Our New Homeschool Year

Last Tuesday was the beginning of our new homeschool year and I have to say I have a sense of anticipation as we go into it. Our style of schooling has changed some with time. Some years I've struggled a bit with knowing how to proceed but this year I'm feeling pretty comfortable. I like the schedule we've created and the work we're doing.

So here is an overview of our plans for the year.

Austin (16) and Amanda (13)

Doug has taken over teaching math to Austin and Amanda and is going to give math lessons Monday, Tuesday and Friday afternoons after he gets home from work. They are currently working on algebra.

Three evenings a week I spend an hour reading aloud to Austin and Amanda. Right now we're reading a book that Austin was given for his birthday. I've ordered the first two books of the Lions of Judah series by Gilbert Morris from Amazon with gift cards that I've earned through Swagbucks and they should be here by the time I finish Austin's book. We also read a chapter from the Bible during our reading time. This reading time is one of our favorite parts of "school." We all three get to enjoy good books together, leading to many good discussions. We cover a lot subjects during this time, depending on the type of book we're reading.

And Monday through Friday Austin and Amanda will each have a 30 minute assignment on varied topics. Currently they're doing a physical science study, focusing on relativity. 

The rest of their time will be spent in a variety of ways - helping to care for the younger children, cooking, and helping with home, yard and garden work. Amanda likes to read, sew, draw, and spend time with her animals as well as volunteering at the SPCA. She is in church nearly every Sunday morning, going to Sunday School and then the main service. She will also develop a fascination with a subject and research it until she has satisfied her curiosity before moving on to something else. Austin is in Boy Scouts and also very involved with the church youth and other church activities. He's not a big reader but loves the History Channel, Animal Planet,Discovery Channel and the National Geographic Channel, along with some Syfy. And he collects coins so he spends time learning about those. I have NPR talk on a good part of the day and we often discuss the current events we are hearing about there as well as other interesting things that are covered. 

Michael (6)

Michael desperately needs a lot of structure in his day and we will be staying pretty busy. We will be spending a half hour each day on a Bible unit study, a half hour each day on other varied unit studies and 5 - 10 minutes each on focused math and reading lessons. The unit studies also cover a lot of math and reading as well as science and social studies.

The rest of his day will be taken up with outdoor play, nature walks, riding his bike, singing and listening to music, playdough, coloring, reading stories, and other free play. We have a two hour rest time each afternoon as well. He can look at books or watch Disney Jr during this time but he has to stay quietly on the couch. Some days he goes to sleep but most days he doesn't.  On Wednesday evenings he will be involved in church activities as well as being there Sunday mornings. And he's in the children's choir at church as well.

We're looking forward to a year of learning and growing.