We just finished our first 5 weeks of school.
School
Chemistry math is hard, folks! The second "module" in our curriculum was all math. I made sure to schedule an extra week for all that math to sink into everyone's brain. I'm happy to say that they both made 87 % on the exam! High fives all around!
Daniel is really excelling in the new math program we are using this year. It's an online version of Saxon Algebra 2. He has the textbook to read the lesson, then an instructor goes through lectures and practice on the material. He completes all the homework and exams online. And it's FREE!!! (Virtual Homeschool Group, just in case you were wondering.)
We are also using this website for our chemistry as well. It's basically supplemental to the textbook based curriculum. We go over the material, review questions, extra practice problems, labs. They listen to the lectures, complete quizzes and exams all online. It has made chemistry doable for us with LESS tears. I'm definitely not saying chemistry will be totally tear-free.
Michael and I have a great daily schedule this year. It's flexible, but we know what we should do every day and are fairly consistent. Fridays are more relaxed.
Dual Enrollment aka "My baby is growing up"
Tera and I visited the community college she will be attending for dual enrollment to look around and purchase her textbook for College Algebra.
Observations:
- Everyone we met was so nice!
- Walking around before the first day is a great idea. You have an idea where you are going and you will feel more comfortable. And you can easily find the restroom without asking!
- Books are expensive! I looked into buying used, but it wasn't really an option with this math course. I still feel like it's a great investment and she feels good about having a textbook she can reference during the course (and for the next two weeks, before it even starts).
- I cannot believe my daughter just got a college student ID!
Opportunities Galore
I've been reminding myself to breath and not go into shut-down mode about the new things we have going on this year.
Daniel is still doing Silver Winds, but may be adding a community band into his schedule. He will also be starting one hour flute lessons. Twice a week, he is still enjoying the Tai Chi classes at our gym. He was in heaven last weekend when I took him to the library for the Geek Club, a club of high schoolers started by two teens to learn computer programming. It meets once a week for an hour. I cannot believe Daniel turns 15 in just a couple of weeks!
Tera is competing in her first fencing tournament this month. We are so excited for her! Tera's ACT score qualifies her to be a member of the local chapter of the homeschool honor society, Eta Sigma Alpha. She is practicing driving with JP. In addition to school, she is painting rocks and training like crazy. Less than two months, she will be 17?! Lots of exciting things happen as kids get older. I'm trying to focus on the exciting, and trying not to think about how they are growing up too fast!
Michael has karate twice a week and has no trouble making friends wherever he goes! Michael's VBS leader, Lauren is getting married on Tera's birthday and has asked Michael to be her ring bearer. He is so happy!!!
Since we are studying American history this year, I can't wait to add in some field trips to our studies. We are hoping to make it to Washington, DC in the spring! First trip for all of us.
We are in the path of the total solar eclipse and have a fun day planned at the community college! A local eye center in our area distributed free glasses, so now we are all set.
Family and life
JP's job has been quite challenging lately. In addition to praying about it, we've also started going out for dinner together once a week. Nothing really fancy, but time alone to talk and focus on each other a bit. It's important to make that time, whatever it may look like for you.
The kids have a daily upstairs cleaning schedule now in addition to their after-dinner jobs (loading dishwasher, wiping table, sweeping and taking out the trash). It looks something like this:
Monday: Daniel/Michael sheets washed; De-clutter one area in your room.
Tuesday: Clean around your bed and put things away. (Around, under, in--and any other preposition that fits.)
Wednesday: Clean off desk
Thursday: Pick up floors in middle area and room.
Friday: Vacuum room and middle area. Tera sheets washed.
I'm still tweaking a specific daily cleaning schedule for the entire house. I tried this one last week and fell into bed so tired every night. With homeschooling and my need for sanity, this schedule is not for this season of my life. It's certainly not doable on a weekly basis, but with some tweaking it might work somewhat on a monthly basis. We shall see!
Our family just started a weekly Bible study on the book of Romans.
I'm not sure why I felt the need to write all this out, but one day I will look back and be glad for the memories. Now to get back to some American history planning, which is what I'm really supposed to be doing right now. Maybe I understand why I decided to write all this out...procrastination at its finest!