A New School Year

I can't believe it but another school year is about to begin. This summer has gone by too fast, but as usual, around this time each summer, I think it's time to get back into a structured way of life. Thanks to my amazing family, I've had this week free of kids to get the house in order, some school planning done, and get my brain prepared for the upcoming year (thanks Nana, Mom, Dad, and Susan!). We are doing things a little differently this year. If you had asked me 6 years ago if I would have strayed from a complete set of curriculum I would have said never! But this year I have pieced things together (mainly for Miller) and am so excited about the new things we are doing. Here's what it looks like: Miller (my middle schooler, wow!) will be doing Teaching Textbooks 7 for math (we switched to Teaching Textbooks last year and he LOVED it), Easy Grammar and Daily Grams for grammar, and Abeka Spelling. Along with Bailey, we'll be using Apologia Science (Zoology 3) and Story of the World Volume 3 for history, and Rosetta Stone for Spanish. Bailey (my 3rd grader) will continue with Abeka for math, grammar, writing, and spelling. I will also work writing in for Miller but I didn't buy a specific curriculum for that. I found a couple of books at a local bookstore that we will use to learn good writing techniques, along with journaling and book reports. I also plan to spend more structured time with Madelyn (preschool already?) and our goal is learning letters and numbers. I didn't buy a specific curriculum for her. Adding another student to the mix will add a entire new layer of chaos to our day but I am hoping we can get in a groove and the day will flow nicely. Ha ha. Who am I kidding!!! Of course we will add a few outside activites to the calendar. Madelyn is going to continue with gymnastics and Bailey (and possibly Miller) will be playing Upward Soccer through our church this fall. I've always been a stickler for wanting to finish everything by the end of the school year. While I will strive to finish our core subjects, we are going to take our time with science and history. I want it to be enjoyable for all of us and if we don't get every page of the book finished by May, then we can just continue with it next year. My goal is to be a little more laid back and less stressed this year. My kids are growing up too fast and I want to enjoy this time while I can!