Another School Year Over...

The bulk of school work is finally over and the end is in sight!

We want to have a little End of School party this weekend because we need an occasion for mocha ice cream cake.  So it's all settled.  Ice Cream Cake for End of Year!

We just finished Week 34, and of course the school year goes for 36 weeks.  But the subjects are winding up, Math and Language Arts and Science are over and Spelling, Phonics and Writing end soon.  History may take another few weeks, but everyone cheers at that.  History is a well-loved subject!  Some subjects, like art and spanish can just stop whenever and continue on when we pick back up.

Every year I split up the curriculum into 36 weeks, but with some leverage built in for sick days and such.  Most subjects I use build in flexibility anyway, like Saxon Math which is built on a 4day/week schedule.  It works well, and my planner starts every page with "Week X" so I always know exactly where we are in the year.  I can't help it, I do have a map at the front with every week listed and every subject lined out to the lesson or page number. =)  It's just so FUN, who can stop themselves???

The burning question: Will We Homeschool Again This Year?

The answer is: Yes!

And I'm not letting myself apologize, either.  The kids are doing well, and as long as I keep my eyes open and honest, I'll know when something needs changing.  So now I can get to the excited part about planning it all.

This year, our subjects will be:
Math ~ 4 days a week
Spelling ~ every day
Phonics ~ every day (til the book ends)
Writing ~ four days a week
Language Arts ~ 3 days per week
Reading (IR and RA) ~ every day
Spanish ~ every day
Music ~ every day
Art and Appreciation ~ 2 lessons per week, kids repeat the lesson on their own on following days
Science ~ 2 days per week
History ~ 3 days per week
Latin ~ just starting this one!  A must for the Classical Education.
(would like to incorporate ballroom dancing and pottery, but we'll see.)

I have a brag moment, and since it's my blog, I'll go ahead and just give in. =)

Lucas(8) is going into third grade, right on schedule for his age.  He's doing well, and I have no worries about him academically or socially so far.  He prefers homeschool, having never tried other options.

Julia(6) is supposed to be going into first grade, but since her birthday put her past the cutoff, I really wanted to put her in first grade last fall.  I did so, and she's done wonderfully, and really took to the challenge and has finished first grade with pomp.  She's also willing to homeschool again this year.

Aidan(5) made noises of academic readiness, and although I believe in playtime, childhood and not pressuring children, at his request he joined Julia for first grade.  This week, with pride he finished first grade and did really well.  Every ten lessons in math is an assessment of skills, and both kids hardly ever missed anything on them.  I can't believe how well they know their math facts, concepts and vocab!  They love language arts, and are fluent in poetry recitation, parts of speech, sentence types, addresses and all that cool stuff.  And their writing?  I'm just amazed!  I had a chat with Aidan about starting second grade.  I let him know that he doesn't need to do second grade and that if he finds the work frustrating, he can stop.  I asked him if he wanted to do first grade again.  No way, Mom!  He's enjoying his spot, and frankly, I like having two kids in the same math.  That subject takes the longest, because I teach each concept every day.  That takes time, the fact review and timed tests, plus the lesson all take their toll.  If I had to teach three levels?  Whew!  I might give up!

And this summer, we'll be changing up our rooms again, and trying out the master bedroom as the school/music/family room.  I'll keep you posted!