A New School Year Begins Soon...

So here I sit at my pc in our new home, in our new school room
(which also doubles as a dining room) with just about all of our things
organized and put away in their newly created "proper places". And as
much as I have accomplished since we first moved three weeks ago, I am
still burdened by the knowledge that I must finish my planning for the
year, I still need to assemble and bind the boys' portfolios for last
year, I still need a new marker board and I need to peruse the shelves
of our local used bookstore for good books covering the various science
topics the boys have chosen to study this year. I am also, for the
first time, going to be figuring out HOW to get things done every day
with a baby in tow and make sure that everyone's needs are addressed.
Who ever said that being a homemaker isn't challenging?

So
I recently found a free e-book for the kids to use in making a Family
Notebook and I think I will be using it the first week of school along
with Bible and Math. I will also be reviewing what Isaiah had learned
at the end of the year in reading with him to make sure he is up to
speed and ready to pick up where he left off. I think it's a good idea
to ease into things, there is so much that's new and different about
"doing school" this year.

We also have a lot
of intense catching up to do this year, and our school year will not
end until Drew has completed 3rd grade math and Isaiah 2nd grade math.
We are a bit behind in that according to grade level but I am not
worried. They are both excellent in math and BJU is written in a way
where theres a lot of repetition and review, so there are things we can
speed through to get there. I am going to allow Drew to speed through
the rest of his phonics and reading curriculum as he is doing
wonderfully with his reading skills. For him I am focusing this year on
Spelling and Writing. I will also be cutting down his penmanship
lessons, as he gets very tired with all the practice in cursive. I want
to make sure he is able to write daily journal entries and other
writing assignments. We are going to be doing unit studies for Science
and I allowed the boys to pick from a list of topics to study. They
have chosen to study electricity, space and the solar system, geology
(a basic overview), insects and bugs, and weather. For history we will
be going through The Mystery of History Vol.1 and keeping notebooks and
making timelines. And of course we are still using BJU Bible Truths
curriculum for our Bible studies.

I am excited
yet stressed about the science units because making my own unit studies
is new to me. My plan is to use the internet, living books,
experiments, hands-on activities and using notebooks and lapbooks to
show what we learn along the way. The boys enjoy these activities wayyyy
more than worksheets and I really want them to enjoy this part of our
school time so they can develop a love for real life learning.

So now you know our plans for the year! Please pray for us as we venture into another year together at home.