. :)   

Do all of these things happen like clockwork every hour in every day?  HA!  HA HA HA HA HA!  I laugh uncontrollably at that idea. :)  If I need to take an extra fifteen minutes to explain again how to divide fractions or how to graph a slope-intercept equation, or if we need to help a friend in need, or if we need extra time at the piano, or if we need to chuck all book-learning and head outside for a nature walk to improve someone's attitude (mine) then we do that. :)  It's the beauty of home education - along with fleece socks and a second cup of coffee at the kitchen table while Nathaniel reads out loud to me.  This journey has been a good one, and I'm so thankful for the opportunity. :)

(Remind me of this tomorrow when someone hasn't read his or her directions correctly for the third time, someone is whining about how many problems there are in the math lesson, and someone else is panicking about a Bible test (Abigail - who ALWAYS panics about Bible tests and has never gotten below a 95) - reminders are good in the trenches!)

Until next time-
The Chief Educator Extraordinaire