School Days

All this school year, PearlKeeper has voluntarily taken on the responsibility of cooking breakfast for the family. This morning, she and SmokeyBear got up extra early to make a grand breakfast of homemade waffles, turkey sausage, fruit, tea and hot chocolate with marshmellows. They even lit the candles on the table.

Our daily routine has been working out quite well this year. We start with our morning time together, which includes Bible (currently - the life of David including 2 Samuel and Psalms) and a read aloud, usually from Ambleside's 4th year's extra reading list or Sonlight's Year 7 historical fiction list. I'm adding Picture Study now on Mondays since I received my beautiful prints from a wonderful lady from the Ambleside list who sells the terms prints. Then we break for breakfast and I usually go and take my bath. After breakfast, we usually read a short chapter from the US geography book we are reading and review the previously learned states and capitols.

Next each child works from their daily lists while TheLittlestPrincess gets some attention for her studies. Lately, PearlKeeper has been reading her all of her own favorite "girl books" from her childhood. Then TLP reads aloud from her reader before PearlKeeper has to get ready for work.

The boys do their math, reading, writing and typing. Then I read them their science or history and we have narrations and/or notebook work. I recently purchased Sonlight's Year 7 manual because it coordinated George Washington's World and Story of the World with appropriate historical fiction. I am also adding Ambleside's other history readings from This Country of Ours and Trial & Triumph plus other AO4 readings. We only have about 10 weeks of the Sonlight schedule to accomplish this year and be on track for AO5 next year, so I can afford to stretch it out to include the AO readings too. If this goes well, we will continue on with this combination through AO5 and maybe term 1 of AO6. We are loving our science studies with Apologia's Swimming Creatures. I am so appreciate having a good science book because I spent years lamenting the lack of them when the older girls were younger. Our winter nature study is going to include sketching from the photos I took in the Everglades.

The girls have a more extensive list including math, science, history, current events and other readings along with language arts work.

If all goes perfectly as planned then the younger kids are done by lunch and the girls have a little to do after lunch. That happens probably half the time. The other half of the time we start later because of late night happenings or have other interruptions, so we may skip some things or go later into the day.

All in all, I'm happy with this year so far. When I evaluated at the mid-year point, I realized we had seen a lot of success. I listed areas I thought needed extra work and we have been incorporating them into the second half of the year.

I feel so blessed this year with our homeschool and other areas such as family, friends, church and business.